Castle
The two men headed towards the brown castle and began to exchange known information.
"So when did you discover that there was something wrong with Apsu?" Pei Chanbai was a little curious after listening to Shi Youchen's brief description of his mission itinerary over the past two days.
"On the afternoon of the first day, as soon as we arrived at Tuya Town, a group of people were already waiting there. If this was a coincidence, then the group of people surrounding the town of Neillidu the next day must have learned of our whereabouts from somewhere." Shi Youchen kicked away the gravel on the road with the still slightly damp toe of his shoes. He looked at the rugged gravel ground and thought of the dark shadow in the alley that night.
"Coincidentally, Apsu showed up and sent the townspeople away, then naturally took us to his house."
"If coincidences keep happening, then there's a 90% chance that someone is behind this."
Now that he thought about it, what Apsu had said by the lake last night might not have been entirely fabricated. At least coming to Area 5 at this time was indeed the right decision. Shi Youchen recalled the way Tiya had appeared with shackles around her neck and felt that this so-called "ritual" might not be that simple.
"What about you? How did you find your way to Lake Eridu?"
Pei Chanbai thought of the game console that might have been left in the lake and sighed heavily: "Lan asked me to find you, and my contact seems to be a sister of the one next to you. She said she couldn't contact her sister and thought something was wrong."
"So we followed the path you'd taken, and on the way we ran into a few people heading out of Nilridu. We casually asked them, and they told us everything about Apsu's whereabouts." He recalled the men frantically repairing a rickety car on the road outside town, still unsure of what they were so afraid of. "I headed straight for Lake Eridu, and happened to see the birdman trying to escape."
"Oh, by the way, there's a little boy you should know named Korra."
Shi Youchen paused: "Huh? What happened to him?" Pei Chenbai said: "He awakened." Shi Youchen's heels finally touched the ground. He didn't know how to describe his mood at the moment. After all, he was still worried about hearing words like "Another experimental subject who left Aiha Village through your hands" in the last second.
"Really? Then congratulations to him." This was genuine happiness for Korra waking up from her coma.
Pei Chanbai told Shi Youchen about Lan's experimental results and her predictions. Shi Youchen was a little surprised: "My data? Was it not eliminated due to improper operation?" "Then I don't know. Anyway, Lan's mission should be over soon, and I can go back early." Pei Chanbai was lazy, but when he thought of his mission reward, he perked up.
Looking at the castle gradually revealing its full appearance, Shi Youchen thought that maybe things might not be that smooth.
"Hurry up!" A few people passed by. At first glance, they were a man, a woman, and a little girl. The skinny, short-haired girl was urging them impatiently. The woman behind her, who was in her early thirties and considerably larger than the other two combined, also frowned and glared fiercely at the man beside her.
When Shi Youchen took a closer look, he realized that what he had just seen out of the corner of his eye was not a dislocation or an illusion. The man had extremely slender limbs, but he actually had a round and big belly. He was moving forward step by step with sweat on his forehead, as if he would collapse from exhaustion at any second.
"Pah!" Suddenly, the woman slapped him on the back, and as expected, he stumbled forward and fell flat on the rubble-covered ground, his hands and feet bleeding instantly. The girl turned around in dissatisfaction at the sound, looking down at the thin man who hadn't been able to get up.
"Do you have any objections to what I said?" The man felt his entire body paralyzed at the thought of this sinister remark, the slightest pain insignificant. He quickly pulled his legs back and knelt, resting his forehead on the pile of gravel, stained with a little fresh blood. His back seemed to collapse uncontrollably, unable to bear the weight of his belly, and he didn't dare utter a word.
The three of them happened to stop just ahead of Shi Youchen and Pei Chanbai, so they witnessed the entire process. Before Shi Youchen could even spare a second glance at the man on the ground, the little girl whipped her head around and stared at them, scrutinizing them from head to toe with a look of scrutiny.
"Please punish me." The man's soft pleading drew the little girl's attention back. She crossed her arms and lifted the man's face with the tip of her shoe, glancing at him with disgust. Then she looked at the round belly underneath and said unwillingly, as if she had some reservations. "Hurry up and get up. I don't have time to torture you. We have to get to the castle before dark."
The woman on the side understood what he meant and grabbed the man by the back of his collar and lifted him up from the ground. The three of them moved forward again.
Shi Youchen stood there in a daze: "That man..." Pei Yanbai knew what he wanted to say and took over, "He's the same guy who left us a blanket and water before. He has a big belly, and the way he walks is like..."
"It's like being pregnant." Both of them were shocked when these words were spoken, because this matter was really contrary to common sense of physiology.
Shi Youchen's eyes darkened. He looked at the three people's backs and whispered, "Perhaps the castle holds the answer."
After an unknown amount of time, the two finally saw the castle entrance ahead. A long line of people stood there, estimated to be half a hundred people. It was still bright daylight, but there was nothing along the way to help Shi Youchen judge the time.
The road they walked on was basically a stretch of yellow sand. Vegetation only appeared about a hundred meters away from the castle, not to mention any place to rest. Fortunately, the temperature and humidity were very suitable, so there were no adverse reactions.
"Ah, I'm so hungry." Pei Chanbai muttered as he followed Shi Youchen to the end of the line. "If only the game console wasn't lost." His muttered complaint drew the two people in front of him to look back, so Shi Youchen had to move closer to remind him: "Keep your mouth shut."
The two of them can now only communicate smoothly with the help of equipment. Not to mention whether they will be searched inside the castle, the fact that the language is different from that of others is enough to attract attention, so they must be extra cautious. After all, many situations are still unclear, and it is not an exaggeration to describe them as sheep walking into the tiger's mouth.
Pei Chanbai closed his mouth listlessly, feeling a little sleepy, but even as a lazy man he knew that now was not a good time to rest, so he had to force himself to keep his eyelids open and follow Shi Youchen step by step.
The entrance inspection didn't seem particularly thorough. The forty or fifty people were processed much faster than Shi Youchen had imagined. So, by the time it was their turn, there were only seven or eight more people waiting in line behind them. "Take off your shirts," the command came from a tall, female figure wearing an iron mask. She waved her iron rod twice, signaling the people in front of her to remove their clothes.
The skin on the back of Shi Youchen's neck instantly spread crimson. Since he'd never been shirtless in public since infancy, he instantly stiffened. "?" Seeing he didn't react for a long time, the masked man reached out to grab his collar, but he dodged.
Seeing that everyone was about to fight, Shi Youchen gritted his teeth, grabbed the hem of his clothes and lifted it up, revealing his lean upper body. The masked man seemed very satisfied with his physique. He looked around him twice, then pointed the iron rod at the second door in front of him. "There, go in."
Shi Youchen immediately put on his clothes, adjusted his collar uncomfortably, and walked on without looking back. When it was Pei Chanbai's turn, the masked man simply glanced at him, his gaze lingering more on his dazzling white hair. He didn't ask him to take off his shirt, but simply said, "Go to the middle."
The two of them successfully met at the second gate. Behind it was a straight path leading to the inner castle. "There's no moat or arrow tower here," Shi Youchen said softly, looking around. "This structure seems completely immune to attack." Pei Chanbai, unfamiliar with the details, simply said, "This place resembles the ancient buildings in District 2 I visited."
The two of them left the straight road under the city wall and entered the main gate of the main tower in front of them when they were suddenly dazzled by the lights inside the hall. The style of the interior was completely inconsistent with its exterior, and it looked very modern.
"Such a contrast...why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?" Just as Youchen was thinking this, he heard a noise in the corner next to him. He instinctively looked over and found that there were already three people sitting there.
The three men were all men. Although they had ordinary looks, it was not difficult to tell from their sitting that they were all strong and muscular. Especially the man in the middle, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and there was a cold light flashing when he looked at me.
Shi Youchen and Pei Chanbai exchanged a glance, then turned and walked to another corner in tacit agreement. After confirming they were far enough away, Shi Youchen lowered his voice and said, "Looks like someone from District 5. Could be this batch of divine messengers." Pei Chanbai yawned, tears welling in his eyes as he nodded. "I'm a little sleepy. I'll take a nap. Call me if anything happens." With that, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
Fortunately, the three people didn't seem to have any intention of coming over to form a team. They only occasionally glanced at Shi Youchen, but still stayed in their corner.
The situation remained deadlocked for more than half an hour, when suddenly the sound of wheels rolling came from outside the hall. A man dressed as a servant came in pushing a dining cart and went straight to the long table in the middle of the hall. After placing all the food on the table, he retreated without saying a word, leaving the four sober people inside looking at each other in bewilderment.
Shi Youchen patted Pei Chanbai on the shoulder, and he woke up immediately, his eyes very clear and he said, "I smell a fragrance." Shi Youchen's eyes drifted over there and said, "It seems so, it's over there." Pei Chanbai immediately stood up and trotted to the table to sit down, and began to eat with relish.
"..." Before Shi Youchen could even remind him to be careful about the food, he had already eaten two chicken legs.
The three people in the corner saw Pei Chanbai eating without restraint for a while, so they also stood up and went to the table to eat in silence. Shi Youchen observed for a while without any expression, then helped himself to two sandwiches and a glass of milk. As he ate, he thought to himself, "There's nothing strange about the food, but it looks so poor outside. Where does the food come from?"
After eating and drinking, everyone dispersed tacitly and squatted in their own corners. Shi Youchen obviously tried to control his food intake, but still closed his eyes due to the slowly rising fatigue.
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