Chapter 78: First Fortress – Part 30

The patrol vehicle crept forward slowly.

This squad, designated KG56 and led by a young lieutenant, started from District 2 of the Lower City. They were familiarizing An He with the terrain while searching for traces of Gu Xianqing.

Many passages in the Lower City were too narrow for the patrol vehicle, so most of the time, it only roughly circled along the boundary of the Shell Membrane.

But An He was unusually focused.

She scanned the geographical features of each district, constantly questioning the lieutenant in the passenger seat about the gangs entrenched there and their basic situations.

This was a rare opportunity. She needed to understand every inch of terrain in the First Fortress clearly.

Fortunately, her current status was extraordinary. The lieutenant didn’t show any annoyance or disdain at her unusual behavior. Instead, she secretly praised this new arrival, Vivian, for taking the mission so seriously. No wonder the Saint Lord values her.

An He enjoyed the convenience brought by the Holy Sword and made full use of it. She summoned her Raven, and in an instant, the skies within a kilometer were filled with massive black birds.

Countless Ravens transmitted information back, weaving together in her mind into a detailed map of latitudes and longitudes.

From high above, this filthy district resembled a complex ant nest. The humans living within it toiled away their lives just seeking to eat their fill, stay warm, and survive.

As the Ravens flew past, faces even popped out from what seemed like uninhabitable cracks in brick and tile, peering curiously yet hostilely at the sky.

Occasionally, a black bird would sweep over a dark alley, likely stumbling upon an ongoing brawl.

This was the Lower City.

If not for venturing deep inside personally, one could stand atop Babel Tower and overlook it all without seeing these insignificant humans at all.

Districts 12, 13, 14—their vehicle traversed this land, becoming part of the ant nest itself.

During stops, the lieutenant would lead people out to interrogate local gangs, asking if they’d seen anyone matching Gu Xianqing’s description.

Of course, An He knew this needle-in-a-haystack search was futile.

How could a woman as formidable as Gu Xianqing be so stupid as to wait around for capture?

She was probably strutting about somewhere right now, wearing a wig and a duckbill cap.

An He touched the hem of her clothes.

Due to her leg injury, An He mostly stayed in the back seat waiting. During those times, she would turn her head to survey the scenery beyond the Shell Membrane.

The First Fortress’s Shell Membrane was transparent. Beyond the defensive line, she could see a row of sturdy, towering trees in the distance—the only greenery standing out starkly on this Wasteland. An He had no idea how these plants resisted the radiation to survive.

But seeing them did spark a tiny flicker of hope.

When they arrived at District 15, trouble erupted. A local gang clashed with the patrol squad.

An He’s curiosity got the better of her, and she got out to watch from afar. Because of her different attire and distance, the gang members didn’t focus on her.

Someone blocked the lieutenant.

“Hey, your Patrol Squad took our payoff, so you gotta do your job.”

The other side had over fifty people, brandishing knives and clubs.

An He had dealt with Lower City gangs before; this was a considerable force.

“We’re not Patrol Squad,” the lieutenant corrected. “We’re from the Heroic Spirits Society, down here on a mission. No time to solve your problems. Just tell me—have you seen this person?!”

The lieutenant held Gu Xianqing’s portrait.

“Nope.” The gang leader snatched the paper. “Heroic Spirits Society is even better. They say you’re all superpowered, right? Solving our little issue should be a breeze.”

This lieutenant had a decent temper. She endured and asked, “What issue?”

“We’ve lost a ton of medicine these past couple days, and food too.” The leader planted her hands on her hips. “No one’s ever dared steal from us before. I suspect some shady Embedded Spirit Body is messing around. Why don’t you check it out?”

Their eyes gleamed with menace. They just wanted to borrow the Heroic Spirits Society’s hand to root out the thief, which was why they’d bother talking to upper-city folk.

An He’s expression tightened as she pricked up her ears.

“Medicine?” The lieutenant looked suspicious. Gu Xianqing was badly injured too—this sensitive word immediately raised alarms. “You have wounded in this district?”

“Probably.” Seeing the lieutenant pause, the leader raised her voice. “Medicine’s scarce; we guard it tight. But stuff vanishes without even a shadow of the thief. I suspect—”

The lieutenant cut her off. “Enough talk. Take me to see.”

The raucous crowd crammed into a relatively intact building.

Once the group left, An He directed a Raven to follow silently.

The storage point was on the seventh floor. The Raven perched on the broken window of the stairwell, folding its wings, its head twisting left and right.

Like a scanner, the scene on the seventh floor synced perfectly to An He below.

Everyone clustered on the other side of the fire door, which stood open. The lieutenant inspected the stolen iron crates. Locks intact, no traces on the ground—the theft was so professional it rivaled a specially trained operative.

Gang members surrounded the seventh floor in layers, airtight.

An He focused on these people. She could almost pinpoint the culprit. Now she just feared the lieutenant catching a whiff that led to District 17.

But two young people chatting at the back blocked the Raven’s view of the inner conversation, too close for clear audio.

An He prepared to go up personally. Leaning on her crutch, she was fully drawn in by their talk.

“Doesn’t it feel familiar?”

“What?”

“The theft method.”

“How so? You seen it before?”

“That one kid…” The first speaker frowned, thinking. “Can’t recall the name, been too long. The one with the jug ears, dragged back from a pile of corpses.”

An He halted abruptly. She adjusted the Raven’s view and finally spotted the stairwell figures.

Two young gang underlings, errand runners without rank to stand center stage. They leaned baseball bats against the firewall, chatting.

The Raven was half a door away.

The one who’d mentioned “jug ears” was a gold-haired woman, about twenty-three or twenty-four, brow perpetually furrowed.

The other, slightly taller with a buzz cut, had been half-interested at first. After racking her brain, she suddenly raised an eyebrow.

“Ah—kinda rings a bell.” The buzz cut perked up. “I think she was an Embedded Spirit Body. Before awakening, she had it rough—too low-profile, nobody liked her.”

“Yeah, that’s her.” The gold-haired one irritably kicked a stone, hesitating before adding, “Remember when we took her out? She was great at swiping stuff too.”

“Only you know that for sure.” The buzz cut teased with a grin. “After she awakened, you even teamed up with her specially. Weren’t you calling yourself big sis, looking out for her?”

The gold-haired woman let out a dry chuckle, her expression tense and unnatural. “Back then, I saw her Innate Talent. Teaming with her meant more merits, more shares of supplies.”

“Everyone saw through it.” The buzz cut shook her head. “Only that kid was naive enough to let you take all the credit.”

“Who hasn’t thought that way? I just acted faster.”

An He stood in the shadow of the awning, leaning against the wall with her crutch upon hearing this.

She shifted her focus entirely from the lieutenant. The Raven’s crimson eyes locked onto the gold-haired woman.

“You scared she’ll come back for revenge?” The buzz cut nudged her shoulder, whispering, “Remember that firefight? You ditched her and ran.”

“Put you in my shoes, you’d run too. We only hung out half a year—what’s worth dying for?”

“Hey, that reminds me—heard the ones who nabbed her all got killed. We’ve had a few deaths here too. Wonder if that freak did it. She was only fifteen then—” The buzz cut tilted her head, pondering. “Good for her, though. Got scooped up by upper-city folks for combat tests, shot straight to the top.”

“Top? Ha.” The gold-haired woman’s face twisted oddly. “I asked around with the Patrol Squad. Heroic Spirits Society has no record. Probably cannon fodder, died somewhere.”

“Then what’re you worried about? Ghosts coming back to kill you?” The buzz cut patted her shoulder. “Relax.”

“Fine, maybe I’m overthinking.” The gold-haired woman’s furrowed brow eased a bit as she sighed softly. “Best if she’s dead. Don’t wanna see her again. That look in her eyes last time… gave me nightmares for nights.”

An He scrutinized the gold-haired woman closely. Five years ago, she’d been just a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old kid.

An He raised her hand, sliced her left wrist, and extracted the thin-slice communicator from Ide. This thing was usually hidden in her shoe’s insole.

She tuned to the encrypted channel. “Lola.”

The familiar voice on the other end remained flat.

“What?”

An He paused. “Nothing… just wanted to ask, what’s your real name?”

Lola was surely a pseudonym. On this land, maybe no one remembered her true name anymore.

Unfortunately, no one cared about her true name either.

As a trainee soldier, even if Lola died, her body carted to the Morgue in the High Tower, her status would only earn her a number.

Long silence from the communicator. An He pursed her lips—Lola wasn’t going to answer.

But moments later, a response came.

“Don’t remember.”

An He: “Do you like the name Lola?”

“Not bad.”

“I get it. Because Professor Su said it?”

“…You got time on your hands?” Lola sped up. “Spit it out—what’s up?”

“I wanna ask you.” An He switched her supporting leg, leaning all her weight on the crutch. “If you found out a teammate you’d lived with day and night was using you, what would you do?”

“Kill her.” Lola spat three words instantly, but quickly added, “Though I shouldn’t say that. I’m one using others too.”

“What if you couldn’t kill?”

“Either stay away or turn it back on them. Mutual interests bind longest.” Lola paused. “Or maybe love makes people repent. Who knows.”

An He only registered the part about mutual interests.

“Who’s using you?” Lola keenly sensed An He was sincerely asking for advice.

“A bad person.” In the Raven’s view, the seventh-floor group started filing out. An He recalled her Raven and changed topics. “Where’s Gu Xianqing now?”

“Dunno. Left this morning, not at the outpost.”

“Got it. Patrol squad’s about to pass District 17. Stay hidden, don’t get exposed.”

“…Don’t worry about me.” Lola replied curtly.

Before hanging up, An He glanced at the dark doorway behind her. “If you can’t do it, I will for you.”

“What?”

An He hung up without answering. She waited at the entrance as the group emerged in a raucous crowd. The gang spotted the stranger on their turf, eyes wary, ready to strike at a word.

An He didn’t flinch.

The lieutenant suddenly stepped in front of her, saluting crisply. The gang looked shocked and grudgingly lowered their weapons.

“Any leads?” An He asked.

“Hard to say. Thief knows the building’s guards inside out. Not sure if it’s our suspect.”

“Probably not.” An He decided to sever the clue here. “Gu Xianqing’s only been in the fortress three days. Too sneaky—not her style.”

“Fair point.”

“But.” An He turned to face the gang leader. “Since the methods are so slick, why not consider an inside job? Theft by those guarding the goods?”

Her gaze pierced the crowd, locking plainly on the gold-haired woman’s face. Those deep, still eyes seemed to devour everything, unfathomable.

Everyone followed her line of sight to the gold-haired woman in the back.

“You should check who learned sneaky tricks.” An He stared unblinkingly at the panicked face. “Or who rubbed shoulders with a master thief… and racked up big merits once.”

The gang leader’s face darkened instantly. The lieutenant glanced at the gold-haired woman and frowned impatiently. “So it’s your internal mess. Don’t interfere with our mission.”

An He said no more, hobbling slowly back to the patrol vehicle on her crutch.

This land had no justice. But those who exploited others deserved a taste of their own medicine.

She figured this settled the favor she owed Lola—just like how Lola had handled Lady Heli’s disappearance back at the Ninth Fortress, An He had now wiped away the traces of Lola’s theft.

The moment she climbed into the patrol vehicle, An He glanced once more at the green trees of the Hamir Plains. Lola had once chatted about how those trees held fond memories for her. Gazing out from this building, she could indeed see that lush greenery.

At least, not all of Lola’s memories were bleak and dark.

The vehicle pressed onward, but they hadn’t gone two hundred meters before they encountered a pile of discarded firewood. The Lieutenant deftly steered around it, but An He suddenly frowned. “Wait.”

Beside the woodpile lay a person curled up unconscious on the ground, wrapped head to toe in a black robe. The exposed wrist was a gruesome sight—bleached bone fringed with shreds of flesh.

An He recognized the telltale signs at a glance. “Someone’s infected!”

The figure on the ground lurched to its feet in a stagger and charged at the patrol vehicle.

Bang!

One of the soldiers behind her reacted swiftly, firing a shot that shattered the person’s skull.

Tension spiked through the group. An infection source appearing inside the city was a major incident for the First Fortress. The Lower City was densely packed with people, a chaotic mix— one case of Bone Erosion Disease could ravage several blocks. The Lieutenant immediately radioed nearby Patrol Squads to clean up the patient and trace its movements.

An He sat in the vehicle, a bad premonition stirring inside her.

This one’s symptoms had advanced to the third stage—at least three to five months infected. How had someone like that gone unnoticed by anyone?

Unlikely. The Lower City had no blind spots; every nook and cranny buzzed with activity. Someone would have spotted it.

Or had the incubation period shortened?

Specialists from the Patrol Squad took over the corpse.

But soon after, the patrol team discovered several more Bone Erosion Disease patients near the Shell Membrane edges of District 16 and District 17.

The one in District 17 was a believer, frantically accosting passersby while muttering scripture-like chants.

This was abnormal. All patrol team members disembarked and began combing District 17, rooting out any hazards.

An He’s expression turned gravely serious. The other districts were one thing, but District 17? A search like this could easily uncover their hideout.

And all the Bone Eaters had appeared near District 17. An He couldn’t shake the suspicion—Was this Gu Xianqing’s doing?

She didn’t hesitate any longer. She activated the Eye of Prophecy to pinpoint Gu Xianqing’s location.

Unexpectedly, Gu Xianqing was right nearby, with a faded rainbow-colored billboard behind her.

An He whipped her head around. At the same moment, one of the patrol team’s soldiers shouted, “Suspicious person spotted! East-northeast, thirty-five degrees!”

The Lieutenant hadn’t even reacted yet when An He tossed aside her crutch. Ignoring the risk of her dislocated joints, she endured the agony and unleashed her Innate Talent, charging ahead in a mad sprint.

Her eyes had already locked onto Gu Xianqing’s duckbill cap—Gu Xianqing vaulted from the flat rooftop to the east-northeast, leaping onto another dilapidated apartment building and vanishing in an instant.

An He’s Shatterblade Time kicked in immediately, compensating for her impaired mobility as she raced toward where Gu Xianqing had disappeared.

The building had been abandoned for ages; its ragged doorways gaped like the maws of hibernating beasts. An He gritted her teeth, kicked open a weathered wooden door, and kept switching her Innate Talents to track Gu Xianqing’s position.

Finally, in the innermost one-room apartment on the first floor, An He found her.

In the dim light, Gu Xianqing knelt with her knee pinning a struggling woman. Her left hand clamped the woman’s neck while her right pried open the woman’s mouth with a jagged stone. An exceedingly thin crimson mycelium thread was lodged deep in the woman’s mouth, the other end writhing between Gu Xianqing’s fingers.

It looked no different from the behavior of those believers.

An He launched herself at Gu Xianqing, lunging for her wrist. After several rolls and tussles, An He successfully pinned Gu Xianqing beneath her.

Her knee throbbed faintly, but An He paid it no mind.

“What are you doing?” An He glared down at her, her gaze flicking furiously to Gu Xianqing’s palm. “Are you the one spreading Bone Erosion Disease?”

Gu Xianqing let out a pained grunt. The wound on her shoulder, which had begun to scab, tore open again. She stopped struggling and licked her lips. “No.”

There was no time for more talk—the footsteps outside were closing in. The patrol team had caught up.

An He eased her grip, gritted her teeth, and pulled an item hidden under her clothes. She tossed it into Gu Xianqing’s arms: two boxes of high-grade painkillers and a pack of clean bandages.

Gu Xianqing clutched the medicine with one hand, forcing a smile through the pain as she quietly crushed the mycelium thread between her fingertips.

At the same time, unseen beneath the ground, the tangled roots writhed and swelled. Faint, imperceptible mycelium shadows stretched wildly toward the Babel Tower.