Dominion’s End Volume 3 Chapter 2

Dominion's End Volume 3: Ice-Bound Splendor and Majesty

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 2: The Sudden Attack—translated by Elkin (proofread by Arcedemius & EvlNabiki; C/E edited by lucathia)

After that, Chen Yanqing stopped coming by. But I didn't mind this at all. I had already gotten inside, so I had no further use for that guy. Who cares about him? Hehe, abandoning people after using them, I've finally corrupted my Mother Teresa complex!

While I sat at the entrance of the tent, I gazed up at the guard tower, appearing as lost as the nearby crowds. But in reality, I was scrutinizing the defense around the base of the tower. The guards stationed there seemed a bit like overkill. Although at first glance it looked like they only had one or two squadrons extra compared to other places, I had spotted hidden alcoves in quite a number of places.

I asked with worry, "Dàgē, there's such heavy security around that tower. Are you really sure you'd have been able to leave a clue there?"

Jiang Xiaotian frowned, thought for a little, then replied, "Xiao Sha can. He is very good at subterfuge, so he should be able to avoid notice. But for your safety's sake, he really should have picked somewhere else. Hm, it's hard to say."

"Then that's fine." I said with a nod, "Dàgē knows my capabilities. He'll definitely leave a message there."

Jiang Xiaotian frowned as he nodded and remarked, "But the security here is too strong. Something feels off."

I felt the same way. Luo'an City was a secondary city. In my previous life, Guan Weijun had also been to a refugee camp that had been at a similar scale to this. Back then, things were much worse. Bodies piled up in just a fight for resources, and after many rounds of s.n.a.t.c.hing and stealing, the aberrants would round it off by gathering into a herd and put a final end to the humans' internal ma.s.sacres.

"Maybe there's someone important here," I hypothesized.

Jiang Xiaotian pondered for a while, then suddenly climbed around to my back and pulled something out of my backpack. Then, he stuffed it under my clothes down my chest.

I looked down, to see a little sapling curled up against my chest and s.h.i.+vering almost imperceptibly, its leaves on the verge of being shaken off. It looked pretty pitiful…

"It's not much use at the moment, but it can help take a few bullets." After his cruel declaration, Jiang Xiaotian grabbed onto Jiang Xiaorong's branch and said coldly, "Stay there obediently. If you dare to escape, I'll make you wish you had never lived!"

Jiang Xiaotian keeps giving me the feeling that he likes making life hard for Xiaorong, but why? It's just a tree.

"Dàgē, didn't you say that the plants right now don't understand human speech?"

He nodded as he replied, "They don't, but they have very powerful instincts and can sense threats. If I scare him and you take care of him, he'll grow loyal to you."

Good cop, bad cop? Man, we have to use psychological tactics even on a tree nowadays.

I lightly patted Jiang Xiaorong. He looked pitiful, quivering to that extent. It was great that I was the good cop, so I quickly comforted it to ease the discomfort in my heart from seeing it being so pitiful.

I don't know if it was a result of my comforting or Dàgē's threats, but Jiang Xiaorong sprawled flat against my chest, and his thin branches reached around my chest to the back, almost like he was hugging me and would never let go.

"Is Xiaorong really ok without any soil?" I was a bit worried.

"He doesn't need much soil." Jiang Xiaotian advised, "Create a layer of ice against your chest. Then, you can put some soil there."

"…Isn't that like wearing a bra?"

Although Jiang Shuyu was very good looking, he was obviously a guy. If his chest suddenly stuck out, then the handsome boy would turn into a she-male!

"So what, can't it be chest armor? It has to be a bra?" Jiang Xiaotian rolled his eyes at me and said impatiently, "Even if you've lost your memories, you should still know what armor looks like, right? If someone asks, just say you're wearing a bulletproof vest under your clothes."

Got it! I created a thin layer of ice over my chest. I was originally a bit worried as to whether Jiang Xiaorong would get frozen, but he didn't resist the slightest and in fact stopped shaking… s.h.i.+t, Jiang Xiaorong stopped moving completely!

"Dàgē …?"

"He's hibernating. Relax."

I blinked and went "oh."

Jiang Xiaotian shook his head with a sigh. "Why does it feel like your personality isn't the Shuyu I remember, but rather more like Shujun? Amnesia really has had a big impact on you."

Sigh. That's probably because of Guan Weijun. She's also female, and things like the Mother Teresa complex and the urge to protect small animals are common illnesses for girls.

But Jiang Xiaotian's words made me a bit anxious, and I couldn't help but blurt out, "Really? But Dàgē and the others said I haven't changed much!?"

Jiang Xiaotian pondered for a moment before replying. "It could be a problem with my memories. It's been ten years since I've seen you, and after the coming of the apocalypse, lots of people changed as well. Or maybe they're just rea.s.suring you."

Dàgē, that's not helpful at all! I grew frustrated. Don't tell me I really can't possibly be Jiang Shuyu?

"Don't worry. People's characters change with age, or in response to dramatic events. It's just that your reason for change is a little unique." Jiang Xiaotian patted my shoulder and said lightly, "Like me, I too have changed over those ten years."

I gazed at Jiang Xiaotian, thinking it over. That was true. He did seem a bit different. Dàgē displayed his c.o.c.kiness for all to see, so people would immediately mark him as someone not to be messed with the moment they laid eyes on him. But Jiang Xiaotian's arrogance was hidden, and he would only show it if and when he wanted to. Aside from that, he also seemed much more serious than Dàgē. Even as a three year-old, this gravitas hadn't been reduced in the slightest.

But no matter what, Dàgē would always be Dàgē. Whereas I might not be Jiang Shuyu… Ah! Nope, I'm thinking random things again. I've already said that I'll be Jiang Shuyu no matter what, so that's that!

"Shuyu." Jiang Xiaotian tapped me.

I lifted my head and saw him staring at the gates, so I naturally followed his gaze. The gates to the military zone were opening, and a few vehicles were entering. On either side of the gates were soldiers with guns at the ready, to stop people from forcing their way in.

"Those cars look really odd." I was a bit suspicious. Aside from the two Humvees that were respectively guarding the front and back of the line, the vehicles in the middle were all boxy-looking vehicles that were mostly white. It looked like a bunch of ambulances. Don't tell me they're using these to transport resources? Why not just drive a truck instead?!

"It's them?" The three year-old child scowled, and said doubtfully, "The MORC already controlled the military this early on?"

I blinked. The MORC was something I'd heard of, but they were just like the Twelve Elites. Things that you'd pick up here and there, stories and stuff of legends that were pa.s.sed around.

The MORC was an organization that suddenly sprung up in the middle stages of the apocalypse, and just like their name suggested, it was a research-orientated organization. Its full name was the "Molecular Organic Research Center," but it shouldn't be underestimated just because it was a research center. I'd heard that that organization's firepower was truly astonis.h.i.+ng, and what distinguished them from the rest was that they had invented all kinds of powerful and strange items. While the majority of them were weapons, some were also everyday items that were invented to cope with the apocalypse.

A lot of the things they'd invented were extremely handy, and everyone had to buy these from them. If this kind of organization didn't have enough fighting power, it'd have been taken over by others long ago, but this research organization not only avoided the fate of being taken over, they had become one of the few large-scale organizations out there.

But that was the extent of my knowledge. In those times, it wasn't strange for there to be all kinds of organizations, and you could say that the world was made up of organizations, both large and small, and the MORC was only one of them.

"Shuyu, remember that logo." Jiang Xiaotian pointed at the logo on the white vehicle—it was made up of three red trapezoids surrounding a yellow triangle, a simple but eye-catching logo. In the middle stages of the apocalypse, one needed to exchange a lot of crystals for an item with this logo on it.

"If you get the chance, shut down the MORC."

I gaped at Jiang Xiaotian. Why did he suddenly instruct his dìdi to destroy an organization? And an organization with quite a good reputation to boot. They never proactively picked fights, and as long as you left them alone, then the MORC wouldn't pose a threat to you. They also invented a lot of powerful weapons and useful tools, and these were vital to humanity's survival!

"If they're not as spotless as they seem, do you want me to try to sneak into the Guard Tower for a look?"

Jiang Xiaotian held his silence for a long while before replying, "No, get the clue from the tower, then go."

I stared at Jiang Xiaotian. It was clear that he actually very much wanted to go in to check things out, but he didn't want his dìdi to get into danger. But I couldn't bring myself to say that we should take a look after all—the only thing on my mind was to get the clue ASAP and go back to my family.

Best to leave stuff like saving the world to others. I'm better off curing my Mother Teresa complex.

As we continued waiting for the early hours of morning, Chen Yanqing ran over hurriedly, stuffed two cans into my hands and said simply, "Sorry, I've got an urgent mission, so I don't have time to watch over you. Take care." With that, he turned and left.

"Wait!" I shouted at him.

Chen Yanqing stopped haltingly, and said, "Xiao Yu, I really gotta go."

I walked up to him, grabbed his lower jaw, and tossed in two crystals that I had palmed into my hands earlier, shoved his mouth shut, then threw a quick jab at his abdomen, making him swallow reflexively.

Chen Yanqing gaped at me, coughing hard a few times, but nothing came out. Hysterically, he shrilled, "W-what the h.e.l.l did you make me eat?"

"Candy," I lied without batting an eye.

Chen Yanqing shot me a hard look that clearly said, "Who do you think you're fooling?"

I'd originally wanted to tell him about the crystals to return the many favors he had done for me, but I now had concerns about the MORC involvement, so it was safer to keep mum after all. Besides, Jiang Xiaotian wanted to overturn the MORC, and I really didn't wanted to risk strengthening the enemy force when repaying my debts, so I could only give him a few crystals to give his body a little boost. As for the rest, I'll leave it to you, owner of the body.

Chen Yanqing stammered in shock, "Xiao Yu, these moves of yours, what…"

I pointed behind him and reminded him, "I think your mates are calling you over."

He looked over his shoulder to see a few soldiers glaring at him, forcing him to go. But before he left, he added, "Don't go anywhere. I'll come find you when I get the chance."

Jiang Xiaotian gazed at Chen Yanqing's back, his eyes screaming b.l.o.o.d.y murder, and warned me, "No puppy love."

"Dàgē, why don't you try something else? I'm bored of hearing that line."

He pondered, then said, "Have a kid ASAP."

…Dàgē, don't you find those two sentences just a little bit contradictory? I stared at Jiang Xiaotian helplessly. This Dàgē from ten years later really is a handful. I miss this world's Dàgē so much!

Jiang Xiaotian seemed to have noticed the contradiction too, and he added with a stony expression, "For the next two years, you're not allowed puppy love and you should focus on becoming stronger. Once you've reached a certain level, only then can you start having kids."

I face palmed. "Sure, sure, sure, train, find a wife, and have a kid. I have to hit all the milestones in life in two years. Sure thing!"

"Good." Jiang Xiaotian even had the audacity to nod.

I rolled my eyes at him, and decided that once I was home, I'd throw Jiang Xiaotian to Junjun. No way Dàgē will ask his mèimei to have children ASAP!

I looked up at the sky. The moon was hanging high in the sky, and even though it wasn't quite a full moon yet, it was almost there, filling the night with its radiance and making it completely unsuitable for a stealth mission to scale the tower. This was a bit frustrating.

I pa.s.sed the flatbread on me to Jiang Xiaotian. Although it was past its expiration date, it didn't smell spoilt. The box said "No preservatives added," but that had to be for show only. We couldn't go wrong with eating it anyway. And besides, among all the ways of dying, it was extremely unlikely that you would die of an illness in this apocalyptic world.

Jiang Xiaotian munched on the flatbread and remarked, "Today's not a good day for climbing."

I know that already. Don't say the cruel truth out loud. Even Ms. Moon is happily s.h.i.+ning brightly in the sky, a mockery of the Jiang family's bad luck.

"I can create a commotion for you…"

I interrupted him, growling, "Finish your flatbread. You're not creating anything!"

Jiang Xiaotian turned to look at me, and went "Mm." I relaxed. Thankfully, he seemed willing to listen to what I had said.

We still had some time after finis.h.i.+ng the flatbread, so I decided to lie down and rest for a bit, to make sure I would be sharp and alert for the tower climb late at night. "Dàgē, I'm going to bed. Come join me?"

"No, I slept too long, so I'm not sleepy."

Just as I was about to reply, "oh, then wake me up later," I suddenly felt something off. There was no guessing if this Dàgē would secretly run off and get up to no good, like sneaking into the Guard Tower to check out what the MORC was up to, or other dangerous acts like that!

I grabbed the child, entered the tent, and lay on the floor. "If you don't want to sleep, then be my pillow."

"…I want to study the map."

"You'll have plenty of time once we set off tomorrow morning. Right, I'm sleeping now. Good night."

Not giving Jiang Xiaotian any chance to dissent, I hugged the child and drifted off to sleep. Fortunately, he didn't put up a fight and just quietly let me use him as a hugging pillow.

But really, it felt quite comfy to be hugging a kid. So maybe Jiang Xiaotian really was onto something when he said to have kids earlier. And in my previous life, I would have had to give birth to one, whereas in this life, I would just have to put in the seed and then I'd have a kid to hug. It was such an easy peasy way to happiness that I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't have a kid…

"Èrgē, Èrgē!"

I rubbed my eyes and looked down to see Junjun's expression of terror. Startled out of my drowsiness, I quickly got up and asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare again?"

A few days ago, Junjun had had a nightmare which scared her so badly that she refused to sleep by herself, and every night she would stand by my bed, hugging her pillow and looking so pitiful that there was no way I could turn her away.

Junjun stammered, "Èrgē, t-there's a sound. Some footsteps from downstairs!"

I perked up my ears and listened for a moment. There were indeed footsteps, but there was no one else in the house. Even Lin-bó had gone back to his son's place for a few days.

I made a shus.h.i.+ng gesture at Junjun, and the little girl immediately covered her mouth.

I got off the bed, pulled out a baseball bat from under my bed, and said softly, "Junjun, hide in the wardrobe and don't come out."

With that, I quietly opened the door and scanned my surroundings as I walked down the stairs.

There was a silhouette moving around in the kitchen. It looked quite tall and bulky, which was bad news for me. If I couldn't knock down my opponent with the first blow, then I'd probably end up being the person on the floor.

Suddenly, I heard a small sound from behind me. I immediately spun around, baseball bat held at the ready. Shujun was standing behind me, her little face as white as a sheet in the dark, and she was gripping a letter opener that Dàgē had given to me as a birthday present—a b.u.t.terfly "knife" that was being used to open "letters."

Okay, fine, I admit that this is the right time to use the knife. I plucked it from Junjun's hand and slipped it into my pocket, glancing meaningfully toward her room to get her to go back there. But the pale-faced girl stubbornly refused to leave.

I frowned. If we continued our disagreement, it would only alert the intruder, so I had no choice but to push back my mèimei's punishment until later.

Holding up the baseball bat, I walked to the kitchen door, pressed myself against the wall, and waited. I'm going to break his leg with the first strike. There's no way I can possibly let Shujun get hurt!

The silhouette walked out, and I swung the bat with all my might. To my surprise, my opponent's reflexes were extremely fast, and he managed to dodge the swing. I immediately dashed forward and brought the bat down…

"Stop, stop! It's me, Shuyu, don't hit me!"

I froze, and in that moment, he dashed over to the light switch. The lights turned on, revealing none other than Dàgē.

The three siblings stared at each other. Dàgē chuckled drily. "Shuyu, you really put a lot of power behind that swing. Dàgē will teach you a few moves some other day. With you at home, I'll feel even more at ease."

So you'll have less of a reason to come back, is that right? I arched my eyebrows, and was about to start scolding him, when Junjun unexpectedly went "waaaaa" and started crying. Dàgē and I immediately put everything to one side and focused on comforting our mèimei.

Finally, Junjun cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep on my lap, so I had no choice but to sit on the sofa, acting as my mèimei's pillow.

"Dàgē, why'd you come back all of a sudden?" I asked softly, terrified of waking up my mèimei.

Dàgē gently patted Junjun's back as he responded, "I got Lin-bó's call. He said his son is getting married, and he needs to take a few days off. I was worried about having just the two of you in the house, so I came back to check things out."

I rolled my eyes at him, saying, "I'm in middle school already, so what's there to worry about me staying at home? And I spend most of my time at school anyway, and because Junjun has been going to art cla.s.ses after school, I wait nearby to pick her up to go to dinner. It's usually almost eight by the time we get home, and then it's homework, shower, and bed. There's not much difference whether or not Lin-bó is around."

On hearing that, Dàgē frowned and said, "Eight? So late? How do you two get home without Lin-bó driving you home?"

"We've got a regular taxi guy to do that. In the past, when we got out of cla.s.ses earlier, Lin-bó would be busy cooking dinner, so he couldn't come pick us up, and he'd always get that taxi guy to take us home."

Dàgē's frown deepened, and he said unhappily, "I'll hire a driver for you guys as well. Lin-bó is getting old, and he won't be of much help if anything happens."

I pondered for a moment, then said, "Nah, there's no way of knowing how reliable someone is if we find them at short notice. They might even pose a greater danger to us. And anyway, you know me, Dàgē. I don't like having outsiders at home."

Even having Lin-bó is too much. I frowned. When I'm eighteen, I'll let Lin-bó retire. In any case, household duties like cooking and cleaning can be handled between Shujun and myself.

Dàgē gazed at me, clearly hesitating about something, but ended up asking anyway, "Shuyu, do you blame me? For running around all the time, leaving you two at home, or, or even the fact that I'm so focused on being a mercenary…"

I looked back at Dàgē, puzzled, and asked, "Blame you for what? It's good that you're a mercenary. Just don't line up too many missions that you can't come back home at all. A few days ago, when Junjun saw the news talking about a worker at a technology plant worked to literal death, she asked me worriedly, ‘Will Dàgē work himself to death too?’, and even started having nightmares."

Dàgē looked me over very carefully, and I let him, even though I hadn't a clue what he was thinking.

He exhaled a long breath and said, "Shuyu, you put me at ease to a point where it's a little worrying."

I replied with absolute seriousness, "Dàgē, even though you aren't great at academics, you should at least learn your Chinese properly. I don't even know what language you're speaking right now."

Dàgē burst into laughter and ruffled my hair roughly.

My expression darkened as I said, "Well, since you'll be here for the next few days, you should take Junjun to the kids' amus.e.m.e.nt park, buy some clothes and shoes at the kids' section of department stores—oh! Yeah, she told me last time that her friend went to a Snow White themed restaurant, which sounds pretty nice, so we should go as well."

"…Doesn't Junjun have school?"

"We can take a few days off."

Dàgē said painfully, "Do you think someone like me can even fit in at a Snow White themed restaurant without looking like an idiot?"

"That's the point, to make you look like an idiot," I said serenely as I smoothed down my puffed up hair.

"…Shuyu, who'd you learn to be so vengeful from?"

"Learned it by myself."

Seeing Dàgē grimacing like he had a bad tooth, I suddenly remembered something important and said, "That's right, Dàgē, since you're here, remember to do your annual dental check."

His grimace of pain worsened.

Feels awesome to see your look of pain, hehehe. Who asked you to ruffle my hair!

"Shuyu! Shuyu!"

I chuckled as I replied, "There's no use crying to me. You have to get your teeth checked—"

A sudden bang rang out. My heart skipped a beat, and my eyes flew open, and I saw in front of me a child, although it was not Junjun.

Jiang Xiaotian raged, "How can you sleep so well? I kept calling you, but you refused to wake up. Don't tell me all that training's gone to waste?!"

I blinked, confused about the situation. This child looks really familiar…

Bang!

A heavy blow landed on my forehead, knocking me so hard that tears almost spurted out of my eyes. This child's quite strong, as expected of the Ice Emperor… Ice Emperor!

I sprang up, snapping out of my stupor. The surrounding sounds rushed in like a wave—screams and the sounds of stampeding feet. The canvas of the tent flickered with a mult.i.tude of shadows of fleeing people. How could I have been sound asleep?!

I looked at Jiang Xiaotian in shock.

He nodded as he said, "Something's happened. Go climb the tower now for the clue."

He was right—that was the most critical thing right now. I s.n.a.t.c.hed up the backpack, while Jiang Xiaotian climbed onto my back without me saying anything. Then, I touched my chest. Good, Xiaorong is here as well. Time to go!

Yanking aside the tent flap, I could see that the previous calmness outside had dissolved into gunshots, blazing fires, screams, civilians fleeing everywhere, and soldiers firing shots in all directions. The military zone had turned into a war zone.

I asked in disbelief, "Dàgē, how long have I been sleeping?"

"Three hours."

Only three hours for this place to fall from heaven to h.e.l.l. That's faster than an express train. What on earth happened?

Jiang Xiaotian poked out his head next to my neck and asked with concern, "But it's only been ten-odd minutes since this happened. I couldn't wake you up. Shuyu, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I was just dreaming about my old memories." I narrowed my eyes. Some of the running and leaping figures didn't look right. They were faster than normal, and some parts of their bodies also looked off. It just simply wasn't very noticeable among the crowds at the moment, due to the chaos and the darkness.

Jiang Xiaotian asked quickly, "So you remember everything now, Shuyu?"

"No, I only dreamed of some small things. It's not the first time it's happened, and every time it does, I've always been in deep sleep."

This was actually very dangerous for me, so I was torn between wanting and hating for this to happen. I wanted to remember my memories through my dreams, but at the same time, if I slept too soundly and something happened, I'd never wake up again.

"Hm, well, it doesn't matter. You can dream whatever you want, however you want, once you find the other me."

That's right, finding Dàgē and the others is the key! I spoke to Dàgē while surveying the different routes. The Guard Tower didn't look approachable. All the soldiers were cl.u.s.tered there, but what was strange was that they were not protecting the Guard Tower. Their gun muzzles were pointed toward the tower, and they were firing like crazy, as if they were trying to stop things inside from getting out.

I was starting to get suspicious. I'd originally thought that this was an aberrant invasion, but it didn't seem right. This didn't look like something invading from the outside, but like things from the inside wanting to escape.

"What did you dream of?" Jiang Xiaotian tapped my shoulder and pointed into the distance.

There were four sides to the Guard Tower. Currently, the soldiers were cl.u.s.tered around the main side, but Jiang Xiaotian was pointing to its back. There weren't many people there, and although I might be spotted by people on the ground as I was climbing, who would give a d.a.m.n at a time like this?

I crafted ice blades below my feet and silently glided toward the side that had relatively less light.

"Once, Lin-bó's son got married and he went home, leaving just Junjun and me behind. You were so worried that you came back to check on us and got back home in the middle of the night. Junjun and I thought you were a thief, and I almost got you with a baseball bat."

Jiang Xiaotian asked in confusion, "I don't remember this. And even if Lin-bó isn't home, don't we have a maid as well?"

What maid? I zipped past a few fleeing soldiers. They looked terrified and couldn't even hold their guns steady. The moment they saw me, they looked shocked but ignored me, scrambling and stumbling to get away.

Hmph! This lot doesn't have the b.a.l.l.s to be soldiers. They don't hold a candle to the bunch at the entrance to the tower.

I quietly circled to the back of the tower and flattened the ice blades below my feet, keeping them in a half melted state. The ice's stickiness was of great help when doing things like scaling a wall or climbing towers.

Halfway up, there was a sudden explosion. The tower's violent shuddering forced me to a halt, and I glued myself to the face of the tower. Once the tremors died down, I looked down.

The soldiers were firing like mad, and with the gates to the tower blasted open, many people were now pouring out, only to be mowed down by the bullets… Wait, those aren't people!

They didn't immediately collapse after getting shot, and only collapsed to the ground after being aerated into a beehive. Humans haven't evolved to this stage yet. Are those aberrants?

"They're experiments," Jiang Xiaotian said in an icy tone. "Look, most of them look human, and a lot of their transformations make no sense. Some of them even have rotting parts. They're not aberrants."

That's right. Aberrants were still living organisms, and while they might die if they grew and evolved in the wrong direction, they wouldn't rot as long as they were alive. They weren't the living dead from zombie movies.

Judging from the situation, the soldiers with their strong firepower still had the upper hand. Although some slipped through the cracks, most of them were injured and just wanted to escape and were unlikely to stay behind for ma.s.s scale slaughter. So they didn't pose much of a threat to the refugee camp.

With that worry out of the way, I resumed climbing the tower, when from behind came hesitant words from Jiang Xiaotian, "Shuyu, after the battle below settles down a little, see if you can sneak into the laboratory."

I blinked, resisting the urge to look back and roll my eyes at Jiang Xiaotian, and asked as I continued upwards, "Why? What's there to see?"

"It's just been four months into the apocalypse. No matter how powerful the MORC is, there's no way they can create so many specimens that are powerful enough to escape their control within such a short period of time. In order to pull off something like this, you'd need to already have had some basic research done…"

I jolted and said, "So they might be related to the apocalypse?"

Jiang Xiaotian frowned, hypothesizing, "They're probably not involved in creating the apocalypse. The black fog engulfs the whole world once a year, and this kind of power is too strong for it to be from the hands of a human. But I think they probably knew something before the apocalypse."

So that's why he wants me to check it out. The MORC didn't look like an easy opponent, judging from the way they were able to control the military zone. If we didn't take the chance to investigate during this one rare slip up of theirs, we probably wouldn't be so lucky again in the future.

Why are all these unraveling of mysteries and saving of the world things happening to a teen like me, who only just wants to go home?!

Jiang Xiaotian said hesitantly, "If you really don't want to…"

I cut in, "I'll get hold of the clue to home first, then we'll see if there's a chance of infiltrating the place."

In my previous life, Dàgē was able to become the Ice Emperor. In this life, even if he had changed occupations to be a healer, he couldn't be underestimated. It was only a matter of time before the JDT would step onto the world stage. Which meant that I really did need to scout out the MORC beforehand.

So there's no choice but to fight in the present for the sake of the future. Suddenly, I had a weird feeling, like I was working hard to save up to buy a house.

I finally made it to the top of the tower. A quick scan of the surroundings was enough for me to spot words carved into a globe at the base of the top of the tower. The globe, which was as tall as a person, was completely covered in words that were laid out like a letter. And the first word was enough to let me know that I had found the right spot.

Shuyu…