Chapter 680: Entering Zero City

Chapter 680 Entering Zero City 

Nicole woke up from her sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw the ceiling up above.

“You are awake?” Tian Lie’s lazy voice rang out from beside her.

Nicole quickly sat up to see Tian Lie in a partially lying posture beside her, his head leaning against the bed’s headboard. He was gulping down a bottle of wine.

The bottle of wine in his mouth was Spirytus Rektyfikowany, a vodka from Poland, with a 96 per cent alcohol content. Nicknamed the ‘water of life’, it could no longer be considered wine. 

Even in Russia, where alcohol was as important as life itself, this thing was only ever used as distilled beverage. No one in their right mind would drink it just like that.

Tian Lie was taking big gulps of it, like drinking water.

Beside him were several empty bottles. There were a few more unopened bottles on the bedside table, all of them were the water of life.

However, Nicole was not paying attention to the binge drinking Tian Lie. Rather, it was their surroundings.

The two of them were still lying on the bed with the old TV set lying before them.

The wardrobe remained open, the stone emitting a bright, green light.

There was a coat rack at the side.

The place… … was clearly the same room that they were in earlier.

“Failed?” Nicole frowned. She turned over, getting up from the bed and turning to face Tian Lie. “The two fellows lied to you?”

Tian Lie shrugged as he continued gulping down the bottle of alcohol, not saying anything in response.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” Nicole cast a cold gaze at Tian Lie. “You have so much alcohol inside your storage equipment? I did not know you like drinking so much.”

“I do not have the hobby of bringing these things. When I went out earlier, I picked these up.” Having emptied another bottle, Tian Lie burped before gently placing the bottle on the bedside table. “I saw that you were sleeping peacefully. Waking you up just didn’t feel right. If women want to have good skin, they need to have enough sleep. Don’t you even know that? Do the females in your Angel Corps all live such harsh lives?”

“What nonsense?” Nicole scoffed and turned toward the bedroom door. “You can stay here and drink if you want. I am leaving.”

Tian Lie grinned and he made a ‘as you please’ gesture.

Watching Tian Lie continue to lie lazily on the bed, Nicole let out a muffled harrumph before opening the bedroom door.

Since there was no way to enter Zero City, she should try some other approach. Searching through some information sources within the Awakened circle might net her some news about finding Zero City.

However, the moment she pulled open the door, Nicole was stunned.

She could clearly remember it. Outside the bedroom, there should be a living room.

At present, the living room was no more!

Before her was a damaged and broken wall, utterly ruined.

Not far from the door was the wreckage of a Sentinel mech. Only half of the mech’s body remained.

Further ahead were even more wreckages of combat equipment, and…

Corpses.

Some were generally whole, some were cut in half while others were left with only unidentifiable pieces…

Almost all of the surrounding buildings had collapsed. Not a single intact building could be found.

Right before her was a three-storey building. Only half of its signboard remained on top of its door while the other half had fallen to the ground.

The neon lights on the signboard had gone utterly dark. However, its words could still be made out.

Barrett Restaurant.

This used to be Nicole's favourite restaurant…

When she was in Zero City.

“That shop is very lucky. Their wine store was not destroyed.”

Tian Lie had, at an unknown moment, quietly appeared behind Nicole.

“You…” Nicole jerked her head back and glared at Tian Lie. “We have arrived at Zero City. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Finding it out yourself, isn’t it more interesting?” Tian Lie smiled. “After waking up, I enjoyed this moment of despair turning into happiness. I cannot be so selfish as to deprive this moment from you.”

Nicole took a deep breath, forcing down the impulse to summon her Floater to brutally smack this annoying fellow.

“I am waiting for you to go out.” Tian Lie had both his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at Nicole. “How long do you plan on standing at the door?”

“You stink of alcohol.” Rolling her eyes at Tian Lie, Nicole stepped out.

After stepping outside, Nicole looked back.

Looking out from the door, it had looked as though the room was located beside a street. However, after stepping out from the door, she could no longer see the room. There was only a partially ruined wall there.

“It is a backdoor, after all. It has to be hidden. Just remember its location.” After emerging from the wall, Tian Lie realized what Nicole was thinking about.

“Since we have arrived at Zero City, let’s split up. You go find your friend while I go find mine,” said Nicole coolly. 

“Fine. However, where are your friends?”

Tian Lie’s question stunned Nicole.

Right! Where?

The surrounding areas were filled with wreckages of combat equipment and corpses. Clearly, many days had passed since then.

All was quiet. Be it human voices or the sound of explosions, there were none.

The battle had ended long ago.

Would there still be anyone alive?

The Board of Patriarchs?

The competition arena?

Angel Corps headquarters?

Only then did Nicole realized. She had been wanting to return to Zero City. However, she never properly considered what she should do to find the information she wanted.

“Don’t think to much about it. Just follow me.” Tian Lie laughed out and walked along the street. “If Shen is really trapped inside Zero City, there will be no other Awakened ones within this city. Follow me, let’s go find him.”

“Find Shen? The Guild Leader of Thorn Flower Guild? Are you not afraid that I will kill him to avenge my companions?” Nicole snapped out coldly.

Tian Lie jerked his head backward to stare at Nicole with widened eyes. The expression on his face, it seemed as though he was looking at an idiot.

Nicole stood straight and she looked back at Tian Lie fearlessly.

After some time, Tian Lie let out a soft sigh and shook his head. “Thankfully, I am the only one who heard those words. If we do end up meeting Shen later on… … I hope you will not utter that nonsense in front of him again. Never! Listen, I don’t care what kind of bloody Angel Corps pride you have. However… … life is the most important thing.”

Seeing Nicole’s eyes narrowing, light flashed across Tian Lie’s eyes. Abruptly, his hand shot out to grab Nicole’s neck, pinning her to the wall behind her.

His movements were too fast, so much so that Nicole found herself pinned even before she could react.

Nicole’s face reddened and she quickly summoned out her Floater. Hovering behind Tian Lie, it directed its energy cannons at his back. However, it did not immediately open fire.

“Listen up, little Floating Angel.” Tian Lie ignored the Floater threatening his back. However, he loosened his grip slightly and said in a whisper, “You may think of yourself as very courageous. However, your words earlier are not courageous at all. That is stupidity, recklessness, naivety, ignorance. It is definitely not courage!

“With my present level of strength, I only need to suffer from some light injuries to kill you. However… … Shen’s power is something that I have never understood. However, I can responsibly say, for him, killing you won’t even make him break a sweat!

“Do you still not understand why I did not want you to come here with me? Why I do not want you to move about on your own now? It is because I am afraid you will run around and bump into Shen! Do you understand?!

“Even though I have left Thorned Flower Guild, there is at least a personal friendship between Shen and me. We can still be considered… … partial friends. For my sake, he will not kill you. However, if, after meeting him, you continue uttering those words of stupidity, I cannot guarantee your life, understand?!”

Since the two of them were resurrected, this was the first time Tian Lie spoke with such ferocity toward Nicole.

After saying that, he released his grip. However, he continued to stare at Nicole. “You just want to know where the survivors of Zero City had gone to. About that matter, I do not know if Shen has that knowledge. If he does, I will get him to tell you. Then, you can quickly leave this place. In the past, he had divulged a little of his heartfelt thoughts to me. His objective is Zero City, not the residents of Zero City. As long as you do not provoke him or stop him from getting his objective, he will not wilfully kill you.”

The instant Tian Lie released his grip, Nicole jumped away. However, she did not summon the Floater to fused with herself. She simply gasped for breath, her chest heaving up and down.

“That is all I want to say. I am not trying to frighten or threaten you. I am just telling you a fundamental fact.” Tian Lie sighed softly. “Don’t think you have been humiliated. True humiliation is not the inability to understand the difference in strength between yourself and others. Rather, it is when you can clearly see the difference, yet refusing to accept the difference.”

“I understand…” Nicole gasped for some time before turning to face Tian Lie. “Thank you for your lesson, Thorned Flower Guild’s Inspector, Mr Tian Lie.”

“See?” Tian Lie gave her a glare. The solemn expression that was just on his face disappeared and he suddenly let out a laugh. Whistling out, he said, “Women! Even though they know the words they hear are the truth, as long as it does not suit their belief, they will throw a fit.”

“I am throwing a fit?” Nicole retorted coldly.

“Of course not.” Tian Lie grinned. “I mean to say; this bad habit is something that only women have. As for you, in my heart, you are not a woman. I am praising you, little Floating Angel.”

After saying that, Tian Lie turned and continued walking down the street.

“Then, I truly thank you.” Nicole said coolly as she followed Tian Lie, three steps behind him.

Tian Lie slowly walked down the street, occasionally looking around. Behind him, Nicole’s brows slowly furrowed up.

“You… … can’t you move faster?”

Tian Lie turned, casting a startled look at Nicole. “I… … why should I go faster?”

“Aren’t you very anxious?” Nicole pursed her lips to the side. “You said before, Shen is your friend, right? You went to so much trouble to finally arrive at Zero City, all for the sake of finding him. Why are you suddenly not anxious now?”

“Your words are very reasonable.” Tian Lie nodded his head solemnly. “If that is the case, I will have to trouble you to lead the way so that we can quickly find Shen, all right?”

“How do I know where he is at?” Nicole rolled her eyes.

“Oh… … so, you do not know where he is at.” A look of realization was etched on Tian Lie’s face. “Then, take a guess, do I know where he is?”

“You!” Nicole immediately understood that Tian Lie was ridiculing her. She grew so infuriated that she glared at him.

“See? Since we do not know where he is at, we have no objective. What can we do? We can only walk around. Who knows? We might bump into him all of a sudden,” said Tian Lie with a smile. “Hey, this place… … is originally a commercial district, right?”

“Mm.” Nicole made an assenting sound.

“Not bad. Honestly, I have never actually gone sightseeing before.” Tian Lie pursed his lips to the side with a smile as both his hands went up to clutch the back of his head. “If so, let me accompany you sightseeing.”

“Sightseeing? Is your head damaged?” Nicole glared at Tian Lie. “You want to, at a place like this… … go sightseeing?”

Ruined walls surround them, filled with traces of explosions and blood. The area was littered with corpses.

The place should have been a bustling area. At present, however, it was filled with the air of death.

“Why not?” Tian Lie smiled. “I don’t intend on using money to buy anything anyways. It is just for amusement. Since you are an Angel Corps member who lived in Zero City, you should remember how this place originally looks like, right?”

“Of course.” Nicole nodded.

“Then, let’s start with this place.” Tian Lie stretched out his hand to point at a collapsed building beside the street. “What is that building?”

“This was a lodge for travellers, a hotel. In addition to providing accommodation, the red wine in their hotel was the best here.” Nicole swept a glance at the building and recalled for a moment before quickly continuing. “This was one of Rodriar Guild’s downline business.”

“Mm, I killed six of their guys before.” Tian Lie nodded his head and his paced slowed slightly, letting Nicole walk ahead. “What about this pile of rubble?”

“Ripple Pub. Its boss is one of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild’s peripheral follower. His strength is only average. However, as he had managed to grab onto a good thigh, he could get residential rights within Zero City. Their signature item was their ale. However, many people do like their blueberry pie.”

“Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild. I did not have much dealings with them. I think I have only killed two from their guild. What about this one?”

“Lightning Emperor Café. Theirs was the only shop in Zero City that supplied top-grade Blue Mountain coffee. However… their toasts were as hard as stone and their baguettes were as soft as eunuchs. It was a business under the Knights of Darkness.”

“Hmm, I remember a guy from their guild. His name is… Jacob. His skill is pretty good, capable of escaping from me.” Tian Lie suddenly turned to regard Nicole from top to bottom. “I say, how did you know how soft eunuchs are?”

“If you still want me to introduce the places, then shut your mouth.” Nicole sent a harrumph at Tian Lie, ignoring his provoking question. She then continued to introduce the other shops.

The two of them continued walking forward. Along the way, Nicole continued talking about the places to Tian Lie. In her mind, the ruined district before her gradually transformed back to its original form.

Tian Lie held both hands behind his back and slowly walked behind Nicole, listening to her. Hearing Nicole mention the name of the resident guilds of Zero City, he would then mention how he had killed some of their members.

“That is pretty much it for the South District. If we keep moving forward, we will reach… … the beach.” Nicole hesitated for a moment, not calling it the Sea of Love.

“Mm.” Tian Lie nodded his head. It was unknown what he was thinking.

“Just now, you said that you have never went sightseeing before. Is that true?” Nicole glanced at Tian Lie.

“That is not some amazing thing. Is it worth lying about that to you?” Tian Lie rolled his eyes.

“Why?”

“Why? Naturally, because I am poor!” Tian Lie laughed out. “Before becoming an Awakened, I had to work hard from dawn till dusk, earning a pittance to subsist. Rushing through each day in a muddleheaded manner, where could I find the money and time to go sightseeing? As for after I became an Awakened… … I spent every day killing. How could I find the mood to go sightseeing? Besides, I am alone. What sightseeing? As for the others from Thorned Flower Guild, be it the Players or the Awakened ones, all of them would distance themselves from me.”

Nicole turned to look at Tian Lie. “So… … that is why you wanted to go sightseeing?”

“No.” Tian Lie shook his head. “It is just a sudden whim. Forget it, let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“First, tell me the layout of Zero City. Only then, can I know where to go. All the information you have, including the secret places.” Tian Lie looked at Nicole. “Why do I get the feeling that you are not using your brain as much?”

“You want to inquire information about Zero City?” Nicole frowned.

Tian Lie heavily slapped his forehead and groaned painfully. “Oh, heaven… … little Floating Angel. What is wrong with you? Do you not see what is before you? Zero City is dead! Utterly destroyed! Have you ever heard of someone expending a great deal of effort to find out the weakness of a dead man, researching how to kill a dead man?”

The moment Nicole said those words, she realized that she had made a mistake. However, hearing Tian Lie’s sarcastic retort, she gave him a glare.

She herself did not understand it. Why was it that when she was together with this person, who was once her enemy, she will subconsciously make stupid decisions.

Nicole crouched down. Her Floater equipped itself onto her right arm and a short metal blade extended outward. Using it, she started drawing on the ground.

“This is the central plaza, the most commonly used teleportation point for entering and exiting Zero City is here.

“There are four streets extending out from the central plaza. They are separated into four directions, east, south, west, north.

“We are currently at the South District, which also serves as the business district. All the shops here provide living facilities, such as hotels and restaurants. We had gone through a considerable area here, but we did not find Shen. As for the Sea of… … the beach, I think he will not rush there for no reason.

“The West and North Districts are also commercial districts. Only, one is a flea market for Awakened ones to sell items while the other is… … something of an official shop area for Zero City. The chances of Shen appearing in these two districts is small.

“That leaves only the East District. The district for the governing institutions of Zero City and the headquarters of the resident guilds are all located there.

Nicole drew a rough map. Finally, she jabbed her metal blade at a point in the East District. “If we want to find Shen, this place is the most likely spot.”

“Governing institutions? Does that include the headquarters of your Angel Corps?” Tian Lie gave the map a brief glance, his eye brows raised as he asked Nicole.

“As the security force for Zero City, the Angel Corps is a core part of it. Naturally, it is also located there.” Nicole nodded her head.

“Interesting… … later, let’s go have a tour around the place. For someone nicknamed the Angel Killer to one day be led by an Angel into their headquarters for a tour… I have never imagined this day would come.” Tian Lie smiled. “Other than the headquarters for the resident guilds and Angel Corps, are there any other institutions?”

“There are not too many buildings left. The most important ones left are the following three…

“The Arbitration Centre, if there is a dispute between Awakened ones and they are willing to let Zero City settle the matter for them, they can go there.

“The Arena. When personal grudges and even that of guilds reach a point where they could not accept the ruling made by Zero City, they can go there to resolve it. Blood Verdict is also held there.

“The Board of Patriarchs building, the place where the seven resident guilds would discuss daily matters, Zero City’s main control system is there.” After saying that, Nicole raised her head to look at Tian Lie. “I think, the place you want to go should be the Board of Patriarchs building.”

“Yes. Finally, your intelligence has returned to normal.”

Tian Lie grinned. “Lead the way, then. Lead this former Inspector of Thorned Flower Guild to your Zero City’s Board of Patriarchs building, my dear Floating Angel!”

…