Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 676 The Heart of Truth
Heavy and light footsteps emanated from the scarlet carpet beneath Hoshino Shota's feet. As the increasingly magnificent, spectacular, and clearly visible "red wooden door" belonging to the "Room of Truth" exuded an even stronger stench of blood, Hoshino Shota felt the gravity of this smooth space beneath his feet seem to have intensified.

"Is this a new test from the leader? Or a trap set out out of distrust? Indeed, I've been infiltrating Novayask the longest in the organization, and with Commander Nebrius's departure, it's hard for the organization not to doubt my loyalty. However..." Hoshino Shota took a heavy breath, followed by several deep breaths to ease some of his tension, and then pondered to himself:
“If Kazama Reiji attacks me, I wouldn’t mind using this ‘Replica-Bear’ pistol I borrowed from Dark to fight them to the death.”

As I was pondering this, the heavy and eerie smell of blood that had been lingering around the scarlet carpet and the "red wooden door" suddenly dissipated considerably, and the entire "magnificent building" seemed to have become much brighter due to the brief power supply.

The bright white searchlights suddenly dispelled most of the eerie crimson hue that appeared sinister in the darkness, giving the entire underground "Hall of Truth" a soft and reassuring yellow glow.

Boom, boom, boom!
Out of courtesy, Hoshino Shota extended his right hand, slightly bent two fingers, and forcefully knocked on the "red wooden door" that was decorated with gold threads and engraved with scenes from the ancient legend of the battle between humans and dragons.

"The door isn't locked, just push it open, Shota Hoshino." Reiji Kazama's voice came from inside the door. This time, the voice lacked the eerie and ethereal quality of the previous one, sounding more human.

Squeak!

Hoshino Shota slowly pushed open the "red wooden door," and a strange, unsettling blue flame suddenly rose in the still gloomy and dark room.

Immediately afterwards, the heads of the dead deer, leopard, tiger, and even the head of the ice bear hanging on the wall began to connect to the power source hidden behind the wall, emitting relatively bright, but overall dim, electric light.

“Boss.” Hoshino Shota saw Kazama Reiji sitting upright in a chair made of crimson and gold, engraved with the royal crest of the Crusaders. He did not bow, not even a basic curtsy. Instead, he walked straight to the wooden table opposite Reiji and tossed him the “fortune-telling silver coin”.

Ding!
The crisp sound of the silver coin, along with a wisp of smoke resembling a skull, drifted from Kazama Reiji's fingertips, leaving behind a strong smell of burnt yellow paper.

“MB-888: Destiny Coin… It consumes the user’s life in exchange for absolutely accurate divination. It’s far more terrifying than He Feng Yi’s I Ching divination or the crystal ball divination advocated by Vasily and Shaneva. I think this kind of life-consuming divination method shouldn’t be used on your subordinates, your brothers in the organization.” Hoshino Shota’s face was serious, and his words revealed a sense of gritted teeth.

However, Kazama Reiji didn't directly respond to Hoshino Shota's words. Instead, he picked up a titanium alloy cane, slowly supporting his mechanically modified body, and walked to Hoshino Shota. He extended his mechanical right arm, brushed aside a small section of hair, and looked at the boy in front of him with his deep green prosthetic eyes. His voice was low and deep, carrying a tone that perfectly matched the long night outside the building, and he said:

“You have the scent of dragons on you. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been traveling with dragons for at least 70 days.”

"So what? Without that dragon, I'm afraid I would have had a hard time getting back to Nebusk alive." Hoshino Shota frowned and forced an explanation.

"Cooperating with anyone of value is fine. Anyone—including high-ranking members of the Federal Council, Federal soldiers, local separatist forces, the lost, even 'heartless people'—can become our 'temporary friends' as long as they have any use. However, you shouldn't be pouring 'friendship' or 'kinship' into those fleeting humans." Kazama Reiji adopted a superior posture, speaking in an lecturing tone:
"The 'Singer' is not simply a transformed profession of 'Explorer,' but a destiny bestowed by the gods, destined to experience the fiery passion of the crimson lotus in this mortal world. The Creator has never imposed any restrictions on professions; it's just that human understanding can only allow us to systematically describe and summarize a mere 16 professions. And you, the 'Singer,' must relinquish all emotions in order to ascend to a higher dimension. Don't you want to look up and peek at the position of a demigod?"

“Spying on…a demigod?” Hoshino Shota looked blankly at Kazama Reiji in front of him.

That familiar face, so distinctly Khitan Ris, with its yellowish skin covered in deep scars typical of human soldiers—Kazama Reiji was indeed a lost soul. His white hair, weathered face, and slightly aged, hoarse voice made him practically indistinguishable from the seasoned officers of the Federation.

His body has been sustained to this day by a modified, fully mechanized heart; his face, right arm, left leg, and even half of his abdomen are covered in cybernetic implants. Clearly, after Nebrius's death, the situation in Nebusk was far from the peaceful picture presented to the outside world or the intelligence they gathered from the outside. As the de facto leader of the "Night Investigation Team," or "Night Guard," Kazama Reiji could not possibly escape the purge by Nebrius's opponents.

Thinking of this, out of loyalty and affection for the organization, Hoshino Shota suddenly had the thought of "not wanting to leave Nebusko" deep in his heart, but he suppressed this thought as soon as it appeared.

"If you don't know about life, how can you know about death? If you don't know about death, how can you know about the gods? Those who covet the gods will be driven mad by fear; those who covet divine positions will be trapped by deluded thoughts and forever fall into suffering. You and I are both followers of the Daoist religion, and you are more familiar with the contents of the 'Divine Words' than I am with them. I dare not covet the position of a demigod; I have only survived to this day thanks to a confluence of coincidences," Hoshino Shota replied.

"Let's not talk about those ancient things for now. Let's talk about that dragon. If I remember correctly, his name is Long Yuan, and the Crusaders call him Adaloni. He was resurrected at the end of the Third Era during the reign of Emperor Shangmin, and, guided by the former 'Chosen One,' served the Crusad royal family. Later, due to the war between the two countries, he was imprisoned in the Senel Prison and forgotten for a thousand years. He was later released due to Vasily Voliganov's arrogant plan, and after a period of wandering, he is now temporarily residing in Torii Town, a place steeped in our Eastern culture." Kazama Reiji handed a stack of brand-new "Report" papers to Hoshino Shota and continued:

"In the First Era, humanity lost half its population to barely achieve victory against the dragons. After that, it lost another third of its population before finally annihilating the remaining 17 races and becoming the sole colonists of this continent. When the six sacred artifacts were activated, it did not rely entirely on the magical power of the six warriors, but rather... the blood of humanity."

"You're trying to tell me that dragons are dangerous, and you want me to stay away from them, right?" Hoshino Shota questioned. Seeing that Kazama Reiji didn't respond, he quickly glanced at the familiar contents of the reports, then covered his left chest with his hand and said earnestly:

"I will not be able to contact Long Yuan... Yadaloni for more than a month. He needs to complete his mission... He, Light Socrates, and Dark Tiris will cross the Eventlay no-man's-land together, heading to the last hope of mankind, and currently the only safe haven in the world—Kidanris. And I will not leave with them."

"Although Khitanris is my homeland, I have never truly seen what it looks like. I have no connection with this so-called homeland, and I have never even met a human who is truly from Khitanris. In fact, Krusd is my 'Promised Land.' I will remain in Nebusk as a reward for the year when Commander Nebrius rescued me from the mouth of the 'Alien Monster' and gave me the right to live."

“Your awareness proves your loyalty, but it also proves that your loyalty is worthy of being questioned. Currently, the situation in Nebusk is far more complex than you see. Although ‘Leader’ Atlanca is a ‘semi-puppet’ elected by our various forces, there is now ample intelligence indicating that he is trying to take advantage of this rare ‘period of calm’ to expand his own power and attempt to completely control Nebusk.” Kazama Reiji gripped the mechanized arm tightly and slammed it heavily on the glass table.

Crack, crack, and blood-red cracks spread rapidly across the glass, as if kissed by Satan.

But then, a flame shot out from Kazama Reiji's throat. Upon contact with the dim air, it instantly turned into a pool of flame vapor that resembled water vapor. Under the influence of gravity, it fell onto the cracks, acting as an adhesive to mend them.

A few seconds later, the desktop returned to its pristine state, as if it had never been attacked.

"Currently, Cruz's attitude towards the Dragon Clan remains ambiguous, but Dark and Wright are, after all, experimental subjects of the 'Seekers of Light' project, which has been resolutely implemented by successive administrators. Both the red magical energy and the 'KR:032' antibody are ominous." Kazama Reiji paused, frowned, and thought seriously for three to five minutes before slowly speaking in a hoarse voice:

“I know you came back this time partly for them. Nabusk… can only accommodate them for a month at most. After that, they must leave, whether to Eventre or to Khidanris. In short, we can’t afford to be tormented by these ominous forces any longer.”

“By the way, take this ‘Heart of Truth’ with you for now. The ‘fire steam’ it emits can mend any rift. I think it can unleash even more power on you, Hoshino Shota.” Kazama Reiji said, handing the bright red gem necklace around his neck to Hoshino Shota.

Immediately following, with the heavy sound of the power switch being shut off, Nebusk was once again plunged into temporary darkness, belonging to the long night.