029. The Inquisitor
I remember the rain falling on the grasslands like pearls, gently rolling, crystal clear.
"Comrade Drelov, I've been working for two years now, and I'm in good health. When will the General Affairs Bureau assign me a husband? I can't wait any longer."
I remember spring taking away a bit of the coolness, then using warm and pleasant arms to gently embrace one's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Comrade Alexia, but the most suitable person for you hasn't been born in this era yet."
I remember children running barefoot and free under the white clouds and blue sky. On the other side of the golden wheat field was a friendly brown bear, living in harmony with nature and people.
"Comrade Alexia, would you like to participate in a wedding that transcends time and space? To see the future world on our behalf."
I remember the great white swan lifting the space shuttle, sending heroes to the sky, their aspirations soaring, all aimed at the deep dark Star Abyss.
"Alexia..."
I remember—
"Alexia."
The man's call awakened Alexia from her dreams.
"Sorry, I got lost in thought." She offered a slight apology, but the man who called himself Li Aozi seemed to understand her emotions.
Li Aozi didn't offer any comforting words, instead lightly patting his shoulder, then turned to the young man beside him and said, "Let's go, this isn't the place for conversation."
She lowered her head, her mind blank, her boots sinking into the soft soil. She turned her head to look at the heroes buried around her, whose tombstones had even been eroded.
Five hundred years is a long time for a country, but just a fleeting moment for this planet.
What should I do?
Where should I go?
Where is my world, my home?
Alexia looked down at herself in her solemn uniform and suddenly said:
"I don't seem to look like a bride about to walk into a wedding."
"You are who you are, Miss Alexia." Li Aozi waved his hand. "If you're willing, come with me; maybe you'll find your answer."
Alexia bit her lip. As Li Aozi raised his hand, ready to use gravity to move the Niobium Alloy coffin, Alexia walked over and casually pressed a few buttons. The coffin that had protected her for five hundred years began to rapidly transform, compress, and fold. Under Barnum's shocked gaze, it finally turned into a very ordinary briefcase.
Alexia lightly gripped the metal box with both hands and was about to follow Li Aozi when she suddenly stopped. She turned her head, her gaze sweeping across the cemetery, and then said to Li Aozi:
"Can you wait for me a moment?"
Li Aozi nodded.
"Thank you."
Alexia gave him a grateful look, turned, and walked into the forest. After a while, she returned, holding a bouquet of flowers. She walked past Li Aozi and Barnum, placing the bouquets on the weathered, eroded tombstones.
"Lieutenant Alexey, thank you for fighting against radiation until the last moment. Good night."
"I remember you, Major Ohalion Mahed. Your son and I attended the same middle school."
"Sergeant Yang Zihui, the motherland has not forgotten your heroic deeds."
"Firefighter Shicun Ryoji, the nuclear contamination did not spread."
She clearly spoke the names of everyone buried here and their deeds, even though Barnum, who wasn't very proficient in Yami Liyoko language, could guess what she was saying.
He turned his head. As a person of the new era from the Frost-Plated Republic, Barnum didn't quite understand this behavior and asked in his native language, "It's been five hundred years; the bodies underground should have already decomposed along with the coffins, right?"
Li Aozi raised a finger. Normally frivolous, he was solemn at this moment and softly said:
"Say nothing."
After placing the last bouquet of flowers, she looked at her own grave, silent, unable to find peace for a long time.
Several seconds later, she raised her head and faced the cold light of the artificial sun, saying:
"The sun you've raised isn't blinding at all."
['Alexia Emanuel Justein' has joined your team]
[Name]: Alexia Emanuel Justein
[Race]: Homo sapiens
[Gender]: Biological female
[Age]: ??? years
[Template]: High-level veteran combat NPC (+10% maximum health, +15% damage rate)
[Faction]: Yami Liyoko Federation (Destroyed)
[Total Level]: lv.80
——[Primary Class]: [Inquisitor] lv.40 (Unknown faction)
——[Secondary Classes]: [Prosecutor] lv.30; [Scout] lv.10;
[Health]: 550/550 (Healthy)
[Energy]: 650/650
[Attributes]:
Strength——62
Dexterity——47
Constitution——50
Charisma——33
Will——65
[Talents]:
Racial Talent • Adaptive Body——Homo sapiens have dominated this planet, and through years of evolution, their bodies have become highly adapted to the natural environment. Upon reaching adulthood, Homo sapiens gain +10 to all attributes.
Class Talent • Inquisitorial Sanction——You are the defender of order, using your eyes to pierce the night and your sword to tear open the curtain of dawn. For every 1 point of [Will], gain 1 point of [Strength].
Beta-Level • Advanced Effect: For targets with higher health than yours, all attacks will deal 300% additional spell damage.
[Specialties]:
[Perpetual • Sleepless]——The law may sleep, but you do not. You can forsake your sleep to gain growth in [Will]. Every 30 natural days, [Will] +1.
Perpetual Effect: When [Will] is your primary attribute, you are immune to spirit attacks.
[Military Weapon Proficiency]——You are proficient in all military weapons and gain 100% proficiency benefits when learning new military weapon skills.
[Photographic Memory]——You have an astonishing long-term and short-term memory. Any image or text you see once will never be forgotten, although painful memories also remain.
[Skills]:
"Investigation," "Conviction," "Prosecution," "Sentencing," "Punishment," "Detention," "Trial," "Inquisition"—from [Inquisitor]; (level difference too large to display)
"Advanced Education Knowledge," "Objective Materialism," "Professor-Level • Jurisprudence," "Professor-Level • Criminal Law," "Professor-Level • Procedural Law," "Professor-Level • Analytical School," "Master-Level • Criminal Investigation" (level difference too large to display)
[Tier]: Beta-Level (Soon to advance)
——————————
Li Aozi closed Alexia's attribute panel and glanced in the rearview mirror at the old-era Inquisitor sitting in the back seat. She leaned against the hover car's door, her head turned to look out the window.
The cold sunlight bathed her naturally smooth skin. Alexia's eyes reflected the neon-lit streets, silent and expressionless.
This era must have deeply disappointed her. Not only has technology not advanced, but society has also regressed compared to five hundred years ago. On the curfewed streets, people scattered in all directions, with many taking advantage of the chaos to loot and ransack stores.
It was awful.
Even Barnum, the driver, felt embarrassed seeing this scene from the past. He explained in Yami Liyoko language, "This is just a small country. The four nations are still very developed."
Alexia didn't respond, as if her heart had died along with her homeland.
A pure-hearted girl, filled with the hopes of her time and longing for the future, had come alone to a world five hundred years later, only to see such a sight. She couldn't find the words to say.
The atmosphere in the car was oppressive, but Li Aozi offered no explanations.
"Shouldn't you comfort her?" Barnum couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you her fiancé or something?"
"So what?"