Chapter 59: Amusement Park (III)

Chapter 59: Amusement Park (III)

Lu Yi turned his head towards the study door. Sunlight streamed in through the window, landing by his side without touching the corners of his clothes.

His low fever, which had persisted for over a week, had finally subsided, but Lu Yi still felt a chill in his body, except for the warmth he felt in his palm.

It was the warmth from Rong Mi.

Staring at his fingertips for a moment, Lu Yi eventually closed his hand and lowered his gaze.

"Same as before, I ask, you answer," Rong Mi said casually while crouching in front of Tian Tian in the amusement park base.

He held his wolf claw, aware that he couldn't assist Lu Yi at the moment, so he forced himself to focus on the amusement park base.

Rong Mi wasn't someone easily swayed by emotions.

"Secondly, why did the Symbiosis Association take Ellen away from the Academy of Sciences? For the purpose of a butterfly carrier?"

"Yes…" Tian Tian had given up resistance, accepting his fate with resignation. He admitted helplessly, "The First Legion's squad leader was originally intended to be Lord Cecil's next carrier. Apart from that, Lord Cecil also wanted to retrieve the remains of the Asian butterfly to prevent humans from discovering ways to hinder its ascension…"

Rong Mi tilted his head, touching the space button with the Aide corpse hanging around his neck.

It seemed Cecil hadn't noticed that there was something amiss with what he had obtained.

It was rather odd, as if it hadn't even been "unboxed" yet.

Rong Mi: That sensation of someone secretly assisting them from within the Symbiosis Association returned.

For now, he couldn't figure out the identity of this person, so he continued to inquire, "Where is Ellen being held? Is your Lord Cecil also at the amusement park base?"

"…When I returned to the Symbiosis Association, I was taken straight to the infirmary," Yu Tian gasped. "I have no idea where the First Legion members are!"

"Lord Cecil is… Every time I see Lord Cecil, they're in the central tower of the base…"

"Central tower." Rong Mi nodded. "It aligns with the position of the Ferris wheel in the amusement park."

"On which floor?"

"Under… underground… I don't know which floor it is… I rarely go there…"

"What does Cecil look like? Strength of his mental power, its unique traits, his usual mannerisms, and how many people he's imprinted with his mental power."

"Describe him."

Yu Tian's pupils dilated slightly.

"He... The Lord Cecil I met was very beautiful... He had long light blue hair... Red eyes... Yes... His power... I don't know..."

Seeing that Yu Tian truly didn't have more information, Rong Mi didn't push the matter further.

He reached out to take off Yu Tian's communicator, checking the other's permissions within the amusement park base. Satisfied, he spotted access to the main tower.

"Hmm, there's even an emergency escape map in case the base is under attack." Rong Mi quickly glanced through the contents of Yu Tian's communicator, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

He unfolded the screen and placed it before the wolf, allowing Lu Yi to view it through the wolf's eyes. Ayin sat upright, occasionally extending his wolf paw to swipe the screen, memorizing the key points of the escape route.

With this map, it would be much harder for anyone to slip away during a military assault.

Rong Mi examined the communicator thoroughly, making sure there were no special monitoring devices. Satisfied, he put it on his wrist and finally withdrew the energy he had inserted into Yu Tian's mental domain.

Yu Tian's eyes were unfocused, his body already limp on the ground from the pain, unable to move.

Rong Mi reached out to feel his pulse and clicked his tongue softly.

"You passed out already." The young man's voice held a hint of disdain.

Not to mention Lu Yi, even the original inhabitant of this body had suffered more before his death within the Ice Butterfly Cocoon Chamber than Yu Tian did when releasing his mental energy.

"…Forget it. Leave the judgment to the court. I can't kill him here just to exchange his life for the original owner of this body."

Rong Mi was convinced he was a law-abiding citizen. He bound Yu Tian with a rope he had found in the kitchen, gagged him, and returned him to the bed in the treatment room.

The operation he had planned with Lu Yi was scheduled for midnight a few hours later. Rong Mi was confident that Yu Tian wouldn't awaken within that time, and the Symbiosis Association would likely not notice anything amiss with him.

He needed to make the most of these last few hours to prepare for the next step.

It was impossible to carry around a useless, unconscious Yu Tian.

"We'll head to the Central Tower to investigate Cecil before the military makes their move," Rong Mi told Ayin. "Yu Tian's communicator has access privileges."

"Follow the wolf!"

Cecil's empathic connection with Lu Yi had been severed completely.

Ayin lifted its head, sniffing the air, then led the way down the tunnel, its sharp ears pricked to catch any sounds below.

Being small and light, Ayin made no sound as it moved through the ventilation system.

Rong Mi followed the wolf above a guard room, just in time to overhear a conversation below.

"It's the weekend, why do we suddenly have to pull night duty? Is the base up to something big recently? This is my first time experiencing this."

"Hmm, didn't you check the Star Network? Deep Space Echo got caught, and we attacked the Science Institute... We should be extra cautious lately," another person replied distractedly. "Besides... I've heard that Lord Cecil's time to switch hosts is almost here again. This time, they captured someone from the military to be the new host."

"A new host, huh... But General Lu's appearance still matches my ideal of an Ice Butterfly. Switching hosts can indeed cause a stir, so we must beef up our guard duties!"

"In truth, it's just for show. The base's location is hidden, and nobody knows about it. Besides, since last night, no one in the base is allowed to leave. Unless someone forces their way in from the outside, no one can get in!"

"You're right... I'll take a nap in the rest room first, then..."

The remaining guard was rather casual in his duties. He nodded, turned on his light screen, and continued browsing the Star Network for news, particularly articles related to Deep Space Echoes.

"Sss... The military isn't really starting an investigation, is it?" He spoke with concern, running his fingers over the tattoo on his arm. "It's getting a bit risky. I wonder when Lord Cecil will bestow his mental power augmentation on me."

Listening from above, Rong Mi fell silent. Reaching out, he released the vent cover.

The guard outside, wearing a virtual helmet, was absorbed in browsing the Star Network while worrying about the future of the Symbiosis Association. He didn't notice the faint noise coming from above his head.

Rong Mi silently glided down behind him and swiftly knocked the man unconscious.

The longer one remained in contact with Ice Butterfly's mental energy, the quicker their demise. These brainwashed members of the Symbiosis Association viewed contact with Cecil's mental power as an honor...

There were those who didn't want to live, while many others desperately wished they could.

Rong Mi's attack on the guard wasn't solely for that reason; he needed the guard's uniform.

Swiftly stripping the guard of his clothes and donning them himself, he then pulled a blanket from a nearby sofa to cover the unconscious man. Adjusting the brim of the guard's cap to conceal his face, he left the building with Wolf in tow.

With the change of clothing, he appeared less conspicuous at least.

The pockets of the security guard uniform were too small to conceal a wolf. Hence, Ayin was nestled within Rong Mi's coat. Fortunately, the young wolf was lightweight and could be supported by the belt, its claws wrapped around Rong Mi's waist and hooked onto his shirt for balance.

"Ao." The cub nestled close to the young man's abdomen, its tail coiling around Rong Mi's waist, turning into an adorable, furry accessory on him.

In the night, the amusement park base was quiet, with only the sounds of security patrol robots operating in the background.

As they approached the main tower, more security robots patrolled the area, their gray bodies adorned with green indicator lights atop their heads as they roamed around the tower, scanning their surroundings.

Despite having changed his clothes and gained access, Rong Mi adhered to the principle of "less trouble is better," cautiously avoiding the patrol routes of the robots as he neared the main tower.

The main tower in the amusement park base bore a striking resemblance to a Ferris wheel.

This structure was the tallest building in the entire base, shaped like an isosceles triangle with a pointed apex reaching toward an open circular ring at the top. The outline of the building closely mimicked that of a Ferris wheel.

It seemed to be a crucial point for spatial folding, and the wheel-like outer ring, similar to the spokes of a Ferris wheel, appeared to be symbolic metallic decorations.

However, the entire main tower also resembled an enlarged version of a triangular energy concentrator.

Rong Mi used his communication device with Tian Tian to unlock the door, unable to resist stealing another glance.

As he lifted his gaze, the inconspicuous gray rim in the dark night suddenly glowed a vivid red.

Immediately after, an alarm blared throughout the base.

"Blaring!! ———— Blaring! ———— Intruder detected within the Central Tower! —— All hands on alert! —— Emergency protocol activated ——"

Violent energy fluctuations emanated from the building, illuminating the rings of the Central Tower section by section.

"Beep-beep—"

The camera above the entrance, which had shown no reaction to Rong Mi's arrival, suddenly flickered with a red glow. "Additional bodily data scan initiated—database matching in progress—compiled by Sen Wenzheng—"

Behind Rong Mi, the security robots patrolling along their predetermined routes responded in unison, activating emergency protocols as they searched for the intruder within the Central Tower.

The green indicators on their heads turned red, and their faces opened, revealing more sophisticated scanning cameras than those used during routine patrols.

Rong Mi sensed that something was amiss and promptly rushed forward, entering the Central Tower.

This alarm clearly wasn't triggered by him, but it couldn't have come at a worse time!

Presumably, to conserve energy and avoid drawing undue attention, many facilities within the amusement park base were typically inactive.

But at this moment, the entire base seemed to have awoken from slumber like a monstrous beast.

Strings of lights flickered on in the buildings, and scanning devices within automatically activated.

In the central tower, rows of surveillance cameras protruded from the walls, swiftly zeroing in on Rong Mi as he hurried through the corridors, cross-referencing his image with the personnel database after multiple scans.

"Communicator authorization verified—"

"Initial physical profile confirmed—"

"Physical match initiated—searching for matching individuals… Failure! Failure! Suspected intruder detected!—"

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Amidst the persistent alarm, security robots rushed into the main tower from behind, blaring loudly.

Rong Mi knew that he would inevitably be detected under such intense scrutiny. He quickly turned into a nearby passage, and as he passed the elevator lobby, the indicator light for an arriving elevator flashed on.

Rong Mi was passing by the elevator shaft entrance.

Worried that the main tower might suddenly cut off the elevator's power supply, he had intended to find the stairwell. However, just as the silver-gray doors of the elevator cab opened, he caught a strong scent of blood.

And a familiar... energy fluctuation.

A vibrant red Ice Butterfly spirit energy surged out of the elevator, latching onto Rong Mi's wrist.

The concentration of Ice Butterfly spirit energy was so dense that Rong Mi couldn't see inside the cab. Dodging the initial assault, he glimpsed security robots approaching from behind.

Not wanting to be caught between the Ice Butterfly and the security bots, he stepped forward decisively, sliding sideways into the elevator.

"Beep—" The doors closed inward, and another surge of spiritual energy pulsed at his side.

Quickly pressing the down button, Rong Mi raised a purple spirit energy shield in front of him.

Turning his head, he finally had a chance to see his opponent.

Long blue hair, bright red eyes, an exquisite, genderless face.

The man before her, with his blue hair, was none other than the entertainment company's president, "Wizard with Blue Hair" Lu Tianchen, as Seiko had mentioned.

Rong Mi: "…"

Through the veil of purple and crimson spiritual energy, Rong Mi saw Lu Tianchen smile.

"It's you," he said, one hand covering his neck where bright red blood was gushing out between his fair fingers, "Looks like my luck isn't so bad tonight after all."

Rong Mi: "…"

"I seem to be quite fortunate too," he replied calmly, "It appears that today… I've hit the jackpot."