Chapter 12: The Worm of Heart Energy
After exchanging greetings, the guards began to systematically spray a special powder on Bai Jing and her group.
Xu Le watched from afar, assuming it was some kind of disinfectant powder.
However, before it was his turn, that inner heat emerged again.
Surprisingly, these powders could also distort in front of him, with text appearing alongside.
[Red Moon Emotion Neutralizer.]
"Emotion neutralizer?"
Xu Le frowned slightly. Just as he was puzzled, Bai Jing beside him pointed at him and said loudly to the guard:
"This person was brought back from outside by us, a lone Nightkeeper who went out.
The risk is extremely high, please check him thoroughly. Just follow the standard procedures, no need to give me any special treatment."
Xu Le: ??
Why does it feel like I'm being retaliated against, just because I gave her a pep talk?
Is this woman... so petty?
Actually, the guards were also surprised to hear Bai Jing's words.
Wow, an Explorer bringing someone back?
This is a first!
Since Captain Bai herself asked for standard procedures, we definitely have to arrange it!
Xu Le felt his scalp tingle as he recalled Bai Jing's previous words to him.
Try to survive the inspection!
What kind of inspection requires the term "survive" to describe it?
"Hello, Mr. Guard."
"Don't try to get chummy with me, come over for energy neutralization first."
"Uh, okay."
Xu Le was also sprayed with the emotion neutralizer, but he didn't feel anything.
"Little Xu Le, we'll be going first. Enjoy experiencing the inspection for Nightkeepers."
After handing Xu Le over to the guards, Bai Jing and her group left.
Xu Le's mouth twitched, but he ultimately said nothing.
The outer wall guard had already taken out a form and began registering Xu Le:
"State your name, age, occupation, and home address."
"My name is Xu Le, I'm 20 years old, I live in the Lower City District, but I'm not from there.
I'm an exchange student from Zion sent to the Beacon."
That's right, Xu Le isn't from the Beacon, he's a genuine Zion citizen, and an exchange student.
Normally, Xu Le wouldn't need to emphasize this identity.
But the current situation was clearly different.
The Beacon guards' attitude towards lower class people was completely different from their attitude towards upper class people.
So Xu Le could only bring up his exchange student status, hoping it would reduce some trouble for him.
"Exchange student?"
"Yes."
Sure enough, after hearing that Xu Le was an exchange student from Zion, the guard's attitude became a bit more restrained.
Exchange students weren't worth much.
But to some extent, they still held political significance.
Especially now, when the four major human city-states were in a relatively solid alliance.
Even if there was competition between them, their ultimate goal was still the same - to escape from the Ancient Sound and darkness, and seek the light.
"Even if you're an exchange student, you can't bypass the Beacon's inspection laws. Come with us."
"Alright."
Xu Le breathed a sigh of relief.
By using his exchange student status, at least he wouldn't be beaten without cause or discriminated against.
The Beacon raises human rights issues every year, but what's the use?
Upper City people are still Upper City people, and the Lower City District is still the Lower City District.
As for people from the Lower City District? Are they even considered human?
...
Following behind the guard, they arrived at the inspection station of the outer wall.
There was no record of this in his memory, so Xu Le was still a bit nervous.
"Excuse me, I'd like to ask what specific inspections there are?"
"Specific? You'll know when you get there."
The guard first took out a small box. At first glance of the box, Xu Le had a strange feeling.
The heat emerged naturally again. Did he react to a box?
When the guard opened the small box, Xu Le finally saw what was inside - a worm, a wriggling worm.
[Emotion Worm]
Xu Le inexplicably felt a flash of excitement. He didn't know why seeing a worm would excite him.
And what was the purpose of this worm? Surely they wouldn't make him swallow it?
Thinking about the disgusting act of eating a worm, Xu Le actually became more excited.
This excitement stemmed from some strange instinct.
"Mr. Guard, this thing... you're not going to make me eat it, are you?"
"Eat? You wish. The price of a Heart Energy Worm is extremely expensive.
A poor exchange student like you isn't worth as much as this worm."
Xu Le pursed his lips, indifferent to the label of "poor exchange student".
However, Xu Le noticed something surprising - after the guard said the words "Heart Energy Worm",
The prompt he saw for the worm in the distorted state also changed.
[Heart Energy Worm]
The ability could even self-correct? Interesting.
"Mr. Guard, what should I do now?"
"Lie face down on the wall."
"Alright."
The posture was a bit embarrassing, but Xu Le obediently complied.
The guard took off his clothes, which alarmed Xu Le.
But fortunately, the guard didn't take off his pants.
This made Xu Le feel a bit more at ease. At least things weren't developing in the worst possible direction.
Lying on the wall, Xu Le suddenly felt a chill on his spine.
This feeling... should be the worm crawling on his back.
Hiss!~
Xu Le felt an inexplicable comfort, while the Heart Energy Worm on his back visibly shriveled.
"What? Oh no, oh no!"
The guard was first puzzled, then quickly picked up the worm, fiddled with it for a while, confirmed the worm wasn't dead, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at Xu Le with a mixture of shock and suspicion, thinking to himself:
"What's going on? Is it a problem with the worm, or with this guy?"
After hesitating for a moment, he put the Heart Energy Worm back on Xu Le's back.
But as soon as it touched Xu Le's back, the worm shriveled again, this time even more severely, looking like it was about to die.
"Damn it, what did you do?"
Xu Le: ??? I'm just lying here, is that worth cursing at me?
The guard's face was full of suspicion, his fingers trembling nervously.
Heart Energy Worms have extremely strong vitality, even a gunshot might not kill them.
But the Heart Energy Worm in his hand looked like it wouldn't survive.
If the worm died, he would be held responsible.
"Something's not right, there's a problem with you!"
The guard kept muttering, and even pulled the alarm on the wall.
This move confused Xu Le even more. What's going on?
He just came for an inspection, why did they need to sound the alarm?
"I'm warning you, don't move!"
The guard pointed his finger at an angle.
"Okay, okay, I won't move. But may I ask, what's wrong with me?"
"Don't know."
The guard was brief, and he wasn't sure if it was Xu Le's problem or the worm's problem.
Xu Le was puzzled. According to the previous prompt, this worm was related to emotions.
They were called Heart Energy Worms.
Was there a problem with his emotions?
Xu Le thought back, last night when facing everything, he had experienced fear, despair, anger, all kinds of emotions in rapid succession.
Was the guard sounding the alarm because he had experienced too many emotions?
As he was pondering in confusion, a gray-robed person leading several guards arrived at the door of the small station.
The person who had sounded the alarm saw the gray-robed individual and immediately pointed at Xu Le, shouting:
"Mage, it's him."
(End of chapter)
Read ahead on karmahunter<.>cc