Part 2
Bai Mu was a bit dazed. It was the first time he had been so close to a prince. The vast gap in status made him feel not just envy, but more of a sourness. The boy in the maglev car was wearing ceremonial attire, while he was wearing ill-fitting clothes with the name of the welfare home printed on the chest.
He had also just completed his differentiation, yet all he received was the manager patting his head and saying he would no longer be a child from now on.
Yet that boy could receive blessings from thousands upon thousands of citizens and have a grand coming-of-age ceremony he would never forget.
Little Bai Mu felt a bit wronged, even wanting to cry. He just stared at Prince Phelps, his eyes welling with tears, suppressing the urge to cry.
He stared at Prince Phelps with such a pitiful little face that the boy in the maglev car actually looked toward him. Perhaps his expression formed a sharp contrast to the surrounding crowd, thus catching the boy’s attention.
Phelps looked confused at the black-haired boy at the front of the crowd. The boy’s skin was fair, and his amber eyes were clean and pure; he was truly good-looking. Yet the boy’s face was filled with unhappiness. In a crowd of smiling faces, it was truly strange. Even after the maglev car slowly passed, Phelps still looked back at that black-haired boy whose face was filled with grievance.
Phelps remembered that green and ignorant face, and he remembered the name of the welfare home on the boy’s clothes.
Little Bai Mu just stared blankly as that maglev car, symbolizing infinite glory and love, gradually drove further away and disappeared at the end of the long street.
The flood of memory vanished. The boy had grown up. The coincidences of fate had brought him to a place he never thought he would set foot in during the first half of his life. He looked at the lively and noisy scene before him and couldn’t help but let out a raspy laugh.
RUMBLE—
Just then, a dull sound erupted in the sky. Bai Mu instantly snapped back from his wandering thoughts. He looked up at the sky and saw a dazzling white light flash at the horizon, like a shooting star carving a bright arc in the air before vanishing. As the white light disappeared, a dazzling blue-violet sky-curtain filled the horizon like ripples on a lake blown by a breeze, enveloping the entire sky.
Bai Mu understood; it seemed this was just a routine interception by the defense system against an unidentified object.
Everyone else was also accustomed to such phenomena, and it didn’t affect the crowd’s enthusiasm for the parade. The floats were still moving, and more and more people gathered in Independence Square.
The ceremony was over, and Bai Mu didn’t plan on staying here any longer. He stood on the viewing stand, looking around for Han Naijin to say goodbye before leaving. However, he suddenly met the gaze of a stranger.
The man was in a well-tailored suit and looked to be in his thirties. His gestures were gentle and elegant, yet Bai Mu felt the man’s gaze held an indescribable strangeness. Upon being discovered by Bai Mu, the man didn’t look away but instead smiled and nodded in greeting.
Bai Mu didn’t know this person. Being stared at with such an uncomfortable gaze, he frowned and looked away, giving no response.
However, at that moment, another white light appeared in the sky. Then, like a sudden thunderclap on flat ground, an ear-shattering sound echoed above Laea City. Immediately after, the earth began to vibrate continuously. Several bolts of white light struck down, exploding suddenly at the horizon. The white flames struck the deep blue sky-curtain, and a lightning-like crack immediately appeared on the rippling curtain, forming a dazzling yet alarming spectacle.
In a lightning-fast moment, a beam of white light broke through the sky-curtain and fell rapidly from the sky!
By the time Bai Mu realized Laea City was under military attack, that beam of white light had already landed in the center of Independence Square and exploded. Massive tongues of fire rose instantly, and smoke filled Independence Square. The people who were just revelling in the carnival were now letting out piercing screams and cries, beginning to flee frantically in all directions!
The change was too sudden. From the moment the white light struck the sky-curtain to the explosion in Independence Square was only the blink of an eye. Immediately after, a powerful shockwave swept across. The people on the viewing stand were also carried by that massive force. Bai Mu felt his body lifted by an irresistible power, and his entire person was thrown toward the wall behind the stand.
This power was too strong; he had no way to resist it. The viewing stand was a temporary structure, and the wall behind it was already precarious. If everyone crashed into it, the wall would collapse, and they would be buried in the ruins and crushed by heavy objects!
Bai Mu knew he couldn’t dodge it. He could only try to protect his head to buy a sliver of a chance for survival.
In the next second, Bai Mu slammed into the wall. Then his body fell straight down and crashed onto the floor. A metallic scent filled his nose and mouth, and it felt as if liquid were flowing from his temple. Immediately after, a patch of bloody red covered his eyes. Although he knew his forehead had been cut and blood was flowing into his eyes, this inevitably reminded him of the scene in the torture room—the moment that light particle pierced his eyeball.
Bone-deep pain surged back into his mind at this moment. Those images that terrified him were magnified infinitely now. Fear and pain swallowed his consciousness, leaving him unable to perceive anything but pain at this moment. The screams and roars of the crowd were silenced for him; he was trapped in an escapable cage!
At that moment, an ear-shattering alarm rang out. A mechanical voice drowned out the panic and screams:
[Laea City is under terrorist attack!]
[Laea City announces a state of war!]
[Citizens, please do not panic. Follow the arrangements of the City Defense Department for evacuation!]
The mechanical voice broadcasted over and over. Far from calming people, the words “terrorist attack” and “state of war” made them even more panicked and frantic.
Han Naijin was also thrown by the shockwave of the explosion, but fortunately, he grabbed a nearby pillar. He saw a light craft approaching quickly from the distance. A rope ladder was thrown down from the open hatch, and Situ shouted at him through a megaphone: “Get up here quickly! Get on the starship first!”
The rope ladder reached the front of the viewing stand. People fighting for their lives scrambled to grab that life-saving ladder. Han Naijin stepped ahead of the crowd, grabbed the ladder, and placed a foot on it.
However, for some reason, Han Naijin looked back. With just one glance, he saw the lost and helpless Bai Mu in the crowd.
Bai Mu’s head was cut, with a bright red patch on his forehead, and his face was terrifyingly pale. He was struggling to stand but was pushed and knocked down by others. He looked as if his soul had been drained, leaving only an empty shell. He watched as another person pushed him aside forcefully, throwing him against the wall. After the continuous vibrations and people crashing into it, the wall was noticeably tilted and was on the verge of collapsing!
In that moment, Han Naijin’s mind was completely blank. Every reaction was a primal instinct during a life-or-death crisis. He released his grip on the ladder, stepped down, and then turned around. Under Situ’s anxious and confused gaze, he ran in the opposite direction!
The hovering craft created a strong air current, so much so that Situ’s shout for him to return became a distorted roar in mid-air.
Han Naijin pushed through the crowd, moving like a fish swimming upstream. He ran quickly, his hair and coattails trailing behind him against the wind.
Bai Mu’s body was being constantly bumped into. The intense pain and dizziness made him unable to cope, and his vision grew more and more blurred. However, in the panicked crowd, he saw a special figure. The man moved against the flow, quickly and calmly coming toward him.
Before Bai Mu’s pained mind could react to who it was, the man reached him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a hug as they fell backward. That precarious wall collapsed with a crash just an inch away from them!
Translator’s Note:
Terms to note for the current chapters:
- Dodder Flower (菟絲花): As mentioned, it’s a parasitic plant that needs a host to survive. It’s often used in Chinese literature to describe a weak, clinging person (usually an Omega in this genre). Bai Mu is feeling a bit conflicted about having to rely on Han Naijin for everything now.
- Huckman Street (霍克曼大街): Named after the city’s founder.
- Prince Phelps (菲爾普斯王子): The Imperial heir. Could he be the person Bai Mu is hiding from?
- Light Craft (輕艇): A small, fast atmospheric ship.
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