It was nighttime within the domain, stars scattered across the sky, and the evening breeze carried the crisp scent of grass.
It was a quiet night, but combined with what Yuan Zi had said, this silence seemed to carry an ominous undertone.
Ning Li and Yuan Zi stood on an open patch of wilderness.
Just as the two of them were preparing to find a place to settle and observe whether there were any residential houses nearby, a column of thick smoke suddenly shot up from the horizon.
The smoke was pitch black, as if ink had been splashed across the sky.
Having just experienced an Abnormal Species invasion, Ning Li instantly recognized that this black smoke was the signal of a massive gathering of Abnormal Species!
Even two Abnormal Species would be enough to terrify ordinary people, let alone a large horde of them.
Yuan Zi’s grip on Ning Li’s arm tightened ever so slightly.
Even Yuan Zi, a native of this place, had never personally experienced such a grand scene before.
Ning Li, of course, had never witnessed anything like this either.
The originally silent wilderness suddenly erupted in a cacophony of voices—shouts, cries, screams, barking dogs—all sorts of chaotic sounds mixed together, adding an even more foreboding omen to the night.
These sounds seemed to appear out of thin air.
Just as Ning Li was still trying to adapt to this domain, she watched as, right before her eyes, buildings sprang up from the empty ground.
After the black smoke rose, sharp alarms blared throughout the residential buildings.
One after another, the alarms never ceased.
Ning Li knew she was now inside a domain created by the union of two Abnormal Species.
But—
This scene before her eyes was far too realistic.
So realistic that every moment felt as if it were truly happening right now.
As the alarms blared, crowds of residents frantically poured out of the buildings—some hastily threw on a coat, some still wore pajamas, some were even bare-chested.
“The Abnormal Species are here! Everyone, run!”
“What do we do? Where should we run?”
“There are so many Abnormal Species, we can’t escape, we can’t get away!”
“Where’s the Garrison Army? The army will come to save us! They’ll definitely come to save us!”
Seeing Ning Li and Yuan Zi still standing there in a daze, a woman holding a baby kindly gave them a push, urging anxiously,
“Why aren’t you running yet?”
After urging them, she hurried off in a certain direction.
Ning Li paused, then grabbed Yuan Zi and followed the woman’s escape route.
They were surrounded by panicked crowds.
The black smoke spread, and at some point, a great fire had broken out.
The flames twisted, smoke shot into the sky, and one Abnormal Species after another, silhouetted against the moonlight, approached slowly and steadily like black shadows.
Each Abnormal Species looked different.
Even from over a hundred meters away, Ning Li could still feel the pressure radiating from several Abnormal Species.
How many Abnormal Species had arrived?
More than fifty?
More than sixty?
…Or maybe—
Over a hundred?
At a distance that was neither too far nor too close, Ning Li witnessed one of the first Abnormal Species to arrive grab an innocent resident and hurl him violently to the ground.
Then, a thin, eerie laughter echoed through the air.
The laughter was strange and horrifying, like a hammer pounding in people’s minds, stirring up chaos and making their heads ache unbearably.
This Abnormal Species had a human form, but on its head grew five, six, seven, even eight human faces—old and young, male and female…
Some were laughing, some whistling, some shouting,
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Among the residents, some were ordinary people, some were Sentinels or Guides whose abilities were flawed.
Sentinels and Guides with insufficient talent could only barely summon small, still-developing Spirit Entities.
But these defective Spirit Entities would never grow up, forever stuck in a juvenile state.
Ning Li saw a tiny bird, no bigger than a child’s palm, frantically flap its wings and fly at an Abnormal Species, trying to peck it fiercely, only to be swatted away before it even got close.
A mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Ning Li thought of that phrase.
Yet, one after another, the weak Spirit Entities still charged at the Abnormal Species without hesitation.
It was their pursuit and longing for life…
At some point, Yuan Zi was already in tears.
As a native, she had always known of the Abnormal Species’ cruelty, but watching a documentary was nothing compared to experiencing such a scene in person.
The blood splattered on the ground was still warm, and the corpses lying there had been alive just minutes before…
She probably knew what time this was now.
“1353, when the 201 District was breached by the Abnormal Species. When the Garrison Army arrived to help, the ordinary people of the 201 District fought to the death, with countless casualties.”
“1353 was a special year. That year was the second year after the Commander’s death, and it was also the first year the Abnormal Species launched a large-scale attack on humanity, marking the beginning of a new era of war.”
“201 District was the first border region to fall after the Commander left. But the destruction of the 201 District was only the beginning…”
As an outsider, Ning Li was just as pained by the scenes before her eyes.
This battle was simply too tragic.
The once quiet night was set ablaze with fire and blood, with cries of agony and faint pleas for help everywhere.
This was a real scene from the past, now merely a reenactment.
Ning Li knew she and Yuan Zi couldn’t save anyone here—these people had long since turned to dust in history.
She held Yuan Zi’s hand as they ran for their lives.
Where were they running to?
She didn’t know.
All she knew was to stay as far from the Abnormal Species as possible.
But there were too many Abnormal Species—at least ten in every direction, laughing wildly, sneering, and scoffing.
Strangely, though a horde of Abnormal Species was closing in, Ning Li didn’t feel much fear in her heart.
What she felt was only weariness.
Weariness of what?
Perhaps, having come from a peaceful era, she was innately tired of war and slaughter.
When they reached a relatively quiet spot, Ning Li slipped, as if she’d stepped on something.
She let go of Yuan Zi’s arm, bent down slightly, and looked at her feet.
On the ground was a bead.
It was about the size of a marble, cool to the touch, and entirely a transparent amber color.
Was this the [Amber Eye]?
But unlike the bead Xiao Hei had found, this one was streaked with fine black lines, and entwined among the black lines were red threads.
These black and red lines marred the bead’s clarity, giving it an unsettling feeling.
What was this?
[It’s Resentment.]
Xiao Hei, who had been staying in Ning Li’s spiritual sea, emerged in its Devil’s Trumpet form upon seeing the bead.
As a [Necromancer], it was most familiar with the aura of death and resentment.
Xiao Hei shook its bright red crown and swayed as it spoke,
[This bead contains a lot of regret, unwillingness, and resentment.]
Seeing the bead, Yuan Zi worked to calm her racing heart, leaned over, and asked breathlessly,
“What is this?”
Ning Li shared with Yuan Zi the information she’d found online.
Yuan Zi pursed her lips.
“For display? What’s there to display? Nobles actually like collecting these things, I just don’t get it.”
Ning Li casually put the bead away.
Even though these beads would disappear once the domain was broken, she still put this one in her pocket for now.
After picking up this bead, it was as if Ning Li had unlocked something—she soon found three more similar small beads.
But just like the first, these three beads were all covered in black and red lines, which ruined their beauty and gave them a sense of sorrow, brokenness, and doom.
Xiao Hei boasted,
[The one I found is the best looking, and it’s the biggest too.]
Indeed.
Ning Li didn’t deny it.
The bead Xiao Hei had found was crystal clear, its inner light flowing, about the size of an egg, warm to the touch, and fit perfectly in the palm.
But why did all the beads she found have black and red lines?
Couldn’t she find even one bead with no black or red lines at all?
As she ran for her life, Ning Li kept her eyes on the ground, looking for beads.
Spurred on by her, Yuan Zi also began searching for beads, and the fear and anxiety in her heart lessened.
On her search, Ning Li finally discovered where these beads came from.
She watched as another crippled Sentinel lost his Spirit Entity and died.
As he fell, a bead dropped from his body.
The bead rolled a bit on the ground, then stopped.
These beads actually formed after Sentinels died?
At a not-too-far distance, she saw that bead was also densely wrapped in black and red lines.
According to Xiao Hei, the more black and red lines in the bead, the more unwillingness and resentment it contained.
A tapestry.
Ning Li more or less understood how these lines formed.
To put it boldly, the more regret and resentment a Sentinel felt before dying, the more black and red lines would appear on the bead formed after death.
If that was truly the case, then what about the owner of the bead Xiao Hei found first?
That bead was so clear, its inner light flowing, as if amber-colored water was quietly swirling inside, forming a mysterious and splendid painting.
There wasn’t a single black or red line on that bead.
What was its owner thinking before death?
To face death so calmly and serenely, leaving behind no regret or resentment, still cherishing the most beautiful hopes and expectations for the world—such a Sentinel must have been very open-minded and loving.
Yuan Zi now realized, too.
She muttered,
“These beads are actually…”
Thinking of what Ning Li had just said, she felt a bit sick and a bit sad.
“Li, did you just say that Nobles like to collect these?”
These only form after Sentinels die!
How could they…how dare they…use them as collectibles for display!
Thinking of the phrase in the introduction,
“Qi Sigui’s Wife especially loves them,”
Ning Li found herself more curious about the current Commander.
From what she’d learned so far, this current Commander—whose photos were all over the net and whose smile radiated warmth—seemed like a rather complicated person indeed.
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