NOVEL WEB Chapter 249
Chapter 249: Two Ends of a Scale 30
Kui Xin looked at the unfamiliar city and asked, “Where am I?”
“A city that isn’t so cold,” Adam replied.
“Clear as day…” Kui Xin curled his lips. “I’m starting to sweat.”
White Whale City was too cold recently; sporadic snowfall had been occurring, and night temperatures often hovered around zero degrees. Ice would form on the edges of buildings, and Kui Xin always dressed warmly to stay insulated while in White Whale City. But now, in another city, he suddenly found himself unable to adapt. The outdoor temperature was at least twenty degrees.
“This is Lin Yin City. As you can see, it’s a bustling commercial city surrounded by mountains on three sides. Although it’s in the north, the climate is relatively warm. You just happen to arrive during their celebration tonight,” Adam explained. “Lin Yin City is more than a hundred kilometers away from White Whale City in a straight line.”
“Quite far… Night Cicada’s ability is truly terrible.” Kui Xin said. “No wonder they lost contact with Ash and AmberEye. The distance is too great, and once the signal is cut off, they need to re-establish it.”
“Don’t worry, I notified them to evacuate recently—Ash has already left the Poleward District,” Adam said. “Do you want to stay in this city for a while, or head back immediately?”
“Head back immediately. With the spatial vortex, I can come and go whenever I like,” said Kui Xin, relaxing his face and voice as he spoke. The feeling of having a foothold returned, bolstered by the new S-Rank extraordinary ability he had obtained. This capability made him confident in his ability to deal with Augus, Resistances, and use the spatial vortex as an offensive technique.
“The only obstacle might be something akin to ‘Reset,’ but other than that, Kui Xin always has a fallback.”
“Let’s go back to White Whale City.” Kui Xin smiled, raising his hand forward. A deep blue spatial energy glimmered at his fingertips, followed by the appearance of a vortex.
This time, the vortex opened much faster, allowing travel over far greater distances. Kui Xin stepped into the vortex and instantly traveled from the warm Lin Yin City back to the frigid White Whale City.
Gazing up, he observed the laser beams piercing through the clouds emitted from the top of the skyscrapers in White Whale City, still incredibly dazzling.
His mindset subtly shifted. Long ago, in Black Sea City, he would gaze at those glorious sights from the foot of a mountain, feeling the awe of a palace standing majestically atop. But now, facing those towering skyscrapers and neon lights, his heart no longer felt admiration, but rather, a sense of control.
Stretching out his hand, the silver mechanical left hand partially opened its fingers, enveloping a distant, brilliantly gleaming skyscraper within its palm.
Light seeped through the gaps between his fingers, penetrating the depths of his eyes.
“…Thorn Viper… wait, was communication established? It seems so.” Su Rong’s voice came through the earpiece. “Thorn Viper, please respond if you hear me.”
“I hear you, Ash,” Kui Xin responded.
“Heave…” In the communication channel, Su Rong’s heavy breathing could be heard. “Good, I thought something might have gone wrong with you. The mission was surely successful, right?”
“It went smoothly,” Kui Xin couldn’t help smiling.
He smiled because he finally obtained something he had long desired.
The names on the list were Lin Xinji, He Gaoyi, Red, Night Cicada… Kui Xin scratched them off one by one; the list was now empty.
As the game progressed and events developed, numerous enemies emerged on Kui Xin’s journey. There were many more formidable foes than they were, so he needed to add new names to the death list.
The four former adversaries were considered mini-bosses on the path of growth; Kui Xin had defeated countless such mini-bosses, accumulated enough experience points, and was ready to take on the bigger bosses.
With a cold heart, he examined his inner self and wrote a few names on the mental death list.
Augus, Angel, Phantom, Eve.
Completing these additions, Kui Xin organized his next steps, knowing precisely where to begin his pursuit.
The next target was Augus, and his next destination would be Fusgong City.
“Did you succeed?” AmberEye’s calm voice asked.
AmberEye understood better than Su Rong why Kui Xin targeted Night Cicada and hoped deeply that Kui Xin’s plans would succeed. The stronger Kui Xin became, the higher the chance of saving Black Obsidian.
“Indeed.” Kui Xin confirmed.
When AmberEye heard those words from Kui Xin’s mouth, he sighed in relief, mixed feelings flooding him: relieved to have chosen Kui Xin as a partner, yet haunted by memories of the past when he worked alongside Night Cicada and others during the Mechanized Dawn. It wasn’t pity towards Night Cicada but recognition of how people around him either moved away or died, prompting him to question whether he would be the next to fall.
“Congratulations, Kui Xin,” AmberEye said.
“I reminded you to use my code name,” Kui Xin said.
“By accident,” AmberEye responded. “It won’t happen again. Thorn Viper, what’s with your dislike for hearing my call of your name? Why?”
“Old habits die hard,” Kui Xin replied.
“Huh,” AmberEye lowered his eyes, contemplating momentarily. “Understood.”
It was nearly 2:15 AM.
Entering a vortex moments after two o’clock, Kui Xin arrived at the Lin Yin City branch of Mechanized Dawn and retrieved Night Cicada within a minute or two, killing him shortly afterward. Walking around a bit, the overall time spent was minimal—a swift operation.
The night was still stretched ahead, providing ample time for reflection and rest.
Returning to their base via the vortex, Kui Xin leaned on the sofa and played with a glass tube filled with dark red fluid.
What kind of story lay buried in Night Cicada’s blood? He hoped it hadn’t been contaminated.
Kui Xin recalled that Night Cicada seemingly appeared out of nowhere, appearing close to his father, Kui Haidong. Since then, he had remained by his father’s side. Curious about Night Cicada’s origins, she approached Kui Haidong for information, but he dodged the topic with vague responses.
Night Cicada carried significant secrets, perhaps even linked to Eve.
Gathering her thoughts together once more, Kui Xin uncapped the glass tube and dropped a single drop of blood into her mouth.
Memories surged forth, memories sealed away were unlocked. Every piece of memory was like a yellowed letter. Kui Xin delved into those letters, deciphering “Night Cicada’s” life story.
Night Cicada, of course, did not originally bear that name; he had his original name, very common, short-lived almost due to its insignificance. His adopted name had been given by his orphanage director, who assigned similar ordinary names to all the children there, names that felt unpolished and crude to Night Cicada. He detested the name until he learned to read and chose a combination from his textbooks, changing his name to Night Cicada quietly.
This orphanage housed children divided into two groups. The first group included children conceived through artificial means supported by the Federation; infants grew in test tubes before being placed in the orphanage to grow naturally. The second group comprised children with parents who were Awakened but then faced tragic ends, making them homeless.
Psychology and sociology experts visited monthly for evaluations and studies, asking children to fill out forms and participate in games. Weekly visits saw doctors conducting various health checks on the children.
Night Cicada witnessed the doctors’ notes on checklists, marked with checked and crossed boxes. Initially, these signs mystified him, but渐渐地，他明白了打上叉号的孩子会消失，不再回到孤儿院。
院长妈妈告诉他们，那些孩子被收养了，会在富有的家庭中幸福地成长，拥有不同的生活。
院长的笑容和蔼可亲，但夜蝉却觉得她在撒谎。
“他们真的被收养了吗？收养了，为什么一次都不回孤儿院和我们一起玩？”夜蝉有意无意地询问其他孩子。
“因为他们已经是上等人了，和我们不一样了！”正在搭积木的小女孩重重地哼了一声，她说：“他们的爸妈会让他们的孩子远离我们这种小孩。”
夜蝉刚想辩驳，身旁的一个男孩突然拉住他的胳膊，那个脸色苍白的男孩没有表情，轻若耳语道：“不要再问了……不要问，不要追究。”
说完这话，他松开夜蝉的手臂，视线移开，仿佛一切未曾发生。
“嘿，你……”夜蝉打量他，“你是新来的吗？”
“嗯，新来的，”男孩回答。
夜蝉试图站高些看，但眼前的男孩比他高了不少。
“你多大了？”夜蝉语气不太友好地问道。
“我十一岁了，”男孩看着他，“比我大一岁。”
“你叫什么名字？”夜蝉问道。
男孩说：“游望。”
夜蝉从未听说过这个名字，于是问道：“是哪个游？”
男孩沉思了几秒，突然笑着回答：“不认识吗？是幽灵的幽。”
“幽？那你为什么念第二声？这是一个多音字吗？”夜蝉困惑地说道，“上次写这个字我被处罚，我明明记得……”
“是的，多音字。”男孩的笑容显得有些奇怪，他说：“不相信你可以去问院长妈妈。”
半信半疑的夜蝉立即去询问了，结果院长妈妈脸色一沉：“上一次这个字你写错了，我让你抄写十遍。看来抄的次数还不够多，没记住。再来抄二十遍，加上拼音，抄完后让我看。”
夜蝉一脸错愕，仿佛在梦中完成院长要求的抄写，一字不差地写下那二十遍的字——”幽灵”中的“幽”。