CH 52

TL: Hua

Pushing open the bedroom door, the warm yellow wall lamp on the wall outside gave the corridor a hazy veil. Ji Mingjiang didn’t rush out but listened carefully for a few seconds to the distant movement. He found that it was still as calm as before, as if nothing had happened, then he lifted his leg and walked out of the room.

The feeling of walking on the ground is very different from the feeling of moving in a holographic space. The water stains on his body that haven’t dried out also make the shirt and trousers stick tightly to his skin. After becoming a mermaid, the sense of constraint and unfamiliarity that he hadn’t felt for a long time forced Ji Mingjiang’s movements to slow down.

But the slowness of his action did not affect his use of mental power.

The spiritual sea that had been churning since some of his mental power had lost contact with Clarice was guided by Ji Mingjiang and surged out, enveloping the entire palace in an instant.

The transparent mental power crisscrossed in mid-air, causing the air to fluctuate silently. The distribution of guards inside and outside the palace was transmitted to Ji Mingjiang’s mind in real time through the perception of these mental power threads.

Due to Clarice’s constant vigilance, no one was left inside the building. Only a group of guards is arranged to patrol in the direction of the gate, and the guards in other places also have fixed patrol routes.

After a cursory glance, Ji Mingjiang had a plan for his course of action. He planned to go to the highest point of the palace first, which is also the watchtower at the highest point of the capital star. If he spread his mental power there, he could find Clarice’s location in the shortest time.

Ji Mingjiang, who had gradually adapted to his original human body, sped up his pace. The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor and stairwell.

Then, at the next corner, Ji Mingjiang kicked his legs and jumped up, grabbed the lamp post embedded in the wall with one hand, and forcibly reversed his direction.

The raised cloak brushed gently over the lampshade without disturbing the crackling flames within.

“Who’s there!” Ji Mingjiang asked sharply as he looked at the dark corner ahead that was not within the range of the wall lamp.

At the same time, his mind quickly recalled the structure of the palace. If he looked at the 3D terrain map that Clarice had shown him before, it should be an emergency passage that is usually locked, and only Rowlett and the patrol captain that day had the key.

Thinking of this, Ji Mingjiang’s heart tightened.

Whether it was an accident with Rowlett or today’s patrol team, it’s not a good sign…

No, wait.

After a short period of disorientation, Ji Mingjiang quickly calmed down.

If he remembered correctly, there should be glass windows in the emergency passage, and in order to facilitate escape, the windows are made of ordinary glass instead of special materials.

So it’s not impossible to attack or evade the patrolling guards, break the window, and sneak in.

Countless guesses flashed through his mind, and Ji Mingjiang’s eyes were still fixed on that quiet corner.

The other party’s breathing was much lighter, and his reluctance to come out may be because he didn’t want to attract attention in order to achieve some ulterior purpose.

But no matter how careful the intruder was, he would never have guessed that Ji Mingjiang’s overly buggy mental power was like a 360° detector with no dead ends. His carefully hidden figure was no different from a naked man running in front of Ji Mingjiang.

The reason why Ji Mingjiang suddenly noticed his existence was also due to his wandering mental power that happened to meet this sneaky person.

“Don’t hide! Come out quickly. I’ll give you an easy death.”

With every second that passes, Clarice’s spiritual sea might become more dangerous. Ji Mingjiang pursed his lips. He didn’t have the time to play tug-of-war with this guy and took big strides towards his hiding place.

As soon as he reached the corner, Ji Mingjiang staggered slightly and turned sideways to avoid the oncoming electric shock baton.

The electric shock baton covered with a layer of high-voltage current missed and then turned around without pausing and continued to hit Ji Mingjiang. The whistling blue-purple electric light scorched the white soft fur on the edge of Ji Mingjiang’s hood, and other fur that was not directly affected also curled up.

After the tip of his nose caught the burning smell, the corners of Ji Mingjiang’s eyes twitched slightly, and he looked at the assailant who was forced into the corridor by him with a bad expression.

This is terrible! It’s not his own clothes!

After seeing the other party’s appearance clearly, Ji Mingjiang discovered that this man pretty much dressed like him in the holographic game. He was dressed in black night clothes and wore a mask that perfectly fitted his skin. The entire person was tightly wrapped, only showing a pair of triangle eyes.

While Ji Mingjiang was looking at him up and down, the person across from him was not idle either. However, after seeing Ji Mingjiang’s face clearly,his appearance as if facing a formidable enemy just now disappeared instantly.

First he laughed a few times in a strange tone, and then he said ambiguously, “It seems that my intelligence is wrong? Doesn’t Clarice always dislike people moving around inside his palace? Or is it that you are his secretly kept mistress?”

As he spoke, Ji Mingjiang felt the cold and sticky eyes of the man in black tightly pressed against his face, and the familiar nausea quickly reminded him of the python he had fought in holographic space before. After frowning in disgust and noticing the other person’s suddenly relaxed body language, Ji Mingjiang unceremoniously approached him.

The electric shock baton that was waved up in a hurry completely lost its role as a concealed weapon in the well-lit corridor. Ji Mingjiang didn’t even need his mental power to make any further warnings. The action of the other party waving the electric shock baton at him was like slow motion in his eyes.

After approaching the intruder within five steps, Ji Mingjiang slightly lowered his body and slid closer to the opponent. Then, under his incredulous gaze and violently revolving arm, he bent his knees and swept his legs, throwing the person heavily to the ground.

Accompanied by a loud muffled sound and a cry of pain, the electric shock baton changed back to the appearance of an ordinary black stick with excellent concealment. It fell from mid-air to the ground and rolled to Ji Mingjiang’s feet.

Ji Mingjiang bent down to pick up the murderous weapon but didn’t move yet. The thread of mental power that had been silently present in the air was keenly aware of the sudden fluctuation of mental power of the man on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the mental power with the same cold breath as the jungle python suddenly counterattacked!

But just three centimeters away from his body, it was tightly intertwined with the threads of restless mental power.

Although the fight between the two just now wasn’t too long, the commotion was not small. After hearing the movement of the guards outside, Ji Mingjiang glanced at the man in black with resentful eyes and waved the heavy electric shock baton in his hand.

In the next second, the familiar blue-purple electric light wrapped around the metal rod again, but this time the wielder and the person about to be electrocuted were switched.

“Don’t worry, I won’t just electrocute you to death like this; it’s too cheap for you.” No longer wasting time, Ji Mingjiang quickly picked up the person who was limp on the ground and constantly crawling backward and lightly pressed the electric shock baton onto his neck.

Before he fell into a coma, a touch of silver hair that looked glossy and smooth even under the hood was reflected in his pair of triangle eyes.

“! Who are you……”

“Who’s there!”

The shocked words were engulfed by the shouts and noisy footsteps of the guards downstairs. Ji Mingjiang glanced strangely at the person who seemed to have something to say but passed out. Ji Mingjiang looked strangely at the person who seemed to have something to say but had fainted. After careful consideration, he still didn’t leave this guy here but instead took him out of the shattered window of the emergency passage and ran towards the direction of the watchtower.

The moonless night and the well-growing green plants in the palace provided good cover for Ji Mingjiang and the person in his hands. After successfully avoiding the patrolling guards and reaching the top of the watchtower, he casually dropped the human sack to the ground and stepped on him with one foot.

The mental power spread out again, and the scope expanded from the imperial palace to the central city, then the main city, the outer city… and finally all the way to the suburbs that are mainly used as leisure venues.

Taking the entire Capital Star as a reference, no matter how strong Clarice’s mental power is and how noble his status is, he’s now just a grain of sand that has been integrated into the vast land. It required Ji Mingjiang’s efforts to weed out the interfering items to successfully find him.

Spreading out mental power in a large area while doing meticulous work is still a bit difficult for Ji Mingjiang, who has not received systematic mental power training. The man in black on the cold floor was shivering in a coma, but Ji Mingjiang’s forehead was slowly dripping with cold sweat.

Finally, when the mental power in the spiritual sea was about to be emptied by him, Ji Mingjiang violently opened his eyes, staggered a little weakly, and stomped on the person under his feet, who let out a muffled groan from his sudden forceful movement.

The released mental power was slowly withdrawn. Feeling the refilled spiritual sea and the returning strength, Ji Mingjiang exhaled heavily.

“I finally found you……”

There is actually a device to shield mental power where Clarice is, but the effect is not obvious.

After opening the map on the light brain, Ji Mingjiang picked up the half-dead guy on the ground with his toes, looked under the watchtower, and then jumped straight down.

“Uh! Uhhh!!!”

The sudden gust of wind blew off the hood on Ji Mingjiang’s head, and a head of silver hair danced in the air. Ji Mingjiang roughly grabbed the fluttering hair in his hand.

The man in black, who was awakened by the strong wind, just opened his eyes and saw such a scene. However, at this moment, he had no intention of admiring the beauty but was shocked by the sense of weightlessness and shouted frantically.

It’s just that those unintelligible words that might be begging or insulting were tightly blocked by the mask that was stuffed into his mouth at some point.

As he was about to approach the ground, Ji Mingjiang released his grip on his hair and lightly grasped the window on the outside of the watchtower. The man who was trembling wildly in his hand did not affect his ability to roll over and release his strength.

“You can carry out assassinations with your psychological quality?” After his legs landed on the ground, Ji Mingjiang first glanced at the intact ground and then, out of disdain, mocked the man in black who was too shaken to get up.

“Uh-uh-uh! Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh!”

–“F*ck you, you think everyone is as crazy as you are!”

“uh-huh, uh-huh!”

“I didn’t come to assassinate you either!”

When he was picked up again, Zhang Cheng, who had already recognized Ji Mingjiang’s identity, completely gave up resistance. Now he’s not quite sure whether he has transmigrated to a parallel world after stepping into the palace or whether he has fallen into some kind of mental trap.

How else to explain a mermaid suddenly growing human legs, knocking him down with one punch, and jumping off a f*cking high watchtower while carrying a person…

Sure enough, he’s gone crazy, haha. He knew that sooner or later he, who was always doing things for the Orfield family, would suffer retribution, but this day came too early.

Ji Mingjiang gave a strange look to the triangle-eyed man who suddenly gave up his resistance. Although he didn’t know what this man was thinking with his crazy expression, it had nothing to do with him.

Not far from the watchtower is an exit of the imperial palace. There are guards patrolling the entrance. Ji Mingjiang pulled up his hood again, and after a brief observation from left to right, he found a wall with a brief patrol gap. Then he tumbled out with the numb-faced, triangle-eyed man.

Outside the palace, although there are patrols jointly arranged by the Security Office and the Public Security Bureau with the main purpose of maintaining law and order, the patrol strength and sensitivity of these people are naturally greatly reduced compared to the guards in the palace. Ji Mingjiang successfully avoided them without much effort, following the guidance of the map in the direction where Clarice was.

“No no no!”

“Brother, where are you going? Do you really not want to take a taxi? I’m going to throw up, brother! I can be your hostage or prisoner of war. Please be nice to me, brother!”

Zhang Cheng, who had already given up struggling, shouted in horror after Ji Mingjiang accelerated his speed.

What a joke!

Zhang Cheng looked at the building beside him that was about to become an afterimage, and his heart collapsed.

This is land, not water; this is a mermaid, not a superfish! His brain is about to shake out!

“Shut up, don’t yell, or do you want to get a taste of your own electric baton again?”

As he advanced at high speed, Ji Mingjiang held onto the brim of his hat with one hand, and even had time to look down at the triangle-eyed man, who was starting to not cooperate with his work again, and warned in a cold voice.

“…”

Zhang Cheng didn’t dare to speak any more. God really has no mercy on him. Can any police patrol come and save him?

Finally, when Zhang Cheng was about to throw up due to dizziness, his body, which had been floating all the time, suddenly touched the ground.

Although various debuffs such as dizziness, weightlessness, and nausea suddenly surged up as he stood on his own, causing him to fall directly to the ground, Zhang Cheng’s excited tears still filled his narrow eyes in an instant.

“Hey.” Ji Mingjiang pinched the mask in his mouth and pulled it out with two fingers. After looking at it with disgust, Ji Mingjiang waved the electric shock baton with one hand, and his smile was as warm and amiable as the sunshine of December. He asked, “Do you know how to get into this place?”

Hearing his words, Zhang Cheng, who was still a little dazed, immediately sober up, only to realize that he was now behind a billboard and look in the direction indicated by Ji Mingjiang’s eyes.

“…”

“?”

Looking at the building in the distance with a sign that read “Manic Phase Protection Station”, Zhang Cheng’s eyes were dull.

If he remembers correctly, in order to prevent the beastmen in the manic period from affecting the surrounding buildings or residents, such protective stations are generally chosen to be built near the suburbs.

He was caught in the palace in the central city, right?

“Tsk, I’m asking you how to get in.” Seeing the man in black squatting on the ground with blank eyes and not speaking, Ji Mingjiang was anxious inside, and his tone became more and more irritable.

“T-this protection station usually transports people directly by the official ambulance after confirming that the beastmen have entered a manic period or calling for help. There is no way for individuals to go in directly.”

Shocked by Ji Mingjiang’s sudden harsh tone, Zhang Cheng spilled all the information he knew.

“So, how do I get in?”

“…”

Seeing Ji Mingjiang’s persistent face and then thinking of what Bisna Orfeild said to reassure him when he gave him this task—”Don’t worry, when that time comes, Clarice won’t be able to spare his mind to worry about a mermaid anymore.”

Zhang Cheng swallowed and said tremblingly, “You… His Majesty is inside?”

Ji Mingjiang stared at him and nodded.

Zhang Cheng: …

“I’ll think of something. I’ll think of something.” He straightened up with trembling legs, fumbled for all the gadgets he was carrying, and cursed that son of a B Bisnar Orfeild in his heart.

If something really happened to Clarice, how could he, who knew the inside story, be spared? And if the plan fails, then he can’t escape the tyrant’s wrath, and he even suspects that he might be dealt with by the Orfeild family before he is caught by Clarice.

They both just didn’t want him to live, right?

While cursing in his heart, he took out a window breaker from his trouser pocket. Zhang Cheng handed it to Ji Mingjiang tremblingly and explained: “The windows of this kind of protection station are usually specially made, so you can use this to crack it open.”

“…”

Ji Mingjiang gave him a very speechless look, thinking that this man was going to pull out something good, but it turned out that he still had to break the window to get in.

“Forget it.” He threw the window breaker back and said, “I’ll do it myself.”

After walking a few steps forward, Ji Mingjiang didn’t hear the sound of footsteps and looked back at the man in black who was still standing there. He slowly narrowed his eyes and said, “Why aren’t you following? You want me to knock you out first?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Putting the window breaker in his hand back into his pocket, Zhang Cheng dragged his aching legs and struggled to keep up with Ji Mingjiang’s pace.

Then he saw the heroic figure of Ji Mingjiang smashing the special bulletproof and shockproof glass with a punch.

“…”

Sorry, he shouldn’t have judged a mermaid with a human’s logic.

After the glass was shattered, only a layer of cracks appeared on the surface, which happened to be convenient for Ji Mingjiang to remove the piece of glass silently.

After poking his head into the inner corridor from the outside, Ji Mingjiang, who didn’t notice anyone else or the camera, picked up the collar of the man who was lying quietly below and landed lightly on the ground.

“Be quiet; if you alert people here, I’ll kill you.” After threatening in a low voice, Ji Mingjiang let go of his hand, and his mental power went out again.

This protection station is probably built with insulating materials as a whole, and it’s extremely difficult for mental power to wander through it.

Ji Mingjiang glanced at the time on the light brain. Half an hour had passed since he lost contact with the mental power he had placed in Clarice. This half-hour was already long enough for someone whose mental power was out of control.

Thinking of this, Ji Mingjiang frowned and once again increased the intensity of his mental power detection.

Finally, when his mood became more and more anxious, the mental power that had been released for three minutes suddenly wavered with some joy.

That’s… the aura of Rowlett’s mental power!

Ji Mingjiang’s eyes lit up. He picked up the collar of the person behind him and rushed to the location detected by the mental power thread at a speed that ordinary people could not match.

“Rowlett!”

Arriving at the location on the basement floor, Ji Mingjiang saw the chief steward, who was guarding the door with a worried look on his face.

He walked over quickly, met Rowlett’s shocked and bewildered eyes, and asked directly, “How’s Clarice?”

“His Majesty is inside. I don’t know much about his situation…” After answering the question from this familiar person out of reflex, Rowlett took a step back and asked with a trembling beard, “Wait, you, you’re His Highness Ji Mingjiang?”

Ji Mingjiang took off his hood and nodded.

Worried that Rowlett would suspect that he was being impersonated, he also thoughtfully released a little mental power to give the old steward a little spiritual counseling.

Rowlett blinked vigorously. His eyes wandered repeatedly on Ji Mingjiang’s face and legs, and finally his eyes stayed on the clothes he was wearing.

He was so vigilant and shocked just now that he didn’t even recognize that the suit and cloak on Ji Mingjiang were from Leiden’s closet, and he was the one who picked them out at that time…

“…”

Okay, although he doesn’t know why the little mermaid suddenly grew two legs or how he chased them all the way here, although…

Although I can’t stand this anymore!

Rowlett slowly covered his heart and kept taking deep breaths to try to calm himself down.

“Then what thing are you carrying in your hand, Your Highness?”

Since Ji Mingjiang’s identity was confirmed, Rowlett simply put aside all the points that had shocked him for three hundred years and turned his attention to the black sack that Ji Mingjiang was holding in his hand.

“I’m not a thing; I’m a person…”

Although it felt as if he was cursing himself, Zhang Cheng weakly justified himself.

“Oh, this person. It seems that he has something to do with Clarice’s sudden mental riot. He took the opportunity to sneak into the palace with some ulterior motives. I haven’t asked yet.”

Hearing Rowlett mention the man in his hand, Ji Mingjiang suddenly realized something, let go of his fingers, and threw the triangle-eyed man to the ground.

“Let’s not talk about this person; isn’t Clarice in a bad state now?”

Ji Mingjiang could vaguely hear some sounds coming from the room in front of him, but he couldn’t hear them very accurately and couldn’t determine Clarice’s state based on them, so he had to look at Rowlett again.

“Can this door be opened? Let me in.”

“This……”

Rowlett was a bit hesitant. Leiden had come straight to this place after realizing he might have been induced into an early manic period. He had specifically instructed him not to mention it to Ji Mingjiang or give him any explanation for not returning at night.

But as long as he didn’t say anything…

Looking at Ji Mingjiang, who couldn’t hide his anxiety, Rowlett gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll open the door for you.”