At the same time, in a branch cave that is parallel to the main passage but deeper and more tortuous.

Amethyst and Kevin walked side by side, their footsteps soundless. The searchlight in Amethyst's hand steadily sliced through the darkness ahead, while Kevin was as silent as an ice sculpture, but his icy blue eyes scanned every corner sharply.

Mebius followed a little further behind the two of them, with a hint of impatience in her snake-like eyes. She was playing with a miniature analyzer in her hand, as if testing the composition of the air.

"No abnormal Houkai energy fluctuations, the composition of the environmental microbial community... Hmm? Interesting..."

Mebius murmured to herself, it was obvious that some characteristics of this strange cave aroused her research interest.

Suddenly, the passage ahead turned sharply to the right. Just as the three of them were about to turn the corner—

"Um?!"

Amethyst and Kevin, who were walking in front, stopped almost at the same time and swung the searchlight beams behind them.

Behind them, Dr. Mebius was being tightly entangled by several thick, pink "things" covered with tiny suction cups and mucus... in an extremely indecent, even funny posture!

The creatures looked like magnified sea anemone tentacles, yet they also had the strange texture of a rubber toy. Like giant, flexible pythons, one snake wrapped around Mebius's waist, another bound her legs, and another attempted to wrap around her arm holding the analyzer!

Mebius's delicate face, always adorned with a playful or sarcastic expression, was now filled with astonishment and incredulous anger! Her serpentine pupils dilated slightly in shock, and her lips pursed tightly, clearly stunned by this sudden attack.

She struggled hard, but the pink tentacles were incredibly strong and slippery, making it difficult for her to break free for a while, and she almost dropped the analyzer in her hand.

"What are you doing standing still?!"

Mebius finally reacted and growled towards Amethyst and Kevin. His voice was distorted due to being strangled, and he growled with unprecedented shame and anger, "Get this disgusting thing away from me!"

Amethyst and Kevin exchanged glances, instantly reaching a tacit understanding. Amethyst's gaze sharpened, invisible energy waves gathering at her fingertips, ready to forcibly sever the tentacles. A chill condensed around Kevin, and a thin layer of frost instantly formed on the ground beneath his feet, clearly intending to freeze his target.

However, just as the two were about to attack——

hum!

Without warning, several pink, translucent, crystal-clear barriers suddenly popped up from the rock walls on both sides of the passage and above! These barriers precisely stuck between Amethyst, Kevin, and Mebius, forming an insurmountable obstacle that completely separated them!

"Ok?"

Zijing's brows twitched as the energy at his fingertips was forcibly blocked and dissipated by the barrier. He tentatively touched the barrier with his hand, and it felt hard and cold, definitely not an illusion.

Kevin silently punched the barrier, but couldn't break it for the time being. Just as he was thinking about using more force, Zijing patted his shoulder. He turned around and saw the other person's slightly strange expression.

"damn it!"

Seeing that his rescue was blocked, Mebius struggled even harder, and a faint green light began to appear on his body. It was obvious that he was ready to use his own means to protect himself.

But at the moment when her energy just lit up——

call out!

An extremely tiny, almost imperceptible silver light shot down from the shadow at the top of the tunnel like a poisonous bee! It accurately hit the exposed back of Mebius' neck!

"Uh!"

Mebius's body suddenly stiffened, the green light emanating from her body instantly dissipating like a snuffed candle. The shock and anger in her eyes were instantly replaced by disbelief and weakness. Her strength seemed to be drained away in an instant, and even her struggles became limp and powerless. She tried to speak, but only a faint sound came out.

"It's a syringe."

Kevin's icy blue eyes locked onto the tiny device that instantly retracted the shadows, and he completely guessed who was behind it. "Vilvi." After a moment, he added, "And Alicia..."

Amethyst watched as Mebius instantly lost his ability to resist and was easily "packed" and dragged to a darker corner deep in the passage by those pink tentacles. The last look she gave him was filled with raging rage and silent threats of being plotted against, and then her figure was swallowed up by the darkness.

Zijing rubbed his brows, a look of resignation and "as expected" on his face. He nodded, agreeing with Kevin's assessment, "Hmm." His tone was filled with a sense of abandonment. Rescue Mebius? Rushing in now would likely run into more of Alicia's elaborate "surprises," and with Velvet, a troublemaker, he wisely chose to hold off for now.

He silently noted the direction in which Mebius was dragged away, and at the same time, in his heart, he lit a candle in advance for the upcoming "revenge" by Dr. Mebius.

Kevin silently retracted his coldness and looked at the pink crystal barriers that were still standing. A hint of... speechlessness seemed to pass across his eyes.

……

The golden glow of the setting sun cast a shadow over the gradually quieting beach. A bonfire had been lit, its orange flames dancing, illuminating the excited faces of the surrounding students and the laid-out food and drinks. Most people gathered around the bonfire, awaiting the return of the expedition team and the start of a night of revelry.

Chuxia sat alone on a distant reef, her bare feet immersed in the cool water, her black ponytails rustling in the sea breeze. She didn't look toward the lively bonfire, but simply gazed quietly at the horizon, dyed golden red by the setting sun. Her small figure seemed a little alienated against the vast seascape.

Just then, a girl with a playful high ponytail and a vibrant pink hair color ran up to Chuxia. She had similar features to Ying, but her temperament was more lively and whimsical. She was Ying's younger sister, Ling.

"Hey! Your name is Chuxia, right?"

Ling's voice was clear and pleasant, with a familiar enthusiasm. She bent down and got close to Chuxia's face, "I've been looking for you for a long time! Come quickly, Teacher Jizi is calling you!"

Chuxia tilted her head slightly, and her obsidian eyes looked up and down at Ling who suddenly appeared. There was a hint of confusion and doubt on her face, as if she was disturbed, and she did not respond immediately.

"Stop being in a daze!"

Ling pulled Chuxia's wrist without explanation, and with considerable force, "Teacher Jizi and the others have found the missing person and are waiting over there. I don't know what else they need, but it looks like they're in a hurry."

While she was talking nonsense, she had already pulled Chuxia up from the reef and dragged her towards the reef area.

Chu Xia seemed a little slow to react, stumbling a few steps as she was passively pulled along. She glanced back at the bonfire, where the noise was bustling and no one seemed to notice what was happening.

Chuxia looked at the black reef that was getting closer and closer, thought for a moment, and finally stopped struggling or asking. She let Ling pull her. The two small figures quickly disappeared in the shadows cast by the huge reefs, and ran towards the deep and unknown entrance of the cave.