Tian An desperately wished that Sampo would suddenly appear and take her away.
After their long journey, they could almost see the outline of the city before nightfall.
This area belonged to a cleared safe zone, which was why explorers like Lynx could venture out to explore these parts.
As dusk fell, the already tepid sunlight gradually disappeared beyond the horizon into darkness. Soon, the group could only continue forward by the light of their torches.
If not for those Fragmentum monsters and the Stellaron, this place could have made for an excellent tourist attraction.
The gray steel fortress gradually came into view. The return journey of the three was almost complete. Lynx strode forward with large steps, while Tian An still hesitated.
They soon reached the bottom of the watchtower. Lynx extended her hand and knocked on the heavy iron door.
The sound from the iron door quickly attracted several sentries. They popped their heads out from above, and upon recognizing Lynx, pressed the button to open the iron door.
"Miss Lynx, welcome back." These soldiers were quite familiar with Lynx, after all, she often passed through their outpost and met with her brother whenever she went out for research.
The iron door slowly rose, and several soldiers wearing heavy armor came out to greet them.
"Perfect timing. These are two ladies I picked up along the way. Please register them and help them get home," Lynx said.
"Two ladies? Where?" The Iron Guard scratched his head in confusion.
"Weren't they just..." Lynx turned around to find that the two people who had been chatting with her just moments ago had completely disappeared. Only her own footprints remained in the snow.
Where did they go?
...
"So, why are we sneaking into the city?" FrostNova, being pulled along by Tian An as they ran along the high walls, was thoroughly puzzled.
"Because we're undocumented immigrants!" Tian An dragged FrostNova, taking advantage of the night to navigate through small alleys filled with piled snow.
Besides, if the Astral Express crew were already wanted fugitives, wouldn't identifying herself be suicidal?
This area seemed to have been abandoned. After evading the guards at the front, they hadn't seen anyone else.
"We're almost there." Tian An spotted the city's landmark and prepared to move forward, but noticed two guards still stationed ahead.
"What's your plan?" FrostNova asked curiously, seeing Tian An's eagerness.
"I have a method, but I'll need your cooperation." Tian An said mysteriously. She now seemed full of confidence—who knows if it was because the nap had emboldened her or something else.
Tian An pulled out a woven bag from somewhere.
"What's that?"
"I secretly replaced Lynx's 'pet' bag with this woven one." Tian An opened the backpack.
Inside was none other than the plump Warp Trotter and the Originium Slug.
Seeing itself being stared at again, the Warp Trotter began to tremble nervously. Tian An tugged at the threads connected to its body, deep in thought.
"Little Warp Trotter, I'm counting on you today."
...
"I'm telling you, those people Commander Gepard warned us about still haven't shown up," an Iron Guard at the city gate said listlessly.
"If not for this assignment, I would have been off duty by now."
The position at this outpost was considered the lowest tier—no entertainment venues, no other soldiers, just two people who could only talk to each other.
"Wait... what's that?" The Iron Guard pointed toward a shadowy figure in the distance.
"Who's there?" One Iron Guard shouted angrily, startling the shadow into running away.
"I'll chase after it. You stay here and keep watch," the Iron Guard instructed before immediately giving chase.
Meanwhile, after watching the Warp Trotter—completely wrapped in threads—flee frantically in the opposite direction, Tian An led FrostNova behind a wall.
"In a moment, I'll use my Originium Arts to distract this person," Tian An assessed the height of the city wall.
"This height should be manageable for you, right?" Tian An said to FrostNova, who was slightly shorter than herself.
"...No problem." FrostNova left Tian An's sight with a slightly resentful look and headed toward the city gate.
Watching FrostNova begin to move, Tian An picked up several small stones and threw them at the distant Iron Guard.
The first stone precisely hit his head, causing him to spin around clutching his head in pain.
The Iron Guard stabilized himself and angrily ran in their direction.
But before Tian An could warn FrostNova, she had already reached the top of the city wall.
"That was fast..." Tian An put down the stones.
It seemed she didn't need to throw that many stones after all. Tian An came down from the side of the wall and ran toward the same direction.
Meanwhile, the Warp Trotter was still in deep trouble.
The threads wrapped around its body seemed to restrict its ability to open teleportation portals, forcing it to scurry around aimlessly through the alleyways.
"Stop running!" The voice echoed from not far away, getting closer.
"Eep..." The Warp Trotter trembled in fear, quietly huddling in a corner against the wall, covering its head with its hands, trying desperately to hide.
"Where are you, little punk?" The Iron Guard looked around, wielding his axe.
"You'd better not let me catch you, or you'll be sorry!" The Iron Guard bluffed, growing irritable at not being able to catch anything.
But before the Warp Trotter could run again, the threads around it suddenly tightened. Its entire body flew upward, soaring high into the air toward the city gate.
The Iron Guard was left searching fruitlessly.
"You'll be sorry!"
"Let's go," Tian An retracted her fair hand, the Warp Trotter somehow already back in her bag.
"How did you do that?" FrostNova was thoroughly puzzled by her abilities, which seemed to lack offensive power and appeared more showy than practical.
"It's a secret..." Tian An smiled, narrowing her eyes, then continued along the city wall to find an exit.
How she did it, perhaps only the Warp Trotter knows.
FrostNova's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes revealed a growing interest in the girl before her.
So the two continued toward the city under the cover of night.
...
"Where are they? I'm asking you, where are they?!" A squad of well-equipped Iron Guards advanced in perfect formation, with the lead Iron Guard kicking the buttocks of the frontmost guard.
"This... dadidi... I don't know!" The small Iron Guard, unable to find anyone, had called in the reserve team that was preparing for dinner, but after searching several rounds, they found no one.
"Are you asking for a beating?"
"It's not my fault! Just you wait, you little punk! Just you wait!"
Ugh, I've been beaten down by life into a sickly state.
Mom, mom, look at my medical record!
Hmm?
Have I written my word count yet?
Woo-hoo-hoo... we're all trying our best to live...