Invasion - Chapter 142
Chapter 142
So it turned out that dates were such happy things.
Making one know what sweetness was, what warmth was, what happiness was.
Even after a night, thinking back to the fireworks and the kiss, Ni Ji's heart would still tighten slightly.
This was his first time, his first date.
Thinking about it, so many firsts in his life were given to him by Lin Yuan.
But he didn't know why, there was always a faint unease amidst that honey-like sweetness.
Ni Ji carefully thought over every word Lin Yuan had said last night, thought about every frame of her smiling face under the fireworks, every emotion exchanged in their mental domains, he hadn’t detected anything unusual.
Only then did he slightly relax.
Besides, she had also promised him before, that she wouldn't leave him alone again.
While comforting himself, there was still a sense of unease in his heart.
He vaguely felt that Lin Yuan hadn't actually promised him anything.
She hadn’t even said anything about wanting to be with him forever.
The inexplicably insecure Vice-commander Ni got up early in the morning.
And today, there were so many things to do, he was incredibly busy in the White Tower.
While working, he remembered that Lin Yuan would be entering the White Tower today, so he enhanced his hearing.
From every corner of the White Tower, all sorts of whispers reached his ears.
Those nobles in the upper levels of the White Tower were whispering to each other.
"How long has it been since Her Majesty summoned anyone?"
"I don't know, many days, who knows what happened, no one’s allowed up there."
"So worrying, such a large palace, just her living there alone, without a single attendant, how is that even possible?”
"Let alone attendants, even Commander Luther, who is usually close to Her Majesty, isn’t allowed an audience."
"Could something be wrong? It hasn't been very peaceful lately. It’s a little scary."
"Shh, don't jinx it, be careful of being overheard. What could happen? This is the Holy Tower, the holy light eternally protects us."
"But I heard the Queen is summoning a child with royal blood today."
"That Guide Lin? She’s truly favored."
Amidst the buzzing whispers, Ni Ji saw Commander Luther, with the scar on his face, sitting on the jade steps below the palace.
His head lowered, a dazed look on his face, as if he didn’t know what to do.
Seeing Ni Ji, he waved him over.
When Ni Ji came over, he opened his mouth, a bewildered look in his eyes, and suddenly asked,
"Ji Xuan, he…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Ji Xuan was a traitor, a rebel who had escaped from the White Tower. Since that explosion incident, no one in the White Tower dared to mention his name.
Luther had called Ni Ji over, said only one name, then seemed to have forgotten what he wanted to say.
Luther was dazed for a while, then, rubbing his eyes tiredly, waved his hand.
"You can go. Go patrol outside, I’ve been feeling uneasy these past few days, like something’s about to happen."
Ni Ji nodded in agreement and took the elevator down from the top of the tall tower, floor by floor.
He saw many people like Luther in the White Tower.
Those elites of the empire, those usually close to the Queen, each one dazed, a bewildered look on their faces.
As if something had been taken from their mind, as if the force that had been controlling and manipulating them was malfunctioning, causing the entire White Tower, this giant machine, to become sluggish.
Ni Ji patrolled around the White Tower. During this time, he even found time to secretly go to the underground contact point, meeting with Ji Xuan, who had sneaked back into the capital.
After leaving the contact point, he felt his back drenched in sweat.
It was very humid today, the green clouds in the sky hanging low, even the White Tower’s usually pristine surface had lost its luster.
Ni Ji turned his head and looked at the giant tower, which looked a little gloomy under the dark clouds, squinting.
An invisible string seemed to be stretched taut in the air.
A battle about to erupt.
He saw, at this moment, a little girl running out from an alley across the street.
The little girl, a drawing album in her arms, hurried past, weaving through the shadows of pedestrians, quickly slipping into another alley.
It was a Guide, Ni Ji instantly realized.
That child had clearly entered his line of sight, but somehow, he had subconsciously overlooked her. He had almost, as if he hadn’t even seen her, turned to leave.
If it weren’t for having spent so much time with Lin Yuan, if it weren’t for the large number of sentinels that had suddenly appeared nearby,
Those warriors, with their incredibly sharp vision and hearing, were moving through the streets and alleys.
And they couldn’t see the young girl passing right by their feet.
Lin Yuan would also often do this. And because he frequently spent time with Lin Yuan, Ni Ji had become somewhat immune to this Guide trick.
He knew that powerful guides could simultaneously influence the minds of many, making everyone subconsciously unable to see them.
Ni Ji remembered the first time he had met Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan, young, escaping from the White Tower. Many people had searched for her at the time, but they couldn't find that girl walking alone in the ice and snow. In the end, he was the one who had found her.
Had another Guide escaped from the White Tower? But there were too many people sent out to search, like they were looking for some heinous criminal.
All the rooftops, all the high vantage points nearby, were filled with fully armed warriors.
Each one grim-faced, holding long-range weapons, their safeties off.
All of this, for a young child?
Ni Ji slightly furrowed his brows.
He had seen this child before, an orphan, secretly kept in the hidden rooms at the top of the White Tower.
…
In the dim and damp alley, Xiao Jiu huddled by a garbage heap, hugging a sketchbook in her arms.
She quietly looked up, the patch of sky above the alley small, dark green clouds drifting.
On the rooftop, right above her, stood a sentinel in black, holding a long spear.
The sentinel's cold gaze repeatedly swept over the corner where she was hiding.
Several times, she was almost discovered, it was only her careful use of mental power to interfere with the sentinel’s mind that had saved her.
A bead of sweat trickled down the girl's dirty cheek, she was incredibly hungry, and a little weak.
She had been running, and hadn't eaten much.
More and more people were coming from the White Tower to find her, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hide.
If she were caught and taken back, she might, just like Xiao Chun, be taken to that altar.
Taken to the altar, then devoured by that terrifying being.
The girl lowered her eyelashes, the fingers holding the sketchbook tightening. She saw her dirty fingers staining the cover of the beautiful sketchbook.
It was very dirty here, the place piled with garbage, two rats scurrying past her feet.
It made her think of the days she had spent with her grandpa, when she was always hungry, when her fingers were covered with coal dust, when she didn't have any pretty clothes to wear.
But she didn’t know why, while living in the White Tower, she had always missed those days.
At least those days with her family had been real, unlike the cold academy in the White Tower.
She couldn't see the sun there, couldn't see the real sky, and the smiles of the teachers there, all fake.
The sound of hurried footsteps came. A whole team of sentinels appeared at the alley entrance, moving incredibly fast, some even standing on the roofs.
Cold gazes from all directions.
Black figures appeared at the other end of the alley.
“Search every inch, regardless of whether you sense any living beings.”
"That’s a very powerful Guide; don’t treat her like a child."
“If it's truly impossible to capture her alive, lethal force is authorized.”
Search every inch.
This was the worst-case scenario.
She no longer had the strength to affect so many people at the same time.
Xiao Jiu closed her eyes, and slowly moved her small body towards the deeper shadows.
There was a window a little higher up behind her, about three or four meters high.
But she, so small, couldn’t climb in without alerting these people, she was, after all, still a child.
A large hand, wearing a black glove, suddenly reached out from the darkness and covered her mouth.
Xiao Jiu saw a sentinel's eyes in the darkness.
Those eyes, purple, like a ghost’s, had appeared from the shadows behind her at some point.
He covered her mouth with one hand, the other hand raised, a finger to his lips.
Footsteps in the alley, very close now.
Xiao Jiu's heart pounded, and in that instant, she sensed goodwill from this sentinel, all the emotions around her, directed at her, were filled with malice, capture, killing intent, only the Sentinel who suddenly appeared behind her had positive emotions, it made her remember who this sentinel with purple eyes was.
This big brother had once helped carry her heavy coal box, had stopped those who beat and kicked her, had even given her a chance to see her grandpa one last time, most importantly, he had also sneaked into that lightless academy in the White Tower.
That day, an unprecedented explosion had rocked the White Tower, he and she, the same hatred for that white tower, wanted to explore its secrets, Xiao Jiu nodded.
Letting the tall sentinel who had suddenly appeared, carry her, a light jump, silently, through that window behind her.
Sentinels with guns ran past the alley.
The Captain leading them raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop.
His gaze swept over the garbage cans, searching every shadow where a person could hide, two rats there, squeaking. Seeing so many people, the two filthy creatures darted into the depths of the sewer.
He looked up, there was a dilapidated window above the pile of trash, the window open, its curtains still swaying.
The captain’s eyes narrowed, he walked towards it, his boots on the wall, with a light jump, he was on the windowsill. He looked around the empty room.
He wanted to enter and search, but for some reason, he felt a surge of annoyance.
Such a small girl, a Guide, she couldn’t possibly climb into a window this high, it would be a waste of time, such rational thoughts flashed through his mind.
"No one here.”
He jumped down from the windowsill, waved his hand, and continued leading the team.
He didn’t know that in the room he had just been in, Ni Ji, his back against the wall, his hand gripping his blade, purple fluorescent light burning in his eyes, was standing right there.
If his head had been even an inch further in, Ni Ji's blade, like a rainbow, would have flashed, without hesitation, taking his head.
The little girl beside Ni Ji, one hand holding the sketchbook, the other patting her chest, gave the Sentinel a "we’re good" gesture.
Her face dirty, her eyes bright, she knew what to do, and could calmly influence the enemy’s subconscious.
Just a child of seven or eight, not even half his height.
Guides really were impressive.
Ni Ji gave her a thumbs-up.
In a dim, closed room in the capital,
A group of people sat around a long, round table, among them men and women, every face grim, their gazes sharp, their demeanor calm, although many were wearing masks, it could be seen from their movements that each one was a powerful warrior, outside the door, more people were being brought into this room after identity verification, this was a meeting room, a secret meeting taking place, all those present were core members of the Revolutionary Army lurking in the capital, some were even representatives sent from distant outposts, for the first time, those opposing the White Tower within the empire had gathered like this.
The man standing at the front pushed up his glasses.
Everyone here knew him. Ji Xuan, the leader of the underground organization.
He had personally fought on the most dangerous front lines, had been imprisoned, and had endured all kinds of torture.
After that risky rescue operation, his position among them was even more secure.
The tall and thin sentinel in a sentinel uniform and a black mask, who stood next to him, was also someone they had all heard of.
That was the powerful warrior who had single-handedly infiltrated the White Tower, rescuing his companion from the terrifying Queen.
“The reason we called everyone here today, is because we discovered a child who escaped from the White Tower.”
Ji Xuan, his hands on the table, announced this.
He gestured to Ni Ji.
Ni Ji brought little Xiao Jiu forward, gently pressing a hand on the thin child’s shoulder. "Tell everyone what you saw in the White Tower."
Those present exchanged glances.
A small, thin child of not even seven or eight years old, holding a drawing album with a dirty cover, they heard that she was a Guide who escaped from the White Tower. Just a Guide, a small child like this, what information could she possibly have?
Although they had heard that some guides had started going to outposts, participating in battles alongside sentinels these past two years, in most people’s minds, Guides were just flower vases raised by the empire, wearing pretty clothes, kept in the backyard of the White Tower, but at the round table surrounded by powerful warriors, the young girl took a step forward, tightened her grip on her sketchbook, and started speaking.
"Inside the White Tower, there isn't just one Guide Academy. At the very top, below the palace, there’s a hidden place where they keep Guides. I escaped from there."
"Keep Guides? Why do you call it a place that ‘keeps’ Guides?"
"There’s more than one Guide Academy in the White Tower? I was in the White Tower for many years, I’ve never heard of this.”
Whispers started around them.
The little girl’s voice was childish, but her words clear, every word like a hammer blow to their hearts, shocking.
As she spoke, a bright, white light ignited in her eyes.
Behind her, beautiful, flame-like long feathers faintly appeared.
A Guide? This is a Guide’s power.
Everyone present, at that moment, felt a mental touch.
It was as if that little girl had reached out and held each of their hands.
They saw the world through the eyes of this child.
They all shared Xiao Jiu’s vision, saw the hidden academy at the top of the White Tower, a place without doors or windows, a place where no one was allowed to enter or exit, a cage-like dormitory where they kept children.
They saw the children who disappeared from the school one after another.
They were Guides, the treasures of the empire, young children.
Inexplicably, they disappeared one by one.
All the citizens and sentinels in the empire thought that the empire cherished Guides, that they carefully raised the dwindling number of Guides in the White Tower.
Who knew that behind these glamorous words, there was a bloody conspiracy?
Noble-born children were raised openly.
But those guides from poor families, without much family or background, those transported from all over the country to the White Tower, only a very few were sent to the Guide Academy.
Most were secretly raised in windowless rooms.
They saw a boy reach out a sketchbook through a window.
They heard the messy sounds of boots, the boy’s muffled groans as his mouth was covered, and he was taken away.
The little girl, late at night, holding the sketchbook given to her by her companion, rolled over in her bed.
Imitating the sentinels she had seen, she opened a ventilation duct, climbed in, and quietly crawled forward in the darkness.
The long, dark duct, a silent world.
In that instant, everyone held their breath, as if even their breaths could bring disaster to this child in the darkness.
They saw a strange altar.
In the center of that circular academy, on the white jade floor, strange patterns were carved.
Bright red blood flowing along those patterns.
The little girl in their shared vision covered her mouth.
All the warriors in the meeting room pressed their lips together.
They heard a strange chewing sound from the silent darkness.
It was as if something, in the center of the altar, was being dissolved, devoured.
They didn’t see anyone. Only the flowing red blood.
Xiao Jiu hesitated for a bit, then carefully put her head near the vent.
“Don’t look!”
“Run, don’t look, silly child!”
Several people in the meeting room couldn't help but shout out loud.
Each one a battle-hardened warrior, they were all shocked by this eerie scene, they sensed danger, instinctively calling out to warn her.
Even though they all knew that this warning was useless, that this was something that had already happened.
Beneath the vent, a bloody, grotesque creature abruptly raised its head.
It had many eyes, various wings and arms, a monster stitched together.
The massive, pieced-together body looked incredibly loose, as if about to fall apart at any moment.
At the very top of that pile, precariously perched, was half of a human torso, wearing a crown and a white veil unique to the queen.
Just as that monster’s neck was about to fully rise,
A boy's voice rang out in her mind.
“Run, Xiao Jiu, run away quickly.”
Those words weren’t spoken, but a will transmitted through mental contact.
“I’ll hold her off, you run, hurry up.”
The girl, quickly escaping through the duct, as she fled, saw a boy's hand extending from the monster’s back.
That small hand, stained with colorful paint, waved gently at her.
The Guide’s mental body retreated.
The girl, standing by the table, holding the paint-stained sketchbook, no longer spoke.
In the dim meeting room, not a sound.
Having experienced that escape with her, everyone's heart pounded, a fire burning in their chests, yet there was no outlet.
Ji Xuan clapped his hands.
“That’s not all I have to tell everyone today," he nodded at Ni Ji.
Ni Ji stepped forward, turning on the projection screen of his personal terminal.
Many images appeared, recordings of murals he had made in the temple of the Land of No Eyes, in the lair of the Golden Tree Contaminated Zone.
The sentinel's calm voice began. He didn't speak dramatically, nor did he vividly recreate the scene, he simply recounted everything he knew.
The White Tower was a farm for humans, the high-ups of the empire had already surrendered to the enemy, every year, sacrificing Sentinels and Guides to contaminated zones, in exchange for a small space to survive, contaminated zones growing stronger day by day, while humans were just poultry, lambs for the monsters to feast on.
Even the Emperor, humanity’s Queen, had become such a cruel monster, devouring her own kind.
It’s time to fight, brothers and sisters.
We shouldn’t be living in a world like this.
After Ni Ji’s words,
A heavy silence fell over the meeting room.
After a long time, someone's eyes turned red, their fists clenched.
"I knew it, I always felt that something wasn’t right, that team of brothers I was with, they died for no reason," the person speaking gritted his teeth, slamming his fist on the table, "Damn it! My wife also died like that.”
"Sacrifices, using the flesh and blood of warriors to allow those fat pigs in the White Tower to revel every night!"
Everyone present was enraged.
More people gritted their teeth, silently. They had, more or less, already known.
No one could forever hide secrets like this.
It was just that the White Tower was too powerful, a behemoth, like the sky above.
They had been powerless to resist.
"This time, we’ll win," Ji Xuan looked up, at everyone around the table.
"We will definitely win."
Outside the secret room, someone gently knocked on the door using the secret signal.
Everyone’s eyes turned in that direction.
"Something big has happened," the person outside said. "The empire has just issued a notice that the Queen has chosen an heir, the empire will have a new Queen.”
"An heir? What heir?" The people inside asked.
"Why don't you come out and see? The ceremony for appointing the heir will be broadcast live soon.”
"It's a Guide, a female, it’s said she’s a noble with the Queen’s bloodline.”
"It seems her last name is Lin, her name, Lin Yuan.”
Thanks for the chapters!
ReplyDeleteWtf she really does eat them O_O