Has Evening Star Returned?

Jie La Er didn't sleep another night after Ku De left.

In the house, which was nearly half destroyed, he rummaged through everything still usable, such as a rusty dagger and a mask used to block out pollution. He lined up these items, which were almost scrap metal, and then refurbished, polished, and removed the rust, like an old hunter preparing for a hunt he hadn't done in many years.

After refurbishing everything, he stuffed these items into various parts of his body, making himself fully armed.

After everything was done, it was already dawn.

He opened his pocket watch and placed it aside. As the watch ticked away, Jie La Er sat down on the ground, then slowly closed his eyes and began to rest.

According to the rules of Xiaoxing, three conditions must be met to enter the Contaminated Land.

First, excellent equipment and sufficient supplies.

Second, abundant energy.

Third, comrades-in-arms who can be entrusted with responsibilities.

If any one of these three conditions is not met, one is not allowed to enter the Land of Corruption.

Now, he no longer possesses sophisticated equipment; all he has are outdated items that haven't been upgraded in ten years, not to mention supplies. In terms of energy, he can no longer compare to himself ten years ago; time has left its mark on him, and he now looks like a frail old man.

As for the comrades who could be entrusted with my duties, they have long since fallen into the deepest part of this Land of Corruption.

But what he will face is likely something far more dangerous and complex than the deepest part of the Land of Corruption.

But he didn't say anything; he just waited quietly.

He waited for the rising sun to hang high in the sky and then slowly descend, casting his shadow on the blood-stained and flesh-scraped ground, making a half-circle like the hand of a clock, without making any move.

He only slowly opened his eyes when the pocket watch started ticking louder.

"Are you really going?" Bai Wei's lazy voice rang out. "I think that kid would rather you stay home and wait for news."

Jie La Er slowly stood up and slung the fully charged Chainsaw Sword over his back. "I've waited long enough, I don't want to wait any longer."

Bai Wei asked, "Do you think that kid will succeed?"

"I don't know." Jie La Er shook his head. "But I want to witness it with my own eyes, no matter what."

Must we witness it with our own eyes no matter what?

Bai Wei seemed thoughtful, but he did not stop Jie La Er.

Because his fingers were already on Jie La Er's body.

So Jie La Er went out and, before sunset, arrived at the Fourth District Tower, which he had visited the day before. But instead of going in, he sat down in a café across from the tower.

From here, you can clearly see people coming and going in the sub-tower. If Ku De wants to enter the sub-tower, he can definitely see it.

As Jie La Er stared at the entrance to the tower, he heard the conversation of an old man and a young man coming from the next table.

"Grandpa, don't hesitate, hurry up and replace that finger of yours, it's too old to use anymore."

"No, absolutely not, this is a gift from your grandma."

"But Grandma is gone, and this is just a prosthetic leg that should be replaced."

Jie La Er glanced instinctively at the table next to him.

The white-haired old man pressed the old-fashioned mechanical finger while firmly shaking his head. "No, this finger is the only one that will not do. It is the last thing your grandmother left me."

Jie La Er was momentarily dazed.

At that moment, he heard Bai Wei's voice ring in his mind.

"That kid went in."

Jie La Er immediately turned around and saw Ku De's figure disappear at the entrance of the secondary tower.

Yong Xin stood on the top floor of the tower, facing a huge door.

The person standing in front of the gate is Zamen.

Upon seeing Yong Xin, he immediately bowed and greeted him, "Lord Yongxin."

Yong Xin calmly asked, "Bishop Holman, is he about to wake up?"

"Yes," Zamen replied, "A few more minutes."

"Very good." Yong Xin smiled. "You may step down. Let me speak with His Bishop."

Zamen nodded and then quickly withdrew.

Soon, Yong Xin was the only one left in the corridor on the top floor.

He stepped forward alone and pushed open the heavy door.

Behind the gate was a huge amber, within which lay a richly dressed old man.

The old man's expression was one of great pain, as if he were having a nightmare.

Yong Xin stepped forward and stood quietly in front of the amber, while the old man inside the amber gradually moved closer to the outside.

Zamen walked quickly toward the office.

He had just heard from the front desk that a squad leader from the Skeleton Corps had come to investigate the deaths of the previous two administrative secretaries and was now waiting for him in the office.

This struck Zamen as odd.

Why are they still investigating these two matters? Wasn't it enough to just kill Jie La Er? Lord Yongxin should have already communicated with the Skeleton Corps.

If he could, he really wanted to ask Lord Yongxin, but given the current situation, he dared not disturb him and had to grit his teeth and deal with it alone.

He pushed open the office door and smiled at the figure waiting inside, "Hello, Knight, I'm late, I am..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zamen noticed that the other person was holding a strangely shaped key.

"Ku De, the captain of the Tenth Squad 'Skeleton'," Ku De interrupted Zamen, speaking calmly, "I suspect there's an uncontrollable, massive problem in the Fourth Division, so I'm invoking Article 37 of the Lyra Emergency Response Act. I need to see Bishop Holman, the Order Key. You are now obliged to cooperate with my investigation... In short, take me to see Bishop Holman, immediately."

Zamen was stunned for a moment. He realized that something might have happened, so he subconsciously tried to back out.

But the next second, the folding battle axe in front of Ku De unfolded instantly.

Before Zamen could even retreat, he felt a cool sensation on his face.

He instinctively touched it with his hand and then felt a large patch of blood.

Ku De held the cleaver, which was almost as tall as him, with one hand. The tip of the cleaver was hovering directly above Zamen's head, and drops of blood were falling from it.

"Do you think I'm negotiating with you? The Order Key has already unlocked my Body Lock and Heart Lock. I can cut off your head right now," Ku De said coldly. "So, you only have two choices now: one, your head rolls; two, take me there."

Huo Er Man's face was slowly emerging from the amber.

Once half of his body was completely detached from the amber, his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.

Then, as if a drowning person had floated back to shore, he coughed violently, his cloudy eyes filled with pain, confusion, and urgency.

"Cough cough cough cough..." He tried to say something, but as soon as he made a sound, his coughing became even more violent.

Yong Xin, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward and gently patted his back. "Don't worry, Lord Huo Er Man, relax."

Huo Er Man didn't relax. He suddenly raised his head, stared straight at Yong Xin, and asked while coughing, "What time is it now...?"

"236th year, Your Bishop," Yong Xin replied with a smile.

A look of confusion flashed across Huo Er Man's eyes. "236 years?"

Then, he quickly thought of something, grabbed Yong Xin's hand, and asked urgently.

"Where's Xiaoxing? Has Evening Star Squad returned...? Where's Jie La Er? Where is Jie La Er?!"

He seemed to be caught in a whirlwind of thoughts and memories, his eyes growing increasingly blank, and his speech becoming increasingly incoherent.

"Where's Xiaoxing? Has the Evening Star Squad set off yet?"

"Hurry up and get them to leave... no, they should have left already, but why haven't they returned yet?"

What year is it now?

"236 years... There's no time left, there's no time left."

Yong Xin seemed to have anticipated all of this, and continued to calm him down slowly, "Don't worry, Bishop Holman, tell me what happened."

"What happened..." Huo Er Man's confusion quickly turned into fear and pain. "Lord... he can't hold on any longer."

"He is being killed by that newly born Sinful Creature..."

"He can't hold on any longer, He really can't hold on any longer..."

"Xiaoxing, if Xiaoxing doesn't come back... my My Lord Lyra... will be killed."

"There's no time left."

"There's no... time left..."

Despite Huo Er Man's delirious ramblings, Yong Xin continued to pat his back gently and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, Your Bishop."

"Xiaoxing, I'll be back soon."

Bang.

A crisp sound rang out as a cup shattered.

Jie La Er turned his head and saw the old man at the next table staring blankly at the old metal finger.

Should I... replace it?

He murmured.

"I should replace it."