by N. Heller
Meme waited for a while, yet he received no response from his captain. He could see the bewilderment on Silvan's face. He knew something was wrong with his captain, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with desperation, "Captain… please think about it carefully… What is that place? Can you tell me why y… why we are all so hell-bent on going to Shambhala? Why don't we return to the Munitions Factory first?"
Silvan let out a sigh as he planted his face into his palms. His golden hair slipped down and covered his knuckles. Using the interplay of shadow and light, it delineated the outline of his knuckles.
Meme continued, his voice was shaky. It seemed to Lin Sanjiu that he genuinely cared for Silvan. "Captain? Are you okay?"
Before Silvan could reply, a palm landed on the boy's shoulder. A middle-aged woman dressed in a security department uniform pulled him up from his chair. Just as she was about to plant her lips on his, Meme came to and struggled with all his worth. He twisted his head as far away as possible from the woman, his veins bulging from his neck. "What are you doing? I have been kissed! I have been kissed! Captain, help me!"
'He's given himself away…'
Lin Sanjiu stared fixedly at the two people in front of her. She felt that Mrs. Manas's voice had become louder in her brain. Two opposing voices were tearing her apart. "Let go of him!" By the time she heard the screaming, she realized it was her who had screamed. "Let him go! We don't need to spread it to him anymore!"
The middle-aged woman turned her head to look at Lin Sanjiu, but she did not release her hand, "Why?"
Standing stock-still, Lin Sanjiu did not avert her eyes. Meme was disturbed with fear, but he was curious as to why Lin Sanjiu would help him at this moment. He tried to peek at Lin Sanjiu through the corner of his eyes while facing another direction, as he feared that somebody might seize the chance and kiss him.
"Because Shambhala is here," she slowly said.
The light in Meme's eyes distinguished when he heard what Lin Sanjiu said. As he turned his neck with an abysmal level of animatronic stiffness, the middle-aged woman released her deadly grip. She pounced towards the window, and the sound of her head knocking on the window made Meme jump. Everyone in the skytrain rose to their feet as they looked outside through the window.
The greyish mist dispersed as the choppers began to descend. The land below them was barren and artic white. The skytrain followed the choppers and landed on the ground with a loud thump, causing everyone to get thrown into the air. They soon rose to their feet and regained their balance. Their eyes were gleaming brightly.
"We've arrived!" somebody yelled excitedly. "We've arrived!"
"Shambhala!"
"Quick! What are you still waiting for? Open the door and let us out!"
People were shouting and crying tears of joy on the train. Before Silvan could issue an order, the staff members from the security department opened the door. The light and fog found their way and spilled into the train, causing the temperature in the train to drop as the freezing fog lingered around the people's noses like pieces of broken ice on the water.
"Let's go!" a posthuman hollered out. Before the staff member could move away, the posthuman pushed him out into the fog and then dashed out. When the remaining posthumans saw that somebody had gotten out, they became restless. Their docile temperaments evaporated as they began to push each other and thrust their way towards the exit.
Lin Sanjiu's heart was jumping fast beneath her c.h.e.s.t. Her skin tingled as her blood flow became faster and faster. She didn't even feel this excited on her first date. Be that as it may, she, Silvan, and Yu Yuan were the only group of people who weren't dashing towards the exit. It wasn't because they did not want to go out yet, but that somebody was gripping their hands very tightly.
"Please!" Meme's eyes glistened with tears of fear as he pleaded, "Captain! Captain! Please think again! There's nothing wrong with your body, so why do you want to come here so much?"
He tugged at Silvan's sleeve while holding Lin Sanjiu's hand tightly.
He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop his captain from leaving if he let Lin Sanjiu go. Hence, Meme daren't let go of his hand. He squatted on the ground and pleaded again and again, "Captain! Captain! Please wait another five minutes! Just five minutes will do!"
There was nobody holding Yu Yuan, but since Lin Sanjiu couldn't go, he didn't either. He stamped his feet impatiently as he shouted, "What are you doing? Just shrug him off! Shambhala is just in front of us! We don't have time to waste, we have to go now!"
As they were speaking, everyone already got off the train and stepped into the thick greyish fog outside. The fog billowed like boiling water. It engulfed anyone who dared to walk into it instantly, leaving only their laughter behind.
"Please wait another five minutes, captain!" Meme refused to let go of Silvan. If Silvan insisted on going down from the train, Lin Sanjiu was certain that he would let her go so that he could use both of his hands to keep his captain from disembarking the train. Part of Lin Sanjiu wanted to rush into the fog, but another part was shouting at her, telling her not to move. Torn between the two opposing factions inside of her, Lin Sanjiu did not go down from the train but stared fixedly at Meme.
"Listen!" the boy almost cried. "There is no sound out there!"
The people who went out just now were gone.
Chapter 778 - Into The Fog
The fog dyed everything it touched in grey. The light from the torchlight could illuminate only a short distance, leaving the area beyond the reach of the light to be swallowed by the thick fog.
Just like ice melting into water, the group that consisted of hundreds of people vanished without a trace after walking into the fog.
Lin Sanjiu looked everywhere and saw nothing but a blurry glimpse of greyishness. The flimsy light from the car could do nothing against the billowing fog.
The silence continued for a few seconds until it was shattered by Yu Yuan.
"Since you guys don't want to leave, I will just go first!" His irritation could clearly be seen, although it was shrouded under his tattoos.
Lin Sanjiu shouted quickly, "Wait, we want to go too!"
However, she paused after blurting that out. Then, she hesitantly continued to say, "But… as he said, there is no sound out there."
"So what?" Yu Yuan frowned; the wolf head on his cheek looked like it was going to howl when he talked. "I didn't come to Shambhala just to listen to any sound. I will go first. Meet me outside once you guys decide to come out."
He turned around and walked towards the door right after he finished talking. "Then what did you come for in Shambhala?" Meme shouted suddenly, feeling that Lin Sanjiu and Silvan wanted to follow him to get out as well.
Yu Yuan paused before the door.
"What exactly is Shambhala?" Meme shouted again, his voice on the verge of breaking. "Why on earth did you guys want to come here?"
Slowly, ever so slowly, Lin Sanjiu turned around to look at the boy with a pale countenance and said, "None of us know the answer for either question."
Meme gave her a quick glance and then turned to Silvan for help.
His captain stared at the thick fog silently as he stood beneath a deep gloom.
"I must go out anyway." Yu Yuan tilted his head and mumbled, "Shambhala is calling me."
"Isn't it strange? You yourself don't even know what this thing is like, and it summoned so many people to come over here. Does it make any sense?" Meme yelled at the top of his lungs. He turned to his captain and pleaded again, "Captain, you must not go out with him! Those people that went out a while ago, we don't even know whether they are still alive or not! This place just doesn't feel right!"
Yu Yuan sighed and walked out the door without any words.
"What if you get into an accident after you go out?" Meme shouted again, but his warning fell on deaf ears. Yu Yuan strode out of the car and soon vanished into the greyish fog. Silence returned. The fog continued to swell out.
Other than episodes of doubt and struggles, she did not feel worried or anxious about Yu Yuan.
It was like the calmness that came after you were injected with anesthetics.
"Meme," Silvan spoke. His voice was low and gentle as he stared into the fog. "You should know very well that I can throw you out of the car, right?"
The boy gulped hard.
"I… I know… Maybe you don't know about me, captain, but I have been on a mission with you before and I know how… powerful you are…"
After that, he threw a quick surreptitious glance at Lin Sanjiu. Despite Silvan's warning, he did not let go of their hands but gripped them even tighter. He did not activate his evolving ability, nor did he use any of his Special Items. He just relied on his own strength and dedication to grasp their hands as tightly as he could.
"So… you'd rather take such a huge risk just to stop me?" asked Silvan as he stared at the boy with his emerald green eyes. He could not comprehend his action, so he asked again, "Why?"
"Why? Because you are our captain!" Meme then hesitated for a second as if he felt the answer was not good enough. "Without captain, what will happen to the security department? And those senior officers out there… All of them are…"
"No, I guess you misunderstood my question," Silvan interrupted. He raised his head and looked into Lin Sanjiu's eyes. Both of them could see the same confusion in each other's faces. "Do you really think what we're doing right now is weird?"
"Yes!" Meme's face became so red his face looked like a huge tomato. "It is… It is as if you have been drugged!"
"Drugged? Us?"
Lin Sanjiu stared blankly at the emerald green eyes. She knew Silvan must be in the same state as her right now. Both of them could intellectually understand Meme, and it should have stirred up something in their hearts. However, neither of them knew why, but they just couldn't feel anything.
"Understood." Lin Sanjiu sighed and then brandished her arm furiously to smack Meme away. "But no matter what, we must go out."
"Then you go yourself!" the boy yelled, his voice laced with pain and anger. "Leave captain alone!"
"No," Lin Sanjiu said simply as she began to search around the car. She felt as if there was a fog in her brain and Mrs. Manas was trapped behind the fog, shouting and struggling as she tried her very best to get close to her. Even though she was merely a shadow right now, she was getting clearer as the minutes went by. "Your captain has to go with me."
"What are you looking for?" Silvan walked up to her and asked softly.
"This is a Munitions Factory armored personnel carrier, right?" She opened up a drawer and pulled out several things, such as uniforms. She threw them on the ground and asked Silvan, "Are there any Special Items on this carrier? Or something made by the Munitions Factory?"
"Are you talking about…"
Lin Sanjiu stopped her movement and looked into the fog. It had been two minutes since Yu Yuan and the group of posthumans went out. She was not worried about them; rather, she was excited about what she was about to do later. It was as if something outside was calling her, and she wanted nothing more than to follow and heed its call.
It was all thanks to Mrs. Manas and Meme that she was able to retain some of her rationality and consciousness, though they were as weak as a blade of grass raved by the strong wind. The voice in her heart that told her everything was wrong was getting stronger by the second. She could not ignore it no matter how hard she tried, so she wanted to find out whether or not the voice was wrong.
"We must go out. Everyone has already gone out, including Yu Yuan… We have to look for them, so we can't stay here anymore." Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. "By the way… there is a voice inside of me that keeps yelling at me to go out, and I can barely resist it."
Facing the two people in front of her, she shook her head and continued, "Anyway, if we are going out, we must be careful and well-prepared for any consequences. Hence, I'd like to borrow something from the Munitions Factory."
With a smile plastered to his face, Silvan twisted his wrist and freed himself from Meme's grip. He didn't even turn his body, and before the boy knew it, he was pushed a few steps away by Silvan.
"That's easy," he said, "I brought all the exhibits from the auction with me. Meme?"
The boy still seemed to be in a confused state, as he couldn't follow the sudden change of situation. He raised his head blankly and replied, "Huh?"
"You are still a trainee, right?"
"Yeah…"
"We are now going out to check the surroundings, so I am asking you this right now: are you willing to follow me as an official member?" Silvan said as he licked his lips. There was a fire brewing inside of him that caused his eyes to flare up brightly. When he chuckled, his voice was hoarse. "...Perhaps you can rescue both of us, since you are the only one here right now. You understand what I said, right?"
Meme fell silent. He looked at the fog that fluttered into the car through the opened door. After that, he turned to his captain, straightened his body, and announced through a solid voice with only dedication in his eyes, "Captain, I will follow you to the end of the world!"
Silvan nodded. Then, he turned around and opened up an overhead compartment. He was tall and his arms were long, so he took a black bag down without any difficulties. The bag was almost half a person tall, and it was so huge, people might think there was a door inside. He hurled the bag at Meme, and the boy almost fell to the ground. "Take this! This will be your equipment."
"Yes, sir!"
After that, they quickly checked through every equipment they had and then stepped out of the car one after another. The light from the car illuminated a small piece of fog in front of them. The fog fluttered and grazed their skin. Lin Sanjiu had no idea why, but she felt as if the fog was alive and that something was staring at them through it.
As soon as they left the skytrain, they were instantly enveloped by a deadly silence. There was nothing that could be heard aside from Meme's labored breathing, which was getting heavier as they walked deeper into the fog. If it weren't for Meme, Lin Sanjiu might have thought she was walking on the riparian land next to the river of Styx.
Three halos of light pierced through the fog. Their torchlight could light up no more than a few steps ahead of them. Through the mist of white, Lin Sanjiu felt that the ground beneath her feet was covered with rubble and rocks, looking like bone at first glance. Lin Sanjiu tried to look around, yet she couldn't find even a single blade of grass. It was barren land.
They couldn't see the road ahead, so they did not know whether they were walking in the same direction as Yu Yuan or not. However, after walking in the mist for some time, they found that their concern was totally uncalled for.
"We have a downslope here," Silvan's voice came from the fog not far away. He sounded as if he couldn't contain his excitement, and his pleasant voice was quivering slightly. "All the people who come out could only go down. I guess you two already realized it, didn't you? The terrain of this land is like a giant bowl."
Before Lin Sanjiu could reply, she tripped over something. Nonetheless, her reaction was swift, so just as her body began to lean forward, she took a large step ahead and attempted to regain her balance. However, little did she expect, the thing that tripped her was exceedingly huge. She did not step onto the ground as expected but instead planted her feet on something soft, which caused her to lose her balance completely.
She quickly extended her arm outward and prevented herself from landing face first on the ground. Both Silvan and Meme were startled by the commotion she made, as their voices rang out at the same time, "What's wrong?"
"Something tripped me," Lin Sanjiu said as she got up from the ground. She realized her heartbeat was not speeding up at all. In her heart, there was only calmness and a wash of happiness for finally being able to achieve her goal. She picked the torchlight up from th
e ground and shone it ahead. "Let me see what it is…"
She became stunned before she could finish her words.
The thing that tripped her was none other than Yu Yuan.
Chapter 779 - The Fight With Myself
Lin Sanjiu sat on the ground, looking at Yu Yuan dully.
Silvan and Meme rushed over and came to her side after they heard the noise that scattered the mist. Their gazes landed on the human body under the glow of the torchlight and neither said a word.
It was Yu Yuan's back that almost tripped Lin Sanjiu. The circle of light from the torchlight revealed his prone form on the ground amid the thick mist. His legs were in a kneeling position and were curved under his body, his hands laid straight in front.
The silence continued to grow as they all stared at him.
"W-What is he doing? Isn't he the big brother who came out just now? Is… is he still alive?" Meme spoke up first, shattering the silence with his shaking voice. Carrying a bag of equipment that was much bigger and taller than himself, Meme's body was taut like a tightly wound spring. He gripped the strap of the bag firmly while fixiating his eyes on Yu Yuan.
His voice subsided, but no answer came.
Meme arduously moved his gaze away from Yu Yuan's body, his face immediately turning pale.
"What are you doing? Hey, what are you trying to—" He forgot to lower his voice, and it cracked in that moment.
It wasn't until she felt her arm being tugged by another hand and lifting her up that Lin Sanjiu recovered her senses. She looked up and through the mist, saw Meme's nervous face with his furrowed brows. He asked, "Why are you crawling around on the ground?"
Frightened, she looked down again, only to realize her legs had curled up and were kneeling on the ground. If it was not for Meme waking her, she would be in the same posture as Yu Yuan.
"I... have no idea," she muttered, feeling like she was speaking the truth. Like how birds migrated to the south at the right season, she was driven by her instinct. She looked up and glanced over at Meme. Her expression then froze.