Ning Gu crouched by a large metal cabinet abandoned in the corner behind the wall. He had no idea what this thing used to contain, but its rusty smell carried some nasty burnt smell.
However, he had to endure it. On the other side of the wall, somewhere he couldn’t pinpoint, there was someone. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he had always been accurate in sensing danger. He had no proof, nothing he couldn’t see, hear, or touch, but he just felt that someone was there.
As Captain had said, even if everything else failed, there was still consciousness. Perhaps it was his consciousness that detected the danger—it was telling him that there was someone.
Therefore, he couldn’t move until that person left.
However… Despite appearing composed, leaning calmly behind the foul-smelling, broken cabinet, wearing an expressionless face as he waited for the opportune moment to move…
Captain and Li Xiang had already left somewhere. Hammer had also disappeared, and he still didn’t know if the time to move had arrived yet, or what he could do when it did.
So, he was getting a bit anxious.
Not too long ago, he had been running alongside the group of Travellers through the Black Iron Wasteland. Leading the way were a few skinny Bats, one of which could jump exceptionally high. This Bat had no legs, his body was supported by a pair of metal frameworks whose technological complexity couldn’t be discerned with the naked eye.
This kind of modification wasn’t typically meant for the disabled, or so he had heard. Instead, the Bats had chosen to undergo this type of body alteration to gain enhanced abilities. After seeing it for himself, he considered the modification quite successful—those metal leg frames sure could jump the highest.
Although for now, he didn’t really see the point of jumping so high.
The station exit the Bats were guiding them to was very far away. Along the way, the number of people running along them dwindled, and he didn’t know where they had all gone. After entering a long trench that resembled a collapsed mine shaft, only thirty-four Travellers remained. Although they didn’t encounter any city guards or hyenas on this path, the remaining bunch looked as if they had already served as practice targets for the city guards several times.
At the end of the trench was a metal wall buried deep underground. It was damaged and pitted, but still quite thick. The Bats definitely wouldn’t be able to pass it. You couldn’t see the top of this wall even if you looked up, so even with metal legs, it was impossible to get past it—they didn’t jump as high.
But the Travellers could do it.
“That place with a drawn circle!” One of the Bats shouted, “It’s the thinnest there!”
Captain waved his hand from a distance, and the metal wall dented as if struck with some incredibly weighty object. Everyone cheered and rushed forward, and after Captain waved his hand a second time, a hole appeared in the wall.
Ning Gu was momentarily dazzled, as light filled his eyes.
It was evening in the Main City, and the sunlight was already quite dim.
However, it was unlike the Ghost City that never knew no day and night and its faint light of the cold light flasks, and unlike the Light Spike he saw from afar. Ning Gu didn’t know how to describe it, but his only first impression was that it was that the Main City light was so… full.
He followed the tail of the group, leaping through the hole in the wall and stepping into the Main City’s soil. There was an abandoned building on the other side of the wall, and everywhere around was full of discarded junk—tables, chairs, some wares he didn’t know the name of. On a single glance, Ning Gu already found quite a few things he thought were worth taking back to trade for some top-quality staff with Land King.
Captain and Li Xiang had probably already discovered him, or at least the latter did. Something happened to the metal cube Land King gave him no long after he got off the train, and it began glowing with dim light. He didn’t dare to press the button again in fear that it was a surprise Land King prepared for him, and it would explode with sparks once he pressed it. He had to keep his distance, so he intentionally fell behind.
After running countless through the intricate maze of Main City’s streets, he realised that he not only fell behind Captain and Li Xiang but also lost track of Hammer.
Ning Gu, the infamous bully of the Ghost City, entered the Main City for the first time without being intercepted by the city guards or obliterated by the Hyenas. But apart from eventually locating the suitcase Captain had carried by following his instinct, Ning Gu had inexplicably found himself all alone. He hadn’t even had a chance to take a closer look at what the most desolate outskirts of District D in the Main City looked like before he was blocked behind the wall.
It was probably a Hyena. In his perception, the Hyenas were thousand times scarier than the city guards.
And what he sensed might have been that Hyena’s killing intent.
.o0o.
Lian Chuan was crouched on the edge of a rooftop, staring at the suitcase. The transmission of scanned data of the organism inside was complete—Betelgeuse didn’t have the authorization to check it. He also had no interest in knowing it.
Although Betelgeuse and Lian Chuan appeared different, from a biological perspective, they were still the same person. Therefore, even though Betelgeuse was currently the most advanced publicly known weapon in the Main City, he would only have temporary access to classified data on rare occasions. It was no different from having no authorization, as all memories related to the data he obtained through temporary access would be surrendered when Betelgeuse was separated.
Lian Chuan didn’t want his secret to be discovered, and he didn’t want to add another layer to his already confused memories, so he naturally had no curiosity towards this forbidden knowledge.
Boss crouched beside him, both of them peering at the suitcase below. After a long silence, he extended his paw and scratched lightly on the ground.
It had only been a few minutes, but it was already too long for their mission. But despite the extended time, the person he had sensed all along still hadn’t appeared.
“Requesting target confirmation.” Came Secretary Chen’s voice through the communicator. This could be seen as a question, an inquiry into why he hadn’t taken action for so long.
“Confirmed. The target may have an impact on the sensory system.” Lian Chuan replied, leaning slightly forward. Boss jumped from the roof alongside him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He and Boss quickly approached the suitcase from both left and right directions. There was slight movement behind the wall, then it quickly vanished.
He ran.
A Traveller.
With a gun.
An activated city guard gun.
A Traveller he couldn’t locate, with a Main City gun that required its user’s biological data to activate. Now, he was even more sure that it wasn’t the target inside the suitcase that impacted the sensory system, but this fleeing Traveller.
This was a situation Lian Chuan was never met with before. But after he determined that this person was running away, he didn’t react in any way. Boss also cooperated, not even flicking his ear. They acted as usual, taking the suitcase and sending it to the Internal Defense Building, thus completing their mission.
.o0o.
There was more than one Hyena behind the wall! Thank goodness I can run so fast!
Ning Gu sprinted all the way, running much faster than when he was getting here. He didn’t know where to go, but either way, the further away he got from that place the better.
As the Travellers arrived, all the regions of the Main City already enforced the night curfew. The streets were empty, and if there was someone out, it was basically certain that it was either a city guard or a Hyena.
After sprinting through the empty street for a while, Ning Gu made a turn into a smaller one, and then into a small alley.
District D was undeniably run-down, but it still bore a palpable sense of life—the kind of atmosphere where, in absence of immediate danger, one can relax and live a makeshift yet content life. Occasionally, he could spot shuttered shops lining the sides of the road. Their dire condition was very apparent; when he peeked inside, the furnishings and items were not much better than what he could acquire in the Ghost City.
So much for the Main City.
No one pursued him, and he didn’t spot anyone suspicious as far as his eyes could reach. This allowed Ning Gu to relax a bit, though he still didn’t dare to stop. He continued to run, as experience had taught him that running would keep his body warm and his reaction speed swift.
Well, except from looking back.
As he made another turn and saw a person ahead, he didn’t have time to react. That person had also noticed him.
“Ning Gu?” Hammer asked, sounding shocked, in a hushed voice.
Hearing this voice, Ning Gu was momentarily relieved. He sped up and ran towards him, “Ham-…”
“Hyenas?” Hammer’s response startled him. Without waiting for him to finish speaking, Hammer swiftly turned and sprinted forward.
Ning Gu’s hair all stood on its ends—Hyenas? They had caught up with him? And he hadn’t even realised it?!
He immediately accelerated, quickly overtaking Hammer, who in turn sped up to pass him. Both of them ran in silence, taking turns in passing each other. While their friendship remained, Ning Gu now realised that it wasn’t as dependable as the one he had with Nail.
Perhaps due to his shock, Ning Gu surprisingly found his way back to the hole in the tall metal wall with ease.
“We’re getting out!” Hammer shouted.
Ning Gu darted through it after a brief check, and only then did he dare to look back. He could see that shabby building through the hole, as well as the completely empty street below it.
He held Hammer, who staggered and almost tripped up after jumping into it, “Why were you running?”
Hammer was taken aback and also turned his head back, then looked back at Ning Gu, “Why were you running?”
“…Fine,” Ning Gu was a bit speechless. He sat on the ground, “I get it.”
“I thought that you were being chased!” Hammer took a while to understand that it was a mistake, then plopped onto his ass, “What the hell was that, couldn’t you just walk?”
“And why the hell did you get so scared? Aren’t you really good?” Ning Gu retorted, “Nail even said that you can protect me.”
“And did you die?” Hammer snapped back, “You didn’t, right?”
Ning Gu glared at him, then leaned back against the wall and laughed.
“Where did you go?” I thought that you were following me, and then you weren’t there when I looked back,” Hammer frowned, “I was so worried.”
“I’ve possibly just bumped into a Hyena,” Ning Gu said quietly, “He was on the other side of the wall, right beside it.”
Hammer waved his hand, “Impossible. If it really was a Hyena, you would now be a black pile of particles, and if it was in the wind back at the Ghost City, you wouldn’t even leave that behind… There’s actually not that many Hyenas; you won’t bump into them if you stay careful.”
Ning Gu stayed silent.
“We can’t stay here,” Hammer got back on his feet, “The city guards will soon come looking here and seal this passage.”
“Then how will we leave when the train arrives?” Ning Gu asked.
“Through the bridge,” Hammer replied, “They never stop us when we leave.”
“Why?” Ning Gu asked again.
“Don’t know, it’s always been like this,” Hammer looked around and slipped back through the hole. “We weren’t welcome here in the first place, so why would they try to keep us when we’re leaving? They’d rather applaud our departure.”
“Where are we going?” Ning Gu also crawled back through the hole.
“We’ll find a place to hide, “Hammer said, “After the security eases up, we’ll head to the Lost Valley. No one bothers us there, and that’s where most Travellers go.”
.o0o.
The screen displayed the images in a rapid succession. At this speed, no naked eye could discern their content, but the system could identify any suspicious image.
These were Betelgeuse’s memories from the mission.
The images finally stopped on the silver door, and the screen displayed a row of green letters.
– IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE, PASSED
“His memories don’t need to be reset, so shall we activate it?” Liu Dong said, “We’re short on time.”
“Then why even ask me?” Lei Yu frowned.
Synergising with Betelgeuse imposed immense mental stress on Lian Chuan. Under normal circumstances, it was recommended not to exceed two hours, and in theory, he should get separated now. But Liu Dong’s intention was to start testing right away. The people from the Combat Department, led by Liu Dong, didn’t consider Betelgeuse as a person at all—even though they knew that once Lian Chuan broke down, they wouldn’t find another person capable of synergising with Betelgeuse, they were still willing to pay this price.
After all, all of the current tests were aimed at replacing this unique ‘weapon’—their synergiser.
There couldn’t be any uniqueness; it only meant endless dependance on individuals.
“You raised him, he’s like your son,” Liu Dong said, “So, I had to ask.”
“Hm, so considerate,” Lei Yu nodded, “Then initiate the separation now.”
Liu Dong smiled and pressed a key on the keyboard in front of him, “The test starts; deploy the specimen.”
“Specimen 009 deployed,” Came the reply through the communicator.
“Activate.” Liu Dong said.
Lei Yu stared at the screen divided into numerous panels, monitoring Betelgeuse in a large metal cage from all angles, kneeling on one knee.
This cage was very familiar to him, but Lian Chuan was even more familiar with it. An unknown ‘specimen’ would appear from an unspecified direction within the cage, launching an unpredictable attack on the just-activated Betelgeuse. The only aspect of it was the extremely high offensive capabilities of each specimen.
The first tests for various new specimens all took place in this cage.
Betelgeuse… No, it was Lian Chuan. The reason Betelgeuse could exist was Lian Chuan’s irreplaceable and staggering mental strength. Without Lian Chuan, there would be no Betelgeuse.
In this reinforced cage, Lian Chuan kept enduring attacks from all kinds of ‘enhanced’ creatures, kept getting injured, kept suffering this torture, yet he also kept destroying the targets, and disappointing those who hoped for his disappearance time and time again.
“Confirmed.” Betelguese spoke, but made no preparation for defence or attack, and his posture remained unchanged.
009 slowly emerged from a small door in the corner, walking slowly as if it was taking a walk, approaching Betelgeuse from behind.
Lei Yu couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
The moment 009 took its fifth step, Betelgeuse suddenly stood up taking two strides before leaping and making half a flip, catching onto the railing on the top of the cage.
009 came to a halt.
Betelgeuse released the railing and dropped down as a silver spike broke through the skin of his wrist, piercing through 009’s head from above.
Liu Dong slapped the table in front of him, and Lei Yu turned his head to look at him. 009 hadn’t even begun its attack before Betelgeuse found its weakest spot. Regardless how the battle unfolded from here, it no longer had any significance.
“How the hell did he manage to do that?” Liu Dong muttered.
“This part is Betelgeuse’s ability.” Lei Yu said.
“I know,” Liu Dong tapped the tabletop, “But how can he synergise with Betelgeuse? How does he do it?”
This remained an unanswered question since the day Betelgeuse was born.
Lei Yu remained silent.
Because if he failed to synergise, he would disappear—however unconvincing this answer sounded. Still, Lei Yu knew it was the sole reason Lian Chuan could synergise.
He didn’t want to vanish, so he had to synergise.
.o0o.
“Ah!” Ning Gu exclaimed sharply from his position on the ground, jerking as if he had been stabbed by a knife.
Hammer, who had been looking outside of the window, was so startled by his reaction that he nearly fell out of it.
“What are you doing!?” He hissed as he pressed his hand on the ground. Ning Gu got pinned to the floor under his control, unable to move or speak.
“Did you dream of something?” Hammer asked.
Ning Gu blinked his eyes. Hammer’s hand left the ground and sighed with relief, “Why did you react so strongly?”
“I don’t know,” Ning Gu sat up and scratched his head, “I rarely dream, so I don’t know what happened just now.”
“For a Traveller to fall asleep in the Main City, you really are quite daring,” Hammer chuckled, “What did you dream about?”
Ning Gu raised his head to look at him. “Monster killing monsters. There was a black man with metal rods pierced through his body, yet he could still fight. The monsters took turns fighting him, yet he still killed them all.”
Hammered stared at him for a while without saying a word.
“What?” Ning Gu tapped his boot, “Did I scare you? You didn’t seem as easily frightened.”
“Has anyone ever told you about Betelgeuse?” Hammer asked.
“No,” Ning Gu glanced at him, “What’s that?”
“He’s the one who exterminated and chased the Travellers out of the Main City.” Hammer spoke in a hushed voice, as if afraid of being overheard.
“Oh, then I know a little about that… Why are you bringing it up all of a sudden?” Ning Gu asked. This topic was a taboo in the Ghost City, and he only had a vague understanding of it. Captain didn’t allow him to inquire about it, and if they were in the Ghost City, Hammer probably wouldn’t dare to mention it either.
“The one pierced by the metal rods…” Hammer said, “That’s Betelgeuse.”
A/N: Wuzhe: Their actual meeting will be in the next chapter. You’ve gotta meet your other half in dreams first, so you aren’t unfamiliar with the beating in the future.
Thank you! 😚😚😚
Thanks for the translation! ❤❤❤
Ohhh I hope we get more description of how Betelgeuse looks like!
Thank you for posting!❤️❤️❤️