Chapter 293 Old Bai's Handwriting

The message popped up quickly.

Base: Dawn Base.

Rating: S.

Squad rating: S-level combat team.

Current mission (already registered): Contaminated Zone 112, mission hazard level: three stars, mission priority: yellow.

Yun Zhao: "..." Are we all this close?

Numbers 110, 111, and 112?

What about these serial numbers?

After Yun Zhao finished speaking, he still sent a message to Fu Mo, "We're going on a mission the day after tomorrow, see you then."

*

The day before the mission.

As usual, all members of Team Zero are on holiday and resting at home.

Yun Zhao slept in again and, when he woke up, he lay in bed unwilling to get up.

The curtains were partially pulled open by the little bluebird at some point.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, falling on her face and bringing a touch of warmth, yet also carrying the chill unique to early spring.

Yun Zhao turned over, reached one hand out from under the covers, found the remote control on the bedside table, and turned on the air conditioner.

Thinking about the mission she would be going on tomorrow, she closed her eyes, intending to sleep a little longer.

After a winter of rest and recuperation.

Her mindset seemed to have subtly changed again.

No matter what secrets you carry, no matter what entanglements you have in the past and future, only the present moment is truly real.

Instead of worrying unnecessarily, it's better to take it one step at a time.

The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge.

Why create trouble for yourself?

Yun Zhao was about to sleep a little longer when his communicator rang at an inopportune moment.

Bai Yu: [Hahaha! I'm finally on vacation! Wait for me, I'm coming to see you right away!]

Yun Zhao paused for two seconds, then replied: [Okay.]

She reluctantly got up to wash up.

Twenty minutes later.

There was a knock on Yun Zhao's door, and Bai Yu came in very familiarly and said, "Look how considerate I am. I knew you were going on a mission tomorrow, so I took the day off to keep you company."

The guides were busy throughout the winter.

Almost all vacations have been cancelled.

Bai Yu finally had some free time these past few days and took a five-day break in one go.

She poured herself a cup of hot water and then brought out the warmed milk for Yun Zhao. "Here you go. Did you sleep in again? You only drank a bottle of milk for breakfast?"

Yun Zhao thanked him and accepted the gift, saying slowly, "This is the only day I can sleep in properly."

As is customary, after attending the pre-battle deployment meeting tomorrow morning, Team Zero will drive directly to the contaminated area.

I wonder when I'll be able to sleep in again.

Always cherish the last day of leisurely time at home.

The two sat down on the sofa.

Bai Yu picked up a cushion and hugged it to her chest. "That's alright. I believe you'll be back soon, given your speed."

“That’s true, but the situation in the contaminated area is different every time. Sometimes we encounter unexpected troubles and we may not be able to get out immediately,” Yun Zhao said softly while sipping his milk.

Her gaze drifted to the still desolate branches outside the window, as if trying to see the way back home a few days later through those bare branches.

Every time someone steps into that "gate of hell" in the contaminated area, who can be sure they'll escape unscathed?

Contaminated areas are always very dangerous places.

No one dared to let their guard down.

"Okay, I misspoke, but it really is Zone 111, isn't it?"

As Bai Yu spoke, she suddenly pulled a booklet out of her bag. “These past few days, while my dad has been in meetings all day, I’ve been secretly researching at home. I’ve read it several times and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but I’m afraid I might have missed some clues, so I brought it here for you to see.”

There were too many documents at home, and she searched for a long time before finding only this one with Lao Bai's handwriting.

Yun Zhao's gaze immediately fell on the booklet, and when he reached out to take it, his fingertips trembled slightly involuntarily.

This is a beautifully bound booklet, thick and heavy.

Upon opening it, one finds densely packed text records, the tiny characters resembling a colony of ants, yet arranged in a neat and orderly fashion.

It's obvious that it's not handwritten, but rather machine-printed.

"You don't need to look at the beginning; it's historical content revised by my family elders. The main thing is the last few pages, which retain Lao Bai's handwriting and some of his words."

The sound of pages turning was distinct and soft.

Yun Zhao quickly followed Bai Yu's instructions and turned to the page with the handwritten text by Lao Bai.

The Bai family must have kept the original manuscript carefully; the handwritten characters in the booklet are clearly rubbings.

The opening few words sketch the gloom of the early Dark Ages.

[As chaos breaks and the stars fade, the world's order crumbles like a sandcastle. The awakening of the Sentinels and Guides is like a boulder thrown into a still lake, causing ripples that change everything, making it difficult to discern whether it will bring fortune or misfortune.]

Further on, the words and phrases became increasingly obscure, like a riddle:

[In this land teeming with Darkin, the turbulent energy flows like a phantom, hidden from the light. The power of guides flickers like candlelight, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, unable to tame the shadowy figures of the night.]

[In the face of oppressive times, guides choose their paths, a game of life and death concerning the common people unfolds. In a hidden corner, a crucial balance exists, waiting for those who come after to uncover its secrets.]

Yun Zhao repeatedly stroked this passage.

Bai Yu looked at her expectantly and couldn't help but ask, "How is it? Have you found any clues?"

Yun Zhao looked at it carefully again and replied, "Old Bai seems to be very cultured."

This contrasts sharply with the diary of the red-crowned crane.

Bai Yu: "..."

"So there's no problem?"

Bai Yu breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know why she was so nervous, and only said, "Most people at the base have seen this booklet, and schools also teach students about that period of history..."

The implication of his words was that the awakening of the Sentinels and Guides after the apocalypse was both a blessing and a curse.

According to popular understanding, humanity was spared extinction because of the presence of Sentinels and Guides, but because they awakened superpowers, Sentinels and Guides were destined to shoulder the responsibility of saving humanity.

Most of them do not live long.

You never know when you might perish in some corner, or when your mental strength declines, and in the end you can only watch helplessly as you and your spiritual body die.

For an individual, it was undoubtedly a tragedy.

As a guide, Old Bai wrote these words, and later generations have tried to understand the meaning of these words from his perspective.

As for the hidden corner described later, it holds the key to checks and balances.

The hidden corner... probably refers to the contaminated area; eliminating the contaminated area is the key.

This is also the direction that humanity has been striving for.

Yun Zhao didn't say anything. She lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling, and in the blink of an eye, she had turned to the last page.

The last page contains only one sentence.

Only light can dispel darkness.

Bai Yu also noticed it and said, "It should be a motto. People in that era seemed to have mottos that were closely related to the times. Everyone longed for light to return to the world."

Yun Zhao remained silent.

What if the darkness here doesn't represent the 'darkness' that people think it is?

Darkness, as a metaphor, can have many meanings.

The darkness, human nature, social aspects, mental health, and corrupt and decaying systems.

Or... a Dark Guide?

What about the light?

Does the so-called light really only refer to the sun?