The castle is beautiful at night.

There are many stained glass windows at the top. Starlight shines through the glass onto the antique floor tiles in the courtyard.

Dreamlike colorful lights float everywhere in the deep castle.

It was just terribly quiet everywhere, without a single sound.

When walking in it, I always feel that there is a huge and ancient monster lurking deep in the castle, staring at me with its eyes wide open.

Lin Yuan glanced at Ni Ji beside her. The sentry had clear eyes, walked slowly in the colorful halo, and smiled at her.

It was as if there was nothing to be afraid of here, just like any training session they had had or any time they had entered a contaminated area, it was not worth getting overly nervous.

There was a faint smell of blood in the air, and many traces of fighting gradually appeared on the ancient stone buildings.

The traces of battle were fresh, as if they had happened not long ago.

Lin Yuan even saw a piece of severed golden hair. The golden hair was scattered in the mud on the ground, stained with blood.

He stared at those strands of golden hair for a moment, then walked quickly over without stopping, with a calm look on his face.

I have always been a calm person, and the current situation is not a big deal, Lin Yuan said to himself.

As they approached, the castle hall suddenly opened its door on its own. The golden-red door was gaping open, like a man-eating monster with its mouth wide open, waiting for them to fall into its trap.

The light in the hall was dim. Lin Yuan squinted his eyes and couldn't see what was going on inside.

All I know is that the interior is luxuriously decorated, with a scarlet carpet on the floor and soft retro sofas.

At the deepest point is a curved staircase, behind the platform of which is a huge circular rose window.

The moment the door opened, Ni Ji almost subconsciously pulled her back and raised his hand to block her sight.

Ni Ji's palms were dry and cool, because he had picked a lot of flowers along the way, and they were stained with the strong fragrance of flowers. Even so, he couldn't isolate the smell of blood that hit his face.

Through the gaps between the sentry's fingers, Lin Yuan saw a scene that he absolutely did not want to see.

In that dim, hell-like place, blood soaked the entire space.

Through the sentry's fingers, all one could see was thick red and pale limbs.

The glaring red color almost burned Lin Yuan's retina.

Every corner was filled with blood, and the faces of the victims were so familiar.

Lin Yuan felt that she was still calm. She pushed Ni Ji's hand away and walked towards the darkness step by step.

Did she see it? Nicole.

Nicole leaned on a long sofa, her hands clasped in front of her chest, her eyes closed, as if she was asleep. The pure white guide uniform was completely dyed into a bright red dress.

It is impossible for a guide to survive when he loses so much blood from his body.

Behind Nicole, between an ornately carved stone pillar and a high dome, there was a huge spider web.

Du Yuanyuan was hung there, with a huge spider lying beside her, gnawing at her brain.

Lin Yuan looked up at the huge net covered in blood, his feet slipped, and he almost tripped over the sticky blood on the ground.

When she stood up, she saw Yunluo.

Yun Luo was hung on a sharp wooden stake, with a long trail of blood running down the stake to his feet. He seemed to be still suffering and not completely dead.

Lin Yuan wanted to run over there, but in the far corner there was a huge fish tank that took up an entire wall. The gurgling fish tank was filled with turbid water.

Rachel sank to the bottom of the water, her long golden hair scattered in the water, and her dilated pupils stared at herself dully.

Lin Yuan reached out to grab Ni Ji's arm.

The floor was too slippery and covered in blood, and she felt like she needed to grab onto something to keep herself steady.

But she caught nothing, there was no one around.

Lin Yuan looked back and saw that the place beside him, behind him, and outside the open door was empty. Ni Ji was not in the hall, nor on the road outside the hall.

There wasn't a single sentinel.

By the way, she came here alone, and there were never any sentinels around her.

The kiss stained with flower petals, the heat of the cheeks mixed with sweat, the fingers caressing her cheeks, were all illusions, a dream.

Lin Yuan was sweating profusely.

She remembered the day her mother left her when she was very young and gave her a killer whale stuffed animal.

From then on, she held the killer whale doll and waited for a long, long time. But her father, mother and any other relatives never came back.

Maybe I was too lonely? So I slowly began to imagine that there was a spirit being beside me who was a sentinel of the killer whale.

He is so good, able to satisfy all that I want, appear whenever I need him, always gentle and infinitely accommodating to me.

How could there be such people in this world?

Have I forgotten that I have always been alone?

He is a lonely, hopeless monster. How could he have such a close companion?

Lin Yuan felt like something was stirring in her abdomen, making her feel so uncomfortable that she wanted to vomit.

She reached out to hold the leather sofa, and when she raised her hand, her palm was covered in blood.

It turns out that there is no Ni Ji in this world. This person does not exist.

All his partners died, even though they once trusted him so much.

This seems like a common thing, isn't it? That's what the battlefield is like?

Death is the norm, loneliness is the norm.

But why is my heart so good? It feels like it's been cut open and blocked by a red-hot iron block. It hurts terribly every step I take.

Don't think about it, the battle is not over yet. Lin Yuan heard his own voice.

The whole world in front of me was black, like hell and the abyss. Everywhere was blood, the bodies of my companions, and everywhere were eyes staring at me. The color of the blood was so red that it was frightening.

Lin Yuan felt like he was falling into infinity.

Falling down. I don't know where I will end up.

"There is a powerful enemy who is good at mental attacks. It will be your turn to fight. You must be in the best condition."

Who said this to her? Who?

Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and found that he was no longer in that dim hall.

She was in a softly lit room with a clean bed and soft carpet.

My heart was beating wildly and my thoughts were confused.

The strong smell of blood and the brutal scene are still lingering in my mind.

"There is a powerful enemy. It will be your battle next."

That familiar voice kept echoing in my mind.

Lin Yuan took a deep breath and finally realized that he was under an extremely powerful mental attack.

She was captured by the emotion called fear and trapped in the mental picture of a powerful consciousness.

After closing his eyes for a while and calming down, Lin Yuan stood up in this room.

Looking out the window, the fog outside was thick. It was a garden, and there were vague figures in the distance. It looked like a very reassuring environment.

The window can be opened, and it's not high enough for someone to jump down.

But this place is very strange. It is no longer at the surface of consciousness, but is trapped in a deeper layer of fog.

Therefore, even though I have realized that I am inside a spiritual picture, I am still unable to return to my body in the real world and wake up.

My mind is dull, as if it is stuck in a thick fog and I can't think effectively.

She only knew that this enemy was very powerful and was able to completely confuse virtuality and reality.

She could even pinpoint Lin Yuan's greatest fear deep in her heart, and cruelly expose to her in a bloody manner everything that Lin Yuan was most afraid of seeing.

After the depressing silence, suddenly all the people she cared about appeared before her in the most tragic way possible.

The cold blood and the desperate eyes made Lin Yuan unable to judge at this moment whether it was really happening.

In the strange house, Lin Yuan recalled what Xunhua had said to her under the golden tree.

"You were born in this era, so you may be a strong man in front of the Sentinels. But I feel that you still lack experience in fighting between guides."

At that time, Xunhua, who was wearing a silver mask, sighed and shook her head, "If you encounter that feeling of ruthlessly tearing open the weaknesses in your heart one day, I'm afraid you will not be able to adapt."

I used to think Xunhua was very strict with me. Now I know that he actually dotes on me and has never been willing to do anything really cruel to me.

"Each of them is a real strong man."

"I am not a weakling either."

"Please trust us."

Who whispered these words into my ear?

It’s Ni Ji.

When she received the messages from Nicole and Rachel, her sentinel seemed to have anticipated the current situation and said this to her.

Please believe that they are not weak. Please believe in your partners, your sentinels.

He must be alive.

What you need to do now is to prepare for the battle you are facing.

Ni Ji is so vivid, real, and full of flesh and blood.

Every look and every voice of his were treasured and collected in his own spiritual picture.

How could it be an illusion of nothingness?

But if even he himself cannot get rid of the control of the enemy's mental power, then all the sentinels outside, even if they can still hold on now, will sooner or later fall into greater danger.

Lin Yuan began to observe the small room where he was trapped.

It seemed as if I was still in that retro castle, entering a house deeper inside.

If you want to leave this room, there are two obvious escape routes: one is the window, and the other is the closed door.

The window was not very high and there was a garden outside. If I opened the window and jumped out, I might be able to escape.

The door was tightly closed, and no sound could be heard from outside. If I opened the door, I might see a scary monster. Of course, I could also return to the hall where I had separated from Ni Ji.

Open the door or jump out the window?

Lin Yuan looked back and forth between the door and the window twice. It was very quiet outside the door and foggy outside the window. There was a soft, empty bed in the room.

In the end, she chose to lie down on the bed and closed her eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, Lin Yuan found himself back in the dim hall.

She successfully escaped and woke up from the dream-like world.

Thick blood, a dead body on the sofa, spider webs, wood piles and fish tanks are all gone?.

A cold voice rang out in the dimly lit hall.

"Ah, actually? You got rid of it so quickly?"

Only then did Lin Yuan realize that on the steps covered with a red carpet, in front of the colorful rose window, there stood a woman in a formal dress.

It was a tall humanoid creature with neatly combed hair, wearing a long dress with retro patterns, and a thin black veil on its face.

She stood with her back to the light, and had been standing there quietly looking at Lin Yuan since she had no idea when.

No, Lin Yuan suddenly realized that she had actually been standing there since the moment he first came in.

From the moment she and Ni Ji came in, she was clearly standing in front of this flower window.

It was just that I was affected by her powerful mental power. I glanced at her several times and actually ignored her existence.

"You are amazing. I haven't seen a guide like you in a long time." The man in front of the window said, "It's not easy to get rid of my control and wake up so quickly."

The voice was clear and contained a mood of approval.

Lin Yuan looked at her face and said, "Where, I am? I am still in your mental picture, right?"

This time the lady in front of the stained glass window showed a hint of surprise, and then smiled slightly.

Her surprised and smiling expression was very natural, not stiff at all, just like a real human being.

She held up her skirt and walked slowly down the stairs.

"You were discovered?" She walked towards Lin Yuan with a smile, "I'm surprised that you came to your senses."

"Yes, you just woke up from a deeper spiritual world, and you didn't really leave my spiritual picture."

"How lovely! There are always interesting people like you among humans. So, at first, I did not agree with the plan of raising humans in captivity."

Captive humans.

Lin Yuan heard the word again?

The mutant, or the "pillar" of the Zombie City, that was slowly approaching in front of him gave Lin Yuan a different feeling.

She seemed to be different from all the pillars in the contaminated area that Lin Yuan had come into contact with.

Looks very old, conscious and emotionally stable.

Lin Yuan could even feel the ease with which she moved.

She has the ability to move freely and a clear sense of self, and is not confined to a fixed columnar body. She also does not have the strong desire to be controlled by low-level appetite.

That kind of words and actions were too human, and there seemed to be a feeling about him that Lin Yuan was very familiar with.

Lin Yuan thought about it carefully and felt that she and the Majesty who was high up in the White Tower gave her a very similar feeling.

The "Queen" of the City of Gorgons walked down the stairs slowly, dragging her large skirt. On her gorgeous dress, she wore a pendant inlaid with green gemstones.

That gemstone forest also looked very familiar.

It was the same stone she had seen on the Queen's neck at the top of the White Tower. Once, Lin Yuan's fingers almost touched the stone.

But? The one on His Majesty’s neck is red.

The Queen of the Gorgon City wore the necklace and walked down the stairs under Lin Yuan's gaze. She passed by Lin Yuan, walked through the dimly lit hall, and came to the entrance of the garden behind the castle.

The door there was opened, and bright starlight poured in.

Outside, under the blue sky, there is an endless sea of ​​flowers. In the sea of ​​flowers, there is a long corridor made of colorful transparent gems. At the end of the corridor, there is a transparent pavilion.

The Queen of the Tiger-Eating City stood at the entrance and turned to look at Lin Yuan. Her fair fingers gently rested on the gemstone on her chest.

"I know what you want here."

"I will wait for you in the gazebo in the garden. If you can get there, I will give you what you want."

Lin Yuan looked at her and asked, "Give it to me when we get there?"

The night breeze blew, slightly lifting the veil on the deformed creature's face, revealing his curved red lips.

"Not only that, I can also tell you everything you want to know."

"But first, you have to prove that you have the ability to know all this and change all this."

She turned around in the moonlight and walked away along the gemstone corridor. Her figure moved quickly, leaving behind her a sound like water.

"If you fall on the way, don't feel sorry. I will cherish you and your companions and turn them into fertilizer for the flowers of this world."

"You will live forever in another way, become citizens of the City of Tiger Eaters, and lead a brand new life."

"Perhaps you'll find that's a better option."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then took a step forward and walked towards the colorful corridor.

The starry sky above is bright, and the sea of ​​flowers before your eyes is endless. The long corridor of the gemstone building is surrounded by countless flowers, reflecting a dreamlike luster.

Lin Yuan knew that he was in a dream at this moment, in the mental image of an ancient mutant species that had lived for countless years.

The colorful corridor symbolizes the journey deep into the mental picture of that powerful aberrant creature.

This road seems short, yet it seems endless.

Brilliant colors, tortuous light and shadow.

Once you take a step forward, it may be difficult to withdraw.

It is very likely that she will "lose herself in the infinite mental picture of others". Staying in this person's mental picture will become her stronger nourishment.

Do you have the ability to extricate yourself from it?

Lin Yuan looked back and saw that in the world of spiritual images, the dim hall was empty.

But she knew that at this moment she was trapped in the spiritual world.

In the real world, her sentinel Ni Ji and her friends are also struggling against powerful mutants.

Ni Ji didn't know how long he could hold on. Nicole and the sentinels were unknown whether they were alive or dead.

It's going to be a tough battle.

Tentacles emerged from the skirts and surged around Lin Yuan's body. They sensed the enemy's strength and felt the breath of danger.

"Go outside and help the sentinels." Lin Yuan said to them.

【But……】

【Your strength will be weakened. 】

[Very dangerous]

[It’s dangerous here too]

[Stronger than anyone I've ever met.]

"It's not enough for me to do it alone. Only when the Sentinels can wake up and stay together with the Sentinels, can we hope to win."

【All right.】

【Oh well.】

【You have to be careful】

【We can't live without you】

[Don't forget? You are now a sentinel.]

[The status of a widow is not suitable for that killer whale at all]