"Don't worry, ice princess. I'm perfectly fine." Bai Zemin looked at Shangguan Bing Xue and now completely free of all worries smiled slightly.

Shangguan Bing Xue stayed silent and looked at him with narrowed eyes. She felt that somehow there was something strange about him but even after thinking about it for a while she couldn't tell where that strangeness was and considering that his face didn't really look exhausted by any means she gave up.

"If you say so then it's okay I guess." She shrugged and didn't pursue the matter any further.

"Yeah." Bai Zemin nodded. He looked at the surroundings and asked in confusion, "By the way, where are those two?"

The two drivers were still fast asleep inside the vehicles, Bai Zemin was asking about Chen He and Wu Yijun, who were nowhere to be seen.

Shangguan Bing Xue pointed to the forest and calmly responded, "Chen He went to secure the surroundings. As for Yijun, she is preparing lunch right behind those trees over there."

Bai Zemin followed her eyes and noticed that indeed a person moving among the thick forage of the forest. He looked at Shangguan Bing Xue again and couldn't help but joke, "The last time your prince charming went exploring he was almost killed by a giant monkey, aren't you afraid that something might happen to him?"

Shangguan Bing Xue's calm face changed slightly and looked at him with a serious expression, "Stop joking about such nonsense. Chen He and I are friends. I don't want his feelings to be hurt later because of your jokes."

Bai Zemin was dumbfounded. He would hurt his feelings? Wasn't she the one who refused to make everything clear here?

He shook his head and decided to stop commenting on it. The whole thing was none of his business anyway.

Without another word, he walked past her and went to help Wu Yijun with the lunch things. Soon after Shangguan Bing Xue joined in and several minutes later Chen He appeared saying that there was no problem at all.

...

After a light and quick lunch, Bai Zemin ordered the drivers of the vehicles to wait here and not to move from the place to avoid attracting the attention of any enemies.

Although the two jeeps had been hidden among the trees and grass in the forest after leaving the road, it was possible that some beasts might pick up the human scent if they wandered too far, leaving their scent everywhere, and track them down.

The two men were pale when they heard Bai Zemin's reasoning and quickly nodded in understanding. At this point, both men could only wait obediently.

As for leaving on their own, that was simply madness since when they arrived back at the village they would be immediately questioned and slaughtered when their crimes came to light. But even then, it was possible that along the way they would encounter some kind of wild beast and be devoured by it, so obeying was the best they could do.

Just to make sure, Bai Zemin asked Chen He to watch them from a distance while he and Shangguan Bing Xue together with Wu Yijun went deep into the forest.

Although a bit reluctant. the talented sniper agreed as he understood the greater scheme of the matter.

* * *

The forest was almost absolutely silent. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional swaying of branches when the wind was strong enough to move them.

Trees that were previously five to ten meters tall at most, now reached heights of up to thirty meters. Grass that previously could be cut with a finger, now needed some force to pull it out of the ground.

The effect that the awakening of mana had had on the world due to the influence of the Soul Record was truly immense. No matter where one looked it was easy to distinguish the physical differences; even the aura of calmness that surrounded the forest was now filled with murderous intent!

To say that one could notice major differences within the forests was not an exaggeration by any means.

Following the dirt road, Bai Zemin, Shangguan Bing Xue, and Wu Yijun were advancing silently while observing the surroundings carefully.

"The air in this place is so wonderful!" Wu Yijun exclaimed in a low voice to avoid attracting the attention of any kind of strange creature.

Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and took a deep breath taking pleasure in how pure the oxygen was nourishing her veins and lungs.

"Apparently, mana nourishes and makes plants stronger compared to other creatures." Bai Zemin guessed as he looked carefully to his sides. "While the Soul Record does something similar to injecting mana into our bodies when it first appears just like with animals, plants seem to suck the mana slowly assimilating it into their bodies. That's probably why they adapt better."

"Then, the zombie issue..." Shangguan Bing Xue noticed something on Bai Zemin's words and her eyes widened slightly as she looked at him in shock.

Wu Yijun seemed to notice and muttered, "Don't tell me..."

"That's right." Bai Zemin nodded and did not hide it. In his own way, he explained his thoughts in conjunction with the information given by Lilith: "Probably the zombies are the result of those humans whose bodies failed to withstand the wave of mana that invaded their bodies due to the appearance of this thing called Soul Record. 

As you have seen, while it is true that most animals mutated and even some insects did, not all of them went through that wild mutation process. After all, in the village, there are a few living pigs and sheep that grew in size and became stronger but they are not wild and do not attack other animals or humans.

As for plants... I haven't had the opportunity to encounter plant-like enemies so I haven't been able to draw many conclusions about them. But my theory is that the whole issue with mana and the secret behind the evil mutations lies within the souls of every existence." Bai Zemin concluded his analysis slowly before falling silent once more.

Wu Yijun looked at him with her big dark eyes wide open. Her little pink mouth had opened slightly, revealing glimpses of her pearly teeth.

"You... How come I never heard of you before?" Shangguan Bing Xue asked as she stared at his profile.

"... What do you mean?" Bai Zemin asked in a low voice while looking back at her with a slight frown.

Wu Yijun stepped forward and interjected as she pointed out, "You are a very perceptive person! Your analyses are also genuinely amazing, which shows that you are someone very intelligent!"

Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and said perplexed, "With such cognitive intelligence it is simply impossible to remain unknown for a long time. In the exams, you should definitely have stood out from the rest of the students and gained a place among the top positions for honor students... Then why have I never heard of your name even once before?"

Hearing the words of the two women beside him, Bai Zemin could not help but smile bitterly in secret as he silently sneered.