In the vast mining field, a long-distance bus full of passengers was running on the dark brown land.
The body of the car has been modified, and various weapons from different eras are pieced together on the roof. The messy muzzles of guns and cannons are pointed in all directions, making the whole car look like a bunch of pissed hedgehogs.
In this era, long-distance travel is a very dangerous thing. In the wilderness without the protection of sentinels, the dangers you may encounter are not just the monsters that occasionally leak out from the contaminated area.
The greater danger comes from human beings themselves.
In the deserted places, killing and looting can happen anytime and anywhere. There are countless robbers lurking on the journey, and they are the biggest threat to the lives of travelers.
In an era when food and supplies were extremely scarce, the bestiality of plunder and killing in human blood was magnified to the extreme.
The bandits who lurked in the wilderness, burning, killing and looting were often more bloody and brutal than inhuman monsters.
High in the sky, a pure white Saker Falcon chirped and spread its white wings in the sun, looking down on the bus running in the wilderness.
A majestic golden lion was walking through the dead woods on both sides of the road.
On the other side, a large tiger was following the car from a distance, carrying a sentry's uniform bag on its back.
"Are those sentinels?" a young girl in the carriage asked her boyfriend sitting next to her.
"Yes, judging from the logos on their backpacks, they should be sentinels from the Dongbin Outpost." The boyfriend looked at the accompanying birds of prey outside the car window and said, "From the looks of it, they should be seeing off someone in this car."
"Wow. Who on earth could have so many sentries to see him off?" The girl was very excited as she was travelling far away for the first time.
My boyfriend smiled in relief. "Anyway, thanks to him, we can feel more at ease with these sentinels here."
No matter how brutal those bandits are, they will stay away when they see a vehicle escorted by so many powerful sentinels.
Finally, they didn't have to worry about anything during this journey.
The girl was very excited and looked around in the carriage, trying to find the "big shot" who could be escorted by so many powerful warriors.
She didn't find any passenger who looked special, but she discovered that the passenger sitting next to her was a girl of the same age as her.
The girl seemed to be going out alone, carrying a bulging backpack and holding two net bags full of various snacks in her hands. She was extremely beautiful, but there was no expression on her face. She looked out the window with a faint expression all the way, unlike himself who was extremely excited.
"Are you going to Kyoto alone?" The girl took the initiative to chat with the person sitting next to her. She was a warm-hearted person who was a bit outgoing.
"Your family gave these to you, right?" She pointed to the snack bag in the hand of the person sitting next to her and opened her backpack to show him.
"It seems like everyone is the same. When my mother heard that I was going out, she insisted on stuffing so many things into my bag, regardless of whether they were useful or not."
The girl sitting next to her glanced at her backpack, then looked at her own for a while, pondered the word "family" for a moment, and nodded.
"This is my first time in Kyoto. I don't know what it is like there. I heard it is as beautiful as heaven."
"Who do you think those sentries following the car are escorting? They have escorted them for such a long distance, so they must be someone they value very much."
"When I get to Kyoto, my mother and friends will miss me a lot. But it doesn't matter, I will write to them often."
"Although mom is a bit nagging, sometimes I think it's a good thing to have someone care about me. Don't you think so?"
As the girl chattered, Lin Yuan looked out the window, watching the bird flying high in the sky, reluctant to leave.
The bird has white wings and flies freely in the blue sky.
Fishes swim in the vast ocean, where they can swim freely and leisurely.
If possible, she really didn't want to go back to that little town, back to that little tower.
Guide, why must he be protected in the capital and kept in that white tower
Lin Yuan stood outside his house and used the key to open the heavy carved door.
The cleaning lady who came to clean the house regularly called her outside the door.
"Miss. This is your package." She handed over a courier box. "It was sent yesterday, and I saw you were not at home. I'll keep it for you first."
Lin Yuan nodded and took the box.
"Well..." the cleaning lady said with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, my daughter-in-law wants me to go back and help take care of the baby. I will no longer do this job in your house after today."
Lin Yuan calmly stated the facts: "When you came to look for a job, didn't you say that your wife had given birth to a child and your family was short of money and that you really needed this job?"
The cleaning lady became embarrassed and rubbed the corner of her clothes with her fingers.
How could this lady be like this? She doesn't even give people a way out.
Lin Yuan looked at her for a moment and said, "I can give you double your salary. You know, my family really needs someone to help with shopping and handling chores on a regular basis."
When the cleaner heard about the double salary, he was very tempted. He rubbed the corner of his clothes with his knuckles until they turned white. After struggling for a long time, he finally said,
"Miss, it's not that the money is too little, I just don't dare to do it."
She looked around, moved closer to Lin Yuan, and whispered, "Your house is really too desolate. It's not really suitable for living."
"I advise you to move out too. I've seen that many times..."
A gust of wind blew by, and through the open door, a creaking sound came from the deep courtyard.
The cleaning lady suddenly shuddered, looking at the little girl standing in front of her at the gate of the huge deserted courtyard, she inexplicably didn't dare to say anything else.
The little girl was so pretty, with a fair face, thin arms and thin legs, but she lived alone in such an overgrown yard.
Just think about it, he is not a normal person, which is extremely scary.
She recalled some legends about this family and the tragic incident that happened to a family who once lived in this courtyard. Finally, she could no longer care about the temptation of double salary and forced the key into Lin Yuan's hand.
"Anyway... I really need to go home and take care of my grandchildren. Sorry, miss."
Lin Yuan looked at the back of the man who settled his salary and left in a hurry.
The tentacles drew back a real fear from there.
To her, and to the house behind her.
Lin Yuan found a feeling that he had been familiar with since childhood.
The feeling of being feared, terrified, and disgusted by everyone. Everything here is still the same as before, without any change.
Before I even walked into the house, I began to miss the sea and the small sentry post on the beach.
Even the battles in the contaminated areas seemed to become something people missed.
Lin Yuan closed the gate and walked into the overgrown courtyard.
Winter is here, and the branches and leaves of many plants in the yard have turned yellow and dry, making it look even more desolate, like a haunted house.
Not to mention that the cleaning staff ran away several times, even her own good friend Cao Yunyun didn't dare to come to her house to play.
At least we should hire a gardener, Lin Yuan thought.
Although she had a lot of inheritance from her parents, she couldn't manage the housework.
This cannot be blamed on her. She has lived in the White Tower since she was a child, and only gained the qualification to return home after she became an adult.
Lin Yuan only has a vague idea of what home is.
Lin Yuan walked in the overgrown courtyard and thought of the small yard of Shen Fei's house, which was planted with moonflowers and roses.
You can drink a little wine with the fragrance of flowers. The swaying petals of the evening primrose are blown by the wind, and the alcohol brings a slightly tipsy feeling.
It's always busy there, with lots of people.
In the dark main building, a small light was still left on for her in the entrance hall.
Lin Yuan put the express box on the entrance cabinet and took off his shoes at the door.
The entire building was silent, without a single sound.
"Come out, why are you hiding?" Lin Yuan said.
A small white face poked out from the shadows at the bottom of the stairs. As if she had done something wrong, she didn't dare to look at her.
"I can still treat you again after Auntie leaves." Lin Yuan said nonchalantly and put the pile of food he brought back into the kitchen.
He walked back to the dining table, sat down, and began to unpack the express box.
A figure in a maid outfit quietly slipped into the kitchen.
The kitchen light came on, and the sounds of cutting vegetables and boiling water could be heard from inside. Soon, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen into the living room.
"Miss, did your journey go smoothly this time? You were gone for such a long time." A girl's soft voice came from the kitchen.
The express box was opened. It seemed to be the first time that Lin Yuan received a package at home. She felt very fresh.
Inside the carton is a double-layer drawer.
When the top layer was pulled out, it turned out to be a box full of tribute candies sealed in red paper.
The plain red paper was folded neatly into a square and placed next to each other, and the aroma of sugar and peanuts mixed together overflowed from it.
Lin Yuan recalled the last time he ate this candy.
In that dark and narrow little room, I was starving, and the sentry beside me handed me two red paper packages with his black-gloved hands.
Lin Yuan knew who sent this gift.
It's a small fish.
Since they parted last time, although they added each other's personal terminals, he never sent her a message. Lin Yuan thought he had forgotten about her.
The second drawer was opened, and a small dagger lay quietly inside.
The dagger is very light. I don’t know what material it is made of, but it doesn’t feel cold to the touch. Instead, it feels slightly warm.
The handle is pure black, and the rich black extends to the back of the knife, while the blade is pure white. The black and white colors blend together, which is very beautiful.
The thin blade was too sharp, and when Lin Yuan's finger lightly touched it, his fingertip was cut.
The red blood beads rolled along the snow-white blade and were not absorbed by the blade at all.
Lin Yuan waited for a long time with great anticipation, but he didn't hear any voice coming from the handle of the knife.
It seems that this knife is different from Ni Ji's knife that can suck blood and talk.
Lin Yuan was a little disappointed. He took the knife out of the box and started playing with it. As he thought about it, the black and white blade half melted like liquid.
The short knife melted, stretched, and slid into a thin circle, which wrapped around Lin Yuan's wrist by itself, like an exquisitely made bracelet, and it was completely unrecognizable as a knife.
"Wow." Lin Yuan was happy.
When walking in the capital of the empire, it is not allowed to carry weapons in many situations.
But she had just learned how to use a knife, and her hands were itching to carry a knife with her wherever she went.
This special dagger, which she could carry with her on any occasion, was exactly what she wanted most.
Ni Ji had been back for a long time, and he seemed to know that I had returned in the past few days, but he never contacted me.
I wonder what the whale is busy with
Cao Junmin from the Public Security Department has been having a very successful life lately.
Originally, his biggest backer, Earl James, had died, and he was at the banquet but was late to realize it and was held responsible for failing to defend himself, which might have put his job at risk. He was very nervous for a while.
But the situation has improved recently because he has successfully connected with the Minister of War.
The Minister of Military Affairs, Jiang Yimei, is over fifty years old. He comes from an old aristocratic family and holds great power. He is arrogant and mean, has many unknown quirks, and is not easy to please.
The last time the Mary shipwreck appeared in the No. 5 contaminated area, in order to snatch the ancient energy stone from the shipwreck for her, Cao Junmin spent a lot of effort and cost to obtain first-hand intelligence, and sent his most capable elite troops to Area No. 5.
But the team of sentinels that he brought out from the academy, led by Tan Shu, entered the contaminated area with the latest intelligence, but returned in disgrace.
Not only did they fail to bring out the treasure, but they also killed two good players, team leader Tan Shu and Ni Ji.
Cao Junmin was so angry that he was mad for several days. Fortunately, two days later, Ni Ji escaped from the trap on his own and returned safe and sound. He also handed over all the energy stones in Tan Shu's backpack to him.
In the upper floors of the White Tower, several groups of people heard the news and headed for Area 5. But only Cao Junmin got the treasure from the sunken ship.
He presented those rare energy stones to his new master Jiang Yimei, and successfully boarded the ship of the Minister of Military Affairs Jiang's family.
After that, Cao Junmin realized that when it came time to fight a real battle, he still needed someone like Ni Ji.
He had some doubts in his heart. He called the team members who participated in the operation and questioned them carefully. Everyone in the team, even those who were close friends of Tan Shu, swore to him that Tan Shu's death was just an accident and had nothing to do with Ni Ji.
Tan Shu chose the road himself. When the incident happened, Ni Ji was also trapped in the battlefield, and the two were far apart.
Cao Junmin thought to himself that even if it was Ni Ji who did it, it was not a big deal.
He even enjoyed watching his subordinates resorting to some tricks to fight for the position in front of him.
So he let the matter go, praised Ni Ji highly, and promoted his position.
As for Tan Shu, it's a bit of a pity, but there are plenty of people like him.
Cao Junmin knew that it was easy to find someone as good at flattery as Tan Shu, but it was rare to find someone like Ni Ji who had real skills and a sharp and handy knife.
Cao Junmin searched the dinner party and soon found Ni Ji standing in the corner.
The sentry was very tall, with broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and a standard clothes rack. No matter where he stood, he would be easily spotted.
In the corner of the banquet, there were several people standing beside Ni Ji. Although his position was only a small non-commissioned officer in the Public Security Bureau, he was too handsome, and handsome people were popular everywhere.
Ni Ji's hair was loosely combed with hairspray, with a few strands of hair falling down. She was holding a wine glass in her hand, and there was a nonchalant smile at the corner of her eyes as she spoke.
He no longer had that cold and stiff look as when he first arrived, and seemed to be already very comfortable with such occasions.
But there was a certain smell about him that was different from everyone else here. It was the mark of being immersed in the battlefield for many years, engraved in his bones.
Be it the stable core strength when he raised his hands and feet, or the sharp look that occasionally flashed when he squinted his eyes, they were all different from the drunk, sloppy, and decadent-looking sentinels around him.
This uniqueness adds a special charm to him.
"Are there new people under your command?" Someone approached Cao Junmin with a wine glass in hand and raised his chin in the direction of Ni Ji.
Cao Junmin raised his glass and said, "He is a former student of mine. He was placed in the northern border for training for a few years, and I just called him back."
"He looks good." The man said, "He has a good appearance and temperament. He is exactly the type that the minister likes. Maybe he will be favored by you."
Cao Junmin smiled, behaved gently, and was decent and dignified, like a leader who truly cared about his subordinates.
"He has made a lot of contributions recently. I brought him in front of the minister, and the minister praised him."
The two exchanged a knowing look and clinked their glasses.
The transparent crystal wine glass is filled with amber wine, which is of great value. Just one sip is equivalent to several months' living expenses for the poor living at the bottom of society.
The level of the dinner was so extravagant and luxurious that it was unimaginable.
How many people who could appear at Jiang Yimei's dinner party didn't understand the little quirks of these nobles in private
Whenever the big shot of the Jiang family appeared in public, he was always polite and graceful, with the elegant demeanor of a noble family.
In reality, he is an extremely greedy and cruel person, who never takes the lives of ordinary people seriously.
To get to where she is today, the number of corpses she has stepped on could be described as mountains or seas.
The banquet was held in the villa of the Minister of Military Affairs, which had pavilions, towers and countless houses.
The lights were dim everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol and some dirty things.
Ni Ji was standing alone by the water, looking at the fish in the pond.
He was standing in a very clever position, with some scattered lights shining on the side of his face, making it not too bright, but not so bright that he could not be seen clearly.
The hazy light made his features look delicate and soft.
The slender fingers that had held guns and killed people would now pick up some bread crumbs and casually throw them into the pond, tempting a few fat carps in the pond to eat them.
The fingers are beautifully shaped, long and strong, with perfect lines.
The cuffs of his white shirt were pinned with exquisite black cufflinks, revealing a small section of his wrist, with a small and conspicuous scar on the side of his wrist.
Such a person stood by the pool, his eyebrows and eyes stained with the cold water color of the night, like a madman wrapped in a suit.
It's a little dangerous, but also has a bit of exciting temptation.
He is looking at the fish in the pond.
In a room high up, a pair of eyes looked at him through the glass.
"Go, bring him up." A voice sounded, "It's just him, don't alarm anyone else."
(End of this chapter)