Chapter 62-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Hey, hey! Hurry up and keep up!"
The girl with the high orange ponytail, carrying a large backpack, walked at the very front, turning her head to wave at her teammates.
"Could you slow down a bit... Why on earth do you have so much energy?"
Roy's neat blond hair drooped as he walked briskly, panting for breath.
"Lucy was probably the one who slept best last night," Percy said with a helpless smile. Unlike Lucy, they hadn't brought waterproof jackets, and their clothes were still damp.
The moisture in this Demonic Domain was too abundant, filled with various plants and small animals. They were so harassed by mosquitoes last night they couldn't sleep. Thankfully, Lucy had brought mosquito repellent.
To be more precise, thankfully, Zhao Mei had reminded them, and Lucy had listened to his advice.
Percy's expression gradually faded. He had already found the other team members yesterday; only Zhao Mei was still missing.
But strangely, he wasn't particularly worried about Zhao Mei. Zhao Mei could even predict what would be needed in this Demonic Domain; he was likely in a much better state than they were.
Percy lowered his head, staring at the ground beneath his feet, and slowly fell to the back of the group.
He now felt a little regretful. Perhaps he should have asked about Zhao Mei's identity when they first met. Even if he had received false information, it would be better than knowing nothing about him now. He was too mysterious, which made Percy feel inexplicably uneasy, to the point of feeling guilty for that unease.
The black-haired, blue-eyed youth exhaled. No matter where Zhao Mei came from, for now, he was a friend who helped them. Friends should trust and rely on each other; he shouldn't overthink it.
"There's someone ahead!"
The scouting butterfly flew back to the youth's side. Lucy shouted and quickened her pace.
Percy roused himself and quickly followed Lucy. He could already hear faint human voices.
After climbing over a small slope, the Cloud-Soaring Squad emerged from the forest. A flat, open piece of land appeared before them, bustling with people—civilians and knights in uniform. He even saw several familiar figures.
"This is the necklace I gave to my sister, thank you..."
The youth didn't speak, merely crouching beside the uncontrollably weeping woman, patting her back comfortingly. After the woman gradually stopped crying, the youth seemed to whisper a few words in her ear.
"Zhao Mei?"
Percy called out hesitantly. The youth with his back to him turned around, revealing a familiar, gentle face.
"That's great, everyone is safe and sound," the youth sighed with emotion, standing up and walking over to his companions.
"We finally found you. Our squad is finally complete again," Percy said with a smile. He looked at the large crowd behind Zhao Mei and noticed two acquaintances, Bai Muqing and Yu Tianming. Since Yu Tianming was here, why wasn't Sykes with him?
The youth seemed to notice the doubt in his eyes and took the initiative to explain, "Sykes is missing. It seems he's trapped in the red forest to the southeast."
A flicker of shock crossed Percy's face. The other three also gathered around, their faces filled with disbelief.
"How could Sykes get trapped? As long as he activates his ability, what can't he destroy?" Roy's tone was exceptionally surprised.
"According to Yu Tianming, his ability was nullified by a blonde girl. Have you encountered that girl?"
Roy, Caleb, and Lucy looked at each other, having no impression of a blonde girl.
Only Percy's expression was slightly heavy. He asked, "Is it a girl with messy blonde hair, wearing a blue uniform?"
He had once observed this Demonic Domain from the outside and had personally seen a blonde girl emerge from it. He had never heard of anyone being able to enter and exit a Demonic Domain freely. At the time, just a distant glance at her gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
The black-haired, green-eyed youth nodded. "It's her. Her purpose is unclear, but she doesn't seem very friendly to those of us who broke in."
Percy asked again, "Besides Sykes, are the others who came in okay?"
"When we passed by that red forest, Roy was almost captured. It might have already devoured many people."
Hearing this, Ye Zheng realized that Percy's group truly was the protagonist team. They were quite lucky. Not only did they find each other quickly, but they also hadn't encountered those strange scenes or the most dangerous girl.
She was about to say something when another voice answered Percy's question.
"Besides Sykes, the first two academy squads that entered are likely all dead. The vast majority of living people within the Demonic Domain are here."
The spectacled youth's temperament was, as always, gentle with a hint of arrogance. Percy's sharp eyes noticed that Yu Tianming's glasses seemed slightly cracked, which made him look less arrogant than usual, giving him an appearance of being genuinely easy to talk to.
"You're finally here. Zhao Mei and I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Yu Tianming smiled at them warmly and kindly, his tone carrying a calm expectation that, to Percy's surprise, sent a shiver down his spine.
Based on his few interactions with Yu Tianming, this person, who seemed the most approachable among the upper district's noble children, was in fact so arrogant to the bone that he didn't even bother to hide it from them, people from the lower district. At a time like this, he would only give them orders from on high.
What happened today? Did the torment in this Demonic Domain change his personality?
Soon, Percy witnessed an even more horrifying scene. Yu Tianming stood beside Zhao Mei and asked seriously, "Zhao Mei, now that the people you were waiting for have arrived, when do we take action?"
Wait, what on earth happened while Zhao Mei was separated from them? If he remembered correctly, Zhao Mei hadn't even met the Royal Squad after joining their team. Did they know each other before? Were they so familiar that Yu Tianming's attitude towards him could be described as obedient?
The black-haired, green-eyed youth waved his hand. "Yu Tianming, go find a few reliable people from the Knight Order first. We don't need to bring too many."
"Percy, you guys come with me for a moment."
Yu Tianming immediately turned to carry out the order. The Cloud-Soaring Squad, their thoughts in a jumble, followed the youth to a secluded corner. The four young faces were dazed, completely out of the loop.
Even the most obtuse and carefree Lucy sensed something was wrong and couldn't help but ask, "Zhao Mei, do you know Yu Tianming? You really are a young master from the upper district, aren't you!"
The black-clad youth before them smiled humbly. "I'm not any young master from the upper district, I'm not lying to you about that."
"As for Yu Tianming, he only met me today. We exchanged ideas, and he was moved by me, realizing my ideas were more suitable for the current situation, so he decided to assist in our operation."
Roy recalled the man's usual demeanor and couldn't help but say, "He doesn't seem like the kind of person who can be moved just by exchanging ideas."
"Really? He's quite easy to beat... I mean, to move."
The youth quickly moved past the topic and got straight to the point. "We must now go deep into that red forest. Both Sykes and the Demonic Domain's core are inside. The sooner we act, the better. This Demonic Domain is growing very fast."
"After all, it's the Blood Flower from back then."
The youth's sigh fell softly, but Percy's back stiffened, his blue eyes trembling as he stared at the youth.
"You said—Blood Flower?"
The youth nodded and repeated the news Yu Tianming had told her to his teammates. Everyone showed expressions of extreme shock. No one could have imagined that the Blood Flower, which had once cast a huge shadow over the Empire and the lower district, would return.
Ye Zheng's gaze swept over briefly. Percy had his head turned, his expression unclear, only his tense jawline visible.
The Cloud-Soaring Squad remained silent for a while until Percy spoke in a hoarse voice, "Zhao Mei, you just said you already have a plan. Tell us."
"Ah, that plan."
Ye Zheng looked down, one hand balled into a fist against her chin, appearing thoughtful.
"It is to rely on the tacit friendship and powerful strength of our Cloud-Soaring Squad, charge into the red forest, be wary of the blonde girl, find Sykes, and destroy the Demonic Domain."
[No, I seriously thought you had come up with some brilliant strategy!]
The listening System couldn't help but raise its voice.
Ye Zheng responded in her mind, sounding perfectly matter-of-fact, "It's fine. As long as the Cloud-Soaring Squad shouts about the bonds of friendship and charges in, the creator will let them win anyway. The readers seem to like that sort of thing."
The squad members' mouths also fell open, not expecting Zhao Mei's idea to be so... simple!
The black-haired, green-eyed youth gave his companions a slightly helpless smile, which, upon closer inspection, held a hint of cunning.
She analyzed carefully, "We know too little about this Demonic Domain. We can only go deep inside to find the key to destroying the core. Finding Sykes will be very useful to us. After all, he's a powerhouse not seen in five hundred years."
"Also, compared to those man-eating branches, that blonde girl is more noteworthy. I've fought her. She can nullify abilities, but her power has limits. There's just too little information right now to accurately find her weakness."
Listening to the youth's analysis, Percy's frown slowly smoothed out. "Zhao Mei is right. For now, we can only engage in actual combat to get more useful information for a chance to destroy this... Blood Flower."
The others nodded in agreement. If Zhao Mei said this was the only way, then there probably were no other roundabout strategies. After all, the last time they didn't listen to Zhao Mei was just yesterday, and all of them except Lucy were still suffering from the effects of this Demonic Domain.
Moreover, even Yu Tianming was listening to him. Come to think of it, weren't all the people in this area now under Zhao Mei's command?
"As expected of Zhao Mei, so smart!"
Lucy jumped to the youth's side and bumped his shoulder with her head. "Just remember to stick close to us. You're always the one falling behind!"
Caleb scratched his head and asked curiously, "Zhao Mei, when do we take action?"
Listening to his teammates' enthusiastic discussion, Percy once again realized how... he couldn't find the right adjective for a moment... this quiet, always-smiling youth was. In a daze, the youth opposite him raised his green eyes and gave him a smiling nod.
Percy suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if in a trance, all the familiar voices and faces around him had left.
It was as if he had been abruptly pulled out, watching a lively and exciting play where the lead actor had suddenly changed, yet no one around him, except for himself, seemed to think anything was wrong.
This sudden feeling was even more intense than hearing the words "Blood Flower." His heart felt as if it were being repeatedly squeezed by a pair of hands, and a bitter taste even spread on his tongue. Something must be wrong, but what...
[Warning! Character foundation collapsing! Requesting character consciousness check... Correcting...]
Ye Zheng's eyelid twitched. The flashing red text appeared before her eyes again, just like when she had tried to cut her long hair.
But this time, her body felt no discomfort. Ye Zheng's gaze suddenly fell on the boy who was bent over. Percy's short black hair covered his face, and only his slightly trembling body was visible.
"Percy, are you feeling unwell?"
Everyone's concerned gazes suddenly shifted to their captain. After a good while, the black-haired, blue-eyed youth straightened up and gave his concerned friends a reassuring and steady smile, though he still looked a bit weak.
"I'm fine. I don't know why, I just suddenly felt a bit dizzy."
Ye Zheng, standing on the outermost edge, stared at the boy for a good while before retracting her gaze.
How interesting. The warning just now wasn't directed at me.
Percy looked helplessly at his teammates crowding around him. It was probably because he wasn't used to the environment here. He had been in a daze for a moment just now, his chest still ached faintly, and his body felt an unreal sense of weakness.
Suddenly, a hand supported his back. Percy turned his head and met a pair of concerned green eyes.
"Don't work yourself too hard. You have us for everything."
Listening to the youth's voice, the empty feeling in Percy's chest seemed to surge with a painful wave again.
He unconsciously touched his chest, feeling the warmth from the youth's hand on his back, and suppressed the strange wave. He stopped thinking about his earlier dazed thoughts and immediately felt much better.
Just as Zhao Mei said, don't put too much pressure on yourself. With Zhao Mei here, with everyone here, everything will be resolved.
"Thank you, Zhao Mei. I feel much better."
The black-haired, blue-eyed youth said sincerely.
"Saying thank you is too distant. We're already friends who support each other, aren't we?"
Zhao Mei winked at him with his jade-green eyes. They both laughed. Perhaps the youth's smile was as gentle and healing as his ability, and Percy soon forgot the weakness from just a moment ago.
Ye Zheng shifted her gaze, unknowingly retracting the hand that was supporting Percy. A faint, almost invisible thread of water connected to her fingertips.
Author's Note: Jinjiang, how could you lag until now...
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