Lin Sanjiu walked past the overturned cars, the collapsed ground, and the broken trees that blocked her way. Finally, she arrived at the foot of the city. She raised her head and stared blankly at the faded words above the city gate. For a moment, she felt as if she had been transported to another apocalyptic world.
"Nine Cities of Cloudwatch?"
She had never heard of such a name before, and she had never seen such a building before.
The Nine Cities of Cloudwatch had a unique design, but it was not large in scale. The walls on both sides were only a few miles long. It looked somewhat similar to an ancient city, except that there was a train track in midair, which should have been a lookout tower.
Behind the outer wall, there was a layer of inner wall that was even taller. The walls were connected by a few wide green staircases. The whole city was divided into two levels, just like a building.
The surface of the wall was polished and smooth. From afar, it looked like it was made of gray bricks. However, when Lin Sanjiu got closer, she realized that it was a strange material. When she put her hand on the wall, a ring of ripples would appear on the surface of the wall. No matter how small the force was, it would be disintegrated in an instant.
"All the Cloudwatch Cities have to use this kind of material for defense," Puppeteer's voice came from behind. Lin Sanjiu, who was lost in thought, was startled. "There are a total of 17 cities in Cloudwatch Cities, and Nine Cities is the smallest among them. It is also the worst."
'There is no such thing as a country? '
Lin Sanjiu retracted her hand in surprise and turned to look at Puppeteer. Puppeteer's gaze was fixed on the city in front of him. There was a deathly stillness on his pale face. There was not a trace of emotion on his face. Apart from the wind that ruffled the black hair on his shoulders, it was as if he was really just a man made of white paper.
The calmer he was, the more uneasy Lin Sanjiu felt.
Puppeteer was definitely not a forgiving person. It was not normal for him to let her go so easily. Even though Lin Sanjiu felt guilty about her behavior, she still had to be wary of him. After thinking for a while, she asked tentatively, "Do you want to go in?"
As if he did not hear her, Puppeteer paused for a few seconds before lowering his head to look at her.
Her gaze was still as cold, sinister, and emotionless as before. However, as Puppeteer froze, her gaze stopped abruptly. As if he had just woken up from a dream, Puppeteer took half a step back. Inexplicably, he glanced at Lin Sanjiu before he turned around and strode toward the gate of Cloud Guardian.
In his eyes, it was as if Lin Sanjiu was just a stranger who happened to block his way.
He doesn't recognize me?
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. She didn't have time to think. She swallowed the words at the back of her throat and followed him instinctively.
The city gate was a metal door that was half a meter thick. It was only raised halfway, but there was already a gap of almost four meters, enough for pedestrians and vehicles to pass through. However, the main road outside had already been paralyzed, and the closest means of transportation to the city gate was an old gray train that had fallen from the top of the city wall, smashed into a lump of iron.
Puppeteer's footsteps were light and quick, like an energetic teenager. It seemed like he would break into a jog after every few steps. Afraid that she would lose him, Lin Sanjiu quickened her pace and dashed into the city gate.
The metal gate was covered with brown rust, and there was a thick layer of moss growing between the gaps of the gate. The yellow-green plants that she couldn't name grew densely along the city wall, turning the city gate into a sea of green. Lin Sanjiu had to keep an eye on Puppeteer and pay attention to her surroundings, so she did not pay attention to the road. She accidentally stepped into a puddle of water. The city gate was filled with puddles of water, and it was so green that it was smelly and sticky. She lowered her head and glanced at her wet pants. When she raised her head again, she was stunned.
In the blink of an eye, the figure wrapped in black leather had already disappeared without a trace.
"Where is he?"
Lin Sanjiu cursed under her breath and rushed out of the city gate. She looked left and right, but Puppeteer was nowhere to be seen.
The city gate was connected to a few main roads in the city. The asphalt road, the electric tracks, and the coarse green brick road were all close to each other. It was as if several different eras were mixed together. The houses, shops, and skyscrapers on both sides of the road seemed to be covered with a layer of rust and dust. They stood there silently, staring at Lin Sanjiu, the outsider.
Lin Sanjiu took a few steps forward cautiously. She could only feel the cold wind blowing past the fallen leaves and rubbish around her feet. But she did not see Puppeteer even after a long time.
'What's the point of the Veda intercepting Puppeteer's memory after the apocalypse and presenting it to me? ' Judging from Puppeteer's behavior, once he entered this memory, he would lose his' present 'consciousness and return to the past...'
Lin Sanjiu thought as she walked along the electric tracks that had stopped moving.
The tall city walls surrounded the inner city, and the crowded houses and shops formed a ring. Occasionally, there would be a gap that looked like it had been gnawed on, but it had been burnt to a crisp. The outer city was filled with the characteristics of the civilian district. Every narrow and dark crevice between the buildings was used, and clotheslines were hung on the walls. Clothes that had not been collected for a long time were mixed together with large garbage dumps in the dark alleyways.
The seemingly cheap inns, the dubious clinic that could cure all kinds of diseases, the low-end chain fast food restaurants … All the poor but lively hustle and bustle had been swept away by the apocalypse, leaving behind only their black, hollow shells.
Strangely, there was only one person left —
Just as the thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she felt goosebumps all over her back. Her nerves, which had been through countless life and death situations, tensed up. Her body reacted first. She leaped out of the electric caterpillar and landed on the pavement made of green bricks. Behind her, a few sharp wind-breaking sounds followed closely like dense raindrops, fiercely colliding with the tracks. Immediately, the place where she was just standing was smashed into pieces, and the sky was filled with iron shavings.
Lin Sanjiu did not have the time to turn around to see who was attacking her. She kicked a green-skinned signboard on the side of the road. Just as it flew into the air, it was struck by another attack. When the signboard was pierced through and fell to the ground like a piece of scrap metal, Lin Sanjiu had already plunged into the narrow alley between the buildings. The attacks stopped immediately.
"She dodged all the attacks!" someone shouted from afar. Lin Sanjiu could not tell where the voice came from. "Now that she has entered the alley, what should we do, Boss?"
"What should we do? What do you think we should do? If we can't stop her, we will all die! " The man who was addressed as Boss scolded angrily. His voice echoed in the air, "Go back and call for reinforcements! How many people like her have died under the walls of Cloud Defense? What's there to be afraid of? No matter what, we can't let her in! "
"This is strange."
Lin Sanjiu crouched behind a trash can. She could not help but feel doubtful.
This was just a part of Puppeteer's memory, but why was it reacting to her as well? In this part of his memory, she was a non-existent person. Could it be that the Veda had written this part of reality into its own system?
If that was the case, why were these people attacking her?
"Don't go down there. I repeat, don't go down there. You are not allowed to fight her in the alleys!" The leader's voice pierced through the air again. This time, Lin Sanjiu could hear it clearly. It was as if the leader was standing in mid-air and talking. In Cloudwatch, the only place where people could stand in mid-air was the inner city wall. In other words, they were sniping at her from the top of the city wall.
"Seal that area. Attack her as soon as she shows her face. Don't let her move to another place. The posthumans will be here soon!" As soon as the Boss's voice trailed off, a series of muffled replies came from afar. There were at least a dozen of them.
Lin Sanjiu shuddered and shouted, "Stop! I'm also a posthuman! "
Her voice was amplified by the echoes, and it reverberated around the city wall in waves. Her words seemed to have startled those people. After a moment of silence, the Boss seemed to have picked up a megaphone, and his voice became louder and clearer. "You said you're a posthuman too?"
"Yes, stop attacking!"
"Which city are you from?"
Lin Sanjiu was stunned. How would she know which cities were in this area? However, when she recalled Puppeteer's hasty introduction, she gritted her teeth and yelled, "Seventeen Cities! Cloud Defense Seventeen Cities! "
"Oh, you're a friend from Seventeen Cities." The Boss seemed to be relieved, but he did not let down his guard completely. "Why are you here in Cloud Defense Nine instead of protecting Seventeen Cities?"
Lin Sanjiu was lucky enough to survive this ordeal. "I have a friend who lives in Level 9. I'm worried about his safety, so I came here to look for him!" she yelled out in relief.
Lin Sanjiu would be dumbfounded if they continued to interrogate her about her friend's name. She only knew Puppeteer by his name, but she did not know his real name. Fortunately, the Boss did not pursue the matter further. He raised his voice and asked, "Are you hurt? Our brothers fought pretty hard just now. "
"Nope," Lin Sanjiu yelled. She was thinking about how she should ask the question that would help her figure out what had happened to this world. While she was thinking, she suddenly felt a darkness above her. It was as if something had blocked the sunlight.
Lin Sanjiu raised her head and saw a few pairs of eyes through the narrow gap between the buildings.
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