It turns out that dating is such a happy thing.
Let people know what sweetness, warmth and happiness are.
Even after a night had passed, Ni Ji's heart would still tighten slightly when recalling the fireworks and kiss of last night.
This is his first time, his first date.
If you think about it carefully, all the first times in his life were brought to him by Lin Yuan.
He just didn't know why, but in that sweet taste as thick as honey, there was always something that made him feel uneasy.
Ni Ji carefully recalled every word Lin Yuan said last night, every smile under the fireworks, and every emotion exchanged in the spiritual realm, and did not notice anything wrong.
Only then did I feel a little relieved.
Besides, she had promised that she would never leave herself alone again.
While I comforted myself, I still felt a sense of unresolved issues deep down.
It seemed as if Lin Yuan had not promised me anything.
She never even said she would spend her life with me.
Adjutant Ni, who had become inexplicably anxious, got up early in the morning.
Unfortunately, today I have so many things to do that I am very busy in the White Tower.
While busy, thinking that Lin Yuan would enter the White Tower today, he fully opened up his powerful hearing.
From every corner of the White Pagoda, various whispers could be heard.
Those nobles high up in the White Tower were whispering to each other.
"How long has it been since Your Majesty summoned an outsider?"
"I don't know. It's been many days. I don't know what happened. No one will let me go up."
"It's really worrying. She is the only one staying in such a huge palace without any servants. How can this be possible?"
"Not to mention the attendants, even Luther, who has always been close to His Majesty, was not allowed to see him."
"Could something have happened? These days, it seems like everything is not peaceful. I feel a little scared."
"Shh, stop talking nonsense, be careful not to be heard. What could happen? This is the Holy Tower, the Holy Light will always protect us."
"I heard that the Queen wants to meet a child of royal blood today."
"Is that Director Lin Xiang? She is really well-loved."
Amid the buzz of discussion, Ni Ji saw Officer Luther with a scar on his face sitting on the jade steps below the imperial palace.
He lowered his head with a confused look on his face, as if he didn't know what to do.
Seeing Ni Ji, he stretched out his hand and beckoned him over.
When Ni Ji walked over, he opened his mouth with confused eyes and suddenly asked,
"Report him..."
He stopped talking halfway through the sentence.
Ji Xuan was a traitor, a rebel who escaped from the White Tower. Since that explosion, no one dared to mention his name in the White Tower.
Luther called Ni Ji to his side and just said her name, and seemed to be unable to remember what to say next.
Luther was stunned for a while, and finally rubbed his eyes tiredly and waved his hand.
"Go ahead and check outside for me. I feel like something is going to happen these days. I'm feeling uneasy."
Ni Ji nodded in agreement and took the elevator down from the top of the tall tower floor by floor.
He saw many people like Luther in the White Tower.
Those elites of the empire, former confidants of Her Majesty the Queen, all had dazed and bewildered expressions on their faces.
It was as if something in his mind was taken away, and something that had been controlling them had gone wrong, causing the entire huge machine of the White Tower to start slowing down.
Ni Ji inspected the area around the White Pagoda and took some time to quietly go to the underground contact point to meet with Ji Xuan who had sneaked back to Kyoto.
After coming out of the contact point, I felt a sweat all over my back.
The weather today is very hot and humid, and the green clouds in the sky are very low. Even the pure white body of the White Pagoda has lost its original pure white luster.
Ni Ji turned his head and squinted at the huge tower not far away that looked a little dark in the clouds.
It was as if an invisible string was tightly tied in the air.
The battle is about to begin.
At this moment, he saw a little girl running out from the alley across the street.
The girl, holding a picture album in her arms, hurried past his sight, weaving left and right among the shadows of passers-by, and soon slipped into another alley.
It was a guide, Ni Ji quickly realized.
The child had clearly entered his field of vision, but he subconsciously ignored the scene. He almost pretended not to have seen it and was ready to leave.
If I hadn't been used to staying by Lin Yuan's side. If there hadn't been a large number of sentinels suddenly appearing nearby.
Those warriors with extremely strong vision and hearing were walking through the streets in groups, looking for the child.
So? Many people just couldn't see the girl slipping past their feet.
Lin Yuan also often does this. As a result, Ni Ji, who often stays with Lin Yuan, has become immune to this trick of the leader.
He knew that a strong leader could influence the minds of many people at the same time, making everyone subconsciously blind to themselves.
Ni Ji remembered the first time he met Lin Yuan.
When young Lin Yuan escaped from the White Pagoda, many people searched for her for a long time but could not find the girl who was walking alone in the snow. In the end, she was found by herself.
Has another guide escaped from the White Tower? But there are too many people sent out to look for him. What are they looking for? A very evil fugitive.
All the nearby rooftops and all the commanding heights were filled with fully armed warriors.
Everyone had a solemn look on their faces, holding long-range control weapons in their hands with the bolts drawn.
Just to deal with a young child like this?
Ni Ji frowned slightly.
He had seen that child before. He was an orphan, secretly kept in a secret room high up in the White Tower.
…
In the dim and damp alley, Xiaojiu huddled at the edge of a garbage dump, holding a picture album in his arms.
Looking up quietly, I saw that the sky in the alley was only a small piece, with gloomy green clouds floating in the sky.
Just above her head, on the roof, stood a sentry dressed in black and holding a long rifle.
The sentry's cold gaze swept down from above again and again over the corner where he was hiding.
She was almost discovered several times because she carefully used her mental power to interfere with the sentry's thinking.
A line of sweat ran down the little girl's dirty cheek. She was very hungry and a little weak.
She?s been on the run and eating very little food.
More and more people came out of the White Tower to look for her. She wasn't sure how long she could hide.
If I were caught, I would probably be taken to that altar like Xiaochun.
To be taken to the altar and then eaten by that horrible thing.
The girl lowered her eyelashes and tightened her fingers around the album. She saw that her dirty fingers had soiled the cover of the beautiful album.
It was dirty, full of trash, and two rats ran past my toes.
This reminded the young girl of the days when she lived with her grandfather. She was always hungry, her fingers were covered with coal dust, and she had no nice clothes to wear.
But for some reason, when she lived in the White Tower, she always missed those days.
At least those years with loved ones were real, with flesh and blood, unlike the cold and gloomy academy in the White Tower.
I can’t see the sun, I can’t see the real sky, and all the smiles of the teachers around me are fake.
There was a noisy sound of footsteps. A whole team of sentries appeared at the entrance of the alley. They moved very quickly, and several of them stood on the roof.
Cold gazes were cast down from all directions.
A black figure also appeared at the other end of the alley.
"Search every inch. No matter if there is any sign of life or not."
"She is a very capable guide. Don't treat her like a child."
"If it is impossible to capture them alive, killing them is permitted."
Search inch by inch.
This is the worst case scenario.
She no longer has the strength to influence so many people at the same time.
Xiaojiu closed his eyes and slowly moved his small body into the deeper shadows.
Behind me, there is a window a little higher up, about three or four meters high.
But she was too small to crawl in without alarming these people; she was only a child after all.
A large hand wearing a black glove suddenly stretched out from the darkness and covered her mouth.
Xiaojiu saw the eyes of a sentry in the dark.
The pair of pupils were purple and ghostly, appearing in the shadow behind him at some unknown time.
He covered his mouth with one hand and raised his fingers with the other hand to make a gesture of silence.
The footsteps in the alley were dense and were approaching.
Xiaojiu's heart was beating very fast, and at that moment, she captured a sense of kindness with her mental power.
From all directions, there are terrible thoughts directed at my emotions, capturing, killing, and malice.
The sentinel who suddenly appeared behind me brought with him a long-lost positive mood.
This reminded her of who this purple-eyed sentinel was.
This brother once helped me carry a heavy coal box, stopped those who were beating and kicking me, and gave me the chance to see my grandfather for the last time.
The most important thing is that he had also sneaked into the dark academy in the White Tower.
That day, at the entrance of the ventilation duct, I saw him sneaking in with purple eyes.
That day, there was an unprecedented explosion in the White Tower.
他和自?己一樣，對那座潔白的塔有着仇恨，想要探索白塔中的秘密。
小九點點頭、任憑那位突然出現的高大哨兵，攜帶着自?己輕輕一躍。無聲無息跳進身後?那扇窗戶。
手持槍械的哨兵從巷子中跑過。
領隊的隊長?擡起手臂，讓所有人停下。
他的目光在垃圾桶的邊緣掠過。一寸寸找過所有可以藏人的陰影。
那裏有兩只老鼠叽叽喳喳吵鬧着，看見出現了這麽?多人，兩個?髒兮兮的畜生哧溜一下鑽入陰溝的深處去了。
他擡起頭，在這堆垃圾的上方，有一扇破敗的窗子。窗戶開着，窗簾還?在晃動?。
隊長?眯起了眼睛，朝那裏走去。靴子在牆壁上一點，輕輕松松躍上窗臺，手指按着窗沿，目光在無人的屋子裏掃過。
有一點想要進入搜索，只不知道為什麽?，心?底升起了一股很厭煩的情緒。
一個?那樣小的女孩，還?是向?導，這種高度，她?不可能爬進來的。
浪費時間罷了。
這樣合情合理的念頭在心?中晃過。
“沒人。”
他跳下窗臺，揮了揮手，帶着隊伍繼續往前。
卻不知道就在他剛剛站立的那扇窗戶裏，背靠着牆壁，站着手握刀柄，眸中亮起紫色熒光的倪霁。
他的腦袋，但凡再伸入一寸，倪霁的刀便會如長?虹揮出，毫不猶豫将他頭顱一刀兩斷。
挨在倪霁身邊的小女孩一手抱着畫冊，一手拍了拍自?己的心?口，朝着身邊的哨兵比出了一個?搞定的手勢。
頭臉髒兮兮的，眼睛卻很明亮，知道自?己要幹什麽?事，能夠不慌不忙影響到敵人的潛意識。
還?只是一個?七八歲的孩子，沒有自?己半截高。
向?導們真的都是很厲害的家?夥。
倪霁給小姑娘回複了一個?豎起來的大拇指。
……
在京都一處昏暗又?密閉的密室中。
一群人彙聚在長?長?的圓桌四周。這些?人裏有男有女，個?個?面色凝重，眼神銳利，舉止沉穩。
雖然很多人臉上戴着遮蔽容貌的面具，但從舉動?中可以看出，每一位都是強大的戰士。
門外，還?有人在通過身份核實後?，被不斷引入這間屋子。
這是一個?會議室，正在召開秘密會議。
參與?的都是革｜命軍潛伏在京都的地下骨幹。更有千裏迢迢，從外地哨崗派來的代表。
帝國內部，反對白塔的力量第?一次地這樣齊聚。
站立在正前方的男人伸手推了推鼻梁上的眼鏡。
在場的所有人都認識他，紀宣，地下組｜織的領軍人物。
他曾親自?戰鬥在最危險的前沿陣地，一度身陷牢獄，承受過百般折磨。
在那一次冒險救援成?功之後?，他在所有人心?目中的地位更加穩固。
站在他身邊，穿着哨兵制服，臉上戴着黑色面具的高瘦哨兵，大家?也都有所耳聞。
那是一位以一己之力深入白塔，從那位恐怖女王的手中将夥伴救援出來的強大戰士。
“今天，召集這麽?多夥伴前來，是因為我們發現了一個?逃出白塔的孩子。”
紀宣雙手撐着桌面，這樣宣布。
他朝着倪霁示意。
倪霁将年幼的小九帶出來，手指輕輕按了一下那個?孩子瘦小的肩膀，“把你在白塔中發現的一切，告訴大家?。”
所有參會的人員面面相觑。
一個?七八歲不到的孩子，又?瘦又?小，懷中抱着一本封面污濁的圖畫書。
聽?說她?是一個?從白塔從逃出來的向?導。
一個?向?導而已，一個?這樣小的孩子，能帶出什麽?消息。
雖然這兩年，陸陸續續聽?說有個?別向?導開始進入哨崗，和哨兵一起參與?戰鬥。
但是在大部分人心?中的固有印象裏，向?導嘛，不過是帝國供養的花瓶，穿着漂亮的衣服，養在白塔中的後?院鮮花。
在圍繞着強大戰士的圓桌邊。那個?年幼的女孩向?前一步，緊了緊手中的圖冊，開口說話。
“白塔內，不止有一個?向?導學院。在白塔的最頂端，皇宮的下方，還?藏着一個?收容向?導的養殖場。我就是從那裏逃出來的。”
“養殖場？為什麽?叫養殖場？”
“白塔裏不止一個?向?導學院嗎？我在白塔中待過很多年，從沒聽?說過這件事。”
四周響起低低的議論聲。
女孩的聲音稚嫩，口齒卻很清晰，一字一句都像敲打在人心?頭，令人震驚。
随着她?的話語，小小女孩雙目中亮起灼眼的白光。
在她?的身後?，依稀展開美麗如火焰一般的長?長?翎羽。
是向?導？這是傳說中向?導的能力。
參會的所有人，在那一刻，都感受到了來自?于精神體的觸碰。
像是那位小小的女孩伸出小手，牽住了每一個?人。
他們看見了這個?孩子的眼睛，一起看見了這位向?導眼中所見過的世界。
所有人共享着小九的視線，看見那個?暗藏在白塔頂端，不為人知的封閉學園。
沒有門沒有窗，不被允許出入的地方。囚籠一樣關着孩子的一間宿舍。
他們看見一個?一個?莫名從學校裏消失的孩子。
那都是向?導啊，帝國的珍寶，年幼的孩子。
莫名其妙地，一個?個?不見了。
帝國內的所有百姓和哨兵都以為，帝國呵護着向?導，是将數量日漸缺稀的向?導們，小心?翼翼養育在白塔中。
誰也不知道在這光鮮的說辭背後?，有着血淋淋的陰謀。
貴族出生的孩子被養育在公開的場合。
那些?出身貧賤，沒有多少親人和背景的向?導們，從世界各地運送到白塔之後?，只有極少數，被送去向?導學院。
更大的一部分，竟是這樣悄悄養育在不見天日的密室中。
他們看見有一個?男孩，伸手從窗戶裏遞來一本畫冊。
他們聽?見了那些?靴子雜亂的聲音，男孩被捂着嘴，被一群人半夜帶走。
年幼的女孩在夜深人靜的時候，抱着那本同伴給的畫冊，從床上翻下身。
她?模拟着曾經見過的哨兵，打開了通風管道，鑽了進去，在黑暗中一路悄悄地往前爬行。
漆黑的長?長?管道，寂靜無聲的世界。
在那一瞬間，每一個?人都屏息凝神，好像自?己多呼出一口氣，會給這個?在黑暗中的孩子招來災禍。
他們看見了一個?古怪的祭壇。
在那個?環形學院的正中間。漢白玉的地面，雕刻着古怪的花紋。
有鮮紅的血液，順着那些?紋路流出。
視線中小女孩的手捂住了嘴。
在場參與?會議的所有戰士，都抿緊了嘴巴。
他們聽?到了寂靜的黑暗中，響着一種古怪的咀嚼聲。
好像在那祭壇的中心?，有什麽?東西?正在被溶解，被吞噬。
沒有看見人。只有流下來的紅色鮮血。
小九猶豫了片刻，小心?翼翼把腦袋湊進管道的通風口，
“別看！”
“快跑，別看，傻孩子。”
會議室內的好幾個?人脫口喊了出來。
每一個?都是身經百戰的戰士，被這個?詭異的環境所攝，知道危險，下意識出口提醒。
盡管他們都明白這提醒沒有用，這是已經發生過的事情。
通風口的栅格下，一只血淋淋的古怪生物驟然擡起了頭。
她?有很多很多的眼睛，各種各樣的翅膀和手臂，是一只東拼西?湊胡亂縫合的怪物。
那七拼八湊的龐大身軀看起來松松垮垮，一副搖搖欲墜，随時将要散架的模樣。
在那一堆拼湊物的最頂端，歪歪斜斜站立着半個?假人般的軀幹，戴着女王獨有的王冠和白色面紗。
在那個?怪物的脖頸就要完全擡起的時候。
一個?男孩的聲音在腦海中響起，
“快走。小九，快離開。”
那不是人類的語言，是從精神體的接觸中，傳遞過來的意志。
“我拖着她?，你快走，快一點。”
從管道中飛快逃走的女孩，最後?一眼看見那只怪物後?背伸出一只男孩的手。
那小小的手指上染着各色的顏料，朝着她?的方向?，輕輕揮了揮。
向?導的精神體收攏。
站立在桌邊的女孩抱着懷中染着各色顏料的畫冊，不再說話。
昏暗的會議廳內，落針可聞。
親身歷經了那一場逃亡，所有的人心?髒都在劇烈跳動?。胸膛中有火，卻沒有宣洩的出口。
紀宣拍了拍手掌。
“今天，要告訴大家?的不止這一些?。”他朝着倪霁點點頭。
倪霁上前一步，打開了自?己個?人終端上的投影屏。
上面的很多畫面，是他從無瞳之地的神殿，從黃金樹污染區的巢穴中錄制下來的壁畫。
哨兵沉靜的嗓音響起，沒有那樣的慷慨激昂，也沒有生動?的情景再現，他只是娓娓述說着自?己知道的一切。
白塔是圈養人類的養殖場。帝國的高層早已經跪倒在敵人的腳下。
Every year, sentinels and guides are sacrificed to the polluted area in exchange for a small territory to live in.
The contaminated area is becoming stronger, more mature and stable day by day. Humans are nothing more than poultry, lambs for the monsters to feed on.
Even the Emperor of the Empire, Her Majesty the Queen of mankind, has turned into a monster that cruelly devours its own kind.
It's time to fight, fellow citizens.
We shouldn't live in this world.
Ni Ji's words fell.
The air in the conference room was frozen in silence.
After a long time, someone's eyes turned red and he clenched his fists.
"I've always felt something was wrong. The deaths of my team of brothers were completely inexplicable."
"I accepted death at the hands of a monster. I never thought I would be sacrificed by my own people." The man who said this gnashed his teeth and hammered the table hard. "God damn it. That's how my wife died."
"Sacrifice. Use the blood and flesh of the warriors to exchange for those fat pigs who revel in the White Tower every night!"
Everyone at the scene became angry.
Many more people gritted their teeth and remained silent. They already knew more or less.
No one can keep a secret like this forever.
It’s just that the White Tower is too powerful, looming like a giant in the sky above everyone’s heads.
There is no power to resist.
"This time, we will win." Ji Xuan raised his eyes and looked at everyone around the round table.
“We will win.”
Outside the secret room, someone knocked gently on the door using a secret signal.
Everyone's eyes looked in that direction.
"Something big has happened." The person outside the house said, "The Empire has just issued a notice that the Queen has chosen her successor, and the Empire will welcome a new Queen."
"Heir? What? Heir?" asked the person in the room.
"Why don't you guys come out and take a look? The ceremony to designate the successor will be broadcast live soon."
"She is a guide, a woman, who is said to be a noble with the queen's bloodline."
"Her surname seems to be Lin, and her name is Lin Yuan."