The palace occupied several floors of the White Tower. The queen was the only one living in the huge space.
The main hall has a towering dome, numerous jade pillars and is painted with murals that are rich in artistic flavor.
In the empty and silent palace, Her Majesty the Queen's slender figure sitting on the throne seemed a little lonely.
Her cold white fingers picked up a white chess piece and placed it on the black square on the chessboard.
The crisp sound of a chess piece falling echoed in the spacious hall.
Commander Luther knelt before her throne, reporting on recent important events in the empire.
Several powerful mutants have appeared in the wilderness near Kyoto, injuring many people. Special operations team sentinels have been dispatched to deal with the situation.
Your Majesty need not worry.
Several contaminated areas have mutated, and the monsters inside have become more agitated.
But fortunately, the empire's internal armaments had just received a large amount of replenishment, and there were sufficient weapons and ammunition, so it could still cope with it.
Your Majesty need not worry too much.
Every time he reported something, he couldn't help but add a word of comfort, fearing that these troubles would make his respected Majesty sad.
The queen sitting in front of him had her face covered with a white veil and was casually moving the chess pieces with her fingers.
"The soldiers were given powerful weapons and launched attacks on the contaminated area. Another small contaminated area was defeated by the sentinels a few days ago."
"This is really good and comforting news, Your Majesty." Luther raised his head happily.
Only then did he realize that His Majesty on the throne was looking at the black and white chessboard, somewhat absent-mindedly, as if he had not heard what he said at all.
The queen hummed softly and asked, "What is Lin Yuan doing recently? Has she gone to the contaminated area again?"
Luther was stunned. "Guide Lin has been to many polluted areas recently. I have assigned her several dedicated sentinels every time according to your instructions."
Lin Yuan had been in and out of the contaminated area quite a lot during this period, firstly to train his ability to cooperate with multiple sentinels in combat, and secondly because he didn't want others to know that his real destination was Food Panda City.
Every time she came to apply to Luther, Luther readily equipped her with multiple sentinels, which could basically be regarded as the strongest configuration in the Royal Guard.
"Been to many places?" The Queen tapped her fingers on the chessboard.
Luther felt a little strange. During this period, Her Majesty the Queen seemed to be particularly concerned about the matter of Guide Lin.
He had been with the Queen for many years and rarely saw Her Majesty care so much about anyone or anything.
If Your Majesty is worried about Guide Lin, why don't you keep her by your side
After all, places like contaminated areas are too dangerous, and it is not safe no matter how many people are sent to guard them.
He could sense that His Majesty had encouraged Guide Lin to go out, and had even personally taught the young guide. This seemed to be different from the Empire's usual strategy of protecting guides.
"Do the Sentinels like her?"
Luther heard a voice coming from the throne.
"Yes, I like it very much." Luther said, "Those guys even have to fight each other every time to get a chance to be selected."
It wasn't the kind of love that one would associate with a courtship. Luther knew that since word of their battlefield experience spread, the Sentinels really wanted to fight with this guide.
Everyone keeps saying how amazing it is to have a guide join the battle.
You no longer have to worry about mental riots, you can do whatever you want on the battlefield. You can get feedback on your comrades at any time, and mental communication is more convenient and faster than any communicator. The guide can interfere with the enemy's actions and reduce your own pain...
In short, every sentinel who had worked with Guide Lin described the cooperation as extremely beautiful and desirable, so much so that every sentinel in the camp was eager to make a move.
Luther wanted to propose to His Majesty several times that, in this case, why not just train the guides in the Guide Academy as well.
After all, there is more than just Guide Lin in the empire. Since Guide is so suitable for fighting, it is a pity to let them stay in the White Tower to arrange flowers and make tea.
But for some reason, he didn't dare to mention it.
Every time the words came to my lips, I subconsciously avoided them.
There was a piercing fear that penetrated my spine. I always felt as if I had said this before, but I was severely punished by a cold and terrifying gaze.
"Sure enough, the sentinels all like that child very much." The queen, with her face covered in white veil, put down the chess piece and turned around.
"What about you? Luther, do you like me?"
As if his soul was captured by something, the powerful commander's body trembled slightly.
"Yes, I have always admired you, Your Majesty."
Of course he likes Her Majesty, hasn't he? Everyone knows that he deeply loves Her Majesty the Queen.
"Be loyal to me forever and never betray me, right?" the queen emphasized again in her cold voice.
"Yes, I will always be loyal to Your Majesty." Luther replied blankly.
"I heard that you have an adjutant named Ji Xuan. I haven't met him yet. Bring him to me." The queen then said, in a light tone, as if she was speaking on a whim.
Luther's mind was in a mess and it was difficult for him to think carefully. Only the scar on his eyelid felt slightly painful, which made him subconsciously resist this matter.
"Your Majesty, Ji Xuan is a boring guy, timid and dull, so it's better not to..." he said dryly.
A few cold fingers pinched his chin and forcibly lifted his face. Luther was stared at by the condescending gaze from the throne, and there was no way to avoid it.
After a moment of silence, he stammered, "Yes, all right, bring him here right away, my majesty."
Lin Yuan, who was in the contaminated area, saw her sentinel.
These days, she has been running around and visiting many polluted areas.
It has been a long time since I last saw Ni Ji, and the sentries following me have changed several times.
But when she saw the big fish, she would subconsciously give him the title of exclusive sentinel.
This is contaminated area No. 35. This is Lin Yuan’s first time visiting this contaminated area.
But this place had left a deep impression in her memory at a very early time.
That time, at the execution ground of the Military Control Office, she saw in Ni Ji's mental picture the scene of an entire team of young lives dying tragically there.
The memory was too tragic.
So much so that challenging Area 35 became something that Lin Yuan was very reluctant about. He considered it for a long time before finally making up his mind.
Lin Yuan didn't expect to meet Ni Ji here. At the moment before they met, Lin Yuan and the others had just experienced a fierce battle.
Du Yuanyuan's spirit body grew to its maximum size. The mountain-sized glutinous rice ball used its tonnage to suppress the opponent, rolling down from a great height and breaking through the encirclement of the mutants.
Everyone followed closely and took the opportunity to break out.
"What's going on? It seems like all the mutants here are rioting." A sentinel in the team shook off the sticky white fluff and frowned, "When did Area 35 become so terrifying?"
Each contaminated area is different. Many of the contaminated areas are very old, and the internal environment is relatively stable, and the rules of exploration have long been understood by the sentinels.
As long as they strictly abide by the rules and do not go deep into the core area at night, it is not too dangerous for most mature sentinels, and it is relatively easy to obtain the key to open the escape door.
In their minds, Area 35 was not a difficult place, so it was chosen by Lin Yuan's team as a place to practice combat.
But this time, for some unknown reason, a large number of mutants suddenly rioted and wandered around, and the dense groups of mutants chased them for a long distance.
If the team was not extremely well equipped and the guide was not in control of the situation, they probably would not have been able to escape from the war zone so easily.
The pursuit accidentally led them to the depths of the contaminated area.
Looking from their position, not far away, a team of sentinels with tacit cooperation were launching a strong attack on the giant mutant standing tall in the center of the contaminated area.
That is the "pillar".
The core of Contaminated Area 35.
The team of sentinels wanted to push down the "pillar" and forcibly destroy the core of the contaminated area.
Lin Yuan saw Ni Ji in the chaotic battlefield at a glance.
Huge killer whales floated in the air, and the sounds of their calls echoed far away in the polluted area filled with flying catkins.
It's like a requiem to comfort the dead.
I never thought that Ni Ji would lead the team into this place again.
Lin Yuan knew that this place was the little fish’s deepest nightmare and the most tragic wound deep in its heart.
A place that can never be healed and cannot be touched.
Even if he only witnessed the fragments of those painful memories, when Lin Yuan stepped into this land, he couldn't help but think of those dead faces.
The young girl who died in each other's arms, the boy who didn't have time to send a love letter, and the father who turned into an iron tower.
The innocent souls who died on this land seemed to come alive from the dusty memories the moment they stepped into this land, which was really sad.
Lin Yuan didn’t know how determined Xiaoyu was to come here and face the most painful memory in his heart.
"They want to force this contaminated area, it's amazing." Du Yuanyuan looked at the battle zone, "It seems that the leader is Ni Ji."
Ever since the Golden Tree Contaminated Area and the Pupilless Land were successively collapsed, more Sentinel teams began to try to forcibly push down the pillars in the contaminated area.
It is extremely difficult and few have succeeded. Even if they succeed, they are only limited to very small polluted areas.
But even if it's only once or twice now.
After the contaminated area is destroyed, the land, materials, money and weapons recovered can cheer people up for a long time.
The "pillar" in front of me has a huge human face, a human-shaped body, pale skin, and long, cotton-like hyphae growing all over it.
A huge human figure stood between heaven and earth, covered with large white mycelium, like a hybrid of a human and a mushroom.
Countless spores of all sizes grew out of the land around it, opening up poisonous umbrellas high above the sentinels' heads.
The entire war zone is like a strange and terrifying tropical rainforest.
People become very small in it and need to fight against the towering mushrooms that keep growing.
The spores continuously secrete sticky liquid sprays. Once you are contaminated by even the slightest bit of liquid, the mucus will wrap around you layer by layer, tightly covering your body and refusing to let go.
This fierce battle had been going on for a long time, and at the last moment, both the enemy and our side were fighting for their lives.
Large white umbrellas opened one after another, and the soldiers' gunfire illuminated the sky.
Half of the mushrooms were burned, scorched, and collapsed on the ground. Most of the soldiers were entangled in the sticky mycelium and were trapped and struggling on the spot.
Ni Ji was the only soldier who could still move smoothly. He was alone with a long sword in the deepest part of the battlefield, fighting in a stalemate with the "pillar" that was already half broken.
Red blade lights overflowed, cutting off long sticky threads. Every time the red light passed by, the huge pillar let out a painful wail similar to a human voice.
The sticky white mycelium fell like rain, layer upon layer, covering Ni Ji's limbs and body. Almost burying him completely, the sentry was covered in blood, gritting his teeth and struggling to hold on.
Whoever lets out his last breath first loses.
Before Lin Yuan was about to go down to provide support, he looked around at his comrades.
"Don't be like this, Guide Lin. I have to go." Du Yuanyuan crossed her hands and made a cross.
She was the sentinel who cooperated the most with Lin Yuan during this period, and she could understand the other party's thoughts with just one glance.
She was already injured, and it was very dangerous down there, so Lin Yuan wanted her to stay. "You go down, and I'll stay up there as a sentinel. I won't be able to put my face down when I go back."
A miniature panda appeared at Du Yuanyuan's feet, rolled twice on the spot, and twisted its chubby body to run towards the battlefield first.
Du Yuanyuan yelled in a very immature way,
"Rolling fearless!"
Lin Yuan looked at Nicole again.
Nicole is the daughter of an aristocratic family. She insisted on joining this operation and should not be allowed to go into danger.
Before she could even open her mouth, Nicole's silver python started running forward behind the panda.
"Go, Serpent! Serpent is fearless!"
These two girls have been spending too much time together lately, and birds of a feather flock together, so their behavior patterns have somewhat influenced each other.
The strong support from a team of fresh forces like Lin Yuan was like a shot in the arm, which quickly turned the tide of the battle.
Large spores were curled up by the flames of the flame gun. The sticky hyphae were cut off, and the trapped comrades were pulled out from the white mucus.
With intensive long-range artillery support, the huge and soft humanoid column in the center of the battlefield finally couldn't hold on, and slowly fell down in the smoke of artillery fire with a low wailing sound.
Ni Ji's face was covered in blood. He knelt on one knee on the ground, his blood-red long sword trembling as he supported the ground. He raised his eyes to look at Lin Yuan who was rushing towards him.
He was in a state of disgrace, murderous intent was still there, and his chest was filled with unspeakable grief and anger.
White flakes fluttered in the air, and the curtain of the polluted area faded behind him.
The contaminated area collapsed, and the sorrow of the people trapped there and the countless wronged souls were finally able to return to the human world.
If there is someone in this world who can understand Ni Ji’s heart at this moment.
That was the guide before him.
She always appears when I am most hurt and in the most difficult time, and extends her hand to me.
Lin Yuan reached out and pulled Ni Ji up from the ground. His palms and the long knife were tied together with a cloth strip, which was stained with blood and trembling constantly.
But he looked at Lin Yuan and smiled at her.
His forehead rested on Lin Yuan’s shoulder, his body trembled, and his smile was bloody.
"Why are you here?" His voice was hoarse and unclear, and he didn't say thank you.
Lin Yuan recalled what happened after he first saw the sentry.
Remembering that in the No. 5 contaminated area, Ni Ji helped her get the key, she rescued Ni Ji from the rack.
Remembering that in the Golden Tree contaminated area, Ni Ji took her out of the Scarlet Egg's nest, and she took Ni Ji to break out of that filthy world.
A few months ago, Ni Ji accompanied her to the Land of No Pupils to find her mother's relics. Today, she is here to lend a hand to Ni Ji and help him fulfill his wish.
They have helped each other countless times.
Even words of thanks seem artificial.
With such a life-long friendship, they will lend a helping hand to each other without hesitation at any time.
The contaminated area was opened, and there were remnants of soldiers everywhere.
Someone drove a transport truck and everyone pulled each other and squeezed into the back bed.
Two teams, one open truck, it was very crowded, with everyone sitting next to each other.
The sentries bandaged each other, and everyone was excitedly discussing this victory.
Great victory!
Humanity has once again defeated the polluted area and regained its living space.
In today's world, the fate of the entire human race is full of hardships. They are forced into desperate situations by monsters, imprisoned, and retreated to isolated cities.
The White Tower was crowded, and the sentry towers were full of dangers. It was difficult to survive, and there were starving people everywhere. Ordinary people had almost no place to stand.
Life is too hard and depressing.
Today, the Sentinel Guides have successfully recaptured the contaminated areas time and time again, which is tantamount to opening a gap in this dark and lightless world.
A ray of sunshine leaked into the darkness, as if giving hope to all those living in darkness.
I saw hope for human survival.
Lin Yuan and Ni Ji sat next to each other in the car.
She heard many people around her whispering about Ni Ji, saying that he was a brave, heroic, and almighty captain. He led the team to victory again. This victory was not the first time.
But Lin Yuan knew that the sentinel captain sitting next to her was not an invulnerable iron man. He would also be frightened, weak and in pain.
I will tremble, cry, and have disturbing nightmares.
It’s just that he has the courage to face his own vulnerability and dares to confront his own horrific injuries.
He's a very cute and soft person.
The sentry sat beside her, sitting upright, his bloodless lips pale, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth.
The car body was shaking violently, and all Lin Yuan could see was the bloody jaw and the tightly pursed thin lips.
A strange idea suddenly came to Lin Yuan's mind.
I couldn't help but want to reach out and pinch that pale chin, leaving finger marks there.
It was as if she had ever done something this outrageous.
This is my sentinel, something I must protect.
Lin Yuan used to have nothing, but now she finds that she has more things she wants to cherish.
It's like getting some exquisite and sweet candies, and wanting to hold them in my own hands, guarding them well, and not letting anyone get their hands on them.
Fortunately I met you.
"Captain Ni." One of Ni Ji's companions came over.
The companion blocked the view of most people and quickly made a sign language gesture.
"Adjutant Ji sent an encrypted text message. Something is not right. Take a look."
(End of this chapter)