"This..." Xu Xin looked at the little creature eating at the dining table, as if she was seeing a new species. Earlier, no matter how much they shook Li Wenxi, she wouldn’t wake up. Yet, when this little guy used its tiny paw to nudge her, Li Wenxi immediately woke up. Could it be that Li Wenxi fell into a deep sleep and couldn’t wake up because of this little guy? Speaking of Keke, it has been sleeping more heavily recently. Today, Keke clearly wasn’t taken out by Xu Xin and had rested all day in the treehouse. Still, in the middle of the day, it was sleeping soundly, with the little glutton not even touching its food. Neither the aroma of the meal nor the sound of their conversation woke it up. If Xu Xin hadn’t accidentally dropped it, it would probably still be sleeping. Also, Li Wenxi had been holding the sleeping Keke. From this perspective, it’s highly likely she was influenced by Keke! "Wha—what’s going on? I just took a nap, why does it feel like something’s off with you all?" Li Wenxi asked softly as she tugged on Xu Xin’s arm, seeing everyone was silent, all eyes on Keke at the dining table, feeling a bit anxious. Xu Xin turned to her and asked, "Nothing, do you feel anything uncomfortable now?" "Uncomfortable?" Li Wenxi was puzzled but replied, "No, instead, I feel refreshed, as if I just had a blue-level orange." That’s good. Xu Xin was worried Keke might cause harm to others, or even to him, which would put him in a tough spot. Let’s leave Li Wenxi to discuss it later. "As long as you’re fine. Let’s set this aside for now. I’ll figure it out. Back to the main topic." Xu Xin glanced at the little creature that woke up and began eating again, then turned to Ji Chaoyang. Ji Chaoyang nodded and recounted the unusual events happening in other nearby areas. "You’re right!" Lou Fei’Er started scrolling through her watch, "A few days ago, the number of people in Area 187 inexplicably decreased rapidly, causing everyone to panic. Today... huh? The numbers haven’t gone down?" The number of people in Area 187 remained the same as before communication was lost. "The number of people in Area 188 hasn’t changed either," Qi Xuefei noted, pointing at her watch. "It must be a communication issue." Most people were currently without communication, and the area channels hadn’t updated in a long time, including the number of people in the regions. Xu Xin was a bit worried that when the actual data refreshed, the total number of people in the area channels might drop significantly. However, the other survivors were prepared with heavy crossbows and dozens of explosive bolts. Moreover, with the treehouse being at a low level and few people around, they shouldn’t be facing too strong a beast tide, and getting through it shouldn’t be too big an issue. Let’s hope that’s the case. Ji Chaoyang continued, "Yesterday, I was exploring further south, and there, I found another dying treehouse. Around it, I encountered a mutated human that looked quite similar to it. Blood patterns stretched across their skin, no fur; if not for the patterns, they would look just like a normal human." Ji Chaoyang’s words made everyone present fall into deep thought. Xu Xin then spoke up, sharing his earlier conjecture and concluding, "Based on the axe attributes from the looters, it’s obvious they came to destroy the treehouses, so this mutation might not have been caused by the looters." Ji Chaoyang nodded slowly, "My guess is that this man might have just accidentally encountered the looters, was classified among the beast group, and had to follow orders to attack. Looters can command mutated creatures, so ordering this man is logical." As he spoke, he looked at the man on the ground still glaring, but whose expression was no longer hideous. The man couldn’t even blink, and his eyes could only move slowly. Xu Xin’s mind sparked, realizing if his eyes could move, there might be a way to communicate. "Were you really a survivor before?" Xu Xin squatted in front of the man, "If you were, look left; if not, look right." The man’s pupils started to contract, then under everyone’s gaze, his eyes slowly shifted to the left. "We can actually communicate! He can understand what we’re saying!" Li Wenxi exclaimed in surprise, "Was he... really a survivor?" Xu Xin and Ji Chaoyang exchanged a glance. Did we guess it right? "Did you come with the group of mutated creatures attacking us, and those hairy beast-men? Look left if yes, right if not." The man’s gaze didn’t change, still looking to the left, motionless. "Are you their partner?" Upon hearing this, the man’s gaze slowly moved to the right, indicating to Xu Xin that he wasn’t a partner. Xu Xin squinted slightly. If he wasn’t a partner, why did he have a special axe in his hand? According to what Ji Chaoyang and others saw, the tools in the hands of those hairy creatures were exactly such axes. Lou Fei’Er also considered this and said to Xu Xin, "Xu Xin, form a contract with him. Then, when he answers your questions, he can’t lie!" This was something she deeply understood herself. Xu Xin was quite hesitant. He didn’t have many mutant beast contracts left. Counting the ones obtained in the dungeons, and those made by Chang Yin, he had a total of eleven mutant beast contracts. He had used one on Afu, two on Mimi, gave one to Li Wenxi, used one on his beloved, one each on Lou Fei’Er and Ma Hongwei, and had just contracted a Snow Wolf King, using up eight in total. Now, he only had three contracts left in his hands. With Chang Yin missing, these three contracts had to be used sparingly. And as for this mutated human, he wasn’t sure if this person could recover or if he would stay forever. Even if he could recover, but had no special abilities, using a contract on an ordinary survivor would be a waste. Just as Xu Xin was debating, suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from not far outside the window! The whistle was extremely piercing, causing Silver King Mimi and the Snow Wolf, lying in the corner, to stand up in a defensive posture. The whistle was too familiar, making everyone stand up abruptly, with Ji Chaoyang immediately running to the window to look outside. Xu Xin’s mental map instantly emerged, seeking the precise location of the red dot from the direction of the whistle. Even though the jungle’s beasts had returned, adding many red dots to the map, he immediately noticed one that was far brighter than the rest, moving away from the treehouse at an incredibly fast pace. "Uhh..." As the whistle sounded, the mutated human in front made a painful and hoarse noise! The sound was chilling, giving a shiver to everyone around. In the hoarse groaning, the mutated human became hideous again, eyes bulging, face distorting. The mouth that was originally still slightly opened, as if trying to say something, yet nothing came out. "Not good!" Qi Xuefei’s face changed, and she immediately tried to put a pill into his mouth, but it was too late. A terrifying scene unfolded. Blood and flesh splattered, covering Qi Xuefei, who was squatting in front of the mutated man. "Huh?" Keke, who was nibbling on food, looked at the blood-spattered meal on the table, holding its chopsticks motionless, blinking twice. Even Ji Chaoyang, who had just retracted his gaze from the window and looked over, was speechless, stunned by the horrifying scene before them. The mutated man’s head exploded! Right in front of them, with bulging eyes and a twisted face, then, it just exploded! Xu Xin looked at the blood-splattered interior of the treehouse, his heart sinking. On his map, the bright red dot had long vanished, its speed was too fast, on par with the Silver King. How could this happen? Was it here to silence him? What secrets do these mutated humans hold?