Chapter 62: First Fortress 14

“What happened?” When it came to that strange Scavenger girl, An He was determined to get the full story.

Lola recounted the events.

That morning at eight o’clock, Lola had gone out to scavenge for food. She skipped the details of the search and said she’d run into the Scavengers from the night before at the exit of an underground bar.

Not all the Scavengers were out; only the Dyed-Hair Lady and the girl had shown up. They’d traded some scavenged rebar with the bar owner for food and, as they stepped outside, spotted some discarded glass bottles by the door. They bent down to pick them up.

There were too many bottles for the girl to manage while holding her plastic bag, so she set it on the ground.

The sight made Lola, watching from across the street, furrow her brow—the little girl’s vigilance was far too lax.

Sure enough, in just those few seconds, five people burst from a shadowy alley and snatched the bag from the ground.

Such robberies were commonplace in the Lower City. Anyone with a shred of street smarts never set down anything valuable. Even Lola, who’d only recently returned to these streets, still made a habit of stuffing her bread whole into an inner pocket of her jacket and keeping a hand on it at all times.

The dirtier and more chaotic the place, the stricter its unwritten rules. People here believed anything left in public could be taken or stolen. Sure, you risked losing your own supplies, but you also had every right to grab someone else’s.

Morality held no sway here.

It wasn’t uncommon to see gangs brawling over a loaf of bread or a single bullet casing.

The Dyed-Hair Lady flew into a rage, cursing them out as she rolled up her sleeves, ready for a fight.

The robbers outnumbered them. One glanced back, saw the girl’s stunned expression, then noticed the glinting metal pendant around her neck. Mistaking it for something valuable, he doubled back and yanked at the Raven amulet.

“This is mine.” The girl clutched the chain, refusing to let go, trying to wrench it back.

Lola witnessed it all from the sidelines. She didn’t intervene, just watched quietly, then glanced down the distant street.

It was just another ordinary morning in the Lower City. The fog hadn’t yet lifted, the buildings on either side long since reduced to rubble, with pockets of damp dew clinging to the ruins.

Not far off, a few Patrol Squad members were negotiating with some gang members—some kind of deal, though they hadn’t noticed the commotion yet.

Lola looked away just as the girl stumbled from the pull. The gift from An He was sturdy; the robber tugged three times, then kicked the girl before the chain finally snapped.

Crack! It wasn’t just the chain that broke—the robber’s elbow joint shattered too.

In the girl’s gaze, the man collapsed to his knees, pitch-black blood streaming from his eyes and nostrils.

“Ah!” The injured person screamed in agony, drawing the distant Patrol Squad’s attention.

The robbers immediately ditched the pendant, grabbed the food, and fled. The Dyed-Hair Lady’s face paled at the sight of the Patrol Squad; she seized the girl by the collar and darted into an alley.

The once-lively street fell silent in an instant.

Just another ordinary morning in the Lower City.

“That kid’s an Embedded Spirit Body. Someone in the Lower City awakened,” Lola concluded. “But from what I saw, she can’t control her Innate Talent yet. Even the Dyed-Hair Lady had a nosebleed.”

“What’s her Innate Talent? Did you get a good look?” An He asked.

“Not specifics, but some kind of devastating mental ability—strong enough to shred internal organs.”

An He was both surprised and not. Before learning about the Cabin Cocoon Project, she’d already sensed something off about the Scavenger girl, and the Scavengers’ attitude toward her was unnatural. If she was an Embedded Spirit Body, it all made sense.

But that kind of Innate Talent was dangerously unstable.

A thought struck An He: Maybe it wasn’t someone from the Lower City who awakened. Maybe it was someone destined to awaken who ended up here.

An He glanced back at Gu Xianqing, who had slightly lifted the edge of her hood, ears perked as she listened to Lola’s account.

It was entirely possible the girl was the Cabin Cocoon Gu Xianqing had stolen all those years ago. These Scavengers frequented District 21; someone must have picked her up.

An He slowly raised her head, emotions surging.

Like her, that girl carried Divine Blood. Though An He still hadn’t unraveled her own origins, there was no doubt the Cabin Cocoons shared her Divine Blood.

This was the “sister” the God had spoken of.

She had to find her.

“Did you tail them? Where do they live?”

“Not far from here—Yongfu Store by the fountain.” Lola had indeed followed them. “Want to check it out?”

“Yes.” An He took two steps, then turned to Gu Xianqing. “What about you? Coming or staying?”

Gu Xianqing stepped up and affectionately linked arms with An He. “Of course I’m coming. What if you ditch me?”

Lola shot Gu Xianqing a strange look. The wanted posters described her as a heinous, extremely dangerous terrorist—Mental Level S, no less.

But Gu Xianqing’s demeanor around An He was anything but terrorist-like.

Out of caution, Lola lowered her voice. “You sure about bringing her? The Patrol Squad’s hunting her everywhere.”

Gu Xianqing released An He, crossed her arms, and threatened, “If they’re after me, then protect me. If I get caught, I’ll rat all three of you out.” She glanced at Tina.

Lola met Gu Xianqing’s serious expression and lifted her chin. “I know who you are. I was with the Heroic Spirits Society when you blew the Shell Membrane in District 21. You think I’d protect you?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Gu Xianqing locked eyes with Lola, her gaze turning icy in an instant. “Go ahead if you want. Or oppose me. I don’t care.”

Lola was sharp; she quickly grasped the implication.

The wanted poster listed Gu Xianqing’s Innate Talent as Dream Erosion. In her presence, Lola had no secrets. As a not-so-loyal Heroic Spirits operative, she posed no threat.

With one sentence, Gu Xianqing had her pinned, exposed.

Lola took a step back, avoiding her gaze. That piercing stare felt eerily familiar, stirring a deep-seated fear from her subconscious. Now I get how dangerous she is.

Gu Xianqing’s one bad woman, Lola thought.

“Fine.” Lola’s attitude shifted; she offered patiently, “But you’re too flashy. Not cut out for Lower City life.”

“Flashy where?” Gu Xianqing tugged her hat. “I’m covered up tight. I’m low-key now.”

Low-key? Lola was speechless. Did she mean the red sleeves peeking from her cloak, the aura of arrogance and menace radiating from her, detectable from meters away?

Gu Xianqing clearly had some misunderstanding of “low-key.” It tested Lola’s professionalism.

Lola held back for a moment—then couldn’t.

“Wait here. I’ll borrow some clothes and a wig from next door.”

An He, oblivious to their exchange, was baffled.

She’d expected a tense standoff between Lola and Gu Xianqing. Instead, the ally she’d painstakingly recruited folded after two sentences from Gu Xianqing.

Beyond the raw power dynamic, Lola’s response surprised her.

An He followed Lola out. “Why?”

“Why what?”

An He gave her a knowing look. “As a Heroic Spirits Society member, you’re not doing your duty?”

“Neither are you,” Lola replied flatly. “Besides, she could kill me anytime. I need to think about my own situation.”

Her own situation?

An He smiled. Lola had changed. But that change meant she could never fully reintegrate with the Heroic Spirits Society.

Soon, An He realized Lola’s “borrowing” was outright theft.

Next door was an underground weapons trading den in a tube-shaped apartment block. Lola used her Innate Talent to slip in, returning with two outfits and wigs.

An He and Gu Xianqing changed out of their solvent-stained clothes.

Disguised, Gu Xianqing now had straight black hair, wore a faded navy windbreaker and a baseball cap—looking even more suspicious, like a thief striding purposefully.

But the Lower City was full of thieves; she blended in better now.

An He put Tina into a deep sleep and settled her. The trio headed for Yongfu Store.

Lola knew the Patrol Squad routes better than the others. She expertly led An He and Gu Xianqing around checkpoints, through two ruined buildings, and soon reached their destination.

The store had long since shuttered, only a faded sign remaining. They slipped through a wind-whistling wall breach and soon spotted a camp in a corner ahead.

The building was heavily damaged, pillars scarred by cannon fire. An He had seen many blasted structures along the way; Lola explained they were from gang skirmishes—homemade bomb launchers were unregulated and flooded the black market.

Amid the wreckage, junk piled into small mounds; the Scavengers’ shelter was built atop one, next to a cooking stove.

Several people clustered around the stove, chatting loudly—sounded like an argument.

With Lola keeping watch outside, An He decided to observe first. She and Gu Xianqing hid behind a wall overgrown with rebar, far from the stove, shadows from the stairs cloaking them.

Seven Scavengers in total, including the girl—a small group, no gang backing. Life in the Lower City wasn’t easy for them.

In the Ninth Fortress, they’d be humble and united.

But this was the First Fortress. An He quickly noticed: united against outsiders, but bitterly divided internally over the girl. And that division was now out in the open.

A young one was venting loudly: “Today’s rations are gone! You all fought and for what? Couldn’t even grab the food back?”

The Dyed-Hair Lady hurled half a loaf of bread at them. “This isn’t enough to shut your mouth?”

It smacked the young one’s nose; they exploded. “How many times now? Can’t stand watch, can’t barter. I don’t get it—why’s the boss protecting her so much!”

“Shut it. She’s more useful than you.” The Dyed-Hair Lady’s nostrils were still stuffed with paper.

“Useful? Aside from scrapping, how much grief has her airheaded ass caused us? I’ll say it straight.” The young one jabbed a finger at the girl’s nose. “Vivian’s a goddamn menace!”

An He couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath. Blunt was one thing, but this blunt?

“Vivian, huh,” Gu Xianqing chuckled, leaning close to An He’s ear. “Her registry file calls her VN319.”

“So this is the Cabin Cocoon you stole,” An He said.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Gu Xianqing.” An He stared ahead, whispering the name. “Does Wen Yewang know about Vivian’s Nestsoul and Innate Talent?”

“Nope. I rifled through their heads—the awakening process requires tests for the archives. When I took Vivian, she was still in the Sealed Box.” Gu Xianqing glanced back at Lola. “What’s your plan?”

“I need a solid identity.” An He said, “Think I could pass for her?”

The soldier disguise only worked on Ide; the First Fortress had enlistment rosters. An He still needed a fitting cover.

“You don’t look a thing like her,” Gu Xianqing said bluntly. “Age doesn’t match either.”

“Doesn’t matter. I can lie about age—say I matured fast.”

An He knew Vivian wasn’t a perfect match, but a Cabin Cocoon identity had huge loopholes. Besides, on some level, they were alike.

Gu Xianqing neither endorsed nor rejected it. She just tilted her head. “Y’know, your eyes are kinda similar.”

Vivian’s gaze did resemble An He’s old one: still as a dead pond without external stimuli, utterly flat.

Just like now—despite the finger in her face and the insults, Vivian stood calmly. A silver chain slipped from between her fingers; in her palm, she gripped the reclaimed Raven.

This oppressive silence only fueled their rage like a form of cold violence. The young ones grew even angrier, continuing to vent their frustrations, but Vivian didn’t hear a single word.

Suddenly, Vivian seemed to sense something. She glanced left and right, her gaze finally settling on the spot where An He was hiding.

Those pitch-black eyes flickered as they locked onto An He’s from across the distance.

Gu Xianqing, not one to let good drama go to waste, waved at Vivian.

Vivian’s eyesight was sharper than expected. She must have spotted Gu Xianqing. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and headed their way.

At the same time, Lola, who had been keeping watch, slipped back in. “A group of people are coming this way, armed with knives and guns. Looks like they’re out for revenge.”