Chapter 162: Chapter 152: Prophecy and Footprints Chen Na, wearing a protective suit custom-tailored to her small frame, rode an elevator upward with five tall, imposing figures.
Since she wasn’t very familiar with the five of them, she stood timidly in the corner.
But this didn’t last for more than a few seconds. Soon, the only woman among the five walked over, bent down, and smiled at her.
"Chen Na, is it okay if I call you Na from now on?"
Chen Na nodded. "Okay. And what should I call you?"
"My codename is ’Silver Fox.’ Just call me Silver Fox."
"Okay, Silver Fox."
"Such a good girl~"
Silver Fox gently patted Chen Na’s head and said with a chuckle.
"Don’t be nervous. I, and those four gruff-looking guys, are all good people. We’ll protect you during the mission."
"Hey, Silver Fox, that’s enough," Black Shark grumbled. "Calling yourself ’big sister’ while calling us ’old guys’!"
Silver Fox laughed. "What, were you four rough-and-tumble guys expecting the little girl to call you ’big bro’?"
Black Shark was speechless. Flying Eagle chimed in with a laugh, "Night Owl is younger than you, Silver Fox. If you get to be ’big sister,’ then he’s definitely a ’big brother.’"
Night Owl, who wore thin-rimmed glasses, glanced up for a moment before burying his head again, continuing to fiddle with the electronic device in his hands. He clearly wanted no part in such a pointless argument.
Just then, the squad leader, Dragon Soul, spoke up. "Silver Fox, we’re operating alongside elite troops this time. When the time comes, cut the jokes. The army’s Commander won’t appreciate it."
Silver Fox shrugged. "Got it."
Dragon Soul then turned to Chen Na. "Chen Na, stick with Silver Fox. If there’s danger, she’ll protect you. Don’t run off on your own, no matter what."
Chen Na nodded. ’Even though they still see me as a kid who needs coddling, after everything I’ve been through, I’m much more mature than others my age.’
’I know I’m here on a mission and they might need my abilities, so I have to take this seriously.’
’Even though I’m still young, I already understand the principle of equivalent exchange.’
’If Dr. Zhang Minglu didn’t value my abilities, he wouldn’t have kept me here, let alone arranged a job for my mother in a base of this level—something countless people on the outside would beg for.’
It was because she understood this that when Dr. Zhang asked for her opinion, she had agreed without hesitation to join the Dragon Soul Squad’s operation and provide assistance.
The group of six took the elevator to a massive staging area on the ground floor. Here, a large contingent of soldiers was already in formation, fully equipped and ready to depart.
It was the first time Chen Na had seen so many soldiers in person, not on a screen, and she was astonished.
Even Black Shark from the Dragon Soul Squad was surprised. He stared at the neat rows of troops and muttered to Dragon Soul, "Captain, this many people for one operation? This must be the strength of a reinforced armored battalion... Whoa, and anti-air support, too. Have they confirmed there are flying Nightmare Beasts now?"
"Quiet down, Black Shark. Don’t forget our mission," Dragon Soul said. "We’re investigating deep inside the Mist. It’s only right to have more manpower."
After saying this, Dragon Soul went to have a brief exchange with the army’s Commander. Afterward, everyone boarded their vehicles, and on the Commander’s order, they officially set out.
...
「Somewhere in the Soloma Empire.」
Four women with sharp, foreign features pushed open a door and entered a room. The room was filled to the brim, with all sorts of occult items covering the walls and floor—Tarot Cards, Turtle Shells, bells, Ritual Knives... The list went on.
Behind a long table sat a woman, huddled in her chair. She was completely enveloped in a long blanket embroidered with a starry pattern, revealing only an unnaturally pale face dotted with a few freckles.
When the four women entered, the seated woman merely lifted her eyelids for a glance before immediately lowering her gaze back to a Crystal Ball on the table. Inside it was a deep blue, moon-shaped key.
"Adam," one of the four women called softly to someone outside the door. "Come in. It’s her, the Divination Master ’Moon Key’."
"I’m so sorry to disturb your peace~"
Adam, a slender man with shoulder-length golden hair, walked into the room, showing an extremely respectful attitude toward the woman behind the table.
This displeased the four women. They believed that Adam, as the strongest Ascender in the country, had no need to be so humble before a mere charlatan.
The woman behind the long table glanced at Adam and spoke. "What... is it?"
Her voice was hoarse, and her manner of speaking was strange, as if she were out of practice from not having spoken in a long time.
Adam said, "I’ve come to ask you, the renowned Divination Master Moon Key, for a Prophecy regarding the ninth pattern rule. It’s strange, but ever since that rule was announced, I’ve felt a persistent unease."
"Prophecy... consumes a lot of Psychic Power. I still... haven’t recovered," the woman called Moon Key stammered.
"I’ve already considered that."
Adam took out two medicinal vials and placed them on the table.
"One of them temporarily increases your maximum Psychic Power, and the other instantly restores all of it."
The woman nodded, took the potions, and used them.
She then gazed at the Crystal Ball in her hands, muttering some kind of incantation.
Before long, the deep blue key inside the Crystal Ball began to glow faintly and rotate.
The woman closed her eyes, seemingly receiving guidance from the key. This process lasted a full five minutes. As the key stopped rotating, the woman’s eyes opened.
She looked at Adam, but her pupils were unfocused, as if staring into nothing. "I saw... a door. An open door, hidden deep within the Mist. The door leads to... a terrifying world. Monsters... countless monsters are pouring out..."
’A door?’
The four women exchanged glances, not understanding what she meant.