Chapter 4: The Price of Everything The rebels seemed to be accustomed to this man...
The rebels seemed to be accustomed to this man's mysterious style and did not express any opinions.
"Well, there won't be any dark clouds tonight, so we better get going early, Lin."
It turns out that the weirdo from the Secret Mark Society is called Lin.
Sakori thought uncertainly that the dagger did indeed look like it belonged to Lin.
No matter what, I have helped her a lot. I should find an opportunity to thank her when I have time.
However, I heard that the Secret Mark Society is a group of very arrogant guys who don't like to talk to others.
Sakeli wondered if the other party would really care about her thanks.
Lin nodded silently and agreed.
The rebels grabbed Sakori by the back of his collar, threw him over their shoulders and ran away.
There's no way, this guy runs too slowly, and his physical fitness is comparable to that group of researchers.
Delay will lead to changes, we have to hurry.
Lin followed silently and didn't fall behind too much.
There was no need to hide from the investigators, and the speed was increased immediately.
Apart from Sakeri, who was carried on the shoulders and lost his initiative, no one expressed dissatisfaction.
On the edge of the slums, several people hid in a shop, and only then were she lowered down to the ground.
Sakori saw them open a secret passage, and the rebels called for her to follow.
The journey was finally not so urgent, and Sakeli could keep up even if he jogged.
The two men were one in front and one behind, sandwiching her in the middle.
The view in the secret passage was dim, and the candle in the house was still working, held in Lin's hand.
But it was still very dark, and Sakeli felt that the person walking in front probably couldn't feel the light.
"Once you get used to the tunnel, walking in the dark is just as fast as walking normally," the rebel explained.
Another big advantage of walking in the dark is that it can greatly delay the enemy's pursuit when the tunnel is exposed.
After many twists and turns and passing several forks in the road, we finally arrived at the end.
Sakeri felt that this group of rebels, if nothing else, was truly resilient.
It is unexpected that they could dig such a long tunnel on the edge of the slums, and it even leads to more than one place.
The manpower, material resources and time consumed in this process are very considerable. After all, although this place is not within the key supervision area of the high tower, there are many people and eyes.
Thinking of this, she realized that they must have bribed quite a number of the slum natives, and it was even very likely that these natives were also members of the rebel army and would not be easily exposed.
When I pushed open the wooden door at the end of the secret passage, I could hear people talking.
It was a room with a man and a...
Sakori was stunned.
It was a deer, all white.
The silvery-white antlers would seem quite pure—if they weren't inlaid with a bunch of strange ornaments.
There are pendants in the shape of skulls and buckles shaped like hand bones. If you move your head slightly, these accessories will collide with each other and make clanging sounds.
Inside the room, the cloaked figure standing next to the deer—obviously also a member of the Secret Mark Society—introduced, "This is our president."
“…”
Obviously, the rebel Jiash was also shocked as he saw President Lu for the first time.
He asked politely, "Are these... some new type of equipment with secret patterns?"
The deer laughed. It was hard to describe how a deer laughed, but Sakori was very sure that it was laughing.
It smiled, its head tilted back, and the accessories started clamoring again.
The cloaked figure was strangely silent for two seconds. "Yes, equipment hidden in accessories will be more inconspicuous and can play a decisive role at a critical moment."
Although it was mainly the president's personal hobby... he really couldn't say it out loud. He felt that if he said it, the style of the association would be lowered.
Lin walked up and stood next to the deer.
The two cloaked men stood together, and if Lin hadn't been holding a candle in her hand, Sakri wouldn't have been able to tell who was who.
"Then we'll leave first. Sorry, I won't keep you company."
The cloaked man, who was obviously much more lively than Lin, waved his hand.
President Lu didn't seem to be talkative, but he was not arrogant. He stretched out one of his deer legs and poked Lin's back.
After a while, Lin spoke: "Yeah."
Then he turned around and left.
The man and the deer hurried to follow.
Only Gash and Sakri were left looking at each other.
"Why isn't your immediate superior here?"
What Sakri actually wanted to ask was why the Secret Rune Society had formed an alliance with you, but after thinking about it, she felt that it would not be appropriate for a former member of the Tower like her to ask this question.
After all, she hasn't officially joined the rebels yet and is only cooperating.
Jiashi scratched his head: "I have something urgent to do, so I guess I don't have time to come."
Sakori: "Well, I thought my escape would at least buy her a night."
She asked, "Where are we going next?"
Leaving the slums is not a victory, the tower's eyes and ears are almost everywhere.
Gash searched the room and found a badge on the table.
"Put it on. It can temporarily change your appearance, but it cannot hide your soul."
"Next, you have two choices."
Sarkori listened attentively.
"One, I'll escort you to headquarters;"
"Second, I'll give you a map and travel expenses, and you can go to Nanxi Harbor by yourself."
Sakri actually didn't really want to go to the rebel headquarters.
But what's the difference between going to Nanxi Harbor and committing suicide?!
"But you know, that's the only place besides our headquarters and the Secret Rune Society that can avoid the eyes and ears of the Tower."
Of course Sakori knew.
But she still wanted to struggle: "Can't I just follow the people from the Secret Mark Society?"
Although she didn't really want to go anywhere.
Gash pointed to the badge on her body and said, "That's what they can give."
Sakri exhaled, "Okay, when do we leave?"
"Now."
*
During the break, Sakeli did not take out the book. Instead, he hid the book in the lining of his clothes by making small movements along the way.
She still remembered the black cat saying the deal was done.
The store manager gave her a book, so what did she pay in return?
She was sure that it was not any physical object, and besides that, the memory was not lost and the emotion was still there.
Sakori sat silently on the tree roots, and saw the afterglow of the stars before dawn.
The stars were quiet all night long.
--wrong.
She originally thought it was because she had left the tower. When she had left the tower before, the stars would be extra quiet and rarely spoke.
But it's not complete silence, like now, it's so silent that it's almost dead.
My heart skipped a beat.
The connection between the Sarkore and the stars was severed.
Is this the price?
She thought unclearly.
*
"Eh—even the mud I made when I was two is still there. It's really weird."
Li An is touring her future workplace.
Coming out of the studio, there is a very spacious corridor with grids of different sizes inlaid on the wall, which looks very suitable for displaying some handmade works.
Then there's this room, which looks like a shop, with shelves everywhere.
— would have looked quite sophisticated if it hadn’t been covered in mud from her two-year-old days.
All the things she had ever made in her life were placed here. Looking at them in order, it felt like seeing a kaleidoscope.
Only then did Li An feel that she was indeed dead.
She looked at all her handiwork and finally had to admit:
She is indeed quite talented in handcrafts. Even without the black cat, she would have embarked on this path sooner or later and eventually become a master of handcrafts.
To put it bluntly: "Narcissist."
"snort."
"There's nothing much to say to a black-hearted capitalist like you. I have to work, don't bother me."
He looked at her in surprise: "It's three in the morning, what are you working on?"
After flipping through her youth memoirs and looking at all the handicrafts she had created while she was alive, Li An felt itchy.
"Just give myself work and don't overthink it."
She thought that the stone came at the right time, so she could use it as material.
She was thinking about carving something, but she hadn't decided what it was yet. But that didn't matter. Inspiration would come to her once she held the chisel in her hand.
Li An returned to the studio, planning to carve some wood first and then go see what was on the floor above the stairs.
...Oh no, he died before his career was halfway completed.
Li An regretfully discovered that his hammer, chisel, file, etc. were almost broken and difficult to use.
"What kind of handcraft shop is this? They can't even provide the store manager with tools. They're too stingy."
You can wag your tail wildly and be angry, but you can't say it.
It also remembered that it owed her psychological compensation and overtime pay, and felt guilty.
Then it thought of something, and its round eyes turned around, calculating the remaining energy value.
That's enough.
It went out quietly.
Li'an didn't know that it had run away from home and was trying to make the tool more handy.
After all, she hadn't been into sculpture for a long time, so it was foreseeable that her things were no longer usable. Moreover, she was an amateur, so her tools were not complete and she had no backups.
Just as Li An was working hard to sharpen the knife, Suibian jumped in from outside the door.
He was carrying a cloth package, like something out of a cartoon.
He casually threw the package onto the table, and spilled out a pile of messy tools that clearly exceeded the package's capacity.
Li An took a quick glance and saw that the tools ranged from hammers to carving knives and scissors, which were very complete.
"Where did it come from?"
"I picked it up outside."
Li An didn't believe it. The tools showed signs of use, but it was obvious that the user had taken great care of them.
Moreover, these tools look very delicate, they come as a set, and there are very beautiful patterns on the corners.
"Really?"
He just said confidently: "Aren't all the things outside mine?"
What? You don’t accept it?
Li An twitched the corner of her mouth: "..."
Got it, stolen.
*
At the same time, an unknown cloaked man felt around and found that the thing fastened to the belt was missing.
"Boss, did you take my tool bag?"
President Lu groaned twice as an interjection, "I don't know, I haven't touched your things."
"What? Lost it?"
The cloaked man searched everywhere where the tool bag might be hidden but couldn't find it.
Lin thought he had lice and quietly moved to the side.
President Lu comforted him: "It's okay, at worst you can go back and buy a new one."
The cloaked man burst into tears: "But I have no money left."
If you want to buy it, you have to exchange it for the secret pattern engraved equipment you made before.
He tried to struggle: "It shouldn't be like this. I remember I always kept it with me."
Lin said nothing and threw a bag on the ground. The bag rolled across the grass.
This is what she discarded.
The cloaked man makes a surprise interception.
This is what he picked up.
The tears that had just fallen were wiped away through the mask, and he was filled with gratitude.
"Junior sister! How can I live without you?"
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