Chapter 8: A Gesture of Goodwill
Whether animal or plant, the deeper one ventured into a cataclysm zone, the greater the likelihood of contamination.
The Undeveloped Zones were adjacent to the Cataclysm Zones. Incidents weren’t common, and when they did occur, they were usually minor skirmishes.
From the perspective of the image, Zhu Hui’s position was slightly ahead of the others, likely placing him closer to the Cataclysm Zone to better monitor for environmental anomalies.
And he did indeed discover an anomaly.
From the deeper, more distant seabed, a strange sound faintly echoed, accompanied by the gurgling of flowing water, as if something was approaching.
Zhu Hui’s gaze fixed on the direction the sound was coming from.
The next second, the image abruptly zoomed in, magnifying.
Whoosh!
A massive manta ray charged straight at them.
The edges of the image blurred into a deep blue. Waves and sand churned ceaselessly. After the one manta ray, countless other fish swam rapidly toward them, like a brewing storm.
Xu Xunyue instantly realized this was a rare Sentinel talent: “Super-sensory Burst.”
Actively pushing one’s senses to their absolute limit to gather endless information in a short time, but without the brain being damaged by the excessive input.
Zhu Hui had decisively magnified his vision and hearing, seeing and hearing things from thousands of meters away.
The animals in the image were still advancing, from normal-sized marine creatures to exceptionally large ones. The latter already showed some signs of contamination, though they were still barely within the normal range.
In the ocean, size represented combat power to some extent. Yet, these enormous creatures were now rushing madly in this direction without any reason, crying out as they swam. It was unclear what was driving them.
A desire to feed? Environmental changes? A more powerful cataclysmic being?
At that moment, no one could be certain.
The unknown warranted vigilance, the unknown needed to be explored, but at this moment, in this environment, Zhu Hui made only one decision.
Leave.
Swim in the same direction, toward the surface, reach the ice, see the sunlight, get on the boat, and leave, until his feet were on solid snow.
This wasn’t absolutely safe, but in the Undeveloped Zones, there was no such thing as absolute safety to begin with.
The image suddenly changed, returning to the scene around Zhu Hui.
The other four had also noticed the anomaly by now. They had already packed up their collection equipment and were staring warily at the deep sea in the distance.
“You guys go first.”
“Captain—”
“A few stay behind, the majority will retreat. Your independent combat capabilities aren’t enough.” Zhu Hui’s voice grew even colder in such a tense situation. Compared to his snow-like pheromones, it sounded more like solid ice.
He was right. Staying behind was not only the captain’s responsibility; there was another, most important reason.
Zhu Hui had the least dependence on a Guide.
The coordination between a Guide and a Sentinel had its limits—not just compatibility limits, but also distance limits. The closer they were, the more stable the support provided by the Guide. Conversely, it grew weaker with distance.
The marine creatures were rapidly closing the distance. Their cries were too loud. If any of the other three stayed behind, they would need the Guide’s regulation, which meant the Guide of the team would also fall behind. And a Guide’s physical fitness and reaction speed were weaker than a Sentinel’s. Once targeted, they were more likely to fall into crisis.
Zhu Hui did what a Sentinel captain was supposed to do. Even the previous Chief Sentinel would have made the same choice in this situation.
In most scenarios, they would have all successfully evacuated. But this time was different.
The details of this mission were not disclosed to the public, but the general encounter was.
Xu Xunyue knew what they had encountered.
A Death Icicle.
Those sea beasts had been driven out by the icicle. The strange sound Zhu Hui had heard with his Super-sensory Burst was the sound of rapid freezing.
Before the Poseidon Era, the Death Icicle was a natural phenomenon that occurred in the polar seas. Their temperature was lower than ordinary seawater, and the places they passed would freeze rapidly, instantly encasing any marine life in their path.
After the Poseidon Era, this phenomenon appeared in every sea in the Cataclysm Zones.
If it were only that, it wouldn’t have led to such severe consequences.
The horizontal movement speed of a Death Icicle was very slow; they primarily spread downward.
How could it possibly drive so many species of fast-swimming fish, as seen in the image?
No one had ever encountered such a situation.
The contaminated marine creatures’ speed had doubled. Soon, dark spots representing the school of fish appeared at the edge of the frame.
As an observer after the fact, Xu Xunyue knew the trigger was the Death Icicle still tens of thousands of meters away. But at that time, Zhu Hui, who was in the midst of it, didn’t know. He only knew that a frenzied school of fish was about to attack.
In the past fourteen years, cases of cataclysmic creatures actively attacking were not uncommon. He couldn’t let the team get entangled. If they were caught and separated, the situation would descend into chaos.
The dark mass of fish drew closer. The dimly lit seabed grew even darker. The seaweed spasmed and twisted in the churning waves. The entire environment was like a desperate nightmare.
Zhu Hui gripped the gun in his hand, not retreating, but looking toward the school of fish.
He once again made the correct decision.
The image zoomed in again.
Scales cut through the seawater.
Magnify.
A sea turtle swam rapidly.
Magnify.
A blurry gray-white shadow appeared.
Magnify again!
Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.
Several bolts of lightning, shrouded in black mist, shot straight toward them.
The image shuddered and froze.
Xu Xunyue heard Zhu Hui’s breathing become distinct at that moment.
The “lightning” frozen on the seabed—the Death Icicle—was finally seen clearly by the Sentinel from over ten kilometers away.
The cracking sound continued, growing fainter.
They were moving away. They were getting closer.
Cataclysmic creatures could be killed. Natural disasters could only be evaded.
However, Zhu Hui still did not immediately retreat.
He ascended, rising above the deep-sea fish, and released his spiritual body, holding a gun in each hand.
He took the initiative and attacked.
The seawater churned even more violently.
The ferocious swarm of beasts covered the surroundings. A dizzying array of images flashed by: severed tentacles, shattered scales, clumped gill filaments, crimson seawater.
He had indeed drawn the attention of the cataclysmic creatures, preventing them from charging forward so quickly. But in the distance, the rapidly spreading icicle was also drawing infinitely closer.
Zhu Hui’s movements showed no sign of panic. He continued to ascend as he fought, luring many stubborn creatures to follow and bite him.
They cried out loudly, but they could never drown out the other sound, the one that truly brought disaster.
Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack.
The seabed was freezing.
The marine creatures, their attention finally diverted, realized their mistake and stopped chasing this reckless two-legged creature. They twisted their tail fins awkwardly, about to resume their flight for survival.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
If a thermometer had been installed on the seabed, its indicator light would have turned completely red at that moment.
All the cries of terror or anger were disappearing at an incomprehensible speed. The space became silent, more so than a pool of stagnant water.
Everything was frozen. And Zhu Hui?
He was standing on floating ice.
At the very instant of the freeze, he had swum out, like a silver arrow shattering a water mirror.
He broke through the crimson surface of the sea and landed steadily, gently, on a solid piece of floating ice nearby.
He was alive.
This was the best possible outcome, something that should have been celebrated with the relief of a survivor. But the reality that followed did not allow for relaxation.
Zhu Hui stood on the ice, slowly surveying his surroundings.
He observed so slowly, a completely different person from the one who had fought with such speed before.
This sea area had completely changed.
The surface, which had originally had only a few pieces of floating ice, was now almost completely covered. As far as the eye could see, seawater was only visible in the area where Zhu Hui had emerged, and that small patch of blue was also gradually shrinking.
The entire sea surface had been bizarrely frozen over.
It was white everywhere, with no other human in sight.
The ice under his feet was very thick. It was unknown how it had frozen so thick in such a short time. It was also covered in a layer of gray-black mist, making it impossible to see the world under the ice with the naked eye.
Zhu Hui began to walk in the direction the team had come from.
The ice was so thick that there was no need to worry about it suddenly breaking, yet he walked so slowly, his head bowed with every step, his perspective tilted and slightly shaky.
Suddenly, he stopped.
Beneath his feet was a small military vessel, the transport they had used to get here. Now, it was frozen within the ice.
But this location…
This location was clearly far from the boundary of the Cataclysm Zone. Why would they still encounter a Death Icicle?
Moreover, the Death Icicle that the military vessel had encountered was clearly not the same one Zhu Hui had faced, but one that had spread from the opposite direction—from the shore.
It was too absurd.
Xu Xunyue frowned as he watched everything in the image.
Based on his past experience in the Undeveloped and Cataclysm Zones, there was only one explanation for this situation.
A small number of cataclysmic factors contaminated living beings; a large number contaminated the environment. A massive amount of cataclysmic factors had overflowed from the Diamond Sea B1 Zone, causing the boundary between the Cataclysm Zone and the Undeveloped Zone to shift outward.
The near-shore area had not originally belonged to the Cataclysm Zone, but now, the entire sea had been enveloped by it.
But that wasn’t right either. If the Cataclysm Zone had truly expanded and the boundary had truly moved outward, it would be impossible for this important news not to be announced. The designation of the Undeveloped Zones around the Diamond Sea should have changed from B to C.
The image settled on the location of the military vessel, slowly panning down.
After descending about five meters, Zhu Hui saw the first person.
Eyes bulging, skin bluish-white, head tilted back, left arm raised high with fingers splayed.
As if desperately trying to grasp something above.
It was the baby-faced Sentinel who had said his brother was a teacher at the White Tower.
Xu Xunyue suddenly thought that he might know his brother.
The baby-faced Sentinel’s right hand was clutching his Guide companion.
The girl was positioned half a meter below him. She wasn’t looking up, but down at a spot even lower than herself.
There, a very thin Sentinel was frozen, with two large ice bubbles by his mouth.
The introverted Sentinel was on his side, his bangs covering most of his face, making it difficult to see clearly.
At temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero, when the body is completely enveloped and frozen, the water in the cells turns into ice crystals, causing irreversible physiological damage.
Even if this ice were ordinary ice, Zhu Hui could try to chisel it open. At least then, there would be a chance to bring back his comrades’ bodies.
But this was the ice of the Diamond Sea. The natural phenomena of the Cataclysm Zones could not be judged by common sense; they did not obey the laws of nature. If Zhu Hui dug open the ice, there was a chance that the spread, which had started and stopped so inexplicably, would continue, and then the entire Undeveloped Zone would be in peril.
So, Zhu Hui did not move.
It was the correct decision. From beginning to end, he had made all the correct decisions.
Xu Xunyue could barely hear any breathing in the image. Zhu Hui was breathing very lightly, as if a slightly heavier breath would shatter something, even though there were no living things nearby.
He took a syringe from the pocket of his military uniform.
It was a dose of artificial Guide pheromones issued by the military.
The plunger of the syringe slowly depressed, and the liquid in the transparent tube decreased bit by bit. The muscles in his arm twitched uncontrollably.
Crack.
A strange sound suddenly came from under his feet.
On the black-mist-shrouded ice, countless spiderweb-like cracks appeared, spreading with incredible speed.
The ice layer was breaking.
It hadn’t been exposed to the scorching sun, hadn’t even been formed for long, yet it was disappearing even faster than the Death Icicle had appeared.
The military vessel shattered along with it.
The interior of the vessel had been altered. When it shattered, the original metal material was completely unrecognizable, only an endless amount of ice crystals, ice blocks, and powder of all sizes.
If that was what happened to metal, what about the human body?
The ice layer in the image receded like a tide, shattering, falling, and merging into the sea.
When the survivor stood on the ice field and looked back at the sea, it was as calm and waveless as when they had arrived, as if nothing had ever happened.
In the evening, Zhu Hui met the patrol soldiers from the Diamond Sea B1 Zone outpost.
After inspection by the local stationed troops, it was determined that the boundary between the Undeveloped Zone and the Cataclysm Zone had not moved. The Cataclysm Zone had not expanded, and there were no overly active cataclysmic factors at the edge of the Undeveloped Zone.
The local outpost also conducted an examination on Zhu Hui. The results came out three days later:
Mental state relatively stable, physical condition relatively healthy, no tendency toward transformation into a cataclysmic being.
Half a month later, Zhu Hui arrived in the Imperial Capital with the remaining materials.
The memory ended. The image on the leaf paused for a moment, then began to replay the first scene Xu Xunyue had seen.
“They were all excellent warriors.”
Xu Xunyue let out a soft breath and handed the still-vibrant green memory leaf back to Zhu Hui.
Based on the scenes presented by the memory leaf, the incident in the Diamond Sea B1 Zone was simply unbelievable.
That mysterious power from the Cataclysm Zone had emerged like a surprise attack and then retreated like a guerrilla strike, as if it knew someone had come and had deliberately launched a targeted assault.
The subject’s memory might not be complete, but it was difficult to fake. In a moment of crisis, even if what was seen was not the truth, the subconscious actions and revealed emotions were all real.
Zhu Hui’s silence, his anger, his pain… all were laid bare in the display of the memory leaf.
Xu Xunyue couldn’t help but think of how he had felt when he lost his own teammates.
As fellow captains, some emotions were shared. And precisely because of this, he understood the weight of the other’s emotions and the purity that coexisted with them.
A person, unaware of the reason for the incident in the Cataclysm Zone, mourning his dead team members, shouldering the responsibility of a captain and an Imperial soldier, remaining calm and resilient throughout.
Could such a person be the type he had initially suspected, the type he didn’t want to get involved with?
The thought flashed through his mind. Xu Xunyue noticed that the young Sentinel standing opposite him had his head slightly bowed, his face turned a little to the side, not meeting his gaze, and not making any move.
Long after the deal was made, Xu Xunyue had released his spiritual body’s control over Zhu Hui. There were no physical restrictions on him at all, yet he didn’t take back the memory leaf he had personally plucked.
“A gift for you. You can take this out with you,” he said instead. “It belongs to my spiritual landscape. I can sense its existence. If it’s convenient for you, you can put it in your pocket.”
…In his pocket?
Xu Xunyue was somewhat surprised.
Let Zhu Hui sense his location?
That was, of course, absolutely out of the question. He and Zhu Hui had only officially met a few hours ago. They were in a phase of mutual probing and familiarization. Even if they could become reliable partners, or even companions, in the future, that was a matter for the future.
Moreover, this gesture of goodwill—if it could be called that—was rather abrupt. Zhu Hui was, after all, the current Chief Sentinel of the Empire, not as easy to deal with as those Sentinels permanently stationed in the Imperial Capital. He naturally had to be more cautious.
As he was thinking this, he caught a glimpse of the other’s quietly trembling little finger out of the corner of his eye.
Xu Xunyue waited a few seconds, giving him some time to buffer, before saying:
“You want to protect me.”
The words of a question, the tone of a statement.
Zhu Hui looked up.
He himself didn’t know that his fingers were slowly tightening. He just pursed his lips and said in a low voice, “We… I am your Sentinel. Legally, I am. If you carry it with you, I can get to you faster if you’re in danger.”
It was a confession of sorts.
But then, he immediately added, “It will only alert me when you are in mental or physical danger. At all other times, it’s just like an ordinary leaf that won’t wither. It won’t cause you any trouble.”
Xu Xunyue’s surprise deepened.
Zhu Hui’s words seemed to uncannily echo his own thoughts.
It sounded good, but he wouldn’t believe it completely. Everything had to be verified in person through daily life.
Since they were already legal partners and the man had already moved in, there would be plenty of opportunities for verification in the future.
Xu Xunyue gave a polite smile and closed his hand around the memory leaf.
“It’s a beautiful leaf.”
Perhaps feeling a little awkward, Zhu Hui said, “Thank you.”
A deeper smile flashed in Xu Xunyue’s eyes. He then said seriously, “Then let’s begin the mental soothing now.”
“Start now?” Zhu Hui was slightly stunned, as if he hadn’t expected him to say that.
“This snowfield—”
Xu Xunyue looked down at his feet, and Zhu Hui followed his gaze.
The pure white snow was embedded with a hazy gray-black, and it was impossible to tell how many layers it had seeped into, as if it could never be completely removed.
Xu Xunyue said, “This black mist is what was left from that mission.”
Zhu Hui affirmed this statement. “Before, the snowfield only had a few cracks.”
“Do you know that this black mist usually signifies concentrated cataclysmic factors?”
“I know, but I also know that I’m not contaminated,” Zhu Hui said without any evasion. “The outpost’s instruments didn’t detect the presence of these things, which further proves that they have lost their infectivity and activity. What remains in my spiritual landscape now is just some kind of ‘shell’ of the cataclysmic factors.”
“And, if anything goes wrong, I am one hundred percent confident I can end myself to ensure that those around me are not affected.”
As he said this, he shed his previously silent and subdued demeanor, his eyes looking straight at Xu Xunyue, as if these words were meant for the only person beside him at this very moment.
In fact, it seemed there was nothing wrong with putting it that way.
Zhu Hui was not an enthusiastic or outgoing person. His parents had died when he was young, and because he had enlisted early, he was not familiar with his classmates from the White Tower. The comrades he had spent three years with were now dead without even a complete body to show for it.
His social network was like a tall tree with sparse branches. Although he was in a stage of infinite potential and growth, it couldn’t help but seem monotonous and desolate.
The Guide whose identity as his partner had just been confirmed was the only close relationship Zhu Hui had left.
Although it was only in name, at least for now, whether in the spiritual landscape or the real world, they were indeed very close, even somewhat intimate.
…So that’s why there was a change in attitude?
Xu Xunyue secretly pondered, remembering his glimpse of the young Sentinel on the stage at the conference at the beginning of the year.
If Zhu Hui’s temperament back then was like a sharp blade gleaming with a cold light, then what he saw now through the camera screen on the second floor was a dark muzzle of a gun—equally intimidating, equally powerful, but the latter had a bit more reservation than the former.
A certain understanding, one that was not yet convenient to bring to the table, quietly took shape in his mind.
Xu Xunyue thought, the Zhu Hui of that time was not the same as the Zhu Hui of now. It wasn’t a difference in personality, nor was it the greater maturity and resilience brought by experience. It was a difference that was almost on the level of his spiritual will.
He seemed to have become more of his own person, no longer trusting everything about the Empire so purely.
Otherwise, as a soldier of the Empire, the sole survivor of an accident, why wouldn’t he report the abnormality that had appeared in his spiritual landscape?
And this happened to explain the vigilance in Zhu Hui’s eyes earlier.
In any case, on the surface, Xu Xunyue belonged to the same camp as the Emperor, with shared interests.
It was a good thing he wasn’t anymore.
So even if he had invaded this place while the other was unprepared, becoming the second person to know about the abnormality in Zhu Hui’s spiritual landscape, and discovering that his condition was actually not that good—
It wouldn’t lead to any serious consequences.
As long as he wasn’t an enemy and didn’t interfere with his plans, he naturally had no need to harm this somewhat cute young Sentinel.
An unprecedentedly intimate relationship…
Xu Xunyue was curious too.
Noticing the signs of the Sentinel’s poor condition, he had proposed mental soothing.
Perhaps even Zhu Hui himself hadn’t realized his own poor condition. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have subconsciously questioned Xu Xunyue when he proposed to “start the mental soothing.”
But the widening cracks in the snowfield, the piles of cabin ruins everywhere, the gray-white sky, the gaze that avoided the memory leaf’s images, the protective desire similar to a stress response…
These were all classic after-effects of battle.
Speaking of which, Zhu Hui seemed to be somewhat resistant to mental activities like mental soothing.
Xu Xunyue clearly remembered that in the study not long ago, when Zhu Hui had pounced on him, the snow wolf had complained that he had wanted to be a Dark Sentinel before, but had finally come to his senses. And the Guide girl in the memory leaf had only established mental links with the other three Sentinels, and had said that Zhu Hui was the closest person to a Dark Sentinel she had ever seen.
Even when faced with a sudden shock like the death of his comrades, he had injected himself with artificial Guide pheromones. After staying in the Imperial Capital for several months, his name was not in the appointment records of any of the major mental soothing chambers.
It was obvious that Zhu Hui had wanted to get through it on his own.
But if he was so resistant, why had he asked for it in the first place?
Just then, the Sentinel’s low and clean voice came from beside him. It seemed Xu Xunyue had been silent for a little too long, so the voice carried a hint of imperceptible annoyance.
“So… shall we start the mental soothing?”
