Chapter 102-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
"Ryan, what's the situation around here?"
Sykes returned to the team with a cold face, the Saintess following close behind him.
Suddenly being called out by the Crown Prince, Ryan's red hair almost stood on end. He struggled to organize his words, "No... there seem to be no Mutant Beasts or anything nearby. Perhaps they fled quickly..."
"Your Highness, should I send a few people to scout the surrounding area?"
The Knight Captain took the initiative to ask Sykes for instructions.
"No, consolidate the remaining people and continue forward."
Sykes's golden eyes were blazing as he stared at the vast white distance, as if trying to pierce through the white barrier before him.
Ye Zheng listened silently on the side. Ryan was not weak, and he was holding his breath, eager to prove himself. If he couldn't detect any movement from mutant beasts, it was safe to rule out Demonic Domain monsters as the cause of the injury.
Judging by the clean and smooth cut on the knight's wound, it looked like he had been sliced in half by an extremely sharp greatsword.
Ye Zheng lowered her head and glanced at the sword at her side. If she used the sword, she couldn't achieve such a neat wound, but she could do it with her ability.
Water gently coiled around her fingers. [Stream], like a small snake, intimately wrapped around Ye Zheng's fingertips. The hand hanging at her side moved slightly, her finger tapped, and a full water droplet condensed from the mist and fell down.
A smile flashed across her face, and Ye Zheng temporarily withdrew her ability.
She was surrounded by powerful ability users right now, and she didn't want to casually expose her abilities.
The Saintess carried the Divine Sword, yet was not known for her martial prowess. When mentioning her ability, the general impression was still primarily focused on healing. If someone delve deeply into the phenomena she displayed as Zhao Mei, they might guess that [Stream] had other uses.
Ye Zheng raised her head and continued to follow the team.
Before setting off, everyone had made thorough preparations for His Highness the Crown Prince's journey. Assuming that entering the fog meant entering a Demonic Domain's heterogeneous space, hundreds of guards would be enough to ensure safety.
If they hadn't entered a Demonic Domain, or had entered a special one that didn't completely replace the original environment, they could customize a plan based on the West District map.
More than a dozen travel routes had been planned. The entrance everyone had just used was the best route; after exiting the tunnel, they were supposed to proceed along the sole road, with complete markings at every intersection, clearly visible even in the fog.
The route's endpoint was the West District Municipal Office Building, the government unit responsible for managing the West District.
But now, the group had no idea where they had been teleported to, and the original route plan was completely void.
Ye Zheng observed her surroundings. For the moment, she couldn't think of a better solution than to continue walking along the current road until they found a suitable location to confirm their current position.
The fog was not dense enough to completely blur their vision. The surrounding environment was vaguely visible: the road was wide and clean, and the colorful store signs on both sides looked like ink blending in water, without a single sound, save for the footsteps of the group.
"This looks like the prosperous central area of the city. Perhaps we are very close to the Municipal Office Building." Ye Zheng suddenly said.
Ryan looked surprised. "How is that possible? This place looks so ordinary. We've been to places more prosperous than this when we competed in the lower district."
"The West District is the most underdeveloped part of the entire Empire. The East District, where we usually compete, is already the place with the highest average income in the lower district."
Ye Zheng did not want to explain further. She left the team on her own, standing in front of a store. The store door was only marked with the number 238. Ye Zheng's gaze swept over the door number and peered inside through the window.
It was a restaurant. A smell of sourness and decay wafted out from the window. Tables and chairs were overturned, and half-eaten food spilled on the ground was revolting. In addition, there were brownish traces on the floor, which should have been dried bloodstains.
It was clear that the incident happened suddenly, and this thick fog had spread across this area in a short time, accompanied by deadly danger.
This seemed to explain why the Imperial officialdom had not received timely news about such a major incident in the West District.
After confirming the situation inside, Ye Zheng endured the unpleasant smell, pushed the door open and entered, ignoring the voices of a few people behind her trying to stop her.
"Saintess!"
"Be careful, Your Grace!"
"Ye Zheng?"
Ye Zheng did not delve deep into the restaurant. She only rummaged through the front counter and quickly found the establishment's certificate of qualification in a drawer. It listed the restaurant's address, and Ye Zheng quickly captured the key phrase.
"Jinyun Street, No. 238."
If she remembered correctly, the Municipal Office Building was at Jinyun Street, No. 132.
Did the sudden spatial transfer actually save the team travel time? Was it such a coincidence?
Ye Zheng walked out of the restaurant. As she pushed the door open, Sykes's face appeared at the entrance. Ye Zheng raised the certificate in her hand. "It seems we will be able to reach our destination very soon."
"You certainly have the ability."
Sykes turned and strode to the front of the team, instructing the Knight Captain to take out the original route map. After roughly confirming their current location, the team finally had a precise direction to move forward.
Before long, in a patch of white fog, they saw a large clock hanging high on a building. Its hands were still ticking normally; this was the landmark of the Municipal Office Building.
The office building was luxuriously built and imposing, even standing out in the blurry fog. Sykes stared at the tightly closed main door. The Knight Captain, along with three others, had already stepped forward to scout the way for the Crown Prince.
They cautiously pressed against the door, trying to push it open, only to find it tightly locked. The few men exchanged looks. The Knight Captain first knocked on the door, then cleared his throat and shouted a few times toward the inside.
"Is anyone there? We are the Empire's rescue team!"
"If you hear this, please open the door! Otherwise, we will break down the door by force!"
Ye Zheng took a document from the Knight Captain and stayed put, quietly reading the information inside. The document detailed the personnel structure of the Municipal Office and even thoughtfully included photos.
The person at the core of the power structure was the Municipal Office Director, Yuan Xianming. Not only was his photo placed at the top, but his information was also the most detailed, even including the information of his wife and daughter.
Ye Zheng was only glancing at it casually when she suddenly found the director, Mr. Yuan's daughter, Yuan Yuan, somewhat familiar.
She thought back briefly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. This Yuan Yuan was one of the former Saintess candidates!
Just as Ye Zheng's attention became serious, the noise from the people at the door stopped. The heavy door emitted an old creaking sound and was suddenly pushed open.
Ye Zheng lifted her eyes. Through the heavy fog, she saw a blurry female figure appear in the doorway.
"I apologize, I didn't dare to open the door arbitrarily. I've kept you all waiting. The matter here... please come in, Your Graces. I finally waited for you."
The middle-aged woman's weary yet polite voice sounded in the silent fog. The fresh human voice, long unheard, made many people breathe a sigh of relief. Along the way, they had either lost hundreds of companions or companions had died inexplicably. There had been nothing but white fog the entire time. Now, they finally met a living person.
However, some people remained cautious, such as the Knight Captain. Meeting people in a place where all the original inhabitants seemed to have disappeared was a highly suspicious matter.
Sykes glanced at the middle-aged woman at the door and stepped into the office building.
In the dim, spacious lobby, the chandelier emitted a faint light. A few men in wrinkled clothes huddled in the corners and behind desks. Seeing the newly arrived living people, their faces stiffened extremely, and they hesitantly walked out.
After everyone had entered the lobby, the Knight Captain properly locked the main door tightly again. This thick fog was problematic; they couldn't let the fog spread inside too.
Sykes stood in the center. He surveyed the entire office lobby, his brow sharply furrowed. He asked the middle-aged woman at the head of the group, "Are you the only ones left in this building?"
"And who are you?"
The middle-aged woman smiled wearily, pulling at the fine lines around her eyes, which held no light. "It's just us."
"...Me? I am Yuan Xianming's wife, Zhou Yun."
A hint of impatience flashed in Sykes's eyes. He didn't care whose wife she was; he only wanted to know why she was here and why only so few people were left.
"Your Highness, this lady's husband is the Municipal Office Director, Yuan Xianming." Ye Zheng reminded him from the side. She glanced at the photo of the woman in her hand and then at the woman before her.
The Zhou Yun in the photo wore a polite and dignified smile, the image of a noblewoman Ye Zheng was very familiar with, much like her mother—most middle-aged women in the upper district were like this.
The Zhou Yun before her, however, looked exhausted, devoid of any smile, appearing heavily worn down both mentally and physically, eliciting great sympathy.
Upon Ye Zheng's reminder, Sykes finally remembered who Yuan Xianming was.
He then asked, "Where did Yuan Xianming go?"
Zhou Yun lowered her head, burying her face in her hands, and said painfully, "It's gone. Everything is gone. Only we are left."
Sykes stared unmoving at the distraught middle-aged woman, seemingly wanting to discern something from her. Suddenly, something was stuffed into his hand.
"Your Highness, this is the staff information for everyone at the Municipal Office. If you're concerned, you can check the remaining people against it."
Ye Zheng suggested, turning her dark eyes and subtly glancing at the middle-aged woman not far away.
Sykes's brows remained tightly locked. He didn't like being directed, but Ye Zheng was correct.
The Knight Captain gathered the seven people present and simultaneously sent five people upstairs to check for any other survivors. He compared each person's face with the photos on the document.
Monsters in the Demonic Domain sometimes disguised themselves as humans, so they had to be cautious.
"Confirmed, Your Highness. These six men are Municipal Office staff, and the woman is indeed the Director's wife."
"These people have high positions, Your Highness. They might know a lot about the situation."
Sykes nodded, his expression stern. His gaze swept over the six trembling men, taking in their panicked, shivering demeanor. This was not strange; Sykes was used to people fearing and respecting him. Moreover, it was reasonable for these people to be so terrified after being trapped for so long.
When the five knights sent out returned to the team, reporting nothing unusual besides the chaotic scene, the wary people finally let out a sigh of relief.
Sykes flipped through the documents in his hand and suddenly read out a name.
A middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit nervously stepped forward, his eyes evasive, as if he wanted to look behind him but forced himself to stop.
"You are the Guild Director here. Tell me, what happened here?"
Facing the Crown Prince's interrogation, the middle-aged man stammered out his words, his eyes fixed on the ground, seemingly afraid to look up.
"Two weeks ago, I was working on the third floor. Suddenly, most of the people around disappeared. I tried to send messages, but nothing went out..."
"Some people were cut in half, some went missing. There were screams outside. I didn't dare to go out..."
Ye Zheng listened to a few sentences nearby. She lowered her gaze, then suddenly looked toward the man's back.
Zhou Yun was leaning against an office desk, her expression sorrowful and weary. The Knight Captain had originally intended to question the Director's wife, but he momentarily felt it inappropriate to bother the noblewoman, who had just suffered a terrible loss, by bringing up her bereavement. So, he went to interrogate the other high-ranking officials.
"Ms. Zhou, do you happen to have any water? I'm a bit thirsty."
Zhou Yun looked at the girl, who was a head taller than her, and was stunned for a moment. She quickly forced a downward curve to her mouth, as if joking, "Did your rescue team not even prepare water for a sweet child like you after a long journey?"
"Oh, I don't want to ask those smelly men for water."
Ye Zheng blinked. "Yuan Yuan once mentioned you. You are a very kind lady. It's truly wonderful that nothing happened to you."
Hearing the girl mention her daughter, Zhou Yun simply smiled, then turned and motioned for Ye Zheng to follow her.
She walked into an unoccupied office. Scattered documents lay quietly on the floor, along with one or two dropped leather shoes, evidence of the chaos that seized people when the disaster struck two weeks ago.
Ye Zheng smilingly accepted the water the woman offered and tilted her head back to drink in front of the woman. As if drinking too quickly, she suddenly choked violently. She covered her mouth and coughed, even dropping the water cup. The spilled water splashed onto the woman's clothes near her chest.
Zhou Yun quickly stepped forward to pat the girl's back. The motion almost had the girl half-held in her arms. Her expression was concerned, and the hand patting her back was gentle yet firm, like any loving mother.
"Are you alright? Honestly, no matter how thirsty you are, you shouldn't drink so fast."
Ye Zheng lowered the hand covering her mouth and gave the middle-aged woman an apologetic smile. "It was rude of me, Madam, but I had no choice."
The air froze and fell silent for a moment. Zhou Yun's hand, patting the girl's back, slowly stopped.
The concern in her eyes dissipated, exposing the cold whites of her eyes. Her pupils stared unblinkingly at the girl's face.
"You are indeed a rude child."
"To threaten an elder the first time we meet, when Yuan Yuan spoke of you, she held you in great respect for your perfect etiquette."
Zhou Yun looked down. The water stain on her chest had somehow condensed into a small knife, which was now pressed against her heart.
"Ms. Zhou, no offense intended, but for my own safety, I had to do this."
"Now, please answer every one of my questions honestly, alright?"
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