Chen Pingchuan didn't reveal himself, hiding near the cafeteria instead. He was waiting for the guards to change shifts or for their numbers to dwindle before he made his move to control them and complete his plan to farm them for attribute points.

That's right, he thought. Right now, these evil mine guards are nothing more than experience points to me. They're the key to increasing my strength before the execution.

With this in mind, Chen Pingchuan carefully concealed his tracks, moving silently and taking each step with extreme care.

Watching all the prisoners get locked in the cafeteria, Nightingale let out a sigh of relief. Compared to the disastrous defeat in her memory, the surprise attack her side launched in the real world could only be described as a landslide victory. It couldn't have gone more smoothly.

All members of the Nightingale Squad were in full combat gear. As for the mine guards led by Li Laoqi, most had already drifted off to sleep, save for a few night owls who were still up amusing themselves, completely unaware of the disaster about to befall them. When the battle began, they were like a startled flock of quails—panicked, defenseless, and instantly thrown into chaos. The only place that managed to put up any real resistance was Li Laoqi's villa. This was also the place Nightingale focused on most, as the mine's elites tended to gather there.

However, under the fierce assault of Nightingale's elite forces, the battle was over in just twenty minutes. Nightingale herself severed the right mechanical arm of Li Laoqi, the mine's local tyrant, with a single slash. She gave him no chance to spew curses before knocking him unconscious and taking him prisoner.

The aftermath of the battle was far more complex than the fighting itself. It involved not only treating the wounded but also managing the prisoners of war.

After delegating all the post-battle tasks, Nightingale summoned her deputy captain.

"Deputy Captain Yu, do you remember my previous instructions?"

"Yes, Captain! I remember!"

"Good. Take everyone back to the City of No Night. I might have to be away for a while, so don't wait for me. From now on, you are responsible for all of the Nightingale Squad's operations," she said, handing him a letter. "Here is the letter of appointment."

Nightingale's voice was tinged with melancholy. The Nightingale Squad had been around for a long time; its origins could be traced back to before the Red Rain, when the team's earliest incarnation already existed. Parting with the squad she had poured her heart and soul into was difficult, but the thought of Chen Pingchuan strengthened her resolve.

Her deputy captain could tell something was wrong, but being accustomed to following orders, he didn't ask for details. It never would have occurred to him that Nightingale was actually planning to leave the City of No Night for good.

As the people around her gradually dispersed, Nightingale searched for Chen Pingchuan in the mine, all the while analyzing the recent events in her mind.

"Nightingale, are you fucking insane?"

"Why are you hitting me? If it's about that spat two days ago, I'll apologize, alright?"

...

"AHHH, stop hitting me! Please, I was wrong! We're on the same side! If you kill me, who's going to mine for the City of No Night?"

...

"You can't control those mud-legs without using a firm hand! Captain Ye, we can talk about this!"

...

"Nightingale, you slutty bitch! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

BANG!

Even as I severed his mechanical arm, Li Laoqi's eyes were still filled with bewilderment and confusion. The utterly baffling sense of being beaten for no reason was a spectacular sight. He didn't mention anything about the shared memories, right up until he was captured. It seems he really doesn't know. Chen Pingchuan was right about one thing: the mysterious sharing of future memories doesn't affect everyone.

This discovery rippled through Nightingale's heart like a stone cast into a lake, making her feel even more certain about her connection to Chen Pingchuan.

Everything was destined. I have to go with him and see the world outside.

Having made up her mind, Nightingale began searching for Chen Pingchuan in the mine, but in the pitch-black night, how could she find someone who was intentionally hiding?

Although she couldn't find any trace of Chen Pingchuan, someone unexpected approached her.

"Captain Nightingale, I have something to report."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's about my dear classmate, Chen Pingchuan."

...

In the dining hall of the Spring City White Crystal Mine, the atmosphere was tense.

A young boy stood quietly atop a dining table, looking down on the dense crowd of prisoners before him. Though young, he exuded a maturity far beyond his years. His eyes were indifferent, as if those before him weren't people, but merely lambs to be slaughtered.

As the boy stood there in silence, the prisoners began to whisper among themselves. They remembered him—the unlucky fellow from the mines a few days ago, the high schooler who could never dig up a single piece of ore. Chen Pingchuan.

The incessant chatter finally grated on Chen Pingchuan's nerves. His brow furrowed slightly, a flash of impatience in his eyes. The next second—BANG! A gunshot reverberated through the enclosed space. Acrid white smoke instantly puffed from the muzzle, rising like the Grim Reaper's shroud.

In an instant, the dining hall fell silent. Everyone was stunned by the sudden gunshot, their eyes filled with fear. Chen Pingchuan's expression, however, remained icy, as if he hadn't been the one to fire the gun at all.

"Alright, quiet down," he said. "You probably don't know what fate awaits you. Now, I can tell you: it's death."

The moment the word "death" left his lips, the room erupted as if water had been poured into a pot of boiling oil.

"Why are you killing us?"

"Yeah, we miners didn't resist! We didn't do anything! Why kill us?"

"Bullshit! I'm not even a miner, and I didn't do anything! We work for Spring City! By what right do you judge us?"

"Yeah, by what right..."

"That's right, I don't accept this! How did I end up here after just one night's sleep...?"

The people below voiced their outrage, the clamor threatening to tear the roof off the building.

To him, this was all just meaningless noise. The only reason he hadn't struck them down yet was because a small part of him still clung to the last vestiges of his humanity. It wasn't much, but it was there.

BANG!

The gunshot resounded again, the piercing sound hitting the prisoners' eardrums. This time, the muzzle wasn't aimed at the ceiling but at the loudest shouter in the crowd below.

The man's eyes were filled with terror and bewilderment. Even in death, he never understood the brutal lesson that the bird that sticks its head out gets shot. He could only wonder, Why me? Why not someone else?

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