The night in the Forbidden Zone was silent at first.
But after midnight, whispers arose from every corner of the city.
At first listen, the murmurs seemed harmless, but when heard carefully, they sent chills down the spine.
“Broken legs…regrowing…”
“Plucked hair returning thick and lush…”
“Dead kittens coming back to life…”
Since those voices began, Xiao Hei grew restless in Ning Li’s Spirit Sea, as if eager to slip out and investigate.
Half an hour ago, Ning Li had just exchanged goodnights with her new teammates.
They told her to rest well and not to worry about anything else.
She knew they meant well and wasn’t ungrateful, but she couldn’t just sit idly by and do nothing.
Once assured that Xiao Hei could protect itself, Ning Li released it.
Outside the Spirit Sea, Xiao Hei was like a fish in water or a bird freed from its cage, roaming the Forbidden Zone freely, using the Necromancer’s innate stealth advantages.
[So many voices.]
[Scary.]
[So scary.]
Ning Li lay on the rusted bed in the staff dormitory, calming her mind and began sharing vision and hearing with the Spirit Entity.
It was her first attempt to view the world through a Spirit Entity’s perspective.
A strange and wonderful experience.
The Necromancer’s two-meter height elevated her sight; the world seemed different from up here.
It drifted lightly, body floating midair without leaving traces on the ground.
Invisible and swift, Ning Li could only catch fleeting glimpses of scenes.
But these glimpses provided plenty of information.
At night, the Native Inhabitants of every household refused to sleep.
They stood by windows, hands clasped, praying fervently toward an unknown target.
At such a late hour, the entire city awake, all facing the same direction, eyes glowing with fanatic expressions.
No wonder Xiao Hei said it was frightening.
These people looked like copies pasted onto one another, their expressions identical, devoid of individuality, only uniformity.
Their overwhelming uniformity made them seem less than human.
Ning Li instructed Xiao Hei to move closer.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Xiao Hei blended into the environment, skimming just over the Native Inhabitants’ heads.
This time, she finally heard a prefix that had eluded her before.
“Honorable Wishing Stone Lord…please grant us…”
Wishing Stone.
Judging by the praying direction of the Native Inhabitants, the Wishing Stone lay in the Forbidden Zone’s Northeast?
No sooner had she confirmed the direction than a loud wolf howl erupted from the northeast, followed by the night being illuminated by countless fireflies.
Each faint light alone was insignificant, but gathered, they formed a bright glow.
In the instant after the howl, a white wolf’s phantom Spirit Entity appeared hovering in the northeast sky.
A Sentinel’s Spirit Entity.
Ning Li ended the shared vision and hearing with the Spirit Entity abruptly.
She sat up sharply from her bed.
There was a fight breaking out in the northeast!
She hurried downstairs and saw her new teammate just about to pull open the door to leave the convenience store.
“Take me with you.”
Ning Li said without hesitation, jogging up beside them.
Afraid of refusal, she added, “If you don’t take me, I’ll go alone.”
Seeing her determination, Yin Que could only advise, “Stay a bit back, okay?”
“Got it.”
Previously, knowledge about the Forbidden Zone had been blocked off from Guides.
The world was already fragmented, and every former Commander had tried to preserve some hope for Guides and civilians, not wanting them to be shackled by harsh reality.
Hence, everything in the Forbidden Zone was only accessible to Sentinels.
On the way northeast, Yin Que explained, “Each Forbidden Zone has powerful Guardians. There are two ways to clear the zone: one is to find a key item, as I said before, the other is to defeat the Guardian directly.”
“The Empire’s Abnormal Species Research Institute constantly buys information about various Guardians. If you defeat a Guardian, you can bring it out and exchange it for a hefty reward at the institute.”
Ning Li understood immediately, “That reward must be huge.”
Otherwise, it wouldn’t attract so many Sentinels to attack.
“Yes. That money is enough for a family of over ten people to live on for a lifetime.”
With such a generous reward, the difficulty had to be extreme.
This was truly a life-risking mission.
“Besides the Sentinels who serve the Empire, many mercenaries roam the frontline freely. Mercenaries must have heard about the new Forbidden Zone forming here and rushed overnight.”
By the time they reached the battlefield, four Sentinels lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
The Spirit Entity of a Firefly Guide was pale and shaking, barely holding on, using the fireflies’ light to illuminate the surroundings to provide a better fighting environment.
Only the bloodstained White Wolf Sentinel was still fighting fiercely.
Seeing them arrive, the Guide shouted, “It’s dangerous here! Don’t come closer!”
Yin Que stopped Ning Li, “Stay right here, don’t move forward.”
Then he immediately joined the fight.
The Guide sighed, “What’s wrong with you? Once you join, you can’t leave so easily!”
Before arriving, their group of five had no idea the new Forbidden Zone Guardian would be this formidable.
The Wishing Stone that the Native Inhabitants spoke of was actually a Clam Abnormal Species.
It was roughly three meters long, two meters wide, semi-elliptical in shape, attacking by opening its shell and spitting out pearls.
But these pearls were not smooth, wearable gems like real pearls—they were spiked.
The number of pearls was vast; opening the shell once could shoot out hundreds of them.
These pearl bullets moved at high speed and were extremely lethal.
Sentinels were mostly tall, agile, and highly skilled in combat.
But under such dense fire, dodging was not easy.
At least the White Wolf Sentinel’s four teammates had all fallen to the barrage of pearl bullets.
Their agility was admirable, but insufficient against the relentless “pearl bullets.”
The sheer volume left little room for movement.
To evade such intense attacks smoothly, one needed strong spiritual power, physical fitness, and combat experience gained through many battles.
Inexperienced new Sentinels wouldn’t last half a minute against such an opponent.
As a mercenary, White Wolf thought of himself as one of the best Sentinels.
Only after the newcomers arrived did he truly realize there were always stronger forces beyond.
In the remote, desolate Border District 191, there were still hidden masters and powerful Sentinels.
Were these new members of the Commander’s Imperial Guard?
He’d never heard of them before.
Yin Que approached the Clam Abnormal Species with agile steps.
His expression serious, moving like a leopard—swift, fierce, and unrelenting.
“Take your teammates away. I’ll hold it off.”
Hearing this, the White Wolf Sentinel immediately understood that even this Sentinel couldn’t single-handedly defeat the Abnormal Species.
At most, he could stall it to buy them escape time.
Knowing his four teammates were in poor condition and wouldn’t survive the night without prompt treatment, he accepted without hesitation, “Thanks, brother.”
“And take my teammates with you, thanks.”
White Wolf glanced at the Guide not far from them—a young-looking girl with a curious face toward the Guardian, likely still a Student of the Guide Academy, her expression free of fear or dread, only innocence.
“Okay, leave them to me.”
Within moments, Yin Que was near the Clam Abnormal Species.
He deftly knelt on one knee on its shell, fist clenched, and struck hard on the shell.
Bang. A heavy, muffled impact echoed.
The “pearl bullets” paused for a split second.
Even this brief pause was enough for White Wolf.
He grabbed two teammates each hand and fled swiftly.
The Firefly Guide was sweating heavily, nearly collapsing.
White Wolf’s Spirit Entity lifted the Firefly Guide onto its back and sprinted toward Ning Li.
The white wolf’s fur rippled in the wind, its entire coat bristling.
It howled once and butted Ning Li’s waist, hoisting her onto its back.
The Clam Abnormal Species was thoroughly enraged.
Previously, it fired “pearl bullets” in 180 degrees all around, but this time, it focused all fire in one direction.
Concentrating its fire expanded the attack range drastically—from ten meters before to over twice that now.
A volley of “pearl bullets” shot like lightning toward Ning Li!
The Clam Abnormal Species hadn’t ignored the word “companions.”
Although these Abnormal Species had low intelligence, they could understand some words and adjust strategies when necessary.
They were not mindless, mechanical fighters.
Xiao Hei’s Flower Crown stood on end.
The once cute Overlord Flower had fully transformed into a long, thorny crown.
[Danger!]
[Danger!]
[Danger!]
The injured White Wolf wasn’t fast enough to dodge the high-speed volley.
The Guide beside him had already fainted from spiritual exhaustion.
Ning Li’s heart tightened.
The Overlord Flower had taken a blocking stance.
The Overlord Flower couldn’t evade the incoming pearl bullets, but the Necromancer could.
Between injury and exposing her true Spirit Entity, Ning Li needed to decide quickly.
Just as she thought she’d rather expose herself than get hurt, the pearl bullets stopped a little over a meter away.
It was as if they had hit an impenetrable wall, their fierce momentum halted.
What blocked them was—
A single petal.
One that had gently brushed over Ning Li’s brow.
One glowing with a gorgeous blue-purple hue.
Then she watched as that petal was shattered by several pearl bullets, dissolving like bubbles.
Ning Li reached out instinctively but caught nothing.
One petal shattered, then another appeared, and another, each firmly blocking the pearl bullets, not letting them come closer—not even a step.
Only after White Wolf carried Ning Li safely out of the attack range did the petals stop appearing.
In a short time, three petals were shattered by the pearl bullets.
The petals’ falling evoked a mournful feeling, reminiscent of “falling into mud, crushed to dust.”
Ning Li’s pupils constricted.
When the spiritual power is wounded, the owner is wounded too.
Her new teammate, busy buying them escape time, never stopped monitoring their side.
At this moment, Ning Li suddenly understood where Yuan Zi and the others’ reverence for the Former Commander came from.
Though she had never met the Former Commander or witnessed their battles, at this moment, her teammate stood with his back to everyone, blocking the powerful Guardian, giving their group of six a chance to survive.
His figure was reliable and steadfast, punching the Guardian repeatedly while others fled.
So, someone just standing there could give endless security.
Is this what it feels like to be protected?
As long as he’s there, they could survive safely…
As long as he is there, others could rest assured.
He would stand guard until death.
Ning Li exhaled.
But—
The Former Commander was already dead.
And had been for five years.
Was her new teammate trying to play the lone hero, like the Former Commander?
She wouldn’t buy that!
She pushed away those fleeting feelings from her mind.
Patting White Wolf’s Spirit Entity, she said, “Put me down.”
White Wolf’s running slowed slightly but ignored her and kept sprinting madly into the distance.
The wind stirred, White Wolf’s long fur fluttered like grass in the breeze.
The darkness nearby, combined with the exhausted state of the White Wolf Sentinel, meant no one knew Ning Li had just narrowly escaped death.
White Wolf Sentinel gasped, “Your teammate entrusted you to me, I have to protect you.”
Ning Li repeated, “Put me down.”
After the Firefly Guide fainted, the fireflies lighting the battlefield vanished.
The once bright area returned to pitch-black darkness.
Darkness was good.
They couldn’t see her, nor her Spirit Entity.
She had made up her mind.
She would go back and help him.