Chapter 110
Chapter
110
2026
Inside the vacant hall, the elderly woman rigidly propped up her black-robed body, her somewhat clouded eyes fixed on Ye Zheng. The corners of her downturned mouth twitched faintly, as though she were straining to suppress her fear.
Observing this, Ye Zheng stepped forward and adjusted her question.
“Then, would it be convenient to tell me your name?”
The aged nun kept her lips pressed tightly together and remained silent.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ye Zheng. Perhaps you’ve heard this name before.”
Ye Zheng’s gentle smile lingered as her dark eyes examined the nun’s face without blinking.
“Ye Zheng, Ye Zheng… Saintess Ye Zheng?”
The old nun murmured the name several times before suddenly recalling the identity it signified. The fear on her face receded slightly, replaced by a trace of elderly kindness.
“Ah, how did Your Excellency come here? Here… here… did His Holiness the Pope send you?”
Ye Zheng had intended to follow the nun’s assumption and use Wen Jian as an excuse once more, but at the last moment she altered her approach.
“I accompanied Crown Prince Sykes to investigate the situation in the Western District. Midway, we were attacked by Zhou Yun. She must’ve sent me here.”
“Now, can you tell me what exactly happened in this place?”
Before the girl’s voice had fully faded, the old nun staggered back several trembling steps. Shaking her head, she cried out, “Zhou Yun, Zhou Yun… so it really was her! She opened the back garden…”
The old nun turned to leave. Her steps were hurried yet surprisingly nimble. The echo of her footsteps reverberated through the empty church, as though she were desperate to accomplish something.
A trace of doubt surfaced in Ye Zheng’s eyes. She strode after the nun and spoke gently beside her.
“Please don’t be anxious. Perhaps I can help you. The Hope Project is our shared achievement, isn’t it?”
The old nun halted abruptly and turned her head sharply toward her.
Ye Zheng absorbed her reaction completely. A faint, nearly imperceptible chill flashed across her dark eyes.
So this truly was the base of the “Hope Project.”
Why had Zhou Yun sent her here? She had claimed she wanted to meet and speak with her again, yet she’d said nothing and simply dispatched her to this place.
Fortunately, this outcome wasn’t bad. The Hope Project base had always been her objective to uncover.
“You, you…” The elderly woman faltered. Hearing the words “Hope Project” from the girl’s lips, she stared at her in stunned disbelief.
Ye Zheng met the nun’s pair of dull gray eyes. The elderly woman’s trembling pupils remained fixed on her for a long moment, until a piercing cry shattered the stalemate of their gaze. Both turned toward the corridor’s far end. A white-robed priest came stumbling toward them in a frantic rush.
Seeing the two figures standing not far away, the priest appeared as though he had found a final lifeline. He shouted, “Abbess! They’re attacking the nursery! The group of monsters from the back garden have flown back again!”
The old nun wasn’t tall, yet when her expression hardened she exuded unmistakable authority. She rebuked him sharply, “Those aren’t monsters! They’re merely children who were lured away by Zhou Yun!”
The priest, who appeared to be around thirty, looked stunned. He hurriedly lowered his head and corrected himself.
“Y-yes… those children have returned again. We can’t hold them off any longer!”
The nun glared at him before her expression softened once more. She turned toward the Saintess standing beside her, who was a full head taller. Complex emotions rippled through her eyes.
“Since you know about the Hope Project, Saintess, please come with us.”
Ye Zheng followed silently behind them. They moved swiftly through a long, winding corridor. Along the way, many panic-stricken men brushed past them. At first the old nun scolded them several times, but when she realized those fleeing for their lives could no longer heed any words, the abbess fell silent. The furrows between her brows deepened.
The title of abbess suggested she presided over this place, yet judging by the others’ reactions along the way, her authority within the base didn’t carry much weight.
After passing the fifth long corridor and finally navigating out of the labyrinthine ancient structure, they stepped through the main entrance. A glaring white brilliance flooded in. Ye Zheng realized with surprise that the exterior of the building wasn’t shrouded in white fog.
She stepped onto soft green ground. Stretching before her lay boundless lawns swaying gently, dotted with small flowerbeds, with several tall trees rising among them. A light inhale brought the fragrance of grass and foliage to her senses, unconsciously easing the tension in her heart.
Ye Zheng thought that if she were merely five or six years old, she’d certainly enjoy rolling freely across such a comfortable lawn.
Of course, that was assuming there wasn’t a massive black shadow pressing down from the sky.
A pitch-black monster hovered midair. Its sharp claws scraped frantically against the transparent barrier blocking it. Its ferocious howls pierced through the shield and clawed at everyone’s ears.
“Let her in! She’s a child from here!”
The old nun turned and grasped the middle-aged priest’s hand. The man displayed an incredulous, almost absurd expression.
“Abbess, Zhou Yun destroyed the restraint device. It’s now an uncontrolled monster. It’ll kill us all!”
“Abbess, look carefully. That’s merely a monster with a woman’s upper body. Wait, who are you!”
Only now did he seem to notice Ye Zheng’s presence. He leapt backward and scrutinized her in panic.
“Abbess, please don’t tell me you’ve already softened your heart and let in a…”
The previously silent Ye Zheng turned her head. Her gaze was indifferent as it settled on the man. The corners of her lips curved into a careless smile.
“A what?” she asked.
She slowly drew the sword at her side. A dazzling metallic sheen gradually revealed itself as the blade emerged from the dust-sealed black scabbard.
The man stared at the sword in a daze until the sharp blade abruptly came to rest against his neck. His expression shifted instantly, and his knees nearly buckled.
Golden longsword, black hair, a girl. Even in such an isolated place, the name of the girl before him struck like thunder.
“Y-Your Excellency… you’re the Saintess, Saintess!”
Ye Zheng’s hand remained perfectly steady. The man, however, stiffened his neck and rolled his eyes downward, staring fixedly at the blade grazing his skin. It seemed to press deeper with each passing second, as though it would claim his life in the next instant.
“Do as the abbess instructed. Let her in.”
The Saintess spoke evenly.
The man’s lips trembled. “Saintess, this doesn’t comply with the rules…”
Ye Zheng subtly shifted her wrist. The blade pressed fully against his skin.
“F-fine! We’ll open the shield. Please release me. I’ll open it immediately!”
Ye Zheng turned to the old nun, her gaze carrying silent inquiry.
The abbess stared at them in a daze, as though she had never imagined the legendary Saintess would act in such a manner. Only when she met Ye Zheng’s eyes again did she finally regain her composure.
She slowly blinked her heavy eyelids, then turned toward the black shadow looming across the sky. At last, she lowered her weary gaze.
“No need, Saintess. What he said is actually correct.”
“I’m old. Occasionally, I become muddle-headed.”
At these words, Ye Zheng blinked and sheathed her sword.
The old nun waved her hand and walked toward the ancient building in the distance, without sparing the black shadow another glance.
“Yue Wen, notify the guard team to transfer the children from the nursery to the backup room. I’ll activate emergency mode.”
Upon receiving clear instructions, the priest named Yue Wen hurried away with astonishing speed, fleeing as though his life depended on it.
Ye Zheng followed unhurriedly at the abbess’s side. She said nothing. It was as though she felt no curiosity at all, yet equally as though she were waiting for the other to wrestle inwardly and then choose to confide in her.
An aged figure and a youthful one stepped through the doorway. The black-robed nun closed the door behind them. The dreamlike green lawn and the monster’s shrill cries were sealed outside.
“Abbess, is there anything I can assist with?”
Ye Zheng inclined slightly at the waist. The white shirt and gray vest outlined her slender yet powerful upper body as she lowered her head and inquired.
“Just call me Annabella, Saintess.”
Annabella turned her gray eyes toward her. Her pupils resembled dust-covered glass beads, faintly cold.
“You aren’t one of us. There’s no need to trouble yourself.”
Ye Zheng’s expression cooled. She gazed steadily at the elderly woman.
“If you don’t believe me, I can show you the dragon bone within my body.”
Just as she had misled Kieran before, so long as they believed she was one of the experimental subjects, they naturally wouldn’t question her allegiance.
Unexpectedly, the elderly woman shook her head. A hoarse chuckle rasped from her throat.
“You and those children carry different auras. I can tell them apart. My entire life as Annabella has been devoted to raising them.”
“…I never claimed I was the same kind as they are, but that doesn’t prevent me from knowing all of this. After all, I’m the Saintess personally chosen by the Church.”
Ye Zheng blinked. Even if she wasn’t an experimental subject, given her standing within the Church, it wasn’t impossible for her to have access to the “Hope Project.”
Yet Annabella’s smile grew gentler still. The deep lines etched into her face softened, as though she were watching a child throwing a petty tantrum.
“A young and promising child like you, if they had willingly told you about this matter, it would mean you were about to become one of their kind.”
Ye Zheng pressed her lips together and persisted. “Then what about you? You don’t resemble the dragon-bodied women outside. You appear more like a shepherd.”
Their gazes locked in silent confrontation. Annabella averted her eyes and refused to look at Ye Zheng any longer. She quickened her pace and led the girl into a well-lit room.
“Saintess, please rest here for now. Once I’ve handled this crisis, we can discuss your purpose.”
The old nun tugged lightly at the loose skin of her face. Her smile cooled.
The black-haired, black-eyed girl displayed a trace of surprise, then obediently remained in the room. She stood upon the central carpet, watching as the old woman closed the door for her. Annabella’s aged silhouette vanished entirely from view.
✧✧✧✧✧
Since Annabella clearly didn’t wish for her to go outside and investigate, Ye Zheng chose, for the moment, to respect her decision.
Lowering her head, she withdrew a yellowed logbook from within her clothing. She had discovered it in the laboratory filled with transparent tanks after emerging from the small dark chamber.
There were too many enigmas before her. She would unravel them one at a time.
【Divine Descent Year 501, July 18
This is my first time arriving at the base. It differs from what I imagined. The buildings appear somewhat old, heavy to the point of gloominess. After all, it’s a place that has stood for hundreds of years, so that’s not strange.
I didn’t come here to enjoy myself, so I shouldn’t dwell on food, clothing, or lodging. Everyone is exceedingly busy. As the newly appointed chief steward, I can’t afford to slack off.】
【Divine Descent Year 501, July 20
Alright, when I saw those things, I suppose I still need time to adjust. The wave of nausea isn’t something I can suppress with mere willpower, yet I mustn’t behave like this. It looks utterly unprofessional! I’m the chief director!
If an uncontrollable crisis erupts, I’m responsible for coordinating its elimination. At critical moments, I may even have to issue the order to destroy everything, including myself. This is the Hope Project, the grand design that walks hand in hand with despair!】
【Divine Descent Year 501, July 30
I truly shouldn’t have brought her here. I should’ve left her in the Upper District, even though she’s my wife.
Precisely because she’s my wife, I can’t allow her to come into contact with these matters. Let her continue believing I’m merely an ordinary official managing the Western District municipal office. She mustn’t learn more.】
【Divine Descent Year 501, August 21
Damn Annabella! How is she so perceptive!
God of Hope above! Don’t let her curiosity persist!】
Ye Zheng’s fingertips paused as she turned the page. She stared at the familiar name, as though through the yellowed sheets she glimpsed a young and vivid face.
~~~End~~~