Invasion - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was not until she reached the second-floor office and handed over her documents to the approving officer that Lin Yuan suddenly remembered where she had heard that sound of the sea before.

It was probably a few years ago, when she had not yet earned the right to leave the White Tower.

That day, she didn't know what had gotten into her, and she had to sneak out of the White Tower on a snowy night.

The current Lin Yuan did not quite understand her thoughts back then. Perhaps it was the so-called teenage rebellion or puberty. In short, her emotions were not very stable during that period.

Sometimes, she would become unusually stubborn over some inexplicable little things.

For example, a snowfall, or a burst of fireworks in the sky... things like that.

Some people said that to ensure the safety of the guides, the guide academy in the White Tower had the most powerful security system in the entire empire, and no one could enter or leave at will.

But Lin Yuan felt that things were not as exaggerated as the rumors made them out to be. As long as she was willing, she could always sneak out.

The tentacles could travel very far underground.

Before those people saw her, they had often already been subtly hooked by her tentacles.

She didn't need to make any big movements; just a gentle nudge of their superficial consciousness, and they would subconsciously ignore her.

She could walk out right in front of those teachers, guards, and sentinels without being noticed at all. It wasn't that they didn't see her; it was that they subconsciously overlooked her. And afterwards, they would find it strange. How could they not have seen her?

Such an effortless form of mental induction was as easy as eating for Lin Yuan, like an innate ability she had been born with.

But not every guide could do this, nor was it a required course for guides. It was difficult to master, and it was considered improper. It was believed that only some "unorthodox" people would learn it.

People generally believed that guides should be gentle, tolerant, and full of empathy and compassion.

What an excellent guide should be proud of was their ability to soothe sentinels.

Better mental channeling was the main job of a guide.

The academy in the White Tower was like spring all year round. Everyone wore high-end silk clothing and ate nutritious and delicious healthy food. Other than having to think about who their future partner would be, they could be said to be carefree, living a luxurious and affluent life.

But for some reason, Lin Yuan always wanted to sneak out at that time. To walk on the cold snow, to mingle in the dusty streets, to take a few breaths of unfiltered air, or to look at the sky without a roof above.

She could wander around aimlessly under the sky for a while.

It was very difficult for those people to find her.

That day, it was snowing heavily. There were not many people on the streets, and everything was covered in clumps of icy, cold white cotton candy. The whole world seemed like a distant dream.

Lin Yuan came out from the warm guide academy, wearing only a thin uniform and a pair of oversized boots. She was freezing cold.

But she had no intention of going back. She sat in an alley, leaning against a snow-covered trash can, looking up at a small patch of gray sky above her head.

The sentinel appeared suddenly. Almost at the same time as Lin Yuan heard the faint sound of the tide, he landed on top of the tin trash can. He was wearing a tight black uniform of the sentinel academy, with one foot on the snow-covered lid of the can, and he held a cold, sharp short knife to Lin Yuan's neck without any politeness.

He reported to the walkie-talkie, "Target found. Yes, it's her. Completely under control. Okay, I'll take her back right away."

While he was speaking, his eyes coldly stared at Lin Yuan, with a hint of light purple in the depths of his eyes, ready to activate his powers at any moment. It was not the gaze of a sentinel when they saw a guide, but the look of a special forces soldier who had found a fugitive who had caused them trouble on a snowy day.

Calm and wary, not allowing her to escape.

The sharp short knife in his hand remained firmly on Lin Yuan’s neck.

Lin Yuan, even now, could remember the feeling of that sharp blade on her neck.

“So it was that person.” Lin Yuan touched her neck and looked out the second-floor window.

The screen in the training field was still playing on a loop, surrounded by countless angry sentinels.

“You want to apply to the Special Research Department?” The officer in front of Lin Yuan brought her attention back.

She was a middle-aged woman, wearing a military cap and a military officer's badge on her chest. She was flipping through Lin Yuan's documents with a somewhat impatient expression.

“This… doesn’t seem to be in accordance with the rules,” she said.

She held a small stamp in her hand, turning it around and around, but she didn't stamp it for a long time.

Even though Lin Yuan’s application did not violate any rules at all.

But she held power in her hands, so she enjoyed making things difficult for others.

Lin Yuan had seen this officer, surnamed Wu, more than once. In the past, when she had faced her, she had always smiled kindly, never spoke in this tone, and wouldn't call her "Xiao Yuan" with the attitude of a senior.

People's attitudes could change suddenly.

Of course, she was not the only one who had changed.

Even without extending her mental tentacles, Lin Yuan could distinguish the change in these people's attitudes towards her.

From being obsequious to condescending, deliberately making things difficult.

It was as if, without that engagement, she had suddenly become an incomplete person, someone who deserved to be made difficult, disliked, and pitied everywhere she went.

Underground, two invisible tentacles withdrew from the officer’s direction, shaking themselves with disgust before curling up unhappily.

Had she accidentally touched some bad emotions again? Lin Yuan sometimes felt helpless about her mental body.

“It” was too large and had a personality that was not quite the same as hers. It liked to wander around and touch things. She couldn't control it at all.

It would often accidentally touch the superficial consciousness exposed by some people.

Especially those strong, unrestrained, and outward emotions, they were easily touched and fed back to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan really didn't want to know those people's emotions and thoughts.

To her, they were all irrelevant people and irrelevant matters.

Forced to hear all sorts of emotions, the whole world had become much more annoying. Unfortunately, this was not something she could completely control.

Every sentinel and guide in the world had their own spiritual body, which would appear as animals invisible to ordinary people.

Sentinels' mental bodies were mostly birds of prey. Tigers, coyotes, eagles, giant sharks… fierce and powerful.

Guides were mostly herbivores with gentle temperaments. Reindeer, koi fish, snow rabbits, cute and adorable.

And Lin Yuan knew that she was an exception.

Well, not too much of an exception, Lin Yuan comforted herself. Actually, “it” was also cute. It was just a little “bit” bigger.

“It’s not that I won't process your permit. It’s just that…” The officer muttered, her finger suddenly stopping when she flipped to a certain page, “Oh, this is… mental induction?”

She paused and closed the documents. As if remembering something, she looked at Lin Yuan with a new smile. “Xiao Yuan, you see, it’s not very appropriate for a guide to run around everywhere. It’s very difficult for me as well.”

“But…” she changed her tone, “we just happen to have a very important matter to deal with here.”

“See that prisoner? He's a murderer." She pointed her chin out the window. “We need a guide to infiltrate his mental barrier, pry open his mouth, and make him confess to his crimes.”

Guides were also considered soldiers and were, in name, obliged to follow the instructions of the military administration office.

But a guide’s duty was to soothe sentinels. No one wanted to do the dirty work of interrogating criminals.

Those guides who were engaged to nobles and royals would not be assigned to such tasks.

The officer felt that putting this matter on Lin Yuan's shoulders was perfect.

Perhaps afraid that Lin Yuan would disagree, she reached out and patted Lin Yuan's hand over the desk as if Lin Yuan had some kind of intimate relationship with her. “If you help our military administration office solve this problem, no matter how difficult things are for you later, I’ll have to give you the green light, right?”

Roy, who was waiting on the side, heard this and pushed Lin Yuan aside. He was about to squeeze forward and speak for her when he heard Lin Yuan faintly reply, "Okay."

Roy was shocked and turned his head. He felt that this young girl was absolutely senseless.

When he had been explaining things to her on the way, she had agreed very obediently.

But she had forgotten everything in the blink of an eye.

She actually agreed to such an unreasonable request without even thinking about it.

She probably did not know how terrifying such a vicious criminal could be.

He was not like those sentinels in the White Tower who would be at a loss when they saw a guide.

Such a person had been in a sea of blood and crawled out of hell. They had taken lives. Their will was usually firm, vicious, and cruel.

Trying to pry open their barrier and infiltrate their mental landscape was not only difficult but also extremely dangerous.

She simply did not know the immensity of heaven and earth.

He frantically made eye contact with Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan did not see it.

Her gaze was fixed on the screen that was looping, as if she was thinking about something.

The officer was delighted. She walked to the window, stood beside Lin Yuan, and whispered instructions about what to pay attention to.

“Actually…getting a confession isn't the main thing. What’s important is the whereabouts of the worm jade,” she winked, giving a mysterious look as if she understood, lowering her voice even more. “That’s a living worm jade. Invaluable. The higher-ups want it, we must get our hands on it and send it up.”

Lin Yuan squinted at the window, her face expressionless, showing no emotions. She simply hummed softly in response.

The officer felt relieved. She thought that Lin Yuan was just a young girl, who hadn’t left the White Tower and had something to ask of her.

She should be obedient and easy to manipulate.

She reached out and patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder, encouraging her, "Just go ahead and do whatever you need to do. As long as you can find the whereabouts of the item, it doesn’t matter if you kill the sentinel or drive him crazy."

The young guide wearing the academy uniform turned to look at her. The black eyes in her fair face made the officer feel inexplicably creeped out.

It must have been an illusion. She soon heard the guide’s obedient reply, "Understood."

Previous Contents Next