Chapter 517: Little friend, why must you wander at night?

The seven laws are also seven tortures; those who ascend sacrifice their souls, those who descend become monsters.

Upon seeing this passage, Yang Yixie quickly glanced at the following content.

They were all vague, unclear statements.

Unlike the documents he had previously found concerning human experiments, these materials at least had some semblance of reason; the content here seemed more like someone's ravings.

The beginning lacks coherence, the end lacks reason.

It feels like nothing but extremist anti‑theist rhetoric; perhaps it was banned because the language was too fierce?

But is it really necessary to preserve such speech and behavior in a dedicated document?

He stored the document in his backpack; this was already the last document he needed to take.

Ying Duo was just about to leave when a piercing alarm suddenly sounded again.

Crimson light flooded the entire library; the alarm came with a special frequency, its deterrent power even greater than any aberrant‑species alarm Yang Yixie had heard.

A humming seeped from the walls, like a giant beast imprisoned underground turning over; dust on the shelves trembled and fell in a rustle.

A translucent Ying Guang Lu window unfolded in the center of his vision, its characters appearing line by line, as if someone were typing them one by one on a typewriter.

【Mission updated: Escape the Confidential Archive Room (0/1)】

【Notice: The Academy security system has been activated; please leave the encirclement within the allotted time, failure penalty: storyline branch locked.】

【Countdown: 03:00】

Ying Duo didn't read those words; even if Yang Yixie didn't explain the situation before him, he already understood what was happening.

His gaze fell on the mini‑map: the green dot marked his position, while red dots converged from all directions like insects drawn to light.

Yang Yixie hesitated not; energy cycled once inside Ying Duo's body, and Ying Guang Lu light surged up from his feet, instantly enveloping him entirely.

Countless 0s and 1s flickered in the air, then gradually faded, as if from a poor connection; the Data Stream squeezed out from the crack of the archive room's door and re‑condensed into a human shape on the library's roof.

Ying Duo crouched on the edge of the roof, looking down.

The library entrance was packed with people, all wearing black‑uniformed security personnel wielding energy guns, whose muzzles glowed with a dull cold light in the moonlight.

Obviously, the recent alarm had ignited the entire Mitra Academy.

Yang Yixie pulled down the brim of his hoodie; Ying Duo's body pressed tightly against the roof tiles, his black hoodie almost blending with the tile color in the moonlight.

The red dots were still converging toward the library, but their number had decreased compared to before, likely because some had been sent elsewhere to search.

He stayed up there for a while, after roughly figuring out the patrol rhythm below, he rose and slid down from the opposite side of the roof, landing silently—his shoe‑soles left only the faintest impressions on the grass.

He crouched in the shrubbery behind the library, waiting until the last batch of security personnel passed before him before standing up, then casually pulled his hood down and walked toward the girls' dormitory building.

Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, and he gradually drifted away from the noisy alarm.

Although the Academy attached great importance to the situation inside the library, it seemed it had no intention of disturbing the students as well.

"Little friend."

The voice sounded without warning behind Ying Duo; his golden pupils contracted sharply, and Yang Yixie instinctively glanced at the mini‑map with his peripheral vision—yet his body reacted before he could.

The youth's lithe form lunged forward, instantly putting distance between them, then he snapped his head back.

Under the moonlight stood a person, somewhat short and thin, wearing a gray robe that dragged to his ankles, revealing a scalp that reflected the moonlight.

His face was covered with wrinkles left by the years, his eyelids drooped to cover his whole eyes, giving him an inexplicably sickly appearance.

"So late, not resting in the dormitory—what are you doing here, little friend?"

——————————————

At this time, Poor District No. 10 was even more dilapidated; due to the struggle of various forces over this area, broken walls and ruins were almost everywhere, and finding a place to shelter was rare.

Hua Jian Lei leaned against the wall, his silver‑pink hair falling from his shoulders; Lao Bao stood beside him, over half a head taller, his shadow also longer.

Each held a cigarette, the ember's red glow blinking in the dark; although this instance counted as part of the game, they had entered with their real bodies, so the smoke naturally came along.

Hua Jian Lei flicked it; ash fell to the ground and was scattered by the night wind.

"The Tenth District is currently occupied by the Undercurrent Mercenary Corps."

He clenched the cigarette between his lips, drew a puff, exhaled a wisp of white mist that slowly dispersed in the night wind, mingling with the bloody scent drifting from deep in the alley.

"But they differ greatly from the Undercurrent we know; they've only just been formed, few in number, few weapons, relying entirely on their leader's awakening of a powerful aberrant art."

At this time, the intersection of Tianmian City and the ground is also rare; ground‑dwelling people can hardly ever reach the Floating City, so in this Poor District, internal strife among aberrant‑arts practitioners is severe.

"Tsk."

Lao Bao took the cigarette from his mouth, pinched the butt out between thumb and forefinger, and it emitted a soft, fine 'hiss'.

He stuffed the butt into his pocket; no matter how you look at it, this chaotic slum reminded him of too many unpleasant memories.

People cherish their lives, so even though Lao Bao and Hua Jian Lei live in a fairly chaotic, dangerous zone, daily life sees occasional petty squabbles, but once they make a name for themselves, such things become far less common.

After all, before guns and cannons everyone is equal, so they can still barely manage a peaceful stretch of days, and even find time to meet up and play games together.

But this world is different; whether it's the Church's neglect of slum management or the aberrant‑arts practitioners' innate superiority over ordinary people, it dooms the slums of this world—even a single day of peace is precious.

"So then? Isn't it said that people from above might come into contact with the Undercurrent?"

Lao Bao scratched his head, somewhat impatient; although he knew everything here was a past‑event projection, seeing child‑trafficking unfold before his eyes made his fists clench involuntarily.

Everyone has their own bottom line; Lao Bao's is simply that the children involved are still young.

"Just saying there's a strong possibility, after all time hasn't started flowing yet, so it's still possible."

Actually the best course would be to ask Yang Yixie for details, but he only told Hua Jian Lei to keep watch on the Undercurrent, then entered the instance, and to this day his status remains 【In Instance】.