Provocation

After the convoy set off again, everyone could tell Han Shu was in a foul mood.

He had good reason to be. Rescuing Chen Liu had cost the Raven Squad and the Highland Eagle three soldiers. The personnel left guarding the square had also suffered losses.

Ammunition, Star Essence Energy, and medical supplies had all been depleted to varying degrees. There was even an Ascender in the medical vehicle who had just undergone surgery and was now lying in an intensive care bed.

And all of it could have been avoided.

So nobody spoke along the way. Even Old Xu, usually the most talkative of them, smoked in silence.

Tianyang sat in the back of the combat vehicle, quietly reviewing his earlier battle.

Through actual combat, he had discovered that the star essence within him could reach peak activity in an extremely short time. This gave him tremendous explosive power and exceptional mobility.

But his greatest discovery had been his ability to detect the weaknesses of the Children of Darkness.

When he had examined that mutated Mad Dog, the Demon Hound's flesh had faded from view, allowing Tianyang to directly "see" the will cage inside its body. Killing it with a single slash afterward proved that it had been no illusion.

Thinking back on it now, this had to be a practical application of his rank ability, Weakness Sense.

At that thought, Tianyang stole a glance at Han Shu in front of him... but no fading occurred.

Could this ability be ineffective against humans?

If only it came with an instruction manual... the boy thought.

"Something's strange."

Old Xu, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.

"What is?" Han Shu snapped from the front.

Old Xu tapped lightly on the window. "Captain, look outside. It's too quiet."

"I remember the mission report saying there were large numbers of Wanderers around here. How come we haven't seen a single one?"

The convoy rounded a corner. There wasn't so much as a shadow in the sweep of its lights.

Tianyang also looked out the window. Just as Old Xu had said, not a single Wanderer was visible on the streets.

Yet when he had left, those lowest-tier Darkfolk had been so numerous that calling them a sea of bodies would hardly have been an exaggeration.

Where had they all gone?

"Maybe they went somewhere else," Han Shu said dismissively. "Wanderers just roam all over the place. Did you expect them to settle down in Metropolis?"

"Let's hope so," Old Xu murmured.

In the end, they reached their destination without encountering a single Wanderer. Everything went so smoothly that it felt unreal.

As far as Han Shu was concerned, though, if the return trip went just as smoothly, this mission could still just about be considered perfect.

Seeing the entrance to the tunnel where the Star Marrow Pillar grew again stirred Tianyang's emotions. It was in that tunnel that his life had changed.

The tunnel below could truly be called the crossroads of the boy's fate.

Now that he had returned, he wondered what else might happen.

Hopefully, nothing at all.

That was what the boy, reasonably satisfied with his current circumstances, told himself.

The convoy stopped at the tunnel entrance, and the two Nightwalkers squads worked together to establish a security perimeter. The Raven Squad went down to scout the tunnel. Only after confirming that it was safe did they allow the Recovery Team to enter with their equipment.

By the time Tianyang followed Chen Liu and the others into the tunnel, the Recovery Team was already preparing to begin extraction.

A Star Pillar this large naturally couldn't be recovered intact. Only smaller ones could be brought back whole, like the one in Skyhold's memorial park.

But even when recovered intact, Star Pillars stopped growing once they left the Inverse Realm. Moreover, the star essence within them slowly drained away. So far, there was still no clear explanation for this phenomenon.

"All right, everyone, listen up."

Han Shu cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "According to our tradition, everyone involved in recovering a Star Pillar gets one chance to touch it, except for Ascenders. Old Xu, go call the Medical Team down here too."

Old Xu agreed and was about to leave, but Chen Liu stopped him. "What tradition is this? Why haven't I heard of it? Captain Han, what are you playing at?"

"I'm not playing at anything," Han Shu said irritably. "This is a Nightwalkers tradition. What's wrong with that? Recovering a Star Pillar is dangerous, grueling work. They've more than earned a chance to change their fate."

"Nonsense!" Chen Liu shouted. "The annual coming-of-age ceremony in the fortress's memorial park already gives every resident who has turned eighteen a chance to touch a Star Pillar. The adults here have already touched one, and those who haven't attended their ceremony yet will get their chance later. There's no need for any of this!"

"Sir, everyone gets a turn. You can touch it too. It's not like it'll take much time. Besides, how many years has it been since the one in the memorial park produced an Ascender? If you ask me, it's about time we replaced it."

Han Shu's cheeky grin made Chen Liu want to punch him in the face.

"In any case, I won't allow it," Chen Liu said stiffly.

Han Shu scratched his head. "How about this? Let's put it to a vote. Everyone in favor raises a hand, and the majority decides. What do you think, sir?"

"Obviously most people will agree!" Chen Liu exclaimed. "What's the point?"

Han Shu gave a couple of dry chuckles and fixed Chen Liu with a meaningful look. "Sir, if you understand that everyone wants a chance to change their lives, why insist on stopping them? You can't go against the will of the people, sir."

Chen Liu looked around. Nobody said anything, but he could tell from their eyes that they didn't like him.

"Do whatever you want, then. But once we're back, I'll be reporting this so-called Nightwalkers tradition to our superiors!"

Han Shu laughed heartily, utterly unconcerned. He even saluted Chen Liu. "Thank you, sir!"

Chen Liu seethed, but there was nothing he could do. He simply moved off to one side to sulk by himself.

Old Xu went to fetch the others. Seeing that he had nothing to do for the moment, Tianyang headed deeper into the tunnel.

A short while later, he came upon a platform.

Beyond the platform lay dark tracks, but there was no train or similar vehicle in sight. Perhaps it was now parked in some dark stretch of tunnel.

Only then did Tianyang realize that the inhabitants of the Inverse Realm had dug underground tunnels for their trains.

Just how much did they hate sunlight to put their trains underground...?

As his thoughts began to wander, Tianyang suddenly heard footsteps. He immediately swept the light in his hand toward the sound.

"Oh, what a coincidence." It was Zhou Wang's voice.

Tianyang lowered his light. Sure enough, the arrogant-looking young man was approaching empty-handed.

Not wanting to waste words on someone like him, Tianyang continued forward in silence. As he passed Zhou Wang, an arm barred his way.

Zhou Wang's arm.

Suppressing the urge to reach for his saber, Tianyang looked up. "What do you want?"

Zhou Wang smiled. "Come on, are you still angry with me? I already told you, my hand slipped when I fired that shot. You're not that petty, are you?"

"What I feel is none of your business."

Tianyang pushed Zhou Wang's arm down and walked past him.

But as he walked away, Zhou Wang's voice came from behind him. "That girl's called Xun, right? What a coincidence that she's with the Medical Team. I've had plenty of women, but I've never tried a little nurse before. Once we get back, I'll have to have some real fun with her. Hopefully she's still a virgin. That'll make it even more fun."