Chapter 216: The Past Cannot Be Retrieved
There were no pedestrians on the street, a girl with an umbrella walked alone, crossing the complicated streets.
The torrential raindrops formed a closed curtain, the rain which was not big originally suddenly gained momentum and grew more intense. The girl's face had already been soaked by the wind and rain.
Mu Ling remained silent.
She thought there was something wrong between Yin and Professor Carol.
Even though she wasn't sure what the problem was exactly, her strong intuition had already alerted her. As a hunter, Mu Ling naturally believes in her own intuition's cues.
"Boom."
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Mu Ling was standing in the pouring rain with an umbrella. She lifted her head and gazed up at the dark and lightless sky, letting the raindrops fall on her face.
She cared a little about something that Yin said to her before they left.
"The person that you believe in the most, is actually the person you love."
"......"
Mu Ling knows who she trusts the most.
So, I... have fallen in love with the Savior of the Babel Tower?
This is an impossible thing.
In every sense, it's impossible. It's impossible that I would like him and impossible that he would like me, and moreover, they themselves are also impossible.
The girl murmured in the rain, "But I have always believed that the connection between us is not ordinary, even more than what destiny has given."
--
Blood flowed down the blade, mixed with rainwater.
Seven people were killed in a dark alleyway.
Each person's body had only one bleeding wound and they didn't even have enough time to struggle.
All were killed with a single blow.
Mu Ling slowly turned around, and once again under the control of her Savior, completed an annihilation of the members of the Black Star Faction.
"The rain is getting heavier and heavier..."
She lifted her head, letting the rain wash away the bloodstains on her face, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
She doesn't know how long this heavy rain will last. Maybe it will cause a considerable flood, and Tatsumi City might need to find a way to deal with it in advance.
Although it was not a true "natural disaster", just a prelude, it had already caused the people of this city to suffer.
If a natural disaster really strikes...
Everything will turn to nothingness, and those who were supposed to be happy will lose what is important.
After leaving the alley, Mu Ling didn't go home directly, but went to Platinum Zone in Tatsumi City.
She went to the home of a man who used to be a Night Watcher at the Demon Hunt Agency.
This is a relatively luxurious apartment, and the location is in Platinum Zone. Obviously, the household living here can be considered wealthy.
The retirement benefits of Night Watchers have always been good, but the requirement of working for at least ten years before retirement has made it impossible for some to live long enough to retire successfully.
Here live an elderly couple and seven children.
As Mu Ling snuck into the house from the darkness, she saw seven sleeping children in two separate rooms and couldn't help but smile.
They have innocent sleeping faces, without a hint of malice.
Then, she came to the room where the elderly couple was, and at first sight saw the old man mentioned in the intelligence report, and fell into contemplation.
After thinking for a long time, Mu Ling gently placed the knife on the other person's neck.
The old man woke up and seemed to have realized what had happened. He lay in the bed without saying anything.
"Who are you?" the old man asked.
Mu Ling gave her own response.
"The Hound of Babel Tower."
The old man seemed somewhat surprised and asked in confusion, "Why would people from Babel Tower come to me...I've heard of you, Night Watchers, and we have never been enemies. You are supposed to be on the side of order."
His wife still lay on the other side of the bed, showing no sign of waking up. Perhaps it was for the better since this matter had nothing to do with her.
Mu Ling calmly spoke in the darkness, "I bought some information from the Shadow Association. It concerns an incident that occurred ten years ago in May, involving the smuggling of sinners. You were the one who dealt with it in the end."
The old man fell silent for a very long time, as if reminiscing. Finally, he spoke:
"Yes, this matter does exist."
"At that time, there was a little girl who accidentally got hit by a car while crossing the street to save a small animal. The driver immediately rushed her to the hospital... The little girl's injuries were not serious, but during the examination, black markings on her body were discovered. The hospital then followed the regulations and notified the Demon Hunt Agency, and that's when I went there."
Mu Ling conducted the inquiry in silence, seemingly devoid of any emotions, "What did you do back then?"
The old man continued, "According to the laws of the Air Alliance, sinners who illegally crossed the border have no citizenship rights, and as a Night Watcher, I have free reign to do anything to them."
"So, you crossed that line." Mu Ling's tone became increasingly cold.
The old man chuckled, his voice suddenly turning extremely cold and merciless.
"I was only trying to find all the sinners as quickly as possible, so I resorted to a certain degree of coercion..."
"That arriving sinner's father endured all kinds of severe torture, yet didn't reveal any useful information. From that, I knew it was difficult to make any breakthrough from him."
"The remaining sinners will likely infiltrate other cities within a few hours, but I... cannot let them get away."
The old man paused for a moment, but then continued speaking:
"Finally, I... I hurt her eyes... her father couldn't bear it anymore and voluntarily revealed the whereabouts of his wife and son."
Mu Ling tightly grasped the blade in her hand.
She couldn't help but remember what Professor Carol had said.
Good and evil, right and wrong, they don't have an absolute and objective definition in any world, yet people stubbornly believe that they do...
Mu Ling asked, "Don't you feel ashamed? As a Night Watcher, you hurt an innocent child and left her blind."
The old man grinned and coldly said, "I don't understand what cheap sense of justice you're trying to show... Sinners who are expelled from this city are basically doomed to die. So what if she's blind? The people I want to protect are not villains or sinners, but every citizen living in the Air Alliance."
"Also, not every sinner will obey laws, most sinners have no morality or conscience, they're like beasts... If you came here today to play that fashionable 'justice and revenge' game... Very well, kill me here then."
The old man continued, "I'm not afraid of death, and no faithful Night Watcher would be. The thing I protect is something you cannot understand - order and law."
"But are you craving for death?"
"Otherwise, you wouldn't have chosen to leave the Demon Hunt Agency and no longer be a Night Watcher after that," Mu Ling said calmly.
"Although if given another chance, this man would probably still choose to do the same," she thought silently.
In the end, Mu Ling shook her head gently, turned around, and left the room, disappearing into the darkness of the night.
The old man remained silent on the bed for a long time, without moving at all. It seemed as if his spirit had already died there.
Died ten years ago.
--
Mu Ling's heart was a bit chaotic.
She sat on the bed, recalling the information she had learned from the Savior this morning.
[Apart from 'the Undefeated,' you also need to be careful of two people... They are respectively the Unsullied Saint 'Yin,' and the traitor 'Tao Wu' from the Heart City's Candlelight School.]
This piece of information is absolutely accurate.
Yin, are you the Unsullied Saint?
If it were in the past, Mu Ling would have thought that the two people just had similar names, but at this moment she felt that there were many clues that could match...
The Black Star Faction is a cult-like criminal organization mainly composed of sinners, and Yin is also a sinner who was expelled from Tatsumi City many years ago after losing her eyes, giving her a complete motive for revenge.
She just had to come back at this time.
Perhaps, Yin has really joined the Black Star Faction, and become the person that she hates the most...
However, Yin should be a kind person and even after joining the Black Star Faction, she may not lose that kindness. The person she saw herself to be should not be false.
Various contradictions have made Mu Ling not want to think anymore, but she knows that this is a reality she cannot escape from.
This world is not as simple as black and white.
Mu Ling sat in front of the desk, took out paper and pen, and fell silent for a long time.
She wrote a few words gently on the paper.
"I hope you can tell me what I should do now. I feel lost and there are some things that I cannot comprehend."
"The one who always knows the truth, the Savior, if you are always watching me."
"Please guide me."
After finishing writing, Mu Ling returned to the bed.
She put on her black cat eye-mask but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Perhaps, what I should do now is to immediately go to the Dawn District and ask Yin about that in the villa.
What is the real situation exactly?
No, Professor Carol could be "the Undefeated" Ramos. Going there rashly alone would only be a dead end.
If they are really the high-ranking members of the Black Star Faction, then it means the destruction of my family... everything that I have suffered and endured for so many years, the accumulated anger and unwillingness.
Shouldn't I take revenge?
But do I really want to take revenge against Yin?
However, what I bear and shoulder... is actually not just that.
There is another more important responsibility.
Mu Ling suddenly understood.
What is it that I must do, what is worth fighting for... Perhaps, there is no fundamental difference between myself and that old man.
"Just that my justice is more righteous, just that my enemies are more powerful."
That's all there is to it.
[Mu Ling.]
Suddenly, a familiar voice popped up in her mind.
Although there was no trace of emotion in his tone, it made the girl feel warm and relaxed.
[I trust you.]
[In the final moments, in all the most crucial decisions, you will not disappoint me... and in fact, there is only one thing you need to do from start to finish.]
[Be responsible for your own heart.]
"Hmm."
Mu Ling lying on the bed with a calm expression, gave the answer towards the dark ceiling.
"I understand."
