Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes, not yet speaking.

This self-proclaimed Li Si continued speaking on his own:

"As I analyzed before—"

"The reason our experiment with the three Sun People could take a shortcut and 'randomly' produce the Rebirth state was not due to the 'SSS-grade Luck' effect we created for the experimental subject."

"Rather, it originated from that Chen Cang's [Protagonist Halo]."

Having said this much, it wasn't hard for Jiang Ye to guess what this guy was thinking—

"So, you want to use Chen Cang to randomly produce the 'Rebirth state'?"

This...

Isn't his courage a bit too big?

The effect of the [Protagonist Halo] is to indirectly influence experimental results.

This itself is also a gamble on luck.

Moreover, this kind of luck only benefits Chen Cang himself.

What kind of situation it would create for others is completely uncontrollable!

To truly gamble on this kind of luck is probably even less reliable than stacking the "SSS-grade Luck" effect!

Jiang Ye didn't think this Li Si would choose such an unreliable plan.

Sure enough, he saw Li Si directly shake his head: "Of course not."

"I neither want to gamble, nor do I want to be devoured by anything."

"The truth I seek is the truth itself!"

This guy's tone was quite firm.

Jiang Ye pondered briefly, combining it with what this guy said earlier...

He quickly reached a conclusion—

"Generation after generation, the Qin kings failed the Qin ministers, only Li Si failed Qin Shi Huang."

"Combined with Li Si's theory of granary rats and latrine rats..."

"So, you understand very clearly—choice is more important than effort."

"And your choice is... just like Li Si following Qin Shi Huang, to follow the so-called 'protagonist'?"

Li Si fell silent.

He felt somewhat strange in his heart...

Even Sun People players, facing Chen Cang, a Moon Person, and his [Protagonist Halo], inevitably felt some apprehension.

But this "Cheng Lin"...

He seemed to have no reverence for that "protagonist"?

Could it be that he wasn't afraid of that [Protagonist Halo]?

This Cheng Lin...

This type of person...

Li Si narrowed his eyes slightly, remained silent for a moment, then frankly said:

"Based on my previous speculation—"

"That Chen Cang, forcibly following the Rebirth placenta, was obviously swallowed by the Moon-Devouring Giant Toad."

"An ordinary person swallowed by the Moon-Devouring Giant Toad would probably die instantly, not even leaving a trace."

"But since he possesses the [Protagonist Halo], I guess he should still be alive now."

"But even if he's not dead, his current situation is probably still quite dangerous."

"And at his most dangerous moment, we can save him."

Jiang Ye was silent for a moment, frowning: "How to save? You don't mean..."

"Correct." Li Si directly nodded, "By utilizing the life-saving divine skill—[Salvation Domain]!"

"The SSS-grade [Salvation Domain] can secure 100 minutes of safe status for Chen Cang. Even inside the Moon-Devouring Giant Toad's stomach, he won't die."

"Wait?" Jiang Ye's frown deepened, "Although the effect of the SSS-grade [Salvation Domain] is that it can select two targets regardless of distance."

"But this skill itself doesn't have a remote locking effect on the target..."

"Right now, we don't even know where Chen Cang is, how can we use [Salvation Domain] on him?"

Li Si seemed to anticipate his doubt.

He smiled slightly, raised his hand, and like removing a contact lens, pressed his fingertip against the pupil of his right eye.

After two seconds of silence, he moved his finger away, and on his fingertip appeared a dark purple crystal chip that gradually enlarged.

The chip grew from an initially imperceptible nanoscale size to roughly the size of a fingernail.

And the image displayed on it...

Vaguely showed a humanoid figure.

Using the mechanical eyeball's super vision, Jiang Ye quickly saw—

The humanoid figure on that fingernail-sized chip...

Was unmistakably Chen Cang's appearance!

So...

Li Si explained with a light smile: "This is a tool similar to [Time-Limited Instant Kill], called [Target Anchor]."

"Using this tool, you can lock onto a target in advance."

"Afterwards, at any time, no matter how far the target is from me..."

"I can directly cast skills onto that target through this [Target Anchor]."

Wow!

Truly worthy of being a Sun People player!

They really have all sorts of convenient tools!

And this tool is obviously very suitable for ambushing people!

Silently lock the target into this [Target Anchor] tool.

Then, at any time, you can launch a remote attack on that target!

And the player suddenly attacked might not even know who cast the skill on them!

It's practically an ambush divine artifact!

And with the [Target Anchor] locking "Chen Cang," you can indeed use [Salvation Domain] on Chen Cang remotely...

As Jiang Ye was pondering this, this guy directly handed over the [Target Anchor] chip of Chen Cang.

He didn't beat around the bush now, stating directly:

"I hope that after you use [Salvation Domain] on Chen Cang, you can try to use [Pain Sharing] on the three of us."

"This way, utilizing the effect of [Pain Sharing], the three of us can be completely bound to the same boat!"

"Although [Pain Sharing] carries the risk of one person dying causing everyone to perish, since our 'everyone' includes a 'protagonist,' the risk of a total wipe would naturally be reduced to almost negligible!"

Wow!

It's evident that this Li Si, like that mysterious existence in the Reincarnation Mirror Palace, holds Chen Cang's [Protagonist Halo] in high regard.

He not only wants to clutch Chen Cang's thigh...

He wants to completely bind himself to Chen Cang, becoming a community of shared interests!

But the problem is, if you want to bind yourself, just do it! Why forcefully drag me into it?

While Jiang Ye internally complained, he instantly knew the answer.

From this guy handing him the [Target Anchor] chip, it wasn't hard to guess his concerns.

Clearly, this guy thinks too highly of Chen Cang's [Protagonist Halo]...

To the point that he's hesitant about using skills on Chen Cang, worried about being affected by the [Protagonist Halo].

Therefore, the task of using skills on Chen Cang fell into Jiang Ye's hands.

Jiang Ye was, well, quite speechless.

He was about to say something more when Li Si urged:

"We've already wasted quite a lot of time. Now, saving Chen Cang is urgent!"

"..."

Jiang Ye held the dark purple crystal, his feelings quite complex.

He discovered a very strange logic—

Because Chen Cang has the [Protagonist Halo], those who discover he has it can't help but want to help him.

And this help just happens to achieve the effect of the [Protagonist Halo].

So, what truly helps Chen Cang—is it the fact that he possesses the [Protagonist Halo] itself, or the *cognition* that "he possesses the [Protagonist Halo]"?

It seems that often, "cognition" can directly influence "reality."

Jiang Ye couldn't help but ponder—

A Chen Cang who knows he has the [Protagonist Halo]...

And a Chen Cang who doesn't know he has the [Protagonist Halo]...

Might manifest as two different states.

Chen Cang in these two states...

Or rather, a protagonist in these two states, would inevitably make vastly different decisions when facing events.

And now, regarding whether to bind himself to the same boat as the "protagonist"...

After a brief thought, Jiang Ye had his answer—

He directly selected Chen Cang's [Target Anchor] chip and himself as the targets for casting the SSS-grade [Salvation Domain].

In an instant, a holy white radiance, similar in color to the surrounding mist, enveloped him.

And at that moment, he suddenly discovered with surprise—

The Guiwen clone, which should have been in a disconnected state...

Under the effect of [Salvation Domain], he could sense it again!

So...

The two clones selected by [Salvation Domain], even if separated by mist, can sense each other!

Calculating this way, it's equivalent to [Salvation Domain] having an additional extra effect on his clones!

Allowing clones to directly sense each other across the mist!

Of course, to achieve such an effect, this [Target Anchor] is also crucial!

While Jiang Ye pondered this internally, he also instantly synchronized memories with Guiwen.

The current Guiwen, or rather Chen Cang, was indeed as Li Si speculated, probably inside the Moon-Devouring Giant Toad's stomach...

The reason for saying "probably" was because he wasn't sure either.

Chen Cang, following that placenta snatched away by the cyan-gray long tongue, traversed a considerable distance.

Based on speculation, he probably crossed the entire "Inner Forest" region of the Misty Forest of Oddities, reaching the deepest parts of the Forest of Oddities that even Sun People players cannot reach.

However, due to the mist's restrictions, his vision was severely limited, unable to see the surroundings clearly.

It was just that as the long tongue's speed increased, he seemed to "whoosh" through, "parting the mist," and fell into a spacious yet foul-smelling space.

That stench...

Was very similar to, even more intense than, the stench of the toad Chen Cang pulled out from his throat in the ice coffin of the Reincarnation Mirror Palace...

Chen Cang almost vomited on the spot.

Along with this stench, the cyan-gray long tongue wrapped around the placenta suddenly withdrew.

Then followed a fall lasting about two minutes...

Until with a "thump," the increasingly large placenta seemed to fall into a giant pit of water, splashing up a filthy liquid with a sour, rotten, foul smell.

From Guiwen's perspective, Jiang Ye heard Chen Cang let out a painful wail.

When everything stabilized, he learned from Chen Cang that the splashed filthy liquid hit him, causing a strong corrosive effect that brought him unbearable pain...

Obviously, fortunately, there was that giant sphere suspected of nurturing a "Newborn" to cushion his fall.

Otherwise, in that space suspected to be the giant toad's stomach, he probably couldn't survive at all!

However, even with the "Newborn" as a cushion, Chen Cang's situation was still not optimistic.

After all, since the Moon-Devouring Giant Toad actively swallows unborn "Newborns"...

Then most likely, the giant toad's stomach should have the ability to digest it.

That is, as time passes, this "cushion" will disappear.

Chen Cang also won't escape being digested by the giant toad...

Of course, possessing the [Protagonist Halo], Chen Cang wasn't panicked.

Guiwen Jiang Ye thought this guy had some countermeasure.

But this guy had none at all, just saying the boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge, and he definitely wouldn't die anyway...

Guiwen Jiang Ye was just feeling powerless to complain.

But then...

This kid was actually right!

Chen Cang had just cut away the rotten flesh on his body, alleviating the pain.

Not long after, a holy white radiance enveloped him.

Although Chen Cang didn't know what that holy white radiance was, he had an attitude of everything being under control.

Guiwen Jiang Ye, however, immediately shared the memories from this brief period of disconnection with Cheng Lin Jiang Ye.

Guiwen Jiang Ye had a flash of inspiration and immediately tricked Chen Cang:

"I've activated a life-saving shield for you, which can maintain a 'safe state' for you for 100 minutes."

"That means, for at least these 100 minutes, you won't die."

Chen Cang was even more delighted.

He said it! This Guiwen big shot, on the surface, came to seize his body, but in reality, he's just a "Portable Old Grandpa"!

All are his Golden Fingers!

He immediately asked again: "Then, big shot, do you have a way to rescue me within these 100 minutes?"

"Don't panic." Guiwen Jiang Ye, at this moment, deliberately created a "Portable Old Grandpa" big shot persona for himself.

He put on a profound act: "I also have a [Pain Sharing] skill, which can divide the damage you receive among all players marked with [Pain Sharing]."

"However, this skill requires you to actively accept the [Pain Sharing] mark."

"In a moment, I'll mark you. Remember to accept it."

Chen Cang wasn't stupid and quickly realized: "Big shot, you want to benefit from my luck, right?"

"With [Pain Sharing] on me... then all players marked with [Pain Sharing] can benefit from my luck."

Jiang Ye didn't explain much, just said calmly: "Other players can benefit from your luck, and the damage you receive can also be diluted by [Pain Sharing]."

"So essentially, it binds everyone marked with [Pain Sharing] to the same boat."

"Moreover, players marked with [Pain Sharing] can erase the mark themselves at any time."

"So players bound to this boat can also disembark at any time."

Chen Cang thought for a moment and asked: "Then, how many people are currently on this boat?"

Jiang Ye thought about it and still told the truth: "Temporarily only three people—you, me, and a Sun People player."

Chen Cang was about to ask something.

Jiang Ye added: "This Sun People player happens to want to clutch your thigh."

"So there's a very high probability he can rescue you from this giant toad's stomach."

With the "clutching thighs" explanation, Chen Cang's resistance towards the "Sun People player" on this boat lessened a bit.

But...

The restraining effect of Sun People on Moon People is just too terrifying.

Even more outrageous than the restraint of the Light faction on the Dark faction in another era!

That damn thing can directly decide his life or death!

And not long ago, he had already come into close contact with that state of having his life and death decided.

That instinctive fear still made him instinctively resist.

What he feared was—

What if the Sun People player suddenly "disembarks," erases the [Pain Sharing] mark, and then attacks him?

Even worse, what if under the guise of "clutching thighs," they actually want to seize his [Protagonist Halo]?

To be honest, it's not surprising Chen Cang would have such suspicions.

Jiang Ye himself also doubted Li Si's motives.

Clutching thighs is certainly awesome.

But history has proven—

Li Si's theory of granary rats and latrine rats has one major flaw.

That is... he is just a "rat"!

Even if he becomes a granary rat, the fate of the granary rat is still in the hands of the granary owner.

Later, all of Li Si's power and influence relied entirely on Qin Shi Huang.

So, this Li Si who chooses to clutch the protagonist's thigh...

Is he really willing to entrust his fate to the so-called "protagonist"?