The dragonfly is hailed as the king of flight, its soaring truly embodies the essence of free will. It can change directions freely in all dimensions—suddenly up, suddenly down, forwards, backwards, left, right—hover, land, and make rapid turns. The entire process is swift, quiet, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Under Xiao Guang's instruction, Bai Qiangqiang sat behind him. He was tethered by a rope, steadying himself on the dragonfly's back.
"Bro, I'm getting dizzy from the height!"
Thinking again, Bai Qiangqiang found Xiao Guang to be quite young, even younger than himself, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He changed his wording, "This thing that can fly, and it suddenly turns... What if I vomit?"
"If there's no danger, I'll tell it not to do that," Xiao Guang reassured.
"That's good."
Experiencing an unexpected steadiness, Bai Qiangqiang gently ascended into the sky as he spoke. The agility of the king of flight, combined with human intelligence, showcased both smoothness and speed to the utmost. Only when the wind whooshed by his ears did Bai Qiangqiang look around, realizing he was already high up.
Gazing at the distant, hazy forest, Bai Qiangqiang turned his head back and found that the base was no longer visible.
The clever Bai Qiangqiang fell silent; he was tired and yet at peace. Where could Xiao Guang be taking him? He couldn't be bothered to ponder.
Despite the stringent information lockdown, Jun Ya was still well-informed. She and her father gathered fragments of conversation, piecing together the truth whenever enough pieces were available.
Jun Ya's complexion was pale; the confinement's prison life had taken a toll on her mood and health. But what was heartening was that every one or two days, those secret messages would arrive, and the news from outside had filled her and her father with excitement.
Two days ago, for some unknown reason, Jun Ya and her father had been transferred to the highest floor. They had left that windowless, stuffy room behind. The benefit was that they could finally gaze at the distance from the top floor's windows. The drawback was that this place lacked the dividing walls for eavesdropping.
This was an added room on the rooftop, like an unauthorized construction in the middle of a residential building's roof. They could only have a proper view by stepping out of the room and onto the edge of the rooftop. Otherwise, their sight was limited to the distant sky, the rooftop's railing, and the towering trees. They couldn't see the ground from their vantage point; in a sense, they were truly isolated. Furthermore, the delivery person had changed; no messages had been sent over these past two days. Father and daughter were trapped in a situation with no way out, neither up nor down.
"Dad, we've been trapped for two days."
"Mhm, don't panic," Old Jin remained composed, "It means Liu Xing is starting to panic."
"Well, um," Jun Ya hesitated before speaking again, "Xiao Guang...?"
"He's alive," Old Jin nodded, "You'll know the twists and turns only when you meet him. The letters can't convey that much."
Satisfied, Jun Ya closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again, glancing at the distant sky.
"Dad, what's beneath this building?"
"Terrifying creatures," Old Jin paused and continued, "The letter said we can't approach, they can quickly devour reconnaissance insects."
"Based on what we know, we haven't heard any beetle sounds from the sky, and Su Lao wouldn't send out such big disturbances with beetles. They have cultivated grasshoppers; they might have sent grasshoppers to investigate, but they can't get close, might even be swiftly devoured. I suspect it's not just this building; the entire perimeter of the base is tightly encircled," analyzed Old Jin.
"Do we have any way to save ourselves?" Jun Ya's anxiety was growing.
"Escaping like agents is quite difficult. Have you noticed these past two days? Sometimes, small insects fall from the roof."
"Yes, and then?"
Remember that translations can sometimes involve interpretation and cultural nuances that might not have exact equivalents in the target language. The given translation aims to capture the essence of the original text in a light novel style while ensuring grammatical accuracy and readability in English.
"These little insects, flying out from the roof... logically..." Old Jin glanced at his daughter.
"Logically, we should be able to see them not far from here." Jun Ya suddenly felt a sense of dread.
"Yes, but perhaps they got tired from flying and fell straight down from the sky. After resting, they didn't fly out of this building. Something, like tentacles, might have pulled them back. I don't think they're alive anymore."
"What could that be?"
"Unclear. Look around the perimeter of this base; there's a lack of vibrant scenes."
Jun Ya surveyed her surroundings. In the past, the base had defensive arrow towers pointed towards the sky, akin to the castles of Norse mythology guarding against fire-breathing dragons in the heavens. Around the castle, there would be bustling traffic, pedestrians passing by, and the clamor of people.
Now, the base resembled a city after a plague in a horror novel. Similarly, the sun was bright, the distance lush and breezy. Perhaps, there were numerous unknown insects diligently dancing among the trees and grass.
However, they definitely didn't approach the base. On one hand, there was insect-repellent powder scattered around the base. After all, humans seemed minuscule to insects. Even unknown insects might cause harm to unprepared people, and even harmless insects would attract their predators. On the other hand, there seemed to be a tremendous threat that kept the few insects daring to venture near the boundary, far away, and never approaching again. There was even a feeling that they only glanced from afar before leaving immediately.
As for the base's vegetation, it had inexplicably flourished during this time. Like a world in contact, there were lush green lawns and flourishing trees. Not a trace of decay could be seen. Occasionally, a fallen leaf would float down from somewhere, but it was swiftly cleaned up. The entire base was like plastic products, devoid of any vitality.
Jun Ya had grown even thinner these past two days. She spent her days leaning against the windowsill, looking outside. The sky seemed so distant. She often recalled Xiao Guang, that silly guy who didn't understand anything.
She remembered that Xiao Guang, who was afraid of heights, stayed motionless on the leaves at the top of the tree. That Xiao Guang who suddenly could ride insects, actually rode around looking for food.
Jun Ya wasn't naive at all. She knew that in this foolish guy's heart, she was a goddess. She felt both happy and ordinary about it because she had been accustomed to being looked up to since childhood. She was also kind, with a good upbringing. She wouldn't treat pursuers like prey, using her beauty and intelligence. She wouldn't engage in any ambiguities with multiple men.
So, even though Jun Ya knew Xiao Guang was pretending to be calm, pretending to be brave, taking care of their parents and her, she never offered any temptation. She never gave Xiao Guang any illusions. She felt that if she didn't have feelings for someone, she shouldn't string them along.
However, emotions were just that magical. When Xiao Guang left, her heart felt a twinge of reluctance that was different from parting with friends. For many days after, she would dream of that foolish guy. In her dreams, Xiao Guang was just like before, sitting with her on a tree branch, sipping dew, gazing at the enormous moon. In her dreams, she playfully teased the furrowed-browed Xiao Guang, who was deep in thought, and that feeling of happiness was so vivid.
Clever as Jun Ya was, she understood Xiao Guang's sense of inferiority. She stood atop like a princess, her appearance, knowledge, and family background all placing her far beyond Xiao Guang's reach. She also understood Xiao Guang, how he silently apprenticed himself, worked hard in silence. He didn't aspire to be on par with her, just to accompany her for a little longer.
Every journey has its end. Jun Ya returned to the base, while Xiao Guang chose to be a hero, a wanderer. Within the base, Jun Ya maintained an appearance of nonchalance, dedicating her time to the base's development. Only she knew the significance of the wandering Xiao Guang in her heart.
Whenever news arrived of a wandering hero's rescue, she would smile and celebrate with others. Silently in her heart, she would pray. When she learned he was about to embark on another adventure, she did her best to provide support for him. Every time her father prepared study materials for him, no matter how busy she was, she proactively helped organize them. Under the light of candlelit nights, she stitched the pages tightly together. She admitted it, she was in love.
She remembered that time in the forest when Xiao Guang was gone for too long. She was worried, but when he returned, she acted as if she didn't care.
She tilted her head slightly, like a young lady.
"Alright, Fool, you finally came back. Hurry and tidy yourself up, look at how disheveled you are..."
Xiao Guang was taken aback, then quickly responded, "No, it's not like that. I just became Master Jin's disciple. I was so happy that I didn't have time to clean up. I'll do it right away, I won't let our family lose face."
"Who's your family!" She glared, "Hurry up and gather some dew; I want to wash my feet."
In the distance, the blue sky was adorned with fluffy white clouds, gently drifting on the horizon. Overwhelmed by emotions, Jun Ya couldn't help but softly sing:
In my dreams, You and I are intertwined, wing to wing. In my memories, There's your embrace and charm. Time can't extinguish the flames, I remember where we once stayed, That period of time I can't erase. I can't respond to your love, So let it forever reside in that song of ours.
The gentle melody quickly drifted away with the wind, becoming fainter in the distance. Yet, no one noticed that faraway in the sky, deep within a cluster of white clouds, an inconspicuous black dot trembled imperceptibly.