Because of this conclusion, Yan Ji was absent-minded on the way down the mountain.
He stayed one step behind the young man.
He noticed Xin Hexue’s hand hanging at his side, exposed from under the sleeve of the white down jacket.
The fingers were slender, the nails round and neat, and the skin, lacking in blood color, gave off a sickly pale impression.
Yan Ji once again thought of how last night Xin Hexue had used these very hands to hold him.
And then… Yan Ji recalled the feeling at the corner of his lips, like a soft and pure white feather, or a dragonfly touching the surface of water.
Now he was absentminded and his brain was completely broken, but the other party said he had completely forgotten, as if that erased everything that happened last night? That had been his first kiss, even if that fleeting touch last night could barely be called a kiss.
The wind halfway down the mountain was a bit strong. Xin Hexue pulled the zipper up to the very top, but the wind still forced its way through the collar of the down jacket, sweeping across all the exposed skin.
The down jacket had a fur collar. The wind made the pure white fluff puff up and cluster around Xin Hexue’s face.
His hand, hanging at his side, curled slightly, the knuckles pale from the cold, the fingertips tinged with red.
Yan Ji casually stepped forward, moving from one step behind to walking side by side. Just as their hands were about to touch, Xin Hexue tucked his hand into the side pocket of his down jacket.
Like a little cat’s tail accidentally dipping into water, then retracting from the surface.
From the corner of his eye, Xin Hexue caught sight of the young man beside him showing a faintly annoyed expression.
His lips curled up imperceptibly. Xin Hexue pretended not to notice and, from the pocket, pulled out his gloves and put them back on.
Yan Ji couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you always carry a pair of gloves?”
Xin Hexue: “Hm?” He spread his fingers slightly in front of Yan Ji, his eyes curving into a faint arc. “I don’t really like touching other people or things.”
‘Mysophobia?’ Yan Ji wasn’t sure, but this kind of thing was someone else’s business. Their relationship hadn’t reached the level where he could pry into such privacy.
His lips pressed into a straight line, and he fell silent, which was rare.
Just as they came down from the steps of the mountain, to Xin Hexue’s surprise, one of the sentinels who had been guarding the tents yesterday was waiting for him.
Before heading up the mountain, Xin Hexue had sent a message to the people at the tower, to avoid any misunderstanding if they couldn’t find him.
Seeing the other party’s anxious and uneasy expression, Xin Hexue stepped forward and asked softly, “Did something happen?”
That sentinel hesitated, as if considering something, but in the end made up his mind and said, “The return signal from Officer Wei Zhuo and Officer Kuike disappeared from the map.”
Yan Ji saw Xin Hexue’s face gradually grow serious.
……
No sentinel dared to make a move to stop a guide.
In the Northern Frontier, sentinels rarely had contact with guides, but in their inherent understanding and the education they received, guides were considered fragile beings, and their physical strength was far inferior to that of sentinels. Therefore, even the sentinels stationed to guard the command room of the tower dared not obstruct when the young guide walked forward.
The sentinel’s hand, which had been raised weakly to block the way, was already lowered when the guide placed a hand on his arm and softly asked, “Can you let me through?”
The young guide’s skin was as white as snow, and his expression looked indifferent. He originally gave off an air of aloofness, but when he spoke gently, he carried an unexpected sense of approachability.
The sentinel could only nod blankly and respond in a daze, “Of course, of course…”
The senior sentinels in the command room looked sharply at the young man who pushed the door open and entered.
Upon realizing he was a guide, the sharpness in their gazes retracted, but they still maintained a firm attitude and said resolutely, “Sir, this is the strategic command room, please leave immediately.”
Because the sentry at the door had not reacted in time, Yan Ji smoothly followed Xin Hexue inside.
His gaze swept over the interior of the command room. The walls were painted deep blue, fitted with special soundproofing and forest wind white noise devices to ensure sentinels’ emotional stability and rationality.
At the center was a long, wide table with a three-dimensional simulation sand table, projecting terrain transmitted from military satellite imagery. Yan Ji quickly recognized the connecting route between the Northern Frontier and the Ankur Iron Mine from the undulating mountains and the familiar railway.
The tracks were white, and the Northern Frontier on the map was also white, but all the mountains and forests on both sides of the tracks appeared in warning blood-red colors. This indicated that the areas on both sides of the route were Folded Zones, with intense energy fluctuations and signs of expansion.
A section halfway along the tracks flickered with blue-white light, blinking on and off, the signal extremely unstable.
The light remained in place, flickering twice before going completely dark.
Xin Hexue pressed his lips together, his expression revealing an indescribable solemnity. “They disappeared at this location?”
He held up his silver identification badge for them to see. “They are my comrades. If you are organizing a search and rescue team, I apply to join as a field guide.”
The lead senior sentinel’s gaze fell on the unique gold-rimmed silver badge, and his eyes flickered.
But his attitude remained firm. “According to Lieutenant General Wei Zhuo’s orders, we must ensure your safety and absolutely cannot allow you to enter the Folded Zone. Therefore, we cannot approve your request to join as a field guide.”
The sentinel was tall, his shadow under the ceiling light carrying a heavy sense of oppression, his face solemn. “This is the command room. Please leave immediately.”
Yan Ji and Xin Hexue were escorted out by the sentinels at the door.
Of course, the difference was that Xin Hexue was politely invited out, while Yan Ji was forcibly taken out by two sentinels with his hands twisted behind his back.
Yan Ji: “…”
After being shoved out at the entrance of the tower, Yan Ji steadied himself, twisted his shoulder while pinching his arm, and turned back to say, “Even if you hadn’t dragged me out, I would’ve left on my own, okay?”
The two sentinels looked Yan Ji up and down suspiciously.
Seeing the young man’s short silver-gray hair, a piercing on his ear with a peacock blue stud clipped on the cartilage, and a smile with a bit of a rascal’s air.
Northern Desert City wasn’t big. Sentinels who had served five or six years in the Northern Frontier generally recognized this person; his parents had died in the line of duty four years ago, and Yan Ji was registered with the Northern Desert Welfare Institute for the sake of organizational management, though in reality, he had always lived alone in the house his parents left behind and lacked adult supervision.
Before returning to the tower, one sentinel simply told Xin Hexue, “Sir, please avoid associating with unknown individuals.”
Yan Ji: “…”
Xin Hexue comforted, “He seems to have misunderstood you.”
“But did he have to say it to my face?” Yan Ji questioned, “Do I really look like a delinquent?”
Xin Hexue avoided answering the question and instead asked, “Is your hair dyed?”
Yan Ji: “…Yeah.”
The hair color happened to match his mental body.
Xin Hexue raised his hand and lightly touched the stud at Yan Ji’s ear. “Does this hurt?”
Yan Ji raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine, I don’t feel it.”
For some reason, even though there was a leather glove in between, Yan Ji still felt that the area Xin Hexue had touched was hot.
Feeling awkward, Yan Ji rubbed his ear and asked, “Are you planning to look for the two people who came with you?”
Xin Hexue nodded. “But the place where they disappeared is quite far from here. I need a vehicle.”
The military heavy armored off-road vehicle they came in had been driven by Wei Zhuo and Kuike to the Ankur Iron Mine for their mission.
The sentinel in the corner stepped forward; he was the one who had informed Xin Hexue of the situation earlier.
“I can help you find a vehicle.”
Before leaving the command room, Yan Ji had clearly heard that senior sentinel reprimanding others because someone had leaked to Xin Hexue the disappearance of Wei Zhuo’s signal, which violated Wei Zhuo’s orders before departure.
Realizing something was wrong, Yan Ji’s eyes darkened and he sneered at the sentinel in front of him. “They all strictly forbid guides from coming into contact with unknown individuals, yet you’re acting so abnormally. Or is there some ulterior motive?”
At this moment, his expression became cold, his sword-like eyebrows drawn together, carrying a deterrent force not typical of someone his age. Every word he spoke was laced with a biting chill, like a lone wolf crouching in the jungle, ready to strike at any time.
The sentinel had served four years in the Northern Frontier. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He did not realize this intimidation came from the pressure of a high-level combatant.
He only felt that being scared by a young boy was a disgrace. Swallowing dryly, he straightened his chest and said stiffly, “I request to speak with the officer alone. Unrelated personnel, please step aside.”
……
When Xin Hexue returned, he held a set of car keys in his hand.
Yan Ji had been waiting outside. A few drops of melted snow from the eaves had splashed onto the shoulder of his tactical jacket.
Yan Ji asked, “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
He had been paying close attention to any noise inside. There hadn’t been any sounds of fighting or heated argument, otherwise Yan Ji would have rushed in already.
Xin Hexue shook his head. “He didn’t do anything, he just asked me to help with a mental guidance session.”
His previous schedule had prioritized soothing sentinels with mental pollution levels over seventy-five percent. This guard sentinel’s pollution level was seventy percent, so he had missed his chance.
Yan Ji: “That fast?”
He had never experienced nor seen the process of mental guidance, only heard bits and pieces suggesting that this work placed great pressure on guides and was a stressful task.
Even though it was supposedly their natural duty, just as sentinels had to fight through fire and blood no matter how dangerous the Folded Zone was.
Therefore, in Yan Ji’s impression, guides had always seemed weak, because even while enjoying the protection and favor of the Empire in the White Tower, they often used the excuse of pressure to avoid their duties.
But Xin Hexue’s appearance had completely shattered his impression of guides. He didn’t even expect that mental guidance could be done this efficiently.
It seemed it had taken less than half an hour.
Xin Hexue did not think much of it, as if it were a common occurrence, and simply said, “Joss is a C-rank sentinel, so the guidance went smoothly.”
When a guide’s mental power level exceeded the sentinel’s combat power level, the difficulty of mental guidance decreased exponentially.
Therefore, Xin Hexue’s mental power level must be at least B-rank or above.
Yan Ji followed Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue tilted his head slightly. “Aren’t you going home?”
Yan Ji: “I’ll go with you.”
He gave Xin Hexue no chance to refuse, because upon arriving at the off-road vehicle and unlocking it with the key, Yan Ji moved faster than Xin Hexue and opened the driver’s side door.
Yan Ji: “If you input the coordinates and follow the navigation, there will be checkpoints along the way.”
Yan Ji: “I know a shortcut that’s even faster.”
He turned to look at Xin Hexue, his expression serious. “Let me come with you, okay?”
After a moment, Yan Ji added, “Of course, don’t misunderstand. I’m just worried that if a guide gets injured or goes missing in the Northern Frontier, and the people at the tower have seen me with you, things will get very troublesome.”
Xin Hexue quietly sat in the passenger seat, but still asked uneasily, “Are you sure you know how to drive?”
Yan Ji grinned and showed a canine tooth at him, his smile carrying the unique arrogance and wildness of his age. “Relax, even an unknown individual has learned a few useful skills.”
……
On the satellite map, Folded Zones were divided into small blocks according to energy fluctuation values, each assigned a number and a simple name. Based on the level of energy fluctuation, their danger level was estimated and rated. The evaluation also referred to the average injury rates of sentinel squads entering and leaving Folded Zones in the past. From low to high, the ratings were C, B, A, and S-level fold zones, indicating the average combat level of sentinel squads required to retreat alive from the zone.
The so-called retreat alive only meant keeping one’s life, and did not even guarantee having all limbs intact.
As for Folded Zones above S-level, due to excessively violent energy fluctuations and the inability to monitor them accurately, they were directly marked on the map as “Unknown” or “Sealed.”
Previously, Xin Hexue’s former squad, Honeysuckle, had lost their main teammate He Botian in the No. 122 Rainforest Folded Zone and was ultimately disbanded.
The original danger rating of No. 122 Rainforest was A-level, and it was the largest Folded Zone in the Western Frontier apart from the Unknown and Sealed zones. The Western Frontier was rich in natural resources, and the Empire had long planned to reclaim it. Therefore, the most powerful squad in terms of comprehensive combat strength was sent in.
But from the moment Xin Hexue and his squad entered the Folded Zone, the high-altitude drone squad, which was on standby outside to provide support, immediately encountered unprecedented interference from magnetic field disturbances. Aberrant spores dancing in the Folded Zone’s sky also shot down all drones.
The monitored energy fluctuations began to surge to unprecedented heights, instantly surpassing the peak value an A-level Folded Zone should have.
Xin Hexue eventually managed to close the entrance of the Rainforest Folded Zone, flipping it back to a normal world, where it regained its vibrant appearance.
The price paid for that operation was heavy. One 3S-level sentinel and one A-level sentinel lost their lives, and the only 3S-level guide’s health deteriorated as a result.
This made the Empire far more cautious in dealing with all A-level Folded Zones.
No one could say for sure whether these A-level Folded Zones might suddenly spike in energy and surpass their original peak.
Xin Hexue’s destination this time was the midpoint of the railway connecting the Ankur Iron Mine and the Northern Frontier. It was there that the returning iron ore train had lost signal.
He had seen the data from Wei Zhuo.
This train on its first run was capable of carrying forty thousand tons of cargo. Due to the heavy load, it required four locomotives for braking: one at the front, one at the rear, and two in the middle. Its average speed was fifty-four kilometers per hour, slower but more stable compared to regular trains.
Even so, given the distance between the two places, it should have taken only about two and a half hours to return to the Northern Frontier.
The train had come to a halt midway and lost signal.
The mountain range running northwest along both sides of the route had folded zones rated C-level at most, with the highest being B-level.
But Xin Hexue still felt something was off.
He explained these circumstances to Yan Ji and added, “Last time I performed mental guidance on Wei Zhuo, it failed for certain reasons. His mental pollution level still fluctuates between seventy-five and eighty percent.”
If the Folded Zone suddenly spiked in energy like the Rainforest incident and surpassed its peak value, then danger was inevitable given there’s only Wei Zhuo and Kuike present, not to mention that Wei Zhuo’s mental pollution was high.
Although the probability of a ten percent pollution increase leading to a breakdown in battle was low, it was not zero.
This was why Xin Hexue insisted on going.
Mixed in was a little thought of raising Yan Ji’s love value. After all, dangerous environments and the suspension bridge effect were effective tactics for promoting feelings.
But this consideration only accounted for a very small part. Due to the risks involved, Xin Hexue rarely chooses aggressive or risky methods to gain a target’s love value unless the painless exit program from the small world had already been activated.
Yan Ji focused on the road ahead. The sky was dim and night was approaching. The white headlights illuminated the road as brightly as daytime. Branches stretched out from both sides of the road, twisted like skeleton fingers.
“You can take a nap for a while.” Considering that Xin Hexue had just performed mental guidance and must be exhausted, Yan Ji offered this suggestion. “I’ll wake you when we’re almost there.”
Xin Hexue followed his instructions and closed his eyes for a nap.
……
“Xin Hexue!”
“Xin Hexue!”
When Xin Hexue woke up, the first thing he saw was Yan Ji’s particularly serious expression.
He glanced at the time in the car. He had only been asleep for less than twenty minutes. “We’re here already?”
Yan Ji’s tone was stern. “On the 3D sand table map, the train disappeared halfway along the track. We’ve driven about a quarter of the way from the Northern Frontier now.”
Yan Ji: “But look, what’s that ahead?”
The two of them got out to check. The sound of the car door closing echoed lightly under the moonlit night.
Stepping on the dirt road, the woods on either side were shadowy.
The headlights were turned to their brightest, and the white light felt particularly harsh to the eyes. A huge iron ore train stood right before them, moss covering its body, and chunks of red paint peeling off.
The wind blew from behind, sending a chill down their spines.
Xin Hexue confirmed the train’s serial number. “It’s the train that started its trial run from the Ankur Iron Mine.”
Xin Hexue calmly said to Yan Ji, “Go check the second engine room. I’ll go to the first engine room and see if there are any traces of human activity. We’re not far apart, if anything happens, call out immediately.”
He still had confidence in Yan Ji’s 3S-level combat strength.
Yan Ji: “Okay.”
Xin Hexue boarded the first engine room.
It wasn’t much different from an ordinary train. Above the front glass was a signboard, with big characters reading “Pay Attention to Lookout,” and smaller ones reading “Wiper Inspection Hole.”
The engine was next to the driver’s seat, with a precision-operated console in front.
Aside from the absence of people and the aged state of the cabin, everything else seemed normal.
While looking out the glass, Xin Hexue noticed the full, bright moon outside.
Suddenly, the sound of an animal’s howl echoed in the air, like some kind of wolf howl.
Yan Ji called out sharply, “Xin Hexue!”
Xin Hexue turned at the sound and saw a wolf sprinting toward him.
It scattered the gray fog behind him that was attempting to attack. It was the gray fog only found in Folded Zones. He also saw spores and powder dispersing within the fog.
As expected, it was a derivative of the Folded Zone’s expansion.
Xin Hexue’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The gray wolf at his feet panted with its tongue out, its tail wagging faster than a car’s windshield wipers, enough to fan someone into catching a cold.
Xin Hexue raised his eyes and met Yan Ji’s gaze.
Yan Ji explained dryly, “This is… my dog. Do you believe me?”
Xin Hexue lowered his lashes, his voice calm as he said, “What do you think?”
Yan Ji: “Then… woof?”
