After driving away the players coveting the expeditionâs resources, Wang Zhifan did not immediately return to the alien architecture where the scientists were conducting their investigation. His strong perception told him that this matter was not over, and those hiding in the shadows might be up to no good.
"The player just now is a gunman; I wouldnât mind if he were to shoot at me, but the NPCs I need to protect wouldnât withstand it. They need to get back to the investigation vehicle as soon as possible."
After some thought, Wang Zhifan drove the investigation vehicle to the entrance of that alien building, denying others the chance to launch a sneak attack when the scientists boarded. He also secretly arranged for one of his clones to track the surrounding players and monitor suspicious activity nearby.
About three hours later, inside the alien architecture, Jessica and other researchers were still busy.
"These floating disc floors are definitely based on anti-gravity technology, but their technological path is entirely different from what we currently know, making it very research-worthy."
At this moment, Jessica noticed Wang Zhifan approaching and turned her head, looking excited as she spoke to him while not forgetting to scribble in a notebook with a thick pen, filling it with various lines and symbols.
"Congratulations on finding a good research project."
Wang Zhifan knew she was at the height of her excitement and first congratulated her, then proceeded to remind them of a very important matter:
"Itâs getting late, and itâs almost dark outside. For safetyâs sake, I suggest you return to the investigation vehicle to rest and continue the research when itâs daylight."
Upon hearing this, Jessica immediately frowned, showing considerable displeasure.
"Why should we go back to the vehicle? Itâs safe here, and working in the dark doesnât affect us; we have ample lighting sources."
She didnât understand the logic behind Wang Zhifanâs words, as if he was casually finding an excuse to make them leave.
"Because itâll soon become unsafe here. If you donât believe me, you can check the situation outside before itâs completely darkâyouâll understand then."
Wang Zhifan said this and turned to leave, gesturing for her to follow.
A minute later, Jessica made her way through the massive structure to the exit, where she saw Wang Zhifan had already parked the investigation vehicle at the entrance, and twelve cloned soldiers guarded the area.
As she looked beyond them, she saw the alien sky had turned dim, and in this dimness large, unknown creatures flew through the sky; similarly, many alien organisms or machines wandered on the ground.
Some of these, very close to the entrance, had been shot by the guards, leaving a large pile of remains.
"Wonderful! Mr. Wang, we wonât have a shortage of active samples for research now!"
Unexpectedly, seeing the chaos outside did not make the female scientist nervous; instead, she displayed a look suggesting, "Why didnât you tell me sooner about such a good opportunity?"
"I know your research is important, but it needs people alive to be completed. See, now itâs becoming chaotic outside, and when itâs dark, itâll only get worse. Not only will we be unable to stop the monsters outside, but we also wonât be able to manage the ones inside the building."
As Wang Zhifan spoke, he turned back to point out the top of the building they were in, where slender, creature-like appendages that didnât exist earlier had now drooped down tens of meters, resembling numerous black tentacles that the enthusiastic researchers had overlooked.
"Iâm sure these things werenât up there ten minutes ago!"
Jessica gasped at the bizarre sight. She hadnât failed to observe the ceiling of the alien structure, but previously, it had been obscured by numerous floating discs, with no such long items present.
"Itâs time to leave, Captain Jessica. If we donât leave now, itâll be bad. The night here is bound not to be peaceful."
Wang Zhifan struck while the iron was hot, stating these words to emphasize the urgency of the situation, making the research-obsessed aware of the importance of priorities.
"Iâll have everyone pack up the samples and leave right away."
The blonde, blue-eyed female scientist, not being of the stubborn kind, quickly jogged over to her colleagues, notifying them of the next actions one by one.
"Thankfully, she should be able to persuade the others inside. Now I need to eliminate other nearby threats."
Wang Zhifan was quite satisfied with Jessicaâs cooperation and turned his gaze toward the buildingâs entrance.
In the area his line of sight swept across, he could see alien bugs and conical machines being cleared by the cloned guards, but his focus wasnât on those. Instead, he was looking at a slightly floating ghostly image in the air.
This phantom wasnât really a shadow but rather an invisible presence captured by his powerful perception. The figure had been lingering on that open ground for a few seconds but hadnât made any further moves.
"It shouldnât be a player but rather a puppet or clone-like invisible tool."
With Wang Zhifanâs temperament, if any player dared to sneak up on him, he would surely strike back hard. But controlled tools are different; he needed to consider whether to use them to follow the trail.
"Forget it. My instance should be different from theirs; letâs not waste time. Iâll just treat it as a warning for them."
After a brief thought, Wang Zhifan decided against the idea of following up. Mainly, he didnât want to attract too much trouble from the players here, as it wouldnât benefit him and might delay his personal quest.