Ye also turned his head to look, seeing a person slowly walking toward the stage. Though his expression remained unchanged, his gaze carried a subtle but perceptible shift.
For someone like Ye, who rarely lets his emotions surface, this change in his gaze spoke volumes.
But with Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er standing nearby, he had no way to give Lin Shen any kind of signal.
"Mr. Lin Xiangdong, you wouldn't mind if we invited this friend to observe, would you?" Qi Shuheng said with a smile, his gaze fixed on Lin Shen.
"Shuheng, that's wrong of you. This guest's presence here is already the greatest honor to our Dark Bird Base, bringing incomparable prestige to our recruitment gathering. What's more, she happens to be an old friend of Mr. Lin Xiangdong; he should be thanking us instead of minding. Isn't that right, Mr. Lin Xiangdong?" Wang Tian'er said, his gaze landing on Lin Shen's face with a half-smile.
"Why is she here? And why do Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er share this inexplicable understanding? Could it be that the Qi and Wang families have already formed an alliance? If that's really the case, we might not hold out until Mr. Lin Zongzheng and Mr. Lin Xiangdong return." *Ye's heart burned with anxiety, but he dared not take any action, lest his movements fuel the suspicions of Qi and Wang, who were watching Lin Shen closely, trying to glean any information from his barely exposed eyes.*
Everyone's attention focused on Lin Shen's face. He looked at the person who had already stepped onto the stage; his expression revealed no change, but inside, his mind was an avalanche of shock and doubt.
"A human carrying a Fire Seed capable of Super-Base Evolution?" *The source of Lin Shen's astonishment wasn't this person's identity. In fact, he couldn't even make out who she was, vaguely identifying her only as a woman.*
Her entire body seemed pixelated, as though obscured by a mosaic, making it impossible for Lin Shen to discern her appearance.
Since the discovery of Fire Seeds, Lin Shen had only seen them on the Base Mutation Eggs. Even the Base Mutation Creatures that had hatched didn't exhibit Fire Seeds—let alone human beings.
In fact, Lin Shen had never even considered the possibility that humans could carry Fire Seeds. *This revelation brought both excitement and alarm: excitement at uncovering another avenue to obtain Fire Seeds, and alarm at not knowing who this woman truly was. He didn't have even a shred of a clue.*
*Not to mention, he couldn't recognize her; even if he could, with her body obscured by the mosaic, there was no way to confirm her identity.*
"Lin Shen, long time no see." The woman walked up to Lin Shen, her tone light and airy.
Her words gave Lin Shen a hint. He recalled that Fourth Brother, Lin Xiangdong, had been sent to the distant Sea Corn Base for cultivation by Second Brother when he was young, spending nearly ten years there before returning.
Whenever Lin Xiangdong drank too much, he would boast about how advanced Sea Corn Base was, how incredible its Mutators were. He even said, by comparison, Dark Bird Base wasn't even on par with a rural village.
Of course, Lin Xiangdong's remarks weren't meant to disparage Dark Bird Base; rather, they served as an introduction for him to blow his own trumpet.
Lin Xiangdong would brag about his innate talents, claiming that the major figures at Sea Corn Base fought tooth and nail for the opportunity to train him. The coaches at countless training camps would wait eagerly for him to choose them, only for him to reluctantly select the one deemed the best at Sea Corn Base for his cultivation.
Those who weren't chosen purportedly lamented their inadequacies, regretting that they'd missed the chance to mentor a once-in-a-century genius.
Lin Xiangdong often claimed that during his training, his fellow students—many extraordinary in their own right—were frightened in his presence, calling him "Senior Brother" with quivering voices.
According to him, they had no choice but to acknowledge Lin Xiangdong's utter dominance, making him an unrivaled peerless existence among those of his level.
Lin Shen had heard these stories often enough to find them questionable, believing that Lin Xiangdong likely exaggerated. *If Fourth Brother was really as exceptional as he claimed—capable of standing head and shoulders above others at the prestigious Sea Corn Base—why would mere peers in a smaller place like Dark Bird Base still compete with him?*
Nonetheless, Lin Xiangdong's storytelling skills were commendable, weaving tall tales with enough intrigue to spark vivid imagination in others. Having heard these stories countless times, Lin Shen remembered many of their colorful characters and names.
Of course, those characters existed merely to accentuate Lin Xiangdong's greatness, nothing more than background filler.
But to make himself appear even more extraordinary, Lin Xiangdong endowed these background figures with compelling identities—once-in-a-century prodigies, aristocratic heirs, campus queens. Listening to these embellishments for too long made them seem somewhat tasteless.
Lin Xiangdong often spoke of his female classmates, most of whom were hopelessly enamored with his charisma and personality—endlessly infatuated to the point of desperation. One by one, they begged to be his girlfriend, but he found their advances tiresome.
Among those girls, Lin Xiangdong had mentioned only one who wasn't romantically interested in him. Even so, she deeply admired his cultivation prowess and combat skills, idolizing him as a little fan.
Lin Shen remembered that girl was called Bai Shenfei, a prodigy who had undergone Butterfly Transformation at the age of twelve. She was a combat fanatic who devoted her life to training and fighting.
At the time, Lin Xiangdong was only a year older than Bai Shenfei. Despite not having undergone Butterfly Transformation, he managed to defeat Bai Shenfei, who had already achieved her breakthrough. Since then, Bai Shenfei considered him her idol and consulted him on cultivation issues.
Butterfly Transformation represented a critical step in a human's evolution into a Mutator—a process akin to a caterpillar forming a chrysalis. This involved the completion of physical transformation, advancing one's mortal body toward Steel Body.
Lin Shen reflected further, recalling that nearly all those background classmates in Lin Xiangdong's tales were his peers. Bai Shenfei was the lone exception—a junior by one grade.
"This woman addressed me as 'Senior Brother,' could she be Bai Shenfei?" Lin Shen thought this was possible but couldn't be entirely sure. *After all, Lin Xiangdong certainly had more than one junior female classmate. Mistaking her identity could lead to consequences Lin Shen couldn't bear.*
Under the watchful gaze of the crowd, Lin Shen looked at the mosaic-cloaked woman and said with a hint of arrogance, "You came to Dark Bird Base, and I'm the last one to know?"
As he spoke, Lin Shen glanced at Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er, clearly displeased.
"On my first day here, I went to the Lin Family to visit you, Lin Shen. But your family said you were tackling a critical technological challenge and unavailable, so I visited the Qi Family and Wang Family instead," Bai Shenfei explained.
Though Bai Shenfei's expression and gaze were obscured, her voice carried a calm tone. She didn't seem angered by Lin Shen's attitude, instead patiently explaining herself, implying genuine respect for Lin Xiangdong.
"From what you're saying, you didn't come to Dark Bird Base specifically to see me?" Lin Shen decided to further probe.
*If their connection was casual, his blaming tone would certainly strain the conversation. However, if the woman maintained a perfectly natural response, then it increased the likelihood that she was Bai Shenfei.*
"Mr. Lin Xiangdong, your tone isn't very reasonable. She traveled thousands of miles to our Dark Bird Base, looking for you first thing. In return, you shut her out without so much as a meeting. Now that you've run into each other, you're still hiding behind that lousy mask, making her unable to see your face. Tell me, does this count as being seen or not? Or are you suggesting you're afraid of showing your true face to someone familiar? Maybe, under that mask, you're not really Mr. Lin Xiangdong at all?" Wang Tian'er said, almost directly accusing Lin Shen of being an imposter.