Chapter 818: In the Cracks
“Roar!”
Suddenly, several eagle cries sounded outside Aers’s small city. A few seconds later, they drifted away with the night wind, disappearing into the darkness.
“Gugu…”
Suddenly, a white shadow flitted across the sky, then landed in a corner of the ruins. It then squeezed into the crack through which some light shone.
“Hoo…”
There, low breathing sounds echoed sporadically through the ruins, with over a dozen figures hidden within a shielding Formation.
The Gugu Bird landed on a discarded steel pillar.
The light of the Formation illuminated their dust-covered faces. Except for two with Dragon Country features, the rest were local Aers faces. Their faces were filled with panic, yet they dared not speak any questions.
“It’s our carrier pigeon.”
The gray-eyed girl stepped forward and carefully tore off the information paper attached to the Gugu Bird’s left leg.
Then, she sat down on the ground, spread the paper on her palm, and after a long while, she looked up. She then dispelled the shielding Formation, which required Magic Crystals, and said in a very low voice:
“There’s trouble at the port. Some stronger individuals have interfered. Our classmates who were supposed to contact us from outside have been captured by an unknown force, and their fate is unknown—the Yela army will be conducting a large-scale search here again tomorrow.”
“Then what should we do now? Classmate Bai, they’ve also lost contact completely…”
Opposite the gray-eyed girl was a glasses-wearing boy who didn’t look very old. He was also wearing a white coat. The difference was that he wore a camera around his neck and had a rolled-up brief on his chest. It seemed he was responsible for recording.
“…”
Zi Yi fell silent. She couldn’t help but take out a small notebook, constantly scanning its contents, noting down the things to pay attention to during this outing, but there were no solutions for such a sudden situation.
Her mind couldn’t help but think of that peer who was much stronger than herself, who was always so confident in everything she did.
If it were you, what would you do?
“That…”
Suddenly, a faint voice spoke in English, “We can head to the Mokala administrative district to the northwest. It’s very safe there, and there are no Yela soldiers.”
Hearing this, Zi Yi turned to look at the crowd of Aers people. It was a middle-aged man in black with a severed arm. She shook her head and directly rejected the idea:
“We can’t go. The message stated that this area is being surrounded by a large number of soldiers, and Yela wants to control everyone in this area…”
This middle-aged man was someone they found among the dead prisoners in the battlefield. After repeated observation, she found that he had no cultivation and wasn’t a soldier, so she saved him. She didn’t expect him to recover so quickly. Rationally, he should still have serious internal injuries.
Listening to Zi Yi’s words, the middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully and glanced at a few Dust Thunders in the corner…
“Classmate Zi Yi, don’t we have the War General level [Dust Thunder]? I’ll use this to lure them away.”
Lin Can took off his glasses, revealing his small, squinty eyes. He wiped the dust off his ring with the inner lining, put it back on, and stood up. He met Zi Yi’s gray pupils again and said with a smile:
“I’m from a big family. Even if I’m caught, they won’t do anything to me—when we get back, I’ll treat you all to a meal.”
“Senior Lin, this is war, not a family feud!”
Glancing at him, Zi Yi’s gaze looked out at the night through the crack. She exhaled and whispered, “People will die.”
The last four words were light but like sharp blades, sending a chill from the soles of their feet to their spines, instantly cooling the atmosphere. Even Lin Can froze.
Zi Yi looked at the young man, two or three years her senior. He wasn’t particularly handsome and even had a bit of a pretty-boy look. She suddenly spoke:
“Senior Lin, do you regret coming here? If you hadn’t come, you could have been studying in the library, living a life of peace and quiet in college.”
“No regrets. After all, I’m just a disregarded nobody.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Can lowered his head and looked at the small lamp in the center. The light reflected on his glasses, obscuring his young face. He took out his phone from his pocket.
Thirty days ago…
[A Yun: Bro, where are you? Grandpa threw a tantrum and broke things when he heard you weren’t participating in the competition.]
[Father: Your grandpa was just speaking in anger. He just doesn’t want you to be a highly paid but incompetent bookworm. Come home soon.]
Twenty-eight days ago…
[A Yun: Grandpa wants you to come back. He says even if you’re a good-for-nothing, the Lin family can support you.]
Twenty-seven days ago, the signal was completely blocked, and no more information could be transmitted.
Lin Can lowered his head as if thinking about something…
The Lin family was a pharmaceutical enterprise with great family influence. He was the eldest son at home and the heir to the family.
At the family banquet that day, his grandfather once again scolded him as a useless person who only knew how to study and couldn’t bring any honor. In reality, it was true… He didn’t have any talent. Everything he had achieved was through sheer hard study.
At the end of the family banquet, his tiger-like grandfather declared: “If you don’t make it into the top five in the joint competition, don’t bother coming back to the Lin family.”
There was no “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.”
There was no resistance.
He was like a child who had fallen on hard times, silently accepting his fate.
With some helplessness, he walked towards the school. The young man knew he had no talent. Although his cultivation level was Half-King, it was achieved through arduous effort. Making it into the top five was basically impossible.
Not being the heir was also fine. After graduation, he could open a clinic and save people, which would also be good.
Until he saw the gray-eyed girl at the school gate. She smiled at him and handed him a poster:
“Join the International Red Cross and treat women and children injured in the war.”
“Sure.”
The young man was stunned for a moment, but then suddenly smiled. He could start saving people early.
The girl looked puzzled: “Senior, you agreed so quickly. Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Meeting the girl’s gray eyes, the young man shook his head: “I’m just a disregarded nobody.”
…
“I care. The others in the [Spark] team care. Anyone who can get here has already surpassed ninety-nine percent of the Priests.”
Suddenly, Lin Can felt a warmth emanating from ahead. Someone gently hugged him. He turned his head slightly but met the gray eyes again.
Lin Can’s mouth opened, but he felt his throat tighten. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t moved…
The girl’s voice reached his ears: “We’re a team, aren’t we?”
After a brief embrace, they parted. Zi Yi was about to formulate a plan when she heard an Aers person from behind exclaim in English with a slightly local accent:
“The bomb has been taken! The bomb was taken by that person in black.”
Both of them were startled, quickly regained their composure, and looked towards the direction of the bomb. It was empty there, and the middle-aged man in black who had spoken earlier had already disappeared from his spot.
Zi Yi’s expression sank. It was clear that the person was by no means ordinary, and his strength was likely higher than hers and Senior Lin’s, possibly a Battle King Level Expert. But what was he doing with the bomb?
“Doctor, he’s from Mokala…”
At this moment, a child with bandages wrapped around his head pushed through the crowd, stepped forward a few paces, and handed a Storage Bag to Zi Yi. He said with his head bowed:
“He said you are all messengers sent by God to save us. He cannot let you get hurt, and told us to hurry and run northwest, without looking back.”
Zi Yi was silent for a moment, then stepped forward to take the Storage Bag. She examined its contents internally. It contained some canned food and mineral water. A half-opened can of food was placed on top, showing that the person who ate it was very thrifty.
