At that moment, Yang Zicang felt that his thoughts had never been so rational, yet so utterly muddled.
“Alright, listen up, my friends. “
He Yishu walked over, draping a hand on Yang Zicang’s shoulder, and said with a smile: “This inn is truly amazing. These are your old friends, right? ” For this last sentence, He Yishu turned his head and spoke directly to Yang Zicang.
“Uh. ” Yang Zicang, still adjusting his mindset, let out a hesitant sound.
“Yes. “
A woman’s voice replied. Xu Aiyuan stepped forward gracefully from across the way, casting a glance at the watching crowd around her. Under Zhao Xuemei’s gaze, she sized up Yang Zicang, who was looking back, and continued speaking to the two men before her:
“Zicang, what is this place? And that stone room—when did you put it under our floor? “
“Under the floor? ” The surrounding folks, who already had their eyes on the scene, set down whatever they were busy with and moved in a little closer.
Yang Zicang hesitated for a moment.
“This matter… “
He furrowed his brows as he looked at them. “Didn’t you all come by train? “
“Train? ” Lin Site was taken aback. He glanced at Xu Aiyuan, who was equally puzzled by the question, and then at the bewildered faces of the others.
Yang Zicang’s expression didn’t look like he was joking. Lin Site’s heart skipped a beat as he took in the scene. The concern he had just set aside suddenly surged back up again.
Could it be that the stone room wasn’t a portal Yang Zicang had prepared for Xu Aiyuan to come through?
At this thought, Linst said immediately, “Wait, Zicang.” Wearing the uniform of the Captain of the Black Fish Illusion Realm Cleanup Force, he took an urgent step forward, instinctively half-blocking Xu Aiyuan’s side.
“We didn’t come by train. Instead, we uncovered a strange stone room under the meeting hall.“
“Stone room?” The people around exchanged glances with each other.
In recent days, through the stone room installed underground in the civilian housing on the outskirts of Kronstadt, and the room moved into the ship from where it was placed last night, the folks who had returned to the inn gradually showed peculiar expressions.
“That room, Chairman Yang—isn’t it the one you dug up and moved to sea?” murmurs of discussion came from the crowd.
Xu Aiyuan’s breath grew steady, and her eyes turned reserved and restrained.
“I… Hoo…” Yang Zicang felt a pent-up tension in his chest; he exhaled softly, composed his breath, and then rubbed the opening of the ring on his finger toward Xu Aiyuan’s now unreadable expression before him.
-｛Loki Tata Mingqi indicates “Look around.“｝
“Miss Aiyuan, um, and Linst. That room is indeed mine. But, it’s probably…“
Suddenly, Yang Zicang saw Colonel Brownlion, with a subtly odd look, leading a few people quietly up the stairs, stopping just one step short, stretching his neck to peek over.
Yang Zicang, who had paid attention to them, withdrew his thoughts. Seeming momentarily at a loss to explain, he said helplessly,
“It’s probably because of the fight against the times that… you two were implicated and ended up entering the Divine Hotel. “
As he spoke, Yang Zicang lowered his head to glance at his chest. He subconsciously lit up the faint glow of that silver ring.
Xu Aiyuan, noticing the ring of light on the young man across from her, was taken aback for a moment.
Lin Site beside her also revealed his own wine-red model’s glow. He turned his head to look at Xu Aiyuan’s fair, radiant profile—one arm hanging limply by her side, the other wrapped horizontally around her right arm.
He turned back and stared directly at Yang Zicang.
“What’s this about fighting against the ‘times’ and the Divine Hotel? What exactly is going on? “
Xu Aiyuan also looked up. Behind her, Captain Golden Lion, Kim Christ, Fran Yosti, and several others, along with the members of the newly established “Dragon’s Domain “—a new multinational rescue committee named by Zhao Anlong—all stared at the young man in the corridor.
To be honest, only a small portion of them realized at that moment that this was the “Divine ” Hotel.
This left them looking astonished.
In everyone’s mind, this inn had always been merely a special and mysterious place for hiding and long-distance movement.
“I once accepted a protection-type work task in White Violet City. The content was to assist a scientific researcher named ‘Jean Kerry’ with the testing and research of his new machine. “
“Scientific researcher? ” Linsite murmured with slight confusion.
Amid the buzzing discussions, Mr. Mortaf’s head poked out from between the arms of a few people at the stairwell entrance, peeking cautiously.
“That researcher in cold forging technology, named Jean Kerry, built a large machine that had never been used before. I was asked for my help in protecting him during the trial production of that cold forging machine, to see if it would succeed. And then, ” Yang Zicang’s tone dropped a bit, “He succeeded, but he also failed. “
“Failed? ” Xu Aiyuan’s supple lips parted softly as she spoke.
Behind them, Jin Kelaister and the Golden Lion Colonel, Ang Pailisi, among others, seemed to sense something. Their hands gently tugged at the deep-in-thought Mr. Mortaf, then they looked up at Yang Zicang who was standing in the corridor.
“Because within a few minutes of its success, the machine turned into what we nightmares haunt incarnate, which is, ” Yang Zicang continued, “what people in this land call the ‘Science Demon.’ “
The eyes of Xu Aiyuan and Linsite widened slightly.
“This… how can this be! “
“Did you mean the era? ” Linsite stepped forward with both hands tensely spread.
“I learned this from the personnel responsible for sealing the archives. Because ‘Epoch’ became aware that the creations were the same as those from the previous aion, so when something that had already faded away in that previous aion appeared in the present, a terrifying nightmare that destroys everything was born. “
For a moment, the two newcomers in the corridor were deeply shaken.
Colonel Brownlion pondered for a moment, realizing that the Fogfolk who hadn’t made it here seemed to be unaware of this information.
Lin Site immediately pressed on: “Then, zi-Zang, what you mentioned here, the ‘Divine Hotel’—how does it connect to ‘Epoch’? “
Yang Zicang fell silent for a moment in thought.
“Shortly after that, I met someone else. “
“Who? “
“A somewhat special person. I didn’t know him, and we were in a different space, ” Yang Zicang said. “Barefoot, he was carrying… well, if I describe his features in detail, you might be in danger. Anyway, ” he fixed his gaze on everyone, “he was one of those operatives we dealt with at sea last night. “
At once, the expressions on the faces of the group varied.
“I hadn’t planned to go to the Hydrogen Sail Town back then, but that man who suddenly appeared told me I must go. He said it was because I needed to learn about ‘Science and Epoch.’ Of course, that sentence was also relayed to me by him. “
“What… “
Colonel Brownlion, from behind, heard this and a flicker of uncertainty passed through his eyes.
In the intelligence investigation into Chairman Yang Buchen, it always felt as if this person understood everything, appearing at the “right ” time or in a place that was “wrong for him back then. ” For example, at the very beginning of the “White Barrier Wave, ” he suddenly chose to actively escort that family of scientific honor away, only to encounter a targeted ambush along the way, which even deployed national tactical assets like the “Royal Court Barrier. “
Yet he still managed to escape in the end.
“Was it deliberate targeting by the Labor Bureau or ‘The Barefoot One,’ or is someone cultivating… traits for Yang Zizang? “
“What did you say? ” Mortav asked, turning his head. The muttering Golden Lion colonel realized he had lost his composure and shut his mouth. “Nothing. ” He carefully scrutinized the curious look Mortav, the great scientist, was giving him, then a sincere smile tugged at his face.
A low murmur of discussion gradually rose in the corridor.
These people, gathered from the ships and a few due to the Krupp airship accident rescue operation, whispered in perplexed voices.
“Zizang. ” Linst, who felt like he was hearing a fairy tale, spoke loudly:
“You’re saying that person told you what you wanted to know about ‘Science and the Times.’ So, have you learned anything from it? “
Yang Zizang’s gaze darkened slightly.
“If I hadn’t gone, an heir from a certain scientific honor family in this world would have lost a Secret Box. “
He continued.
“But. Because of that person’s single sentence, I, who followed to protect, did witness some things. Yet, that scientific secret, which might have been preserved for a distant future, was ultimately exposed, perhaps because of my appearance. “
“Exposed? “
“It turned into an indescribably powerful nightmare. That was basically a pure demonic creature, having little to do with scientific creation anymore. “
Lin Site slightly opened his mouth and turned to exchange a glance with Xu Aiyuan, who was hearing this for the first time.
Xu Aiyuan, who busied herself daily at Rose Creek, had long witnessed the cruelty and strangeness of this world, yet only now did she perceive that the profound crisis of this world was actually like this. It was actually related to such a term as a whole era. Although, at this moment, she herself was not yet clear about the details, she had already developed a desire to probe the deep past and calamities of this unfamiliar world.
“So, you understand, this matter of… fighting against the fate of an era, Zicang? “
Seeing Xu Aiyuan’s gentle inquiry, Yang Zicang fell silent for a moment before speaking:
“It began from when I personally built the Demon Hero Hall, and within it, witnessed the death of the very person I had intended to protect. “
The two people ahead immediately understood the implication. Familiar with the process of the Demon Hero Hall incident, they instantly drew an equivalence from the content contained within the few brief words just described. Two pieces of information collided resounding in their minds and converged into a new thread of comprehension.
Lin Site stared blankly with wide-eyed shock, burying his head in frantic thought for a good while before slowly lifting his head to look around at the hotel and then at his own hands.
“So… My being here isn’t because… “
“It wasn’t because I wanted to drag you all into this. “
Yang Zicang’s voice softened as he spoke to the graceful figure opposite him:
“Perhaps the Divine Hotel also thinks that facing the rescue mission against the end of the world is no small matter. “
Amid the pleased nods and chatter of those around them, Colonel Brownlion cast a glance at Yang Zicang, a trace of concern silently flickering in his eyes.
Seizing this opportunity, Wang Zhi, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward and whispered into Yang Zicang’s ear:
“Brother Yang, that guy from Room 408 made a run for it, but we’ve caught him. “
“Huh? ” Yang Zicang whipped his head around, locking eyes with the lean young man.
Wang Zhi nodded solemnly.
“Uh, ” he then scratched his head and said, “But Room 201 is no longer ours. “
……
Colonel Brownlion stepped out of the room and walked into the sunlight. The few Demon-Blood Warriors and several people guarding the area who were crowded around the machine all made way for him in front of the communicator.
Samesis, who had been sitting obediently on a stool nearby, gave him a honest look.
“Mr. John, ” Ang Pailisi said, gently patting the paper in his hand, steadying his mood as he handed it to him along with a pen.
“Chairman Yang Buchen has assured that he will no longer trouble you regarding the hotel matter. But there is one condition: sign your name on this paper. “
Amid the faint chirping of cicadas, Sethmis leaned forward to look at the paper in the other’s hand. Without any resistance, he took the pen, let out a chuckle, and noted down the English name “John Sethmis ” on it.
“Now, alright, can I leave? “
“Not yet. ” Colonel Brownlion said to him expressionlessly. “The world has been extremely dangerous these past two days. Moreover, there have been attacks specifically targeting the members of this inn. Though the principal culprit has been caught, there’s no guarantee there aren’t others. “
“Tsk, is it really that dangerous… “
“To ensure your personal safety, you have to stay here for now. This was also part of our originally discussed arrangement. “
Having said that, under Sethmis’s stunned gaze—still seated on his stool—the Colonel walked over to the machine, put on the headphones, switched the device on, and sent a signal to the other side.
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