Longing to Become a Pathstrider

Jingxing spent the afternoon reading through the entire stack of newspapers Robin had brought him. They covered everything from the company's announcement a year ago that it had signed a mineral development agreement with the planet, to the opposition from minority political parties, the government forces' declaration of nationwide martial law, and finally the civil war that had now engulfed almost the entire planet.

"Although the company stood by and allowed it all to happen, the root cause of this war was the greed of the leaders of this planet's native people." That was Jingxing's summary of what had happened on the planet.

But honestly, if this planet had been in some frontier system instead of the Epsilon system, this civil war probably would never have broken out. The company would have had a hard time surveying it in the first place, and even if it had, the company could have intervened personally in a frontier system that attracted little attention, devouring everything here until not even the bones were left.

Jingxing put down the last newspaper and gently rubbed the space between his brows. "As for bringing about a ceasefire, I can only trust in the abilities of a Harmony Pathstrider."

Besides the newspapers, Robin had also brought him a map. Over the next few days, Jingxing planned to gradually add his observations to it: minefields, sentry posts, patrol routes, and several possible escape routes of his own.

For the next three days, everything in the camp continued as usual. Every day, Jingxing left the camp with a drawing board on his back and put on the air of an artist sketching from life. In reality, he was surveying the surroundings. Still, to ward off suspicion, he would casually draw a picture: sometimes a forest, sometimes a valley, and sometimes he would sit on a high slope for half a day.

Although Jingxing had prepared himself to deal with him, Glenn did not bother him again. Having already reported Jingxing's information to his superiors, he planned to treat this uninvited guest according to their response.

Unaware of any of this, Jingxing made rapid progress with his reconnaissance. On the first day, he confirmed that there were no minefields in the other directions. On the second, he used sketching as a pretext to learn when the patrols changed shifts in the other three directions. On the third, after comparing the locations several times, he finally found the weakest point in the surveillance around the camp's perimeter. It was near a dry riverbed, where there was hardly any light at night. The only problem was that it was more than three hundred meters from the woods, with no cover in between. If they were spotted, they would be sitting ducks.

The company's people would not dare shoot at Robin, but they probably would not hesitate for a second to aim at him. Jingxing was well aware of that.

Meanwhile, Robin had not been idle either. Although food and supplies for the refugees remained scarce, and the company's armed personnel continued to shadow her, she still found an opportunity to exchange information with Jingxing every day.

One evening, just as night was falling, Jingxing was putting his art supplies in order in his tent when the flap lifted gently and Robin walked in. Instead of her pale gray dress, she wore a dark coat that was easier to move in, her long hair tied back. She looked less soft than she did onstage and more ready for action.

She looked around, and only after making sure no one was watching did she put the pendant in her hand on the table. "Give me the supplies you're planning to take. I'll put them in here."

Jingxing stared at the pendant Robin had set down. No matter how he looked at it, it resembled the sachets sold on the Xianzhou. "In there?"

"Mhm." Robin nodded gently.

Jingxing was puzzled. "What is it?"

Robin held out her right hand. The next moment, the sachet seemed to come alive, floating slowly above her palm. A thread of pale golden Imaginary Energy flowed from her body and traveled along its patterns. With a faint hum, the sachet suddenly unfolded. Layers of space spread out around it like origami, then quickly contracted. In the blink of an eye, it returned to its original form, but the table had vanished.

Jingxing's eyes widened slightly. "A small spatial pouch?"

Robin smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"This thing can't be mass-produced, can it?" Jingxing frowned.

In a universe of immensely advanced technology, the major powers all possessed spatial compression technology. The Xianzhou could not only compress planets into engines to provide energy, but also made extensive use of spatial technology to build "grotto-heavens." The company had similar technology as well. Yet none of them mass-produced small spatial pouches.

According to legend, Ruan Mei, #81 of the Genius Society, had made something similar, but that was a creation of a genius. Ordinary people could forget about it.

How had Robin obtained something like this?

Seeming to notice Jingxing's question, Robin explained with a smile, "Last year, I went to the Xianzhou Yaoqing to take part in a visit to the Qingqiu Army. The performance was a great success, and General Feixiao of the Yaoqing gave it to me as thanks. It only takes a tiny amount of Path energy to keep it working."

As she spoke, she stirred a thought. The next second, the table that had just vanished reappeared in the tent.

Jingxing looked on enviously. "It can do that too?"

He reached out instinctively. Robin placed the sachet in his palm, but no matter how he fiddled with it, it did not respond.

Robin explained, "There's nothing you can do. You're not a Pathstrider, so you can't control it."

Jingxing handed it back with some regret. "That's so convenient. If everyone had one, no one would even need to carry a backpack when they went out."

Robin could not help laughing. "It really is convenient. That's why I put all the supplies I've prepared over the past few days in it, including compressed food, water purification tablets, first-aid medicine, and spare clothes. All your luggage can go in too."

Hearing that, Jingxing did not stand on ceremony. He handed over his paint box, paints, sketchbook, and small easel one by one. As Robin put everything away, the tent soon became empty.

Jingxing grew more envious as he watched. "I wish I could become a Pathstrider someday too."

As Robin put away the last item, she said with a smile, "As long as you work toward it with that in mind, you're sure to succeed. After all, stepping onto a Path requires resonating with it through your will, interpreting its ideals through your own self, and forging a road of your own along the road known as a Path."

Jingxing looked thoughtful. "Is that how it works..."

At that moment, Idrila's name surfaced in his mind. She was the Aeon of Beauty who was believed to have gone missing in this galaxy.

If she had not arrived on Blue Star and intervened in time, he would probably have been swallowed up by those magnificent yet bizarre bubbles long ago.

Since she had reincarnated him into this world and, before his reincarnation, had guided him to seek out all kinds of beauty throughout the universe... the Path best suited to him was probably Beauty.

At that thought, he suddenly remembered the last thing Yaoguang had said before leaving: if he ever met a Pathstrider of Harmony, he should stay as far away from them as possible. Even now, Jingxing could not understand it. No matter how he looked at Robin, she did not seem like someone who would be hostile to him.

So he asked, pretending to be casual, "Are there hostile relationships between different Paths?"

Robin nodded. "Of course. For example, the Hunt and Abundance, or Destruction and Preservation. Erudition and Enigmata also often have conflicts of ideals..."

Jingxing listened carefully. Even after Robin had gone through the relationships between the Paths she knew about, she still had not mentioned Beauty.

Jingxing's doubts only deepened. If Beauty really was hostile to Harmony, Robin, who came from the Family, could not possibly be unaware of it. Yet she had not mentioned it.

"Does Harmony have any hostile Paths, then?" he asked outright.

Robin answered without hesitation, "No. If I had to name one, it would only be Destruction."

Then... why had Yaoguang specifically warned him to stay away from Harmony? Jingxing pushed the thought down and did not ask any further.

Robin did not notice anything unusual about him either. She simply looked outside the tent again. It was completely dark now, and the camp was beginning to put out its lights. In the distance, only the searchlights at the sentry posts were still sweeping slowly back and forth. She lowered her voice. "The third patrol is on night duty tonight. At midnight, they'll have a five-minute shift change."

Jingxing nodded. "I've confirmed the route. We can get through the woods on the north side. After leaving the camp, we'll cross the dry riverbed first, then enter the woods."

Robin said nothing more. They exchanged a glance, and neither was nervous. They had spent days preparing the plan. All that remained now was to carry it out.

After midnight, they would leave the birdcage that had trapped them both.