【Ying ying ying.】
【So cute.】
Whenever Ning Li heard her classmates chatting about their “White Moonlight,” her mind would occasionally pick up on her Spirit Entity’s emotions.
The phrase “So cute” had popped up so many times today that she’d lost count.
She turned her head to look at her own Spirit Entity.
The Overlord Flower, with its huge, flamboyant red blossom, swayed left and right, occasionally edging carefully toward the Little Milk Cat sleeping in the drawer.
Among all the other Spirit Entities, which were mostly fresh and elegant flower types, hers seemed a little too lively.
After class ended that day, Ning Li hugged the little cat and walked to the cafeteria with Yuan Zi.
On the way, Yuan Zi looked worried.
Ning Li knew exactly what was on her mind.
The Abnormal Species were only a little over forty kilometers away from them.
What did that mean?
At that distance, they were practically right on their doorstep.
Ning Li had been here for three months now.
The first part of her time was spent getting familiar with her own Spirit Entity, and the rest was spent making friends and adapting to her environment.
She only had a rough understanding of the Abnormal Species.
She only knew that they were strange creatures that no one knew the origins of.
Highly lethal, extremely destructive.
In the 2,300 years of history battling the Abnormal Species, there had been many Sentinels and Guides who amazed the world.
But if Ning Li had to name a few famous ones who left a mark in human history, she could only recall one or two names.
That was just the result of cramming Modern History all night yesterday.
The history of Sentinels and Guides was over 300 years old.
Compared to the 2,300 years of struggle against the Abnormal Species, 300 years wasn’t long, but those 300 years had been turbulent, with the war between humans and Abnormal Species growing ever fiercer.
Bloodshed, sacrifice…
Every single day.
Even now, soldiers were still fighting bloody battles on the Frontline.
On Yuan Zi’s shoulder perched a tiny Rose, likely affected by her owner’s mood.
This palm-sized pink Rose looked a bit wilted.
Yuan Zi suddenly said softly,
“Li, you know, I never thought the Abnormal Species would ever get this close to me.”
Even ten years ago, this place wasn’t a War Zone.
Although it was poor and backward, at least life was relatively stable.
Guides, unlike Sentinels, had no ability to protect themselves.
If the Abnormal Species really broke through the defenses, the consequences…would be unimaginable.
Yuan Zi pressed her lips together.
“This is Border District 191, where I’ve lived for nineteen years. I don’t want to leave…”
Ning Li said,
“Maybe things won’t be that bad?”
Maybe, the fighting would stop at the border of District 191?
Even though both of them knew the odds were slim, they still clung to hope.
Ning Li had just gotten used to life in District 191.
She really didn’t want to have to move again so soon.
Unfortunately, as freshmen at the Border Guide Academy, their strength was too insignificant.
The Frontline war involved millions of soldiers; at this point, it was far beyond anything they could help with.
All they could do was try their best to protect themselves and improve their abilities as quickly as possible.
After dinner, back in her dorm, Ning Li pulled out her Modern History book and started flipping through it again.
This time, she focused on looking up who the five owners of the Cosmic Rose Spirit Entity were.
The Cosmic Rose was ranked in the top three on the Spirit Entity Rankings.
But exactly which spot it held depended on who you asked.
It was just like the college rankings back in her previous world—there was no single standard answer.
Here, the top 1, 2, and 3 Spirit Entities weren’t fixed either.
It all depended on the abilities of their owners.
The Cosmic Rose had been ranked number one before, and had also fallen to third place.
But it had never dropped out of the top three.
Ning Li stroked her chin, quickly scanning the information.
The five historical owners of the Cosmic Rose were Zhou Xisi,
Wan Mei…
And another one—
Yin Que.
Who was it?
Based on what was said in class today, and combined with the identities of these five owners, it wasn’t hard to guess who their “White Moonlight” really was.
So Yuan Zi, Lu Shuangshuang, and the others’ “White Moonlight” was the former Commander.
Once Ning Li realized this, she immediately tossed the name Yin Que to the back of her mind.
She wasn’t a native here and didn’t understand Yin Que’s glorious, dazzling history.
She’d never witnessed the heroic scene where this Commander turned the tide of battle and, through sheer strength, saved hundreds of thousands of ordinary lives.
To her, this was just someone who’d already been dead for five years.
The past was the past.
What mattered most was the present and the future.
Compared to the former Supreme Commander, she was actually more interested in the current one.
After all, the current Commander was the one who held the fate of countless lives in their hands.
Unfortunately, there was no information about the current Commander in this book.
And since she was poor, she hadn’t bought a Light Brain, so she couldn’t look up any information either.
Maybe she could visit the Library tomorrow.
Tomorrow was Saturday, so she could arrange her time freely.
After planning her day, Ning Li finally realized her Spirit Entity had snuck out to play again.
She’d been so focused earlier that she’d subconsciously ignored the various thoughts her Spirit Entity was sending her way.
Annoying.
It was only after she paused that she had the mind to listen to her Spirit Entity’s thoughts.
【So many ugly things.】
【Ugly things, ugly things, ugly things…】
【Ugly things, don’t come over.】
Ning Li frowned slightly, communicating with her Spirit Entity through her Spirit Sea.
“Where are you?”
【.】
Ning Li’s tone hardened a bit.
“Come back. Did you hear me?”
The next second, her Spirit Entity replied weakly,
【I heard you. I heard you.】
“Hurry back.”
Besides Modern History, Ning Li had read some other materials today and learned a bit more about Spirit Entities.
Most Spirit Entities’ personalities matched their owners.
If the owner was chatty, the Spirit Entity would be chatty; if the owner was gloomy, the Spirit Entity would be gloomy.
But there were always exceptions.
Some special Spirit Entities might have their own personalities.
A Spirit Entity with a unique personality wasn’t a bad thing.
Only Spirit Entities of a certain level could display such special traits.
But their owners needed to guide them well.
After all, Spirit Entities’ worldviews were immature, different from humans’, and if not guided properly, they could cause trouble.
Clearly, the [Necromancer] Ning Li had awakened was probably one of those special Spirit Entities.
Otherwise, why would someone as low-key as her have a Spirit Entity that loved to sneak out?
She waited a while, but her Spirit Entity still didn’t come back.
Ning Li frowned.
“If you don’t come back soon, I’ll force you to return.”
Regardless of whether one was a Guide or a Sentinel, they had absolute authority over their Spirit Entities.
But Spirit Entities were like family, friends, and comrades-in-arms to Guides and Sentinels.
So most Guides and Sentinels treated their Spirit Entities like friends—as equals.
But special circumstances called for special measures.
After hearing those “ugly things” remarks, Ning Li had a vague guess.
If she was right, her Spirit Entity was a bit too bold.
“Xiao Hei, I’m going to count to three. 3…”
Because the [Necromancer] looked like it wore a billowing black robe, with only two clusters of ghostly green fire showing and nothing but darkness under the hood except those flames, Ning Li had nicknamed her Spirit Entity
“Xiao Hei.”
The moment she said “3,” her Spirit Entity instantly returned to her Spirit Sea.
Clearly, it knew that if it didn’t come back, something bad would happen.
As soon as Xiao Hei returned, Ning Li sensed something was off with its mood.
It seemed—
A little too excited?
“You went to the Frontline,”
Ning Li said flatly.
It was a statement, not a question.
Clearly, Ning Li had already figured it out.
Caught red-handed, her Spirit Entity cautiously emerged from the Spirit Sea.
Ning Li said,
“The ‘ugly things’ you mentioned are the Abnormal Species, right?”
Xiao Hei didn’t answer, just carefully observed her expression.
Surprisingly, Ning Li didn’t scold Xiao Hei this time, nor did she reprimand it for sneaking out to the border forty kilometers away.
With the threat of the Abnormal Species looming, what she needed most now was information.
Without information, she didn’t even know what was happening on the Frontline.
While the Academy would surely protect the Guides’ safety, Ning Li preferred to have her own life in her own hands.
She asked,
“What’s the situation at the border?”
Xiao Hei thought for a moment and replied,
【The battlefield is raging, everywhere…】
“You weren’t discovered, right?”
Xiao Hei poked its fingers together—despite being almost two meters tall, it liked to act cute in front of its owner.
【No.】
【I was very careful. I didn’t get that close.】
Well, after three months together, Ning Li knew just how much her Spirit Entity valued its own life.
Greedy, playful, loves to act spoiled, loves to slack off, and, above all, values its own life.
Those were Xiao Hei’s current labels in Ning Li’s mind.
Xiao Hei presented something like a precious treasure.
【Master, look.】
A smooth Bead lay quietly in Xiao Hei’s gloved palm.
The Bead was amber in color, though a bit different from real amber.
She reached out, took the Bead, and held it up to the light for a closer look.
Inside, the patterns flowed gently like water, just like the kaleidoscopes she’d seen as a child—no, even more dazzling.
Kaleidoscopes were filled with shiny bits, but the patterns inside this Bead were livelier.
It was beautiful.
Forgive Ning Li for her lack of vocabulary.
Right now, those were the only words she could think of.
If she had to add a few idioms, it would be: “dreamlike,” “pleasing to the eye,” “a feast for the eyes,” “exquisite,” and “tempting.”
“What is this?”
Xiao Hei leaned in, eager to observe the little Bead with Ning Li.
【Don’t know.】
“Where did you get it?”
【Picked it up.】
Alright.
Ning Li realized her Spirit Entity really, really loved picking things up.
But since the Bead was so beautiful, she decided not to complain.
Better to pick up Beads than kittens.
She already had a Little Milk Cat at home—no need to raise any more.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be able to feed herself.
Xiao Hei tilted its head.
【Master, I think this is something good.】
Coincidentally, Ning Li thought so too.
She told her Spirit Entity to put it away and store it in her Spirit Sea.
As for what the Bead was, she had no idea.
She could check it out at the Library tomorrow.
The next morning, as soon as Ning Li woke up, she heard a commotion outside.
After washing up, she opened the door and found a bunch of classmates already in the hallway.
When she opened her door, it looked like they’d already been talking for a while.
When she appeared, Yuan Zi greeted her,
“Li, a lot of people came to our Academy today.”
Her eyes were full of fear and unease for the future.
“There are high-level Guides from the First Guide Academy, and some warriors from the Frontline.”
Clearly, with so many strangers arriving at the Academy at such a critical time, something was definitely up.
Given the current situation, it was only natural for Yuan Zi to feel anxious.
With this kind of setup, it was obvious something had happened.
At this point, Lu Shuangshuang chimed in,
“I have connections.”
She deliberately lowered her voice.
“I heard they lost something, and they’re looking for it.”
Lost something?
Ning Li’s heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that what they lost was the Bead her Spirit Entity picked up last night?
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.