Outside of Qin's temporary laboratory in Stettin Town.
Snow Hill.
Accompanied by a flash of white light, three figures turned from illusion to reality.
"We've arrived, it's indeed the scene of Flesh and Blood Plague: Origin Plane."
"Of course, after all, there's Evolutionary Source Blood as the anchor."
"This is an Origin Plane. It's a rare opportunity to enter an Origin Plane, we must loot thoroughly!"
The two standing in the back were very excited. One of them, a curvaceous woman in a white magic robe, spoke coquettishly to the leader:
"Boss Fish Intestines, what do you think? Should we complete the main storyline task first or catch that runaway little mouse?"
These three were clearly the Poison Thorn Squad, ordered to hunt down Bai Pu's team of Awakened!
"Don't be careless, the opponent entered this plane 48 hours before us, and might have already laid the groundwork."
The leading Awakened, "Fish Intestines," was short and thin, with a slightly hoarse voice: "This time, we might not be capturing a mouse. Perhaps the opponent is a Web Spider, already setting up a trap and waiting for us! Let's first see what the main storyline task is."
The woman in the white magic robe laughed: "The boss is cautious indeed. Actually, in the face of absolute strength, what use is that little relationship with the natives? In 48 hours, if he can build a good relationship with just one elite level native, that's already something..."
"The main storyline task has arrived!" said the first Awakened to speak, a stout man clad in Bronze Armor. As he carefully read the task prompt, his face gradually turned grim.
"We've been assigned directly to the Blood Ring Fortress camp, which isn't surprising. But how did the main task become... rescuing the Blood Ring Vanguard Army commander?"
The stout Awakened in Bronze Armor murmured, "It makes no sense, intelligence reports say the Flesh and Blood Plague: Origin Plane opened not long ago, and the Blood Ring Fortress has already conquered Denmark and Tsarist Russia, preparing to cross the Baltic Sea to advance on Brandon! The Blood Ring Vanguard Army commander should be equivalent to this scene's final boss, why do we need to rescue him right at the beginning?"
The three felt a sense of absurdity, which could be summed up by an ancient saying:
"We are ready to fight to the death, why does His Majesty surrender at the start?"
"Clearly, it's the Awakened who changed the course of world events!" the short man "Fish Intestines" asserted.
"But... but it's only been 48 hours, how is it possible..." The woman in the white magic robe was dumbstruck.
Only the Awakened understand how difficult it is to "change the course of world events"!
An influential native capable of deciding world events must be a powerful legend with significant authority; such a person would never change their strategic decisions on a no-name Awakened's suggestion, right?
An Awakened able to change the course of world events, often comes from a major power, with its forces deeply rooted in a given Plane World for many years, possessing significant native connections and influence, certainly not a newcomer like the experimental subject Bai Pu with no backup!
"What's done is done, let's not waste time." Fish Intestines said coldly, "The main storyline task shows that the difficulty of rescuing Blood Hand Columbus is A-, indicating the guardians are not strong. The native strongman who captured Columbus must have left."
"Okay, we still have hope." The woman in the white magic robe breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't celebrate too early, Spirit Realm Will, when evaluating the task difficulty, only calculates the strength and behavior patterns of the natives, not the interference of the Awakened! If that Bai Pu guy kills Blood Hand Columbus directly when we appear, our main storyline task will fail." Fish Intestines said.
"Impossible, if the native expert chose to capture Blood Hand Columbus alive, it means Columbus is important alive, not something an Awakened can kill easily." The woman in the white magic robe said.
"I believe Columbus's Endurance and Life Value are extremely high, even without the ability to resist, a Trial Taker wouldn't easily kill him." added the Bronze Armor man.
"This is our last chance." Fish Intestines agreed with their assessment, "Hanguang, Ju Que, this operation is crucial. We must stealthily approach and, when we strike, we must hit the target!"
The white magic robe woman "Hanguang" responded with a nod, waved her hand, and gentle light enveloped the three, their forms fading in a blur.
Stealthily, the three soon arrived outside Qin's laboratory window. Through the iron bars, they vaguely saw Blood Hand Columbus bound in chains.
Although he had lost an arm, and his knees were destroyed, they could still see faint movement in Blood Hand Columbus's chest, clearly alive but in a deep sleep.
The three breathed a sigh of relief.
Hanguang utilized Spiritual Power to sense the surroundings and quietly said to the team: "It's safe, no magic alarms detected."
"Visually, no traps." Fish Intestines scanned the area with hawk-like eyes and concluded.
Ju Que immediately pried open the iron window. The short-statured and agile team leader, Fish Intestines, flipped inside, while Ju Que and Hanguang supported from outside.
Fish Intestines stealthed up to Blood Hand Columbus' side, swinging the dagger repeatedly! Wherever it passed, the chains snapped, and Blood Hand Columbus was freed!
Blood Hand Columbus suddenly opened his eyes, the blood-red pupils still incredibly fierce.
"It's done!" Fish Intestines felt a great relief in his heart, and now even if the natives came, he wouldn't be afraid. Even though Columbus was half-crippled, his residual might still existed, combined with the combat power of the Poison Thorn Squad, who were they afraid of in this remote town?
He immediately stepped forward and said, "General Columbus! We're here to rescue you!"
"Hmm." Columbus grunted, just about to speak when his eyes suddenly widened!
Black blood continuously oozed from the corners of his mouth, Columbus' body froze for a long moment and fell backward facing the sky. At the moment of his death, he still stared angrily with eyes wide open, as if full of endless regret.
At the same time, within the Poison Thorn Squad, there were continuous exclamations, with all three receiving the Spirit Realm Will's prompt—
[Warning: Blood Hand Columbus is dead, 'Main Quest I: Rescue', failed!]
[You and your squad are about to be banished to the time-space turbulence. Countdown 60 seconds…]
Simultaneously, Fish Intestines felt that a tube full of blood-red liquid in the storage space was scorching hot, and the Spirit Realm Will's prompt came again:
[The Spirit Realm Wonder you carry: Evolutionary Source Blood has a guaranteed drop characteristic; in case of your death or main quest failure, it will automatically drop.]
"Impossible!" Fish Intestines' eyes widened, he suddenly flipped through the window and dashed out of the laboratory, his gaze scanning all the rooftops, roads, and vehicles throughout Stettin Town, but found no trace of a suspicious figure.
Beside him, Ju Que and Hanguang also rushed over, their expressions panicked!
"Boss Fish Intestines, what do we do?" Hanguang asked in a panic.
"Do you have any city return items?" Fish Intestines gritted his teeth and asked.
Hanguang's face turned pale: "I, I don't have…"
Ju Que, however, pulled out a sealed scroll: "I do, I exchanged for one last time… but it can only be used by one person, and it needs 10 seconds to prepare."
"I have a pardon order that exempts from main quest failure penalties, allowing instant return to the real world. But it's already bound to me." Fish Intestines said hoarsely, displaying a yellowed page of paper, with his name already signed on the pardon order.
Hanguang was stupefied, coming to her senses after a few seconds, she suddenly grasped Ju Que's hand: "Brother Shi! What do I do, I, I don't want to die… Wuwuwu, last time I exchanged for Vanishing Technique for the team, I didn't take the city return scroll…"
Fish Intestines and Ju Que remained motionless.
Hanguang cried out: "I want to go home… Brother Shi, I know you're the best person, please save me…"
Around them, the space-time turbulence began to twist faintly, closing in! The space available for movement was becoming ever smaller.
"Xiao Hui, don't cry. Don't be afraid, for you, I can give up everything!"
The thick-bodied Ju Que spoke as gently as a soft rain, while simultaneously handing the scroll to Hanguang.
Hanguang was both surprised and delighted, she took the scroll and immediately tore it open! She maintained a motionless posture, her body enveloped in a layer of soft white light, evidently entering the countdown time for returning home.
"Thank you, thank you Brother Shi! I… I'll always remember you!" Added with a sobbing tone, Hanguang's figure disappeared, returning to the real world.
Fish Intestines quietly watched this scene, not saying a word. Only after Hanguang left did he take a deep breath and said to Ju Que: "Don't worry, Old Shi, I'll definitely avenge you!"
"Take good care of Xiao Hui." Ju Que's thick and short fingers slightly trembled as he gripped Fish Intestines' arm.
"Don't worry." Fish Intestines broke away from Ju Que, raising the pardon order. The light flickered, and he disappeared! Leaving behind only a red test tube in place.
Both companions were gone, the countdown ended.
Ju Que let out a miserable scream, the space-time turbulence completely submerged him! His body was segmented into uneven pieces by the bizarre force of space-time, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
At the spot where Fish Intestines disappeared, a test tube containing ruby-colored liquid hovered silently.
The liquid inside the test tube seemed to have a self-awareness, burbling and bubbling away, constantly changing shapes, akin to boiling magma.
An excessively handsome young man walked over, reached out to scoop up the test tube, and held it in his hand. His palm was solid and powerful, as if gripping the entire world.