Invasion - Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Going down, level by level, in the White Tower.
There was a farm.
The sound of horses' hooves echoed from the stables. Cattle and sheep stuck their heads out neatly, munching on the grass in their troughs.
Fluffy little chicks ran by Lin Yuan's feet. The tentacles casually bullied a tabby cat stretching.
The entire next level was dedicated to keeping wild animals.
Lin Yuan saw a real orca in a large aquarium. The big fish’s dorsal fin curved as it slowly swam past Lin Yuan.
She also saw mantises, small green insects living in an ecological tank.
When Lin Yuan approached, the mantis’s bulging compound eyes turned, as if also observing Lin Yuan outside the glass.
The White Queen led Lin Yuan down, level by level. The two of them visited the scientific research institute, the military factory, and the armory.
One of the levels was something Lin Yuan hadn't expected. It actually preserved various human buildings from the Old Era.
Walking there was like traveling back in time, moving through that old, human-less world.
The two of them, tired from walking, entered a place called a "cinema," and sat down on the soft sofa to rest.
The screen lit up, and the surroundings darkened.
The two looked at each other.
"People used to like coming to places like this," the Queen, sitting beside her, said to Lin Yuan.
"They would sit in the darkness, whiling away the long hours, not feeling that it was a waste of time, nor were they afraid, because there were no monsters at that time."
They sat in that dark, enclosed space and watched a strange, short film together.
The scenes were very impressive, but Lin Yuan basically couldn't understand it.
Too much time had passed, although they were the same race, she could no longer understand the way people thought back then.
Only the Queen showed a look of nostalgia.
As the light and shadow flickered on the screen, Lin Yuan suddenly felt the strange face beside her shift, in that instant, replaced by a completely unfamiliar face.
As they were leaving this floor, the Queen turned and pointed to something in the distance.
"That’s a Ferris wheel," she said, "There used to be even larger, taller ones, built by the sea, in the center of prosperous cities, like the eyes of gods, watching over the earth…”
Lin Yuan had a strong impression of Ferris wheels.
In the flower sea of the City of Mantis, she had seen many such round structures, large and small. And under a toppled giant Ferris wheel, she and Ni Ji had spent an unforgettable night.
She wondered if Her Majesty, back then, had also, just like her, crossed that flower sea.
The two of them came to the Guide Academy and the Sentinel barracks.
The principal of the Guide academy, with the teachers and students, dressed in formal wear, came out to greet them.
One after another, they surrounded Lin Yuan, their eyes filled with tears, their words incoherent.
Countless words of praise, surrounding Lin Yuan, almost making her think she truly was an outstanding student, well-regarded by her teachers.
"A Guide wants to take combat class? That’s so ridiculous. Focus on your flower arrangements first."
“That kind of person can also be considered a Guide? She can't even pass her cooking class."
"Such powerful mental strength, so rough, not at all what a proper guide should be like."
"That child is a monster.”
“Don’t go near her.”
“Stay away from her.”
Now, those distant voices from her memory were gone, everyone around her praising her.
Lin Yuan even heard her former teacher saying to others, "Her mental strength has been incredibly strong since she was young, she really has grown into such a great person."
Her classmates all surrounded her.
Those feelings of worship, excitement, and wanting to get close to her were all genuine.
What she had once longed for in her childhood, the teachers' encouragement and recognition, the closeness and friendship of her classmates, now, because of her status, were easily obtained.
When she left, Lin Yuan looked back, the familiar campus, the familiar white uniforms, and behind those enthusiastic faces, she seemed to see her small figure from that time.
That little girl, forever without friends, her head lowered, standing alone in a corner, far from the crowd.
The Queen turned with her, looking back.
At this moment, Lin Yuan clearly saw the Queen's face change for a moment.
Suddenly replaced by another, unfamiliar face, a nostalgic look as she looked back at the Guide Academy that had existed for hundreds of years.
"Such a nostalgic place, I studied here for many years," the Queen said.
These words didn’t sound quite right, Lin Yuan thought.
The White Tower was a structure built after this Majesty ascended the throne. She shouldn't have studied here.
Before Lin Yuan could even think about it, that face, with its vivid emotions, quickly disappeared.
The white dress, and above it, still that decaying head, its white veil, as if about to fall off.
In the Sentinel barracks,
Strong, lion-like young sentinels, one after another, bowed their heads, kneeling at Lin Yuan's feet.
"Do you like them?" the Queen asked Lin Yuan. "I heard that you like being with sentinels, these will all be your sentinels from now on.”
"In the future, whoever you like, whoever you favor, it’s up to you."
"Everyone will admire you."
"Everything is in your hands."
She said such things several times: These will all be yours.
Everything in the White Tower, the technology, the weapons, the entire empire's wealth, and the people,
Everyone bowing their heads, kneeling at her feet.
Everyone adoring you, wanting to be close to you.
Do you like it?
Lin Yuan raised her hand. Crisscrossing lines on the skin of her palm, like a small world.
Within her grasp was the power over life and death, the lives of everyone, this entire White Tower, the entire human empire.
Her five fingers slightly curling, her small hand, it seemed like she could control everything in this world.
This was power.
Tainted with a strange fragrance, its taste incredibly beautiful.
It made one want to have a taste, try it out, eventually obtain it, firmly grasp it.
An electric current-like sensation, quietly creeping in, stinging Lin Yuan’s heart.
She admitted that her heart was touched.
Lin Yuan knew she liked it. No one would dislike having such a thing.
This emotion, it was probably called desire.
The final part of the visit was over. The elevator, dedicated to the Queen, began to ascend.
They had carefully examined the entire tower.
Layer after layer, meticulously containing almost everything from the human world.
She could imagine that the person who built this tower had put in a tremendous amount of effort.
That person was now standing right beside her.
Her original appearance could no longer be seen. She was like a slowly melting candle, her muddy, viscous body shrinking, she herself completely oblivious, and Lin Yuan quietly curled the hand that was about to reach out, putting it behind her back.
The Queen didn't know what she looked like in Lin Yuan’s eyes.
"It's not over yet. I'll take you to see one last place."
Her pace quickened as she walked ahead, her voice no longer calm, revealing an uncontainable excitement. Finally, the final destination. Her collapsing body, her dissolving skin, no longer mattered. She was about to get a young, new body.
"That's the empire's highest secret. The weapon that allows us to control everything forever," the Queen explained as she walked. Lin Yuan noticed she used the word "us."
Before, the Queen had said: I want to choose 'you' as my heir.
She had even held Lin Yuan's hand, saying she was old and her body was failing. That was why she had to choose an heir in such a hurry. The future of the White Tower and humanity would be entrusted to Lin Yuan.
Now, she couldn't help but say "us."
Although Lin Yuan still didn’t know what she planned to do, it was clear that she didn't intend to hand over the White Tower to anyone, she would never let go, from four hundred years ago, the queen of humanity had always been her.
After walking along a dim, narrow secret passage, Lin Yuan was led into the secret academy.
Ni Ji had described this strange academy to her before.
Hidden behind high walls, without windows or any other exits. A secret place that the outside world didn't know about, hidden at the top of the White Tower.
Lin Yuan saw a group of innocent children playing.
Young children, who had never had contact with the outside world since they were young, had never seen any adults other than their teachers.
They didn't need to study, they didn't need to work. Eating sweet foods, they played carefree in this small, enclosed space.
The moment she stepped in, the happy laughter of children washed over her like a tide.
But Lin Yuan, at that moment, felt a chill.
Her feet, as if stepping on something terrifying.
Something cold, through her bones, slowly seeping upwards.
So cold.
A bone-chilling coldness, like a graveyard, a tomb, it was as if countless beings had tragically died here, their strong resentment and hatred lingering in the air.
The coldness made Lin Yuan’s mind freeze.
The walls of the classroom were all painted a delicate pink, bright lights on the ceiling, toys scattered everywhere, and smiling cartoon characters on the walls.
Children playing, laughing.
A small arm suddenly reached out, stopping before Lin Yuan’s eyes.
That small, white finger, stained with paint, pointed straight ahead.
Lin Yuan recognized that hand, the small child’s hand that had been gripping the queen's neck.
It had suddenly appeared, pointing somewhere.
"Look, that’s where I used to draw," a young boy's voice rang out beside her ear.
Lin Yuan noticed that the Queen's face beside her had once again strangely changed,
Replaced by the face of a young boy.
Lin Yuan looked at the Queen's face, and then followed the direction the little finger pointed.
At the edge of the classroom, far from the noise, in a corner, the vague figure of a little boy appeared, sitting on a bench.
He held a sketchbook, completely immersed in his drawing, his fingers stained with colorful paint, the sound of his brush.
After a while, the image of a little girl appeared, sitting on the chair beside him.
Her legs dangling, she looked bored, sitting there for a long time, occasionally glancing at his sketchbook.
Both children didn’t seem to fit in, sitting away from everyone. Occasionally, they leaned their heads together, looking at the drawings in the sketchbook.
"That's me, and the one next to me is Xiao Jiu," the Queen, with the boy's face, said in the boy's voice. Lin Yuan was now seeing this child's memory.
He pointed to the empty chair, his consciousness hazy, telling Lin Yuan that he used to sit there and draw. A friend he liked had sat next to him.
A child who once drew here had been devoured by this monster.
She didn't know if it was because the Queen's mental body was on the verge of collapse, or some other reason.
But this child, he still retained a bit of his own consciousness, he could even, without the Queen realizing it, occasionally show his own face.
This had happened several times along the way.
In the cinema, the Queen's face had changed, become a beautiful face.
In the Guide Academy, the Queen's face had also been replaced for a moment,
By the face of another young Guide, with nostalgia and a smile, looking back at the academy together with her.
Now, just as they entered this place, she had suddenly turned into this boy.
And the Queen herself didn't seem to have noticed the changes in her face.
She didn't know that the other consciousnesses inside her body had quietly communicated with Lin Yuan.
She still carried on as if nothing had happened, walking forward, her dress trailing behind her.
Lin Yuan followed this grotesque monster.
That boy’s face reappeared a few times.
"I can see the future," the face that suddenly appeared said to Lin Yuan, "You will lose to her.”
Then the boy’s face disappeared.
In the long, circular corridor, the decaying monster walking ahead, Lin Yuan’s footsteps hesitated for a moment, she still followed, step by step.
"Leave quickly. I’ve seen a terrible ending," the boy’s face reappeared.
A tentacle gently touched him.
"What will happen if I leave?" Lin Yuan transmitted her thoughts to the boy through her tentacle.
"It…” In their mental exchange, the boy’s voice seemed dejected, “It’ll also be terrible, many, many will die." he said.
"I couldn’t see a good ending," he said. "But at least if you leave now, Big Sister, you can still live."
He was an innocent and kind child, still caring about others at a time like this.
Yet such a pure soul had been devoured by a monster, become its nourishment.
I also couldn’t see a good ending. Lin Yuan thought.
When she had opened the Truth Box,
In that brilliant and vast mental universe, the little bit of the future she had glimpsed, almost all tragic.
A fierce battle would erupt today, and she would die here.
"Then why did you still come?" the boy’s voice gradually softened, and his face disappeared.
Why had she still come?
She had already received God's revelation, seen the tragic ending, known that she wasn’t a match, that she would die here.
Did she not understand what fear was?
No, that wasn’t it.
Right now, she was so scared that she was almost trembling, her body stiff.
She now knew fear very well, knew how precious life was.
She still wanted to live for a long time.
Wanted to eat lots and lots of candy.
The Queen came back to her senses and seemed to wonder why one of Lin Yuan's tentacles was resting on her shoulder.
It didn't matter; such a small thing no longer concerned her.
The most important thing was that Lin Yuan had followed her to the center of the circular academy, stepping onto the altar carved with strange patterns.
What she wanted was finally within her reach. This time, it was such an excellent body.
The Queen turned and extended her hand to Lin Yuan, standing on the edge of the pristine altar.
"Come here, child. I'll teach you how to control this White Tower."
Lin Yuan's toes tentatively touched the edge of the white jade. At that moment, several mental tentacles fell into a vast, pale space.
A vast expanse of white, a tower built from the bones of countless powerful, mutated creatures. The White Tower.
The tentacles seeped into the gaps between the bones, falling rapidly.
Something was pulling them, welcoming them, guiding them deeper into the bones, into the depths.
In that instant, Lin Yuan heard the voice of the entire White Tower.
Every person walking through every corner of the towering structure, every small animal running, entered Lin Yuan's sight.
Countless voices, countless faces, countless brains emitting mental energy.
If she wished, she felt she could see everything, hear everything, touch everyone's thoughts.
This feeling of the mental world was wondrous, as if she had become an omniscient, omnipotent god.
Knowing every inch of land, controlling all living beings.
The tentacles only probed briefly before retracting, but Lin Yuan discovered that the tips of several of her red, tender tentacles had been stained with a frost-like bone white.
It didn't hurt, she didn't even feel it, completely unaware of when it had happened.
Even after she had retreated, this mental contamination was still attempting to spread slowly up her skin.
When Lin Yuan had penetrated the bones, something terrifying had also gripped her tightly, with an urgent desire to seep into her body, to become one with her, or perhaps to devour her entirely.
Lin Yuan didn't know what would happen if the contact lasted longer.
Perhaps she could indeed control the entire White Tower, but what the Queen hadn't told her was that the White Tower would also corrode her in return.
In the end, she would probably become one with the entire tower, and also with the Queen.
The Queen had spoken to her gently and kindly all this time, allowed her to grow, and then tempted her with great benefits, finally bringing her here.
Lin Yuan was certain that by then, she would no longer be Lin Yuan. She wouldn't be an independent individual.
The Queen would wear her body and become the new queen. Until, a hundred years later, this body decayed.
This was the truth of being the "heir."
For centuries, the Queen of the White Tower had replaced her body countless times, until she herself became a complete patchwork monster, losing her original appearance, becoming a terrifying creature.
Lin Yuan silently retracted her tentacles, hiding them behind her back, as if she hadn't noticed that the tips of her tentacles had been contaminated.
"What's wrong? Come up. Come to me," the Queen, standing in the center of the altar, beckoned Lin Yuan with a smile.
The white altar glowed faintly, and the Queen, standing in the light, looked like the beautiful queen she once was.
Dressed in a pure white gown, gentle, elegant, and benevolent, she extended her hand to Lin Yuan.
Anyone standing here at this moment would be captivated by her beauty, awestruck by the divinity in the holy light.
They would want to take a few more steps, to approach the beautiful, gentle goddess.
Lin Yuan lifted her foot, seemingly about to step onto the white jade.
Before the Queen’s red lips could even curl into a smile, Lin Yuan’s suspended foot retreated.
Her toes left the edge of the altar.
She took a step back and stood firm.
"I have a request, Your Majesty," Lin Yuan said.
When the Queen had suddenly said she wanted to make her the heir, she had been very obedient, hadn’t objected at all.
And when the Queen went even further, proposing a hasty coronation ceremony for the heir, she hadn’t resisted either, hadn’t made any requests.
Now, at this final moment, having entered the White Tower's most secret hall, only a step away from that pure white altar,
Lin Yuan suddenly raised a finger, tilted her head, and said that she had a small condition.
"Wh-What con- condition?" Her Majesty, standing in the center of the altar, stammered.
"It's nothing special, really," Lin Yuan said with a shy smile, “I just want that ruby necklace you always wear.”
She was like a shy Guide who had seen a gemstone she liked, making this only request at her own coronation ceremony.
At that moment, silence fell, even the sounds of the children playing disappeared.
The two, one on the altar, one below, looked at each other.
Both desperately trying to discern the other's true thoughts, if only a sliver.
But there was nothing, both on guard, the channels firmly closed.
"No, I can’t give it to you," the Queen finally refused Lin Yuan's request.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
In this seemingly pure white place, countless bloody things had happened before.
Those lambs brought here, not a single one dared to challenge the Queen’s patience like this.
With Lin Yuan, she had already been incredibly patient.
Only, at this moment, although anxious, she was unwilling to give her this necklace.
This was a powerful creature's intuition for danger.
Although she didn't know what Lin Yuan wanted to do with this ruby,
But the Queen knew that this child had wanted this necklace since very early on.
Just like she craved Lin Yuan's body, Lin Yuan stubbornly wanted this blood-red gem.
This stone was something that had slowly formed after the White Tower was created.
Everything created in the White Tower was white, only this stone, formed unknowingly, was the color of blood.
The Queen didn't know what the gem on the necklace did.
She only vaguely felt that if this child got it, something unfavorable to her might happen.
She was unwilling to give up this stone, even at such a critical moment.
"Don’t be difficult, come up here," the Queen, standing in the center of the altar, her face veiled, her red lips parted slightly, said, "I don't want to hurt you, child.”
Before her, Lin Yuan, standing there, shook her head slightly.
This was a child I had never been able to understand. The White Queen thought.
Yet, at this moment, she suddenly felt like she understood her.
She suddenly knew that although she just shook her head, she wouldn't come up here.
She wouldn't yield, no matter what she said.
Even if it meant angering her, confronting her.
She was truly crazy, this overconfident little thing.
In the mental world, the strength of an opponent was easy to see.
The size of one’s mental body almost determined everything.
How could she, still so young, openly challenge her like this?
Her mental body was clearly several times larger than hers.
That small, juvenile little octopus, yet it dared to stand before her, its tentacles flailing at her.
Its small back so straight.
How dare she?
The old Queen, looking at the stubborn girl, a memory from many years ago suddenly surfaced in her chaotic mindscape.
Had she also been like this child?
She had also once stood tall, fighting her tyrannical father. She had also once bravely ventured into the tiger’s den, negotiated with the terrifying Deviants.
Only, the her back then hadn't been as strong as this child. She had been afraid when facing the monster’s powerful mental pressure.
That fear still lingered in her heart.
She still remembered how she had knelt in that flower sea, under that starry sky, her body drenched in sweat, kneeling before that terrifying Queen of Mantis.
Begging her, begging her to give humanity a way to survive.
In the end, receiving the enemy’s mercy, imitating the enemy, living until now.
She had always remembered the fear at that time, that was why she had always longed for powerful strength.
Now, she had already become incredibly powerful. Even larger than the Mantis Queen’s mental body back then, hadn’t she?
Why would this young girl dare stand before her, defy her like this?
It wasn’t actually the first time this had happened. Lately, she had encountered several such arrogant lunatics.
That little boy with the paintbrush, that tiny little thing, had dared to struggle desperately before her.
Just so one of his friends could escape.
His sudden, sharp, mental outburst had torn her aging body.
And also that Golden Tree Deviant.
She hadn't even imagined that a Deviant would resist her like that. Hadn't those beings always been indifferent to being devoured by other species, or devouring others?
The Golden Tree’s reckless resistance before disintegrating had made things even worse for her already damaged mental body.
Even though she had obtained a piece of the Golden Tree, gaining its powerful regenerative ability, it could only barely hold together her already riddled body.
So much so that she had to hastily, full of flaws, make Lin Yuan her heir.
So much so that she even hesitated when facing such an unreasonable request from Lin Yuan.
Considering whether she should try to persuade her some more, or just use force.
In the past, when she had been at the height of her power, she had never had such troubles.
Just as the two were in a standoff, the earth beneath their feet trembled, followed by a dull rumbling.
After that first rumble, a moment of silence, then came unprecedentedly loud and dense sounds.
Explosions, gunshots, and countless people shouting.
They were incredibly high up, only faint sounds reached them, hard to hear clearly.
But to be able to hear so much noise even from such a high place meant that whatever happened must have severely affected the White Tower.
The ground trembled again.
The Queen's personal terminal lit up, its screen filled with notification alerts.
She didn't look down, she didn’t need to look at any messages, she could sense everything in the White Tower.
At this moment, on the lower levels of the White Tower, the Revolutionary Army, operating in the shadows, was officially launching its attack on the empire, a full-scale assault.
The sounds of gunfire and cannons echoing. The invaders had already clashed with the Royal Guard protecting the White Tower.
A group of ants, daring to attack the White Tower.
Normally, to the Queen of the empire, ants like these were insignificant.
But at this moment, as if timed perfectly, at such a crucial moment, those rebels she usually didn't even take seriously, were attacking.
The Queen frowned and decided to leave those rebels for now, focusing on Lin Yuan before her.
The White Tower, even if damaged, could be repaired. But she couldn't find another heir like this, she couldn't afford to wait.
Lin Yuan's personal terminal on her wrist was also constantly lighting up.
She didn't look down either. Her fingers, behind her back, gently touched the screen, as if soothing the person on the other side.
"How about this, like last time," the Queen reached out, taking off her ruby necklace, dangling it from her fingers, "If you can grab it, this necklace is yours.”
The blood-red gemstone swayed from her pale fingers.
She stood at the center of the altar, and to get the necklace, Lin Yuan would have to step onto that white stone carved with the strange runes.
The two finally dropped their pretense of warmth.
A dark, powerful mental pressure descended from the steps beneath the Queen’s feet.
An overwhelming darkness, the mud filled with human eyes, arms, insect limbs, and the claws of beasts…
Countless hatred and pain, carried by that darkness, surged forward, mixed with sharp whistling sounds, sad cries, and curses.
It was a terrifying scene.
Fear, humanity’s most primal emotion.
No one, facing such a scene of darkness, wouldn't be crushed by the intense fear.
Lin Yuan, facing the approaching black fog, countless soft tentacles extended from under her skirt.
The tentacles stepped on the dark fog, and with a slap, landed on that terrifying stone.
The next moment, the young woman leaped forward, a flying kick in mid-air.
Turning, her long tentacles like whips, nimbly striking towards the necklace in the Queen's hand.
The Queen’s black fog gathered and dissipated like a ghost, her figure, holding the necklace, dodging Lin Yuan's sneak attack, appearing on the other side of the altar.
The attack having missed, Lin Yuan, without hesitation, quickly retreated from the altar, no longer touching that stone which could pollute her mental body.
Even so, by the time she landed, most of one tentacle had already been contaminated.
It had only lightly touched that altar, yet the soft red skin had already turned bone-white.
That paleness spread like a disease, upwards along the healthy skin.
Lin Yuan flipped her hand, the bracelet on her wrist flowing like a nimble little fish, turning into a small, sharp dagger.
She reversed her grip on the black and white dagger.
A flash of blade light.
A white tentacle was severed, falling to the ground. Red blood splashed Lin Yuan's face.
Severing one’s own mental body was incredibly painful.
But Lin Yuan’s hand was steady, her expression not even changing, she didn’t even look at the severed limb writhing on the ground.
She even extended her tongue, licked the blood on her face, and laughed.
"I want that," she, blood on her face, said with a smile, "If you're not even willing to give me such a small thing, everything you said, about the heir, the throne, the empire, it must all have been a lie."
Her tone, like a spoiled child's. She looked completely like a real human girl.
Yet she was the child of a Deviant and a human.
The Queen, unable to read Lin Yuan's mind, wasn’t sure what she was thinking.
After all these years, Her Majesty had become accustomed to relying on mental power, reading people's true attitudes through their mental bodies.
Perhaps she’ll still be obedient.
Her tone still seems very close, and she's smiling at me.
Should she go easy on her, be gentler, then try to persuade her when she gives up?
After all, fierce resistance always made things more troublesome.
The Queen, still hesitating, wondering whether she should hold back against Lin Yuan, saw Lin Yuan smiling, saying to her, "Round two, Your Majesty."
The young woman once again rushed onto the altar, onto the altar that polluted anything that touched it.
Rushing towards the pale hell that could devour her at any moment.
Her tentacles were severed, one after another, the pure white Guide uniform stained with red.
The prophecy said that she would be covered in blood.
The prophecy had foreseen that she would likely be defeated.
So be it, let her be covered in blood, let her fight to the very end.
That mental torrent, converging to form that wondrous World Tree, Lin Yuan had caught a glimpse of it.
There were hundreds, thousands, of possible futures.
Perhaps 999 of those worlds were dark. Like the boy who drew had said, countless people would die.
The fate of humanity, moving towards the darkest abyss.
But amidst the countless dark futures, there was still a faint ray of light, a path to survival, a sliver of hope.
Grand words like “the fate of all mankind” held no concrete meaning for Lin Yuan.
She only knew specific people.
Ni Ji, Yuanyuan, Yun Luo, Rachel, Xiao Niao, Nicole… and many other friends. They were all human.
They were incredibly important to her, like treasures, they couldn't be discarded.
She was willing to bet her blood, her life, for that nearly invisible path of survival.
She hadn’t come here to die, but to fight for life in the face of death.
Among thousands of paths, only one was feasible.
So, she was more arrogant, braver, than ever.
More fearless than anyone.
A bright, full moon rose from the thick darkness, its clear light cutting through the darkness covering the earth, creating a clear space, protecting the Kraken standing in the black waves.
Like an ark in the dark sea, under the moon’s protection, alone, confronting the giant monster in the night.
This battle was silent, no gunpowder or fire, no shouts or roars,
Yet no less intense than those bloody battles amidst gunfire and explosions.
At the bottom of the White Tower,
A loud bang blew open the wall, smoke and dust billowing, the light dimming.
A few sparse rays from pulse weapons swept past from behind the enemy's line of defense, then silence.
The Royal Guard defending this level had collapsed, retreating to the level above.
The warriors who invaded the White Tower looked at each other, and in each other's eyes they saw a single thought — That’s it?
The power and prestige of the Royal Guard, the idea that they were difficult to mess with, had always been the common impression among border sentinels.
Compared to the meager combat equipment in the cold, harsh lands, the sentinels of the Royal Guard were always equipped with the most advanced weapons collected from contaminated zones everywhere.
They should have been the most powerful fighting force in the empire, humanity’s last line of defense.
Yet the battles here had been surprisingly easy, those luxuriously dressed enemies collapsing easily.
Facing the invaders’ superior firepower, those Royal Guards defending the White Tower couldn’t even withstand a few real tactical assaults, they hadn’t even managed to organize any effective defenses.
"Isn’t this how it should be? There are only a few among them who have actually been on a real battlefield."
Du Yuanyuan casually fired a few shots in the air, waving her hand. She led her small team to retreat first, turning a deaf ear to the commander's angry shouts on her personal terminal.
Hundreds of years of peace.
Unlimited safety, unlimited resources.
The safer it was within the White Tower, the fewer were willing to risk their lives venturing into contaminated zones.
Among the entire Royal Guard, those with real combat experience numbered only a few hundred.
Among them, there were even quite a few, like Du Yuanyuan, who had long hated the empire's decay, who had secretly joined the underground organizations.
Those pampered, noble-born soldiers, facing such a large-scale, organized attack,
Facing warriors trained against the monsters of the contaminated zones, how could they not retreat in defeat?
The gates of the White Tower, untouched for hundreds of years, were, on this day, blasted open by angry gunfire, before the world.
Years of injustice and enslavement, the accumulated anger, ignited.
The capital, on this day, descended into chaos.
Countless warriors lurking in the capital emerged from the slums, from the basements of factories, even from the empire's own royal airships.
Their faces covered with black cloths, their eyes filled with killing intent, carrying large weapons, they ran through the streets and alleys.
Streams of warriors, converging towards the White Tower, the symbol of the empire.
Intense gunfire echoed, continuously.
Even in the slums, far from the White Tower, the terrifying sounds could be heard.
Like the sky itself would be blasted open, the entire world collapsing.
In a dilapidated shack, a few young children huddled in their mother’s arms, trembling.
"So scary, Mommy," the youngest child looked up. "Are they bad people? What are they doing to the White Tower?"
"It's okay, hide," the mother pulled him under the bed.
She whispered in her heart, "Perhaps it's not such a bad thing.”
The year before last, unable to pay the heavy residence tax, her husband had been beaten to death by those officials.
Last year, her eldest son, who had just come of age, wanting to earn more money, had ventured into a contaminated zone, and never returned.
This year's taxes, they had no way to pay them.
It didn't matter to her what they were blowing up. Even if the White Tower collapsed, it would be fine. Even if those officials all died together, it would be better. The woman cursed silently in her heart.
Even though, like everyone else, she knelt on the ground every day, thanking the White Tower.
In truth, she didn't thank that tower at all.
Its destruction didn’t matter to her. Either way, they were all going to starve to death. They might as well all die together.
Amid the rumbling of gunfire, the woman hugged the children in her arms tightly, under the bed.
Of course, it would be even better if only those officials died, and no one remembered to collect this year’s taxes.
She prayed silently in her heart.
Inside the White Tower, Ji Xuan’s calm voice came through all the revolutionaries’ headsets.
"Be alert. The real battle has just begun, and everyone must remember, the most terrifying thing about the White Tower isn’t the Royal Guard's power."
The most terrifying thing about the White Tower wasn’t the power of the Royal Guard.
Ni Ji understood this more clearly than Ji Xuan.
He had been hunted by that power, that monster had only looked down at him once, and it had almost destroyed him, had triggered his bonding heat.
But the battle had been going on for a long time. That power, still hadn't been activated.
Ni Ji placed an explosive under the isolation door of an emergency passage. Then, he retreated to a safe point.
He lowered his head and looked at the terminal on his wrist again.
The message he had sent had been unanswered for a long time. Lin Yuan's profile picture remained dim.
The little pink octopus floated quietly on the screen. Its small tentacles curled up, and its round black eyes seemed to stare silently back at him.
He didn’t know why, but this time his heart was especially anxious. Even in the heat of battle, he occasionally felt pangs of fear.
Lin Yuan hadn’t replied to his message. Not even an emoji to let him know she was safe.
Leaning against the shelter wall, Ni Ji pressed the detonator in his hand. A loud explosion roared behind him.
Debris swept up by the shockwave brushed past his cheek, and thick dust covered his body.
He charged to the front lines, determined to use his position to destroy all the critical defenses of the White Tower against the invaders.
With this explosion, the passages of the White Tower, from bottom to top, were completely opened by him.
No one could lower those heavy gates again to stop the revolutionaries from storming upward.
The dust in the air dissipated slightly. The lights on the ceiling had been destroyed by the shockwave of the explosion, leaving the area dimly lit.
In the faint light, Ni Ji thought he saw the small pink octopus faintly jumping under the thick layer of dust.
He quickly wiped the screen clean with his hand and tapped on the bouncing octopus.
A virtual window popped up.
Lin Yuan's face appeared on the screen.
He couldn’t see the rest of her body, just her face—pale, with several streaks of red bloodstains on it.
She didn’t offer any explanation, only leaned weakly against a gray stone wall, smiling faintly.
"Hey, how’s it going over there?" Lin Yuan’s tone was relaxed, almost casual.
"I’m fine," Ni Ji responded immediately, brushing the dust off his face. "Where are you? I’ll come find you."
He stared intently at Lin Yuan on the screen, trying to determine her location.
The light behind her was dimmer than where he was. The ceiling looked very high, with no distinctive patterns.
Then, Ni Ji noticed a small piece of cracked pink brick wall in the corner of the video.
Pink—like something designed for children.
She was in an open space with a high ceiling, no patterns, and pink walls.
Suddenly, it hit him. Ni Ji remembered the secret academy hidden within the White Tower. He had sneaked in there once before. The walls there looked just like this.
Lin Yuan was at the secret Guide farm. That strange place with the high altar!
On the screen, dense, squirming things were rising near Lin Yuan, twisting and slowly approaching her.
But she seemed incredibly weak.
"Hold on, I'll be there soon."
Ni Ji's voice came through the personal terminal.
He sounded incredibly calm and dependable, like an omnipotent warrior who could reach her side in a matter of seconds.
No one could enter this deep in such a short time. He would probably be too late.
Lin Yuan opened her hand and showed Ni Ji the ruby in her palm.
Holding the blood-red gem in her hand, she moved it to the camera, proudly showing off her spoils of war to her boyfriend.
She smiled happily.
But what the camera couldn't see were the severed, white tentacles on the ground.
The bright red blood slowly spread.
Lin Yuan, her back against the cold stone wall, felt that she had no strength left, barely able to maintain her sitting position.
One hand showing off the red gemstone, the other taking out a small square box from her pocket.
Magnificent colors flowed on the four sides of the box, only one empty groove on the lid, as if it was missing a gem.
The moment Lin Yuan took out the box,
The black fog that had been gathering became thicker, countless strange voices screaming from within.
A woman's scream, a man's roar, sometimes even a child's cries.
Not at all like human voices.
Chaotic, disordered, meaningless screams echoed in the darkness.
"What is that thing?!"
"Quickly put it down, it feels incredibly dangerous!"
"Is that the Truth Box?"
"So, your mother really did leave this thing to you."
"I told you, I've always said we should have killed her!"
"Bastard, I'll eat you! I'll devour you now!"
"Put it down! Lin Yuan, put it down! Ah—! No!"
Lin Yuan ignored the shrill voices and accurately embedded the gemstone in her hand into the groove at the top of the Truth Box.
Into the last groove of the Truth Box.
Thanks for the chapters!
ReplyDeleteReally excited for next update.
Dang, so her dad was a Deviant! 👀
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