Chapter 299: Listen

"You say, when the insects emerge and first see the most life‑filled 'food' nearby, who would they rush toward? The proud little girl with blue eyes, or the always‑silent little pity with purple hair?"

Chang Ye Yue's hand gripping the umbrella handle turned slightly white at the knuckles.

The shadow of the Black Umbrella deepened the concealment of most of her face, leaving only the straight‑line of her lips beneath the umbrella rim.

Deep in the side corridor, far from the main hall's roar, the light was dim.

Tohsaka Lin and Sakura Matou, using all their strength, half‑dragging, half‑supporting the dazed, convulsing Yuanban Shichen, struggled to move him.

Shichen's weight was too heavy for the two little girls; their faces flushed red, foreheads slick with sweat mixed with tears.

"Um… cough…"

A painful wheeze rose from Shichen's throat; he barely opened a sliver of eye, and in his blurred sight were his two daughters' stubborn, sorrowful little faces.

"Put… put me down…"

His voice was weak and halting, each word seeming to cost all his strength; the gnawing agony in his gut and the terrifying premonition of something about to burst forth grew clearer, "Tohsaka Lin… Sakura Matou… listen to your father's words… don't keep… wasting effort…"

"No! Father! Don't speak! Conserve your strength!"

Tohsaka Lin clenched her teeth, tears streaming in large drops, yet she held her father's arm tightly, her small body unleashing astonishing strength, trying to pull him forward, "We'll be safe soon! Leaving here will be safe!"

Sakura Matou also nodded desperately, her violet‑black eyes brimming with tears; she said little comforting words, but used all her strength to support the other side of Shichen's body, a suppressed sob escaping her throat.

"Useless…"

Shichen's ashen face showed a bitter, extreme smile, full of self‑mockery, "It's my fault… I underestimated this war's treachery… and dragged you all into it…"

His gaze fell on Sakura Matou, the look exceedingly complex—guilt, sorrow, and a deep helplessness: "Sakura… my daughter… I'm sorry… sending you to the Jiantong Residence… was my greatest mistake… I am unworthy… to be your father…"

"No! Sir Father!"

Sakura Matou finally cried out, her voice thin yet full of feeling, "You are not at fault! It's me… I'm the one who is useless…"

The torment she endured in the Jiantong Family had once filled her with resentment toward her birth father, but now, looking at the dying Shichen, that hatred had long been drowned by blood‑thicker‑than‑water kinship and overwhelming sorrow.

"Tohsaka Lin…"

Shichen looked again at his eldest daughter, his eyes holding his final entrustment and reluctance, "You are the heir of the Yuanban Family… be strong… protect your sister… and your mother… go back… return to her side… don't get drawn into this place again…"

"I don't want to hear! I don't want to hear that!"

Tohsaka Lin shouted loudly, shaking her head vigorously, her blue eyes filled with reckless stubbornness, "There must be a way! Chang Ye Yue sister and the others are so powerful! They will surely be able to save you! Father, hold on a little longer! Please!"

She cried and shouted while redoubling her effort to drag her father, as if that could fend off the approaching death.

Shichen watched his daughters' heartbreaking desperation yet unwillingness to give up, his heart feeling like a knife.

He could feel the thing inside him writhing to its final threshold, an unbearable bulging beneath his chest skin and a tearing agony.

The shadow of death had never been so clear.

"…Listen…"

He mustered his last ounce of strength, trying to break free of his daughters' grasp, "Leave… quickly leave my side… danger…"

"No!"

"Sir Father!"

The two girls clutched him tightly, refusing to let go.

Tears blurred their vision, the immense terror and sorrow nearly swallowing them.

Time seemed to stretch at that moment.

Cold Despair, like a tide, slowly washed over the children's last hope's levee.

(A little…)

(Surely…)

(Is there still a chance…?)

Outside the Jiantong Residence, night was dense, even the insects' chirping seemed sparse.

Black Tower stood before the sealed great door, ignoring the surrounding environment.

A semi‑transparent violet Light Screen floated before her, partitioned to display multiple data streams: Dongmu City underground hydro‑geology and spirit‑vein anomaly overlay map, and most importantly—a slightly trembling first‑person view occupying the center.

The view showed stone stairs so deep they seemed endless, the rough walls covered with slick moss and some secretion.

Only the faint glow inherent to the view allowed a vague sight of the uneven ground ahead and occasional gigantic arthropod Black Shadows darting swiftly from the corners.

"Black Tower Lady, we have arrived."

Saber's voice came from behind, tinged with urgency.

She, Ailisi Feier, Rider and Weber arrived, the scenes along the way shocking to the eye:

The streets saw more ambulance sirens, scattered pedestrians lying on the ground wailing in pain, the whole city seeming to fall into a silent gastrointestinal plague.

Black Tower didn't turn her head, merely gave a soft "hm", her gaze still locked on the Light Screen.

"By the way, where is Miss San Yue Qi?"

Ailisi Feier looked around, not seeing the lively pink‑haired girl.

"She was summoned away by a Command Spell, possibly a sudden incident."

Saber gave a brief explanation, brows knit, clearly worried about the companions who split off.

"Oh."

Black Tower's reaction was flat, as if she had merely heard someone made a quick stop at a convenience store.

She flicked her finger along the edge of the Light Screen, pulling up a new parameter window, "It's fine they're gone; the lower space is cramped, and more people would be a hindrance."

Ailisi Feier was somewhat stunned, but looking at Black Tower's focused profile, couldn't help asking the doubt in her heart: "Black Tower Lady… pardon my presumption, are you truly a Heroic Spirit? Caster?"

The question made Weber nearby perk up his ears; he had long been curious about this wildly eccentric 'Caster' with even more outrageous behavior.

Black Tower finally shifted her gaze off the Light Screen for a moment, glanced at Ailisi Feier, her violet‑black eyes showing little emotion: "Yes. How, not like?"

"No, it's not that I'm not like…"

Ailisi Feier quickly waved her hand, "It's just… you seem to… toward your Master…"

They recalled the description Black Tower gave to A Xing about going down to scout, that tone wasn't like a usual Master Servant.

"They are more resistant to being hit."

Black Tower withdrew their gaze and gave a bluntly simple explanation, "And it's efficient, suitable for this environment."

Rider heard this and let out a booming laugh, "Hahaha! Resistant to beating! The King likes that phrase! Looks like your Master is also a tough cookie! When this is over, we must definitely get her a drink!"

He didn't think there was any problem with this description at all.

Weber, standing nearby, was sweating coldly, always feeling that this Caster's attitude toward the Master was a bit like the senior professors he had seen before in Clock Tower treating especially sturdy and durable experimental apparatus…

"Compared to this,"

Black Tower interrupted Rider's laughter, tapping the central image on the Light Screen with their chin, "Finding the Mother Insect is the key. This kind of pollution-based entity usually has a core individual. Destroy it, and the activity of the other individuals will quickly wane."

"Like the queen of a beehive?"

Saber immediately grasped the logic.

"Similar, but more direct."

Black Tower nodded, "A Xing is pinpointing its exact coordinates. Locate, eliminate, finish. The logic is simple."

She spoke lightly, as if merely laying out the steps to solve a math problem.

In the Light Screen image, A Xing's view was moving cautiously deeper along an unusually wide passage lined with white threads and unknown insect shells.

The rustling sounds around grew increasingly dense.