Ning Li tugged at the crown of the Queen’s Wreath, making Xiao Hei yowl miserably.
【I was wrong. I was wrong.】
Ning Li let out a cold laugh, “And you’ll still dare next time, right?”
Xiao Hei mumbled and fell silent.
There’s no way it wouldn’t go to the Frontline—even in its next life.
The Frontline was so lively, with all sorts of ugly things, little trinkets to pick up, and even more interesting sights.
Everything there held a fatal attraction for Xiao Hei, drawing it back again and again to explore.
Ning Li wasn’t too bothered by Xiao Hei’s trips to the Frontline.
In fact, she herself was very concerned about the situation there.
After all, it determined whether she could continue staying here.
She’d finally adapted to the rhythm of the Border Guide Academy and didn’t want to leave just because of Abnormal Species.
“If you get caught, don’t say you’re my Spirit Entity.”
This line was reminiscent of when the Bodhi Patriarch drove Sun Wukong away and said, “Don’t call me Master.”
The Frontline could be visited, but if trouble arose, Ning Li didn’t want her name dragged into it.
Xiao Hei chuckled, 【I won’t get caught.】
【I’m very careful.】
Perhaps necromancer types were naturally sensitive to danger and better at avoiding crises.
According to Xiao Hei, it could come and go at the Frontline with ease, in and out seven times as if it were its own home.
Ning Li released the flower crown and turned to examine the little puppy Xiao Hei had picked up.
The puppy was all skin and bones, with wet, pitiful eyes.
Ning Li scratched its chin, and the puppy purred contentedly.
Thanks to Xiao Hei’s “help,” she now had both a cat and a dog.
Ning Li took the puppy to the School Clinic for a checkup.
The school had given the Guides three days off, and at this hour, quite a few Guides were there getting treated for injuries.
The doctor at the School Clinic still remembered her.
Seeing her carrying a puppy, he teased, “Picked up another little animal, huh?”
With that, he took the puppy from her arms, patted its head, and checked it for distemper and parvovirus.
After the checkup, the doctor smiled and said, “Just like the kitten last time, this one’s a healthy little fellow too.”
Ning Li took the puppy back, relieved.
“Thank you.”
A poor family couldn’t afford to keep a sick puppy, but fortunately, this one was strong.
Every year, the government gave subsidies to impoverished Guides, but the amount was limited—barely enough for daily needs, certainly not enough to raise cats and dogs.
Ning Li now faced a very real problem—she was broke.
Even a penny can trip a hero.
She wasn’t exactly a hero, but she was definitely tripped up by a penny now.
【There are lots of Beads at the Frontline.】
“Are they as good as the first Bead you found?”
【Not quite…】
If not for the circumstances, Ning Li would have sold the Amber Eye by now.
Such a flawless, clear Bead would surely fetch a good price, right?
Unfortunately, this Bead was deadly.
Even if Ning Li was willing to part with it, she couldn’t—she was stuck with it.
Yet she couldn’t bear to throw it away either.
Carrying the puppy and accompanied by Xiao Hei, Ning Li was heading from the School Clinic to the Dormitory when Yuan Zi, who’d been wandering around like a headless fly, finally found her.
Yuan Zi hurried over, voice lowered and quick, “Deal with the Bead. I just saw those two heading toward the girls’ dorm again. Scarface is dead, but now there’s a new leader.”
“That person’s from the Imperial Guard. I’m not sure what their Spirit Entity’s abilities are, but they’re definitely after you.”
Ning Li quickly made up her mind.
“The school’s on break for three days, so I won’t be coming back. You stay with Lu Shuangshuang for now. Even though they’re making a big show of looking for the Bead, they’re still Sentinels—their job is to protect Guides and civilians. In front of others, they won’t go too far.”
Even Scarface only dared to try to kill her inside a Domain.
In the Academy, no matter what, they couldn’t act too extreme—unless they wanted to ruin their reputation.
If Sentinels attacked Guide Academy students, it would be a huge scandal.
The leader looking for the Bead wouldn’t let that happen.
Yuan Zi nodded.
After the Domain incident, she’d matured a lot. In the past, she would’ve panicked, but now she just wanted to get through this as smoothly as possible.
Ning Li handed the puppy over to Yuan Zi.
“Take care of my cat and dog for now. Once this is over, I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
Yuan Zi’s serious expression relaxed, and she managed a small smile.
“Alright.”
Ning Li, with Xiao Hei, left the Guide Academy as fast as she could.
The world was vast, but as an outsider, she had nowhere to go except the Guide Academy.
【Let’s go to the Frontline! The Frontline!】
【It’s lively there.】
Ning Li had already planned to go to the Frontline.
There were plenty of Beads there, and lots of Sentinels fighting.
Maybe she could find out more about the Bead.
This Bead business needed to end—either get rid of it or use it.
There was no third option.
She had to solve this problem as soon as possible.
After several transfers, Ning Li took the bus, then a motorcycle taxi, and finally had to walk the last stretch since no one was willing to go further.
After walking 5 kilometers, she finally arrived at the Frontline just before dawn.
The moment she saw the Frontline, Ning Li was left speechless.
If life at the Guide Academy was peaceful, and Border District 191, though poor and backward, was at least stable, then the Frontline was already riddled with wounds.
Everywhere, black stains from dried blood; now and then, severed limbs; not a hint of green, only withered yellow, symbolizing decay and death.
It was still the height of summer, when plants should be thriving, but there was no sign of life at the Frontline.
This place was already a dead land.
Thick, oppressive Resentment filled the air—these formed from people dying, probably with regret and longing in their hearts.
The overwhelming Resentment made Ning Li feel like she couldn’t breathe.
Makeshift tents were everywhere, with wounded being carried in and out.
Severed limbs littered the ground, but no one had time to clean up—there were too many wounded needing care.
The air reeked of blood.
This world was showing Ning Li its cruelest side.
Ning Li hid behind the trunk of a long-dead tree.
Many such trees, withered by war, dotted the Frontline, and the deep night made it easier for her to hide.
Xiao Hei had already run off somewhere.
“Where did you go?”
【I’m picking up Beads.】
Xiao Hei sounded busy, scrounging around.
“No more picking up living things!”
【Got it, got it.】
Ning Li thought for a moment and decided not to act rashly.
She planned to wait until deep into the night, when most of the wounded were asleep, to make her move.
For now, it seemed, the Frontline was as stable as Qi Si Gui had said.
She waited patiently as time passed.
At this moment, aside from Guides busy tending to the wounded and sorting out their Spirit Seas, there wasn’t a single sound.
No insects, no frogs—besides Guides and Sentinels, it was as if nothing else alive remained.
This was the Frontline, but not the true Frontline.
The real Frontline must be even farther ahead, where humanity truly clashed with Abnormal Species.
If things were already this bad here, what would the real Frontline look like?
Ning Li thought she could wait peacefully until late at night, but trouble came sooner than 3 a.m.
Suddenly, the quiet tents erupted in commotion.
The lightly wounded scrambled out, instruments in hand, searching everywhere.
For a moment, the area was filled with the beeping of devices.
That sound was all too familiar, bringing back some unpleasant memories for Ning Li.
Crap!
Time to go.
She immediately realized what they were doing.
They’d found the Bead!
The detection range of these devices was enormous—she was nearly a hundred meters from the tents and still got picked up!
Realizing this, Ning Li slowed her breathing, pressed herself against the tree, and called for Xiao Hei in her mind, preparing to have Xiao Hei take the Bead and—
But it was too late.
More and more people poured out of the tents.
“The device is reacting.”
“The Bead is nearby?”
“We’ve got something, brothers! Get up, quick!”
“Search! Everyone, search! There’s a big reward for whoever finds the Bead!”
The quiet camp snapped awake, the darkness pierced by flashlights.
The Sentinels’ voices, footsteps, and the beeping of devices all mixed together, forming an invisible net that trapped Ning Li.
A surge of intense anger and helplessness rose in her heart.
Ever since Xiao Hei picked up the Bead, things had been out of her control.
She was walking a tightrope, and one misstep could send her plummeting into the abyss.
She hated being powerless.
She hoped this would be the first and last time.
She didn’t know if coming to the Frontline had been a mistake.
But—
With wolves ahead and tigers behind, there was almost no path left for her.
She couldn’t return to the girls’ dorm, nor stay at the Guide Academy—sooner or later, the three Sentinels would find her there.
After leaving the Guide Academy, she had nowhere to go but the Frontline.
She’d hoped to find a clue here, but these people were so sharp.
It seemed the Bead was truly important—otherwise, they wouldn’t keep their devices on at all times.
But—
Want to find the Bead?
Maybe in your next life!
Images of Scarface’s ferocious face flashed through her mind, then Yuan Zi’s panicked eyes when she came to warn her, and finally a steely resolve surfaced within Ning Li.
She didn’t have many choices, but at least she could decide the fate of the Bead.
She opened her mouth and, staking everything, swallowed the Bead!
The moment she did, all the beeping sounds vanished without a trace!
I thought about doing that too.