Invasion - Chapter 55
Chapter 55
When Ni Ji woke up, he realized he had actually slept for several hours.
He opened his eyes a little sluggishly, for a moment, he wasn’t even sure where he was.
As if he was still back then, a carefree young man, living freely, always smiling, having never experienced true hardship, never been hurt by this world.
Ni Ji blinked and saw the Guide sitting before him, her chin resting on her hand, looking out the window.
She glanced at him, then looked back down at the video playing on the personal terminal on her wrist.
"I feel like something's not right," she said, looking down.
"Wha- what's not right?" Ni Ji mumbled, a little dazed.
It was only now that he came to his senses, slowly remembering what had happened.
He had received mental guidance, and before it had even completely ended, he had fallen asleep comfortably.
She had said, "It’s okay, I’ll protect you."
And he had truly relaxed completely, falling asleep beside her.
It had been a long time since Ni Ji had experienced such a peaceful sleep.
Nightmares, filled with blood and corpses, had always haunted his nights.
Who would have thought that he would, in such a dangerous place, be guarded by a Guide, sleeping so soundly for so long?
Ni Ji stood up, stretching his limbs.
His body felt lighter than ever.
All the pain and heaviness in his mind turned into light feathers, scattered by the wind.
At this moment, every wave in his mental sea was humming happily.
The corals at the bottom of the ocean were more vibrant, the pearls brighter, the fish and crabs joyfully swimming and crawling around.
The beach golden, the seawater blue and clear.
The orca swam freely in the deep blue ocean, its body larger than ever before, unprecedentedly lively.
It would occasionally leap high out of the water, closing its eyes in the air, and kissing the sea surface as it dove back in.
Sometimes, it would stand upright, its black and white head above the water, intently gazing at the moon in the sky for a long time.
This was the mental guidance she had given him.
This feeling was almost addictive.
"It’s the tree that’s not right," Lin Yuan said.
Ni Ji, hearing Lin Yuan's words, came to his senses and asked, "What about the tree isn't right?"
Last night, they had exchanged the information they had each gathered. Lin Yuan had told him about the people who appeared at night. Ni Ji had shown her some videos he had recorded.
Their wrists touching, they used the short-range transfer function of their personal terminals to send each other information.
When night fell, the golden tree grew from the fissure in the ground, towering over everything.
Before dawn, the giant golden tree withered, decaying, shattering, and then dissipating like ashes.
A tree of dusk and dawn.
In Ni Ji’s videos, violent, golden branches repeatedly emerged from the blood-red abyss, screaming and roaring, possessing powerful mental attack capabilities.
Even the inextinguishable flames of the white phosphorus bombs couldn't completely burn it.
By the latter half of the night, he didn’t know why, but those swaying, screaming golden branches had become much quieter.
The violent mental attack suddenly weakened, and the aggressive golden monster seemed to lose interest in fighting, becoming absent-minded, casually waving its branches, driving away the sentinels who were constantly trying to find an angle to attack.
Ni Ji had searched the entire place, trying to cut countless branches and leaves, even venturing into the fissure to cut a tree root, he had even split the entire tree trunk at one point.
But he still hadn’t found the key to open the exit.
Those branches that were cut down, that fell, quickly lost their golden luster, turning into ashes, disappearing into the night along with the thick flames and strong wind.
Not leaving behind anything tangible.
"It’s just not right," Lin Yuan stared at the virtual screens on her wrist, lost in thought.
The screaming, chaotic, hysterical golden branches, the Golden Tree constantly emerging from the blood-red abyss, slowly rotated above her wrist.
It was very similar to the tree she had seen, yet also different.
"This tree is wrong, its emotions are wrong," Lin Yuan said, not explaining the reason clearly, then closed her mouth.
Ni Ji found that Lin Yuan was a quiet girl in the real world.
But last night, or rather, every time she was in his mental sea, she was almost like a different person.
Although her face didn’t show much expression, she had actually been very lively, curious about everything, very playful. Exploring everywhere in that palace, going deep, gently touching.
Gentle and innocent, powerful and beautiful.
She had explored his world like that last night.
Perhaps he should have refused, Ni Ji thought. That kind of feeling, having experienced it once, he would constantly crave it again.
Humans were sometimes greedy creatures. Last time, in the contaminated zone, he had only wanted to have a proper conversation with her.
Now, he knew he craved more.
…
Taking advantage of the relatively safe "daytime," the two tidied themselves up and once again sneaked into the Rose Camp.
Those “humans,” who looked exactly like living people, who could talk and laugh, who had emotions, had all disappeared.
The huge camp was empty. The streets, the stairs, and the rows of houses on both sides, were silent, only the occasional sound of wind.
No more music or noise, no more laughter or conversation, no more delicious food or fine wine. And also no girl singing to Lin Yuan.
Along the way, there were occasionally one or two sentinels who had also found this place and sneaked in. When they saw Ni Ji, most of them avoided him from a distance.
Those who came for the bounty, who could avoid those dangerous monsters and reach this Rose Camp, were basically all experts.
But Ni Ji, who had single-handedly fought that tree all night, had left a terrifying impression that made them not dare to provoke him.
They just watched from afar, most couldn't bear the strange screams from that golden tree.
That sharp sound buzzed in their minds, if they tried to get closer, their heads would hurt like they were going crazy, let alone fighting, even standing was difficult.
But this lone wolf from the northern outpost had charged forward again and again amidst the raging flames.
His blade red, himself covered in blood, fighting like a madman.
Only a strong and fierce madman like him would dare to single-handedly challenge such a strange, mutated creature.
But even he hadn’t found the key to open the door.
Where was the key? Where was the thing Her Majesty wanted? This was the question in the hearts of everyone who had reached this area.
Ni Ji took Lin Yuan to the place where the Golden Tree had appeared last night.
At this moment, the glittering tree was gone.
Only the huge crack remained on the ground, like a giant beast opening its bloody maw, baring its fangs at the sky.
"This is the place," Ni Ji crouched down, touching the ground with his gloved hand.
The white phosphorus bombs had burned all night, and the floor here was still warm.
The soil and bricks were warm to the touch, a record of last night’s fierce battle.
But that giant tree was gone, not even much ash or embers left behind.
It appeared at night, and disappeared before dawn.
Standing at the edge of the pit, looking down, the dark red crack was bottomless.
Something like blood vessels wriggled in the soil of the inner wall, and deeper down was a crimson, dark abyss. The whistling wind from underground was like the cries of countless people.
Flickering ashes floated up from the depths of the crack, scattering like foam in the corners of the eaves and alleys, dancing in the desolate streets.
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