Chapter 63: First Fortress 15 Part 2

“We?” Only Lola quirked a brow. “You? Me? An He? And them? You mean we’re actually a gang now?”

“What else? Got a problem?” Gu Xianqing smiled and nodded.

An He, though, welcomed the outcome—it’d let her dig into Vivian’s deal.

An He approached Vivian and gently brushed aside her tilted bangs. “We’ve met again. Do you remember me?” She had disguised herself, so Vivian might not recognize her.

But Vivian’s reaction was unexpected. She pondered for a moment, then spread her hands: “Still here. Not stolen.”

An He laughed. That means she remembers.

Vivian’s mind wasn’t addled or confused. On the contrary, this girl’s head was clear as day—she just reacted to the world around her with a slight delay.

“You don’t need to fight to the death over something like this. If it’s stolen, just find a chance to steal it back.” An He picked up the chain in Vivian’s hand, pried open the broken clasp, reconnected it, and placed it back in her palm.

Neatly done. She’d given her new sisters a little meeting gift ahead of time.

On the way back to the apartment building in batches, An He took the opportunity to indirectly probe Vivian’s background.

As she suspected, Vivian had indeed been discovered by Lan Ming five years ago while scavenging in District 21. During that time, two groups of Scavengers clashed, and it was then that the survival-savvy middle-aged woman Lan Ming first noticed Vivian’s uniqueness. She kept the girl in the team and entrusted her care to a woman named Leticia, the Dyed-Hair Lady.

Leticia had said Vivian wasn’t mentally underdeveloped; she simply struggled to adapt to her surroundings, often zoning out.

An He quickly pinpointed the issue: The Scavenger team consisted of ordinary people with zero understanding of Embedded Spirit Bodies. They had no idea how to teach Vivian to use her abilities or answer the confusions that bubbled up now and then.

When An He first arrived on this land, she’d been lucky enough to meet Heidi, who cleared up her questions. Vivian hadn’t had that fortune.

But misfortune had turned into a blessing in disguise. Vivian hadn’t learned to wield her powers yet, so they hadn’t been exploited on a large scale. Otherwise, this child wouldn’t have stayed safe here—she’d have been spotted by Central City long ago.

An He carefully observed Vivian’s expressions and speech patterns. Moments later, she reached a conclusion: If she wanted to impersonate Vivian, she wouldn’t need much effort. Just slip back into the bewildered state she’d had upon first arriving here, and their behaviors would match perfectly.

Still, Vivian differed from An He in one key way: this girl had no memories of a “past.”

A Patrol Squad rushed by on the road. Gu Xianqing and An He blended seamlessly into the Scavengers, utterly unremarkable.

They stopped in some ruins to hide. An He’s mind raced with plans, and she occasionally glanced back at Vivian.

Leticia fiddled with her colorful hair, finally unable to hold back: “Excuse me, what’s your relationship to Vivian? Did you give her that little bird?”

“I did. It’s a Raven.” An He smiled as she introduced it. “Oh, right—I’m Vivian’s sister. Vivian H. Vivian.”

An He’s sudden fabrication drew sidelong glances from Gu Xianqing and Lola, their eyes brimming with disbelief.

She’d slipped into the role this quickly—even using the same name.

“Sister?” Leticia and Vivian said in unison.

Vivian: “Do I have a sister?”

“You do now.”

No problem, An He thought. She only found out today herself.

The return trip wasn’t smooth. An He noticed many unfamiliar faces on the road—tall, burly types in ragged clothes. Not Patrol Squad.

“Who are these people?”

Lan Ming answered: “Mercenaries.”

Lola provided a sharper detail under her breath: “Some who’ve awakened but hold blood feuds with the upper crust. They ditch the benefits and scrape by in the Lower City.”

The Heroic Spirits Society lured the underclass with abundant supplies, not shared ideals. Not everyone was willing to die for it.

Merchants juggling Central Urban District and the Lower City picked up jobs from them, repackaged them, and handed them to mercenaries. A new survival model emerged: mercs took the cash, no questions asked.

Now, not only were mercenaries swarming, but more Scavengers prowled the streets too.

In just hours, the hunt for Gu Xianqing had ramped up this much.

The task force has some real skills.

An He spotted a wanted poster on the wall. She glanced at the new Scavengers—they could be useful.

“Everyone.” An He called them over. “That fierce and villainous red-clothed woman on the wanted poster—if you spot her, please report it to us first.”

The fierce and villainous Gu Xianqing rolled her eyes, tugged her hat brim, and turned away.

An He reminded them again: “You’re all familiar with this area. If any other Scavengers pick up a lead, let us know ASAP.”

But Lan Ming’s expression turned complicated upon hearing this: “Are we supposed to hunt her for the bounty too?”

An He noted her reaction: “And if I said yes?”

“Sorry.” Lan Ming straightened her shoulders right then. “I’ve met her once. She helped me. I can’t join this hunt.”

Now it was An He’s turn to be surprised: “You’ve met her? When?”

“Five years ago, she passed through.” Lan Ming recalled fuzzy fragments. “We were dirt poor, couldn’t even compete for scrap with other Scavengers. That woman told me the rebar inside walls was valuable material with tons of uses. That’s how we started prying it out to trade with the bar owner.”

An He’s eye twitched. Gu Xianqing had mentioned spending a day in the Lower City, but not that she’d casually done all this.

“Perfect, then.” An He said. “Don’t worry—I just want to find her. Might not turn her in for the reward. Keep an eye out for us, please.”

An He turned silently, her gaze shifting in an instant. She tugged Gu Xianqing’s sleeve, pulling away from the others.

“You never mentioned you knew them.” An He’s tone carried displeasure. No wonder Gu Xianqing had avoided the Scavengers’ eyes.

“Not really ‘knew.'” Gu Xianqing sighed faintly at the memory. “Back then, I just offhandedly told her about this city’s treasures, hoping they’d value them. Who knew they’d start wrecking buildings for rebar? Whatever… Communicating with them feels like talking to illiterates. Hand them a golden wish-granting staff, and they’ll use it to scratch an itch.”

“But you did meet her.” An He bit her lower lip, realization dawning. “I’m starting to suspect you knew Lan Ming was a Scavenger, knew her routes—that’s why you left Vivian alone in District 21. Gu Xianqing, I have a feeling—”

An He halted, staring at the other’s hat brim: “I’m just a bug, thinking every sight and sound is my choice. But really, I’m trapped in your web, every step calculated.”

“Is that how you see me?” Gu Xianqing laughed. “I’m not that powerful. Relax—pure coincidence.”

“Is it? I feel like you’re using me.” An He murmured softly, then smiled too. “But no matter. Tonight at dusk, let me use you once.”

Gu Xianqing raised a brow: “Starting the operation?”

“Yeah. We can’t drag it out.”

God watches over me. The engineered conflict had landed right in her lap. Every prelude was primed, awaiting her entrance for a grand opera.

…

The sun hung low over the plains’ far edge. Misty air refracted orange sunlight, plunging everything into a hazy stupor.

Danger brewed silently in such conditions.

At exactly six p.m., a shrill alarm pierced Ivyen City’s skies.

It started in District 5, then District 17. Soon, District 21’s new infrared sensors caught massive shapes in the sunset.

Every Heroic Spirits Society member got the alert—Bone Eaters approaching in force.

Min He rushed to District 21’s breach. Peering from the battered defenses, she spotted three or four Bone Eaters at the forest’s edge.

They chased a red-clothed woman on a motorcycle.

The woman wore a face mask, a long gun slung on her back. Her hunched posture mimicked an old crone’s. But her movements were crisp—no hesitation—as rear tire sand sprayed the Bone Eaters’ forelimbs. Hard to tell if they chased her… or followed.

“Warning!” Shell Membrane alert systems activated across zones, the cold mechanical voice droning the intrusion.

Min He’s temples throbbed: “Report to Saint Lord—Gu Xianqing’s appeared at District 21’s outskirts.”

How did she get out? When? First Fortress’s gates were locked tight. Six hours into the citywide manhunt, no one had left.

And she’d drawn this many Bone Eaters.

Through binoculars, the motorcyclist’s red figure vanished behind trees. The now-leaderless Bone Eaters charged straight for District 21’s gap.

As Min He mobilized most forces to counter, a Patrol Squad report came: “Commander! Gu Xianqing’s still in the city! She’s targeting District 20’s Shell Membrane!”

Teleportation? Flying or earth-shifting powers?!

This woman who slipped in and out of the skyscraper at will could steal dreams, command Bone Eaters—and now appear anywhere!

Such divine might—any one power alone bred terror. Gu Xianqing had them all. Soldiers’ fear of her peaked.

They didn’t even know where to reinforce.

District 21’s Bone Eaters struck first. Half an hour later, Saint Lord took the field personally, boarding an armored vehicle to District 21.

Her presence rallied everyone, but it brought invisible pressure too—this felt like a do-or-die battle. They were short-handed; could they hold?

Forty minutes of brutal fighting later, more Bone Eaters poured in.

Watchtower sentries tracked it all, soon spotting a vehicle bursting from the sands of no-man’s-land, drawing near.

“Commander—unknown enemy inbound!”

Artillery and Bone Eaters churned chaos; they lost the vehicle’s trail. Soon after, two figures appeared at the crumbling wall.

One wrapped in a gray sackcloth coat, only pitch-black eyes visible amid the caked mud—like a wandering Defector who’d trekked from the Swamp.

No one knew her. But everyone knew the woman she supported—Captain Sora.

Their spot was a death trap. A Bone Eater spotted them, razor-sharp chelicerae aimed at their chests.

Too close. They’d just reached First Fortress’s edge—about to die in the sands. Even willing rescuers couldn’t make it in time.

No one had orders anyway; situation unclear.

Rip. The clear ring of a cold sword drawn from its sheath cut through. Soldiers saw the Holy Sword they knew so well, gripped steady in the stranger’s hand.

At the same instant, dim sunlight vanished under a storm of black wings. Ravens swarmed the sky, coalescing swiftly into a divine blade swung by a god—crashing down from above!