The school on the upper floors of the White Tower and the classrooms for young children are beautiful and warm.

The teachers are kind and gentle, and the children in guide uniforms are playing carefree.

A boy was not playing with his friends. He was sitting alone in a corner drawing. The teacher came over, bent down and half-crouched beside him, smiling.

"Tsubaki is drawing again. Can you show it to the teacher?"

The picture in the sketchbook shows a colorful sea of ​​flowers under the starry sky. A long colorful corridor winds through the sea of ​​flowers, leading to a pavilion made of gemstones.

Gorgeous brushstrokes, dreamlike composition, a world that only exists in fairy tales.

"Wow, it's a sea of ​​flowers. Xiaochun's painting is so beautiful." The teacher praised in a very exaggerated tone, pointing to a row of small red graffiti on the edge of the sea of ​​flowers and asked?,

"But what are these red railings? Teacher, do you think the color is a bit too striking?"

Those red graffiti look like blood and are very uncomfortable.

"Those are wooden stakes. Sentinels were hung on them. The red color looks like blood flowing down." The boy pointed at the red color with his tiny finger and explained seriously. It was as if he was just stating a fact.

The teacher's expression suddenly changed. He forced a smile, stood up and left quickly.

"You are so stupid. You know the teacher won't like it, so why do you have to tell the truth?"

The person who said this was a girl of the same age. Like him, the girl did not participate in the children's games. She sat nearby, reading a book of her own.

She looked thinner and darker than the boy, but her eyes were bright and her young face showed a hint of indifference.

"But, Xiaojiu, this is the picture in my dream." The boy stroked the beautiful sea of ​​flowers on the picture with his fingers and lowered his head. "I think this is the world outside the tower. I have lived in the tower since I was a child and have never seen the outside world. I just want to paint the world in my dream completely."

"Outside the tower?" said the girl named Xiaojiu. "It's not like this outside the tower."

"That's right. Xiaojiu came in when he was very old. Have you seen the outside world? The real sky? What kind of world is that?" The boy became excited. "I really want to have a chance to go out and see it."

"What a world outside." The girl murmured in a low voice.

In her memory, the world outside the tower consisted of a sky covered with coal dust, endless coal briquettes, and those hideous villains.

Grandpa was very old and had many illnesses, but he was the only person in the world who truly loved her. Unlike the teachers here, who only smiled on their faces. The emotions in their hearts were so ugly that she didn't even bother to read them.

Unfortunately, Grandpa died in the dark night.

At night, Xiaojiu was lying in his own small dormitory when he heard the sound of paintbrushes coming from next door.

The pen strokes were quick and rapid, and the sound continued until late at night.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?" Xiaojiu turned over impatiently.

"Oh, sorry." The sound of painting next door stopped, and the boy's voice came, "Because this might be the last time I paint, I painted a little hurriedly."

There was a small window between the two rooms, separated by a solid iron railing.

After a while, the boy stuffed his sketchbook through the gap in the railing.

"Xiaojiu, I want to give you my sketchbook." The boy's childish face appeared behind the prisoner-like bars, revealing a flattering smile, "I always feel that one day you can help me take it out."

His face was pale and a little panicked, as if he knew what was about to happen.

Xiaojiu knew that he was the one with the strongest mental power among their group of children.

This student can sometimes even sense the distant world, and is so sensitive that he can predict some of the things that will happen in the future.

But in this school, being too good is not a good thing.

Late at night in the student dormitory, there was a lot of footsteps outside the corridor.

That sound struck the hearts of the two young children, and the faces of the two people looking at each other across the window turned pale.

Xiaojiu hesitated for a moment, then quickly reached out and took the picture book.

She lay down against the cold wall, holding the picture book, and immediately heard the sound of the door next door being opened.

Then there was some slight commotion, the stomping of military boots, and the muffled groan of a boy with his mouth covered.

Xiaojiu lay there motionless, curled up into a small ball, hugging the picture book tightly, trying to make his breathing steady and pretend to be asleep.

She knew in her heart that the little boy who loved painting in the next room had been taken away.

This kind of thing actually happens quite often in this completely closed school.

Every now and then one of my classmates would disappear.

The teacher would not mention it too much, nor allow them to ask too many questions, as if that child and that young guide did not exist in this world.

Soon, new children would be brought in wearing pure white guide uniforms, some very young, some about her age.

The school is still full of laughter and joy, as if there will always be no worries.

The door of the next door was closed again, and the footsteps quickly moved away and gradually disappeared.

Everything returns to silence.

After a long time, Xiaojiu's tightly curled up body slowly relaxed.

With the dim light of a night light, she opened the picture album she was holding in her arms and read through it page by page.

The boy's paintings are beautiful, with brilliant colors and bizarre shapes.

There are pale pillars and countless hands reaching towards the sky.

The golden branches and leaves of the golden tree reach up to the sky, but golden tears are falling from the tree itself.

There is a scarlet cave covering the entire screen, and in the center of the cave is a pulsating scarlet egg.

In the magnificent temple, there are countless scratched eyes.

There are many more towers, all dyed black, dyed red, no longer pure white, twisted and deformed, crumbling...

The last one was drawn today. After a night of refinement, the picture is so vivid that it looks real.

Bright flowers, sparkling starry sky, and a gemstone pavilion standing far away in the sea of ​​flowers.

At the entrance to the sea of ​​flowers, there is a row of sharp wooden stakes. The tragically killed sentinel looked in agony, his red blood soaking the flower-filled land beneath his feet.

Xiaojiu wiped the edge of the canvas with her fingers, revealing a small corner of the white skirt. It looked a bit like a guide's uniform.

If you really want to use your imagination, it's as if there is a guide like you who is walking into this colorful and bloody picture.

…

Yun Luo stood in the sea of ​​flowers, looking at the row of glaring blood-red wooden stakes in front of him.

Sharp wooden stakes stand in a row at the edge of the sea of ​​flowers, like tortured sentinels, blood that has dyed the earth red, and a giant mantis slowly approaching.

Everything was the same as the photo he had kept since childhood.

I knew in my heart that this was an illusion. The events in the photo had happened ten years ago, and the teacher had died by then.

He knew that he was being enveloped by a powerful mental force and was being invaded mentally by the enemy.

But the teacher whom I had respected since childhood was right in front of me, covered in blood, struggling in agony under torture, and calling out my name in pain.

"Xiao Luo, help, save the teacher."

Yun Luo couldn't help himself and took a step forward.

Just one step, one foot down, and the world in front of you collapsed.

He waved his arms to steady himself, only to find that his right hand had been broken.

Where is my hand? When was it broken?

Yun Luo was startled, his mind went into a mess, and his body began to fall.

Countless chaotic voices echoed in my mind.

"Xiao Luo, the teacher has to go on a mission. He may have to leave you for a while. You stay at home and wait for the teacher to come back."

The teacher who taught him since childhood squatted down, smiled and touched his head.

The father's stern voice rang out, "Your teacher has died. Why? Of course, for the glory of the empire."

"It is common for sentinels to die in contaminated areas. Hold back your tears and behave properly. Your teacher is just a civilian, not worth your tears."

"Yunluo, I don't know what you are thinking! You are a noble, and the dirty and dangerous frontline battlefield is not suitable for you. You are not allowed to lead the team anymore."

The voices of the comrades echoed in a crisscross pattern. "Captain Yun, Captain Yun, you are amazing. We never thought that there would be such an amazing warrior like you among the nobles."

"Team Cloud, don't go forward. Let's retreat. We can't save those children. That's the Golden Tree Contaminated Area, a place where there is no return."

…

Countless noises echoed in my ears.

Whether it was pain, kindness, slander, or sarcasm, the voices in his memory mixed together and made him have a splitting headache.

The falling stopped.

Sentinel Yun Luo's eyes widened suddenly when his back touched a piece of cold metal.

He was pressed into a cold iron cage.

Several giant poultry strode towards him. The monsters clamped his body and arms, and no matter how he struggled, he could not move.

He could only turn his eyes with difficulty and watch helplessly as a cold saw cut through his muscles and bones bit by bit, and his right hand was cut off alive amid his screams.

This was his deepest nightmare.

The nightmare was resurfacing and fear gripped his heart.

His arm was broken and he was locked in an iron cage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a monster holding a paintbrush, and the cold tip of the brush drew a strange symbol on his abdomen.

He knew what it was.

They are transforming his body, turning him from a human being into an animal imprisoned on a farm.

Didn't I wake up? Yun Luo thought confusedly.

In fact, I have never been rescued, nor have I escaped. I have always lived miserably in this hell.

He was just crazy and had a dream. He dreamed that he returned to the crowd and met his best partner.

The sentry stared with despair at the endless dark sky above his head.

A tiny tentacle appeared from nowhere.

It was very small and didn't have much power. It just tapped his forehead lightly, and it felt slightly cool.

[Yunluo. Wake up quickly] A familiar voice was calling him.

Yun Luo was in a daze for a moment.

The force of the clamp disappeared, and he seemed to be lying on a haystack in a warehouse. A guide with a blurry face said to him,

"Wait here. I'll open the door."

When he was little, the teacher touched his head and said to him, "Xiao Luo, wait here. The teacher is going to the contaminated area."

After he grew up, Director Lin Xiang said to him, "Wait here, I will open the door for you to escape."

He was so weak and never had the strength to do anything but wait behind.

The black unicorn let out a roar, smoke came out of its four hooves, and it stepped out from the void, carrying Yun Luo on its back and sprinting out.

Yun Luo opened his eyes and found himself riding on the back of a unicorn. He left the dark nightmare and returned to the sea of ​​flowers.

On the wooden stake, the teacher who had taught him for many years looked at him with blood in his eyes and a sad expression.

"Teacher, from the day you died, I swore to find out the truth about your death. Find out the truth about this world."

Yun Luo raised his only arm and closed the pair of painful eyes on the rack.

"Leave the rest to me, and you can leave with peace of mind."

The teacher who had been dead for many years finally closed his eyes in front of him, with a hint of relieved smile on the corners of his bloodstained mouth.

Yunluo looked around and saw a huge Kraken appearing on the other side of the sea of ​​flowers.

Countless tentacles stepped out from the void, preparing to move into a deeper spiritual realm.

The red tentacles were wriggling all over the sky, and the cold yellow pupils were looking towards him.

That was the spiritual body of Guide Lin Yuan, his grateful, respected and familiar partner.

The huge Kraken stood in the long colorful corridor across the sea of ​​flowers, looking at him from afar with its golden pupils.

This is the enemy's mental picture. He has woken up, but Lin Yuan is preparing to go deeper, risking his life.

She didn't open her mouth to speak, but Yun Luo could hear her voice.

[I'll leave the battle outside to you. Yunluo Sentinel.]

Yun Luo opened his eyes on the sofa.

He was pulled out of layer after layer of mental images and finally woke up in the real world.

In front of him, Du Yuanyuan had just opened her eyes and stood up with difficulty, and the huge panda had already appeared, ready to join the battlefield.

Rachel got up from the ground, her long hair loose, and walked forward. Nicole frowned and was about to wake up.

And Lin Yuan, their guide, stood behind everyone with his eyes closed, pressing on the back of the sofa.

Ni Ji's red knife was stained with blood, and he had been protecting them for a long time.

It's time to join the battle, Yunluo thought. This time, he would never stay behind.

The robotic prosthesis broke off halfway, but he still had a hand and a body of flesh and blood.

The handsome black unicorn's four hooves produced billowing black smoke, and the sharp horn on its forehead shone with a cold light as it rushed towards the battlefield in front of it.

In the real world, the Sentinels woke up one by one and were fighting fiercely with the mutants that broke out of the ground.

In the spiritual picture, Lin Yuan stepped into the five-colored corridor.

It was a long and winding tunnel. The lights and the scenery were bizarre. Once you stepped inside, your feet would float and the space would twist.

The forest garden floated in the gorgeous torrent. From afar, I could see the colorful pavilion standing in the center of the flowing splendor. There, the powerful panda queen smiled and waited for me to reach her.

Lin Yuan spread out his tentacles and swam forward.

A sea of ​​fire first ignited around me. The snow-covered courtyard was engulfed in flames.

This was originally her biggest concern, but this time she walked out of the sea of ​​fire without hesitation.

The magnificent light of the spiritual universe is wandering around me. Like a flowing river, surrounded by wandering galleries, connecting the thoughts and memories of countless people.

She saw Du Yuanyuan.

The powerful female warrior cut off the head of her beloved with her own hands. Lin Yuan separated a thin tentacle to connect with her spiritual world, empathizing with her sorrow and pain.

Lin Yuan held her hand and called her name in her ear.

【Yuanyuan, wake up】

Du Yuanyuan came to her senses, nodded at her, and disappeared from the mental picture.

In the long river, Lin Yuan saw Rachel again.

The Golden Lion is drowning in a flood of memories, struggling in pain and suffocation.

A tentacle swam past.

Pushing a piece of driftwood to him. The powerful warrior quickly came to his senses, floated to the surface, grabbed the driftwood, nodded to her, disappeared in the dilemma of the mental picture, and returned to reality.

She saw Yunluo.

She woke Yunluo up.

Seeing Nicole's pain, she comforted her friend and partner.

Lin Yuan moved forward all the way, and in the chaotic mental picture, he did not give up and rescued every partner.

The tremendous pain and heavy suffering that each person endured was clearly conveyed to Lin Yuan's mind.

Moving forward in such a mental torrent, enduring constant interference from the Zombie Queen, and coming into contact with several Sentinels at the same time, gave her a splitting headache and was in unbearable pain.

But no matter how much pain and suffering she experienced, it never made her lose her way, nor did it change her direction.

She vaguely felt that someone was holding her hand.

That hand was stained with blood, yet it was gentle and powerful, like an anchor in the sea, firmly holding her from behind as she drifted across the ocean.

Keep her awake at all times and don't get lost.

She knew that she was not fighting alone, Ni Ji was outside, also fighting hard and protecting her and everyone else.

She could feel the Sentinel's grip on her tentacles.

That is her sentinel. It gives her sugar, lends her strength, and allows her to sail steadily, brave the wind and waves, and cross the sea.

Swim towards the colorful pavilion in the sea of ​​flowers, and towards the panda-eating queen standing in the center of the torrent.