Twenty minutes passed, and the sky grew brighter, allowing a clear view of distant objects. 

Fu Tianhe finally finished his task. He stood up, brushed the dirt off his pants, stretched his arms wide, and let out a big yawn. Breathing in the moist morning air, he patted his cheeks to wake himself up. They still didn’t know where the camp of the matchstick was, so they needed to set off early to find it.

Fu Tianhe crawled into the tent, ready to wake the two of them up. 

Chen Ci had slept quite soundly during the night, his hands neatly tucked inside his sleeping bag. The matchstick was leaning in the corner, and there was a considerable distance between the two of them. The boy’s fine hair barely brushed his eyebrows, and his thick eyelashes cast small shadows on his face. He had curled up deep inside the sleeping bag, with half of his face hidden, making him look even more peaceful.

Chen Ci had put on earplugs again. Had he worn them during the first two nights of camping? It didn’t seem like it. Was he worried that the matchstick would snore? Girls usually don’t, right? 

Fu Tianhe himself sometimes snored lightly when he was really tired. At first, he was worried it would disturb Chen Ci, but judging by the past two days, he had done well.

Fu Tianhe squatted down in the space between Chen Ci and the matchstick, quietly watching Chen Ci’s sleeping face. When the light finally filtered through the tent, he noticed Chen Ci slightly furrowed his brows. 

Jiu Yue seemed disturbed by the light, letting out a dissatisfied sound like a child, and curled up even more. He was still in a light sleep but instinctively reached out for the eye mask placed beside him. 

Fu Tianhe acted quickly, placing his palm gently over Chen Ci’s eyes to block the light. 

The hand searching for the eye mask stopped midway. 

Chen Ci’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and his breathing became steady again, sliding into a deeper sleep in the darkness created by Fu Tianhe’s hand. 

It took Fu Tianhe two minutes to remember that he was supposed to wake Chen Ci up. 

Gathering his resolve, Fu Tianhe removed his hand and gently pushed Chen Ci’s shoulder through the sleeping bag. 

“Jiu Yue?” 

“Hmm?” Chen Ci mumbled, turning over as if trying to escape. When Fu Tianhe shook him again, he finally opened his bleary eyes. 

“It’s bright out.” Fu Tianhe said softly, “We should get going.” 

Chen Ci was a bit more awake now. He raised a hand to shield his forehead, squinting as he slowly adjusted to the morning light. 

Fu Tianhe was squatting beside him, his gaze gentle as he looked down at him. The soft light cast a hazy glow around him, and in his left black eye, there seemed to be something Chen Ci couldn’t quite understand. 

Chen Ci wasn’t fully awake, but they needed to get up early to travel. 

With a strong will, Chen Ci sat up. His black hair was messy, with a few strands sticking up stubbornly. He looked dazed, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, the collar sliding down to his shoulder, exposing one side of his collarbone. 

After a night’s sleep, his lips felt a bit dry. Fu Tianhe timely handed him a cup of water, and after taking a couple of sips, Chen Ci felt much more awake. 

“I need to use the bathroom.” Chen Ci said, using both hands and feet to crawl out of the tent. He sat at the entrance to put on his shoes and then buttoned up his shirt. 

Anyone who saw him like this wouldn’t connect him to the sharp and fierce boy from the night before. 

Fu Tianhe watched as Chen Ci put on his shoes and stood up, walking off into the distance, his footsteps gradually fading away. 

He took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming softness that was spreading in his heart. 

Fu Tianhe turned around and gently tapped the matchstick’s shoulder, urging her to wake up too. 

By the time Chen Ci returned, his morning grumpiness had vanished. 

The boy had returned to his calm and composed self. If Fu Tianhe hadn’t personally woken Chen Ci up, he would have thought that what he saw earlier was just a figment of his imagination. 

The three of them had a simple breakfast and worked together to pack up the tent before heading out to help the matchstick find her camp. 

Fu Tianhe was still thinking about that squid, which happened to align with the direction the matchstick had mentioned, so they headed to the scene first. 

Compared to when they left, the squid had moved a dozen meters toward the coast. Its massive body lay on the damp shallows, but it still hadn’t reached the water’s surface. 

It was just past the full moon night, and the first early tide of Cinnabar had occurred at one in the morning, just when they heard the sound and rescued the matchstick. 

Now, over four hours had passed, and the tide was about to start receding, leaving many small creatures stranded on the beach. 

The squid was still alive; the violent blow from the crowbar hadn’t completely taken its life. 

In those four hours, it had been moving its ten arms, trying to return to the sea, the best place for it to rest and recuperate. 

However, Fu Tianhe had pierced through its digestive tract and liver, and had punctured its ink sac. Even though cephalopods are known for their strong vitality, it couldn’t help but move sluggishly. 

The squid’s attempts to retreat into the sea looked to Fu Tianhe like a piece of equipment trying to escape. 

He hurriedly approached with the crowbar, aiming at the exposed parts of the creature, and stabbed down hard. 

Blue blood sprayed out. 

The squid writhed in pain but could no longer launch any effective attacks against its assailant. 

The matchstick cowered in fear, only daring to watch from a distance. 

It had been too dark yesterday for her to see the true form of the creature that attacked her. Now, seeing it clearly, she was almost trembling with fear. 

If it weren’t for… if it weren’t for these two kind-hearted people camping nearby, who just happened to hear her cries for help, if they hadn’t resolutely reached out to help, she would have already rotted away in the squid’s digestive tract. 

Fu Tianhe first aimed at the base of two long arms, stabbing a few times to ensure the squid wouldn’t wrap around anything randomly. 

He walked around the massive creature and saw the bullet holes in its eyes. 

The bullet had accurately hit the squid’s eye, damaging the olfactory trap below, rendering both its vision and sense of smell useless. 

Following the straight trajectory of the bullet, another hole appeared on the opposite side of its head, which had long since stopped bleeding. 

Fu Tianhe turned back in surprise to look at Chen Ci. He knew that Jiu Yue had hit the squid yesterday, but he hadn’t expected it to have blown out its eye. 

To hit a small moving target from fifteen meters away in the dark with a handgun was harder than winning the lottery. 

Or rather, it was practically impossible, considering there was no visibility! 

Chen Ci’s expression was calm, as if he didn’t find anything strange at all. 

This made Fu Tianhe seem overly surprised. 

Unable to help himself, Fu Tianhe opened his terminal and took a picture of the bullet hole. 

The squid, already on the brink of death, was poked a few more times by Fu Tianhe, becoming even more limp. 

Chen Ci also came over. The majority of the squid’s body was covered in metal parts. No, that wasn’t quite accurate; it should be said that most of its body was made up of parts, a combination of machinery and flesh, forming an unimaginable existence. 

For centuries, biologists had been studying the principles of the existence of primordial creatures. Was it the flesh that drove the machinery, or did the machinery control the nerves? 

How did muscles and bones grow together with steel? 

It was known that primordial creatures could replace their parts like metabolism, but how did they judge whether the parts they used met the standards? 

Too many mysteries remained unsolved. 

For years, humans, who prided themselves on being higher beings and the masters of all, had finally returned to their rightful place. There were always creatures in this world that were stronger and more mysterious than them. 

So mysterious that even the supercomputers they had created with all their might could not fully analyze them. 

This was the first time Chen Ci had seen a primordial creature with his own eyes. 

He had studied marine science in the White Tower and knew how many miraculous things happened in the ocean. He had seen countless cases in textbooks, but this was the first time he had personally touched one. 

Chen Ci reached out and gently pressed his hand against the squid’s body. 

His fingers touched the cold, hard machinery, while the skin beneath his palm was slick and twitching. 

—It hurts, it hurts so much. 

The voice surged into his mind, catching him completely off guard. 

Chen Ci: !!! 

He immediately withdrew his hand and took a step back. 

Chen Ci looked around warily. The matchstick was still timidly huddled nearby, not daring to approach, while Fu Tianhe was excitedly dismantling parts. 

There was no one else around but the three of them. 

And he had truly heard the voice. 

Chen Ci slightly furrowed his brows, spreading out his mental energy, but didn’t detect anything unusual. 

Finally, he turned his gaze back to the massive creature in front of him. 

Could it be… 

Chen Ci tried again, reaching out his hand to press against it once more. 

—It hurts so much, help me, help me, help me. 

The voice appeared again, piercing through his nerves. 

Even someone as calm as Chen Ci had his expression freeze at that moment. 

Yes, he knew where the voice was coming from. 

This squid… was calling for his help! 

The biological tissue in his palm was twitching continuously, struggling endlessly in pain. 

Chen Ci’s eyes flickered, and without making a sound, he had to confirm that this wasn’t just his illusion. 

“Fu Tianhe.” Chen Ci called out. The Alpha, who was focused on dismantling on the other side, looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?” 

“Give me the crowbar.” 

Fu Tianhe stood up, raised his hand, and passed the crowbar over from above the squid’s body to Chen Ci. 

With one hand on the squid, Chen Ci gripped the crowbar tightly with the other and stabbed it into the squid’s body. 

—Ahhhhhhh!!! 

The voice immediately rang out, and Chen Ci quickly loosened his grip, the cries of pain stopping almost instantly. 

Then came… more pleas for help. 

Even though Chen Ci had just been about to harm it. 

Because it was already at its wit’s end. 

Chen Ci was completely certain that the signal was coming from the squid, and he could hear this signal that shouldn’t be captured by humans. 

He took two steps back, surveying the stinking marine creature. 

Chen Ci didn’t feel sympathy; humans and primordial creatures were inherently in a life-and-death struggle, mutually hostile. 

Moreover, this squid had tried to kill the matchstick last night. It was injured like this, completely self-inflicted. 

Chen Ci only cared about one thing: why could he hear the squid’s “voice”? 

The signal seemed to be transmitted directly into his mind. Perhaps it was some kind of pheromone or ultrasound? 

Was it because of the existence of his mental energy? Had there been cases of humans understanding the language of primordial creatures before? 

Humans had fought against primordial creatures for so long, and the military had many Alphas with strong mental energy. If such a thing existed, it would have spread long ago. 

But Chen Ci had never seen any records about it. Even if related information needed to be classified, as the Imperial candidate of Cinnabar, he had access to many documents and had never come across it. 

Could he be the first? 

If he hadn’t met Chen Nian, swapped identities, and come to this abandoned suburb for a trip, he might never have had the chance to truly come into contact with primordial creatures in his life. 

Nor would he have discovered this strange phenomenon. 

Only by coming into contact with the squid could he “hear” the voice. 

Chen Ci leaned more towards the idea that this was a form of communication on a conscious level, related to the strength of mental energy. So far, no one had been able to match his level of mental energy. 

This was a discovery that could shock the world, but Chen Ci didn’t make a fuss about it. 

He had had enough of only hearing the final results from researchers. 

This time, he wanted to conduct the experiment himself.