Identity

On her way back to the lounge with Luo Di, Fei Ji got lost after seeing a candle.

As the Recruitment Spine, it possesses a wealth of knowledge, yet it remains completely unaware of such a white candle.

All of its memories and information could not be linked to this candle. The only thing it knew was that this candle seemed to only appear in the Upper-Nest, or even higher areas, which was an area that this Recruitment Spine had no right to touch.

The appearance of the candle caused it to become completely lost, and no matter how it flew, it remained in the passageway.

It was during this almost endless process of wandering and waiting that...

It suddenly caught a scent, a scent that made it tremble and want to bow down in worship.

Following the scent, they quickly went to find it, and unexpectedly, Luo Di was standing in the passage, holding the source of the scent in his hand.

When it landed on Luo Di's shoulder and he saw the symbols on the parchment.

A special task was immediately implanted into the mind, given top priority, even higher than the most basic physiological needs.

The Fei Ji has never encountered or heard of anything like this since its creation.

A New Recruit has completed his Service Assessment is not required to join the army; instead, he is granted the privilege of being a "messenger."

It should be noted that the envoy holds a very high position in the Chaos Nest, and is even qualified to go to the Upper-Nest, which is far beyond the reach of a New Recruit.

"What exactly happened to the envoy from Luo Di?"

Fei Ji's words and attitude subconsciously became more respectful, as if several levels had suddenly appeared between Luo Di and it, turning into a superior-subordinate relationship.

Luo Di folded the parchment in his hand and put it into his clothes, then briefly recounted what had just happened.

Throughout the entire process, Fei Ji's wings tightened and even trembled slightly. If it had followed to the changing room, it would most likely have been killed like the other spines.

"This... I have led more than thirty soldiers to participate in Service Assessment before, and I have never seen a soldier's assessment conducted like this. They actually arranged a prank to ambush you, and even inserted it into the spine of a normal person beforehand."

"Envoy Luo Di, you are truly powerful! I will always follow you."

This respectful address made Luo Di uncomfortable. "Just talk to me like before. There's no need to change just because you're an envoy. You can keep the way you address me simpler."

Fei Ji was quite obedient; since it was Luo Di's request, it immediately switched to the tense state between superiors and subordinates.

"It doesn't feel right to call you by your name directly~ An envoy's status is still very high, far higher than a soldier, and far higher than me."

"Let's keep it simple, I'll just call you Mr. Di."

Luo Di nodded; he seemed to like the way he was addressed. "Hmm, and you already know what we're going to do next?"

"Understood... The parchment has given me a task: to add the [Emissary's Attire] to your outfit before we leave the city."

There are three items in total.

The first, and ultimately most important, step is to "stain" your spine. This directly identifies you as an envoy, since most external forces reject or even hate those who carry the spine.

Without the protection of our envoy status, we might be killed or even cannibalized by some secret organization or group.

Secondly, go to the site to customize an envoy outfit that best suits you, further highlighting your envoy status. Don't wait until you're killed to find out you're an envoy.

Third, choose a long-distance mount suitable for our journey to the territory of the Order.

"Let's go."

A strange sense of excitement rose within me.

The choice of this new path seemed to interest Luo Di more than endless conquest and slaughter.

He could roughly guess the intentions of that mysterious being, and he could also roughly deduce the ultimate goal that this envoy's path would lead to.

[Dyeing Hub]

A special institution located in a military zone, where at least a few individuals exuding a special aura come and go.

Fei Ji immediately offered an explanation:

"The staining of the spine is an affirmation of the spine's identity. Those spine's people who have made meritorious War Merit during wars or made important contributions to the development of the Chaos Nest will come here to be stained."

When a single act of merit corresponds to only one section of the spine being stained.

When the color reaches a certain level, it will have the opportunity to move upwards to the Upper-Nest area.

"But we are different. You are an envoy granted special privileges, and the dyer will dye your entire spine black."

"Um."

Stepping into the area, which resembles a government service hall, one is immediately struck by a heavy, morbid atmosphere.

When Luo Di showed the parchment to the front desk, it immediately alerted the highest-ranking manager, who promptly dispatched the best dyer.

They even set aside a separate operating room for Luo Di.

As instructed, lie face down on the operating table, with your back slightly arched upwards to highlight your spine.

This elderly dyer had handled the dyeing of thousands of vertebrae, but this was the first time he had ever seen Metal Spine like this.

Next, a scalpel is needed to separate the skin and flesh around the spine, allowing the entire spine to be peeled off separately.

This process is quite uncomfortable for anyone with a spinal cord injury, but the young man in front of him didn't even show the most basic changes in his breathing, and he even seemed to be enjoying it.

On the contrary, when the dyer was separating the flesh from the spine, he felt a stinging pain every time the scalpel touched the Metal Spine.

The painkillers that were originally intended for the dyers were taken by him instead.

After the spine and flesh were completely separated, a tube of "Emissary Pigment" that had just been approved from the Upper-Nest was applied along the midline of the spine.

Next comes the most important step: deep staining.

The dyer activated his own spinal characteristics, and a high-temperature structure resembling an iron hoof grew from the tip of his finger, reaching a temperature of nearly 1000°C.

High temperatures will activate the dye, allowing it to penetrate the spine.

This process is extremely painful for most spinal patients, as the high temperature exceeds their basic tolerance level, and the surrounding flesh and blood are severely burned.

The same applies to Luo Di.

The surrounding flesh, which had been separated beforehand, was somewhat burned, but he still didn't make a sound.

When the colorist was about to ask him if he needed painkillers, he unexpectedly heard snoring.

Luo Di was already asleep, using this time to recover the energy he had wasted during his Service Assessment.

Since Luo Di did not move at all due to pain, the entire dyeing process went quite smoothly. The jet-black dye had penetrated into the spine, and the entire Metal Spine had revealed the jet-black color belonging to the messenger.

Just as the dyer was preparing to wrap up,

His keen eyes suddenly caught sight of a strange, unusual color that shouldn't be there, and it wasn't just a small patch but spread across the entire surface of his spine.

An incongruous shade of gray.

But when he turned around and took out the testing device to re-examine the spine, he found that the staining rate of the spine was 100% and there was no color contamination at all.

"Respected envoy! Your dyeing request has been completed. Please ensure your spine is visible as much as possible while you are out of the city to avoid attracting unnecessary pursuit."

"OK."

Just as Luo Di sat up from the operating table and started getting dressed again,

The colorist, who was turning around to pack up his equipment, caught a glimpse of that strange gray color out of the corner of his eye again. He turned his head sharply, and the color disappeared once more.

If it happened only once, he could say he was seeing things.

The second occurrence was no coincidence, and he needed to find out the truth.

"Your Excellency, it seems that you possess a special color within you, one that can even cover your spine?"

"Yes."

"But gray?"

"Yes."

"When you are away from home, never dye your spine gray, for that color is the complete opposite of that of a messenger. It is the color of an exile, Unclean One, a despised one."

It's a color rejected by the wicked; if others saw it, they would surely treat you as food for hell.

"Okay, thank you."

"Please wait, messenger."

Upon returning to the street, Luo Di did not immediately reveal his dark spine.

There was no need to attract unnecessary attention in the safe haven of the city, and he had no intention of stopping, continuing the preparations related to the envoy.

He's only been wearing this thick coat since he left the apartment, without even a pair of underwear. Underneath the coat are his bare legs and feet, making him look like a pervert.

"Fei Ji, take me to get my clothes custom-made."

"Good."