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墨書 Inktalez
Several days later, Cui Ming returned to the small villa. His death had been clarified, and the York Clan had helped confirm that he was still alive. This left him feeling quite frustrated; he had gone to the same place at the same time as Cui Ming, yet there was no news of his own disappearance.
The doors and windows of the villa were tightly shut. Cui Ming climbed over the wall to enter. The furniture in the living room was covered with white cloths, and all the wardrobes in the rooms were empty except for his belongings.
Cui Ming approached the room he shared with Li Qing. The rope Li Qing used to sleep was gone, and everything on his desk had been neatly organized and covered with a white cloth. The clothes in the wardrobe had been washed and were now hanging in plastic bags inside. Although he couldn't hear anyone's voice, Cui Ming still felt a sense of coming home. He sat in a chair, pulled back the curtains, and stared blankly out the window, finding joy in this simple act.
After nearly three years in the desert, Cui Ming's heart, once filled with longing, had turned into one of loneliness. He calmly realized the meaning behind the saying that a gentleman's friendship is as light as water. He had forgotten many moments spent with others; upon reflection, he struggled to recall Beiyue's smile, Li Qing's eating habits, Mi Xiaonan's innocence, or Ding Ze's laziness. Yet he knew these memories existed.
What about Beiyue? Cui Ming no longer felt that youthful eagerness; it was like an old friend—he wanted to see her but wasn't in a hurry. This feeling was no different from how he felt about Mi Xiaonan and the others.
Suddenly, he heard a sound. Cui Ming activated his Fate Card; the target was seven meters away, exuding a strong aura. Zhao Wei! The patrolling officer must have been informed about the open curtains in this villa and reported it upwards—Zhao Wei had arrived.
Zhao Wei gently pushed open the door and saw Cui Ming sitting with his back to her by the window. She tiptoed over and suddenly shouted, "Hi!"
Cui Ming was startled and fell to the ground. He looked up at Zhao Wei with a pale face while she reveled in her prank. Furious, Cui Ming exclaimed, "Are you trying to kill me?"
"It’s been three years since we last met. You haven't changed at all, but your Force levels have certainly increased," Zhao Wei said as she sat down at the table. She had received news about him days ago and had instructed the patrol officer to keep an eye on him; it turned out he really had nowhere else to go but back here.
"You haven't changed either; it's been three years and your looks haven't improved at all," Cui Ming teased when he noticed Zhao Wei clenching her fists. He quickly added, "Just kidding! Did you bring food?"
"You haven't eaten?"
"No."
"Come on, I'll take you out for a meal." Zhao Wei stood up and glanced back one last time. "Seriously, why are you growing that beard? You should be learning better habits."
"A razor is quite expensive," Cui Ming replied as he slapped his right hand on the brim of his hat, spinning it around before catching it with his left hand and putting it on his head. Wow, it looked so expensive! Hey, after three years apart, I still look this good? I’ve practiced my hat skills for a long time...
"What do you want to eat?" Zhao Wei asked as she reached the door but turned back in surprise. "Damn... wearing that cloak and hat feels completely different!"
Cui Ming nodded in satisfaction. "How is it?"
"Not bad," Zhao Wei replied after looking for a moment, then turned to leave. "What are we eating?"
"Hot pot, spicy."
"Sounds good."
The two got into the car, with Zhao Wei whistling as he drove, acting like a rogue. Cui Ming glanced at Zhao Wei and said, "I heard you only whistle when you have something on your mind. You whistle unconsciously to relieve stress. Is it because of my charm..." Damn it, he thought, it seems that being close to someone like him really rubs off; why does he sound just like Feng?
"Charm? It's okay," Zhao Wei said casually.
Cui Ming smiled. "You wish! Come on, what's up?"
"This matter concerns you."
"Oh?" Cui Ming was surprised. Could it be that he really was that charming? He actually had a black cloak that suited him well.
"A guy named Raefus contacted our lord. We brought over more than three thousand residents from Bit Island."
Dawn City provided these residents with living expenses and supplies. Aside from adhering to the laws of Dawn City, there was one rather inhumane stipulation: they had to reside in the village at the edge of Kama Town's desert for five years and complete certain work before they could obtain permanent residency in Dawn City.
The desert's shifting sands had caused the land area of Dawn City to shrink, which had always been a concern for them. Dawn City invested heavily in environmental improvements. They first built railways and highways at the desert's edge along with villages, but the people of Dawn City were not great; only volunteers worked at the desert's edge, planting trees and irrigating the land step by step to improve it. However, there were still too few workers. When Eva suddenly mentioned she had a group of people, Dawn City felt it was worth a try. They always believed that except for a few individuals, it was the environment that created criminals. Just like in Double Bridge City, some wanted to be good officials, but being good hindered others' wealth; to survive, one had to become a bad person. Similarly in Dawn City, some aspired to be corrupt officials, but with a mature oversight system, while one might have the chance to become corrupt, any attempt would lead to arrest, forcing one to be good for the sake of their livelihood.
As expected, everyone was very satisfied with the new environment—clean meals, comfortable housing, tidy streets, and peaceful security. However, there were still issues; among this group were some scoundrels who were not necessarily hardened criminals but rather offenders due to laziness or other reasons. These individuals violated public order and were sent back to Bit Island. Raefus's subordinates came to retrieve them; they were not kind-hearted either and would simply toss them into the sea once they left Dawn City's waters.
These three thousand people were currently employed by the lord to improve the sandy land and plant trees. Due to their excellent performance over the past year, there were plans to relocate another three thousand people within six months to build a small town at the desert's edge. However, problems arose when the Dawn Empire warned Dawn City that all criminals from Bit Island belonged to the citizens of both the Dawn Empire and its vassal states; this constituted an official illegal smuggling of laborers. Dawn City raised this issue at the Eternity Alliance since Bit Island did not belong to the territory of the Dawn Empire and was considered an uninhabited island; thus these individuals did not possess citizenship of the Dawn Empire.
At this time, Ding Nuo from the Ding Family's branch spoke up for Dawn City, leading to an agreement from the Dawn Empire allowing Dawn City to relocate some residents from Bit Island. However, those associated with anti-Dawn organizations could not be relocated—a point that Dawn City readily accepted as they did not want their city becoming a haven for anti-Dawn elements.
The diplomatic crisis that everyone expected surprisingly dissipated due to the intervention of Ding Nuo, who represented the strength of a branch of the Ding Family and was also the top candidate for the new Ding Family Head.
Once everything was on track, Raefus strictly selected immigrants, sending batches to Dawn City while refusing those who did not meet the standards. For the past year, Eva had been living in the newly constructed Bit Village, where she was appointed as the temporary sheriff by the city lord, working alongside officers dispatched from the police department to maintain law and order in Bit Village.
Everything was orderly until seven days ago when an incident occurred thirty kilometers away at Main Forest Farm. This area was planned to be the outermost part of the town, with mostly semi-desert land between the forest and the village. The sandy soil was not thick, dotted with shrubs and sparse green plants, making it difficult for cultivation.
At Main Forest Farm, around three hundred workers were employed, working five days a week with rotating days off. They were transported back and forth between the village and the forest by special vehicles and lived in tents. Although their lives were tough, they were generally satisfied.
Ten kilometers outside the forest lay a harsher sandy environment, where a Scientific Monitoring Station was located. Four research personnel were stationed there long-term to study and observe data such as desert wind patterns. They traveled to and from the forest using camels and special vehicles back to the village and city.
One day, Main Forest received a distress signal via radio from the monitoring station. Initially thinking it might be a sandstorm or a building collapse with injuries, they dispatched ten strong men on camels to investigate. However, there was no news from them. This was reported to Eva, who decided to go to the monitoring station herself. Upon arrival, she found that while the station itself was intact, all personnel had vanished. After searching, she discovered a type of blue insect underground, about the size of two palms, resembling a crab but with only four legs and sharp claws. It had one eye on its shell and radiated a blue energy aura.
Eva realized that this insect emitted Void Energy and immediately reported back. Evelyn not only informed the Force Alliance but also personally went to the monitoring station to determine how many such insects existed.
Many knew that Void was a type of power or energy but did not understand that it referred to a space. Otherworldly creatures like Mote were transmitted through this void channel into the Eternal Sphere. Theoretically, there are no living beings in the void because there is no water, soil, or sunlight—only energy. However, energy can give rise to life forms and sustain specific organisms known as Void Creatures.
The void is essentially a dark and silent place shrouded in unimaginable fear for humanity. Only those who wield Void Energy, like prophets, can walk within it. Yet prophets merely use this energy; they are not its masters and cannot open a true Void Gate. Without someone opening a Void Gate, it is impossible for Void Creatures to reach the Eternal Sphere. Theoretically, any location on any planet could open a Void Gate, but achieving such power is beyond comprehension. Research conducted by the alliance suggests that no one can attain this power; even gods can only temporarily open a Void Gate, potentially allowing a small number of Void Creatures to enter certain planets.
Void Creatures are extremely deadly; three hundred years ago, one appeared in a village. It possessed almost no intelligence and did nothing significant before being eliminated by the alliance. However, an unusual phenomenon occurred: villagers began falling ill in succession. The first person fell sick and died ten hours later; shortly after, another person became unconscious and died ten hours after that; then it continued with others.
The alliance studied this situation and concluded it was due to Void Energy infection—there was only one source of energy that could infinitely spread within its range. Each time someone died, the energy sought out the nearest individual as its host in succession. Ultimately, Twilight City negotiated with the village city-state for Force Practitioners to enter and eliminate all living beings within ten kilometers before sealing off the village until six months later when mages developed a magic circle to seal off this energy and return it to the void. (To be continued.)
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