The convoy traveled along a highway leading into the city. The road surface was fractured, but the rough terrain posed little trouble for the fortress's powerful vehicles, with their high chassis and thick tires.
The convoy advanced slowly, even though a third of the city had already been explored.
Conditions in the city-or, more precisely, the distribution of the Children of Darkness-changed every day. No commander dared rush recklessly into its depths.
Sitting inside the Falcon light combat vehicle, Old Xu gazed through the window at the ruined buildings looming like enormous gravestones beneath the dim sky. "The civilization in No. 127 Inverse Realm really was a lot like ours. Look at the shape and structure of those buildings. How are they any different from the ones in our fortress?"
"This Metropolis is much bigger than our Skyhold," Han Shu said from the seat opposite him, leaning back with both legs stretched out. "And cities in the Inverse Realm don't have perimeter defenses. There's nothing resembling gun emplacements, either. That suggests they were relatively peaceful and safe before they turned into this hellhole."
Behind them, Cang Du muttered, "A world without the threat of those abominable species? That sounds enviable."
Ji Yu, who was driving, gave a cold laugh. "What's there to envy? Do you like the way it looks now?"
Old Xu chuckled awkwardly and stepped in to smooth things over. "At least before it became like this, it must have been an enviable world. Based on the information we've gathered, Metropolis is about twice the size of Skyhold. There's a great fault to the west that splits the city in two. We don't know much about conditions on the other side."
"But in this section, the roads run in every direction, without a single checkpoint. That means the residents could come and go freely back then. They might have had social classes, but the distinctions probably weren't very pronounced. As for the buildings, the tallest ones reach eighty stories. That's an almost unimaginable height. How many people could just one building like that house?"
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Metropolis could have supported at least a million people. On our side, only those few super-fortress cities like Gloryhold can manage that kind of population."
Han Shu added, "Don't forget they had cars, too. Beneath the city, we also discovered vehicles resembling trains. Their transport systems seem to have been highly developed. There were even strange contraptions that looked like giant steel birds. Some scholars say those things might have been flying machines. Ha! Can you imagine it? Something that cumbersome actually flying through the sky!"
"That's nothing. Those lunatics in Skyvault even want to fly to the moon. Still, that joke's been making the rounds for a hundred years, and I've yet to hear of them succeeding." Old Xu couldn't help laughing after he finished.
Looking out the combat vehicle's window, Tianyang asked casually, "If people once lived in Metropolis, where did they go after it became like this?"
The atmosphere inside the vehicle suddenly froze. Tianyang paused, wondering whether he had asked something he shouldn't have.
Old Xu smiled, though it looked strained. "Tianyang, that sort of thing..."
"The Children of Darkness," Han Shu suddenly said.
Old Xu gave a dry cough. "Captain?"
"It's fine. He'll encounter this sooner or later anyway." Han Shu shook his head.
Tianyang was completely bewildered.
Then Han Shu continued, "Kid, where do you think the Children of Darkness came from?"
Tianyang hesitated. He had read plenty of books, but none of them mentioned the origins of the Children of Darkness. Almost everyone simply took one thing for granted: every numbered Inverse Realm contained vast numbers of hideous, evil creatures.
Those were the Children of Darkness.
The Children of Darkness took different forms in every Inverse Realm. They shared only one trait: the Will Cage!
Yet ever since the Klaft Gates first appeared, he had never heard of any scholar uncovering the origins of the Children of Darkness.
Could it be...?
A terrible thought suddenly occurred to Tianyang, and his fingers trembled slightly at the horrifying possibility.
Han Shu glanced at him and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it and held it between his lips. "Looks like you've guessed. That's right. The original inhabitants of the Inverse Realms may well have all turned into Children of Darkness. That would explain why you can't find a single living person in an entire Inverse Realm-just those disgusting bastards!"
Old Xu gave a rueful chuckle and added, "Skyvault once submitted a report to the Golden Council. I don't know the details, but rumor has it those lunatics believe the Children of Darkness can reproduce. That's why they've survived so long, and why we can never kill them all. And based on their shared possession of a Will Cage, they think all the Inverse Realms might have come from the same place."
Tianyang was stunned. "How big would that place have to be to split into over a hundred Inverse Realms?"
Old Xu shrugged. "That, I couldn't tell you. In any case, the Inverse Realms hold far too many secrets. So many that just thinking about them a little can scare you enough to keep you awake at night."
Han Shu blew a smoke ring. "Coward!"
Old Xu laughed without arguing.
Being afraid of the Inverse Realms was nothing to be ashamed of. Fearing nothing was the truly foolish thing!
Beep, beep, beep-
An alert sounded from the vehicle's console. Ji Yu glanced at it. "Captain, we've received a distress signal."
"Play it." Han Shu took the cigarette from his mouth, his gaze turning grave.
A moment later, a hoarse, indistinct voice came from the speaker. "...Can anyone hear us... trapped... requesting support. Coordinates are as follows..."
Faint roars mingled with the voice, sounds that were unmistakably inhuman.
Han Shu picked up the radio. "This is Han Shu, captain of Raven Squad. Which squad are you with? Respond if you can hear me!"
Unfortunately, the other party didn't seem able to hear him. The same broadcast repeated three or four more times before the signal cut out.
After the distress signal vanished, the voices of the other squad captains came over the vehicle's shared communications channel.
"Captain Han, did you receive that distress signal?"
"The coordinates they gave are nearby. Should we head over?"
Han Shu didn't respond immediately. After considering it for a moment, he said, "Send the broadcast back to Lighthouse Base and have the command center dispatch another team to rescue them. Our mission is to recover the Star Pillar. We shouldn't let anything else distract us right now."
"Mm, that works."
"You're in command of the operation. It's your call."
Just when it seemed everyone had agreed, Chen Liu's voice rang out.
"I object!"
Chen Liu spoke with righteous conviction. "If we have the base dispatch another team, those people might be dead by the time they arrive. The Star Marrow Pillar isn't going to move on its own. What difference does it make if we get there a little earlier or later?"
"The trapped personnel, on the other hand, really can't afford to wait. No matter how you look at it, I think saving lives should come first!"
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