Invasion - Chapter 126
Chapter 126
The ground was still slightly warm. The sentinels ran quickly.
The two Guides rode the fastest mental bodies, Lin Yuan on the orca, Nicole on the black unicorn. In a blink of an eye, the group felt like they had run to the edge of the world.
The sky darkened rapidly, the heat in the air dissipated, beautiful flowers blooming all over, sturdy military boots trampling the flower sea, crushing countless petals.
Their footsteps as dense as a drumbeat. They had to be fast, couldn't waste even a single second.
Day and night changed very quickly here, without any pattern. It was said that the shortest "night" only lasted a few hours.
When the sun rose, the high temperature would kill any life exposed on the surface. No creature could survive under such a scorching sun.
The densely populated residential area was only in this small area around the square. The location of the Pillar was incredibly far away, with only a few scattered bunkers along the way as shelter.
So, Lin Yuan and her team had to keep running, reaching the next underground building where they could hide from the sun before sunrise.
The location was provided by Payne, but whether they could safely arrive depended on their own abilities.
The journey to the Pillar was a dangerous, deadly path. Even the locals of the City of Mantis, known for their speed, didn’t dare to go there easily.
Over the years, the Deviants living here had moved further and further away from the Pillar. Many newly born mantises no longer even knew what the Pillar was.
They ran continuously for several hours, and in the distance, they saw the first bunker marked on the map where they could hide.
The colorful stone roof was incredibly conspicuous on the ground.
We're here. Everyone felt a sense of relief.
The first to arrive was Ni Ji. His dark figure reached the bunker, quickly checked the surroundings, then reached out and opened the cover on the colorful stone roof.
Rachel immediately jumped in, his long golden braid flashing by the entrance. A moment later, from deep below, his signal confirming it was safe came.
At this moment, a white light appeared on the horizon.
The pale white light rapidly approached, wherever the boundary line of dawn passed, everything was incinerated. Flowers, grass, flying insects, luminous ants, all died under the strong sunlight, not a single one spared.
Half the earth turned white in a blink of an eye. The scorching death line rapidly closed in.
Ni Ji, guarding the entrance, didn't show any panic. He stepped firmly on the open roof, extending his hand to Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan, flying in the air, jumped from the orca's back, Ni Ji caught her, pulled her hand, and threw her into the bunker – the fastest way.
Nicole, after a moment's hesitation, also jumped down with her eyes closed, she was caught, and thrown in.
Yun Luo and Du Yuanyuan followed, one after the other.
As she jumped, Du Yuanyuan looked up. Ni Ji’s tall figure was still standing at the opening, drawing the saber at his waist.
A Deviant, pursued by the boundary line, was running madly towards them from afar.
With its innate racial ability, its speed incredibly fast, the strong sense of danger making its ferocity surge, stirring up dust and petals, its sharp sickles rapidly slashing towards the human standing at the entrance to the bunker.
Through the narrow opening, Du Yuanyuan saw a flash of Ni Ji’s blood-red blade light, that blade, in the dust and petals, leaving a streak of crimson.
Blood splattered at the entrance. Ni Ji's black boots stood firmly there.
Du Yuanyuan quietly cursed in admiration. She was finally convinced by Ni Ji.
Sentinels all had their pride and only truly admired those stronger than themselves.
Ni Ji had only recently joined their team, he hadn't even been familiar with everyone before.
But whether a warrior was truly powerful, whether he was dependable, wasn't something that could be determined in an arena. Only on the battlefield could their true colors be seen.
He didn't panic in times of crisis, he was meticulous when things were chaotic.
When charging, he was at the front, when retreating, he shouldered the responsibility of covering their backs.
His impeccable coordination, his strong sense of strategy, he was a partner that anyone on a battlefield would be willing to rely on.
No wonder Yuan Yuan was always looking at her personal terminal, waiting for him to join her.
Ni Ji stood at the entrance, taking one last look around.
Making sure that when he entered, nothing would suddenly emerge, preventing the safety door from closing, only then did he jump into the bunker, reaching up to close the cover.
The orca swam around outside, its huge form only vanishing a second before it was touched by the sunlight.
A wave of scorching heat passed overhead.
In the dim basement, the small group could hear the beating of each other's hearts, their breathing.
They had barely managed to reach safety on this first step into this strange place.
The outside was a scorching hell, and this small bunker for shelter was cleverly built.
Staying at the very bottom, it was neither stuffy nor too hot.
Only, there wasn’t any water here, and they had to conserve their food. So everyone stopped moving, sitting on the ground, leaning against the cold wall, resting.
Having quieted down, the dim bunker became exceptionally silent. It seemed like something was burning on the surface, the crackling of burning plants faintly transmitting into the cool underground.
Nicole couldn’t help but think of Payne again, that Deviant… with eyes like green jewels.
They had just met, yet he had died so quickly.
She didn't know why she kept thinking about him.
Deviants were originally humanity’s greatest enemy, beings they were diametrically opposed to. The first time she encountered a human-headed Deviant on the airship, she had felt that Deviants were the most terrifying monsters in this world.
But they had talked, had enjoyed music together. He had been a polite and gentle young man, his eyes shining with longing for an unknown world.
He was clearly a being with flesh and blood, emotions, just like her, she couldn’t just simply treat him as a monster.
Nicole closed her eyes, leaning against the wall, and softly hummed "Erlkönig". In the song, there was a young boy, struggling against his fate before he died.
The pungent smell of blood at the wedding banquet seemed to still linger in her nose.
The customs of this land were so bloody, devouring that gentle young man alive.
Nicole, a sentimental Guide, wanted to cry because of this.
But no one else was crying, not even Lin Yuan, sitting beside her, so she didn't want to lose her composure either, she closed her eyes tightly, tears welling up.
She admired Lin Yuan very much, why could Lin Yuan, who was about the same age as her, be so calm and collected?
Yuan Yuan was always so calm, no matter what. Faced with such a sad thing, she could still maintain her composure. So much more mature than her.
It was truly enviable.
A small hand reached out, holding hers.
Nicole opened her teary eyes and turned to look at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan sat beside her in the corner, her delicate face expressionless, her dark eyes seemingly without light.
"Actually, I also want to cry, I just haven't learned how to yet," Lin Yuan said.
Actually, I also envy you. I also want to learn how to cry, how to feel sad, how to love someone.
The two looked at each other, one with tears streaming down her face, the other expressionless.
The sentinels in the bunker couldn't help but look at them, the two Guides, they were both sad, Yuan Yuan and Nicole both.
Ni Ji sat far away, holding a blade of grass he had picked from somewhere, weaving a mantis, his long fingers pausing. He looked up at Lin Yuan.
He knew that Lin Yuan wasn’t as cold as she thought she was.
Her heart was very warm, she could even pity those who weren’t her kind.
Her heart was warm, her hands were also warm — no one knew this better than he did.
Lin Yuan sat in the corner, her pale fingers intertwined on her lap, her skin, under the candlelight, like polished porcelain, jade-like.
Exactly the same as in his dreams.
After that time, in that small storage room, just the two of them,
He had dreamt of her many times. Dreamt of her eyes watching him, dreamt of her hand holding him.
He shouldn’t be having such dreams, but how could one control their dreams?
Ni Ji lowered his head, his fingers moving, finishing the little mantis, holding it in his palm.
Thin, green grass woven into wings.
A creature, for a moment of pleasure, a moth to a flame.
The sun once again set.
After resting, the group set off, walking on the warm earth.
Halfway there, in the distance, they saw a giant Ferris wheel in the sea of flowers, its colorful cars slowly rotating.
That Ferris wheel looked a little strange, an unusually tall figure hanging upside down from its top, clinging to the entire giant structure.
Everyone stopped.
The sentinels’ eyesight was very good, and after observing from afar, they realized it wasn't a living being, but an empty shell.
The shed exoskeleton of a giant Mantis, translucent, hanging upside down high above.
They all relaxed slightly and quickly passed beneath the Ferris wheel.
The attack came suddenly.
The flower sea beneath their feet split open, and a behemoth emerged.
Not only did the sentinels not receive any warning beforehand, even the tentacles didn't sense any emotional fluctuations.
As if a dead giant had been sleeping underground, only to suddenly awaken when they passed, bursting out from the earth.
A mantis in the natural world, in front of humans, was just a small, weak, insignificant insect.
But this Deviant, with a human face and an insect body, as large as a mountain, breaking through the soil, slowly standing up, it brought with it an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Its triangular head, its human-like face, looked down at them coldly as it slowly rose, blocking their path.
Two powerful forelimbs, like blades of frost and snow, extended from its body, like the Grim Reaper’s giant sickles.
Lin Yuan’s six-person team wasn’t without a chance against such a large Deviant, but they didn’t have the time. Fighting this battle, regardless of victory or defeat, would mean all six of their lives would be lost here.
Rachel was the first to make a judgment.
The Golden Lion’s mental body stepped out from the void, shaking its golden mane, and charged towards the mantis with its sharp blades.
"You all go first," he said.
Having been at the outpost for many years, this wasn’t the first time he had made such a decision.
The last time, during the contaminated zone expansion, he had let his teammates and the villagers leave first, trapping himself in the contaminated zone, he had been tortured, and had almost not survived.
Even now, in times of crisis, the Golden Lion didn't hesitate to leave the hope of survival to his companions.
It’s okay, just consider this returning the favor to Guide Lin. I've earned these past two years of life, anyways.
Rachel thought this as he charged towards the sickle blades.
Lin Yuan, sitting on the back of the orca, subconsciously turned to look at Ni Ji. She didn’t know why, but at this moment, she instinctively looked at Ni Ji first.
Ni Ji's black-gloved fingers pointed at himself and her, quickly making a tactical sign.
That gesture, translated into words, was: You and I stay, they go first.
The orca was moving forward quickly. The distance between the two of them was quite far, separated by the flying flowers and leaves, and the giant monster slowly approaching.
But Lin Yuan felt she could clearly see the look in Ni Ji’s eyes.
His gaze firm, without a trace of hesitation, carrying the recklessness of a gambler, the courage of giving his all.
If it’s just the two of us, there’s still hope of survival.
We can do it, let’s bet on this.
Lin Yuan knew why she had looked at him, he was always just as she expected.
The orca stopped, Lin Yuan closed her eyes briefly, when she opened them again, her pupils had turned golden.
She stood on the orca’s back, the strong wind blowing her long hair. She extended her pale hand, pointing forward, and spoke,
"You all go ahead first, and wait for us at the bunker ahead," her voice, though soft, resonated like a church bell in the minds of the sentinels present.
Bewitching, irresistible.
Rachel, who was charging towards the Deviant, Yun Luo and Du Yuanyuan, who had just stopped, froze at first, then their eyes gradually glazed over, as if forgetting the Deviant before them, forgetting the difficult situation, they turned and, towards the direction away from the battlefield, increased their pace, sprinting, their heads lowered.
Only Lin Yuan and Ni Ji remained.
The unicorn’s speed was incredible, and before Nicole could react, it had already run far away.
"Xiao Yuan!" Nicole’s worried voice came from the wind.
Lin Yuan's tentacles, as she passed, suddenly appeared, pinching her hand gently, then letting go, transmitting her thoughts.
"Wait for me, I'll catch up eventually.”
“Take care of the sentinels, perhaps we’ll meet at the end.”
…
Their companions were gone.
Perhaps they would be angry. But that was something they needed to apologize for only after she and Ni Ji survived.
It had been a long time since they last fought side by side, how nostalgic.
Ni Ji and Lin Yuan exchanged a look across the flower sea.
The danger of this battle was time. The all-consuming sun could rise at any moment. Every second wasted was a risk to their lives.
A gamble. Letting their teammates go first, betting their lives.
They couldn't lose.
Ni Ji drew his saber, the bone-white blade tasting blood, turning crimson, he charged towards the monster.
They wouldn’t lose.
Lin Yuan stood on the orca's back, her eyes glowing gold, turning towards the mountain-like monster.
The giant being, tall as a mountain, lowered its cold, mask-like face, looking down at the two small humans below, like insects.
Thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter~~
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