<h4>Chapter 260: Chapter 260: The First Coboration between the Old System and the Old Host</h4>


    Watching those inside, fleeing in despair, with one leg firmly seized by the Insect n—a limb they would willingly sever just to survive.


    Xiao Jinsheng quickly operated the controls, granting this batch of people on Cloud Ind another chance to bind to the Intelligent Brain.


    This time, the glowing orb of the Intelligent Brain appeared.


    The survivors, gripped by despair, did not hesitate and hastily bound their terminals for teleportation.


    "Teleport them to a separate area," Xiao Jinsheng reminded the Star Map.


    [Understood], the Star Map responded.


    It simultaneously relocated this batch of humans, thest group to enter the Mist Base, to an area ten kilometers away from others.


    During this monitoring period, Xiao Jinsheng had learned the terminal was only feeding on the Insect n and had been otherwise inactive.


    But today, the surveince of Cloud Ind was suddenly cut off.


    When checked again, Cloud Ind’s defenses had already been breached.


    The terminal’s figure was nowhere to be found.


    Xiao Jinsheng could not bear to see so many of her kind die tragically at the hands of the Insect n.


    Yet she also dared not take these survivors in lightly.


    After all, she had already offered them a choice at the very beginning.


    Except for those females who were originally on Cloud Ind and whom she could not issue Intelligent Brain bindings to,


    the rest of them, whether Beastmen or females, on both Mist East and West, she had offered bindings through the Intelligent Brain.


    But, between the terminal and the world’s awareness, these people chose to ce their trust in the terminal.


    She needed to save them.


    But she also had to eliminate the hidden dangers.


    For the survivors teleported from Cloud Ind this time, Xiao Jinsheng instructed the Star Map to monitor them closely.


    "The terminal has disappeared," Xiao Jinsheng informed the others in a solemn tone.


    She had searched the vicinity of Cloud Ind and every location on the Mist Continent that she could ess.


    And still, the terminal was nowhere to be found.


    "Can you predict it?" Xiao Jinsheng asked Huaiqing.


    Huaiqing shook his head.


    Since hisst prophecy—the one where he foresaw all of them dying—he had seen nothing new.


    "Could it have realized that I’ve been monitoring it these days, so it’s nning to grow stronger and confront me?" Xiao Jinsheng said with frustration. "Maybe it escaped the moment it found a chance."


    "Since your surveince of Cloud Ind was blocked for a few minutes, and when the block lifted, the defenses there were already breached," Que Zelian mused, "if the terminalst came into contact with anyone, it must have been with that group from Cloud Ind."


    "Exactly." Xuan Jiu nodded. "We should question the people who came from Cloud Ind about what happened during that time."


    "We can even use Mind Reading," Xiao Jinsheng agreed with a nod.


    "But you can’t rely entirely on Mind Reading," Li reminded her. "If your memory can be tampered with by the Insect Brain, there’s no guarantee their memories haven’t been manipted by the terminal."


    The terminal was cunning and malicious, its thought patterns even deviating from those of ordinary minds.


    Dealing with it required utmost caution.


    "Then we’ll infiltrate to investigate," Shi Xie suggested.


    "Pretend to be one of the people from Cloud Ind?" Chen Yunji asked.


    At those words, everyone’s gazended squarely on him.


    Chen Yunji, feeling ufortable, frowned ever so slightly. "Why are you all looking at me?"


    "You don’t seem the part," Su Ye raised an eyebrow. "I always thought you were an honest dragon."


    "There’s a lot you don’t know," Mo Jiao sneered coldly. "Honest? This is the same guy who once said he’d be willing to stoop low."


    "Indeed," Yu Yunxiao affirmed with a nod.


    He recalled regaining control over his body and Xiao Jinsheng discussing with him the candidate Lou Yan Zhi had suggested to deal with the terminal.


    Among the nine Beast Husbands, not a single one was suitable to step forward.


    Anyone who did would just be offering their life.


    But Ying, whose unique status set him apart from the Beast Husbands, might be a good fit.


    "If you’re going to meet those from Cloud Ind, I’ll bring Ying with you," Yu Yunxiao proposed.


    The terminal’s underhanded tricks were numerous.


    He feared it hadid traps within the people from Cloud Ind.


    "Look at yourselves." Lou Yan Zhi, who had recently arrived and heard their entire conversation, chuckled. "You haven’t even encountered the terminal and you’re already scaring yourselves."


    "If the terminal doesn’t devour you, who else would it target?"


    "None of you are suitable. Why not let me and Xiao Jinsheng meet those from Cloud Ind?" Lou Yan Zhi leaned against his sword hilt and added, "Consider it free of charge."


    "You could charge them," Xuan Jiu reminded him.


    He knew well that the most expensive things were often those offered for free.


    "If you’re willing to pay, be my guest," Lou Yan Zhi said nonchntly, raising his hand.


    "Broke as hell but still acting like a big shot," Caicai quipped as he passed by.


    "And why am I broke, exactly?" Lou Yan Zhi countered with a cold smile.


    Caicai fell silent instantly.


    The final n was for Xiao Jinsheng to disguise herself as a human fleeing from Mist East, teleported by the terminal first to Cloud Ind,


    then, after Cloud Ind’s defenses fell, bound to the Intelligent Brain during her second escape, arriving at the Mist Base as a survivor.


    As for who would join her, Li and Shi Xie were immediately ruled out—they didn’t look like fleeing refugees.


    Xuan Jiu and Chen Yunji, also rejected—the terminal knew their faces.


    Su Ye and Mo Jiao? Out—there’d only be fights.


    Que Zelian and Huaiqing were tasked to stay behind and guard the Mist Base.


    It was finally decided that Yu Yunxiao would join Xiao Jinsheng and blend in among the Cloud Ind survivors.


    To be extra cautious, Yu Yunxiao directly swapped himself out for Ying.


    Xiao Jinsheng also concealed her and Ying’s Superpower Levels, both capped at Five Stars.


    Aside from Xiao Jinsheng and Ying, Lou Yan Zhi would also apany them.


    However, Lou Yan Zhi had his own identity arrangement and wouldn’t act as one of their group.


    Caicai, transformed into a fly, perched on Lou Yan Zhi’s shoulder.


    It was the first instance of the old host and old system working together post-unbinding.


    d in tattered clothes, Xiao Jinsheng and a dirt-streaked Ying arrived together at the teleportation array, arriving at Courtyard Ny-Seven within the Mist Base.


    The Mist Base had been renamed from Demon Territory.


    The Demon Territory always spanned a vast area and had no proper name, as the Demons didn’t bother with naming it properly.


    The Demon’s method of naming was straightforward—they just numbered the sections.


    Upon their arrival at Courtyard Ny-Seven, they immediately noticed that the people teleported from Cloud Ind showed no relief at surviving.


    One after another, they copsed just outside the teleportation array, their hollow eyes staring nkly at one spot.


    All around, the only sounds to be heard were hoarse, repressed sobs.


    Even through Mind Reading, all Xiao Jinsheng could discern were thoughts filled with despair.


    Unlike the survivors who initially bound to the Intelligent Brain upon entering the Mist Base,


    these were people who had faced despair, then hope, only to be plunged back into despair once more.


    The wrong choice had cost them many loved ones.


    Yet, from another perspective,


    at least to them, their choice had not been wrong.


    What turned their apparently correct choice into a mistake was the betrayal of the one who had sabotaged the terminal.


    "If it weren’t for the betrayer stealing energy from the terminal, the terminal wouldn’t have died, Cloud Ind’s defenses wouldn’t have fallen, and he... they wouldn’t have died either!" someone burst out angrily from the crowd.


    Immediately, those around him dragged him down. "Don’t talk nonsense—be mindful of where you are!"


    The anger-filled man, ready to vent further, was jolted by the warning.


    Yes, the terminal had left them with one final warning before it dissipated.


    It was because of the terminal’s willingness to endure humiliation and cooperate with the betrayer that they had been given a ce of refuge.


    And this shelter came only after so many of their kind had died at the hands of the Insect n.


    Realizing they were now standing inside a base established by the betrayer, whatever rage they initially felt was temporarily suppressed.