Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The temporary command post on the north side of the square.

Lin Yi stood in front of a simple combat platform, in front of which was a holographic projection of a three-dimensional map of Trinity College and the surrounding area.

Saintia from Lily Garden sat beside her, wrapped in a thick blanket, her face paler than usual, clearly indicating she hadn't been getting enough rest lately.

Kirito Nagisa is standing on the other side, communicating with the Millennium Science Park via a channel.

Her expression was not good—the price offered by Millennium was 50% higher than she had expected, and they also demanded that half be paid in advance as a "risk deposit".

"Ten billion, right now." Kirito Nagisa gritted his teeth and repeated the other party's demand. "Those bastards at the seminar... they clearly know our current situation."

“Give them to them,” Shengya from Lily Garden said softly, her voice weak but undeniable. “Money can be earned again, but time cannot be bought back.”

Kirito Nagisa took a deep breath and said into the communicator, "Agreed. Funds will be in your account within ten minutes. When will your troops be in position?"

“They’re already on their way,” a calm female voice came through the communicator. “C&C forces will arrive in fifteen minutes. Also, the seminar asked me to convey this message: ‘If the situation is true, Millennium will honor the agreement. But if this is an internal conspiracy by Trinity… you know the consequences.’”

call ended.

Kirito Nagisa turned off the communicator and rubbed her temples.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance to the square.

Their uniforms bore the insignia of the Valkyrie Police School, but their weaponry was clearly superior to that of regular law enforcement forces.

At the head of the group was a girl with short silver hair.

She carried the insignia of the SRT Special Academy on her shoulder—Kivotos's top special operations training institution, which typically does not participate in regular conflicts between academies.

However, SRT has now merged with the Valkyrie Police Academy, so they have also been dispatched.

“Chief Oiba,” Nagisa Kirito greeted him, nodding politely, “thank you for your support.”

"You're welcome." Kanna Ojima's voice was cold. "A direct order from the Federation Student Council. I only have one question—is the intelligence accurate?"

“We have reliable evidence,” replied Saintia from Lily Garden.

She leaned forward slightly from her wheelchair and looked at Kanna Tailblade: "If the intelligence is wrong, Trinity will bear all the consequences."

Kanna Ooshita stared at her for a few seconds, then nodded: "That would be best."

Almost at the same time, commotion was also heard from the other side of the square.

Black combat uniforms and signature equipment—these are the suppression forces of the Gohena Disciplinary Committee.

Hina Sorasaki walked at the front of the group, and her iconic heavy machine gun had been replaced with a new one.

Her wings were folded behind her back, and her purple eyes swept across the crowd in the square before finally landing on Lin Yi.

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Hina Sorasaki nodded slightly, said nothing, and led her troops to the designated assembly area.

But not everyone can remain restrained.

When Gohena's troops entered the square, some Trinity students clearly showed hostility.

The hatred accumulated over decades of friction, conflict, and bloodshed cannot be easily erased by a cooperation agreement.

An elite guard from Trinity raised his rifle. Although the muzzle wasn't directly pointed at Gohena's men, the gesture was clear enough.

Then, the second, the third...

The air suddenly tensed.

Gohena's side also reacted quickly. The disciplinary committee members put their hands on their weapons, adjusted their formation slightly, and entered a state of combat readiness.

"lay down your weapon!"

Kirito Nagisa's voice resounded throughout the square through the loudspeaker, but the effect was limited.

Most of the students who brandished guns belonged to the radical faction and were already somewhat resistant to the authority of the tea party.

Just as the conflict was about to erupt—

An invisible killing intent, like a tangible tide, suddenly spread out from Lin Yi as the center.

Everyone enveloped by this power felt as if their heart was being gripped by an invisible hand, making it difficult to breathe. Their bodies felt as if they were encased in cement, and even moving a finger became a luxury.

The Trinity students, who were holding guns, froze in mid-air, their hostility turning into expressions of terror.

The same was true for Gohena; the disciplinary committee members maintained a fighting stance but were unable to take any further action.

The entire square, with thousands of people, seemed frozen in time at that moment.

Only a few people could still move with difficulty—Hina Sorasaki's wings trembled slightly, Kanna Tailblade's fingers twitched, Saya Yurien closed her eyes, and Nagisa Kirito's lips moved, but no sound came out.

The pressure lasted only three seconds.

Three seconds later, it dissipated as quickly as the tide receding.

"Thump," "thump"... A series of knee strikes echoed across the square.

Many students collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, their uniforms soaked with cold sweat.

Those who had been holding guns just moments before were now deathly pale, their weapons clattering to the ground, but no one dared to pick them up.

Lin Yi withdrew his murderous aura, turned to Tongteng Zhu, and said in a calm tone as if nothing had happened: "Keep your people in check."

Kirito Nagisa took a deep breath, forcing herself to recover from that near-death fear.

She picked up the megaphone, her voice sterner than ever before: "All Trinity personnel, heed my command! From this moment forward, the Gohena Disciplinary Committee, the Valkyrie SRT Force, and the Federation Student Union Emergency Response Force are all allies in this operation! Any act of hostility towards allies will be considered a betrayal of the Academy and will be dealt with according to wartime regulations!"

Her gaze swept over the students who had collapsed to the ground, lingering for a moment longer in the direction of the "Justice Realization Department" group.

"I repeat—this is an order."

This time, no one dared to question it anymore.

1:20 a.m.

Trinity College, the main building of the Sisters' Guild.

This area was originally the "Ancient Books Preservation Area" of the Sisters, which stored a large number of religious books and historical archives.

Normally only a few authorized nuns are allowed to enter, and they must undergo identity verification.

But now, the heavy alloy door has been violently broken open, the twisted door panel has fallen to one side, revealing a dark passage behind it.

The tunnel has a complex internal structure with obvious signs of modification. Its ventilation and lighting systems are independent of the Trinity main network.

More importantly, the reconnaissance robot detected a large-scale man-made space and active life signals at a depth of about fifty meters underground.

“Confirmed.” Kanna Ooshima looked at the tactical tablet in her hand, the screen displaying real-time data transmitted by the reconnaissance robot. “There is a complete underground facility, large enough to accommodate at least tens of thousands of people long-term. Energy emissions, communication signals, and… heat signatures of the weapons depot.”

She looked up at Lin Yi, who was standing at the entrance of the passage: "You knew all along?"

"A guess, now confirmed," Lin Yi replied simply.

He looked at the group behind him—the Holy Trinity's guard, Gohena's suppression forces, Valkyrie's SRT, the Federal Student Union's emergency response team, and the five from Abydos.

Saintia from Lily Garden did not come down; her body could not withstand the environment, so she remained in the command center above.

Kirito Nagisa and Seizo Mika, as representatives of Trinity, stood at the front of the procession.

Hina Sorasaki and Kanna Ojima each command their own troops.

The Federation Student Council was led by Shichigami Rin herself, and she decided to take a gamble.

"The action plan is simple," Lin Yi's voice echoed in the corridor. "Break through head-on, eliminate resistance, and control the core area."

"Why not try negotiation?" Shichigami Rin couldn't help but ask. "If possible, the Federation Student Council hopes to resolve this with minimal cost—"

“The premise of negotiation is that both sides are willing to compromise.” Kirito interrupted her, his voice icy. “What Arius wants is the complete destruction of the Holy Trinity and the collapse of the existing order in Givotos, not to have tea and chat with us.”

Kirito Nagisa's words were like an icicle, piercing the last vestige of illusion.

Shichigami Rin opened her mouth, but ultimately remained silent and took a step back, signaling the Federation Student Council's emergency response team to enter a state of readiness.

Without further ado, when one side seeks not the distribution of benefits but utter destruction, the negotiating table becomes nothing more than a decoration.

Hina Sorasaki gestured to the disciplinary committee members, and Gohena's suppression forces began to advance into the alloy door that had been violently broken open.

The heavy combat boots pounded on the ground with a rhythmic, suppressed sound.

However, the moment the first group of people stepped across the threshold—

"boom!!"

The shockwave from the explosion surged from deep underground, instantly compressing the air in the tunnel before causing it to expand violently.

The disciplinary committee member at the forefront was thrown back by the blast wave, crashing heavily against the side wall of the passage, sending rubble scattering down. "Landmine!" Ayako's voice came through the comms, calm yet urgent. "There's a pressure-sensitive IED ten meters ahead. Trigger method unknown. Engineers recommended to proceed first—"

She didn't finish her words.

The second and third explosions followed in quick succession.

This was a chain reaction.

The lighting cables at the top of the passageway were shattered, and the emergency lights instantly turned on, casting swaying shadows onto the cracked walls.

The disciplinary committee member who was the first to be blown away coughed as he climbed up from the rubble.

Her halo glowed a dark red light the instant the explosion occurred, and it remains steadily suspended above her head—but tiny cracks have appeared at the edge of the halo.

Even more shocking was her uniform: the thick bulletproof fabric was torn into strips, revealing the bruised and purple skin underneath. The strips of cloth barely clung to her body, making it more like a tattered shroud than a combat uniform.

"Lorentz, exit the sequence." Hina Sorasaki's voice was devoid of any emotion. She didn't even glance at the team member, her purple eyes fixed on the depths of the passage. "The aura is in a critical state. Continuing to act will cause it to overload and break."

The disciplinary committee member named Lorenz gritted his teeth, pressed one hand against the still-bleeding wound on his shoulder, and staggered backward.

She knew very well the basis of President Hina's judgment—the purplish-red marks that appeared on the skin's surface were a clear sign that the aura had reached its damage-bearing limit.

These marks are not bruises, but rather imprints left on the body when the aura energy is over-output.

If subjected to another impact of the same intensity, the halo system will collapse like an overloaded circuit.

Every student at Kivotos knows perfectly well what losing the protection of the aura means.

On Trinity's side, Kirito Nagisa has already deployed engineering troops.

The girls, dressed in light gray uniforms and wearing fully enclosed engineering helmets, quickly entered the passageway carrying various detection devices.

The scanners in their hands emitted a low hum, and green laser lines moved slowly across the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"Seventy-four explosive devices detected." The engineer captain's voice came through his mask, somewhat distorted. "The triggering mechanisms are complex, including wired, pressure-sensitive, and infrared sensors. Mine clearance will take time."

"How long?" Kirito Nagisa asked.

"A conservative estimate is forty minutes."

“We don’t have forty minutes,” Saintia’s voice came from the command center above. “Arius knows we’re in. They’re stalling for time to buy time to move or activate some device.”

Lin Yi glanced at the darkness deep within the passage.

His senses had extended outwards, but the underground structure was being interfered with by some kind of energy field, and the information that returned was very fragmented.

Arius has probably been operating here for longer than Trinity had imagined.

"Then let's force our way in," Hina Sorasaki said calmly.

“The cost of a forced entry is that one-third of our engineers will reach their injury tolerance limit,” the engineer captain countered. “And we can’t guarantee complete elimination—some IEDs have very advanced camouflage techniques, and our equipment isn’t foolproof.”

After a brief silence, Kirito Nagisa made a decision: "Proceed with the mine clearance as planned. But lower the safety threshold to 70%—if the damage reaches 70%, immediately retreat and replace the personnel. We need to open this passage as soon as possible."

After the order was issued, the engineering corps began operations.

The first landmine was successfully defused, then the second, the third... The scanner's green light flashed steadily, recording the safe path.

But in the eleventh minute, an accident occurred.

A combat engineer triggered a hidden second layer of sensing mechanism while dismantling a wall-mounted explosive device.

The explosion was not violent, but instead of shrapnel, it ejected a gel-like substance with a pungent odor.

The gel adhered to the engineers' protective suits and instantly began to react violently, emitting thick yellow-green smoke.

"Acid bombs! Retreat!"

too late.

The three closest engineers were shrouded in smoke, their halos flashing violently as they uttered mournful cries of unbearable strain.

Within seconds, the protective suit was corroded with holes of varying sizes, and the skin underneath quickly blistered.

The medic rushed forward and dragged the three out of the danger zone.

The first aid spray, when applied to the wound, neutralizes the acidic substance but also causes new, intense pain.

One of the engineers curled up in pain, the halo above her head now so dim it was almost invisible.

The medic stared at the data on the vital signs monitor, his voice strained: "Parasier!"

"Take it out!" the engineering captain roared. "Second team, take over! Keep dismantling!"

This is just the beginning.

Over the next twenty minutes, the engineering corps encountered a variety of insidious traps: detonators disguised as light switches, miniature explosives buried in load-bearing columns, and even booby traps disguised as everyday student items—such as a dropped lipstick or an open notebook.

Arius knew this place inside and out.

They know which areas will be prioritized for inspection and which will be ignored.

They exploited people's psychological blind spots and placed the landmines in a very concealed manner.

By the time the passage was finally declared "basically safe," the engineering corps had lost half its manpower.

Forty-seven girls withdrew from the operation due to halo overload or serious injury and were sent to a medical station on the ground.

Of the remaining people, nearly a third had injuries of varying degrees.

But the road has been opened.

Lin Yi was the first to step into the cleaned passageway.

He did not wait for the follow-up troops, but walked straight ahead.

Kirito Nagisa wanted to speak up to remind him, but she swallowed the words back—she had witnessed this man's style of doing things more than once.

Sure enough, the traps she encountered next proved that her worries were not unfounded.

The arrow shot out from the hidden compartment, but was deflected by a force field just before it hit Lin Yi's vest, and clattered against the wall.

The arrowheads glowed with an eerie blue light, clearly coated with some kind of poison.

The ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a deep pit covered with barbs underneath.

Lin Yi's steps didn't even stop; his body floated across the trap area as if weightless, landing only half an inch from the edge of the pit.

Heavy spikes fell from the ceiling, and the walls on both sides suddenly closed—these were ancient mechanical traps, which seemed out of place in the technological context of Kivotos, but precisely because of this, they were even more difficult to detect by conventional detection equipment.

Lin Yi did not attempt to crack or dismantle these traps.

He just kept walking forward.

The nail board was shredded to pieces by the sword energy before it even touched his head, and the closed wall was shaken apart when it was still half a meter away from his body, leaving deep dents on the concrete surface.

He erected a thin shield, not for defense, but to "push away" those annoying obstacles.

Arrows, spikes, falling rocks, poisonous fog... everything that tried to stop him was deflected or crushed the moment it touched the shield.

For Lin Yi, this was simply a matter of efficiency.

Instead of wasting time dismantling each trap one by one, it's better to just run them over.

The group followed behind him, watching the man carve a path through the maze like a human obstacle-breaking vehicle.

The sounds of mechanisms being triggered and then instantly destroyed echoed from both sides of the passage. Occasionally, a few traps slipped through the net, causing some trouble for the following troops, but compared to the casualties suffered by the engineers during mine clearance, this was negligible.

Ten minutes later, the end of the passage appeared.

It was a dark hole with jagged edges, as if it had been violently torn apart from its original structure.

There was no light source behind the cave entrance, only a bottomless darkness.

Air surged from there, carrying the damp smell unique to the depths of the earth.

The moment Lin Yi stopped to observe in front of the cave entrance, he darted to the right.

Almost at the same instant, a burst of sparks erupted where he had been standing.

A bowl-sized pit was carved into the concrete floor, and the bottom of the pit contained a glassy substance that had been melted and then quickly solidified.

Only then did a short gunshot rang out from deep within the cave entrance, carrying the muffled sound of a silencer.

Sniper bullet.

Subsonic bullets cause the bullet to hit first, followed by the sound of gunfire. (End of Chapter)