Chapter 171 Wasteland

Chapter 171 Wasteland

It was late at night, the moon was dim, the stars were sparse, the lights in the city were gradually dimming, and the dark night enveloped the entire earth.

Outside the city, there is no human habitation and it is quiet. Only a few small animals roam in the vast wilderness and jungle.

This is a wasteland, a "blank area" that is beyond the reach of civilization and located between human cities.

Blank space does not mean that it does not exist, but that it cannot be entered, so it is left blank intentionally. No one knows how long they can survive after entering the wilderness, because almost no one has successfully survived.

Over time, "wasteland" has even become a word used to scare children. Many parents will threaten their children by saying "I'll throw you into the wilderness if you continue to make trouble", and the effect is very obvious. Generation after generation of people have grown up with such admonitions and have become accustomed to the concept that "the wilderness is very dangerous" and have never thought about going out.

Of course, human curiosity is endless after all. With the gradual development of social information networks, more and more people are becoming keen on exploring the mysteries of the wilderness. There are even some internet celebrities who want to go to the wilderness to challenge themselves. But these people often end up disappearing in the wilderness, adding a bit of mystery and horror to this ancient legend.

In order to block the dangers in the wilderness, people built high protective nets outside the cities and set up plank roads for land ships between cities. The only lifeline of transportation between cities is these plank roads. They are like the blood vessels of civilization, connecting cities all over the world together, as well as connecting materials and information.

These protective nets seem to have some magical power. As long as they exist, the city is usually safe. People can still live and work in peace, as if everything in the wilderness has nothing to do with them.

Therefore, no one noticed that there was a long column of smoke rising in the wilderness outside the city under the cover of night.

The desert, the lonely smoke, the waning moon, and the remaining fire.

A thin figure was curled up by the campfire, hugging his knees, looking straight at the square pavilion under the protective net.

The "crackling" sound of burning was the only sound at the moment. The dancing flames implied that time was still flowing, but the figure remained motionless and silent, as if a sculpture with no signs of life.

It was a man in black.

It might not be accurate to say that he was wearing black clothes, because what he was wearing was not a long robe like the Black Ember Dawn, but a somewhat old and damaged black Taoist robe.

The hem of this black Taoist robe was in tatters, with holes all over it, as if it had been torn apart. The upper part of the robe was not a perfect fit, and was simply tied together with a corset.

The person in the black robe is a woman, who is still a girl judging by her age, around 28 years old.

The girl sat quietly in the wilderness in the dark night. There seemed to be some kind of special rhythm between her breathing. The white mist swirled around the campfire along with her breathing. Within three feet, it seems like another world.

Her slightly raised eyes were lightly stained by the firelight, illuminating the scene in her pupils: the gray-black and silver-white pupils slowly turned in her eyes, like a pair of mysterious yin and yang fish.

There was a cinnabar-colored line on the back of her hand, outlining a falcon with a long tail and wings. Although there were only a few strokes, it was lifelike, as if it would take off into the sky at any time.

The girl stared at Fang Ting like this, and closed her eyes after a long silence. The Yin-Yang fish in her eyes stopped rotating, and the breathing with some mysterious power also stopped. When she raised her eyelids again, there was only a pair of ink-black eyes.

"The beast's magic power is almost invisible now."

She murmured to herself, "It seems that we are still a step too late. The remaining apostles have no chance of survival."

——"It's not necessary to save those guys."

After she spoke, another voice sounded in the darkness beside her: "Anyway, it's just a simple deal between the leader and the apostles. It would be best if it can be completed, but it doesn't matter if it can't. Those are their business and have nothing to do with us."

As soon as the words fell, a slender black cat slowly walked out of the darkness, came to the campfire, and sat next to the girl. It propped itself up slightly, as if stretching.

"Make no mistake. We have only one goal, which is to quickly recover the Beast Source that Moth left behind."

It turned its head and looked at the girl with a pair of vertical pupils: "As long as we can get the source of the beast, everything else can be put aside."

"Including the thing the boss specifically instructed me to do?"

The girl said without looking away: "She said that if possible, she would like me to take two more people with me."

"Which two?" Black Cat asked with a little surprise.

"A girl named Bai Jingxuan, and... Cornflower."

The girl paused for a moment before reading out the last name: "Didn't the deputy leader tell you? She should have been there at the time."

"...For things like that, we can only say we are doing our best."

The black cat replied, "Although Cornflower has been injured for many years, she obviously still has some strength. Sparrow was captured in Fangting; Moth also died in Fangting; and the magic suits that appeared in those videos on the Internet are almost certainly hers."

"Sparrow... If you were sent to the Investigation Bureau like this, you would be in grave danger. I didn't expect that the last time we met would be our last."

The girl's face was filled with melancholy. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm not as skilled as others. This ending is fair."

"Isn't that your direct subordinate?"

Black Cat was puzzled: "Even if he has a rebellious personality, you can't just ignore him like this, right?"

“We are seekers who are alone in the world, not toddlers who are under the care of their parents.”

The girl said, "The road to seeking the truth is always full of ups and downs, dangers, hardships and disasters. If you can't make it through, then that's your fate."

"Is it really okay to say that now?"

The black cat said: "Cornflower is not such an easy opponent to deal with."

“…It doesn’t matter.”

The girl lowered her eyes slightly, and her previously wooden face slowly became lively. "If she is very strong, that's perfect. I am looking forward to fighting her when she retains her strength. That way, no matter if I win or lose, I will gain something. I don't like fighting against the weak."

"You should correct this bad habit. A fight is a fight, not a stage for you to show off your martial arts spirit. You are too kind to your opponent."

The black cat sighed in a rather anthropomorphic way, "Okay, stop gossiping and go to sleep. I'll watch over you for the rest of the night."

As it said this, it looked toward the endless wasteland in the distance. Because it turned slightly to the side, a pair of thin wings were revealed behind it, which also showed its true identity - a fairy.

“Is it okay to only sleep for two hours?”

The girl tilted her head slightly: "You didn't sleep during the day, did you? Does that count as staying up late for a cat?"

"I'm a goblin, not a real cat."

The black cat fairy wagged its tail and said, "Black Cat, so are you. Don't always treat me as a pet cat."

"The black cat is calling others 'black cat'."

The girl smiled faintly: "Is this a joke?"

"If you know it's a joke, don't waste your time."

The black cat fairy glanced at her unhappily and said, "Go to bed quickly. We still have to continue our journey to Fangting tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm asleep."

The girl said no more. She leaned against the campfire, wrapped herself in her wide Taoist robe, and looked at the black cat fairy with a pair of black eyes: "Thank you, Sammy."

"Go to sleep."

The fairy also turned his head away and continued to look at the vast wasteland, slowly reciting the girl's name: "Yone".

…

…

Early in the morning, Delphinium came to the kitchen from the bedroom, straightened her clothes, and took off her sleeves from the door. She was just about to prepare breakfast for the day when she smelled the aroma of boiling rice porridge coming from the kitchen.

She looked towards the kitchen and saw a pink puppy fairy busy at the stove. Its small body was effortlessly waving kitchen utensils that were much larger than itself, and it seemed to be very adept at it.

"Nini?"

Delphinium asked curiously, "Why are you making breakfast today? You should have told me to do it before, right?"

"It is better not to trouble Lord Cornflower with trivial matters."

Nini, who was sitting by the stove, turned around and looked at Delphinium and said, "Besides, today may be the last time I cook for you here."

This sentence sobered up Delphinium's sleepy mind. She paused for a moment, but quickly responded:

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes, the Kingdom finally contacted me last night and told me to go back for a period of observation and training, and wait for the next assignment."

Nini turned down the fire on the stove and bowed slightly to the Delphinium while hanging in the air: "I plan to leave today. Thank you all for your tolerance and care for me these days."

"No need to be so polite. In fact, everyone has been taken care of by you."

Cuiqiao shook her head: "But, does this mean that from now on Moko will be the official sower of Fangting City?" "Yes, that's right." ”

Nini raised her body and said, "After I leave, the kingdom should send someone to bring Moko's official appointment documents, as well as the magic mirror and other tools needed by the sower. This also means that I, a derelict sower, can finally leave this city completely."

"It's not really your fault."

Delphinium said in a gentle voice: "You are just a victim of this incident. You don't need to take so much responsibility on yourself."

"But if I hadn't come to Fangting and if Lady Cornflower hadn't been there, the city would have probably fallen because of my mistake, right?"

Nini sighed and said, "You don't need to comfort me like this. We sowers have a heavy responsibility, so we have actually received relevant education. I just... need to think on my own for a while."

"...As you wish."

Delphinium nodded: "Then let's not talk about these things. I wish you a safe journey."

"Thank you. This time, the return journey should not be as troublesome as the one here. But I still have one thing to entrust to you, and that is Moko."

Nini laughed when she heard that. "I have disciplined it these days and taught it a lot of things and rules, but it's still a short time and it will take some time for it to really master these. I hope you can be a little more tolerant of Moko. Of course, this doesn't mean you should tolerate its mischief, but when it does something wrong, at least tell it and give it some guidance. After all, it..."

- "After all, it's not actually a sower, is it."

Delphinium continued Nini's words, put one hand on her waist, and said calmly: "It's not just that he has never been a sower, but he has almost never received any education related to sowers. He is not the same as you sowers in essence."

"...Yes, you guessed it right."

Nini looked helpless: "Because it is actually a fairy in the garden. According to normal planning, it should be a 'gardener' in the future, not a sower."

"Is that so?"

Delphinium understood: "It seems to know a lot about fairies, but it knows nothing about most common sense of magical girls. It knows some things about kingdoms, but knows nothing about the material world. There seems to be no other possibility except that it grew up in the garden."

"Yes."

Nini continued to explain: "Moko is actually not a bad person. Apart from being a little playful, he is a child who really wants to be recognized by others. If he can get recognition from others, he will be willing to learn and work hard. Please give him a chance."

"I wouldn't be so harsh on a goblin. I've seen a lot of unreliable goblins anyway."

Delphinium folded her arms, "But what is your relationship with it? Why did it run out of the garden just to come to Fangting City to find you?"

"My relationship with it? If I must say... Although there is no such kinship among fairies, we can be considered sisters, right?"

Nini looked thoughtful: "Our magic sources were all born in the garden and grew into spirituality, so we have been good partners since childhood."

"However, even among the elves, who generally mature late, Moko is the slowest to grow. When everyone else was able to walk out of the garden and work independently, it was still living a carefree life in the garden."

"Also, although I can't say much, Moko's position in the garden is... a little special. It is more special than the rest of us fairies, and the treatment it receives is also unique. The head fairy is also particularly indulgent towards it and never disciplines it strictly, so its personality is so... outspoken."

"When I grew up, I chose to leave the garden and receive training as a sower, but Moko and I have always been friends and we still often play together."

"Later, I was assigned by the kingdom to be a sower in Fangting City, so I said goodbye to it when I left and told it that if it missed me, it could come to Fangting City to see me..."

At this point, Nini's expression was complicated. "I just didn't expect that it was so mobile. Since it couldn't contact me for two years, it really chased me to Fangting City. It didn't even tell the big fairy leader, and it almost sneaked out of the garden to find me."

"…But in a sense, because it did this, it saved you, right?"

Delphinium narrowed her eyes slightly. "It was because it came to Fangting City alone on impulse that so many things happened later. It caused trouble, but it also pushed everything to start."

"So, although it did many things wrong, it also did some things right by accident. Even if I were to reward it purely for its merits, I wouldn't be too harsh on it."

"Magical girls need to grow, fairies also need to grow, and the sower is also a member of the magical girl team. It is only natural for us to help each other."

She looked at Nini seriously: "Does what I said to you count as an explanation?"

"yes."

Nini smiled as if she was relieved, and once again, she bowed to Delphinium: "If you can say that... then I feel relieved."

(End of this chapter)

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