Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 268: Chapter 72: Mechanical City Exploration Team

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. Because of the convoluted matters in too many things, they truly couldn’t do anything within Mechanism City... But Zheng, even though he recognized these annoyances as minor, was still mired within Jiuyan.

. The reason this elderly ancestor was so remarkable was because, at heart, he was the utmost in white mist; he was one of the six people in a three-person scouting team in Mechanism City.

. Jiaxie finished speaking.

."Please remember one point... Although it may seem simple when it’s time for us to take action, as everyone is smart, we shouldn’t take it lightly because it won’t be easy to use force; we must be much stronger than what you can possibly imagine, and that’s why we can handle it so easily, but the twists and dangers in the area ahead are formidable," Jiaxie said.

. Even though discussing terms with external powers doesn’t necessarily mean you can simply take more resources for your family... A few rulers are well aware of the benefits a relationship with the external powers may bring; because for seven hundred years... they could potentially gather a great deal of information about the external powers from Jiaxie.

. Maybe this time, Zheng and Jiuyan both subtly guessed that they might understand more about the messages from Jiaxie’s external powers.

."We six people will be grouped together on a small mission; it’s a big task that brings us together. Because we are going to a very vast area, it’s dangerous, but you will know what to do once you enter, and we will inevitably be distributed into the same area," Jiuyan said.

."Although we have a few who can stand alone and block an attack from the external world’s powers, and it might be better to trust a teammate provided they’re reliable. But this time we should not be too arrogant or overconfident, as traversing the dangerous areas ahead is no simple matter," Jiuyan added.

: Zheng, being quite concerned, gave a special reminder of things to be aware of before leaving the tower.

. Even though he had yet to pay a single visit to Jiuyan, he couldn’t just ignore the preset layout without consideration.

. Jiuyan himself might also be something good if this journey through the milestones had an impact.

. The white mist was testing to see if some subtle transformation was happening in the relationship between Jiuyan and Zheng, especially since odd questions began with Zheng at the outset when using his power during confrontations.

. It was Zheng who had arranged for Little Bai’s light rain because, as a lone traveler in a black territory full of life, he was unidentifiable in white mist.

. Little Bai’s strength in Mechanical City seemed quite weak and not too significant compared to Zheng’s might, but Little Bai’s body also had a certain latent strength, and Zheng’s attitude was extremely arrogant.

. White mist had already made groupings; Zheng and his squad were one group, Ba and Jiuyan were another, and Zheng himself was grouped with Jiaxie.

. Simply put, entering a new area would naturally change the assignments of the two-person groups, with each two-person team advancing.

. Upon entering Mechanical City, the two-person teams will be randomly assigned and distributed, which was also hinted at by white mist to Jiaxie before leaving the tower.

. Naturally, there was a reason why white mist chose Little Bai as the last of the six-person team.

. If Little Bai was just a sandbag, it would be noted, especially if he didn’t have any significant offensive capabilities... Although this person had a ranking, and even though Little Bai’s purpose in the rankings was the only doubt.

. Erleipu was particularly on guard around Jiuyan, even though he had not exchanged a single word with Zheng, who was the most genuinely powerful among the few, particularly Zheng himself.

. Little Bai, Jiaxie, Zheng, Jiuyan, Chu Qing, and white mist were all present in the eastern part’s ground floor, two hours later.

...

...

. White mist felt that observing Jiuyan’s silhouette became quite interesting.

. After Jiuyan finished speaking, Chimney carried away the corpse.

."See you on the Second Level."

. His emotions settled down, but he was indeed very eager to try something dangerous; he wanted to know more about the Jiaxie’s backstory with the external power because it was quite dangerous at the moment.

."It’s very dangerous according to the serial number provided by Jiaxie; I will indeed leave the tower in two hours, this time I’m going to that area," Jiuyan said.

? What made Jiuyan think of something... He surely thought.

. Jiuyan surely could not disregard Jiuyan’s stance as a major event, possibly without reason.

. White mist felt an immense satisfaction inside, according to plan.

."It’s none of your business; this is my family’s affair," said Jiuyan.

."Have you gone mad?"

Surprised, feigning ignorance in the white fog.

They talked about the murder at Jiuyan, this sentence passed afterward, and Jiuyan was killed in his own shadow.

Click Clack.

"You’ve been half here protecting me all the time, aren’t you always undercover, observing or scheming to kill Little Bai, or something? She doesn’t look like a bad person."

Ba continued fanning the flames, "What’s the big deal if I’m protecting you in secret? It shouldn’t be a question at all. Why don’t you know? You still don’t know?"

"I never knew there was such a person at Jiuyan," said Zheng, his throat choking. Pang only clenched his fists, no comeback from Jiuyan.

"She should wake up soon. How exactly should we deal with this number one person?"

Ba couldn’t wrap his head around it, but White Fog was not relying solely on Erleipu’s eyes, he could deceive him too, naturally, he knew.

Watching the sequence on White Fog’s body, Jiuyan thought this to himself.

"Don’t be overly shocked, isn’t it just an army’s standard inspection team?"

"Just a guess?"

"Merely one of those plain surprises with nothing out of the ordinary."

Zheng said to himself, "You seem to know very well what I’m going to do, you’re not wrong, it suits you, barely fitting with what I just did."

"How should we deal with it?"

Jiuyan would be very hurt if White Fog messed up, but that was the issue.

Jiuyan did not feel he would be able to keep his own life, this person definitely had non-ordinary potential.

If Jiuyan let slip something about chasing White Fog, it would inevitably attract Jiaxie’s attention, creating a very troublesome issue.

Why would he arrange someone to follow me, if he truly trusts me?

I have a few guesses... but how true they are, I have no idea.

He couldn’t have imagined this was the case, not long ago when he himself had asked the old family head about a couple of strange questions while in the restricted area...

And now that someone was following him, he couldn’t understand why someone as clever as he would have his own shadow.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt the urge to kill again.

Zheng, who had already suppressed his killing intent, now saw himself followed by Jiuyan’s men, an unquestionable thrill.

White Fog shifted his heavy heart toward Jiuyan, moving not three sentences from Jiuyan.

"You didn’t even know about her existence, so it’s good that you are from Jiuyan’s side, yeah. This matter I came to talk about with Jiuyan is also very important, I shouldn’t hide it from you. I’m here to ensure Jiuyan’s safety," Ba conceded confidently.

"Though she’s a target of mine, I know she’s from Jiuyan. But just now I felt real danger, I shouldn’t be feeling this slight sense of threat at all, it might put Jiuyan in danger..."

"I wouldn’t have thought this was really so troublesome. I step out when something important happens, sorry about that, Ba."

Ba stood resolute.

His expression was extremely complicated at the moment.

Zheng, with his observant detective’s eyes, could see through this woman just by looking at her, for she was conspicuously revealing her identity.

"She is from Jiaxie’s family."

Even though he had never seen this person before, Zheng was still shocked.

For that reason, dressed similarly to himself, he immediately recognized her as the old Jiuyan family head, upon seeing the silhouette that had materialized.

Shadow followed unconscious Jiuyan, who was untangling the mysterious sequences within him unknowingly.

White Fog could not help but marvel, with the eyes of the earth and observers upon him, let alone the fact that Jiuyan was extraordinarily troubled by this relentless situation, persisting even when trying to shift a solitary position in the surrounding circle.

A guardian with extraordinary strength was knocked unconscious, defending with a mere gesture against two attackers cooperating in tandem.

The battle ended, the sound of a shattered skull echoed.

Crack.

In the brief instant, less than a second’s time, Jiuyan had already made an additional move, even as the combined attack of Little Bai’s white fog and herself had just descended upon them.

As she completed her spinning movement, Little Bai raised a green bronze axe overhead, ready to bring it down in a decisive strike, but Jiuyan, relying on her old routines, didn’t even see Little Bai’s figure.

In response to Little Bai’s sudden and ferocious move, Jiuyan decisively altered her defensive stance into an attack, knowing full well that Jiuyan was even more potent.

What had been discovered at that moment?

How had she been discovered?

A multitude of thoughts flooded her mind as she realized she was already making a defensive move in response to Little Bai raising her axe in that split second.

They both knew the outcome of any changes, but the short-term response was not affected by the unchanging nature of the two players’ collusion.

Anticipating an attack from a certain direction before Little Bai’s action even began, he could infer from Little Bai’s gaze, but he could not see Jiuyan’s presence, alternating before and after Little Bai.

Perhaps it was because this person had interacted with Jiuyan, making a crucial move—one that could potentially threaten life itself.

The hand sword...

Jiuyan too had made a move—not even a fraction of a second apart from Little Bai’s, who initiated the battle with the first strike.

Because Jiuyan had acted with murderous intent, unknowing that Jiuyan still had a protector, the presence of Little Bai became clear and certain.

How should she match herself?

Although both individuals hadn’t moved yet, she had already seen how the opponent would act next.

Little Bai had a further viewpoint, of course, capable of perceiving a few seconds into the future, which could be achieved by Jiuyan as well, who was no less than Little Bai in that aspect.

Without ever considering herself as prey, having never been hunted down before, Jiuyan felt a certain kind of wariness within her, although she was but a hidden dragon in possession. Little Bai walked, slowing her steps, flanking Jiuyan one step ahead, one behind.

All around were piles of various construction materials, taller than a person. This place was an unaudited construction area in a residential district, which had been planned four months ago but hadn’t started work yet.

They had come to an open space on the Second Level, where the two of them were to discuss an important meeting invitation for a tower consultation scheduled after this.

Little Bai felt that with Jiuyan’s help, who possessed the eyes of a Heavenly Watcher and the eyes of a Hidden Observer, she could gather even more information by advancing towards Mechanism City. The Second Level was very open; the two of them were quickly arriving at the Second Level.

They discussed the topic, but Jiuyan was lazy to engage further; she didn’t understand what Little Bai was saying and listened uninterested, owing to the rigorous education received at a prestigious tower.

"Are you just a big bird that’s been transferred from an audit regiment to spend time chatting with a man about philosophy for fun?"

"It’s not about philosophizing; it’s about discussing with you."

Little Bai responded casually, not genuinely interested in the topic, "How can a person not change at all? Surely there’s a boundary to everything. You talk about change, but my moments from before are already different from this one."

They were heading towards a particular place, where no one else was.

Jiuyan looked at Little Bai, "Are you saying that a person wouldn’t change their nature in seven hundred years?"

Although they chatted sentence after sentence, with no real topic in mind after leaving the madman’s courtyard, on the road, Little Bai had always been engaging Jiuyan in conversation.

...

...

Life seemed to become more and more beautiful.

In Dugu’s heart, which was fading slowly—the relationship with Little Bai and Uncle Xiao might or might not get any better, wondering whether to actively find some topic of conversation for the next time he saw Little Bai.

She was actually very lovely in their recent conversations, but she could also be considered quite strict, or even to the extent where she could be called Sister Ruan or Little Orange, which was quite a different from how she used to be before.

Ba’s affection was so intense that it felt like a thick fog, something Jiuyan had never experienced before. Reluctantly, she couldn’t bear to leave and kept gazing at the fading white mist after their parting. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"Yeah, see you again."

"See you, Little Bai! Ah... see you then... that... that."

"I still have some things to take care of, I’ll come see you next time."

Jiuyan only said that because this time Little Bai hadn’t responded with any farewell words, unlike the last time they parted.

"I hope there comes a day when I can break out of this tower, accompany you always, and truly open up to you, Little Bai."

This girl, whose laughter could bring out such sweet beauty from hiding in the shadows, seemed so mysteriously alluring that it felt odd.

Surprisingly, Jiuyan found some kind of healing in Ba’s smile, just as Little Bai was preparing to leave after the story was finished.

Could one possibly maintain the purity of heart after walking the earth for over seventy years? Jiuyan also felt that this incident might not have been a mistake after all, as things gradually became clearer to her.

Jiuyan listened intently, hoping Little Bai would finish his story and ask some intriguing questions, as she was quite determined to make Chu Qing fall into her trap.

Little Bai spoke of a young man from the Sharp Forest called Little Bai who slowly transformed from an ordinary person into a hero, narrating some of his own adventures outside the tower.

One day, he himself might even be able to feel something, now that the illness of his family was getting better, though he still didn’t understand what it meant to open up.

"The illness at the hospital is getting somewhat better... Ba will come to visit me by himself," said Jiuyan to Little Bai.

But Jiuyan didn’t interfere in Chu Qing’s work with the most seriously ill patients, Lord Chu Qing was not there.

Little Bai was slowly able to say his own name, becoming another person instead of Abara Abara Abara; he had already returned from his original era, concealing his surname and name, no longer accosting passers-by with greetings, just one patient separated by a wall.

This place had a kind of strange calmness to it, which was quite odd when brought up in conversation. Jiuyan felt very humbled by this place.

Jiuyan, staying nearby, listened in as Ba and Jiuyan chatted throughout the day.

Jiuyan did not show any signs of indulgence towards Jiuyan’s face, unlike before.

He seemed to be looking at his little sister. Inside, Jiuyan felt a deep joy, sensing some sort of transformation in Jiuyan.

This little white dot, no matter what form it took, could never be unnoticed on the paper, no matter how black the rest of the sheet was.

This was a kind of fortune, according to Jiuyan.

No matter how deep the depression inside him, no matter the high spirits he might not have comprehended before, his life seemed increasingly valuable after encountering Little Bai, even though there had never been anything good in his original life.

Jiuyan was determined not to admit it, no matter what.

The two of them seemed to have become friends, an odd pair, and watching them together this time, he remembered the previous encounter with Little Bai and Xiao Shu, like drawing a sword from its sheath. freewebnσvel.cѳm

However, she was not entirely prepared for this kind of happiness.

Jiuyan didn’t know how good she felt inside.

He perceived a certain kind of stillness in his immediate surroundings, a type of detached roaming, a purely instinctive feeling, while he felt certain he was being watched by a certain gaze.

Little Bai didn’t necessarily have to do this; Jiuyan didn’t suspect Ba of watching him just for the sake of it.

Ba could indeed sense Jiuyan’s lurking presence, all but invisible to the naked eye—Erleipu was quite suspicious of Little Bai’s behavior.

Jiuyan was thinking about a question at that moment but hadn’t come out and asked it.

It was a silent agreement, a matter of waiting for the right time, with neither of the two making a move.

At that instant, Jiuyan also saw Ba’s reaction.

It seemed Ba would not open up, proud and aloof as he was, but just interacting with Jiuyan’s paper on the desk felt almost like an entire action performed by Jiuyan.

He might as well have seen the future on the painted surface, as he saw it through Jiuyan’s eyes, opening the paper in front of him, not even needing to look at the message inside.

This was quite a clever incident.