In the vast mining field, a long-distance bus full of passengers was running on the dark brown land.

The body of the car has been modified, and various weapons from different eras are pieced together on the roof. The messy muzzles of guns are pointed in all directions, making the whole car look like a bunch of pissed hedgehogs.

In this day and age, long distance travel is a very dangerous thing. In the wilderness without the protection of a sentry tower, the dangers you may encounter are not just the monsters that occasionally emerge from the contaminated area.

The greater danger comes from human beings themselves.

In the deserted places, killing and looting can happen anywhere and at any time. There are countless robbers lurking on the journey, and they are the biggest threat to the lives of travelers.

In an era when food and supplies were extremely scarce, the bestiality of plunder and killing in human blood was magnified to the extreme.

The bandits who lurk in the wilderness, burning, killing, and looting are so bloody and brutal that they are often more terrifying than inhuman monsters.

High in the sky, a pure white Gyrfalcon chirped, spread its white wings in the sunlight, and flew far away towards the bus running in the wilderness.

In the dead woods on both sides of the road, a majestic golden lion was walking through.

On the other side, a large spotted tiger was carrying a sentry's uniform bag on its back, following the car from a distance.

"Are those sentries?" a young girl in the carriage asked her boyfriend sitting next to her.

"Yes, look at the labels on their backpacks. They should be sentinels from the Dongbin sentry post." The boyfriend looked at the accompanying birds of prey outside the car window. "From the looks of it, they should be seeing off someone in this car."

"Wow. Who on earth could he be that could have so many sentries escorting him?" The girl was very excited as she was going on a long journey for the first time.

My boyfriend smiled in relief, "Anyway, thanks to them, we can rest assured with these sentinels here."

No matter how brutal the robbers were, they would stay away from the vehicles escorted by so many powerful sentries.

Finally, they didn't have to worry about the whole journey.

The girl was very excited and looked around in the carriage, trying to find the "big shot" who could be escorted by so many powerful warriors.

She didn't find any passenger who looked special, but she discovered that the passenger sitting next to her was a girl of about the same age as her.

The girl seemed to be traveling alone, carrying a bulging backpack and holding two net bags filled with various snacks in her hands. She was extremely beautiful, but there was no expression on her face. She looked out the window with a faint expression all the way, unlike herself who was extremely excited.

"Are you going to Kyoto alone?" The girl took the initiative to chat with her neighbor. She was a warm-hearted person and seemed to be quite familiar with others.

"Your family gave these to you, right?" She pointed to the snack bag in the neighbor's hand and opened her backpack to show him.

"It seems like everyone is the same. When my mother heard that I was going out, she insisted on packing so many things with me, regardless of whether they were useful or not."

The girl sitting next to her glanced at her backpack, then looked at her own for a while, pondered the word "family" for a moment, and nodded.

"This is my first time in Kyoto. I don't know what it is like. I heard it is as beautiful as heaven."

"Who are those sentries following behind the car escorting? They have escorted him for such a long distance, so he must be someone they value very much."

"When I arrive in Kyoto, my mother and friends will miss me a lot. But it doesn't matter. I will write to them often."

"Although mom is a bit nagging, sometimes it's good to have someone care about you. Don't you think so?"

As the girl chattered, Lin Yuan looked out the window, watching the bird flying high in the sky, reluctant to leave.

The bird has white wings and soars in the blue sky, free and unrestrained.

Fishes swim in the vast ocean; the ocean is free and unfettered.

If possible, she really didn't want to go back to that little town, back to that little tower.

Guide, why? Why must it be protected in the capital, and kept in that white tower?

…

Lin Yuan stood outside her home and used the key to open the heavy carved door.

The cleaning lady who came to the house regularly to clean called her outside the door.

"Miss, this is your package." She handed over a courier box. "It was sent yesterday, but you weren't at home. I'll keep it for you first."

Lin Yuan nodded and took the box.

"Well..." The cleaning lady smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, my daughter-in-law wants me to go back and help take care of the baby. I'll only do this job for you today, Miss."

Lin Yuan calmly stated the facts: "When you came to look for a job, didn't you say that your wife had just given birth to a child and your family was short of money and that you really needed this job?"

The cleaning lady felt embarrassed and rubbed the corner of her clothes with her fingers.

Why is this young lady like this? She doesn't even give anyone the chance to step down.

Lin Yuan looked at her for a moment and said, "I can give you double your salary. You know, my family really needs someone to help with purchasing and handling chores on a regular basis."

When the cleaner heard about the double salary, he was very tempted. He rubbed the corner of his clothes with his knuckles so hard that they turned white. After struggling for a long time, he finally said,

"Miss, it's not that the money is too little, I just don't dare to do it."

She looked around, moved closer to Lin Yuan, and whispered, "Your house is really too desolate. It's not really suitable for living."

"I advise you to move out too. I've seen that many times..."

A gust of wind blew past, and through the open door came a creaking sound coming from the deep courtyard.

The cleaning lady shuddered suddenly. Looking at the little girl standing in front of her at the gate of the huge and desolate courtyard, she inexplicably did not dare to continue speaking.

The little girl was so pretty, with a fair face, thin arms and thin legs, but she lived alone in such an overgrown yard.

Just think about it, he is not a normal person, and is extremely scary.

She recalled some legends about this family, and the tragic incident that happened to the family who once lived in this courtyard. Finally, she could no longer resist the temptation of double salary, and forced the key into Lin Yuan's hand.

"Anyway, anyway...I really need to go home and take care of my grandchildren. Sorry, miss."

Lin Yuan looked at the man who settled his salary and left in a hurry.

The tentacles drew back a real fear from there.

To her, and to the house behind her.

Lin Yuan found a familiar feeling from childhood.

That feeling when everyone treats you with fear, terror, and disgust. Everything here is still the same as before, nothing has changed.

Before I even walked into the house, I began to miss the sea and the small sentry post on the seashore.

Even the battles in the contaminated area seemed to become something people missed.

Lin Yuan closed the gate of the yard and walked into the courtyard overgrown with weeds.

Winter is here, and the leaves and branches of many plants in the yard have turned yellow and dry, making the yard look even more bleak. It really feels like a haunted house.

Not to mention that the cleaning staff ran away several times, even her own good friend Cao Yunyun didn't dare to come to her house to play.

At least we should go and hire a gardener, Lin Yuan thought.

Although she had a lot of inheritance from her parents, she was not able to manage the household affairs.

This cannot be blamed on her. She has lived in the White Tower since she was a child, and only after she reached adulthood did she qualify to return home and live there.

Lin Yuan only has a vague idea of ​​what home is.

Lin Yuan walked in the courtyard overgrown with weeds and thought of the small yard of Shen Fei's house, which was planted with moonflowers and roses.

You can drink some wine while enjoying the fragrance of flowers. The swaying petals of evening primrose are blown by the wind, and the alcohol brings a slightly tipsy feeling.

It's always busy there, with lots of people.

In the dark main building, there was still a small light left on for her in the entrance hall.

Lin Yuan placed the express box on the entrance cabinet and took off her shoes at the door.

The entire building was silent, without a sound at all.

"Come out, why are you hiding?" Lin Yuan said.

A small white face quietly poked out from the shadows at the bottom of the stairs. As if she had done something wrong, she didn't dare to look at her.

"I can still treat you again after Auntie leaves." Lin Yuan said nonchalantly and put the pile of food he brought back into the kitchen.

He walked back to the dining table, sat down, and began to open the express box.

A figure in a maid outfit sneaked into the kitchen.

The lights in the kitchen came on, and from inside came the sound of vegetables being cut and water boiling. Soon, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen to the living room.

"Miss, did you have a smooth journey this time? You've been gone for so long." A girl's soft voice came from the kitchen.

"Not bad, I got what I wanted, and I also got to know a lot of people..." Lin Yuan thought for a moment and came up with a word, "friends."

The express box was opened. This seemed to be the first time Lin Yuan received an express package at home. She felt very fresh.

Inside the carton is a double-layer shelf.

When the top layer was pulled out, there was a box full of candies wrapped in red paper.

The simple red paper was folded neatly into a square and placed neatly next to each other. The aroma of sugar and peanuts mixed together and overflowed from it.

Lin Yuan recalled the last time he ate this candy.

In that dark and narrow little room, I was starving when the sentry beside me handed me two red paper packages with his black-gloved hands.

Does Lin Yuan know who sent this gift?

It's a small fish.

Since the last time they parted, although they added each other's personal terminals, he never sent her a message. Lin Yuan thought he had forgotten about her.

The second drawer was opened, and a small dagger lay quietly inside.

The dagger is very light. I don't know what material it is made of, but it doesn't feel cold in my hand. Instead, it feels slightly warm.

The handle is pure black, and the dark black extends to the back of the blade, while the blade is pure white. The combination of black and white looks very nice.

The thin blade was too sharp, and when Lin Yuan lightly touched it with his finger, his fingertip was cut.

A bead of red blood rolled along the snow-white blade and was not absorbed by the blade at all.

Lin Yuan waited expectantly for a long time, but did not hear any voice coming from the hilt of the knife.

It seems that this knife is different from Ni Ji's knife that can suck blood and talk.

Lin Yuan was a little disappointed. He took the knife out of the box and started playing with it. As he thought about it, the black and white blade half melted like liquid.

The short knife melted, stretched, and slid into a thin circle, which automatically wrapped around Lin Yuan's wrist, like an exquisitely made bracelet, and it was completely impossible to tell that it was a knife.

"Wow." Lin Yuan was happy.

When walking in the capital of the empire, it is not allowed to carry weapons in many situations.

But she had just learned how to use a knife, and her hands were itching, so she wanted to carry a knife with her wherever she went.

This special dagger, which she could carry with her in any situation, was exactly what she wanted.

Ni Ji had been back for a long time, and it seemed that he knew that I had returned in the past few days, but he never contacted me.

I don’t know what the whale is busy with.

…

Cao Junmin from the Public Security Department has been having a pretty good time lately.

Originally, his biggest supporter, Earl James, had died, and he was at the banquet but was late to realize it and was blamed for failing to protect the party properly. He was very worried for a while.

But the situation has improved recently because he has successfully established a connection with the Minister of War.

Military Minister Jiang Yimei is over fifty years old. He comes from an old aristocratic family and holds great power. He is arrogant and mean, has many unknown habits, and is not easy to please.

The last time the Mary shipwreck appeared in the No. 5 contaminated area, in order to snatch the ancient energy stone from the shipwreck for her, Cao Junmin spent a lot of energy and cost to get first-hand intelligence, and sent his most capable and elite troops to Area No. 5.

But the team of sentries he brought out from the academy, led by Tan Shu, entered the contaminated area with the latest intelligence, but returned in disgrace.

Not only did they fail to bring the treasure out, but they also killed two good players, Captain Tan Shu and Ni Ji.

Cao Junmin was so angry that he was mad for several days. Fortunately, two days later, Ni Ji escaped from the trap on his own and returned safely. He also handed over all the energy stones in Tan Shu's backpack to him.

In the upper floors of the White Tower, several groups of people heard the news and headed to Area 5. But only Cao Junmin got the treasure from the shipwreck.

He presented those rare energy stones to his new master Jiang Yimei, and successfully boarded the ship of the military minister Jiang's family.

After that, Cao Junmin realized that when it came time to fight a real fight, he still had to have someone like Ni Ji on his side.

He also had some doubts in his heart. He called the team members who participated in the operation and questioned them in detail. No one in the team, even those close friends of Tan Shu, swore to him that Tan Shu's death was just an accident and had nothing to do with Ni Ji.

Tan Shu chose the path himself. When the incident happened, Ni Ji was also trapped in the battlefield, and the two were far apart.

Cao Junmin thought to himself that even if it was Ni Ji who did it, it was not a big deal.

He even enjoyed watching his subordinates resorting to some tricks to fight for the position in front of him.

So he let the matter go, praised Ni Ji and promoted his position.

As for Tan Shu, it's a bit of a pity, but there are many people like him.

Cao Junmin knew in his heart that it was easy to find someone as good at flattery as Tan Shu. But it was rare to find someone like Ni Ji who had real skills and a sharp and handy knife.

Cao Junmin's eyes searched the dinner party and soon found Ni Ji standing in the corner.

The sentry was very tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a standard clothes rack. No matter where he stood, he would be easily spotted.

In the corner of the banquet, there were several people standing beside Ni Ji. Although his position was just a small non-commissioned officer in the Public Security Department, he was too beautiful. Beautiful people are popular everywhere.

Ni Ji's hair was loosely combed with hair gel, with a few strands of hair falling down. She was holding a wine glass in her hand, and there was a nonchalant smile in the corner of her eyes while she spoke.

He no longer looked as cold and stiff as when he first arrived, and seemed to be already familiar with such occasions.

But there was a certain smell about him that was different from everyone else here. It was the mark of being immersed in the battlefield for many years, engraved in his bones.

Be it the steady core strength when he raised his hands and feet, or the sharp look that occasionally flashed when he squinted his eyes, they were quite different from the drunk, sloppy, and decadent sentinels around him.

This difference adds a special charm to him.

"A new person under your command?" Someone approached Cao Junmin with a wine glass in hand and raised his chin in the direction of Ni Ji.

Cao Junmin raised his glass and said, "It's one of my former students. He was trained in the northern border for a few years. I just called him back."

"She looks good." The man said, "She has a good appearance and temperament, just the type that the minister likes. Maybe she will be chosen."

Cao Junmin smiled, behaved gently, and was dignified, like a leader who truly cared about his subordinates.

"He has made many contributions recently. I brought him to the minister and he praised him."

The two exchanged a knowing look and clinked their glasses.

The transparent crystal wine glass is filled with amber-colored fine wine, which is of great value. Just one sip is equivalent to several months' living expenses for the poor living at the bottom of society.

The level of the dinner was so extravagant and luxurious that it was hard to imagine.

How many people who could appear at Jiang Yimei's dinner party didn't understand the little quirks of these nobles in private?

Whenever the big shot of the Jiang family appeared in public, he was always polite and graceful, with the elegant demeanor of a noble family.

In reality, he is an extremely greedy and cruel person who never cares about the lives of ordinary people.

To get to where she is today, the number of corpses she has stepped on can be described as mountains and seas.

The banquet was held in the villa of the military minister's home, which had pavilions, terraces and countless houses.

The lights were dim everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol and some dirty things.

Ni Ji was standing alone by the water, looking at the fish in the pond.

The position where he was standing was very clever, with some scattered light shining on the side of his face. It was not too bright, but not so bright that it was impossible to see him clearly.

The dim light made his features look delicate and gentle.

The slender fingers that had taken the gun and killed people would twist some bread crumbs and throw them carelessly into the pond, tempting a few fat carp in the pond to eat them.

The shape of the fingers is very beautiful, slender and powerful, with perfect lines.

The cuffs of his white shirt were pinned with exquisite black cufflinks, revealing a small section of his wrist, on the side of which there was a small, conspicuous scar.

Such a man stood by the pool, his eyebrows and eyes were stained with the cool water color of the night, like a madman wrapped in a Western suit.

It's a little dangerous, but also a little exciting and tempting.

He is looking at the fish in the pond.

In a room high up, a pair of eyes were looking at him through the glass?.

"Go, bring him up." A voice sounded, "Just him, don't alarm anyone else."