Fang Yu pushed his cousin's hand away and said unhappily: "Tangtang, I'm asking you seriously."
Tang Xin finally noticed something strange about Fang Pliance, frowned and said, "Brother, do you think I'm a fool? I met Miss Scarpe before I came here, and you forgot? And what happened to you at Dawn Star, Didn’t you tell us yourself?”
Fang Yu shook his head: "I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about earlier, before you came to Aitalia."
"Before?" Tang Xin was startled, and couldn't help but put her hand on her brother's forehead: "Brother, you really don't have a fever, do you? Why did you start talking nonsense? How could I have heard of Dawn Star before that? It’s not a prestigious team.”
The more she continued, she couldn't help but feel a little worried, but fortunately, the soft fingertips felt cold in response.
"No," Fang Yu pursed his lips, and suddenly found that he couldn't explain clearly: "Do you still remember when I took you to watch super competitive games together when you were a child? You were reluctant at that time. Tangtang, you My memory is much better than mine, try to recall it, is there such a thing?"
Tang Xin blushed. She remembered the time when the two of them secretly watched videos under the covers in the middle of the night. The two of them hugged their knees and sat next to each other. Most of the reluctance I felt at that time was just an act of my own.
She was sweet in her heart, but she rolled her eyes at Fang Yu angrily: "You also said that every time you drag me sneaking around to watch some game in the middle of the night, you just want to find someone to share the blame with, and you want me every time. Covering you."
Fang Yu suddenly felt guilty and argued: "Didn't I block it for you when you were being beaten?"
"I am a good boy in the eyes of outsiders," Tang Xin said angrily, "Can I compare with you?"
"Okay, okay," Fang Plover begged: "Tangtang, think about it carefully, have you heard of it at that time?"
Tang Xin said she was reluctant, but she was a little happy in her heart. She pretended not to care and said: "If you ask me to help you think about it, you have to tell me the cause and effect, right? Who would remember the name of Dawn Star? After all, It was more than ten years ago.”
Fang Plover slapped his forehead and thought that this was indeed the case, so he re-described the previous conversation with Alfan.
After hearing this, Tang Xin blinked slightly and said, "When you said that, I seem to be really impressed."
Fang Yu's eyes lit up and he asked quickly: "Tangtang, please tell me."
"Brother, do you remember the first time we got beaten?"
"Get...beaten?"
Fang Yu blushed. He had been beaten a lot since he was a child. Who can remember clearly?
"You had just come to our house not long ago, and you insisted on dragging me to watch some game." Tang Xin couldn't help but smile: "It turned out that the volume was too loud, and my dad and my mom caught us. That time you were The beating was terrible, and the howl sounded like a slaughtered pig."
"There's no need to explain this kind of thing so clearly," Fang Yu said with great embarrassment, "Besides, why can't I remember what I was howling about?"
"Of course you don't remember. In fact, I don't remember clearly either." Tang Xin pursed her lips slightly and looked at her brother with clear black and white eyes.
She actually remembered clearly in her mind that at that time, this guy was howling: "Hit me, don't hit my sister——!"
Fang Yu was ashamed to mention such a thing, so he quickly went over and said vaguely: "Let's talk about serious matters, Tangtang, what do you remember?"
"When you were being beaten, this news was broadcast on the light screen," Tang Xin said with a smile: "Floating Island, the conflict between the Oshu Empire and Kaolin-Ithurian, etc., the third division is also involved. , it was still a big event at that time.”
"Huh?" Fang Pliance was a little surprised, thinking it was this: "Then have you heard about the Dawn Star?"
"I'm not sure about this. It's been too long ago. Maybe I mentioned it before," Tang Xin looked at him and asked, "And for this kind of thing, wouldn't you just ask Miss Scarpe?"
Fang Yu shook his head. Of course he wanted to ask, but he always felt that Miss Scarpe might not tell him because of her temperament. And he actually doesn't care whether 'Dawn Star' is the protagonist of that incident. 'Dawn Star' must have experienced the Battle of Byrne, but that's nothing. What he really cares about is the lingering feeling in his heart. A faint sense of familiarity.
Could it be that when he was being beaten, he heard the name 'Dawn Star' and didn't pay attention to it? He couldn't help but remember that he actually joined Miss Scarpet's 'Dawn Star' later on. Sometimes there are some coincidences in this world.
At this time, everyone on the other side had already finished their preparations. Luo Hao brought a large shield to block the front. Abed opened the door with the key. Ai Xiaoxiao waved to them over there:
"Tangtang, cousin, come here quickly, we are going in."
Fang Yu then said to his cousin: "Tangtang, let's go there."
Tang Xin glanced at him and nodded slightly.
…
Ambassador Liao looked out the window. In the vacuum and darkness of the universe, the silver-white circular corridor No. 02 was slowly rotating. The sun's rays were falling on the snow-like ceramic material, emitting a halo of light.
He liked watching the rotation of the microgravity ring corridor, as if he were admiring the dance of a ballet dancer. It reminded him of his graduation prom and the first time he met his lover.
It wasn't until the automatic door slid open, making a low "chi--" sound of air leaking out, that he was startled.
He turned around - there was a busy scene in the control hall. The work at Stargate Port seemed to have become several times heavier in the past few months. The staff were passing changing data and information back and forth, and the channels were constantly changing. There were exchanges in Chinese, English, French and occasionally a sentence or two in Russian.
Noisy, chaotic.
He saw the automatic door sliding open to the left and right, and his assistant walked in from behind the door and hurriedly walked in his direction.
"Mr. Ambassador, there is progress regarding that staff member."
Ambassador Liao took the materials from the other party and asked: "That 'snakehead'?"
'Snakehead' is the nickname they gave to the incident more than a year ago. That incident was really unbelievable. A staff member of Stargate Port, in order to make some extra money, actually brought a minor to Ai Thalia. Although the matter was resolved satisfactorily in the end, the internal self-examination of Stargate Port has not ended. This 'smuggling' incident has exposed some problems. It is said that there are still big loopholes in the management system of Stargate Port and there is still room for further improvement. Space.
Facing his question, the assistant nodded.
Ambassador Liao took a look at the materials first, then raised his eyebrows involuntarily, with a hint of surprise in his heavy eyes. Suddenly, he raised his head and stared at the other person, asking: "Is this true?"
"This was investigated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and there should be no mistakes."
Liao Da used his knuckles to knock the material, making a 'swish' sound. He pondered for a while and then said: "'Star of Dawn', if I remember correctly, they are still stranded in Stargate Port, right?"
The assistant nodded again.
"Can you make arrangements to meet with them?"
"Currently, Russia has announced that it will provide asylum to Dawn Star, mainly the former American citizen," the assistant replied: "They are currently in a stalemate with the Americans. If we want to intervene, we must contact both parties first. That’s all.”
"Then give it a try," Ambassador Liao replied: "Tell them that this is not our family's business."
"Ok, I see."
…
After watching his assistant leave, Ambassador Liao turned around.
He looked at the stack of materials and couldn't help but be lost in thought for a while.
"Dawn Star."
"Could it be a coincidence?"
He slowly opened his collar, fiddled with the button communicator underneath, and then whispered:
"File A-144-5, documents numbered 03 to 07, I want to take a look."
…
The room was a little dark.
Scarlett was opening the locker, taking out the box from under a pile of clothes, and placed it carefully on the table. When her hand touched the cold metal surface of the box, she couldn't help but subconsciously recall the two little girls she had seen at the airport that day when she and Owl handed over the box.
"Tang-Xin."
"Ai-Xiao Xiao."
"alike."
she thought.
At the same time, she placed her hand on the surface of the box, and her slender fingertips groped for the edge of the box inch by inch in the darkness until she touched two slight protrusions. She gently pressed down the protrusion, and the box made a soft 'click' sound, and the lid slid aside.
She pulled out the lid, and even in the dark, she seemed to be able to see clearly what was in the box. It was a pile of paper, not an antique, but standard industrially produced A4 paper with a smooth and white surface. The thick pile was placed quietly at the bottom of the box.
But just as Scarpe stretched out her hand, there was the sound of the automatic door opening behind her.
"Why is it so dark?"
A thick voice sounded near the door, and Quelord looked around doubtfully: "Didn't you turn on the light?"
Scarpet was so frightened that she covered her hands. When she heard the sound, she stopped moving and turned around.
Quelord was just getting used to the dim environment when he saw her appearance clearly and couldn't help but ask: "Scape, what are you doing?"
"Looking at something."
"Something?" The other party came over and stopped behind her, his eyes flashing: "Is this...?"
A trace of surprise flashed in Querod's eyes.
He looked at Scarpe and asked again: "...I thought you left these things in Lublin."
Scarpe looked at him before replying: "They are indeed in Lublin." She paused: "But the 'Owl' has been here recently."
"'Owl'?" Querod said with some surprise in his tone: "He is in Stargate Port."
"No," Scarpe shook her head: "He just came up secretly. I'm not sure anyone was watching him... After giving me 'this thing', he returned to Lublin."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Querod asked: "What are you going to do with these 'things'? I thought they would stay there forever and become a secret that no one knows...Scape, you know, I think this is the best outcome for them."
"I understand," Scarpe replied: "But I have always been worried recently, especially what I heard about what happened in Europe... You know, you can't hide by hiding... Now Stargate Port is more... A safe place. In addition, I am worried about another thing..."
Quelord sat down gently against her and asked in a low voice: "What are you worried about? No matter what, I will face it with you."
"I planned to tell you, but I haven't had time yet." Scarpe shook her head: "Quelord, I'm a little undecided."
Querod looked at her with tender eyes and placed a hand on her belly.
Scarpet seemed to feel something and calmed down a little.
"This is a secret," Querod replied: "'Owl' is a reliable person. Until no one knows about it, it will be safe for the time being. Don't think too much about it."
"How have you been inquiring about the Stargate Port?" Scarpe then asked.
"The news is blocked very close," Querod thought for a moment: "But recently, another group of troops has stationed at the Stargate Port. They arrived on federal spaceships, including Americans, Chinese and British. There are also Some news from our old friends, the second division recently recalled a group of retired personnel."
"Is this related to the Area C plan?"
"I don't know. During the State Duma election, domestic news was very chaotic." Querod shook his head.
"But I have a hunch," he replied: "Scape, Stargate Port may have a big plan."
…
Just as Fang Plover pushed the door open, a stench hit his face, making him unable to help but turn his head away.
Tianlan and Ai Xiaoxiao even hid their faces and ran away. Only Jita still insisted on standing behind. Sylvide and Atila both frowned. Even Tang Xin looked pale, and several boys also Looking back, only Luo Hao still looked like nothing had happened.
"Don't you think it stinks?" Alyssa retched for a while, then turned around and asked him curiously.
"I've been suffering from rhinitis recently." Luo Hao replied angrily.
Abed explained to them in a low voice that even though several days had passed, the smell still lingered in the yard. He pointed to a place and said to everyone. There were several corpses there. When they found this place, they were already rotting to a state of disgrace. Judging from the clothes of the corpses, they should be slaves captured by pirates.
The body had no external injuries or signs of poisoning, so it should have been a natural death. Slave traders would only support strong slaves and beautiful female slaves who could make money for them. As for the old, weak, sick and young, it was very common for them to die during transportation.
"Is it just this courtyard?"
Fang Plover asked.
The yard had been swept away, and there was really nothing worth seeing. The bounty hunters of Corrin-Ithurion had learned to preserve the scene, but it seemed that this habit had not spread to Istania - of course, the hot weather It is indeed not appropriate to leave several seriously injured corpses without processing them.
However, when Her Royal Highness the Princess discovered this place, the corpse was severely mutilated, which shows that the slave traders may not have left this place in a hurry. Necromancers abounded in Istania, and it was easy to tell them the true time of death of the corpse - about four days ago.
In other words, the slave traders left this place on the third day after they arrived in Tansnir.
That day was the time when they went to the 'Sand Lodge', and they also met the wandering alchemist.
I don't know if there is any connection between them.
"There are several rooms inside," Abed introduced to them: "There is a warehouse in the middle, and on the left is a place where slaves are kept. The elderly, men and women are kept separately. There is also a courtyard there, Mr. Alfan By pretending to be infected with an infectious disease, he was placed in solitary confinement.
From there he secretly dug a tunnel to the warehouse and escaped from there. "
After hearing this, Fang Yu couldn't help but admire the old scholar. He could turn knowledge into power, arm himself and flexibly transform it into real effects. Not everyone can do this.
Under the leadership of Abed, he walked into the room and was startled when he entered the hall.
The hall on the east side should be the daily living place of slave traders - in the center of the hall, a brown blood trail dragged from one end to the other. It gathered into a circle in the middle, not so neat, like a small A child doodles randomly.
But that's what makes it a bit creepy.
When Miss Naturalist saw this scene, she couldn't help but say "ah".
"Cult sacrifice——"
As soon as Fang Yu saw this scene, he realized what it was. He has dealt with so many followers of darkness that he is considered a semi-expert.
Abed had obviously seen this scene before, and told them expressionlessly that there was originally a corpse in the hall - also a slave, an old man. When they found the corpse, the man was lying flat on the floor, with his heart and two sides. All the eyeballs have disappeared.
In fact, Princess Rupert told them all this before she came, but seeing it with her own eyes was still a bit shocking.
"Blind follower," Tata's voice sounded in Fang Plover's heart at this time: "Mr. Knight, being blind and heartless is the living sacrifice method of the 'blind follower' mentioned in the dark classics. Those slave traders summoned blind followers here. God Deska - 'The blind god will swallow the flesh, blood and heart of the sacrifice, and respond to the believer's request. It paints a road with blood, leading to the realm of bones in the darkness -'"
Fang Plover's understanding of the Dark Saints is only half-scale. What he knows more about is the 'Fire of Venus', which comes from the power of Dark Dragon King Lifgard.
Followers of the Dark Dragon - Dragon Cultists also perform human sacrifices, but they use fire.
But they believe in the "Fire of Venus" falling into the dust, "the golden flame will burn everything, sin, justice, filth and beauty, all treated equally, that is the end of the day, everything is inevitable -", so Dolifen is Will fall into a sea of fire.
He couldn't help asking: "What is a blind follower?"
"An evil god, one of the saints of darkness," Tata replied quietly: "Its followers are actually not common, and they have very few interactions with the Dragon Worshipers, and they are even on the same level."
Fang Yu was a little surprised: "I've never heard of-"
"Because they haven't appeared in this world for a long time," Miss Elf's voice was very calm, as if she came from another world: "Because the blind followers are dead. They died at the hands of the Elf God in the middle of the Giant War. .' The lady of the forest inserted her thin sword into Descartes' heart, and the latter let out a sharp scream. The scream caused a bloody rain to fall over the plains, mountains, rivers, and forests. The blood rain lasted for seven days and seven nights, and then The monster turned into a mass of flesh and blood and disappeared into ashes.'"
"This is the record in the tree elf's holy book."
"Miss Tata, have you read the holy book of the tree elves?"
Fang Plover turned his head and glanced at Miss Attila who was not far away.
Scholars are curious and want to know all the secrets in the world, which often gets them into trouble. The holy book of the tree elves is placed in the center of the giant tree temple. It is a truly forbidden object. Except for a few forest ladies' holy books, few people have ever seen this book.
He was afraid that if the elf lady knew about this, she might have to kill him outright, so under the guidance of the forest lady, he stabbed him through with a sword.
But Miss Tata replied: "There is also some fragmented knowledge of the Elf Holy Book floating outside."
Fang Plover stood there and asked calmly: "Miss Tata, you said that the Blind Follower is dead, but could it have been resurrected again, just like..."
Just like the Saurian God.
"It's completely possible," Miss Tata nodded. She was in Fang Plover's spiritual world, but her emerald eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the barriers between worlds, and she quietly looked at the long line in the center of the hall. Long bloodstain: "Judging from the scale of the blood sacrifice, the blind followers are still very weak and should be recovering."
Another dark god has awakened.
Fang Yu felt something was wrong.
The saints of darkness who died in the giant war are resurrecting one after another. Does this mean something? Could it be somehow connected with the arrival of the third evil star?
But what he was thinking more about was how he was always involved in such things. It seemed that ever since Mazak handed him the ring of golden flames, he had been involuntarily involved in a huge whirlpool. He wanted to get out for a while, but struggled no matter what -
In the end, it got deeper and deeper.
The matter with Dragon King Lifgard has just come to an end, and now another 'blind follower' has appeared. Will anything else appear in the future?
But he subconsciously ignored that the source of all this may be much earlier than the 'Traveler's Rest'. When he was underground in the elven ruins, when the mark of Hailin Crown was engraved in his blood, everything had subtly changed.
"All right."
Fang Yu sighed slightly.
He at least figured out that these slave traders indeed had little to do with the Dragon Worship Cult. Sylvide's analysis came true once again.
However, everyone who entered the hall knew less about the Dark Saints. Except for Jita's slightly thoughtful look, most people probably associated this scene with the 'cultists' they had seen before. . This is not the first time that everyone has dealt with "cultists". They even have rich experience. Luo Yu, Jita and Tianlan all came from Dolifen.
Box and Alyssa also experienced the Fenris incident.
Even Luo Hao, who joined the team last, personally participated in the battle between Idos and Vanrik.
There are many active dark believers in Corin-Ithurian, but because of the Dragon Witch, the mainstream is still the Dragon Worshipers.
Among the crowd, only Aitila walked out, came to the dark brown blood stain, and examined it carefully for a moment. Miss Elf walked from one end of the hall to the other, lowering her head and thinking, but did not speak for a while.
As Fang Yu watched this scene, because of the knowledge he gained from Miss Tata - he probably understood that as a priest of the Holy Tree Temple and a believer of the Forest Goddess, Miss Attila should have seen something. He saw Aitila slowly walk to the end of the blood stain and stop there.
"The road is painted with blood, leading to the world of bones -" At this time, Tata said again: "According to the customs of blind followers, this road of blood should have a meaning. People who understand this sacrificial ceremony today It’s rare, so these people probably don’t take too many precautions.”
Following her voice, Miss Elf stretched out her hand and placed her palm against a gray stone wall there.
Fang Yu's heart moved, and he understood Miss Goblin's words.
He turned back and said to the box: "Box, check over there."
Xiangxiang understood it, held the scabbard with one hand, and held the wand with the other. He kept a cool look and walked in that direction.
Abed was a little surprised at the side. Out of good intentions, he advised: "Mr. Ed, the royal guards have checked this place inside and outside. There should be nothing missing. Your Royal Highness, she--"
Just as he was speaking, he suddenly froze.
Because he saw that the wand in the box's hand was emitting a glowing light. The light was like a wave of water, diffracting in the direction of the gray stone wall. After a moment, the outline of a glowing door gradually appeared at the position where Miss Attila's hand was pressing——
Parker couldn't help but whistle: "Is this the new spell you learned at level 18, to detect secret doors?"
"Great, we won't be afraid of not finding the entrance to the secret treasure house in the future."
After hearing this, Box looked thoughtfully at his cane.
At this time, Aitila had already found the switch of the secret door.
She pressed on the square brick painted with dark red patterns, and the square brick made a slight friction sound and slowly sunk back.
In just a moment, the mechanism behind the stone door made a muffled sound, and the gears turned, dragging the stone door slowly to the side, revealing the dark entrance behind it. There was a row of stairs behind it, and the levels went downwards. Dark red bloodstains were spread on the stairs like a carpet, going down step by step until they were submerged in the darkness.
Tianlan and Ai Xiaoxiao ran in from the outside at this time. They happened to see this scene and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Ah, the secret door!"
Fang Luo immediately turned around and said to Abed with some seriousness: "Mr. Abed, please inform Princess Rupert to find the builders and craftsmen of this building and protect them first - "
But before he finished speaking, he heard a low roar that didn't sound like a human voice, coming from the hall.
Fang Yu subconsciously turned around and saw Miss Aitila taking a step back, and the next moment a blood-red shadow was flying towards her.
"careful!"
Seeing that the elf lady was about to be injured, Fang Plover couldn't help but shout lowly.
…
