The ceremony of enthroning the heir was announced suddenly, but it was still grand and solemn, and all TV stations in the empire were suspended.
Every channel was playing content related to the ceremony. It was very lively.
The hosts in front of the camera were very enthusiastic and excited, saying that this was the biggest grand ceremony in the empire.
The warm atmosphere was constantly being built up, and from time to time the screen switched to the beautiful imperial streets decorated with flowers and balloons, where the people were in tears.
Everyone thanked the White Tower and the Queen in unison, and were happy that there would be someone to take over the empire.
A passerby who was interviewed was in tears. The well-dressed gentleman wiped his tears in front of the camera and said, "The glory of the empire continues. When I think that we can still live happily under the protection of God, I can't help crying. Thank you White Tower."
The nobles were dressed in their best clothes, with gowns, jewels and rings jingling as they waited in the auditorium. The sentries of the Royal Guard were standing guard on both sides in military uniforms. Everyone looked energetic and majestic.
The guides in the college were dressed in white dresses and sang hymns under the leadership of the principal.
Throughout the empire, whether in the prosperous aristocratic district, the impoverished shantytown, or the bitterly cold and difficult outposts, everyone was watching this imperial ceremony in front of either luxurious or shabby screens.
The palace on top of the White Tower is the private domain of Her Majesty the Queen. It is the most mysterious and majestic place in the empire and rarely appears in the public eye.
Today, the sacred temple finally unveiled a corner of its veil in front of the camera.
Under the gaze of millions of eyes, the towering dome, exquisite murals, and white jade pillars appeared before the people of the empire.
The spacious hall was covered with a long scarlet carpet.
The dazzling red color extended all the way through the spotless white hall, until it reached the jade steps and the foot of the throne.
A young girl in a luxurious long dress was kneeling on the red carpet.
In front of the camera, a pair of pale hands reached down from the throne and placed the laurel wreath symbolizing succession on the girl's head.
The ceremony ended and the bell rang.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky and the cannons were firing. It was a grand scene.
In the shabby fishing village, the villagers gathered in front of a black and white TV, staring curiously at the beautiful girl wearing a laurel wreath on the screen.
"What a beautiful sister! Will this sister be the new queen in the future?" a young child asked the grandmother beside him.
"That may be what it means. She is a beautiful princess." The elderly great-grandmother touched the girl's head.
They lived far away from the White Tower. The Queen and the Heir were distant things to these poor people, almost like existence in legends.
The elderly grandmother squinted her eyes and thought about it. She remembered that in her vague memories of childhood, she had vaguely seen such a scene once.
The same long red carpet, white walls, old hands and beautiful heir.
In today's empire, there are very few elderly people who can live to her age.
Most people's life span is still in their prime. I guess not many people still remember the ceremony that was almost the same as this one.
Even she could not remember the appearance of the heir, she only remembered that she was a very beautiful princess.
It's because Her Majesty the Queen wears a veil all year round and rarely appears in the public eye.
The only thing the elderly woman knew was that no matter who sat on the throne, the lives of these lowly people would not change much.
The taxes to be paid are still heavy, and the burden of life is still suffocating.
The contaminated area is still spreading, and mutants appear in the wilderness at any time and anywhere, eating people whenever they want. Young children are dying continuously.
There is no way out, no hope in sight, like being locked in a small cage. No matter how hard you struggle to survive, you are nothing more than a caged poultry waiting to be slaughtered.
The old lady sighed softly in her heart.
The young great-granddaughter beside him was very excited and jumped up and down.
"I think I've seen this sister before." She said confidently, "This sister and a sentinel brother came to our village and gave me a piece of candy."
Adults don't believe the children's nonsense, but their peers firmly believe it.
The girl went to look for her companions, and they all nodded.
"Yes, I remember her too. It was the first time in my life that I had such delicious dim sum."
"She wasn't dressed this well then, but this sister is right."
"She also took Brother Xiaomu to the military camp."
"What was her name? I remember now. It seems to be Guide Lin."
At this moment, at the Dongbin sentry post, the sentries gathered around the screen. Xiaoniao and Xiaomu stared at Lin Yuan on TV in amazement.
"Xiao... Xiao Yuan, how could the Queen's heir be Xiao Yuan?"
"Oh my god, Rachel is in the imperial capital, and he didn't tell us anything about such a big event."
"Wow, Mom, Sister Lin Yuan is on TV!" Xiao Yuan shouted.
These past few days, Dad Shen Fei took Brother Dahu and some of his brothers and sisters and quietly left home, acting mysteriously, and no one knew what they were going to do.
Leave her and her mother to live in the military camp.
But it doesn’t matter, she likes living with her little bird sisters.
The little bird ended the long-distance call, closed the personal terminal and looked up.
"I contacted Rachel, and he said he had no prior knowledge of this. He had even just returned from the contaminated area with Guide Lin a few days ago. There was no sign of this happening."
"It feels a little weird. Will something go wrong?" The companions became uneasy.
There are numerous outposts scattered around the empire like chess pieces.
Many people recognized Lin Yuan's face.
"I've seen this person, it's the guide!" someone shouted.
"She was a very capable person. She went through many contaminated areas alone. For a while, everyone was talking about her name."
"Yes, it was that guide. I almost died in the contaminated area once, and she saved me. She is a gentle yet powerful guide. I have seen her in person!"
"Look how proud you are. A sentinel was saved by the guide, and you have the nerve to say it out loud."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? On the battlefield, I only admire the strong. I'm not like you, a coward, who judges heroes by gender."
The two sentries had a disagreement and rolled up their sleeves to fight under the electronic screen playing video on the street.
In the Guide Academy, Nicole was pulled to the screen by many of her familiar friends.
"Wow, it's Lin Yuan, it's really that Lin Yuan."
"Oh my god. Is that our classmate Lin Yuan?"
"Did another Sentinel refuse the marriage proposal that matched her?"
"Don't mention that idiot. Now the whole family should be hiding at home and crying."
In the sentry camp of the Royal Guard, countless soldiers stood up.
“Isn’t this Guide Lin?”
"I fought many matches for her."
"I, I've teamed up with her before. I was saying that Her Majesty the Queen thinks highly of our Guide Lin."
Those who had teamed up with Guide Lin were so proud. All the blood shed in the ring was worth it.
The eyes of the entire empire were focused on the screen, including the basement where the secret meeting was taking place.
In the dim secret room, the fluorescent light from the TV screen flickered on the faces of all those participating in the secret meeting.
They have been preparing for many years and finally gathered here secretly just for this action.
It would have been a good time.
The powerful emperor at the top of the tower seemed to be in poor health and had been in seclusion for a long time.
Someone else has uncovered the ugliest secret of the White Tower and made sufficient pre-war mobilization.
The crowd was excited, morale was high, and everything was ready, except for the last gunshot.
At this suffocating moment, the empire suddenly organized some kind of ceremony to enthronize the heir.
It was so quiet beforehand that no one got any information about it.
"Whatever the heir is. I think we're all on track with our original plan."
Someone broke the silence.
"We have been preparing for this for so long, and this matter has to be launched. Morale has been high for a while, but it has been low for a while. The mobilization here is not small, and there is no guarantee that the news will not be leaked after a long time."
"I think so too. No matter who the heir is, anyone standing in that position is an enemy."
Many voices of agreement and approval were heard.
"She is not an enemy." A voice interrupted the increasingly noisy conversation.
It was the sentry standing next to Ji Xuan, wearing a black uniform and a black mask on his face, who spoke.
The scene was quiet for a moment.
Everyone knows who this person is—a hero who lurks in the upper levels of the White Tower and once risked his life alone to rescue his companions.
"Why, why? Do you know the heir?"
"Do you know any inside information?"
"Why do you say she is not an enemy?"
Inquiring voices rang out one after another.
Ni Ji closed his eyes. His heart was actually more chaotic and confused than anyone else.
Clearly, he and Lin Yuan had a date just a day or two ago.
At that time, she had just kissed herself, and under the dissipating fireworks, in front of a roadside dessert stall, she casually told herself that she would go to the White Pagoda.
"I go to the White Pagoda often, it's okay." She said to herself.
Ni Ji didn't know why things suddenly turned out like this.
At this moment, I thought carefully about the kiss under the fireworks, the fingers pressed against my lips to stop him from speaking, the relaxed smile and casual tone.
And it seems that everything has a deeper meaning.
Otherwise, why would she suddenly appear in the middle of the screen without saying a word
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he lowered his head and put on the laurel wreath that symbolizes the successor to the throne.
The sentinel's heart was in a mess. He was burning with anger, and he wanted to leave here and go straight to the top of the White Tower to ask her what happened, what she encountered, and whether she needed his help. But the voice from under the black mask was still as calm as before, but the tone was firm and full of unquestionable certainty.
"She will not be our enemy." Ni Ji repeated again.
Everyone attending the meeting wore a mask to avoid exposing the faces of all the participants under mental torture if someone was arrested.
But in fact, there are still many people who know each other and can tell each other's true identity behind the mask.
"You... can't let your emotions get the better of you at this time." There were dissenting voices from the crowd.
The person who was speaking obviously knew who Ni Ji was, and also knew that Ni Ji had once had private dealings with the heir to the throne as an exclusive sentinel.
"I know you know the heir. But this is a matter of life and death for countless people."
"You can't make such a judgment based on your personal feelings. You have to know that he is the heir to the throne, the highest power in the empire. No one can resist that kind of temptation."
"You think of her as our partner. It is extremely irrational to be unguarded against her. It will kill our brothers and yourself."
"What if she is a terrible person who possesses the same abilities as Her Majesty the Queen? We should adjust our plans."
There was consolation in his tone, revealing a bit of disappointment at Ni Ji's emotional response.
"Guide Lin will not be our enemy." Another voice sounded.
There was a small star on the man's mask, indicating that he was a soldier coming from another outpost to provide support, representing the combat power of the outpost.
Ji Xuan glanced in that direction and knew that it was the sentry chief of the Dongbin post, Shen Fei.
A hero who had been stationed in the bitter cold land of the border for many years. He brought a warrior with the spirit of a tiger.
"The Forest Garden Guide will not be our enemy. She will only be our friend." The sentinel stepped forward and extended his hand to signal, "I share the same attitude as the Avenger."
"I agree too. Guide Lin is our partner." Another masked sentry raised his hand.
It was a woman, very tall and well built, wearing the uniform of the Royal Guard. She said in a very confident tone,
"I guarantee with my head that she is not an enemy."
Her features were so obvious that many people recognized her. A warrior with a panda spirit, she had secretly joined the underground army for many years.
More people are coming forward.
The number of people was so large that one had to wonder what charm this guide had that could make soldiers from different places, even those who had been lurking in the enemy camp for many years, vouch for her at a moment like this.
"I think so, although I only met the guide once."
Finally, a female sentry with a long braided pigtail said this.
This is a companion that almost everyone knows. This sentinel now serves as the captain of the guard of the royal airship.
A large part of the weapons, supplies and personnel that were smuggled into the imperial capital were secretly transported by airship with her assistance.
The young female captain stepped forward with two people.
“Back then, we were sentinels at the lowest level. But the guide stood at the bow and protected me with his own life.”
"I can understand why so many people here believe in her. I am willing to vote for her too."
Finally, Ji Xuan, the leader of the meeting, extended his hand to everyone.
"The successor will be our partner. Based on this premise, the operation will proceed as planned."
On all sides of the round table, everyone stretched out their hands, clenched their fists, and touched each other.
The whispered promise echoed in the dim chamber.
“We are not poultry!”
"We don't want to live in this cage!"
"To survive."
"So that no relatives will starve to death."
"So that no more brothers' flesh and blood will be sacrificed."
"For the children, to be able to step on land that truly belongs to human beings."
"I would rather die."
"I'd rather die!"
"No victory, no return."
There were both male and female voices, elderly and very young warriors, and even a childish voice.
In order not to starve, in order not to freeze to death in the cold winter, in order to survive.
They are willing to sacrifice their blood and bones, and to let their bodies be crushed into mud in the gunfire.
The voices were low and deep, interweaving together, floating beneath the empire and converging into a magnificent song.
In the White Tower, the Queen's pale hand left the laurel wreath above Lin Yuan's head.
"It is done, child. From now on, you are my heir."
Lin Yuan raised his head and looked at His Majesty the Emperor sitting on the throne.
The palace before him was decorated more beautifully than ever before, filled with pure white flowers and covered with bright red carpets.
She looked less human than ever before.
There was a foul smell in the air. The body that Lin Yuan once felt was gentle and beautiful now made Lin Yuan feel like she was about to melt.
It was like a dummy that was about to melt and deform on the throne, and become limp and turn into a complete monster.
She looked shaky and about to fall apart at any moment. It was terrifying.
But it seemed that only Lin Yuan could sense this feeling.
In the eyes of outsiders, she is still the beautiful, elegant queen in white who controls the entire empire.
The Queen looked at the heir who slowly stood up in front of her.
This is indeed the heir he wanted, possessing his own bloodline and at the same time awakening the ancient and pure power of the Kraken.
With every meeting, the young child is getting stronger.
Such a vibrant life is simply enviable.
Powerful tentacles, nimble arms and legs. The huge power gradually reveals its full appearance.
More lively every day.
I like her very much.
I really want her to belong to me right now.
But soon, she will finally belong to me. In this white tower, nothing can escape from my hands.
The queen looked through the young heir in front of her and saw the spirit behind her.
The young Kraken spread out its red tentacles and had grown so huge without anyone noticing.
We have to hurry and get this new body as soon as possible.
Between those wriggling tentacles, a pair of golden pupils turned out from the gaps and looked towards him.
At that moment, the strong man who had survived for hundreds of years felt a chill in his heart, as if the eyes through the gaps between the tentacles could see through him clearly.
Lin Yuan raised his head. In the hall decorated with flowers and red carpets, there was a very unpleasant stench, like the decayed smell of a dead body.
It was a breath that came from a spiritual body, perhaps some kind of strong obsession, a desire, so foul that it even distorted the pale tower.
She penetrated the thick fog of obsession and gradually saw the huge spiritual body hidden behind the queen.
Just as the Queen could see her spirit body, she finally saw it too.
It turned out to be such a huge thing.
It extended from the bottom of the white skirt, adhered to the white throne, stretched across the dome of the entire palace, and penetrated into the tower made of piled bones.
On the towering dome and the white walls, there were countless painful faces, angry eyes, twisting arms, and organs of various animals and plants were barely sewn together.
It turned out that I had been in such a strange house all along.
I was too weak to see before, but I thought this place was beautiful and warm.
Later, I got rid of the interference of mental power and felt something vaguely, but couldn't see clearly.
Now that the fog has been cleared, the vision has become clear for the first time.
It just feels creepy.
It was a monster that was born after forcibly devouring countless humans.
Crawling in the White Tower, her roots and whiskers penetrated deep into every brick of the White Tower.
Hold on tightly and control this tower that symbolizes the highest power of the empire.
He is no longer human.
But they cannot merge with the human spirit body like true mutants.
Forced splicing and stitching, a ghost so ugly that it's disgusting.
Among those countless arms, Lin Yuan saw a pair of arms belonging to a human child.
The delicate fingers were stained with various colors of paint, probably a child who liked to draw. Not long ago, an innocent person died tragically and was devoured by this monster.
At this moment, the hand was tightly grasping the queen's neck.
The paint-stained fingers clenched tightly, carrying with them the hatred, blood and tears of a lifetime, and refused to let go.
The tentacles captured the messy floating thoughts from the hall.
They swam back and told Lin Yuan the truth.
[It's because of that child]
[She hit a wall this time]
[Thought it was just a little guide she kept in a cage]
[But that child was very strong and made her suffer a lot]
[So disgusting, stitched monster. I want to vomit]
When can we leave
[I want to suck two mouthfuls of fish to recover blood]
"Come on, I'll take you to see the entire White Tower."
The queen on the throne stood up, her lips painted with lipstick on her decayed face smiled, and she stretched out her pale arms toward Lin Yuan.
She was a little confused and didn't know that Lin Yuan could see everything clearly.
Lin Yuan said nothing, and obediently took the hand that was stretched out to him, holding the bony hand stained with countless blood.
"Although you have lived in the White Tower since you were a child, I still want to personally take you to have a good look around. This is the hope of mankind, our Garden of Eden."
"From now on, everything will belong to you. I promise you. You will be in control of everything here."
Her voice was very gentle, like that of an elder, sincerely leading her heir to see the tower built by her empire and her own hard work.
Tour this bone monument that controls all of humanity.
Lin Yuan could even hear from her tone her sincere love and attachment to the white tower.
The Queen of the White Tower walked down the long white jade steps, holding her heir's hand.
The royal guards and nobles standing guard at the bottom of the stairs saluted.
The commander of the guard and the minister of military and political affairs stepped out, prostrated themselves on behalf of everyone, and kissed the gems on the toes of the Queen and Lin Yuan's shoes.
"Don't pay attention to them, they will just be your toys from now on."
The queen led Lin Yuan and casually dismissed a group of people who had been waiting in their best clothes, and walked towards other floors.
After they had left for a long time, the nobles in elaborate formal attire quietly raised their heads, spread out their feather fans, and whispered to themselves.
"It's so sudden. I was shocked. Why are you in such a hurry? I always thought the heir would be chosen from among the princesses."
"It's nothing, actually. His Majesty has doted on this guy for the past two years. He summoned him from time to time and brought him to his side to teach him personally." Her companion pursed his lips, "Don't you see that those people over there have already become flatterers and have been fawning on him for a long time. I guess they expected this day to come."
Another clerk in charge of etiquette wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained to his close friend,
"It is in accordance with tradition. I have checked and found that the mother has pure royal blood. But her father..."
"What's wrong with Dad?" The friends pricked up their ears.
"It's nothing, but I don't know what went wrong. A lot of materials were lost, and I couldn't find much information about the father."
The official who spoke had a bit of doubt in his tone. He quickly realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said, and waved his hand and smiled.
"But it doesn't matter. It's enough that my mother has pure royal blood."
"The most important thing is your Majesty's appreciation, right? What an outstanding heir, a blessing to the empire."
Friends in the small circle immediately echoed.
"Yes, yes. How wonderful." "Beautiful and elegant."
"I heard that he had been to the front line in person. That's great."
"Blessing of the Empire."
"Blessing from the White Tower."
"Your Majesty is wise."
The chattering in the upper floors of the White Tower could no longer be heard.
Lin Yuan followed Her Majesty the Queen into the planting level of the White Tower.
“The seeds of all human agricultural products are preserved here, and all crops are carefully cultivated.”
The queen's fingers stroked a small piece of golden rice ears, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly under the white veil, "Lin Yuan, look, how beautiful they are."
Passing the small patch of wheat ears, we arrived at the lush green area.
She picked two rosy red tomatoes from the flower stand and handed one to Lin Yuan.
The fruit is plump, with rosy skin, and looks delicious.
The queen took a bite, and Lin Yuan also tasted it.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" There was even a hint of anticipation in the questioning voice.
"It's not very delicious." Lin Yuan looked at the bitten vegetable in his hand and answered truthfully, "It's not very sweet and tasteless. I've eaten it outside and it tastes good when it's sweet and sour."
This is inside the White Pagoda, without sunlight, and is cultivated in a greenhouse.
The vegetation has never seen real sunlight.
The beautiful fruits and vegetables tasted bland. The tomatoes that the bird picked for him tasted much worse than the ones he had at the sentry post.
The tomatoes picked from the fields are washed with cold well water, peeled a little, dipped in white sugar, and taken a bite.
Wow.
The delicious juice overflowed, sour and sweet, and the grains of white sugar rolled around with a crackling sound.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
The queen in white, dressed in gorgeous clothes, looked at Lin Yuan, and Lin Yuan shrugged.
Just tell the truth.
She even conveyed the emotion of eating such a truly delicious meal to the bloody creature opposite her.
Land, sunshine, sweat and working people.
Really delicious fruit.
"One day in the future, we should be able to plant the things here back into the earth."
The queen's voice was a little vague, and she used words like "should", as if she wasn't quite sure in her heart when she said this.
At that moment, Lin Yuan sensed a fluctuation of mental power, which made her wonder whether perhaps many, many years ago, this Majesty who ascended the throne at a young age really seemed to have thought about it as she said.
Thoughts of taking back the lands of humanity. Not just obsessed with rotting in a tower.
The air transmission system brought a little wind. This layer was very large and was planted with all kinds of plants in the world.
The crops are well protected, and species that have now disappeared on the ground can still be found here.
They waited for a long time in this small floor of the tower, hoping that one day they could return to the real earth and the real sunshine.
The queen raised her head, and through her white veil she looked over the golden ears of rice, the green gourds, the purple eggplants, and the golden pumpkins.
Seeing these with my eyes, I heard the land, sunshine, sweat and white sugar in Lin Yuan's spiritual power in my mind.
Her half-collapsed spirit was a little dazed at that moment.
I vaguely remember that a long, long time ago, when I was about the same age as the person in front of me, I had such passionate feelings and such pure thoughts.
At that time, a young girl ascended the throne with blood on her body, expelling her cruel father and incompetent brother.
I was once ambitious and wanted to protect everything in my hands. One day, I would bring my people back to the world that belongs to humans and let the glory of the empire truly shine in the sky.
When did it become like this
Already forgotten.
That was just the naive young thought from a long, long time ago.
The crumbling giant spirit body shook for a moment. A golden solution flowed up and quickly filled the broken part, making up the gap.
Although it was already decayed, it was still huge, covering everything. The little bit of emotion that touched my heart was soon annihilated into nothingness.
The queen came to her senses, threw the juiced tomatoes in her hand into the mud without regret, and said to Lin Yuan with a smile,
"Come on, I'll take you to the next floor."
Lin Yuan's eyes turned cold at that moment.
The liquid that fills the body is gold, shining brightly. It is the golden tree, and it is part of Xunhua's torso.
Because something went wrong while devouring the child's spirit, His Majesty rushed into his home like a robber.
Took away her family, her gardener, her golden tree.
Use it to repair your body.
"You mean this?"
Her Majesty the Queen quickly noticed the fluctuations in Lin Yuan's mental power. She waved her hands and feet to show Lin Yuan the flowing golden solution in his mental body.
"You won't be angry about this, will you? It's just a mutant." Her tone revealed a matter-of-fact indifference.
I really don't care.
In her heart, she gave the inheritance right to the supreme throne to Lin Yuan.
No one would go against the throne of the world's most supreme ruler just for a tree growing in a garden, a natural enemy of mankind, a deformed creature of a different species from himself.
Of course not, right
Compared with this golden tree, there is a world of difference between what I sacrificed for this seat four hundred years ago and this golden tree.
It was just a mutant kept in a backyard.
Like many nobles in the empire did secretly, they raised these unique pets in the backyard for the sake of curiosity and to show off their unique taste.
"It's your fault, actually." The queen was a little unhappy. "I asked you at the beginning if you had brought anything back from the Golden Tree contaminated area. You actually kept it from me."
"Yes, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Lin Yuan answered her.
He is a sober and rational child.
I don’t know why, but at this moment, it seems like the passage is completely blocked.
It was no longer possible to detect any real emotions from the young Kraken.
The queen turned around and glanced at the heir behind her.
In the White Tower, the steps are piled with bones.
Those golden pupils stared at her in the dim light.
(End of this chapter)