Chapter 121: Entering the Dreamscape to Ask for Her Help
A dozen or so adult Split Ridge Lizards, mixed in with Bone-piercing Vines and swarms of corrosive worms, were rapidly moving toward the camp.
They were incredibly fast, and their low hisses created a palpable sense of pressure even from a great distance.
"How are there still so many?!" Cheng Nian’s face went pale.
Li Wen’s voice was also tight. "Something’s wrong. This is no longer on the scale of a training exercise..."
Before she finished speaking, a piercing alarm blared from the center of the camp.
"Attention, all personnel! All cadets are to return to their tents immediately to pack their gear! Evacuation by vehicle in five minutes!"
Qi Yao’s voice boomed through the loudspeaker, carrying an unprecedented sense of urgency.
The three exchanged a look and broke into a run toward their tent.
Tearing open the tent flap, Yun Sheng grabbed her already-packed gear bag while Cheng Nian and Li Wen quickly double-checked their own belongings.
In less than two minutes, the three of them were out of the tent, sprinting toward the transport vehicles parked nearby.
The camp was filled with running figures. Some faces were pale, some staggered on unsteady feet, but no one dared to stop.
One after another, the transport vehicles started up, the roar of their engines mingling with the hisses of the distant pollutants.
Just as Yun Sheng and her friends jumped aboard, the vehicle shot forward before the door could even close completely.
"Hold on! Grab something!" the driver’s voice yelled from the front.
The scene outside the window silenced everyone in the cabin.
High-level Sentinels were already clearing a path ahead, their spiritual bodies roaring as they lunged into the swarms of pollutants in the dark.
It was a true slaughter, a storm of blood and gore.
The cadets watched everything through the windows, their faces ashen.
Some covered their mouths, others tore their eyes away, unable to watch. Some clenched their fists so tightly their knuckles turned white.
Yun Sheng watched, too.
She watched as the spiritual bodies were wounded under the siege of pollutants, as the Sentinels grit their teeth and fought on, as she witnessed a real battlefield of flying flesh and blood, where life hung by a thread.
This was the world of a Sentinel.
As guides, the mission of cadets like them was to soothe the Sentinels, to support them when they were exhausted, and to provide security from the rear.
But at this moment, gazing at the figures fighting a bloody battle outside the window, an unprecedented desire surged within Yun Sheng’s heart.
’It’s not just about self-preservation.’
’Not just about hiding in the rear.’
’I want to be stronger.’
’Strong enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sentinels. Strong enough that no one would dare to bully me. Strong enough so that if, one day, someone is fighting a bloody battle to shield me, I can charge forward and shield them instead.’
The vehicle lurched violently, interrupting her thoughts.
Outside, the battle raged on.
The Sentinels advanced quickly, tearing one opening after another in the swarms of pollutants. The convoy of transport vehicles was moving toward the safe zone, slowly but steadily.
Just then, BOOM! A deafening explosion thundered in the distance, and the very ground trembled.
The cadets looked out the window in terror.
In the distance, at the edge of the wilderness, a column of dust and smoke billowed up, blotting out the sky.
Yun Sheng’s pupils contracted sharply.
That direction...
That was the direction of the abandoned mine.
She stared intently at the churning cloud of dust as a baseless, intense panic surged through her, leaving her feeling hollow and terribly afraid.
’Si Jin...’
’Si Jin couldn’t still be in that abandoned mine, could he?!’
"Yun Sheng? Yun Sheng!" Cheng Nian’s voice sounded as if it were coming from far away. "Why do you look so awful? Are you okay?"
Yun Sheng opened her mouth to speak but found her throat was choked, unable to utter a single word.
She just kept staring at the receding cloud of dust outside, her fingertips digging deep into her palm.
The convoy sped through the wilderness for nearly an hour before finally reaching a temporary camp.
It was an open area on higher ground, encircled by a simple spiritual power barrier. Several High-level Sentinels stood guard at the entrance, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
In the distance, a few transport vehicles that had arrived earlier were visible, with cadets disembarking in an orderly fashion under the instructors’ direction.
"We’re here, we’re here! Get off, quickly!"
Cheng Nian tugged on Yun Sheng’s sleeve, and only then did Yun Sheng mechanically follow the crowd off the vehicle.
Her feet were on solid ground, but she felt no relief at having survived the ordeal.
She looked down and quickly opened her terminal.
The chat window for White Tiger was still open to her last, unanswered message.
She quickly typed out a new line.
F-3: Where are you? Do you know what’s happening at the abandoned mine? Are... are you okay?
However, a long time passed after she sent the message, and still there was no reply.
Yun Sheng stared at the screen, her heart beating faster and faster.
She sent another one.
F-3: If you see this, please reply.
Message sent.
But after a good while, there was still no reply.
The chat window was as silent as a stagnant pool. The white profile picture just sat there, gray and inactive.
Yun Sheng clutched her terminal, her expression growing darker.
Cheng Nian leaned in, and upon seeing Yun Sheng’s face and the chat window on her screen, lowered her voice.
"The White Tiger Officer... he hasn’t replied yet?"
Yun Sheng shook her head without a word.
For some reason, she had a gut feeling that White Tiger was at the abandoned mine.
’If that’s true, and he hasn’t been replying... could something have happened to him?!’
Yun Sheng couldn’t stop herself from refreshing the terminal over and over, staring at the eternally silent chat window.
On the distant horizon, the dust and smoke were slowly dissipating.
But her heart felt like it was suspended in midair by a thread, with no way to come down.
...
Deep within the mine, dust filled the air and rubble littered the ground.
Bai Ye gasped for breath. The excruciating pain originating from deep within his spiritual landscape was like thousands of ants gnawing on his bones, and his consciousness began to fade.
Just then, the terminal on his wrist suddenly vibrated, snapping him back to alertness.
He instinctively looked down. The screen lit up, and his gaze wavered slightly.
’It’s Yun Sheng. Is she worried about me?’
Bai Ye took a deep breath, forcing down the surging wave of pain. He tapped the chat window with his fingertip, intending to reply.
"ROAR!"
An earth-shaking roar came from behind him.
Bai Ye whipped his head around.
Si Jin, who had been kneeling on the ground bound by silver chains, was now standing up again.
The madness in his crimson eyes was even more intense than before. The violent Dark Power surrounding him erupted like an out-of-control volcano!
In an instant, the silver chains shattered, piece by piece.
Bai Ye grunted, stumbling back half a step as a large mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
The phantom of the Holy Light White Tiger appeared abruptly behind him. The great tiger let out a deafening roar, kicked off the ground with its four paws, and lunged at Si Jin!
Si Jin’s figure was forced back several steps by the White Tiger’s phantom, but he didn’t stop.
He abruptly turned and, instead of continuing the fight, sped off toward the deeper parts of the mine, vanishing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
Bai Ye tried to give chase, but he staggered and nearly fell to his knees again.
He clutched his chest as another spurt of blood welled up.
’I can’t chase him!’
’In my current state, forget chasing him, I can barely even walk out of this mine.’
The cracks in his spiritual landscape were still widening, and his power was teetering on the verge of losing control. If he forced himself to act again, he might completely break down before Si Jin did!
Bai Ye braced himself against the rock wall, struggling to stay upright.
He looked down at his terminal. The screen was still lit, and her words were still there.
He took a deep breath, slowly turned, and began walking step by step toward the mine exit.
Right now, the most important thing was to get his injuries under control. He had to find a safe place and enter a dream.
’And ask for her help!’