Chu Xuan was truly not a trustworthy companion... Not because of his abilities, mind you. Quite the opposite—it was precisely due to his overwhelming strength that made him even more untrustworthy.

Zheng Zha's current state of mind reflected exactly this sentiment. If Chu Xuan were standing before him right now, he would have punched him senseless. The man was just too infuriating, dragging him into danger once again.

(Though calling it "danger" might be misleading—this situation was more accurately described as eerie... It was simply despicable.)

Zheng Zha stared at the bizarre scenery with a strange expression. He currently found himself inside Zhao Yingkong's consciousness.

Yes, precisely within Zhao Yingkong's consciousness. While Zheng had been conversing with Qitengyi moments ago, he suddenly thought about awakening Zhao Yingkong, given her combat capabilities were indeed crucial to the team. So he immediately used the glasses Chu Xuan gave him on Zhao Yingkong and placed the metal patch against his own temple... only for everything to go black.

When he awoke, he was standing beside a little girl. But his presence felt like that of a ghost—invisible and intangible to others, just as unable to influence the surroundings himself. Like an observer trapped in this world. And worst of all, he'd been stuck here for three days already. While they say time dissolves in dreams and space loses meaning there, Zheng was terrified something similar applied dimensionally—if that were true, wasn't half of Zhongzhou Team already annihilated by the Yellow Turban Powerhouse?

Despite his worries, Zheng could only accept this fate. After all, he'd experienced this situation before. And even though he hadn't forgotten the horrors of Mangui Xing in last world's horror film—the experience still made his skin crawl—he felt certain now was another dream realm inside Zhao Yingkong's subconscious.

This dream realm took place on a desolate island. For these past three days, Zheng had merely watched this cute little girl who appeared to be around eleven or twelve years old with an expression as cold and detached as Chu Xuan himself. Little Yingkong was already quite pretty with a slightly androgynous appearance. But the way she carried herself—especially that subtly curving silhouette—could certainly qualify her as beautiful.

(From such young age, she's always been so cold. And of course, that cherubic yet mature figure...)

Zheng kept sighing. These three days had let him witness firsthand how this girl lived. Despite her icy demeanor, the rest about her was definitely admirable. On this barren island, she managed to survive with ease—finding food wasn't an issue at all. Snakes? Insects? Predatory beasts? Or simply diving into the sea to catch large fish? She handled everything effortlessly. As for water sources, she ascended the island's only high mountain and drank from the pure ice there... In fact, besides this snow-capped peak and its few tiny streams fed by melting snow, there was literally no other source of water on the entire island.

(But is this really Yingkong? When did her strength become so formidable?)

After three days of observation, Zheng finally confirmed a single fact—Zhao Yingkong's capabilities far exceeded his expectations. Though Zheng hadn't studied systematic combat techniques himself (having only unlocked his Gene Lock to fourth tier intermediate), he'd accumulated considerable battle experience through constant fights. Thus, after watching Zhao Yingkong for these three days, he could estimate her strength... very strong indeed—comparable already to what he possessed when first unlocking the fourth tier.

Considering Zhao Yingkong's age was at most eleven or twelve years old and she hadn't even entered the Cycle World yet, Zheng found it impossible to believe someone could achieve such physical prowess through mere earthly training. That is until the next day when watching her ascend that near-vertical mountain cliff—Zheng finally realized something: Zhao Yingkong must have already unlocked her Gene Lock second tier, and completely mastered its abilities.

Though Zheng couldn't fathom why Zhao Yingkong was so strong, he was almost certain this eleven-year-old version of her actually surpassed the strength she'd possessed when first meeting him. In other words... she must have undergone some traumatic incident or major life-changing event during childhood...

(I see now. She hadn't broken through psychological barriers in Mangui Street yet, hence why she remained asleep all that time. Chu Xuan's glasses probably let me enter her dream realm as an observer—but how can I influence anyone from just observing? This whole thing feels like a trap keeping me stuck here too... Damn it!)

Zheng could only helplessly watch this little girl. Though technically at the age of a young girl, Zhao Yingkong was undeniably beautiful. So Zheng simply treated his time here as appreciating fine scenery. Fortunately, due to her solitary existence in this dream world, there were often quite pleasant sights for him to enjoy—making the passage of time feel less unbearable.

On the fourth day's afternoon, Zheng finally met the other eleven children besides Zhao Yingkong. These kids ranged between thirteen and fifteen years old, both male and female. With Zhao Yingkong included they totaled eleven individuals who joyfully conversed while sharing various foods they'd gathered. Amazingly enough, these young people had managed to accumulate such abundant provisions even on this desolate island—evidencing their considerable wilderness survival skills. Moreover, through Zheng's discerning gaze, he noticed among the eleven besides Zhao Yingkong several other strong individuals who'd already unlocked Gene Lock tiers one or two.

What astonished Zheng most was spotting Zhao Zhukong within these children. The man now appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old but possessed nothing special in terms of strength—at least compared to Zhao Yingkong's fourth tier capabilities. Presently, Zhao Zhukong hadn't even unlocked his Gene Lock second tier, creating an extreme disparity between their abilities.

(That said, these young people are truly powerful. Excluding Zhao Yingkong herself, seven among them have already unlocked Gene Locks—Zhao Yingkong being the strongest while another girl at least possesses capabilities between second and fourth tiers... And the remaining five all hover around first or second tiers... Are these kids really not from the Cycle World? The Assassin Family training methods can't be that ridiculous either. Just through earthly training could they produce so many Gene Lock unlockers? Then why even bother with our Cycle Teams?)

As Zheng struggled to comprehend this mind-blowing revelation, he felt a deep sense of confusion. After all, unlocking the Gene Lock meant awakening dormant human evolution once more—an entire new evolutionary leap that elevated humans beyond ordinary biological limits. The strength of a Cycle Team was directly correlated with how many members had unlocked their Gene Locks in its entirety. Even though these teams constantly endured hellish horror scenarios through cycles, they still rarely produced so many unlockers. Yet here this Assassin Family's child team possessed seven individuals who'd already achieved such feats... It defied all logic.

While Zheng wrestled with his thoughts alone, Zhao Yingkong—who usually wore an icy demeanor when solitary—now displayed a soft smile across her face. Though her eyes still carried that unmistakable chill, the contrast between her radiant warmth and frozen gaze oddly mirrored her older self, Zhao Zhukong by about seventy percent.

"Yingkong! Isn't this great? I found out about oysters outside C Group's beach today. Zhao and I ambushed two of their members and learned about it from them. Heehee, shall we go collect some for dinner?" A cute eleven-year-old girl laughed cheerfully as she spoke to Zhao Yingkong. This was the second strongest child among these eleven besides Zhao Yingkong herself.

As Zhao Yingkong looked at her, those cold eyes softened into a warm expression. She affectionately ruffled the girl's hair and said: "Ruo Kong, don't just eat raw oysters recklessly—they're most likely to cause stomach issues in this isolated island environment. The chance of death would be over seventy percent if you got sick..."

The girl named Zhao Ruo Kong giggled as she pushed away Zhao Yingkong's hand from her hair and continued: "Ara ara, I've already followed you into that state too. What do diseases matter to me now? Just modify it a little..."

Zhao Yingkong gently covered her sister's mouth before sighing: "Fine fine, we'll go get those oysters tomorrow if you want... Is that enough?"

Ruo Kong immediately cheered up and hugged Zhao Yingkong while planting a kiss on her cheek. Compared to Zhao Yingkong's matured demeanor, this younger girl truly acted like an actual child while the older sister merely doted on her like a big sister would a little sibling.

After all the youth had finished their meal and chatted for quite some time until deep nightfall when each one gradually fell asleep... About an hour later, Zhao Yingkong suddenly rose from bed and began silently walking toward the jungle depths alone.

"Zhukong, don't worry—your sister is already asleep." Zhao Yingkong reached the edge of the jungle where she addressed a faint shadow in darkness: "We can discuss business now. How did that investigation go you promised me last time... Can our Gene Lock status be suppressed? If this continues... I fear I'll no longer be able to contain my fourth tier awakening state much longer. Your sister's situation is even more dangerous than mine... Tell me, how has your inquiry into the higher-ups progressed?"