The girl with white hair and red eyes is serious about revenge

Is it a "barrier"? Is it a barrier that protects us, or a cage that binds us?

Or maybe... it's something else that's holding us back...

"..."

Everyone was silent. After looking at the information, their imaginations were overturned to varying degrees.

Mei Xinghui was the first to give in. She lost all her usual ladylike demeanor, scratched her head with both hands, and whispered in a voice of extreme restraint:

"I need to... calm down..."

After she finished speaking, she ran out of the room as if escaping, ignoring Gleeson's hand reaching out behind her:

"Mei...?"

"Come on, buddy," Carly said calmly, "Don't leave the girls alone."

"But..." Grissom looked at Carly, very worried, "Sister, you are also a girl..."

"I'm fine, I'm calm," Carly nodded gently, "Aoi is here."

Grissom hesitated for a while. He seemed to think of Laplace kneeling on the ground in pain. He couldn't imagine what a huge blow the revelation of this truth would be to the researchers.

But he finally nodded and ran out of the cabin following Mei Xinghui.

When the door closed, only Carly and Aoi were left in the cabin.

"Okay, Carly," Aoi said softly, "it's okay."

"What can I do?" Carly said calmly.

"You can vent now," Aoi's voice was very gentle, "This must be a big blow to you, right?"

"Big? I don't think so at all."

"But your hands have been shaking since a while ago."

"...!"

Hearing what Aoi said, Carly looked at her hands and found that her fingertips were trembling.

She realized her own confusion and hesitation: almost everything she was confident in, whether it was knowledge, technology, or worldview, more than half was built on the "factor energy technology tree".

But now she learned that the magical destructive factor was nothing more than the inert space bubble left over from the degradation of the barrier.

Maybe it's not that simple, because it doesn't explain a lot of things: Why can Perlis manipulate the destruction factor? Isn't it possible that the Hafurgard's characteristic is to be able to manipulate some debris?

But even putting all that aside, the vast barrier that separates the ground from the starry sky is still enough to make anyone tremble.

Human beings are like pigs that have been living in a pigsty, completely unaware of themselves, constantly fighting in their tiny information cocoons for ownership of feed.

Ordinary people may not be able to understand this almost subversive fear, but for a researcher like Carly who is very close to the "truth", this is tantamount to a landslide and tsunami.

"..."

Carly clenched her fists tightly. She realized that she was covered in cold sweat and her body was shaking constantly.

She wanted to scream, to smash something, to vent her anger to her heart's content.

Just before this critical point of emotion came, a flash of pure white flashed before her eyes:

"Perlis..."

"What?" Aoi was a little worried, "Carly, you..."

"It's okay, I'm really okay."

Carly took a deep breath and suppressed everything that was like a landslide and tsunami. Her ice-blue eyes gradually became calm.

Whatever was in the starry sky, it was far away from her.

But Perlis was very close to her:

"I found the answer, Aoi."

Carly spoke calmly, flipping through the documents of the [Starry Sky Ladder Project] quickly, looking up the future research projects recorded in the experiment.

Apparently, after the "barrier" was discovered, the Academy went crazy and conducted countless studies to investigate the secrets of the starry sky.

Carly already knew the outcome: the Academy eventually halted any overt plans to research manned spacecraft and sealed them off.

But just now, Carly saw a star map that was marked by Laplace himself.

——That is the star map of [White Flame Constellation].

"Does it look familiar, Aoi?" Carly pulled up the star map and showed it to Aoi. "Look, the one at the top is the [Morning Star], the star worshipped by the people of the kingdom, and the star that the [Attack King] worships before every battle."

"This is the White Flame Seat, right?" Aoi stroked her chin gently, "Hmm... I have an impression. I remember that the national emblem of the Persipense Dynasty is very similar to this. It should be some kind of adaptation and variation... Wait!"

As if realizing something, Aoi's eyes suddenly widened and her mouth opened slightly.

She quickly picked up the Black Island route map from the table and compared it with the star map displayed on Carly's screen.

"This is...!?"

"Yes."

Carly lowered her head and recalled one of Will Tran's last words before his death:

"...follow the trajectory of the stars...reach the end..."

That’s right, the route from Sea Mist Island to Black Island highly overlaps with a section of the star track of White Flame Constellation.

In other words, as long as we extend the "direction to Black Island" written on the map along the trajectory of the White Flame Constellation, we can get the absolute location of Black Island.

The island does not completely revolve around the Admir continent, but instead makes regular periodic motions along the trajectory of the White Flame constellation.

During the cycle of the passage of time, there will naturally be certain deviations in the trajectory of movement. This is why the Black Island does not appear stably in some sea areas, but only in the eastern ocean where it appears most frequently.

"As long as we follow the star tracks, we can reach the Black Island."

Having said this, Carly stood up, her icy blue eyes filled with a determined light:

"Let's set off tomorrow night, Aoi. Perlis is waiting for us."

......

The rain in I-Tran will never stop.

According to the official sources of I-Tran, Hillste was hit by an unprecedented tsunami, which destroyed most of the coastal areas.

Yes, the tsunami, the tsunami that swept everything into the sea and left thousands of people missing.

The drizzle fell on the ruins on the streets of Hillsted. The faint sound of thunder rang again and again among the clouds like snoring. The people on the street were either crying in front of a pile of ruins, or staring at the sky with lifeless eyes, letting the raindrops fall into their empty eyes.

The rain in I-Tran will never stop.

"..."

Among the people responsible for the rescue, the figure wearing steam armor stood out. He was a [Steam Gendarmerie]. He used the equipment on his armor to smash the ruins, and then commanded the rescue team to carry out the dead and wounded.

Raindrops fell on his bronze armor. His face was covered by a mask, so his expression could not be seen.

"..."

"Sir, we need a brief inventory. Please take a rest."

After dozens of hours of rescue work, the sheriff stepped forward and carefully talked to the [Steam Military Police].

His tone sounded more like fear than respect, which anyone could notice.

"..."

The [Steam Military Police] just glanced at the sheriff, nodded slightly, and walked to the other end of the street.

Faintly, he heard cursing behind him, cursing William III's actions, cursing the truth that was once again obscured by Hillster's endless rain, and cursing himself for serving the royal family.

The rain in I-Tran will never stop.

"..."

"Sir..."

A hoarse voice came from behind, Achilles turned around and saw a down-and-out young man walking towards him.

He was wearing the uniform of the I-Tran gendarmerie and holding an energy rifle in his hand, but he did not look impressive at all. He looked more like a soldier who had just suffered a defeat.

Achilles knew the young man; he was Harry Smith, the eldest son of Chadwick, the E.T. merchant.

"..."

The moment his eyes met Achilles', Harry trembled slightly, his eyes still empty.

After confirming that the [Steam Military Police] in front of him acquiesced to the conversation, he whispered:

"...my father...mother...sister...are all dead..."

"I want revenge, sir. Tell me who the enemy is."

The drizzle fell on the dirty military police uniform. Harry raised his head and looked directly at the bronze duplex mechanical mask of the [Steam Military Police]. His hand holding the musket was shaking.

Achilles had seen this look before: before he was burned all over, in the mirror:

"His Royal Highness wishes to see you, Harry Smith."

Achilles said, and stretched out his hand to the boy:

"He owes your father a favor."

Looking at the hand stretched out in front of him and listening to Achilles' words, Harry was stunned for a moment, and his eyes became empty and confused again.

The rain fell on his face and flowed down his cheeks. After a long time, he stretched out his hand and shook Achilles's.

"Ah."

In the rain, the [Steam Gendarmerie] shook hands with the Gendarmerie.

The rain in I-Tran will never stop.

...END...

Plain of Swords

"Om-"

When she opened her eyes again, Perlis found herself standing in a desolate wasteland.

Just like at dusk, the sky was filled with flaming clouds, and the setting sun was sinking into the horizon inch by inch, and the remaining light was gradually fading away. The wind with yellow sand swept across the plains in gusts, and tens of thousands of sword tombs were scattered across the wasteland, standing still under the blowing of the yellow sand, making an iron roar.

This is a field filled with sword tombs. Just standing here, Perlis is shocked by the desolate atmosphere created by the interweaving of iron and blood.

Whose spiritual world is this...?

Before Perlis could start to think, a gentle voice came from behind her:

"It's time to say goodbye."

Polys turned her head and found Ikan Geller looking at her with a smile, his face light and calm.

"why?"

"Poets need to travel to create new poems," Icahn explained with a chuckle, "Your story is interesting enough, but I have stayed here for too long."

"I don't understand." Perlis said indifferently.

"Hahaha, poets always speak in such a vague way~"

As Ikan spoke, he slowly walked to Perlis' side and looked towards the end of the Sword Plain with her.

"You must have learned a lot from Hassankar's memories, right?"

"The Ladder of Hafgard," Perlis muttered, "The only way to be promoted to [Star Flame]."

To be honest, Pearlis instinctively disliked the word "ladder". She hated being graded, and even more so, she hated the idea that she could only be respected by "reaching a higher level".

This may be because Wiesel's life experience has allowed her to see too many people divided into different "ladders", but in fact, does such a distinction between high and low really exist?

Every living being is unique and multidimensional, so where is the standard for specific division?

Those who desire utilitarianism always like to divide people into classes, first dividing them into superior and inferior groups based on their own quantifiable standards, and then striving to climb to that imaginary higher step, just to be able to step on others with justification.

This "ladder" concept constitutes the pyramid-like social structure of the Akademi Federation. Now it appears so absurdly in front of Perlis, telling her that she needs to climb a higher "ladder" to succeed.

"..."

As if he had noticed Perlis's little emotion, the starlight in Ikan's bloodshot eyes slowly flowed, quietly staring at the girl's pretty profile.