Inside The Black Mist

<!----- Yay, no errors, warnings, or alerts! Conversion time: 0.476 seconds. Using this Markdown file: 1. Paste this output into your source file. 2. See the notes and action items below regarding this conversion run. 3. Check the rendered output (headings, lists, code blocks, tables) for proper formatting and use a linkchecker before you publish this page. Conversion notes: * Docs to Markdown version 1.0β34 * Fri Jun 23 2023 08:56:29 GMT-0700 (PDT) * Source doc: Untitled document ----->

Ch 23 - Picking faults

The young man picked up pistol magazines from the armory and had a meal with the quartermaster. After that, the young man bid farewell to him and walked through the corridors of the base's interior.

Suddenly, Tianyang stopped.

He saw Xun standing by the window, gazing outside at the dimly lit base.

A car passed by, illuminating the girl's face. In that instant, her beauty shone like a flower in the dark.

Tianyang remembered the day before when they embraced each other while braking, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

I should go and apologize to her... Tianyang thought.

Unexpectedly, another figure suddenly appeared next to the girl. It was a tall young man who Tianyang estimated to be a full head taller than himself.

His shoulders were broad, his body sturdy like a bull, and his figure exuded strength.

His chiseled nose gave him a somewhat cold and aloof appearance. Despite smiling, there was a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

He also wore the black uniform of a Night Walker, and the lieutenant's epaulets indicated that he was likely an Ascender as well.

At this moment, the young man placed one hand on the polymer window next to Xun and said something to her. They seemed to know each other.

Tianyang could only dispel the idea of apologizing to her.

Just as he turned around to leave, he heard Xun exclaim. Tianyang turned back and saw that the girl was about to do the same but was grabbed by the young man.

Not knowing what that man said, Xun suddenly slapped him across the face. The man probably didn't expect Xun to dare hit him and was momentarily stunned. The smile on his face disappeared, and he raised his hand.

Without much thought, Tianyang's silver-gray hair fluttered slightly, emitting a faint glow between the strands.

Within the depths of his eyes, a flickering light appeared. Tianyang's view of the world suddenly became blurry and then cleared again, that man's arrogant and angry face was now just inches away!

A look of surprise flashed in that man's eyes, but his hand still moved, only to be caught by Tianyang, stopping mid-air about 5 centimeters away from Xun.

The base personnel who passed by all stopped and gathered here.

The man shifted his gaze to Tianyang and coldly asked,

"What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from hitting a girl," Tianyang calmly replied.

"Are you blind? Didn't you see that she struck first? A mere lower-class citizen like her, when I show interest, it's me honoring her. She should be happy, but she dared to refuse and even hit me!"

Tianyang still had no intention of letting go.

"If that's the case, then I think she was right to hit you. Arrogant ones like you sometimes need to be taught a lesson."

The man and Xun, both looked at Tianyang in astonishment. The difference was that anger began to rise in the man's eyes.

As for Xun, her expression seemed somewhat complex.

"Have you gone mad? Are you actually speaking up for a lower-class citizen? Have you forgotten that we have the right to companionship, which the fortress allows? Are you defying the fortress's laws?"

Tianyang smiled and released the man.

The man sneered coldly,

"I don't think you dare."

He reached out to grab Xun.

Snap!

Tianyang slapped his hand away.

The man was startled again, and a faint glow began to emanate from his body. A symbol flickered at the center of his forehead, resembling a magic formation. Symbols within flashed.

It was the emblem of the Heart of Elements, and the number "2" in the center of the magic formation represented that he was a Level 2 Ascender.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you!"

Tianyang raised his hand, blocking the young man in front of Xun. "You just said it yourself; we have the right to companionship. Unfortunately, I've taken a liking to her too. What do you suggest we do?"

Xun was initially startled, but then she seemed to realize something and calmed down.

The man, on the other hand, was taken aback, then raised his hand and said,

"You're asking for death!"

A pale radiance rose on his hand and condensed into the shape of a gun.

Clang!

Before the pale light gun could be fired, a pitch-black combat knife was already placed against the man's neck.

The man's pupils contracted, recognizing it instantly as a high-frequency particle combat knife! Not only his neck, even the armor of a tank couldn't withstand the cutting power of this combat knife.

Tianyang held the combat knife firmly as if it were a rock.

"The power of the Heart of Elements is immense. Putting it simply, you're fragile."

Cold sweat appeared on the man's forehead.

"What do you want?"

Tianyang's gaze fell on the long gun in his hand,

"Put away your abilities. I don't want to escalate the situation. As for this girl, she's mine now. I don't think you have any objections, right?"

The particle blade's icy edge was still pressed against a major artery, and the man didn't dare to object.

Gradually retracting the star energy, the light gun disappeared into his palm. The man snorted and said, "You satifsied?"

Returning the combat knife to its sheath, Tianyang pulled Xun and immediately left.

In front of the base cafeteria, Tianyang finally let go of Xun and felt a bit awkward. "Um, I intentionally said that earlier just as an excuse to intervene. I hope you don't mind."

To his surprise, Xun replied, "I know, thank you for helping me out."

"It's nothing. I'm sorry about what happened in the car yesterday."

Xun smiled, "It's okay."

"Well..."

"Xun, where are you? Come back and help."

The voice of Ms. Luo Shan sounded from the communication device on the girl's waist. She stuck out her tongue and replied,

"I'll be there soon."

Then she bowed to Tianyang again and said,

"Thank you once again."

Leaving these words behind, she moved with light and agile steps like a deer and quickly disappeared.

Three hours passed quickly, and according to the command, Tianyang arrived at the assembly point in front of the base gate.

From afar, he could see the members of Raven Squad, with other teams beside them.

Han Shu had mentioned that it was a joint operation, so Tianyang didn't find it strange to see other squads participating.

However, as he approached, he felt a jolt in his heart. The man who had tried to make a move on Xun earlier was among them.

The other party also noticed Tianyang and immediately flashed a smirky smile.

Later, Tianyang inquired with Old Xu and learned that the guy's name was Zhou Wang, the fire support of the Grey Pigeon Squad!

Counting the personnel, checking the equipment. After everything was confirmed, Han Shu shouted loudly, "Let's go!"

Sitting in the Falcon high-speed reconnaissance vehicle, Tianyang looked at the gradually opening base gate, feeling excited.

He was finally about to embark on his first mission as an Ascender.

Although it was a light, the Falcon vehicle used by the Night Walker clearly had better performance than the standard vehicles used by the collection team.

This type of combat vehicle, with its composite armor shell, boasted astonishing precision. It utilized "exhaust nozzle propulsion" to expel gas for speed changes, and its solid fuel block storage compartment solved the problem of endurance. Equipped with a star elemental energy cannon, it had the ability to intercept a large number of dark creatures.

Therefore, sitting in this type of vehicle, Tianyang felt at ease. He even looked forward to something happening on the way, so he could witness the power of the energy cannon.

Unfortunately, the journey was uneventful.

Three days later, Tianyang, who had previously explored as a member of the collection team with the codename "Metropolis," saw the city known as "Inverse Universe" ahead of the retrieval team!