Chapter 168
The ground cracked and fell, and countless people screamed as they fell to the lower levels. The drop of more than 100 meters was enough to kill most of them . Even some races with strong physiques would inevitably break their arms and legs if they fell at this distance.
But compared to them, the people on the second floor were truly struck by a disaster. After all, there had been a battle on the third floor before the ground collapsed, and most of the survivors, if they were not stupid, had already escaped. Most of those who fell were rescuers from various departments, and they basically carried some self-rescue equipment.
But the people on the second floor were just living a normal life, but suddenly they saw a piece of the sky above their heads was missing, a large area of holographic images turned into chaotic lines or suddenly turned black, and then the sky collapsed, and the huge floor fell straight down!
“Aaaaaaaa——”
People even forgot to run away. Many of them just opened their mouths and screamed, watching the black floor and various buildings falling straight down on their heads!
Suddenly, the people falling from the sky felt their bodies lighten, and their speed of falling slowed down immediately, and they even felt light and fluttery. Some people who reacted quickly immediately activated items such as exoskeleton armor on their bodies, while some people who reacted slowly did not notice these changes at all and continued to scream.
The people on the ground clearly saw that when the falling floor was about to hit the tallest building , a huge cloud suddenly appeared in the air, holding up the falling floor, rubble, various metal fragments, and a mecha. The cloud seemed to be shaky and unable to bear the weight, but it still held up all the falling objects and did not hurt the people below.
In addition, many people who were falling from the sky were suddenly covered by huge balls. Those balls fell slowly like balloons. Some of them bounced a few times on the ground, like elastic rubber balls.
The people on the second floor were confused. Was there such an emergency device on Liukasao? If there was such a device, why did so many people die in the fall from the seventh floor three years ago?
When the vibration stopped, Todd breathed a sigh of relief and looked down. The girl in his arms was safe and sound, but she fainted in the sudden impact.
At the moment the ground cracked, everyone fled outside, but Todd turned around and ran back to the house in the center of the crack and hugged the girl hiding inside. During the fall, he always held the girl in his arms. In this way, although he would be smashed to pieces, the girl had a small chance of survival.
But now, an unexpected situation has occurred—they are all alive and well, but these things around them... what is this?
A large white, soft-looking mass wrapped the two of them in the middle, just like they were lying on a soft bed. It was because of the protection of this mass that they were able to land safely without any injury.
But as the chief of the Suoka Si'ao Inspection Department, Todd knew the general situation of each floor of the ship, the personnel, weapons, equipment, various emergency measures, etc. Unlike ordinary people who were still guessing the reasons, Todd knew very well that their spacecraft did not have such anti-fall safety measures installed at all.
Todd let go of the girl, reached out and carefully poked the white silk object in front of him twice. Not feeling that it was harmful, he decisively tore it open, and the second layer of simulated daylight immediately shone in.
He got out and saw that he was on the roof of a tall building. It was dark all around, and there were no people. There were only some messy wires and debris. The building was very tall, so he could easily overlook most of the second floor - tall buildings lined up one after another, the bright lights were changing and blurry, the street lights on the main road and the lights of the hovercraft were like flowing rivers, and a faint ethereal singing came from somewhere.
The holographic image on the floor above your head is a bright and vibrant starry sky. Sometimes you can see shining stars, sometimes you can see moonlight like water, sometimes you can see meteors falling like rain, and sometimes you can see mysterious nebulae.
This is the second layer, also known as the eternal night layer. It is always simulated at night, with a starry sky overhead. Sometimes a fine drizzle will add a touch of poetic beauty, but most of the time the climate is monotonous and boring. However, the lights on the ground and the stars in the sky complement each other, making the scene here always present an intoxicating scene.
However, at this moment, an ugly scar suddenly appeared in this brilliant and colorful scenery. It was a floor that had fallen from the upper floor. It was held up by a white cloud that came from nowhere, but there was no other power. It looked very strange. Some people stood at the window or on the roadside and pointed at that place, but more people looked at the place where the floor fell.
There, a beam of white light from the third floor shot down from a small hole. It was not a very strong white light, but it dimmed the surrounding starry sky.
It's like sunshine shining from heaven into the world.
Some people stretch out their hands from afar, as if they want to touch the sunlight with their fingertips. However, it seems so close, yet so far away.
Todd didn't look at it any further. He turned around and pulled the hole in the white ball wider, trying to take the girl out.
"I advise you not to do this for now. Even though she is asleep, some things are not suitable to be said next to a child."
Suddenly a voice seemed to sound right next to Todd's ear. He was startled and quickly dodged to the side, reaching one hand behind his back.
There was a young man sitting on the water platform only three steps away from him, but strangely, Todd did not see him when he looked around.
"Do you want to take this?" the young man said, and a black box fell from his hand to the ground.
Although Todd could not pose a threat to him with this thing, in order to prevent him from wasting time on unnecessary things with unrealistic fantasies, Rong Yuan took away all his weapons.
Todd's body stiffened. "When did you...?"
"It's not important." Rong Yuan walked up to him and said, "I have something to ask you."
Todd stood up slowly. After seeing the black box fall to the ground, he realized the huge gap between the two sides. He stopped resisting in vain and hung his hands at his sides to show that he did not do any unnecessary movements.
"The thing that saved us...these white things...are you responsible for that?" Todd asked.
"Yes." Rong Yuan said.
"Thank you for saving my life." Todd said coldly, "But if you want to use this to get some secrets out of me, that's impossible. I will never betray Lord Ryuka."
"Don't worry about that. I will naturally find a way to get the answer I want." Rong Yuan said, "What I want to ask is, why would a murderer like let this child go when facing an assassin, and even risk your life to save her?"
This kidnapped family of four was originally the opportunity Rong Yuan left for the assassin.
The assassin killed Todd in the street, causing numerous casualties. Logically, he deserved to die. But Rong Yuan could feel the sadness, loneliness and resentment in his soul. He chose to take revenge on Todd because he lost his loved ones. It is understandable that he would fight against the strong with the weak and do whatever it takes.
Rong Yuan just wanted to see whether this person's conscience had been completely corroded by hatred, and whether he would still have any compassion .
If he had considered the safety of the two children, even if he had hesitated for just two more seconds, Rong Yuan would have given him a chance and helped him achieve his wish.
But what Rong Yuan didn't expect was that the one who seized this opportunity was Todd.
Although he didn't know that this was a test, if this person's subconscious reaction in the moment of life and death happened to someone else, it would undoubtedly be a commendable character.
But it was Todd, the murderous devil with a bloody debt, who had created perhaps hundreds or thousands of orphans with his own hands, yet he risked his life to protect a little girl.
It's too contradictory and too weird.
Todd was silent for a while, then said, "Kill me, I won't tell you anything."
"Oh." Rong Yuan looked at him for a while and said, "Then I'll come and see for myself. It just so happens that I have learned a new trick recently."
He walked up to Todd, stretched out his hand, and gently placed it on his forehead. Todd wanted to step back, wanted to avoid his palm, and tried to tilt his head back, but he found that he was like a bug caught in a spider web, unable to move, and even the simple action of blinking was getting slower and slower.
He lost consciousness for a moment, but seemed to wake up quickly. He watched his memory unconsciously like an open book, with pages turning rustling, and each page recorded the important memories of his life.
Killing, screaming, countless people died in his hands. However, looking at his blood-stained hands, he felt empty in his heart.
Every once in a while, he would go to the 18th floor to receive orders or report back. Sometimes he would meet other generals, but he didn't care about them, except for Mapu.
That man was like a father and a brother to him, caring for him and guiding him. Even Todd, whose heart was cold, could not refuse his kindness.
They all pledged their allegiance to Lord Ryuka. That Lord always hid himself in a black protective suit, and no one knew what he looked like. But he was humble, clear about rewards and punishments, outstanding, and cared about them in every detail. He was the person they respected the most. Even if that Lord asked them to die, they would do it without hesitation.
In his free time, Todd had no entertainment, no hobbies, and would not indulge his desires. He was either studying or exercising, and his days were monotonous and boring. Except for the different people he killed, every day was like a repetition of the previous day, and every year was a repetition of the previous year.
Soon, the memory came back to sixty years ago.
The tall and thin man with narrow eyes took his hand and led him through a corridor that seemed to have no end. They walked for a long time. Todd, who was less than half the height of the man, looked up at him, his heart full of gratitude and admiration.
At last they came to a spacious living room.
A man in a black protective suit that completely covered his face sat in the room, flipping through a pile of documents. His posture was casual, but gave people a sense of superiority.
"This is Lord Ryuka," the tall and thin man introduced. "It was because this Lord paid attention to your case and found some suspicious points that he asked me to investigate."
"Thank you for your gift, Lord Liuka." Todd bowed awkwardly and said timidly.
The man looked at him, reached out and touched his head, and vaguely felt that he should be smiling because his tone was pleasant.
"A simple thank you is not enough." The man said softly in a hoarse voice: "In return, you must serve me loyally from now on!"
"Yes, sir."
With a "bang", a dark door was pushed open and a tall man walked in quickly.
Todd was tied to a cold chair, sweaty, weak and pale, with traces of incontinence all around him. But the man walked over to him without a care, untied the shackles on his hands and feet, leaned over and whispered to him: "It has been checked out, that incident has nothing to do with you, the real murderer has been arrested, I am here to rescue you."
Todd looked up and squinted at him. The man in front of him had narrow and cold eyes, like a venomous snake. But he seemed to not notice the dirt on Todd at all. He reached out and picked up the thin man, carrying him out of the dark house.
The short Todd sat in a chair in a daze, his hands and feet shackled, the blazing white light shining directly into his eyes, the whole world was dim, like black water that was about to drown people, and only a stern voice kept asking: "Tell me, why did you kill Irene?"
"I didn't," Todd said dully.
"Ziziziziz—" Under the intense electric current, Todd was shaking all over. He wanted to scream but couldn't, his teeth were chattering, his heart seemed to shrink into a ball, and his brain was dizzy.
A few seconds later, he came back from hell, trembling slightly like a dehydrated fish and drenched in sweat.
The cold voice asked again: "Tell me, why did you kill Irene?"
Over and over again, endlessly.
Todd, who had just turned ten, walked happily to a place where he had an appointment, feeling as happy as if he was floating on clouds. He had something good, something very important to tell the most important person in his life.
He climbed up the stairs and saw at a glance a scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life - a little girl in a white floral dress and pigtails lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
The world in my memory seemed to turn into inky black at this moment.
He rushed over frantically and hugged the girl to stop the blood from her neck, but it was useless. The girl had stopped breathing, and her eyes, which were once as bright as stars, were forever in fear and horror.
He hugged her and cried bitterly. He didn't know how all this happened. His heart was filled with only sorrow and despair. His world collapsed at that moment.
A dozen people in black and blue uniforms rushed over and surrounded them, pointing their guns at him and shouting, "Don't move! Put your hands up!"
He curled up under the dark stairs at the bottom of the corridor, his face covered with bruises. Every sound of footsteps above his head made him tremble with fear.
Until a girl came over lightly.
She was only one or two years older than Todd, still a child, with ordinary looks, thin body, dry yellow hair tied into two thin braids, and a pair of eyes brighter than the stars in the sky. In Todd's memory, her whole body seemed to glow, illuminating his dark memories.
The girl tiptoed down the stairs, looked at Todd with a worried look on her face, and asked softly, "Did they beat you again? That's too much. The Klaos are also human beings. How could they do this to you?"
Todd reached out to wipe the blood off his face, lowered his head and whispered, "It's okay, I don't feel any pain."
"You're lying! How could it not hurt?" The girl said distressedly, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I brought you a piece of bread from home, eat it quickly."
Todd didn't want to take it, because he knew that if the girl's family found out that she stole the bread, she would be scolded. But the unbearable hunger made it impossible for him to say no, so he finally took the bread and swallowed it in big mouthfuls.
The girl knew that he was afraid of being discovered, so she didn't say anything, but took out a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped the blood off his face.
The smaller boy was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his thin body wearing only an old piece of clothing that had been patched dozens of times, but he seemed not to feel the cold. He was sniffing and checking one complicated formula after another on the grass with a branch in hand, and he didn't notice that several well-dressed people were standing next to him, staring at him for a long time.
The leader, a young man in a black protective suit, said in a hoarse voice like rusted iron, "This kid is pretty good. Go make some arrangements. Don't let his talent go to waste."
"Yes." A tall and thin man next to him responded, lowered his head and looked deeply at Todd, his eyes as vicious as a poisonous snake that chooses its prey.
