As soon as this answer was given, all doubts were dispelled.
Why was it that just by running into Qi Sigui near the abandoned building, Ting Rui and Pei Yujiao ended up being hunted?
Why, after five years had passed, did Qi Sigui still refuse to let Ting Rui go?
Even though they knew nothing at all.
But as long as they had encountered Qi Sigui here, that alone was already the gravest original sin.
Qi Sigui would never allow even the tiniest oversight.
He was already careful enough, and in every aspect, he had done his utmost.
If not for Ning Li’s unique spirit body, perhaps this secret would have never been exposed.
The silhouette of that sentinel had already completely faded from the room.
Seven minutes were up.
It was always a limited appearance—eventually, there comes a time to exit.
Before leaving, Ning Li had specifically asked for his name.
As thanks, maybe she would pay her respects at his grave when she had the time.
There was so much this news could reveal.
In the dim and empty space, only faint light seeped in.
Yin Que remained silent the entire time, the soft glow casting a misty halo over his porcelain-white face.
He had always been a man of few words, but it seemed different when facing Ning Li.
He said softly, “After my resurrection, I often feel lucky.”
It wasn’t gratitude for being favored by fate, but rather, for being chosen by Ning Li.
Qi Sigui hid even deeper than he’d imagined.
What else did he do to complete the Ancient Behemoth spirit body?
Was it just using Liu Guang for human experimentation?
Perhaps far more than that.
Now, they’d only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.
Maybe, this secret would drag forth even deeper mysteries.
“You’ll only get luckier,” Ning Li replied offhandedly.
Yin Que let out a quiet laugh.
The two left the room and joined the others.
The moment they learned the secret, Ting Rui cursed under his breath, “So the Ancient Behemoth is defective, and he managed to hide it for so long.”
Compared to losing the Reincarnation Orb, perhaps this secret was what truly kept Qi Sigui up at night.
That’s why the defenses at District 191 kept falling back.
Because the Ancient Behemoth’s abilities weren’t enough.
Not nearly enough.
As the four talked, the whole building suddenly began to shake violently.
“Yes!”
Ting Rui shouted.
If anyone stayed in the building for an hour, the powerful explosive devices hidden below would detonate, turning the entire tower to ash within ten seconds.
This was Qi Sigui’s backup plan.
Anyone who tried to uncover his secrets had to be prepared to stay here forever.
The abandoned building had thirty floors in total.
It used to be an office tower; each floor was spacious.
Earlier, they’d split up and checked each floor from bottom to top, finally resting on the thirtieth.
“Commander, seven seconds left!”
Reaching the first floor in so little time was pure fantasy.
Pei Yujiao’s face was grim.
“We can’t use our spirit bodies.”
Just how many experiments had Qi Sigui done over the years?
There was even a device capable of briefly severing the connection between sentinels and their spirit bodies?
That meant they couldn’t use their abilities—only death awaited.
Yin Que scooped Ning Li up, calling to Ting Rui and Pei Yujiao, “Jump with me!”
With that, he dashed toward the wide floor-to-ceiling windows.
From the thirtieth floor, you could see the landscapes of District 192.
Lift your head slightly, and you could spot floating, cotton-like clouds.
Unfortunately, no one was in the mood to enjoy the view now.
The next second, the glass shattered.
Yin Que leapt out, plunging from the thirtieth floor in one bound.
Ting Rui and Pei Yujiao followed close behind, entrusting their lives to fate.
Ning Li experienced a free fall.
She wrapped her arms around Yin Que’s neck, legs gripping his waist, her eyes reflecting the sky above.
Her heart was beating faster, but not from fear.
In that moment, on the brink of crisis, in the second before the abandoned building collapsed for good, what she felt was not the discomfort of mortal danger—but freedom.
The wind roared.
Maybe, considering Ting Rui and Pei Yujiao, Yin Que didn’t block the wind entirely from her this time.
Just right.
She wanted to feel the wind.
Ning Li’s long hair danced wildly.
The sky rushed past in her eyes.
The scenery shifted with blinding speed.
She was happy.
The rapid descent, and the strange beauty of the view, filled Ning Li with joy—this was an unprecedented freedom.
Sadly, the rapid fall was over too soon—so brief she barely had time to savor it.
Carried by the wind, their fall slowed bit by bit until they landed gently and safely.
Everyone was unscathed.
Ning Li let go of Yin Que.
At the moment she touched the ground, her connection with Little Black resumed.
[So fun!]
[That was amazing!]
If she hadn’t been disconnected just now, Ning Li would’ve heard Little Black shouting excitedly in her spiritual sea.
They both loved the feeling of free-falling.
Neither the person nor the spirit body gave a second thought to the short disconnection, since Ning Li already had a way to fix it.
Ting Rui and Pei Yujiao looked on in awe.
“Commander, you actually…”
When no one else could use their abilities, Yin Que hadn’t been affected at all.
Yin Que didn’t possess the Lord of Storms.
The Lord of Storms wasn’t his spirit body.
He could only use part of the Lord of Storms’ abilities, so the device was completely ineffective on him.
“Boom!”
The thirty-story abandoned building collapsed into rubble, steel and earth sending dust dozens of meters high.
Yin Que glanced back only once.
“Let’s go.”
Pei Yujiao stretched out his limbs.
“Commander, where to next?”
Should they look for evidence of Qi Sigui’s spirit body defect, or blow up the Abnormal Specimen Research Institute doing human experiments?
Either way, they’d follow him.
But Yin Que didn’t answer right away.
Ning Li spoke up, “Let’s go to the Frontline.”
District 192 was suffering in the flames of war.
Yin Que had only been resurrected, not changed into another person.
While in District 192, how could he remain unmoved by the flames of the Frontline?
He couldn’t ignore the suffering of others—he always carried compassion for people.
Ning Li could never possess such compassion, but she wouldn’t rob Yin Que of his.
Because that was who Yin Que was.
“Ning Li.”
Yin Que lowered his eyes, hiding the emotion there.
She understood him better than anyone.
Pei Yujiao and Ting Rui both assumed he’d put Qi Sigui first.
The enmity between them and Qi Sigui was already irreconcilable.
Let alone now, after learning Qi Sigui’s biggest secret.
There was no going back now.
But to Yin Que, Qi Sigui just wasn’t that important.
At least, not in the face of war, not in the face of innocent lives, not when countless people were in peril.
There was a sparkle in his eyes, brighter than daylight.
Saying thank you would have felt too distant, so instead, he just brushed the back of his hand gently across her cheek.
Ting Rui, like Pei Yujiao, stretched out his limbs.
“The Frontline? Great! I haven’t been on the Frontline in ages. Let’s go on a killing spree!”
Yin Que smiled.
“Let’s go.”
To avoid drawing too much attention to Yin Que and Pei Yujiao, the four of them fully armed themselves.
They appeared on the Frontline of District 192 like a group of wandering heroes descending from the heavens.
Pei Yujiao and Ting Rui’s abilities weren’t anything special—Yin Que relied solely on the Lord of Storms’ power throughout.
But it was more than enough.
The merciless storm swept through, bringing an unprecedented baptism of violence to the Frontline of District 192.
Wherever the tornado raged and swept past the Abnormal Specimens, another fell with a thunderous crash.
This was a feast of slaughter.
Elegant, perfect, clean and swift—turning killing into an art.
Who said slaughter must always be bloody?
Who said the scene of killing Abnormal Specimens had to be terrifying?
Clearly, it could also be beautiful.
Each time an Abnormal Specimen fell to the raging winds, cheers erupted on the battlefield.
This was recognition and admiration for Yin Que.
The flagging morale soared before their very eyes.
“Bro, you’re amazing!”
“Hey man, is your spirit body the Lord of Storms?”
“The last Lord of Storms user was Ran Fu three hundred years ago, right? Honestly, you’re every bit as good as him!”
“That’s so cool!!!”
Once on the battlefield, Yin Que’s performance immediately drew countless eyes.
He was truly powerful.
His presence alone changed the course of the battle.
Things weren’t so formal on the Frontline.
There were regular troops, conscripts, even big names passing by and getting involved on a whim.
The Frontline was home to sentinels and guides of all kinds, but one thing never changed: respect for strength.
Powerful sentinels and guides always earned more respect.
To others, Yin Que was an unknown big shot passing through.
The battlefield didn’t care about birth or status—only strength.
If you were strong enough, you deserved to be remembered by all.
Yin Que’s arrival was like a shot in the arm, instantly shifting the situation, lightening the burden on everyone else.
Cheers and whistles rang out one after another.
Praise for Yin Que from other sentinels was endless.
Pei Yujiao and Ting Rui were also slaying Abnormal Specimens.
Only Ning Li didn’t fight—instead, she wandered with Overlord Flower.
The undead she summoned would draw too much attention.
Better to just slack off.
This little battle ended much faster than expected thanks to Yin Que.
Once the Abnormal Specimens began to regroup and retreat, she rejoined the squad.
By then, Yin Que was surrounded by a group of female guides and female sentinels.
“You’re really strong!”
“Why are you in full gear? Take off those sunglasses!”
“What’s your name?”
“The Corps Commander of District 192 wants to see you!”
It was lively over there, with voices of all kinds.
The dialects of the sentinel world were many and strange to Ning Li, who could only barely understand.
She still hadn’t truly blended into this world; when the language got messy, her sense of unfamiliarity floated back to the surface.
So many dialects.
Here, sentinels and guides from all over the world gathered.
Ning Li stood in place, not moving closer.
She gazed at Yin Que from afar, unaware that someone else was watching her, too.
Ting Rui stood several meters behind, watching her curiously.
The commander was gentle and considerate with everyone, always patiently answering any sincere question.
But gentleness and kindness were fundamentally different.
Gentleness was politeness, upbringing.
Kindness was something unique.
Given only to Ning Li.
At least, in his eyes, that was how it was.
The commander had never hugged anyone else, nor looked at anyone else with such gentle, smiling eyes.
Noticing Ning Li’s approach, Yin Que excused himself from the crowd and walked out.
“Hey, the Corps Commander wants you—where are you going?”
“Don’t go, man!”
Yin Que led Ning Li to a steep mountain cliff.
District 192 was mountainous, lush green hills everywhere.
The nearby mountains weren’t very tall; they climbed to the top with ease.
A breeze blew the whole way up.
Ning Li didn’t ask why Yin Que brought her to climb the mountain—there was only mountains here, so perhaps only this activity suited them for now.
It was their first time climbing together, and time seemed to fly by.
Once at the summit, she quietly looked out at the distant scenery—a sea of green.
If there were no Abnormal Specimens, District 192 would be an ideal tourist spot.
Sadly, these years, District 192 fared no better than District 191.
The native mountain folk had all moved away, leaving only these vast mountains behind.
While Ning Li’s thoughts drifted, Yin Que suddenly asked, “Want to feel the wind?”
“Hm?”
“Get ready to descend.”
“Hm?”
Yin Que hugged Ning Li, took a few steps, and leapt from the mountaintop, spinning as they went—just like a skydiver jumping from a helicopter, carrying the taste of freedom.
The wind whipped past their ears, roaring.
Ning Li once again felt free.
This time, it was an even grander freedom.
Thirty floors was just too short—a leap from the cliff was far better.
She watched the sky recede above her.
The wind.
The mountaintop grew more distant.
She spread her arms, embracing freedom.
She thought she heard gasps and cheers from not far away—were they astonished because of them?
[Wow!]
[Wow!]
[So much fun!]
It really was fun.
Ning Li didn’t need to think about anything, not about when to slow down—she just had to enjoy the thrill of plummeting.
Once again, she felt joy.
So joy could be so simple.
Lifted gently by the wind, they landed safely.
Ning Li asked, “How did you know…” I liked it?
Yin Que ruffled her hair.
“You kept laughing when we jumped from the abandoned building.”
Clearly, she enjoyed it.
Luckily, he could control the wind.
No need for parachutes.
No need for any safety gear.
As long as there was wind, it was enough.
He could give her the joy and freedom of such a fall as many times as she wanted.
Was she really smiling back then?
Walking away like this—was it okay?
The Corps Commander of District 192 had sent people to find him, and the female sentinels and guides clearly had a lot to say to him.
She hadn’t even noticed it herself.
“It’s fine.”
When he saw her drifting outside the crowd, as if the world shut her out, he just wanted to take her away.
She didn’t have to force herself to blend in.
It was okay not to fit in.
However she was, it was all right.
“They all seem to like you.”
The mountain breeze carried Yin Que’s gentle, clear voice, as intoxicating as fine wine.
“But what I want isn’t their affection.”