257: Chapter 55: There’s a Wall in Front and a Wall Behind 257: Chapter 55: There’s a Wall in Front and a Wall Behind If I had transmigrated into an infinite flow web novel, I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised to see zombies licking the iron bars outside as soon as I opened my eyes.
But this isn’t infinite flow.
The good news is there’s no plot system working behind the scenes to forcefully advance the story, balance things out, add useless teammates to cause trouble…
The bad news is that the open world is too damn free, and I have absolutely no idea where to start.
“We lack the necessary intelligence right now, and don’t know what the situation here is exactly, so we need to keep low and cautious,” Wang Yunxiao gathered everyone and instructed carefully.
These words were primarily directed to Gao Shan and the officers under his command.
There weren’t as many issues with his own brothers.
“First off, we need to be clear about our goal—we are here to train, not to work for someone else.
There’s no need to go all out.”
“According to the Commander-in-Chief, he will come to check our achievements and award us merits by the morning of the second day.
There are actually two implications in his words.”
“First, our current location isn’t within their central circle.”
“Second, there might be unexpected benefits when it comes to awarding the merits.”
Given that they know we’re not from around here, they must also realize that any promotions or salary increases they offer mean nothing to outsiders.
What good would it do to make me a Great General?
It’s not even certain whether I can return here next time or not.
Of course, these were all just Wang Yunxiao’s speculations.
The current priority was…
“Yan’er?”
Wang Yunxiao looked at Chen Yan.
Chen Yan gave an OK sign.
Good, there’s a way out.
We can retreat at any time, so there’s no big issue.
“Captain Gao, you’re from a reconnaissance background.
Take the map and scout around with your men.”
Wang Yunxiao handed the map to Gao Shan.
“Youtiao, Sorghum, follow me up to the roofs!”
The rooftops were the high ground; they could be used to set up heavy crossbows and observe the surroundings.
Between his own team and those brought by Gao Shan, there were a little over twenty people in total.
Enough to defend a courtyard, but to patrol an entire block?
Better to just wash up and go to bed.
It’s likely that Shi Hu didn’t expect his team to be so effective.
There were two possibilities.
One was that there were other teams similar to his own somewhere in the neighborhood.
If it could be confirmed they were on the same side, establishing good relationships could mean mutual support at critical times.
The other possibility was…
they were left here to fend for themselves.
As he climbed onto the roof, Wang Yunxiao looked up.
Through the murky sky, he could vaguely see the endless Reddy palace walls not far ahead.
Behind him, there was also a palace wall…
Sure enough, they were in a position similar to a barbican.
The surrounding blocks were orderly, with underground passages running through them all.
There were no signs of light or life—nothing indicated the presence of people.
They had entered the Outer Dimension at midnight.
But in the Outer Dimension, concepts of time and space meant nothing.
As Wang Yunxiao pondered when the sky would darken, he saw red lanterns lighting up one by one on the palace wall behind him.
Then he noticed that each household in his block also had red lanterns hanging by the door.
No one had lit them, yet they automatically glowed.
With the real Imperial City at its center, the lights that spread outward like a ripple were illuminated one by one.
As the ripples of light reached the outer palace walls, the sky suddenly darkened.
Night had arrived.
Wang Yunxiao thought he heard something.
A rustling noise came from beyond the palace walls.
He squinted, trying to make out what it was.
In the dim light, it seemed as if creatures with animal-like movements were flitting along the top of the wall.
A lantern was quietly extinguished.
In that instant, although his eyes saw nothing, Wang Yunxiao felt clearly that something had taken advantage of the darkness to climb over the wall.
The lanterns!
Light and fire could effectively restrain demons and evil spirits, but that was in the Real World.
In the Outer Dimension, light and fire did not have this effect, at least not the last time he had come here, when he faced that monster…
No, wait, that light was fake!
Wang Yunxiao suddenly realized.
It was the sunlight of a dream!
But the lanterns in this place now…
were they actually real?
At this moment, wondering whether the lanterns were real or not was beside the point; the key was whether they were effective.
Even if the lanterns were effective, they were not all-powerful, as Wang Yunxiao had seen demons, even under broad daylight, desperately flee while ensconced in their fleshly hides.
This supposed restriction had its loopholes that could be exploited; unless directly illuminated, creatures could ignore the presence of the lanterns.
Standing atop the wall, Wang Yunxiao quickly weighed the pros and cons.
“Big brother, should we borrow some lanterns from the house next door?”
Youtiao, having noticed the trick, asked softly.
The lanterns could effectively ward off the monsters lurking in the darkness.
If they were to follow Shi Hu’s orders and go on patrol, they would need to carry lanterns to prevent being ambushed by monsters.
If their goal was merely to stay in the courtyard and stay alive, then they should gather as many lanterns as possible, as no one knew how long they would stay lit.
Should they go out before dawn, it would be quite troublesome.
But there was an awful trap hidden in this.
If you borrowed the lanterns from the neighboring courtyard, it meant that courtyard would be left in darkness, making it an even bigger target for the creatures of the night.
“Let’s not rush it; we’ll wait for Gao Shan to come back and then decide,” Wang Yunxiao said, targeting the surroundings from his position on the wall.
The distance from the city wall behind them to their courtyard was about three hundred steps.
Put another way, it was within the effective range of a heavy crossbow if one shot from a vantage point.
Whether it be to provide support or to supervise the battle…
it was highly likely there would be no support.
Being new and without established relationships, he could not expect much help.
The palace wall ahead was much farther, about five hundred steps away, providing a lengthy buffer distance.
As Wang Yunxiao waited for Gao Shan to return, several more lanterns under the distant palace wall were quietly extinguished.
Wang Yunxiao removed a roof tile and casually threw it toward a lantern in the courtyard next door.
The tile grazed the lantern, causing it to sway and its flame to flicker.
It could be extinguished so easily, appearing to be just an ordinary lantern.
Don’t ask why it could light itself and then extinguish so easily.
When faced with a problem, don’t always wonder why.
You could read a set of a hundred thousand whys, and still not become a scientist.
Whatever big brother says is the rule; on that basis, think about how to act.
Youtiao was always good at this.