Holy Knight

Illumi felt distinctly uncomfortable. He raised a hand, tapped his ear, then pointed at the Mechanical Spider inside Ella's cloak.

The meaning was simple.

Keep listening to orders.

Don't move around.

Ella blinked again.

Illumi returned the cloak to its original position, then picked up the diagnostic needle and spoke to the nurse.

"Record this."

The nurse hurriedly grabbed a clipboard.

"Number Fifteen is conscious. Abnormal abdominal response is low-level. Pulse is somewhat erratic. External injuries have been treated."

Illumi added one more thing.

"No additional sedatives."

The nurse froze.

"But she's been awake the whole time. The bishop is afraid she—"

Illumi looked at the middle-aged medic.

The middle-aged medic immediately flipped through the records and said,

"The drug line is contaminated, and Number Fifteen's interface is also triggering alarms. Adding sedatives now could interfere with recalibration."

The nurse quickly lowered her head and wrote it down.

"No additional sedatives."

Illumi continued.

"No transfer."

The nurse froze again.

"If the elders manage to repair the ritual—"

The middle-aged medic immediately cut her off.

"Before it is repaired, transferring her would be even riskier. Any fluctuation from Number Fifteen now could affect the Mother Stone's identification."

The string of technical terms left the nurse bewildered. In the end, she could only write it down.

"No transfer."

Milluki, seated before the screen, nearly slapped the desk.

"Beautiful! With those two notes written down, even if they fix the ritual, they'll have to go through medical review first."

Bai Zhu turned over on the bed, crushing the pillow beneath him out of shape.

Milluki turned back and glared at him. Seeing his beloved pillow pinned under Bai Zhu, pain showed in his eyes.

Outside the lounge, the silver-robed bishop's roar came through again.

"Tell me, why can't a single pipe be cleaned properly?!"

"Bishop, the contaminants are clinging to the inner walls. Running the medicine through it directly will cause a secondary reaction!"

"Then replace the pipe!"

"To replace it, we need to dismantle the external circulation support!"

"Dismantle it!"

"If we do, the Mother Stone's pressure will drop!"

"Then what the hell can you people do?!"

Another burst of smashing sounds followed.

Ella's body tensed slightly.

Illumi placed a tiny medicine pouch inside her cloak, next to the Mechanical Spider.

Milluki immediately received a notification that a new module had come online.

"What's that?"

Illumi lowered his voice.

"Emergency hemostatic medicine. And a dose that will put her to sleep for a short while."

Milluki immediately became alert.

"The dosage?"

"It won't kill her."

"Coming from you, that doesn't reassure me at all."

Illumi closed the diagnostic case.

He did not touch Ella again. Before leaving, he merely fastened the restraints back into place.

But on the inside of the strap around her right hand, there was now a section thinned by a needle tip.

If Ella twisted hard a few times, she could break free.

The nurse was checking the records with her head lowered and did not notice at all.

The middle-aged medic walked to the door and knocked.

A guard opened it.

"Finished checking her?"

Illumi came out carrying the case.

"Number Fifteen is temporarily stable. No additional medication and no transfer. Awaiting secondary review."

The guard took the clipboard. Seeing the advanced medical seal stamped on it, he immediately copied it into the registry by the door.

"Understood."

Another guard muttered,

"Do you think the bishop will start yelling?"

The middle-aged medic said coldly,

"Do you want to go in and explain Number Fifteen's failed connection to the elders yourself?"

The guard immediately shut up.

Illumi walked past the two of them.

The lounge door closed again.

Ella lay back on the bed, slowly shut her eyes, and made her breathing even more erratic.

The nurse glanced at the instruments and muttered quietly,

"Good thing she didn't get any worse."

At the inn, Milluki finished analyzing the available information. None of the three lines seemed in danger of exploding.

He leaned back in his chair and unwrapped a sausage.

"Alright, none of the three fronts have blown up for now."

Bai Zhu remained motionless on the bed.

His breathing was steadier than when he had first entered the room, though his complexion was still terrible. The medical kit had been kicked beside the bed, the gauze had already been unpacked, and the medicine bottles were open.

In the end, Milluki had not actually let him sleep while still bleeding.

Keeping an eye on the screen, he treated several of Bai Zhu's wounds.

The process had been extremely rough.

Even in his stupor, Bai Zhu cursed, "What a shady shop."

Milluki immediately poured another half bottle of disinfectant onto his wounds.

"You won't die from the pain!"

"That's what you get for running your mouth."

The argument in the underground core area continued.

The silver-robed bishop had begun personally inspecting the repair crews.

One gray-robed person after another was pinned against the walls and searched.

Some cried, some begged for mercy, and some were dragged away on the spot.

The medical team Illumi was with turned past a corner.

At the corner.

A squad of fully armed black-robed guards suddenly rushed out, completely blocking the corridor.

The guard captain strode several steps toward the silver-robed bishop.

"Lord Bishop! An oral order from the elders! The heretics setting fires on the surface are very likely covering for their accomplices underground!"

The silver-robed bishop's expression darkened.

The guard then pulled out a thick stack of rosters.

"By order of the elders, immediately dispatch Holy Knights to the surface to hunt down the heretics. At the same time, everyone in the core area who has recently come into contact with Number Fifteen must have their identity verified again on the spot!"

In the inn room.

The half chip in Milluki's mouth snapped loudly.

"Damn."

Just what he had feared.

In the underground corridor.

Standing behind the middle-aged medic with his diagnostic case, Illumi was not surprised in the slightest.

A guard approached with the roster in hand.

"Name."

The middle-aged medic kept a straight face and gave the name on his badge.

The guard quickly flipped through the list, compared it, and waved him through.

Then he turned directly to Illumi.

"Your turn."

Illumi calmly pointed at his badge.

The guard pressed a finger to the roster and slid it down line by line.

His fingertip suddenly stopped.

On the other side of the screen, Milluki's hand was already hovering over the detonation button. The identity they had temporarily slipped into the database would be useless against this kind of physical backup roster. If it did not match, all hell would break loose immediately!

The guard stared at the roster for a full three seconds.

He looked up and examined Illumi's face.

"Go on."

The roster closed, and the wall of people opened a path.

Illumi followed the medic through the corridor.

They kept walking until they reached a blind corner with no people or surveillance cameras.

"Milluki."

Milluki suddenly sat upright.

"Big Brother? Do you need us to force our way in?"

The background noise on the other end of the earpiece was chaotic. It sounded like the inspection point nearby had indeed caught several low-ranking believers without badges; shouts and sounds of struggling came through in a mess.

"Wake Bai Zhu."

Milluki froze.

He turned and looked at the bed. That blood-covered guy was still hugging the pillow.

Milluki's expression changed.

"Now? Is a fight about to break out over there?"

Illumi paused for a moment, somewhat speechless.

"The elders sent Holy Knights to the surface."

"I don't know how strong these people are. Their target is Bai Zhu. Bai Zhu has to separate from you now."