"Do you know my mother?" Lin Yuan asked.
"Of course. Didn't anyone tell you? Your mother has royal blood." The queen smiled and replied, "I have seen her many times. Your mother, Lin Lan'er, is a beautiful and powerful person. I like that child very much."
Lin Yuan was a little surprised. She had rarely heard people mention her parents since she was a child. This was the first time she knew that her family had blood connected to the queen.
In fact, her family could own a vast estate near the White Pagoda, so they must be a wealthy or noble family, or at least once prominent. But for some reason, Lin Yuan had never met any relatives from either of her parents' families.
It was as if all her relatives had died, and she was the only one left in the world.
She grew up in the White Tower, with few people visiting her. Apart from Roy, her mother's former colleague, few people ever mentioned their parents to her.
The queen came down from the throne, took Lin Yuan by the hand, and walked with her in the spacious and magnificent palace. While walking, she talked to Lin Yuan about her mother.
Her hands are soft, her manners are elegant, and her eyes behind the white veil are gentle, making people feel kind and comfortable.
"When Lin Lan'er was your age, she often came to play with me. I used to hold her hand like this." The queen looked at Lin Yuan and spoke. Her tentacles caught a hint of sadness and nostalgia in her emotions. "You are very similar to your mother."
"Really? I look like my mother?"
Lin Yuan feels that he is not very similar to his mother.
She had seen photos of her mother. Her mother was a tall, strong and cheerful woman with a high ponytail, a pair of fast legs, and she loved to laugh. She showed a bright smile in every photo.
It seems like he is not the same type as me from the inside out.
The queen looked at her with a gentle smile, as if she knew what she was thinking.
"Your mother, Lin Lan'er, is a strong and intelligent girl who has her own opinions and clear understanding of everything. Although you are a guide, your personalities are almost the same."
Lin Yuan felt happy. It turned out that her mother was a very good person. For some reason, her mood swings seemed to be more severe here than usual.
"I heard that you broke off the engagement with your fiancé, applied to go to the Special Research Department, visited many contaminated areas, and even solved the Golden Tree contaminated area?" asked the Queen.
Lin Yuan hummed.
"I should thank you. Humans have not been able to defeat the polluted areas or take back the land from the polluted areas for countless years." The queen held her hand and smiled, "You are worthy of being your mother's child."
Lin Yuan doesn't quite remember what her mother looks like. What kind of person is her mother
She was too young at that time. She only vaguely remembers her mother's warm embrace and her gentle hand holding. She really wants to hear more about her mother from people who knew her.
She followed the Queen unconsciously. She always felt relaxed when being held by the hand by such a beautiful and elegant Majesty, and she felt a desire to be close to her.
It seemed that he wanted to listen to her more, be closer to her, and be held by her hand and walk with her forever.
No wonder so many people like His Majesty.
She really looks elegant and gentle, like the embodiment of all the good things in the world, like a mother.
She followed the Queen to a rectangular window.
The entire huge white tower has a smooth porcelain-white exterior wall. It is pure white and has a tight texture, like an ivory tower without any windows.
But I didn't expect that in such a towering place, near the top, there is such a small square window.
The Queen and Lin Yuan looked out of the window together.
The terrain here is very high, and through the thin clouds, you can overlook the entire capital of the empire. Small houses, roads, rivers and the city walls in the distance can all be seen at a glance from here.
Tightly clustered around the White Tower is a group of magnificent buildings, with green tiles and red walls, bright colors. But it is only a small area.
Further away, the houses began to become dilapidated, densely packed, and messy, with a gray color spreading into the distance.
Standing here, one can clearly see the holy light emanating from the top of the White Tower. The pale white light spreads out from the top of the tower, like a hemispherical bowl upside down on the ground, enveloping the entire capital of the empire.
The pedestrians coming and going like ants on the streets and the countless densely packed houses on the earth are all protected by this protective screen of holy light.
Human beings gathered around the White Tower, huddled under the protection of the holy light, struggling to live in this twisted world full of dangers.
The wind blew in from the small window, slightly lifting the queen's veil, revealing her white jaw and beautiful lips.
"Human life is becoming increasingly difficult. Now we can only rely on the White Tower to survive in this world." The thin lips sighed softly, "Sometimes I am a little confused. I don't know if the path we are on is correct, and whether we can still move towards a more distant future."
That sigh was full of worry, heaviness, pity and the difficulty of carrying a heavy responsibility.
These emotions are sincere and strong and easily contagious to others.
If it were someone else, he would have wanted to kneel down on one knee and swear allegiance to His Majesty who is concerned about the fate of mankind.
He told her that he was willing to go through fire and water for her and to give everything to save the precarious fate of all mankind.
Fortunately, Lin Yuan is a person with mild mood swings.
She just sighed softly - this was already not easy for her.
The queen stood by the window, holding her hand gently, her posture relaxed and casual, "I just wanted to ask you, did you bring out any golden tree trunks from the golden tree contaminated area?"
In such a relaxed atmosphere, Lin Yuan opened his mouth and wanted to answer.
Something clicked in her mind at that moment.
[can not say.]
She looked inward into her own mental picture and saw a bright and clear full moon materializing in the sky against the vast expanse of the sky.
Lin Yuan's brain, which was a little dazed and foggy, suddenly came to its senses.
Yes, how can I say that? Otherwise, Xunhua will be in danger.
Lin Yuan broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
In her own mental picture, she vaguely saw her own spiritual body.
The deep-sea monster's clear yellow eyes appeared from the gaps between its tentacles, gazing at the myriad stars in the sky, as if confronting some powerful force in the distance.
Deep in the starry sky, in an invisible and intangible place, someone was watching her.
"The golden tree withered completely after the pollution zone collapsed. Not a single leaf was left," said Lin Yuan.
She was still holding the queen's hand, the skin of her palm was cold, not as warm as she had just imagined.
In a sense, Lin Yuan's answer was true. At least in her own emotions, she had no awareness that she was lying.
The eyes that were watching her from the distant void could not find any flaws in her spirit.
The queen, wearing a pure white crown and a white veil, stood by the window where the breeze was blowing. She was gentle, beautiful, pure and spotless.
She stared at Lin Yuan for a long time before she seemed satisfied with her answer.
"I heard that you also went to Contaminated Area No. 5." She spoke softly and slowly. "That was the first contaminated area you went to. Did you bring anything back from there?"
Lin Yuan complained to her that she had worked hard to find many priceless ancient energy stones, but they were snatched away by a group of crude and barbaric sentinels, who were also sentinels from Kyoto.
"Those are from the Public Security Bureau. The sentry in charge is called Tan Shu." Lin Yuan reported to the highest leader of the empire, "I reported this incident after I came back. Roy, the head of our Special Research Department, promised to seek justice for me. I didn't even get the last imperial coin back."
The queen finally laughed. "It's too dangerous for a guide like you to go to the contaminated area. You should be assigned a powerful sentinel."
She showed a nostalgic look and said softly, "In the past, there were many sentinels and guides like this."
Finally, the Queen summoned Luther from the Royal Guard and ordered him to assign guards to Lin Yuan when he entered the contaminated area.
Lin Yuan didn't want a dedicated sentinel.
But she was still quite happy. At least Her Majesty the Queen of the Empire did not object to guides like her entering and leaving the contaminated area, and even expressed support for her actions.
It will be much more convenient for her to continue entering and exiting the contaminated area in the future.
"I'm curious, which contaminated area are you going to next time?" The Queen asked Lin Yuan before parting.
"I haven't thought about it yet." said Lin Yuan.
At this moment, when she was ready to leave and was most relaxed, she could clearly feel the strong gaze.
Somewhere, there was a powerful spiritual being, staring at her with burning eyes.
Torturing her mental state to see if there was even the slightest lie in her answers.
Even if she showed the slightest sign of hesitation or panic, the other party would notice it.
But she really hadn't made up her mind yet and didn't know where to go. Her emotions were sincere, frank and fearless.
"So you didn't know yet?" The queen stretched out her fingers and gently pressed her hair.
"Well, let me give you a suggestion. If you are willing, you can consider going to Contaminated Area 338. It is a very ancient contaminated area with many secrets worth exploring."
Your Majesty's advice is equivalent to an order and assignment.
Lin Yuan nodded and agreed.
As Luther accompanied her away, he asked Lin Yuan, "Do you know contaminated area No. 338?"
Lin Yuan shook her head. There were so many contaminated areas and she didn’t know the situation in every one of them.
"That is the land of pupils, a dark dungeon, a world without eyes." Luther sighed, "Why would His Majesty send a guide like you to that place?"
A place without pupils.
Lin Yuan went over the word in his mind.
I remembered the revelation I had seen on the wooden box of the sunken ship. After the pattern of the golden tree, the map connected to a totem of a blind eye.
A land without pupils, a world without eyes.
Could it be that contaminated area 338 is the place I’m going to explore
"Your Majesty is such a kind person, so the decision he made must have its own deep meaning." Luther made a gesture of repentance in front of his chest, "Come on, let's go to the Royal Guard and pick out a few powerful guys for you."
Lin Yuan doesn't want an exclusive sentinel, nor does he really want to team up with others.
But although Her Majesty was gentle, her orders were unquestionable, and Luther would resolutely carry them out for her.
To select a suitable candidate for her from among those sentinels.
"What kind of sentinel do you want?" Luther asked her.
"What kind?" Lin Yuan thought for a moment, "If we're going to act together, of course we need the strongest sentinels."
The Royal Guard is stationed inside the White Tower, occupying an entire floor.
It has the most advanced high-tech training equipment and luxurious training venues.
The training ground was quite lively today, with many people rushing to one place, as if something was happening.
“I heard that we need to select guards for a guide to protect her when she enters the contaminated area.” A sentry said to his companion.
"Have we in the Royal Guard fallen to this level? Who wants to be a bodyguard for a guide?" said his companion dissatisfiedly.
The two sentries walked to the registration desk for the selected list and talked while looking at the electronic screen used for registration.
There were many people watching the fun around, but not many came to register for admission.
I heard that the person who needed protection was neither a royal member nor a noble, but just an ordinary guide with no roots or foundation.
Most people are not willing to go to dangerous places like polluted areas, and many people come there just to watch the fun.
"It seems to be the one mentioned in the legend. The guide who opened the golden tree."
"I've heard of that guy, too. How brave does a guide have to be to dare to enter and exit the contaminated area?"
"I don't think any sentinel would dare to take a guide like this. I don't think she'll ever be able to get paired off."
"Yeah, he's definitely going to look scary, like a gorilla with iron arms. Anyway, I'm not going."
As the two were talking, a sentry pushed past them and walked past.
The sentry lost one arm and replaced it with a bionic robotic arm. He raised the personal terminal on the robotic arm and swiped it on the electronic registration screen, which made a beeping sound.
"Registration successful, welcome Sergeant Yunluo." A mechanical voice rang out from the electronic screen.
"Team Cloud?"
"Is it Yun Luo? Didn't he die in the Golden Tree contaminated area?"
"He was trapped in the contaminated area for several months, and everyone thought he was dead. Unexpectedly, when the contaminated area collapsed this time, he was still alive and struggled out."
"He actually dared to sign up for this. He almost died in the contaminated area and broke a hand. Isn't he afraid at all? He is going to the Land of No Pupils."
There was a lot of discussion around. Yun Luo swiped his registration card and looked back at the two people behind him.
"Only the weak are afraid of the strength of others." The blue light of the electronic screen reflected on his thin and cold face, "The truly strong will always be attracted to the strong."
He moved his elbows, extended and retracted his mechanical fingers, clenched his fist, and walked towards the entrance of the selection venue.
Not long after he left, another sentry came. The man had a full beard and was a well-known strong man in the Royal Guard. He also reached out and swiped the screen of his personal terminal.
"I heard that Yun Luo has become even more powerful after he got a mechanical arm. I'm going to practice with him. Haha, it's not for the sake of a guide."
The next person to sign up was a member who had just participated in the special operation in the Golden Tree contaminated area. He did not make any excuses and was very straightforward.
"I'm going after Guide Lin. Don't compete with me."
One after another, the sentries came forward and scanned their personal information to enter.
There are still not many people who sign up. But as Yun Luo just said, all of them are truly strong in the Royal Guard.
Some of them were members who had participated in the Golden Tree Pollution Zone Operation, and many more had never seen Lin Yuan.
A guide who dares to go in and out of the contaminated area.
Perhaps those noble sons who wore sentinel uniforms but spent their entire lives in the safe rear didn't understand.
But the strong men who often go deep into dangerous places and fight bloody battles in contaminated areas are keenly aware of what this means.
A rare guide who can become a partner, enter the contaminated area side by side, and provide assistance to the Sentinels at any time.
They would love to meet this legendary guide and become friends with her.
"No way, there are so many people who signed up." The sentinel who spoke first nudged his companion with his elbow, "A violent guide who is not afraid of even mutants, hangs out with sentinels all day, and there are still so many people who want to meet him."
He poked his hand but found nothing. He found that his companion had squeezed in front of the screen at some point and also swiped his identity information.
Ji Xuan and Ni Ji came back from the upper floors of the White Tower by elevator and discovered the hustle and bustle of the guards’ training ground.
"What happened?" Ji Xuan stopped a sentry who was running by and asked.
"It's a selection." The sentinel said breathlessly, "It's organized by Commander Luther. They want to compete to find the strongest sentinel. We are all rushing to watch the competition."
After hearing the whole story, Ji Xuan took Ni Ji to the selection venue to watch.
"Pollution Zone 338, a place without pupils." Ji Xuan frowned slightly, remembering what the Minister of Finance had said not long ago.
"What a coincidence! His Majesty actually sent a guide to explore that place, and asked Lao Lu to choose a sentinel for her to be a partner."
The selection venue is a training ground where sentinels usually train.
The huge circular venue has guardrails to limit energy overload and is surrounded by high stands, allowing the sentinels to perform as they please.
Ji Xuan led Ni Ji to the stands and saw that the competition between the two sentinels on the field had entered a white-hot stage.
There were many sentries watching, and more and more sentries were preparing to participate.
At that moment, on the opposite stand, Luther, the chief of the Royal Guard, appeared with a young girl.
The girl, wearing a pure white guide uniform, straightened her skirt and sat down leisurely on a seat in the stands.
He is not as big and strong as the legend says, with arms and waist like an ape, and a shape like an iron tower.
She is almost the same as all normal guides, with a tender face, slim body and beautiful appearance.
But she doesn't look like an ordinary guide at all.
The sentinels believed that if any guide from the Guide Academy stood here, being stared at by so many sentinels, his face would turn red and he would feel shy and uneasy.
In this world, it was always the noble sentinels who selected the guides who graduated from the academy.
The guides are the chosen ones.
Waiting, shy, unable to take initiative, and not being able to touch sentinels casually are the labels that this world puts on guides.
But the girl appeared in front of everyone's gaze. She stood on a high place, with her hands on the railing, looking down at the sentinels who were fighting for her, her expression calm and open.
Her expression seemed to tell everyone that this was a normal thing. She was a powerful guide and was qualified to choose the strongest sentinel here as her partner.
She stood on a high stand, the breeze blowing her snow-white skirt, she had a slender figure and a cold look.
Fearless, arrogant, calm, and powerful.
That kind of temperament cannot be disguised; it is the aura of a warrior.
Faced with the terrifying deformed creatures, a powerful guide opened the sealed 400 contaminated area.
She is a bright flower that has bloomed after being stained with blood on the battlefield and experiencing life and death.
Not a delicate decoration in a greenhouse.
She stood on the high platform, looking intently, selecting her own exclusive sentinel and combat partner.
She said she wanted the strongest sentinel here.
Ni Ji stood on the stands, looking up at the figure. At this moment, everyone's eyes were on the guide in a white dress.
"She's very charming." Ji Xuan said to Ni Ji beside him, "By the way, you should have seen her. I heard that she got the key in the contaminated area and gave it to you who was passing by."
He saw the sentry beside him turn his gaze away from the distant stands and gave him a gentle affirmative answer.
Ji Xuan felt that he had missed something in an instant.
There was a lot of noise all around.
Ni Ji turned his head, his eyes lit up a little, his expression was calm and his emotions were restrained.
"How is it? Are you interested in this mission?" Ji Xuan asked him with a smile, "Do you want to get in touch with this guide sent by the queen and find out what kind of person he is?"
"If you, the adjutant, want me to go." Ni Ji said slowly and steadily.
His eyes fell on the martial arts arena, looking at the two sentinels in the competition, his face as calm as a lake, unmoved. He didn't seem to have much special interest, nor did he show excessive concern.
Just waiting for Ji Xuan to assign a task.
The sentinels on the training ground fought at a critical juncture and summoned their respective spirit bodies, becoming stalemate-like.
Ji Xuan thought for a while.
He was very curious about the guide and wanted to know what the queen wanted from the contaminated area No. 338. Ni Ji was the most suitable person.
But he had an illusion that Ni Ji suddenly turned into a fully armed warrior in front of him, guarding all his emotions perfectly.
"Then go and give this selection a try. Just do your best and try to stay with this guide and enter the contaminated area together." Finally, Ji Xuan instructed Ni Ji.
(End of this chapter)