When Xu Xin and his companions returned to the center of Crystal City, the army of mutant creatures surrounding Crystal City had completely retreated.
All the survivors who transplanted the tree houses to Crystal City gathered around the World Tree.
Wen Guixin had not returned yet, but everyone else was there. Xu Xin told all the explorers what had just happened.
"Haha, then it seems that we don't need to worry about the beast invasion at all, right?" Wang Lei said happily, "This city is simply invincible!"
"Yes, I just saw those affected mutant creatures. They were so docile that I thought they were domesticated animals!" Zhao Xiaochuan also sighed, "There's almost nothing to worry about, right? Logically speaking, there are no creatures in this world that have not been affected by the bloodline of the giant beasts."
"So... we are completely safe?" Qin Yunlong asked, looking towards the outside of the city.
"No, we can't let our guard down." Ji Chaoyang frowned, "Don't forget, this time the beast tide... doesn't have any flying animals."
Xu Xin has actually been worried about this.
Just now when he was around Crystal City, he was able to observe the surrounding sky. Fortunately, there were no animals in the sky.
"As for flying creatures..." Xu Xin pondered, "I wonder if they will be affected by the Crystal City. I mean, if they fly high in the sky and attack this World Tree..."
Xu Xin pointed at the huge but still young World Trees above his head and said, "Will they still be affected by the Crystal City? In other words, how high in the sky can the Crystal City affect?"
Ji Chaoyang nodded and said, "That's what I've been thinking about as well. Xu Xin, maybe you can let your bat try it out. It should be able to fly higher, right?"
"Are you talking about Ah Fu?" Xu Xin's eyes lit up slightly.
Mutated creatures such as Mimi, Silver King, and Afu, who were originally in the same lineup as him, were not obviously affected by the mutant creatures in the beast tide who fell into a coma and then directly turned against him.
But it is impossible to say that there is no effect at all. They are obviously much more excited in Crystal City than outside Crystal City, especially Mimi.
Now Mimi has basically lost all interest in the world on the ground, so when it is in the tree house, it basically looks listless, lying lazily on the ground and not wanting to move.
But since it came to Crystal City, its state has become obviously excited.
The same is true for Ah Fu, Silver King, and the three pangolins.
The two little pangolins even rolled around on the ground as soon as they entered the Crystal City.
Letting Ah Fu give it a try is the best choice.
At this time, Qi Xuefei suddenly said, "We don't seem to have seen many mutant creatures flying in the air, right? In the previous beast tide, we didn't even see a single mutant flying creature."
"That's true." Qin Yunlong agreed, "Before you mentioned the flying mutant creatures, to be honest, I hadn't thought about this aspect."
Qin Yunhu, who was standing next to him, also nodded.
"Maybe there aren't any flying mutants at all, or maybe it's just more difficult to mutate flying creatures?"
"You really haven't seen it much, but we have seen quite a few." At this time, Wen Guixin's voice sounded from not far away.
Several people turned their heads to look in the direction where the sound came from, and just in time saw Wen Guixin rolling off the mutant creature that had been infected.
Then the mutant creature fell to the ground immediately, as if it had exhausted all its strength, and turned into dry bones within a few seconds.
However, the expressions of the people around him did not change at all, as they were already used to it.
"Those of us who have been to the underground world have seen many flying mutant creatures." Wen Guixin walked over and pointed to the ground. "The entire underground world is full of flying mutant creatures."
"Ah... I remember now. You did mention before that there are a lot of flying bugs in the underground world." Qi Xuefei said with her eyes slightly opened.
"What's going on outside the city?" Xu Xin looked at Wen Guixin and asked.
"Well... those mutant creatures ran too fast, I couldn't catch up with them." Wen Guixin shrugged, "We went around and came back."
Xu Xin nodded.
Just as he expected.
"...Rather than being blood-marked mutants, they are more like pure giant beasts, right?"
As someone who had been chased by those things all the way, Lou Feier was deeply impressed by those giant beasts and insects. She immediately said, "The insects alone are bigger than the mutant creatures on the ground, not to mention the giant birds flying hundreds of meters in the sky. The alien invaders should not be able to control those creatures."
"Yes, but there are still controllable flying mutants."
Xu Xin thought of the group of mutated white-headed sea cucumbers he encountered when climbing the snow-capped mountains before.
The blood patterns on the bodies of those white-headed sea creatures are very conspicuous, and it is obvious that they are creatures that can be controlled.
"So, flying mutants may be rare, but they still exist."
"Is that so..." Everyone around fell into deep thought.
Lou Feier tugged at Xu Xin's arm and whispered, "That pterosaur statue is also considered a flying mutant creature, right?"
Pterosaur stone statue...
really.
Almost forgot about the stone creatures.
Will the stone creatures created by the Hand of Changyin be affected by this crystal city
Everyone discussed it for a while but couldn't come to any conclusion.
"Okay, okay, let's stop here for today." Wen Guixin sniffed herself and showed a look of disgust. "Those mutants just retreated. We should be able to have some peace for a while. I want to go back and take a shower... Ah! There's no water in the tree house!"
Their tree houses were all planted next to the World Tree. Although the lake was not far away, their tree houses could no longer use water at will without water being diverted here.
"This is really annoying..." Wang Lei said helplessly, "Should I stop living in the tree house these days and go live in the crystal house by the lake? Maybe living in the crystal house will have some special effects..."
"Xu Xin, is there any news from Wen Xi?" Qi Xuefei looked at Xu Xin and asked.
"Ah, over there..."
Xu Xin told everyone what he had just learned about Li Wenxi's situation.
Of course, he did not reveal Li Wenxi's speculation about the human branch gathering place.
If this is true, then this information is what Yingying wanted to hide from them, which means that this is not information that can be publicized. According to Yingying's intention at the time, if Xu Xin and others knew the truth, it would very likely bring disaster to them.
So he kept silent about it.
No one could come to a conclusion about Li Wenxi's current situation.
"Forget it, as long as we can make sure Wen Xi is safe." Wen Guixin waved her hand and said, "Maybe Wen Xi is more comfortable than us now."
"Your sister..." Ji Chaoyang frowned slightly, as if thinking about something.
"Alas, as long as Sister Wen Xi doesn't come back, we won't have the confidence." Zhao Xiaochuan said sadly, "I'm a little afraid to use the explosive crossbow now. I always feel like one less is needed."
Wen Xi’s role in the team is indeed very important.
"Xu Xin, if you want to look for Wen Xi, you can go anytime. Just leave this place to us for protection." Wen Guixin patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, I'm here."
If you look for her...
Could it be possible to use the teleportation array to teleport back to the underground world
That's possible.
"I'll wait until the World Tree has fully grown before I go find Wen Xi."
Xu Xin already had a direction, so he was not in a hurry. The most urgent task now was to stabilize their residence first.
"Okay." Wen Guixin nodded, then sniffed herself again, "Oh, I can't stand it, this smell is too bad, I'm going to go wash it first."
After Wen Guixin left, the other survivors also left one after another, either returning to their own tree houses or going to other survivors to discuss the next steps.
Only Xu Xin, Ji Chaoyang and Lou Feier stayed.
"Xu Xin, your sister you just mentioned knows your abilities and the function of Crystal City?" Ji Chaoyang asked Xu Xin thoughtfully.
"Hmm... That's right." Xu Xin nodded. "I'm also very curious about this. But if she is really one of the first survivors, it's normal for her to know something we don't know."
"… Perhaps, there is another possibility." Ji Chaoyang looked at Xu Xin and said in a deep voice, "Did you really not think of it?"
Xu Xin was silent.
Indeed, there is another possibility.
A possibility that can explain all the changes in Xu Ying.
But that possibility is a bit too far-fetched...
Could that really be the case
"What possibilities are you talking about?" Lou Fei'er, who also did not leave, was a little surprised. "What do you mean? Isn't Xu Xin's sister one of the previous survivors? Could she be one of the later survivors?"
…
"Hey, sister-in-law, you said that I am actually older than my brother, so should I still call him brother? Should I call him younger brother? And then call him sister-in-law? I am older than him, and if I call him brother, wouldn't it be very embarrassing for me?"
In the bustling city, two girls were walking slowly on the street.
Li Wenxi was amazed by the strange vehicles passing by.
Both she and Xu Ying wore masks and sunglasses to cover their faces.
Xu Ying's appearance is known to everyone in this city. If others see it, it will probably cause a huge sensation.
In order to avoid trouble in the future, Li Wenxi didn't really want people here to see her face, so she covered her face.
Many people passed by the two girls on the roadside and looked at them a few more times.
Even though the two girls covered most of their faces, they still exuded amazing charm and attraction.
At this time, Xu Ying was taking Li Wenxi to familiarize herself with the city.
"Ah? Oh, right... You are from the last batch of survivors, so if you are twelve years old... then you are indeed older than Xu Xin." Li Wenxi was somewhat amused by this. "Indeed, so you are already Xu Xin's sister? Xu Xin probably doesn't know this yet? But you look similar to me, so those who don't know may think that you are only about twenty years old."
"Hehe, huh?" Xu Ying smiled proudly.
"Well, how about we just call each other by our first names from now on? Don't call me sister-in-law anymore. It always feels weird..."
"Hmm... Wenxi?" Xu Ying called out tentatively, then shook her head violently and waved her hands, "Forget it, forget it. I'm not used to it. I'll just call you sister-in-law. You should call me Yingying like my brother does."
"Not used to it?" Li Wenxi couldn't help but curl her lips and said with a smile, "We've only known each other for a day, are you used to calling me sister-in-law?"
The streets of this city are too similar to the previous Earth, which makes Li Wenxi feel a lot more relaxed.
"One day? How can it be just one day..." Xu Ying said, "I have called you sister-in-law for more than three hundred years. How can I change it so easily..."
"What? You spoke so quietly, I didn't hear you."
"Ah, nothing!" Xu Ying immediately changed the subject and pointed to the double statue about a kilometer away from them. "We will be under the statue soon. When we get there, I will tell you the story of this statue!"
"Great! This statue of Xu Xin is quite handsome!"
"I'm pretty, too! Okay, sister-in-law, since you can't come up in the near future, I'll take you to have a good look around here during this time, and when brother comes down, you can show him around too!"
"This place is too big. I don't have the ability to lead the way. You should come when the time comes."
"Hmm... I may not have a chance..." Xu Ying murmured softly.
"Hmm? What?"
"I'm telling you, I don't want to be a light bulb between you two. I'll run as far away as I can when the time comes!"
…
Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang looked at each other, and both saw the understanding in each other's eyes.
It was obvious that the two of them thought of the same possibility.
"…Will it be like that?" Xu Xin whispered to himself.
"It's not impossible." Ji Chaoyang glanced at the Crystal Palace and said, "In the image you saw in that palace, you only saw yourself disappear, but you didn't see your sister disappear, right?"
Xu Xin nodded slowly.
“… That’s true.”
"She knows the function of Crystal City, and she also knows your abilities. She can even... control your abilities. If she is a survivor from the previous session, then she knows too much. But... if she is one of the initiators of all this, then it can be explained."
Ji Chaoyang's words made Lou Feier's eyes slowly widen.
"Wait, wait, wait, what you mean is..." Lou Feier opened her mouth in surprise.
"The Xu Ying who took Wen Xi away is actually the Xu Ying in the video... who has lived for hundreds of years?!"
"… That's possible." Xu Xin finally had to nod.
Although he felt that this was a bit too unbelievable, after all, his sister was hundreds of years older than him...
But if we want to explain what is happening now, this conjecture may be the most reasonable.
The Xu Ying in that image was one of the builders of the Crystal City. If the Xu Ying who just talked to him was her, then she would certainly know the function of the Crystal City.
Xu Xin's abilities were given by the biological chip in his mind, and as a core member of that group of people at the time, she might also be one of the manufacturers of the chip. Even if not, she must be aware of his abilities.
Perhaps because of this, she was directly identified as a friendly unit by his ability, identified as a green light spot.
It was also because she was familiar with this chip that she could easily influence Xu Xin's abilities and suddenly hide her own position on the map, causing the green light spots on the map to suddenly disappear.
… If she was really that Xu Ying, then all of this could actually be easily explained.