The day before setting off for the land of giant pandas, all team members gathered in the courtyard of Lin Yuan's house.

Everyone sat under the big tree in front of the window and carefully checked the weapons and supplies they brought with them, reviewed the plan and itinerary for the last time, and chatted with each other.

Guo Suo brought everyone a large amount of delicious food, including soufflé drizzled with honey, tender fried beef short ribs, waffles sprinkled with icing sugar... and also sweet wine and sugar.

The atmosphere was good, everyone was drinking and talking more than usual, as if tomorrow's departure was just an outdoor picnic instead of a dangerous area far away from home.

Du Yuanyuan arrived last, and she had a particularly loud voice. As soon as she entered the room, she sat down at the table, gulped down a bottle of beer on the table, and laughed loudly.

"Shushuang, there's no such good wine to drink outside. I must make Xiaoyuan drunk today."

"What's wrong?" Lin Yuan looked at her without smiling, "What happened?"

Du Yuanyuan's smile froze for a moment, and she slowly drank the glass of wine in her hand. "Oh, I forgot there was a guide here. You guys can't hide it?"

"It's nothing, a very common thing." She held the wine glass tightly with her fingers, looking at the wine swaying in the glass, and spoke in a much softer voice, "A very good sister, in a contaminated area? Gone."

Her panda had become very small, with its wet head drooping on her shoulder, looking listless.

A tentacle rolled the little panda over and rubbed its hair dry with a large towel.

Yun Luo, who was sitting next to Du Yuanyuan, poured her a glass of wine and the two clinked their glasses.

Du Yuanyuan, who was a little drunk, asked Yun Luo, "Captain Yun, why do you want to go in and out of the contaminated area? A noble like you enjoys immunity. You can just stay in the White Tower. Why go to such a dangerous place?"

"As long as it's a contaminated area, there's no safety. Look, you even left an arm in there."

Yun Luo's cold robotic prosthetic limb held the wine glass and slowly drank the wine.

"It started with my teacher. He died in the contaminated area."

"Later, after traveling more often and seeing the truly cruel world, I could no longer stay in a false dream and rot with a clear conscience."

He raised his glass to Rachel who was sitting opposite him, "Speaking of which, I still admire you warriors who have been guarding the sentry posts all year round the most."

Rachel drank a cup with him and lowered her golden eyelashes. "Before I came here, I had no idea that the people in the White Tower lived like this. I couldn't imagine there would be so many meaningless banquets and endless food."

"Every year, many children die of hunger at the sentry post. Before they are 15 years old, they lie about their age and join the army just to have enough food."

"Our sentry commander is a very cautious and caring officer. But there are only a few of my companions who entered the camp with me now."

The water in the teapot was still bubbling, the wine was fragrant, flowers were hanging on the branches, and the huge white pagoda was right in front of us.

"Drink, drink. Blame me for ruining the atmosphere. This happens every day. It's nothing, isn't it?" Du Yuanyuan laughed and raised her glass to cheer for the end. "Cheers to this fucking world."

Nicole didn't drink, but she rarely drank without Du Yuanyuan. Her fair face flushed and she spoke with a hint of alcohol in her voice.

"I don't like this tower either." Nicole, who was acting as a guide, lay on the table. "It? Is rotten from the inside out. Just wait and see, it? Will fall down one day... I know, many people hope it? Will fall down..."

She was talking nonsense.

Everyone pretended not to hear it, but who at the scene had not heard this voice in their hearts?

At dusk, the setting sun is like a pool of blood smeared on the horizon, falling heavily down.

Lin Yuan looked up at the darkening sky and thought, this is the last night before departure.

…

{Humans are really incomprehensible creatures.}

The bone-colored demon sword stuck to Ni Ji, muttering to itself all the way.

{So you've been working day and night these days just to make time to be with her? Why didn't you tell me in advance?}

They were walking on an upward slope. The porcelain-white giant tower was very close, and its huge body almost blocked out the entire sky.

The ramp turned a corner and I could see a corner of the house at the top of the hill from a distance. The lively roses stretched out from the wall, very conspicuous.

Compared with the huge white tower, the courtyard is small, as small as a home that can keep people warm.

Ni Ji walked towards the courtyard with spring flowers in full bloom. The bored Yaodao kept muttering in his mind.

{Isn't this inappropriate? Are you still thinking about love at this time?}

{Isn't your wish great? Destroy the White Tower, overthrow the Empire, save all mankind, etc.}

{Why bother about the guide? She wanted to go to the contaminated area on her own, and she has many people around her to protect her.}

{It was not easy for him to become an adjutant and integrate into the upper echelons of the White Tower.}

{Shouldn't I perform well, get to know more people, and gain their trust?}

{The overall situation is important. The overall situation. Even I know this. You can do it, right?}

{Hi, Adjutant Ni, Captain Ni, please talk.}

Ni Ji stopped at a roadside fruit stall and bought a bag of apples as a gift.

The stall was guarded by a woman with a young child. The woman took the Imperial Coin from Ni Ji and thanked him repeatedly.

Ni Ji took the whole bag of apples, took out one and put it into the child's hand.

The little child was so skinny that her bones were visible, and her head was as big as a swollen carrot. She took the apple and took a bite without hesitation. Even her mother couldn't stop her.

The sentry continued to move forward, carrying the apple, and answered Yaodao in his mind.

"Some people have great aspirations, but mine are narrow."

{oh?}

"I hate this tower. But it means nothing to me if the world after the White Tower falls without her."

{Wow, that sounds like something a justice messenger would say? You look a little crazy.}

Ni Ji's footsteps were moving upwards, and in front of him was an extremely huge tower. The blood-red setting sun dyed the tower body red, which looked like white bones.

"Many people around me are gone. I may not be able to make it to the end."

"But I hope she can, or I think she has a better chance of seeing that day than I do."

"If she could take a look at the world for me on the day when the White Tower collapses, my wish would have come true."

"For this reason, it's okay to be a little crazy."

We arrived at the yard with roses in bloom. The sun set behind the mountain and the warm yellow street lights lit up on the street.

Cheerful voices came through the heavy door, and the sentry raised his hand and rang the doorbell.

The heavy metal door was quickly opened, and the lush fragrance of plants filled the air.

A familiar face suddenly popped out from behind the door.

She didn't wear a pretty dress like the one she wore for the dinner, but a tactical uniform similar to hers.

The little girl has a pale face, long black hair tied behind her head, and a pair of bright eyes lit up by the street lights.

Ni Ji saw his own reflection in those eyes.

The courtyard is deep, the fragrance of flowers is faint, and the grass leaves are dark.

"I'm not late, am I?" Ni Ji smiled.

…

The land of the ghouls is far away from Kyoto, but there is an airship that runs directly there every two weeks.

The group arrived by airship. After getting off the airship, they saw messy alleys and shabby houses everywhere at the border post.

The passers-by were all skinny and naked, and when they saw the sentries from Kyoto, their cold eyes were filled with hatred.

Yesterday I was in the luxurious Kyoto, with fine wine and delicious food at hand. Today, when I got off the airship, I saw poverty everywhere.

It makes people feel as if they don't know what is real.

I just don't know whether the gorgeous clothes, delicious food, extravagance and debauchery in the White Pagoda are a dream, or the starving people, cold wind and rain here are real.

At this moment, I understood more clearly what Yun Luo said.

After seeing the truly cruel world, one can no longer stay in the false dreamland and rot with peace of mind.

But in this world, how many people with the character of Yun Luo are there?

Those who enjoy privileges in the White Tower live a life of drunkenness and dreaming, with their eyes closed, and they don't care about worldly affairs.

It is precisely because we dare not and are unwilling to face this poor and harsh real world.

At the border of the contaminated area in the Zombie Land, the red warning sign disappeared, and a small building with a unique shape was built.

The ones guarding the small building were not humans, but several mutants in formal attire.

Those deformed species, perhaps they should be called ladies, each of them has a human female face, with high hair, revealing a white and soft neck.

She has a slim waist and is wearing a retro long dress.

When Lin Yuan and his group arrived, a mutant who was looking down and flipping through a book with his green, saw-toothed sickle-like arm raised his head.

"Are you a visitor?" She spoke in human language and smiled politely, "If you want to eat in Pang City, you must register with me first."

She had a gentle voice, beautiful features, and a dignified look. "Come with me, you can call me Lady Green Wings."

When she stood up, I realized that she was very tall, over 30 meters tall, far exceeding the height of a human.

The back is covered with thin wings and membranous wings. A few thin hind legs are exposed under the skirt. When walking, the body is light and elegant.

There is a kind of beauty that is both weird and mysterious.

But although she smiled gently, she looked friendly and lovely.

Lin Yuan and others, however, remembered her face and the small building behind her.

Before coming here, Yunluo showed everyone the photo. It was the bloody photo that Ms. Mantis took of herself.

In that photo, she brutally executed an entire team of sentries with such a pure and gentle smile.

Nail them alive on sharp wooden stakes, letting them die in agony with blood flowing.

He took photos with a smile on his face.

"Three ladies, with three gentlemen?"

Ms. Green Wing took out a very paper registration book and used her finger to dip into ink to write down the identity information of several people in Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan took a closer look. She used an ancient human language that had been forgotten by most people. The writing was elegant and simple, and very beautiful.

"Why did you come to our Tiger-Eating City?"

"I want to exchange some things." Rachel opened the box they brought. In the box was a whole box of silk dresses neatly stacked, each one was a hand-embroidered masterpiece, extremely gorgeous.

"Wow. That's exactly what we need. What polite guests they are." Green Wing smiled.

"I just want to have a good time in the City of Gourmet Tigers. Please be sure to follow the rules and regulations of the City of Gourmet Tigers."

"The rules that ladies must follow are as follows: no murder, no robbery, and no rape of the opposite sex."

"There are slightly more for men." She took out a few pages of notices with golden lace from the drawer and handed them to Rachel Yunluo, Ni Ji and the other two. "The punishment for making a mistake is very severe. I hope you will remember it carefully."

Dozens of laws are listed in detail on a few thin pages, including various rules that need to be followed in terms of clothing, speech, behavior, entry and exit, etc. It is extremely complicated.

Fortunately, they were prepared before coming and had memorized it carefully. The three sentinels took it with cold faces.

"Also, your clothes are not quite appropriate. In the City of Tiger Eaters, males have the obligation to show off their beautiful bodies. They must wear the special clothes of our nation and cannot wear such impolite and ugly pants." Green Wing said with a smile, "If you want to go in, you can go to the locker room to change first."

Du Yuanyuan coughed happily.

Although in the Empire, they are all sentinels, with no difference. But in the City of Zombies, gender is the primary sexual characteristic. Men have a low status and are obliged to please women.

In order to enter smoothly, the three men had to patiently obey local customs.

Although the journey is dangerous, at the beginning, it is still very relaxing and helps to relieve tension to see Adjutant Ni, Team Yun, and Team Lei awkwardly changing into the characteristic short outfits of the City of Zombies.

And in front of the two guides.

Thinking of this, Du Yuanyuan whistled unkindly.