Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Before we left for the place where the expedition team disappeared, Lin Xue brought us to a small town not far from the destination.
This town was not huge; there were thousands of people in there. However, the buildings by the side of the roads looked very neat and modern. They did not look like a small town in a desert—far away from civilization—at all.
The people in the small town did not have much of a reaction to our arrival. Instead, they glanced at the group of outsiders and continued about their daily lives.
For some reason, entering this town gave me a strange feeling.
“I did not think that a town like that would exist inside a desert,” Qianqian said. She could not help but feel shocked at the people walking around her. Although she knew that people did live in deserts, the problem was that this place was right in the middle of Taklimakan Desert! It was deserted and lacking in natural resources. Even water was hard to find here. It was indeed curious that a small town could be set up here.
Zheng Yiming seemed to be quite familiar with this place. As he led the way, he introduced the place, “This town is not an ordinary place. In fact, this place is a refuge. You could even call it a penal colony.
“What?” My busybody nature had been awakened.
“The top smugglers, arms dealers, descendants of large, exiled families, expert hermits who are being hunted down by their enemies, and even one or two people with special abilities who committed mistakes that caused them to be forbidden to leave this desert… don’t belittle anyone here. Anyone among them could easily cause the entire world to tremble if they walked out.”
“Ah!” Qianqian exclaimed. Then, she tightened her grip on my arm. The civilians around us who looked warm and kind at first now looked like ferocious, violent, and evil criminals to Qianqian.
“Don’t worry,” Lin Xue comforted Qianqian, patting her shoulder. “No matter how great someone is—once they come to this penal colony, they become honest. In this place, there are a couple of rules. First, no matter what kind of mistake you committed outside, once you get here; the slate is cleaned. In other words, you have already ‘died’. Second, once you get here, without the organization’s authorization; nobody can leave… unless you are confident that you can escape the organization. Third, everyone in this desert is not allowed to cause trouble. No matter how powerful you were outside, you are only an ordinary civilian in this town. Otherwise… keke, something troublesome would happen.
“Apart from these, this town is not completely cut-off from the rest of the world. From time to time, some outsiders would come in with permission. However, they don’t know the truth behind this town. Those who know the truth are either in the organization or people with special abilities like Chen Jun and Pan Lili.”
“Amazing,” I said, pursing my lips, “Why do I feel like you guys resemble a lawless, frightening organization?”
“Pfft, that’s the contribution we make to the world!” Lin Xue retorted out of habit. “Most of these fellas would only cause harm to humans if they’re allowed to live in the outside world. However, killing them would be a waste of their talents. That was why we decided to do this.
“The organization is creating a sort of protection for them, so that they don’t have to be torn to pieces by their enemies or other people. Conversely, they stay here obediently and honestly, using their own abilities to work for the organization. Whether you believe me or not, the people in front of you are a good example of what we do here: they made use of the internet or their own means to circulate billions of dollars in the outside world. All of this happens so that they can remain here and have their meals peacefully. That’s why this place is called a refuge and a penal colony…”
A refuge… a penal colony…
I began to understand what Lin Xue was saying. Once again, I observed the seemingly plain civilians in the desert closely.
On the outside, they looked nothing more than ordinary citizens. However, on closer inspection, I discovered that the look in their eyes was different. Some were cold, some were numb, and some were indignant. There were even some who looked jealous upon seeing us.
However, over here, they had no choice but to suppress these emotions of theirs and work hard to act as ordinary civilians in the desert.
At that moment, a familiar male-voice was transmitted from not far away: “Big Brother, do you want discs?”
Crunch… my body stiffened at once.
Along with the crunch, I slowly turned my stiffened neck. The knight-like uncle dressed like he was from the Matrix, offering pirated discs to passers-by, came into view.
…Sicaro, the outstanding Commander of the Empire. He was sentenced to death by the Empire’s Emperor on 6 December 2010. His crime: being too much of an idiot.
That’s just a joke…
Still, I really wanted to do that! Was this rascal really a Commander of the Xyrin Empire? Wasn’t he a stand-up comedian who specialized in making people laugh or a spy sent by the enemy to cause chaos? Did this person never attend a single training on information-gathering in the army? Apart from acting like a man from the Matrix selling pirated discs, did he really know no other way to disguise himself?
At that moment, I had no hope at all in this knight-like uncle’s intelligence.
“Eh? Why do I find this man selling discs so familiar?” Lin Xue, who had chanced upon Sicaro before while she was in the car, suddenly muttered to herself curiously.
This was not the point, right? The point was how could an uncle be found selling pirated discs here, right?
“That’s not right. How could there be someone like that here!” Zheng Yiming reacted at once. “Get him!”
“Wait!” I quickly stopped them.
“What’s the matter?” Lin Xue asked me curiously, “Do you know this person?”
I was really retarded. Why did I speak?!
Facing Lin Xue’s questioning gaze, I immediately thought about what to say next. However, what exactly could I say in order to explain the relationship between me and this uncle selling pirated discs in the penal colony?
“He is my brother’s friend,” Pandora suddenly said.
…Pandora, do you know that I was thinking of a way to explain away the relationship between me and this suspicious-looking uncle?!
“He is also a person with special abilities,” Pandora continued to expose information.
“What?!” Lin Xue, Lin Feng, and Zheng Yiming exclaimed. Weren’t people with special abilities considered worthless at such an age? How come even random uncles selling pirated discs on the streets could turn out to be people with special abilities?
At that moment, I heard Pandora’s voice through our spiritual connection: “Sicaro is a Commander of the Empire who is the best at positional defensive warfare. His combat abilities cannot be ignored as well. I hope that he would be able to join us in our mission from now on. I think this situation is not as simple as it looks. It’s good to have one more layer of protection.”
“Chen Jun,”—Lin Xue’s voice interrupted Pandora—”do you know this person? Is he really a person with special abilities?”
“En… that’s right!” I replied, slightly panicked. Then, I had a brilliant idea and said, “He can add blood!”
“Huh?”
A few minutes later, the person who was said to be able to add blood… keke, in other words, the healer Sicaro joined us.
“Chen Jun, are you sure there’s nothing wrong with this fella?” Lin Xue looked at the knight-like uncle who was still selling pirated discs and asked worriedly, “All of a sudden, we have an unknown person joining the group.”
“I can swear on my own character that he is reliable!”
“A person with special abilities who loves to travel stumbled upon Taklimakan Desert while exploring, got lost, mistakenly entered a penal colony that’s being protected by layers and layers of other people with special abilities, and finally began selling pirated discs to make a living… do you think I should believe that story?
“He even has a weird name—Sicaro. It’s obvious this isn’t his real name, right?” Lin Xue was full of distrust for this uncle who dared to sell pirated discs in the penal colony. However, she finally sighed and said, “Forget it. In any case, my instinct tells me that this person can be trusted. I hope my abilities are not lying to me this time.”
“Who are we trying to look for?” Qianqian finally asked, impatient, and frustrated. “We’re already nearing the end of this town. When are we going to the remains? If we go a day later, my father would be in even more danger!”
“Don’t be anxious,” Lin Feng said and smiled warmly. “The person we’re looking for now is extremely important. Without his help, I’m afraid we will also go missing like your father.”
“That person is that powerful?” I asked out of curiosity. “Does the person also have special abilities?”
Lin Xue shook her head and said, “No, he is just an ordinary old man. However, he has something extraordinary, which possesses the power to stabilize the remains. Unfortunately, that expedition team relies too much on so-called modern technology. Their absolute nonchalance towards mysterious energy caused this accident.”