"Friston, are you saying that you also don't know what happened to Theresa and me?"
"That's not entirely accurate, because I can confirm that it's related to the survival of civilization. The so-called 'dreams' might be abstract representations of certain complex, concrete matters."
At Wandering's End, Xing Chen and Theresa, after a thorough comparison of notes, discovered many questionable points, so they brought Friston in for a discussion.
The results weren't very substantial, but Friston was certain it had nothing to do with Prythian.
As the head of the Oripathy Project team, she had her own storage medium: Originium.
She herself needed to focus on her and the Seer's projects and didn't have the extra energy to tamper too much with the public project of 'the survival of civilization.'
At most, she might slip in some private goods, but generating an independent personality was too energy-intensive.
Besides, they had entered Black Crown several times and could pretty much say there was no trace of Prythian.
"In our computer field, there's always been talk of electronic demons. But I've never seen one myself; I think they just read too many novels."
"Then, what's the likelihood of a computer developing its own will?"
"About as likely as monkeys typing out a masterpiece."
...Bidding farewell to Friston, Xing Chen and Theresa returned to the small forest in Ursus.
To their surprise, Ivan had not left them.
"Ivan, why didn't you leave?"
Xing Chen and Theresa's sudden disappearance and reappearance didn't seem to arouse the suspicion of the Ursus people.
"I knew you guys used witchcraft to send yourselves away, and you'd definitely find a way back," Ursus said, handing them warmed canned beast meat. "I am a soldier of Ursus, and we don't abandon our comrades."
"No wonder the Ursus Empire's army is so strong," Theresa said, taking the can and praising him involuntarily. "It's a pity, Sarkaz mercenaries are very likely to cut off their teammates' heads and take them to the Scar Market for bounty."
Theresa and Ivan chatted back and forth, while Xing Chen secretly went to retrieve the Imperial Guard's combat uniform.
Excellent, just as planned, the combat uniform was mostly undamaged, and the evil demon fragments inside were even directly erased by the spatial stabilization anchor without causing annihilation.
He folded the combat uniform and wrapped it in a packing bag.
"Ivan, do you want these three Ursus scimitars?"
Xing Chen handed the collected scimitars to Ivan, who was startled at first, then shook his head.
"I have my own scimitar. Bury them here; they were brave Ursus warriors and deserve to rest in peace."
Hearing this, Xing Chen felt a bit embarrassed.
So, he decided to give Ivan a heads-up about the next leg of their journey.
Ivan was shocked that the two were preparing to meet the Ursus Emperor. But considering Theresa's power, her Kazdel noble status, and their Columbia and Victoria documents,
He immediately realized that their identities far exceeded his imagination.
"Alright, I'll take you to Saint Junius. As for how to meet His Majesty the Emperor..."
"We have our own way," Theresa said with a smile. ...As the three approached the Saint Junius route, they encountered more and more villages, which also grew larger.
The more people there were, the greater the probability of Infected appearing.
The more Infected there were, the more likely they were to attract the Infected Control Squad—these were true ruffians, unlike real soldiers.
The three had already passed many Infected Control Squad checkpoints, and travelers passing through were usually given a hard time.
Thanks to Ivan's presence, these scoundrels didn't trouble Theresa.
In the evening, the three prepared to stay at a farmer's house in a village.
"Madam, where is your husband?"
Dinner wasn't lavish, but it tasted very good. Ivan drank a little more and started chatting with the hostess, with Theresa translating for Xing Chen.
"Oh, he went to the Ka-wu front to beat up the Kazimierz people, and then he never came back."
The hostess didn't seem sad; instead, she felt proud of it.
"Which unit was he in? I happened to be on the Ka-wu front too."
"I'm not sure, I think it was the Imperial Vanguard."
"Oh, then I might have even met him."
"That's quite a coincidence," the hostess said, tossing her hair back and turning to her daughter, "Natasha, you go back to your room first."
"Okay, Mama," Natasha obediently cleared the dishes and returned to her room.
Theresa seemed to notice something and whispered quietly in Xing Chen's ear.
Xing Chen nodded and didn't say much, instead pulling Theresa out of the dining room, leaving the room to the two of them.
The alarm clock the next morning was the whip of an Infected Control Squad officer.
Usually, these scumbags came here just to collect the exorbitant taxes they themselves imposed.
Under the Emperor's nose, who didn't have some connections? The village chief would come out, pay the money, and everything would be fine. It wasn't like the bitter cold lands of the east, where the sky was high and the Emperor far away.
"Ugh!" The retired Ursus veteran clutched his chest and slowly fell into a pool of blood.
The Infected Control Squad officer, wielding a long blade, rushed into every villager's home, herding them to the village square.
Theresa used witchcraft to hypnotize the scoundrels who had captured them, but the daughter of this household wasn't so lucky.
"I knew you were harboring an Infected," the haughty Control Squad leader whipped the Infected person again and again. "To do such a thing right under His Majesty the Emperor's nose is simply to tarnish the glory of the Ursus Empire."
"You are the one who is tarnishing His Majesty the Emperor's glory," Ivan said, stepping forward and telling the hostess's story.
If they were soldiers with faith, they might have been moved.
But here, there were only scumbags; the story would only be met with ridicule.
Suddenly, several crossbow bolts shot towards Ivan's legs. He failed to dodge, and his pant leg was torn open, revealing his severely infected leg.
"No wonder you're speaking up for these pieces of trash; you're one of them," the Control Squad leader waved his hand, and all the crossbows were aimed at Ivan. "Kill this deserter who insults the Empire."
The order was given, but no one dared to move.
"What are you doing!" The leader was furious that his order wasn't being followed.
"Boss, we... can't move..."
At this moment, Xing Chen and Theresa slowly emerged from their hiding place.
Theresa needed to control the threads with her hands, so the negotiation was left to Xing Chen.
He drew the Imperial Guard's ornate Ursus scimitar and held it to the leader's neck.
Normally, these scumbags were only after money, but now they were trying to kill, and someone was definitely instigating them from behind.
It might be a noble persecuting another noble, and the villagers were just unlucky collateral damage.
Sure enough, with just the threat of witchcraft and the scimitar, the leader peed himself and quickly begged the two for mercy.
"Tell the person behind you that two envoys from Columbia and Victoria wish to be introduced to speak with His Majesty the Emperor. Understand?"
After Theresa translated, the leader immediately nodded frantically like sifting wheat.
Xing Chen spun the blade, turning the hilt towards the Control Squad officer. "Take this; the person behind you will recognize it."