Chapter 1 The Beginning

The passersby were shouting in terror, scattering in all directions. The academy guards in front of them suddenly raised their heads and drew their revolvers from their waists at the same time.

Nina had only managed to say half a sentence when she was abruptly interrupted by the sudden change. She instinctively pulled Shirley to her side and quickly turned her head to look in the direction of the screams.

(Having crossed the veil, having crossed some unseen boundary.

The roars and noises suddenly amplified to an unbearable degree, sharp pain vibrated through her senses, blinding light filled her ears, her eyes were stung by the noise, her skin evaporated and boiled in the wind, and an indescribable, enormous sphere hung high in an equally indescribable sky, writhing and pulsating madly.

Things filled with malice stirred – those shifting, pulsating shapes moved wildly around, shaking the entire world with their terrible howls.

But… where were her weapons? Where was her armor? Where were her companions? Where… was she?

A terrifying, indescribable, black "mass" shot out of the air and crashed to the ground with a thud.

The mass resembled flesh, yet it constantly reflected a metallic, icy luster. The bizarre surface, constantly reforming, sometimes reflected colorful, illusory lights, and within the light, something seemed to be hissing and throbbing.

This terrifying and frightening thing stirred panic among the crowd, and everyone scattered and fled.

Only the two "Knowledge Guards" on the scene unhesitatingly drew their guns and took out their spellcasting tools, charging towards the frightening "reality invader."

"How did you get in here?!" The guard stared, the professional quality honed from his youth allowing him to silently recite the prayers of Raheem in his heart, while one hand pressed against the gun handle, his eyes fixed on the two girls before him.

The guard's shout startled Nina, and in the sudden chaos, she stared in astonishment, looking at the center of the chaos.

"No signs of activity in the central area, but still dissipating…

…No tendency for external communication detected."

"How did they get in here?!"

But they found nothing abnormal.

It was as if a rainbow-like crystal barrier had formed in the surrounding gas.

Then a sharp whistle came from the other end of the street, and the guards patrolling in other parts of the market arrived in time to provide support. While dispersing the remaining pedestrians on the road, they stepped into the "gas wall" and began to skillfully execute a series of sealing, suppression, and purification procedures.

"I walked in," Nina said, seeing the dumbfounded reaction of the guard and the way the other guards suddenly looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. She finally felt a little relieved. "Just… just walked in like that."

The relaxed and strange standoff lasted for several seconds. The guards at the scene were on high alert, and a faint silver glow flickered in the eyes of half of them. Raheem's blessing temporarily enhanced their ability to perceive reality, allowing them to observe the two seemingly normal girls, whose words and actions vaguely revealed something suspicious.

The Knowledge Guard closest to them almost jumped on the spot.

"Understood. Everyone, be vigilant, pay attention to your mental state, do not leave the barrier area, and report immediately if you see or hear any abnormal information."

Two guards first entered the "gas wall." One of them pointed a gun at the writhing, pulsating thing rolling on the ground, while the other quickly scattered potions and powders on the ground in the distance, lit portable candlesticks, and then constructed a temporary protective barrier with crystals and metal blocks, suppressing the thing's movements.

"Chuan-class catalyst group is sensitive, does not belong to any known 'invasion' type… When will the academy's squad arrive?"

The middle-aged woman in the robe, whose temperament was more like a middle school teacher from a classroom than a warrior, turned her head in terror, only to see the two young girls standing behind her who had initially walked towards her, seemingly wanting to report something—she had thought that the two girls would have been evacuated immediately, how were they still here?!

However, Nina and Shirley were just standing there innocently, like two ordinary children out for a stroll.

"Target activity is decreasing, no response to Catalyst 17."

But suddenly, he felt like he didn't need to keep looking – that inexplicable thought made him unconsciously withdraw the light in his eyes.

As for Lu Peng… Shirley didn't feel the barrier either.

Just then, the "mass" in the center of the "gas wall," which was shimmering with metallic luster and looked like some kind of living steel, suddenly became violently active again. The temporary seal hastily constructed by the guards using rituals was immediately impacted—the transparent shell-like structure covering the surface of the "invader" shattered inch by inch, emitting a piercing, sharp tearing sound, and the two Knowledge Guards who were maintaining the ritual suppression stumbled back a few steps. The crystal prism in one of their hands instantly shattered into pieces.

A faint silver light floated in the depths of his eyes.

"Are we disturbing your work?" Nina said apologetically.

Nina dragged Shirley to the side of the "living steel mass," which had almost stopped moving. The two incredibly brave girls carefully observed the "substance" on the ground, which was nearly two meters in diameter. The latter couldn't help but ask curiously.

And in the next second, the guard realized an even more unbelievable fact.

The guards reacted in a panic and had already prepared to strengthen the seal again, only to find that the "living steel" in the center of the field was rapidly weakening and writhing, as if its vitality was rapidly draining away. The strange hissing and rubbing sounds constantly coming from inside gradually subsided, and its undulating surface seemed to gradually solidify and become still. A dusty color spread across the metallic "outer skin," like rapidly weathering stone.

The Lu Peng next to her quickly nodded, trying her best to display the acting skills she had practiced since childhood, but which hadn't been of much use recently, pretending to be well-behaved and innocent: "We were just curious, so we came over to take a look, sir…"

She wasn't sure if she had seen it wrong, because that moment was too brief, and looking at the reactions of the others around her…

…it seemed that no one had noticed that scene.

The guards had already rushed forward. Because they were still unable to determine what strange characteristics the suddenly appearing "invader" possessed, they did not open fire rashly. Instead, they first smashed a few test tubes on the ground in the distance. The volatile reagents in the test tubes quickly dispersed into the air, forming a thin, misty "gas wall" that condensed and did not dissipate. Sunlight shone on it, refracting a psychedelic light.

Because in that brief moment, in the first second or two, or even shorter than that, she felt like she had seen something even more unbelievable than that terrifying mass—no, in that first second, that thing looked… like a person.

"Sorry, ladies, could you… please come with us?"

The guards were professionally and quickly dealing with the sudden situation here. Even though the thing that had entered the real world this time was an "entirely new thing" that was not in the records, they did not seem at all at a loss—until an abrupt voice suddenly came from the side.

And Nina really didn't know what was happening. She didn't know if she was just imagining things.

The guards looked at each other, several of them quickly exchanging glances and discussing a few words in low voices.

Their loud shouts reached Nina and Shirley's ears: "Kids, run!"

The middle-aged guard, who seemed to be the most senior, took a step forward, with a serious expression, while maintaining a slight vigilance.

Finally, its entire body was almost completely still, with only a residual, slight tremor, like the muscle twitching of an animal before death, occasionally appearing on its surface.

Only the middle-aged Knowledge Guard, who looked to be the oldest, still had some faint sense of unease in his heart. He always felt that something was hidden before his eyes, hidden in the depths of one of the girl's smiles, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances at Nina, the light in his eyes flickering slightly.

Because although they had encountered many supernatural events by now, they had actually rarely seen how professional guards "handle incidents according to procedure." She saw the surrounding mist, but only felt that the gas was some kind of symbolic "boundary," like a frame drawn on the ground with white paint. She naturally walked in, without feeling any obstruction—just like sunlight can naturally pass through glass.

The guard rubbed his eyes, momentarily forgetting the sense of unease that had arisen in his heart.

A guard holding a revolver in one hand and a few test tubes in the other exclaimed.

How did these two kids, who looked like middle school students, swagger in?!

(Headache, fever, cough, sore throat, I don't know if it's COVID… Wish me luck.)

Another guard, holding a heavy book in both hands, kept a close eye on the "living steel" in the center of the field while sensing something. After a moment, he said, "The target has no mental activity."

He stared dumbfounded at Nina and Lu Peng, and the corner of his eye quickly scanned behind them—the "gas wall" used to block off the incident area was still floating intact a few meters away, and the barrier with the rainbow crystal texture in the mist did not show any signs of being broken. He himself had not sensed any physical contact with the barrier…

"Message has been sent, seventeen minutes at the earliest."

Nina and Lu Peng stood not far away, watching the scene with dazzling eyes. They didn't feel relaxed, just very curious.

"Um… Mr. Guard, what is that thing?"

Specially trained people use tolerant operating procedures and skillful cooperation to control invaders who suddenly appear in the real world—this scene is not the same as the style of Uncle Duncan (the Captain) solving problems on a normal day.

Because she walked with the sunlight.

But that seemed to be the "invader's" last resistance.