"I'm Nina from the 3016th Survey Team of Camp 17. My team and I were attacked by a large number of evil spirits during our survey mission. Many people died, and I got separated from the main group..."
She told a rather perfunctorily made-up setting.
Simply put, my current character is a member of a survey team that was wiped out and survived by chance. After going through untold hardships, I finally returned to the headquarters of the Last Country.
Of course, the details of the story were all made up by her, because neither the "Camp No. 17" nor the "3016 Survey Team" exists now!
That’s right, the new alias “Nina” was not completely fabricated out of thin air. It was inspired by Hill’s real experience.
When he first came into contact with Hill, this girl had just been tragically wiped out in her first official mission in her life.
Not only was the "3016 Survey Team" they were in wiped out, but even their original base camp, "Camp No. 17", was captured by the evil spirits and massacred.
In this wave, the number of people killed or missing was at least 500. With such a large group of people dead and no evidence to prove their identity, it would be very easy to fabricate an identity of a survivor.
Besides, "Nina" is not a non-existent person. She was a member of Hill's "3016 Survey Team", but she died when she was attacked by the evil spirits...
Anyway, given the residents of the Last Country's unique carelessness when it comes to personnel screening, such a story could easily fool the middle-level and grassroots reviewers.
Or they simply won't investigate further! In their hands, this statement is just a record, and almost no one will be bored enough to verify it.
As for the smart people in the upper echelons...what a joke, it's just a trivial matter, why do they need to report it to the Holy See?
"Nina, right...Okay, you should go back to your residence and have a good rest. Someone from the Church of Redemption should come to question you tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
The soldier really didn't doubt it at all. He nodded with a sympathetic expression, then took out a banknote from his pocket and quickly wrote a few lines on it. While writing, he comforted Qi Ji in a soothing tone:
"Don't worry, it's just routine questioning and record keeping. No one will make things difficult for you. You are safe now, so rest assured. It was all just a nightmare."
Qi Ji didn't say anything. After being allowed to pass by the soldiers, he walked straight towards the city.
Just like that, she sneaked into this doomsday fortress with a population of over 100,000 as an ordinary resident.
Chapter 498 Arrest
The headquarters of the Last Kingdom is not an Eldian-style city where the entire city is surrounded by a circle of high walls.
In general, the walls of the Last Kingdom are built in sections, which are distributed in various locations in the city in a regular, thoughtful and orderly manner according to the terrain and actual conditions, and their lengths vary.
The shape is not a stereotyped arc or straight line, but is flexibly adjusted according to actual conditions and there is no unified standard.
The urban buildings within the headquarters of the Last Kingdom are distributed behind these sections of city walls and are protected by these walls.
The Church of Redemption divided the entire city into roughly fan-shaped areas according to the distribution of buildings behind the city walls, which were called "dioceses." This is also the administrative division method that the Last Kingdom has used since two hundred years ago.
The entire headquarters city is generally shaped like an ellipse. The closer to the periphery of this ellipse, the higher the density of the city walls and the more frequent the "parish" divisions.
The most central "Central Diocese" covers the largest area of all the dioceses. There is no wall within the area, and the entire area is directly governed by the "Final Church". It is also the location of the "Central Church" of the Church of Redemption.
The "Seventh Parish" where Hill lived was located relatively outside the city.
As for where the "Nina" that Qi Ji is currently impersonating lives... she doesn't know. Anyway, she has no intention of "going home". She just uses the convenience of this identity to get past the interrogation of the guards on the outermost city wall.
Besides, even if she knew where "Nina" lived, she couldn't really go back with that identity.
After all, even if the sentry soldiers did not know "Nina" herself, the residents near "Nina"'s residence must know her facial features.
Her words could deceive the border guards, but they could not deceive "Nina"'s social connections.
So Qi Ji is now just walking aimlessly in the city, integrating into the equal attitude of the market and understanding the scenery of this doomsday city.
As for the matter of the future Redemption Church sending people to find "Nina" to inquire about her experiences... never mind, that's at least tomorrow's thing, and Qi Ji didn't intend to play this role-playing game for too long.
"Tsk, all I see are military facilities, not many residential buildings..."
Looking at the dark military fortresses, the sharp and sturdy huge barricades, and the teams of patrolling soldiers in armor, Qi Ji smacked his lips slightly in dissatisfaction.
Since she entered the city from the outermost city wall, the first place she came into contact with was of course the outermost parish.
As the parish closest to the "Gray Field" of the outside world and the evil spirits, it naturally focuses on military defense.
If you want to see the real customs and culture of the Last Kingdom and experience the life of the local residents, you have to walk a little further inside.
So she quickened her pace and walked straight into the depths of the city at a pace almost like a jog.
Along the way, she passed through layers of military facilities and city walls without deliberately hiding her whereabouts and breath.
But the soldiers on sentry duty or patrol only glanced at her and did not show any vigilance about the mysterious person covered in a cloak walking all the way to the heart of the city.
I can only say that this is the national situation...
Qi Ji complained in her heart. About half an hour later, when she walked around a shorter wall, the military buildings that came into her sight were no longer the same, oppressive ones.
A large group of wooden residential buildings spread out before her eyes.
The number of floors ranges from three to five, and the roofs are mostly flat, not the sloping tiled roofs.
"Hey, why are there still so few people?"
However, after seeing the scene in front of him, Qi Ji still felt a little surprised.
The unpaved streets were sparsely populated, with few pedestrians to be seen, making the originally narrow streets seem very empty.
But judging by the number and size of residential houses on both sides... there shouldn't be so few people?
Qi Ji felt strange, so he expanded his perception a little and explored the interior of these residential buildings. He found that there were people inside and they were not empty.
In other words... these residents are deliberately hiding in their houses and not going out?
Why is this? Is it a custom unique to the Last Kingdom?
That's not right! If the residents of the Last Kingdom generally don't like to go out, then why is it necessary to plan something like "streets" in the city?
Qi Ji sensed something was wrong with all these contradictions. She slowed down her pace, walking along the edge of the street and under the eaves of the residential buildings, making her presence less noticeable and no longer walking in a loud voice like before.
"Bang bang bang!"
Just a few minutes after she took it and left, she heard a brutal banging noise coming from a nearby street corner.
Then came a stern and loud shout:
"Is Toby Inlder in?! I know you're in there, come out right now!"
Qi Ji suddenly became curious and immediately quickened his pace, going around the corner.
I saw a group of people dressed in black with serious faces standing in front of a window, and the window was closed tightly. The men in black were knocking hard on the wooden window panel, making an uneasy sound.
"Toby Inld! Come out immediately! This is your last warning. We will take strong measures against those who refuse to cooperate!"
The leading man in black raised his voice a bit more and banged on the window a few more times with such force that the window frame was shaking.
"The emblem on their chests... do they belong directly to the Final Church?"
Qi Ji keenly discovered that the black-clad men had the "Pure White Gate" logo embroidered on the chest of their clothes, which meant that they were not under the jurisdiction of the church in this diocese, but only accepted the dispatch of the ultimate Holy See.
Converted to Earth, it is roughly equivalent to the imperial palace guards.
Logically speaking, this should be a very loyal unit, so why was it sent to this "remote" parish?
From what they just said, it seems that they want to arrest a man named "Toby Ind" in the house? Who is this man? What crime has he committed? The Vatican actually sent someone to arrest him?
Many doubts flashed through Qi Ji's mind, and the team of men in black looked at each other after they knocked on the window for a long time without any response.
Then, the man in black who was closest to the window twisted around and gave a flying kick, kicking the window open with a "bang"!
"Go! The person is definitely inside, control him!"
Following the commander's stern command, the men in black rushed forward and climbed in through the narrow window.
These people were very skilled. The window looked to be less than half a meter square, and at most one person could enter at a time. However, they managed to get seven or eight people in in less than five seconds.
Suddenly there was a lot of messy noise of smashing and footsteps in the house, as if someone was fighting desperately.
There was also a boy's voice that sounded a bit childish, shouting in fear:
“Ahhh! Don’t catch me!! I know I was wrong!!! Please let me go!…”
But the noise only lasted a few seconds before it subsided.
"Be honest with me!"
"If you make trouble again, I'll make you suffer!"
Instead, there was the uncompromising scolding of the man in black.
The chaotic footsteps gradually became orderly, and not long after, a door next to the window that was kicked in was pushed open, and the man in black who had entered before pushed a thin figure out.
Administrative division diagram of the headquarters of the last country
The black lines are city walls and the green dots are buildings.
This is roughly how the “diocese” is divided. It’s a little hard to explain in words, but it becomes clear when you draw a picture.
Chapter 499 Dark Guards
I'm in good shape today, so I'll just write one more chapter. This chapter counts as the update for the 12th.
====================
In the Last Kingdom headquarters, in a parish near the outskirts, a group of men in black with the "Pure White Gate" logo embroidered on their chests were escorting a young boy.
Qi Ji took a closer look and saw that the boy was about sixteen or seventeen years old, very thin, with dark skin, wearing very simple and dirty rags, with messy hair and looking a little sloppy.
At first glance, this looks like just a little beggar.
Why did they start such a big fight that they eventually attracted the Vatican's direct troops?
Qi Ji was confused, but he didn't step forward rashly. After all, he didn't understand the ins and outs of the matter, and it was inappropriate to interfere in other people's internal affairs.
She quietly hid behind a building on the corner, sticking half of her head out and secretly watching the situation over there.
Two or three men in black clamped the boy's upper body. These men in black were all burly and strong men. How could the boy, who was as thin as a monkey, resist under such a posture?
"Don't catch me... I really know I was wrong... Don't catch me..."
His whole body was shaking violently, his shoulders and head were trembling like sieved bran, and his pale lips uttered a series of illogical and pleading sentences in panic. He looked so scared that he was almost mad.
The man in black showed no sympathy, and with a serious and rigid poker face, he escorted the boy to the middle of the road, where a four-wheeled carriage with a closed compartment was parked. The compartment was black and the "Pure White Gate" logo was also printed on the side.
Although it is called a "horse carriage", the animal power pulling the vehicle is not actually horses.
It is a bipedal animal that looks a bit like a lizard. Its appearance is very similar to the earth dragons commonly seen in Earth fantasy novels. Qi Ji has never seen it in the human world. It is most likely a specialty of the Last Kingdom.
The young man was pushed onto the carriage by seven or eight sturdy men in black in an absolutely irresistible manner, and sat in the middle of the bench in the carriage. The tall men in black flanked him on both sides with vigilant looks, not giving him any chance to struggle.
"Oh!"
"His-"
As the door of the carriage slammed shut, the lizard-like bipedal animal made a shrill cry under the driver's reins, and then moved with its recurved legs, pulling the carriage away in a flash.
Soon, the black four-wheeled carriage disappeared from the street, and the city's air returned to its cold and solemn state.
"That direction... is it the Central Diocese?"
Qi Ji watched the carriage go away, gently stroking his chin with one hand, and walked out of the shadows on the street corner, thinking:
"They're taking that little boy to the Central Parish? So what has he done wrong? Why all this fuss..."
She was a little confused. When the boy who seemed to be called "Toby Inld" was escorted out by the men in black, she had already used her various senses to carefully investigate this man.
The result is... this young man is just a sloppy, skinny and poor guy. Not only does he not possess extraordinary spiritual powers, his body is also very weak, and his physical constitution is much worse than that of ordinary people.
He didn't have anything special with him. The only valuable item on his body was his tattered clothes. He didn't have any property at all.
For such a person, what was the purpose of the Holy See that made it send out special troops to capture him?
What is the connection with the current situation of the city's residents staying indoors? Could it be that the residents are hiding from the group of men in black? Are they arresting people on a large scale?
It's really weird...
"Hey, shorty over there! What are you doing wandering around the streets by yourself?!"
A loud scolding interrupted her thoughts.
Qi Ji turned around and saw a middle-aged man in a black uniform walking out of a nearby street, staring at him with a frown:
"I'm talking about you! Don't hang around outside for no reason!"
Although this person was also wearing a black uniform, there was no "Pure White Gate" logo on his chest, and the color of his clothes was different from that of the previous group of people. It was not pure black, but more gray.
And he was alone, without a carriage.
