Chapter 419

Chapter 420: Unveiling

The all-purpose Engineer Sun was a little rattled.

He had been leading a crew to build a road along the edge of the Black Forest when Yu Sheng called about a special out-of-town side job. The honest civil engineer did not overthink it. He followed instructions, brought people and gear, and stepped through a Door that had opened right beside the Black Forest, then learned what the “little job” really was: dig a Nine-Tailed Fox out from a mass of fused crystal.

Worse, the Nine-Tailed Fox was stuck in the ground because of an orbital strike.

His voice came out muffled from the speakers of his Powered Armor as he stared at the scene: “I’m serious. I’ve dug trenches on a planet that was falling apart, laid roads in a weird pocket world polluted by an Entity, and even hammered bunkers on a wasteland overrun by swarms, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Following you really opens my eyes.”

Yu Sheng laughed and glanced at him: “Same here. So can you do it or not? If you can’t, I’ll ask the Engineering Immortals from Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain to think of something.”

Engineer Sun shot him a look and answered at once, pride flashing in his eyes: “Now you’re looking down on me. I’ve never done this exact job, but it’s not hard. You keep the Door open, and I’ll have the guys go back for better tools. What we brought isn’t right for this.”

Before long, the workers he brought had switched into the right kit and started working their way around Foxy.

Jackhammers screamed and cutters roared. Sparks showered and crystal dust flew from the ground around Foxy.

Yu Sheng stood with Irene and Luna to watch.

Engineer Sun stood beside him, curious eyes always moving as he studied the place.

Garrison-3 was not fit for human life. The radiation was heavy and the air was toxic, so Engineer Sun and his crew had put on thick construction-grade Powered Armor for alien worlds. It did not look as cool as Xu Jiali’s suit, but it had the sturdy, heavy feel of real machines. The only thing to complain about was the graffiti Sun had added: across his chest plate, big crooked letters read, AAA Civil Works, Brother Sun.

He was clearly proud of his armor. Every so often he popped a small drone from his forearm to snap selfies of himself against the bleak alien background, showing off the Powered Armor with every pose.

After a while he finally looked Yu Sheng’s way. He hesitated for a few seconds, then blurted out: “I know you’re special, but I didn’t expect you to be walking around here without a hazmat suit. Doesn’t it feel stuffy?”

Yu Sheng thought for a second and waved a hand: “It does smell bad, so I haven’t breathed for a while. I’m adaptable. I can breathe, or not.”

Engineer Sun’s eye twitched: “I don’t think that’s called adaptability anymore,” he muttered, then let it go. He had worked with Yu Sheng many times and was a seasoned hand at the Special Affairs Bureau, so he changed the subject: “Forget that. What happened here? What did you fight to make such a mess?”

Yu Sheng rubbed his neck and spoke in a lighter tone: “We’re still not sure what it was, but I suspect it’s related to the Dark Angels. Don’t tense up. The true body of a Dark Angel definitely isn’t here. If it were, this fight wouldn’t have ended so simply.”

Engineer Sun’s face kept stiff as he forced out one word: “Wow.”

Yu Sheng pointed toward the wrecked field and said: “We still don’t understand what state the ‘enemy’ is in, so I’ll need your help with more work. After we dig Foxy out, please keep digging around here. There should be some leftover ‘crystal-branch’ structure under the layers. We need to sample it and send it to the Special Affairs Bureau. Zheng Zhi already filed up the chain. Your Director will know what to do.”

Hearing the real business, Engineer Sun grew serious and nodded: “No problem. We’ve done that kind of job. But sample recovery needs people from the Bureau. We’re good at heavy labor. High-risk sample sealing, containment, and transfer are delicate work, handled by a dedicated recovery team.”

Yu Sheng had already pulled out his phone: “I know. I’m messaging Rapunzel at your Bureau now.”

A sharp cracking noise from not far away cut off their talk.

Yu Sheng looked up. The crew around Foxy were backing away in a hurry, and someone yelled as he retreated: “We broke through! Watch her claws, back up!”

Once everyone reached a safe distance, Foxy rocked in place, carefully set all four legs down, then pushed back hard and pulled her head free of the ground.

The Nine-Tailed Silver Fox sat there, dusty and dazed, propping herself up with her front paws. A ring of half-broken stone still hung around her neck. Her eyes were a little blank. After a moment she shook her head, shattered the stone collar, and sent a cloud of sand and gravel flying.

Yu Sheng dodged the falling pebbles, looked up at the big fox, and called: “Foxy, how do you feel?”

Foxy answered honestly, lowering her head to nuzzle him with her nose: “My head is buzzing. It’s rumbling by my ears.”

Yu Sheng chuckled: “Can’t be helped. It took a lot to dig you out. The stones and crystals around your head had fused into one block, and a bunch of construction guys in Powered Armor drilled around your head for half an hour. Anyone would feel woozy.”

Foxy shook again, scattering the last bits of grit. She finally perked up, stuck out her tongue, and gave Yu Sheng a lick that almost knocked him over. Then her belly rumbled like thunder.

She said with a straight face: “Benefactor, I’m hungry. Food.”

Yu Sheng’s head buzzed from the lick, and cold sweat broke out when he heard her next words, but he reacted fast. He opened a Door large enough for Foxy even in her demon-fox size: “Food, food. I already contacted the Special Affairs Bureau. The cafeteria’s ready for you.”

Foxy looked up and saw the Bureau cafeteria through the Door, plus a line of friendly, familiar servers. Her eyes lit up. Yu Sheng saw a flash of white, and Foxy had already launched herself through to the other side.

Irene leaned on Yu Sheng’s shoulder and peeked through the Door: “That will be a hard battle…”

Yu Sheng shrugged and tried to sound calm: “It’s fine. The Bureau folks are all veterans and have seen everything.”

Engineer Sun stood to the side with sweat on his brow. He took one look at the storm sweeping the cafeteria and silently pitied his coworkers on the other side, then pulled his focus back to the job in front of them: “So… start digging?”

Yu Sheng pointed at the pit that Foxy’s head had smashed open and nodded: “Start here. I’ll guide you on the general layout below,” he said, using the blood bond to sense the faint reactions under the earth.

…

Sentinel Silence, Ink City.

The rain still hadn’t stopped.

Xuan Che returned to the City Lord’s Manor, this time at City Lord Mo Ran’s invitation.

At his request as an Immortal Envoy, Mo Ran had reached the Youth Form Warden of Sentinel Silence yesterday and invited him to the city today. By the timing, he should arrive any minute.

While he waited in the receiving room, Xuan Che read the messages Yu Sheng sent from far-off Garrison-3.

A strange Crystal Jungle. A “Yun Qing Zi” that appeared inside the crystal clusters. Weird signals coming from deep underground. And a kind of cross-stellar “resonance” between Garrison-3 and Sentinel Silence.

Frowning hard, he stood at the window and stared at the curtain of rain with a grave look.

His Divine Sense spread out bit by bit. It covered the entire manor, then stretched farther, carefully sweeping the border city wrapped in rain.

Everything in the city looked normal. People moved along the streets. The center stayed lively. Even though mining, the old pillar of the economy, had faded, Ink City was still the biggest city on the planet, and it remained prosperous.

But something still felt wrong, a strange chill and mismatch, as if everything were soaked through by something unseen, the way the endless rain soaked the city. It made the heart uneasy.

After the news from Garrison-3, that unease grew even clearer.

A presence approached.

Xuan Che smoothed his face, drew back his spirit, and turned toward the Door of the receiving room.

The Door opened. City Lord Mo Ran stood there.

She bowed with calm grace and spoke: “Immortal Envoy, thank you for waiting. Elder Dao Heng has arrived.”

She stepped aside to invite the guest in and raised a hand in introduction: “This is Sentinel Silence’s Youth Form Warden, Elder Dao Heng.”

Then she turned to Xuan Che and added: “Elder Dao Heng, this is the Immortal Envoy from the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, Immortal Elder Xuan Che, who represents Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain.”

The room was quiet for two seconds, and Mo Ran bowed again: “Then I will leave you two to talk.”

Xuan Che stood by the window, face calm as still water, looking at Mo Ran and at her side.

Only he and Mo Ran were in the room. No one stood in the doorway. There was no one else.

[That’s wrong.]