Inside The Black Mist

| In Lao Xu's room. |

"Here, these are for you." Lao Xu pointed to the potted plants on the shelf. "I already have some at home, and I don't have space for these. Your place is still a bit empty, so you can use them as decorations. It's always good to have some greenery in your room."

He then enthusiastically led Tianyang to the bookshelf in the corner. "I don't really need these books anymore, so I'll give them to you as well. And that book, ”Deciphering the Inverse Universe's Script” you don't need to return it. Whenever you have time, come visit my place, have a meal, or something."

Tianyang frowned and asked, "You still haven't told me why you're leaving so suddenly."

Lao Xu scratched his head, leaned against the window, and looked outside. "I wouldn't say it's sudden. I've been thinking about retiring for a while now. I just hadn't found the right opportunity until recently. A few days ago, the Tianqing Academy offered me a teaching position. I figured, since I have a fallback option now, there's no need to stay in the Night Walkers anymore."

"Might as well make way for younger guys like you to shine."

But Tianyang felt that this wasn't Lao Xu's true reason.

Lao Xu looked up at the fortress in the sky. "I'm not young anymore; I lost the sharpness I had when I was younger. I'm not like our Captain, who has no attachments. To be honest, I've been thinking about retiring ever since we came back from Wild Valley Town."

"Those things are terrifying, Tianyang. When we were being chased by that tree demon in Wild Valley Town, I almost thought I wouldn't make it back. Do you know what I was thinking at that moment?"

Of course, Tianyang had no idea, so he shook his head.

Lao Xu smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with crow's feet. "I was thinking, if I die, what will happen to my wife and daughter at home? Especially my daughter—she's still so young. I haven't held her enough yet. So, yes, I was really scared..."

The man's shoulders started to tremble slightly. "I was really scared that if there was a next time, I really wouldn't make it back."

For a moment, Tianyang didn't know what to say. He could only pat Lao Xu on the shoulder to offer some comfort.

Lao Xu rubbed his eyes, wiped his face, and forced a smile. "Even though Cang Du was really angry, at least I won't have to live in fear anymore. Tianyang, aren't you going to wish me well?"

Tianyang smiled. "Then I wish you a long life, so I can keep coming over to your place for free meals."

"You brat, all you think about is freeloading!" Lao Xu laughed heartily, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Perhaps deep down, he didn't really want to leave the Night Walkers.

Lao Xu left.

His room became empty, but Tianyang's room was now filled with a lot of stuff.

Closing the door, Tianyang didn't immediately start organizing. Instead, he walked to a terminal in the corner.

He tapped on the terminal's screen, entered his passcode, and logged into the Night Walkers' internal network.

Once connected to the network, Tianyang opened a search window and entered the name "Su Lie."

His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before finally pressing down.

The screen displayed the words "searching," but after a moment, it returned with "no records."

Tianyang frowned slightly. Su Lie's uniform, although the markings were slightly different from those of the Night Walkers, was still undoubtedly a Night Walkers' uniform. How could there be no records?

Could it be that his file was deleted?

Or perhaps...

Tianyang then searched for "Breakers," but this time, the response indicated that he lacked the necessary clearance to access the information.

Now, he wasn't sure whether Su Lie's file had been deleted or if it was just stored in the ”Breakers” system.

This raised another question, what exactly were the ”Breakers?”

Perhaps this was something he could ask someone else about.

But if it was information he wasn't supposed to know, asking might raise suspicions.

After thinking it over for a moment, Tianyang decided to set the matter aside for now. Back at the Yunxiang Base, he had also planned to temporarily put the issue of Su Lie on hold to avoid drawing the attention of certain higher-ups in the fortress.

The next day, Tianqing Academy had a lecture by Liu Jinglin, and Tianyang attended. This particular lecture was about the military civilization of the Inverse Universe.

Based on the evidence collected so far, the Inverse Universe—at least this No. 127 Inverse Universe—had sufficient military power.

However, there were no obvious signs of warfare in the Inverse Universe, which suggested that their military strength served more as a deterrent. This was something to be envied—a world without war was truly beautiful.

After class, Liu Jinglin seemed to have noticed Tianyang earlier and nodded at him, gesturing for him to follow.

Tianyang followed him to an office.

After closing the door, Liu Jinglin had his assistant bring in two cups of water. "Can I ask why you're interested in learning the characters of the Inverse Universe?"

Tianyang answered seriously, "We often have to enter the Inverse Universe, so I thought if I could understand their writing, it might be helpful during missions."

He remembered the video left by Su Lie and wondered if it would have been better if Su Lie hadn't known what was written on the Calamity Compass. So when he said this, the young man wasn't entirely certain.

Liu Jinglin didn't seem to notice and instead looked at Tianyang with some appreciation. "That's a good idea. Actually, much of our research on the Inverse Universe relies heavily on explorers like you bringing back valuable items from that world."

"Unfortunately, many explorers don't recognize the characters of the Inverse Universe, so they often miss out on precious and valuable items. By the time we scholars realize this and re-enter the Inverse Universe to retrieve them, they're usually already gone."

"So, do you have a way to learn?"

Tianyang nodded. "I have a friend who gave me a copy of ”Deciphering the Inverse Universe’s Script.”"

Liu Jinglin smiled, a subtle expression on his face. "Oh, that book. What a coincidence—it's actually authored by me."

Tianyang also smiled. "In that case, I’ll make sure to study it thoroughly."

Liu Jinglin laughed heartily. "Actually, the characters of the Inverse Universe are quite easy to learn. At least, the ones we know of, which resemble square shapes, are not too difficult to master."

“These characters are very representational, almost like simplified pictographs. Through methods like patterns, meanings, and ideograms, we’ve compared the Inverse Universe characters with ours and clarified the meanings of most characters.”

“Of course, there might be some semantic deviations at times. However, our understanding of the Inverse Universe characters has accelerated our research into that peculiar world.”

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Liu Jinglin’s assistant entered and said, “Professor Liu, your wife has arrived.”

Hearing this, Tianyang knew Liu Jinglin had other matters to attend to, so he stood up to leave. “I won’t keep you any longer, Professor. I’ll come back for your next class.”

“Alright, I’ll see you out.” Liu Jinglin escorted Tianyang out, and a graceful and dignified woman entered.

This must be Liu Jinglin’s wife. Tianyang nodded in greeting and left.

As soon as he left Tianqing Academy, he received a notice from Han Shu, instructing all members to return to the team quarters for a new mission briefing.

Upon arriving at the team quarters and passing through the partition, Tianyang saw that Han Shu and the others were already there.

Old Xu’s chair was empty, and Tianyang couldn’t help but feel a bit reflective.

Han Shu had his legs propped up on the table, his expression much more relaxed than the previous day, showing no signs of lingering dissatisfaction over Old Xu’s retirement.

He still had a cigarette in his mouth and announced the mission details. “We just received a task from Four Eyes. The fortress is organizing a joint operation.”

“A joint operation?” Cang Du’s eyes lit up. “It’s been years since we had one!”

Han Shu nodded. “It’s been a long time. The reason this is happening is due to the situation in Wild Valley Town. After our report was submitted, the fortress leadership took it very seriously. They believe we can’t ignore the Black Prince from Wild Valley Town; otherwise, they might end up nurturing a new king.”

“So, the fortress decided that the Night Walkers and the Storm Legion would join forces, deploying sufficient troops to flatten Wild Valley Town. The detailed content and strategic plans will be sent to your personal communication devices later, so make sure to check them.”

Tianyang raised his hand. “Captain, when will the operation take place?”

“In three days,” Han Shu flicked off the ash from his cigarette. “A large number of troops will be transported by high-speed train to gather at the Lighthouse Base. We’ll be leaving in batches, and our team’s departure is set for three days from now.”

Jiyu glanced at the empty chair. “Did Old Xu get wind of this?”

Cang Du snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? If not, why would he choose to retire now, of all times?”

Tianyang then realized why Old Xu had chosen to retire early—it was due to the news of the joint operation.

Han Shu slapped the table. “Alright, alright. Whether Old Xu stays or leaves is his own decision. He has served the Night Walkers for over twenty years, and according to fortress regulations, after serving for more than fifteen years, one can choose to retire.”

“Old Xu chose to leave at this time for his own reasons. No one can blame him, including me!”

Although Cang Du didn’t entirely agree with Han Shu’s statement, he didn’t argue further.

Han Shu pointed at him. “You, take Tianyang to the supplies warehouse and have them bring out the strategic materials list for him to select from.”

Cang Du, displeased, said, “Why is it always me? Can’t Ji Yu go instead?”

Ji Yu smiled without responding.

Han Shu threw an ashtray at Cang Du. “You brat, go because I said so. Stop talking back!”

He then turned to Tianyang. “Don’t tell me you’ve used up all your contribution points?”

Tianyang shook his head.

“Good,” Han Shu said lazily. “For a major operation like this, the allocated resources will definitely be insufficient. If you want to make a profit from this operation, it’s best to go to the warehouse and exchange some extra supplies with your contribution points.”

Cang Du closed his eyes and said, “What extra supplies could a rank 1 need? Don’t end up losing more than you gain and then regret it.”

“You still sitting there?” Han Shu picked up the ashtray and almost threw it. “Go now, or you won’t be part of this operation!”

Young and ambitious, Tianyang wouldn’t miss such a major operation. Reluctantly, Cang Du stood up and pointed at Tianyang. “Come with me. Do as I say—don't ask, don’t talk—not a single word!”

Ji Yu rolled his eyes. “Crazy!”