Chapter 202: Going Their Respective Ways
“Yu, you should rest.” A young man who was Yu’s lookalike came into the room.
Yu stood at the window, looking at the smoky fire in the distance and listening to the fierce battle. He was everything but sleepy.
“You are leaving with me tomorrow. I think having some rest will do you good.” The young man did not get a response from Yu, but he was not upset. Instead, he pulled a chair and sat down, looking at Yu patiently.
The Yufeng family manor might be in the inner city, but it was quite far away from Glory Square. Nonetheless, standing by the window, he could probably see what was going on there.
“Brother, give me a cigarette.” Yu pulled the curtain close and turned around.
The young man who Yu called brother was stunned when he heard the request, but he did not ask anything as he fished a cigarette out and gave it to Yu.
Smoking was the worst habit left behind by the old civilization. 80% of the old civilization was destroyed by the disastrous end, yet smoking somehow found a way to survive with its unyielding vitality.
It seemed to be the test for every boy during p.u.b.erty, and Yu had failed the test by picking up the habit.
He lit the cigarette and took a puff. He was still calm when he looked at his brother and said, “You must think I have nothing but hatred for the family. As a matter of fact, no, I don’t. I’m just thinking about that after leaving this place, I should be stronger in the Prinale Academy to be noticed by the Ivy League Alliance Academy. That’s all I’m thinking about.”
“Are you sure?” The young man raised a brow because it was difficult for him to believe that his decent but persistent little brother could calm down so fast. Since Yu was young, listening to his parents was certainly not his forte. Being rebellious and egocentric was a norm between him and his family.
“Yup.” Yu’s side face appeared a little bashful under the light, but his calm and strong gaze would make one feel that he was very mature.
“I thought you might have noticed how complicated your friends are. You might also notice that reality isn’t just black and white. There’s also the gray area…” Still worried, he tried to speak to Yu calmly and open his heart. After all, it was better to express one’s problem than keep it tucked under.
“No, it has nothing to do with friends or whatever. You don’t have to purposely start this topic.” Yu frowned. “Brother, we will leave tomorrow at 6 in the morning. I really want to leave this place. I want to rest now. I’m tired.”
“Fine, my dear brother.” The young man stood up helplessly and patted Yu’s shoulder.
As a matter of fact, the young man sensed the resistance in Yu but there were things that only time could heal. Yu would probably forget about the pain in time, would he not?
The young man left the room, shaking his head. At least, Yu was calm. Perhaps it was the little time he spent with his remaining friends after he came back today that calmed him. Although it might be dangerous for them to meet, it was worth it.
Nothing bad had happened, and Yu had agreed to leave Safety Sector No. 17 with him.
In fact, when the thought came into the young man’s mind, he walked to the long corridor of the manor and lit up a cigarette while looking at the flickering fire further away though the window.
His family would move out of this place soon. Safety Sector No. 17 becoming a puppet of some other family was no longer suitable for the Yufeng family as they did not want to protect a soulless safety sector.
Would this be a tribute to that hero in the past?
The Yufeng family was only a small family in the huge waves of the era, and they were actually no stronger than any other common man.
Spitting a cloud of smoke out, the young man looked at where the fire burned the fiercest. A string of blessings came in his mind. Survive, Yu’s friend. If you really are the one on the list, I’m also proud of Yu being able to call you a friend.
The young man then walked away.
Yu heard the footsteps departing. He wanted to put the cigarette in his hand out, but a certain scene in his mind stopped him from doing so.
“I’ll come back to see them in ten years. Remember.”
It was what Tang Ling had said to the Fierce Dragon Squad before he was arrested. It sounded like his last words to his friends, but after he said, “Goodbye, Vian. Goodbye, Amir”, Tang Ling had whispered into Yu’s ears, “Take a good look at your luggage.”
Given their tacit understanding of each other, how would Yu not know what Tang Ling was trying to tell him? Tang Ling must have hidden something in his luggage.
Did he expect this beforehand? Yu pondered upon the possibility, he thought of the happy days when the Fierce Dragon Squad was whole. That one month or so seemed very peaceful, and if Yu had been in Tang Ling’s shoes, he might not have been able to see what was wrong or what danger lay ahead.
However, Tang Ling, the wonder kid, expected all of this to go down. Still, was it that surprising?
Therefore, after Yu was taken away by his family, he carefully packed his luggage and found a letter among his clothes. The contents were simple yet complicated.
The simple part was the contents of the letter. Tang Ling left behind a simple sentence: “The Fierce Dragon Squad will meet again in the Hope Barrier in ten years. I’ll be there.”
The complicated part was that the letter also contained never-before-seen written scriptures about the Thousand Satin Skill. There was also a comment from Tang Ling at the end of the letter. ‘Change these points in cultivating the Thousand Satin Skill, and you can be stronger. I’m the first to have tested all these.’
As a matter of fact, even without Tang Ling’s final words, anyone who knew a thing or two about cultivating would understand the written scriptures as the better way of cultivation.
Tang Ling had selflessly shared the secrets with his friends.
Yu took another puff from his cigarette when he recalled what he read. He understood what Tang Ling was trying to confess. ‘You guys must be stronger than ever. Don’t you dare become n.o.body! This is what I, Tang Ling, can do to help you guys, but, of course, if you guys are too stupid to understand, I can’t do anything else.’
“Hmph.” Yu chuckled. Was it the time spent with Tang Ling that allowed him to understand the wonder kid’s thoughts?
As the words rang in his head, he felt like Tang Ling was just beside him with his carefree att.i.tude and frivolous tone, talking to them and also mocking everyone along the way.
This little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Will I get the chance to beat him up in ten years?
Yu had lost friends today, and he also experienced betrayal for the first time, but inside his painful heart, there was still something that could cheer him up.
The friends.h.i.+p that started from a young age was a lot purer than the friends.h.i.+p gained during adulthood. A few months of teenage friends.h.i.+p would be tighter than a few decades of adult friends.h.i.+p, and such a friends.h.i.+p would surely last forever.
…
Meanwhile, on the roof of a very tall building somewhere in the inner city, Orston sat on the edge of quietly, rubbing the bruise on his face.
Only a handful of n.o.bles knew that this tall roof was actually a secret transportation point.
Every 15th of the month, a Maitreya dark cloud eagle would fly by and when it spotted any pa.s.senger on the roof, it would carry the pa.s.senger away. If there was no pa.s.senger waiting, it would wait for ten minutes before leaving.
A Maitreya dark cloud eagle, eh? There were records about this Level 4 vicious beast back in the secret database of the Gordin family.
Its extended wingspan could reach 120 meters wide and it could grow as long as 50 meters. Its gigantic size would remind one of the legendary beasts of ancient Huaxia, the Kun Peng, which was a ma.s.sive beast that could transform between a fish and an eagle.
If one was not powerful enough, one could not even notice its presence because as its name suggested, it would only fly at night and when it flew at a low alt.i.tude, dark clouds would cover its presence and trail.
Seeing a moving dark cloud in the night sky was more than common, therefore someone powerful decided to tamed it and used it as an urgent and secretive transportation method.
Before this, if Orston had known he was going to ride a Maitreya dark cloud eagle, he would have been exalted, but now he had no such emotions.
Based on the information he got, he had a long journey ahead. The Maitreya dark cloud eagle would deliver him to a certain safety sector, and from there, he would have to board a huge air transportation that was built with super-advanced technology to reach his final destination which was none other than the Apollo Mercenary Training Camp in the desert.
“Little Orston, are you surprised why it’ll take so long to reach even with the air transportation? According to the records of the old civilization, the size of this planet is no longer a secret…” At that moment, another figure that was almost a third bigger than Orston stood beside him.
He was Orston’s seventh brother. Other than his late fifth brother, this man was also the brother that he was the closest to. Usually, he was able to pique Orston’s interest with mysterious topics or mysteries revolving around the world, but this time, Orston did not respond. Instead, he frowned and said gravely, “I don’t want to listen. Just leave me be.”
His seventh brother clenched his fists and wanted to beat him up when he heard that.
_The family has received news about this, and I’ve hinted to him a lot of times that he made a friend who’s way out of his league. Why can’t he just face the reality?_Hmm, nah, I can’t really say that. At least, he submitted and complied, so everyone in the family doesn’t need to beat him up one after another.
His seventh brother did not want to believe it, but that hour of gathering with his remaining friends proved to be magical.
He must be planning something. With that thought in mind, his seventh brother lit a cigarette and put his hand over Orston’s shoulder. “Hey, kid, stop thinking about running away. I’ve seen through you! Don’t try to disobey when you reach the Apollo Mercenary Training Camp. Even if you transform into a Level 9 vicious beast, you won’t escape. Do you get me? The only way out of this is for you to graduate there!”
“Oh yeah? Great, it’s exactly what I want. I want to be stronger.” Orston s.n.a.t.c.hed his seventh brother’s cigarette and took a deep puff.
The way Orston smoke resembled Yu while Yu resembled Tang Ling. Tang Ling actually learned from Su Yao, so all of them could be considered as smokers whose habit was pa.s.sed down from one another.
“Very well then. You’d better get stronger.” His seventh brother was a little p.i.s.sed at Orston for s.n.a.t.c.hing the cigarette, but he reined his emotions back.
He suddenly felt like his little brother had gotten more mature and was no longer the simple-minded boy who would spill his feelings everything with a little trickery. Although Orston had something in his heart, he could not discuss it with his family. He had no choice but to grow with it and let time help him recover.
Further away from the roof, a dark cloud was moving closer. When it was near enough, a gigantic black bird burst out.
It did not circle above the roof but landed softly and quietly on the rooftop.
Orston’s buff body was like a tiny bug in front of this Maitreya dark cloud eagle. Although it was just in front of his eyes, he could barely have a clear look at the eagle.
“Did you call for the urgent air transportation service?” The voice of a man came from the giant eagle’s back but there was no figure was in sight.
Orston’s seventh brother said, “Our family called for the service. Please bring him to the designated location.” He pointed at Orston.
“Pa.s.sword.” Such way of traveling through air was very expensive, let alone booking it at the last minute. Normal people could never imagine the astronomical figures that made up the traveling fee.
It was impossible to pay such a huge fee on the spot, but a deposit had been made after the reservation and was paid through various means.
For Orston’ssake, the Gordin family had done everything necessary! After all, he was the strongest in his family to withstand the most complete black sun tattoo, so his endurance was better than anyone else throughout their family history. In short, he was the hope of the family.
No one told Orston about the secret though because they did not want him to be proud of it. Even until now, the family did not want to reveal it.
His seventh brother uttered a series of complicated numbers. After he was done, a strong wind blew and enveloped Orston whole, carrying him onto the back of the eagle.
His seventh brother’s heart hurt when he saw this. Is he being taken away just like that? Is there not even a goodbye? Gazing up, he wanted to bid farewell to his brother, but he was not good at emotional speeches. He had the words in his mind for several seconds but failed to utter them.
Seconds later, the Maitreya dark cloud eagle flew into the sky and dark clouds covered it whole once more.
On the back of the eagle, Orston found a small, unstable seat and an iron chain that resembled a safety belt beside it to help him to stabilize his posture.
Orston still did not find the person who rode the eagle. He felt lonely and helpless, especially since he did not even get to say goodbye to his brother. He was on the verge of crying. Am I just going to leave like that?
He turned around, and behind him, Safety Sector No. 17 was getting smaller. In a certain part of the inner city, a fire burned tall.
He knew Tang Ling was not some John Doe and that this whole riot had started because of him. He was not an idiot who could not understand the hints from his family. When he thought of Tang Ling, Orston slowly calmed down. He had also received the letter and the scripture of the Addendum.
He was not leaving his friend behind, but he was waiting for the day where they would meet again. Ten years later, he would return as the real G.o.d of the Sun!
Back on the rooftop, Orston’s seventh brother gazed at the moving cloud before he turned back to the fiery Glory Square. He curled his fists tightly.
“Tang Ling, please live because you are Orston’s important friend. If you are who they say you are, that single-minded kid brother of mine will surely give his best to follow in your footsteps.
“As for the Gordin family, we will stay and protect Safety Sector No. 17, so the castellan isn’t isolated. The Gordin family is a family of war and a family of heroes.”
…
“Mother, stay here. I’ll do the rest.” Andy sounded and looked calm.
Even though he was his mother’s son, she felt a little distant when she looked at him because he felt like a stranger to her at that moment. The cowardly boy who loved to eat seemed to have vanished. What replaced him was a steady and calm young boy that possessed strong courage.
If not for her female instinct, she would not have been able to notice that tinge of sadness hidden deep in her son’s eyes. Nonetheless, what else could she say? Nothing.
Andy was busy packing everything in the house up in neatly. He was never a person with big dreams. Born in Safety Sector No. 17 and having grown up in the outer city, he once thought that the safety sector was the whole world.
Therefore, his biggest wish was to live in the inner city so that he could lessen the burden of his parents. He also wanted to get married to a girl, have children, and live a normal life. That was it!
If not for this small dream of his, he would never have taken the exam to the First Reserved Camp. However, if he had not taken the exam, he would also have never met Tang Ling and his friends.
Did he regret his decision? No, not even once and he never would because in the past few months, his second wish, which had been vague, became clear and steady, especially after going through the painful experience.
His second wish? His second was to follow Tang Ling wherever he went.
Following Tang Ling might bring him different experiences or he might have an entirely different life. He might be able to see many sceneries and tread many paths in this world.
All boys had an ambition of experiencing the exciting and the colorful. Andy’s ambition had been inspired by Tang Ling, so he did not plan on walking away from it. He would always follow Tang Ling wherever he goes!
With that thought in mind, Andy put a photo of him and his family inside the suitcase. The photo had been taken when he was young at the time his family bought this stone house in the outer city. Back then, his whole family had been exalted and their happiness skyrocketed, hence the decision to take the photo to commemorate the day.
Back then, Andy thought he would never leave Safety Sector No. 17.
The safety sector was good enough for him because it was safe and comfortable. Despite being a little poor, the whole safety sector provided a sense of safety, similar to the huge walls that protected it and would never collapse.
No one expected that he would have to leave so soon!
During the final gathering with his friends, he received Tang Ling’s message and the scripture from Yu. After he returned home, a stranger was standing inside his stone house.
The man was not a chatty bloke. What he said was brief and straight to the point. “This is the grant of the property that’s located in the Roman Safety City. The house isn’t big but it’s enough for the three of you.
“Here’s also a letter of recommendation to a decent warrior academy in the Roman Safety City. the Bortoli Warrior Academy. It’s known for raising warriors with the wind element talent.
“Don’t worry. The letter of recommendation will allow you to go in without any problem. You’d better study hard when you get there. Don’t worry about your parents. They will be given jobs in the Roman Safety City. Someone will contact you when you get there.
“Lastly, here is some money. It will be enough for your spending along the way. Go to this particular spot in the outer city tonight. Go down through the tunnels and follow the map to the marked black market. The safety sector is in chaos, but this black market will have a service to bring people out just for tonight only. Don’t miss it.
“I’ve paid the money for you to leave and register your family’s name on the list. All you need to do is bring your identification and prove yourself.”
That was all the man said before he left. He left behind a grant of probate, a recommendation letter, a map, and a bag of money.
Everything seemed to be authentic as well. Since the wax seal on the grant used a special crystal wax, the energy emitted from the wax seal was one of a kind and Andy could discern it. The letter of recommendation had Castellan Worf’s unique signature as well. Although it looked blurry, it was clear at the same time. Was it related to his s.p.a.ce ability? People without s.p.a.ce ability could never forge his signature.
The map was a surprise. The labels on top were very precise, and it was too much of an effort to label a map just to cheat Andy and his family. As for the money, his parents could not recognize the coins inside, but after seeing the first three items, the bag of 100 Roman coins should be real too.
Actually, none of those were important. The important point was what the man said before he left as it strengthened something in Andy after he heard it.
“Do well, kid. You must be proud of Tang Ling. I bet he’ll be proud of having you as a friend.”
When they were burying Vian and Amir, Andy felt extremely helpless. He did not know how powerful the impending storm was and he did not know if he could protect his parents and his home.
Even though he was not the smartest, he knew what he would have to face next. However, whether it was Yu, Orston, or even Christina, their comfort and promises could not calm him down.
How influential were they in their respective families? Andy did not want to burden them with his own matters.
It was until he received Tang Ling’s message and scriptures that he truly calmed down. He understood it the moment he received the message. Tang Ling wanted them to grow stronger and meet each other again in ten years.
Andy related himself to Tang Ling who never gave up even in the hardest situation. His unyielding personality was his inspiration. As a man, he also had to try to at least be independent and grow stronger since he wanted to follow Tang Ling not as a burden but as a friend.
Andy looked towards the inner city. Even the walls could not hide the fiery scene at Glory Square.
Has the battle begun? Yu said during the gathering that Tang Ling is no John Doe. If the safety sector is in chaos tonight, it must be because of Tang Ling!
Yeah, it must be Tang Ling! Despite the worsening situation, Tang Ling was still taking care of him. He would never submit and would surely break out from prison!
Andy would never forget that phrase in Tang Ling’s message. ‘Remember’!
In ten years, Andy would also return mature and stronger to meet his friends.
Tang Ling, this is the last time that you will be taking care of me. I swear that I’ll become someone worthy of standing by your side. I’ll become your brother-in-arms. I’ll become stronger!
“Mother, Father, I’m done packing. Let’s go,” Andy said.