Invasion - Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Lin Yuan had a little secret, a secret no one knew.
Since she was a child, her body had been almost completely unaffected by any anesthetic drugs.
For some reason, whether it was spices, narcotics, alcohol, or any other nerve-affecting drugs, they had no effect on her.
She might fall asleep from drowsiness, she might lose consciousness from physical blows, but she would never be put to sleep by narcotics. Even the strongest drugs were ineffective against her.
So, drinking alcohol, for her, was like playing a game. She could never get drunk, no matter how much she drank.
She had never told anyone this. Ni Ji, naturally, didn’t know either.
When Ni Ji released the smoke, one after another, the sentinels in the hall collapsed.
Lin Yuan thought that pretending to be unconscious at this time would be good for both her and Ni Ji, so she pretended to faint.
She was even better at controlling her mental fluctuations than Ni Ji, when she collapsed, suppressing all her emotions, her body showed no reaction at all, it really looked quite convincing.
Only, her acting was so good that she even fooled Ni Ji.
Lin Yuan fell, and quickly felt a pair of strong arms catching her, carefully supporting her.
The Sentinel, still her Sentinel, he didn’t even want her to fall.
Lin Yuan thought happily.
She had originally intended to give him a hint, to let Ni Ji know she was awake.
But she suddenly realized that the Sentinel was treating her a little differently than usual. Specifically how, Lin Yuan couldn’t say.
Her cheek was gently brushed by a finger, a feather-light touch, yet it clearly lingered on her skin, impossible to ignore.
It was Ni Ji, gently touching her hair, a very light, non-threatening touch.
Yet, it also seemed very heavy, as if he was holding something hot in his hand, carefully bringing it to her.
They had supported each other on the battlefield before, a hug like this wasn't a big deal.
Lin Yuan had always been a very insensitive person, but she suddenly became very perceptive at this moment.
It was as if something had happened. Her intuition told her she had to continue pretending.
Lin Yuan, her eyes closed, felt a slight tug on her hair.
She heard Ni Ji’s breath and the clear beating of his heart, feeling the sentinel holding her lift his mask slightly, softly kissing her hair.
I can’t move, Lin Yuan thought, I can't let him know I'm awake.
Although she didn't know why, but she felt that if she opened her eyes at this moment, it would be very embarrassing.
She blocked everything, suppressed all her reactions, imagining herself as a piece of wood, unconscious, unfeeling.
Soon, Ni Ji gently put her down, opened the cage, and rescued Ji Xuan.
Lin Yuan, lying on the ground, pretending to faint, suddenly realized that after sympathy, she had experienced a new emotion.
Nervousness.
…
Ni Ji changed Ji Xuan into a sentinel uniform, covered his face with blood, hid him among the many injured, and pressed the down button for the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, he heard Ji Xuan struggle to speak, telling him to take care.
That voice was so soft, filled with uncontainable sorrow, as if those two words were an extravagant hope, difficult to realize.
The more one understood the White Tower, the more one experienced the Queen's power, the more they knew how little chance the person left behind had of surviving.
The elevator doors fully closed, the downward arrow lit up.
He had been cautious all the way, tightly sealing his mindscape, not letting any emotion leak out.
He couldn’t let anyone use their mental sensing abilities to track his movements.
Perhaps it was because he was often with Lin Yuan, his ability to conceal his emotions had significantly improved over these two years.
With the black blade's interference, he had successfully diverted that mentally powerful Majesty, and retrieved Ji Xuan from the Queen's lair – the Palace.
But Ni Ji knew this was just the beginning, a small crack they had managed to tear open.
The next step was the most dangerous.
He had to, alone, draw the attention of the powerful pursuers, and give all his companions, who participated in this rescue plan, the greatest chance to escape.
There weren’t just decorative noble children in the White Tower, there were also countless truly powerful warriors.
Once they came for them, their mental bodies chasing across the land and sky, it would be very difficult for anyone to successfully escape the capital.
Ni Ji came to a ventilation shaft, looking down at the timer on his personal terminal.
This was the pristine White Tower, a place called a dream-like paradise by outsiders.
There was a school, a farm, a science park, barracks, and that garden and the palace at the top. The giant, layered structure contained all the functions to support a human society.
But even here, there were dark and damp pipes, deserted ventilation shafts.
These places were his paths for invasion and escape.
He stood by the edge of the ventilation shaft, his head lowered, estimating the distance between the gray, dark cement platforms.
The wind from below blew up, brushing his skin, reminding him of the feeling of cold hair slipping between his fingers.
Calculating the time, the elevator was about to reach the bottom. It was time to move.
Ni Ji looked at his fingers and smiled.
Thinking, yes, today was a good day, at least he had kissed her.
He loosened his mental barrier.
Like a tightly closed door slightly opening a crack, as hatred for the White Tower and the desire for destruction poured out, a cold gaze instantly locked onto him from above.
Ni Ji reacted incredibly quickly, instantly closing his barrier, sealing his mindscape.
But a powerful mental force, like a giant wasp’s stinger, pierced through the center of his brows, deep inside.
Poisonous, sharp, cold, forceful, huge.
Incredibly terrifying.
It pierced deep into his ocean, filled with the rage of that powerful being at the top of the White Tower, violently churning Ni Ji’s mindscape.
It was as if his brain was being torn apart. The pain was excruciating. Ni Ji fell towards the shaft below.
He crashed onto the cement platform several stories down, gritting his teeth, keeping himself conscious, once again sealing off his mindscape.
The deep ocean raised its wide and sturdy barriers, sealing everything in the seabed, blocking any prying eyes from the outside world.
That stinger piercing his mind was cut off, its remnants remaining in the soft and beautiful seabed. The Queen had once again lost track of him.
Amidst the splitting headache, Ni Ji heard the sound of many messy footsteps, those people, aggressively, running past the corridor near him, up the stairs, to the level he had just fallen from.
With his mental power exposed, countless sentinels were alerted. The noisy crowd surged towards that floor.
Taking advantage of this short window, Ji Xuan in the elevator was picked up by his companions waiting below, and amidst the chaos, they left the White Tower.
The stairwell was filled with noisy shouts and the sound of messy footsteps.
No one knew that the traitor who had deliberately exposed himself had already fallen several floors down.
But the search area would soon expand.
Ni Ji forced himself to move, hiding in the shadows, curling up in a dark corner to rest for a while.
The throbbing pain in his head lessened, and he forced himself to stand, looking for a place to hide.
The footsteps of the searching soldiers were approaching, they were already very close, the sound of running from above, below, all around.
It was becoming more and more difficult to hide. Ni Ji hid in a small stairwell, narrowly avoiding a team of sentinels passing by.
Groups of searchers shuttled back and forth, among them truly powerful sentinels with sharp senses.
Several times, he was almost exposed.
Occasional sharp pains in his head made it hard for him to focus.
Ni Ji leaned against the cold wall, his brows furrowed, cold sweat plastering his hair to his temples.
If I could just take out one of those lone sentinels, change into his clothes, and then return to the barracks, blend into the crowd.
Just hold on a little longer. He pressed his aching forehead.
If only that person were by my side. This thought kept appearing in his mind.
He realized something was wrong with him. It was as if something was interfering with his mind, making him miss his Guide more intensely than ever before.
At the top of the White Tower,
The Queen returned to her throne.
“Guide Lin and the others were only affected by the anesthetic; they’re fine, I've given them the antidote, and they've been sent to the lower levels to rest,”
Luther, before the throne, carefully reported the situation, along with the other sentinels.
On the huge jade throne, the Queen’s face was covered with a veil, her red lips bright, her skin as pale as the cold stone throne.
She gave a soft “hmm”, her expression unreadable.
"As you instructed, we’ve sealed off all the gates of the White Tower, not even a mouse can escape now," Luther said, observing her expression, cautiously continuing, "Only, we've searched the tenth floor and below thoroughly, but so far haven't found any trace of the rebel, is it possible…”
"Are you happy, Luther?" The Queen suddenly interrupted, "Ji Xuan has escaped."
Luther’s back was covered in cold sweat. "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
He felt a deep fear and unease, because he had noticed a sense of relief in his heart, even a sense of comfort.
He had sworn eternal loyalty to Her Majesty, how could he be happy about a traitor who betrayed the empire escaping?
As if having heard his thoughts, the Queen’s voice turned cold.
"You’re happy too soon, that traitor’s mindscape has already collapsed, even if he escapes from here, he won’t be able to escape becoming a monster.”
“As for the ant who caused all this chaos…”
The pale hand on the throne reached out and pinched the commander’s chin, lifting his face.
In front of everyone, her fingers tightened, until he couldn't bear it, a humiliated look appearing in his eyes.
"Just some clever little tricks," the queen on the throne said casually, "just a little dog, the door has been closed, nowhere to escape, and he’ll soon reveal himself.”
"After he’s caught, I’ll make him perform for everyone,"
"Perhaps he’s even your subordinate, or someone you know. He won’t be as lucky as you and Ji Xuan, he won’t even have the chance to die, I’ll make him dance non-stop, cry, and repent. You’ll be here, watching.”
The cold, porcelain-like fingers released Luther, and lightly snapped.
Snap!
The crisp sound echoed through the vast hall.
At that moment, all the sentinels in the White Tower, from top to bottom, clearly heard this sound in their minds.
Ni Ji, at the bottom of the White Tower, having just avoided another group of sentinels, suddenly heard that snap in his mind.
Like a fuse, a trigger.
That mental power, which had remained in his mind, not yet fully dissipated, that stinger of the wasp, suddenly swam to the deepest part of his mindscape, and ignited something.
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