Chapter 321: Dark Sentinel on the Light Path

The seventh minute of the escape, the first dark sentinel appeared ahead on the light path.

It's not a physical guard, but a transparent light membrane that automatically analyzes the emotional compliance of passers, spanning the entire light‑and‑shadow path. Its surface streams cold blue data, like a rational waterfall.

Kaiwen's Light Ruler slammed on emergency brakes: "The Committee's standard emotional filter! It scans every passer's 'anxiety value'—the escapees' anxiety value inevitably exceeds the limit, triggering an alarm at the slightest touch!"

Xiao Yu's Resilience Ruler sensed the pressure emitted by the light membrane; her six‑year‑old trauma memory began a slight resonance—her anxiety value was slowly climbing.

"Can't go around it," Su Yu scanned with the Structure Ruler, "The light membrane's structure is a 'fully enveloping recursive' pattern; any detour attempt will trigger the generation of additional layers."

In the rear kitchen, Han Qing's Teaching Scar simultaneously sensed the pressure ahead.

She immediately activated the "Accident Fabrication Plan," and the Teaching Scar's Petal Imprint lit up, releasing a high‑frequency aesthetic overload signal to all electronic devices in the kitchen.

The signal triggered the fire‑sprinkler system (its sensitivity had been lowered in advance by Aili), instantly filling the kitchen with mist; it also activated a protective strobe on the lighting system; more importantly, it caused Han Qing's own Teaching Scar to simulate a physiological "acute aesthetic resonance overload."

She leaned on the table and fell slowly (the motion deliberately delayed to give Aili reaction time), her voice weak yet clear: "Fragments… resonance too strong… I…"

Aili instantly understood, immediately activated the medical protocol, and sent an alert to the Committee's emergency channel:

"Code Z‑01 (Han Qing) sudden aesthetic resonance overload! Consciousness lost! Requesting emergency medical support!"

"On‑site detection of high‑concentration unstable aesthetic fluctuations; recommend isolating the entire kitchen area!"

They perfectly exploited the Committee's "Safety First" loophole— they must first address the "potentially spreading aesthetic pollution incident" before they can pursue the "escapee" issue.

Ahead, Xiao Yu suddenly recalled the concentrated sugar water given by Old Zhao.

She pulled out a small bottle, unscrewed it, and took a sip. The sweet‑bitter, lingering liquid slid down her throat, and the anxiety that had risen from deep six‑year‑old memories felt wrapped and diluted by the warm sugar water.

"I have an idea," she said, eyes brightening, "What if we're not 'escapees'? What if we're simply… three Ruler‑bearers carrying out an emergency aesthetic rescue mission?"

She looked at the transparent light membrane: "It scans 'anxiety value,' but if it's 'reasonable anxiety generated by mission urgency' combined with 'steadfast belief in mission success,' the mixed composite emotion… how should the system judge it?"

Kaiwen's Light Ruler calculated quickly: "Theoretically, if 'belief intensity' exceeds 'anxiety intensity' by 1.7 times, the system will classify it as 'compliant mission urgency' rather than 'violation anxiety.'"

"Then we create belief," Su Yu began constructing an emotional resonance network among the three with the Structure Ruler, "I'll lend you my 'structural certainty,' Xiao Yu; you lend your 'resilience trust' to Kaiwen; Kaiwen lends your 'light guidance' to me. We reinforce in a cycle."

The three Rulers' faint glows linked into a ring.

The Resilience Ruler recorded (critical moment saved).

As Xiao Yu took a second sip of the sugar water, her palate sensed more than sweet and bitter—she "tasted" the full production memory of the bottle:

Old Zhao's humming lullaby while simmering;

Han Qing's injected teaching‑expectation frequency in the sugar water;

The tears she shed while repairing the fragments;

Even the tense moment when that pot of sugar water served as a "disguise prop" to pass inspection…

These memories together formed a warm and resilient emotional composite.

She suddenly realized: this wasn't mere sugar water; it was proof that a group of people loved her in their own ways.

This sense of "being loved with certainty" instantly shattered the deep anxiety, lingering since she was six, of "possibly being abandoned again."

Her Resilience Ruler erupted a never‑before‑seen milky‑gold light—not sorrow‑converted golden threads, but pure light nourished by love.

When the light membrane scanned that light, the data stream paused for 0.7 seconds.

In the instant the light membrane paused, Kaiwen caught the flaw:

"Its judgment algorithm is wavering between 'compliant belief' and 'violation anxiety'! Now an overwhelming 'third‑party emotion' is needed to break the balance!"

Su Yu acted at once. She took the geometric cookies Old Zhao had given from the food pack, did not eat them, but used the Structure Ruler to break them down to their basic molecular structure, then recombined—

Reforming them into three tiny luminous "home badges," shaped respectively as: sesame blossom, paper crane spreading wings, and light point forming a path.

She handed the badges to the three: "Wear them on your chest. This is no longer food; it's a visualized belief of why we must move forward."

The three put on the badges.

The light membrane scanned the "guardian of home" emotional frequency emitted by the badges (a legally registered "civilization protector" emotion category in the Committee's database), combined with Xiao Yu's milky‑gold light and the belief cycle of the three's resonance network—

The data stream finally displayed: "Passer emotional state: high‑concentration mission urgency (compliant) + civilization protector duty anxiety (compliant). Combined judgment: passage permitted."

The transparent light membrane slowly opened a gap.

The three exchanged a glance and rushed through.

In the instant after passing, the light membrane re‑closed, and the light‑shadow path behind them automatically twisted and deformed, erasing all traces of passage.

"Old Zhao's cookies," Xiao Yu said, touching the badge on her chest, "saved us again."

Behind, the Committee's Emergency Medical Team had already arrived at the kitchen entrance.

But they were blocked by a temporarily generated aesthetic pollution isolation barrier—an illusion of a "high‑risk contamination zone" simulated by Absolute Luminance‑4 using the Mirror Ruler, combined with Han Qing's scar overload signal.

The medical team's leader (a composite with a robotic arm bearing seventeen detection probes) asked outside the door: "Patient status?"

Aili replied through the barrier: "Vital signs stable, but aesthetic resonance remains overloaded. I'm treating with 'Emotional Frequency Buffer Therapy'—requires absolute silence; any external interference could trigger a secondary resonance explosion."

This is a gray area in medical terminology; "might need quiet" gave them a reason to buy time.

The leader hesitated. The badge on his chest indicated affiliation with the Committee Medical Safety Department, whose duty is to prevent aesthetic contamination spread, not to forcibly enter a potentially explosive contamination source.

Finally he ordered: "Establish an outer isolation zone, remotely monitor patient data every thirty minutes. If deterioration occurs… then consider forced intervention."

Han Qing, in a "coma," had her Teaching Scar tremble slightly—she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

The first checkpoint cleared.

Yet just as the medical team began establishing the isolation zone—

The kitchen's communicator rang automatically, broadcasting Inspector‑2's voice (this time on a private frequency, not an official channel):

"Detected optical traces of three 'escapees' vanishing in sector S‑77. Trajectory analysis suggests their target is… an unknown spatial anomaly at the edge of the Holy Land ruins."

"I have authority to temporarily take over monitoring of that area under medical emergency conditions. But you need to tell me the truth—what exactly are they doing?"

"This is not an interrogation, it's… a transaction. Trade the truth for me to help you cover up for three hours."

In the voice, a fatigue of humanity appeared for the first time.

More troublesome, Load‑18 issued a warning from within the sapling sculpture:

"The Healing Garden's guiding frequency suddenly intensified! Brightness has reached 73% of the satellite monitoring threshold!"

"If Inspector-2 really takes over surveillance, he will definitely discover the garden's existence!"

Ahead, Xiao Yu and the other two are still halfway from the garden entrance.

Behind, Han Qing must decide immediately: whether to trust an inspector who once let them go but is still a Committee member?

And the three-hour transaction time happens to fall exactly in the middle of the garden's seven-hour opening window.

Han Qing, in his "coma", used the Teaching Scar to send an encrypted command to Absolute Luminance-4:

"Reply to him: They are carrying out the 'Emergent Aesthetic Sample Recovery Mission' authorized by the Beauty Council, aiming to retrieve a soil sample from a soon-to-close founder's legacy that could heal my scar. The mission risk is extremely high, but if successful, it could establish an 'Aesthetic Restoration Safety Baseline' for all Ruler-wielders."

"Attach the energy imprint of the first fragment (the daughter's story) as partial proof."

She chose to reveal part of the truth, using the medical purpose of "healing the scar" to cover up the violation nature of "skipping training".

At the same time, she had Aili add a line to the medical record: "The patient shows slight consciousness fluctuations, possibly resonating positively with specific emotional frequencies (home, protection, healing)."

This is a hint for Inspector-2: to heal Han Qing, we need whatever those who are adventuring bring back.

A few seconds later, Inspector-2 replied:

"...... Understood."

"The three-hour cover-up agreement takes effect. Three hours later, regardless of the outcome, I will report all anomalies according to regulations."

"Also, tell the cook... the osmanthus in the victory cake is short by 0.3 grams; add more next time."

That last line left everyone stunned.

Old Zhao, at the stove, slowly laughed: "He indeed tasted it."

On the light-and-shadow path ahead, the sesame-bloom badge on Xiao Yu's chest suddenly warmed slightly—that was the signal from behind: "Cover ready."

She gazed at the approaching, slowly rotating milky-white halo in the void.

The garden entrance is right before our eyes.

And their remaining time is no longer 23 hours, but 3 hours.