Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 182 Memories of the Past Still Visible
The vehicle stopped at the edge of the temporary resettlement area.

Bai Yuekui, Qiu Shi, and Nanji Xing got off the bus one after another.

Looking at the bustling yet orderly area before him, guided by the Guiyuan Warriors, Nanji Xing subconsciously stroked his beard.

"Wow, there are so many old people here! This place is going to be very lively."

Qiu Shi walked past the noisy crowd and focused her gaze on the children being led by the villagers.

Her gaze swept carefully over the small figures, especially lingering on some of the slightly older children, around eight or nine years old.

Most of them were thin and wore ill-fitting and dirty clothes.

What alarmed Qiu Shi even more was that several children had calluses or small scars on their exposed palms and arms that were not appropriate for their age.

“The Lighthouse mentioned collective education…” Qiu Shi began softly, “but these children of the Dust People, although they don’t have to formally participate in heavy physical labor, it seems they’ve already started doing auxiliary chores and running errands. At such a young age…”

She turned to Bai Yuekui beside her: "Boss, I'd like to go check on the children over there first."

"They're new here, in an unfamiliar environment, so they must be scared. I also want to help check if any children are unwell, or... need comforting."

Bai Yuekui followed Qiu Shi's gaze and then nodded slightly to Qiu Shi.

"Well, let's go."

With permission granted, Qiu Shi smiled and, without further delay, walked straight toward the children's group.

Her figure quickly blended into the crowd. She squatted down and looked at a little girl who was timidly tugging at Hongkou's clothes. She smiled and handed her a candy wrapped in colorful candy wrapper that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The child was initially hesitant, but gradually relaxed under Qiu Shi's gentle words and smile.

Qiu Shi looked at the little girl who had accepted the candy, smiled gently, and asked softly, "What's your name?"

The little girl blinked her big eyes and answered softly, "I...I'm called Erica."

"Erica, what a lovely name." Qiu Shi smiled and nodded, gently stroking her hair.

Then her gaze shifted to the older children following behind Erica, who seemed somewhat uneasy.

They wore green number tags on their left chests.

4277, 4068, 4079.

Qiu Shi stood up, walked up to them, and didn't speak immediately. He simply glanced at their faces, which were slightly stained but still undeniably youthful.

She reached out her hand, but instead of touching them, she gently pointed to the number tags on their chests.

"This won't be needed in the future."

Under the somewhat bewildered and nervous gazes of the three children, Qiu Shi gently removed their Dustman number tags one by one.

She held the small metal piece, which represented both her identity and her constraints, in her palm.

“Here, in Dragon Bone Village, everyone can have their own name, a name that truly belongs to you.” Qiu Shi looked at them with an encouraging smile in her eyes.

"You can think of your own names. If you can't think of any right now, or if you'd like, I can help you choose one. Okay?"

The three children looked at each other.

Choosing their own names? This was something they had never even considered.

The boy, number 4068, moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but then timidly lowered his head.

Qiu Shi waited patiently, without urging him.

She knew that breaking free from constraints would take time, even if it was just a small name.

Qiu Shi's voice softened further: "It's alright, take your time thinking about it. A name is a gift for a lifetime, we don't need to rush to decide."

She gently placed the three numbered tags she had removed on the temporary registration table beside her.

Seeing this, Hongkou called to the children, "Alright, children, let's go with Principal Qiushi to see where he lives first. We have plenty of time to think about the name."

The group moved slowly again, and the children who had lost their number tags seemed to walk a little more lightly than before. They would occasionally steal glances at the gentle Qiu Shi beside them, and then at the unfamiliar land around them.

Watching Qiu Shi join the children, Bai Yuekui turned his gaze away and looked at Nanji Xing beside him.

"Did you bring a communicator?" she asked calmly.

"I brought it, I brought it!" Nanjixing quickly took out a small communicator from his pocket and handed it over.

Bai Yuekui took it, directly connected to ASH, and gave concise instructions.

"ASH, deploy idle medical robots from the base to the resettlement area outside Village No. 2 to assist in the initial physical examinations of newly received personnel, with a focus on children and the elderly."

“I’m already making the transfers, Moonbeam,” ASH replied through the communicator.

Bai Yuekui handed the communicator back to Nanjixing, said nothing more, and walked towards the elevator platform where people were still being lowered.

Her silver-white figure stood out in the crowd.

Many of the people from the lighthouse who had just set foot on the ground noticed this woman with a unique aura.

They stared at them curiously, whispering among themselves.

Hongkou turned her head and saw Bai Yuekui walking towards the elevator platform. She seemed to have thought of something, quickly said a few words to Po Xiao beside her, and then jogged after him.

“Boss Bai!” Hongkou stopped beside Bai Yuekui, her breath slightly short.

Bai Yuekui turned his head to look at her, his eyes questioning.

Hongkou pointed to the still-operating elevator platform: "I'll go up with you and take a look."

Bai Yuekui glanced at Hongkou and nodded indifferently.

on the platform.

Red Heron stood with her arms crossed, Dr. Carrie standing beside her, watching another group of people line up in an orderly fashion. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "What about us? When are we going down?"

Red Heron's gaze never left the group: "You and other key technical personnel and adults will remain at the lighthouse for now."

She finally turned her head to look at Carrie: "The lighthouse needs someone to maintain its basic operation. More importantly, I don't want anyone out of their mind to run into the control room and have wild ideas, trying to control the lighthouse to do something stupid at this critical juncture."

"For example, fire an electromagnetic cannon at the village below."

These words were blunt and cold. Victor, standing to the side, silently lowered his head, looking at his cold metal prosthetic fingers, and did not utter a word in rebuttal.

He understood that his past position and identity meant he was now under surveillance, and once the rest of the staff had been completely transferred, he would probably have to go see Morgan.

Carrie raised an eyebrow, seemingly not too surprised by being temporarily "detained," but more concerned about another issue.

"Staying up there is fine with me, but I'm very interested in the ecological base and the research on life source matter you mentioned. Could you arrange something for me later? Even just a visit would be helpful."

Just then, the elevator platform had finished rising, and Bai Yuekui and Hong Kou came out one after the other.

"Sister!" Hongkou stepped forward quickly, first greeting Honglu, then nodding to Jiali.

"Dr. Carrie."

When Honglu saw her sister and Bai Yuekui come up together, she nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and then looked at Jiali: "We'll talk about the research later."

Carrie's attention seemed to be diverted. She looked at Red Hair with a rare smile on her face, and then suddenly changed the subject.

“Since you’re standing here safely, then… what about that hunter named Benny? I remember him. He was seriously injured in both legs. I did my best to treat him, but he was ordered to go on a long journey, and there was nothing I could do.”

Red Hair was taken aback when Carrie suddenly asked about this. She paused for a moment before replying, "Benny is doing well too. His leg has fully recovered, and he's downstairs helping to settle the people."

A hint of surprise flashed in Carrie's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an even stronger curiosity. She nodded, and as she was about to ask for more details, her gaze inadvertently swept over Bai Yuekui, who was not far behind Hongkou.

Upon seeing this, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she seemed frozen in place, the words that were about to come out stuck in her throat.

It's that white-haired woman!?

She did consider that, given the inhuman strength that woman had displayed back then and the ASH artifact she brought back from the ground, it was very likely that she was still alive, and right here in this place called Dragonbone Village.

But she never imagined that after so many years, time seemed to have completely stopped for this woman.

Her silver-white hair, delicate face, and cold demeanor perfectly matched the figure in her memory who had caused such a stir at the lighthouse, without the slightest change!

This...this completely violates any biological laws she knows!
Carrie's breathing quickened involuntarily. As a PhD in biology, her understanding of life, aging, and time was challenged at this moment.

An intense desire to explore overwhelmed her almost instantly, causing her to instinctively step forward, wanting to immediately bombard Bai Yuekui with countless questions.

Honglu noticed Carrie's unusual behavior and stepped forward, blocking Carrie's overly direct gaze.

"Dr. Carrie."

Honglu's words brought Carrie to her senses somewhat, but the shock and curiosity in her eyes remained undiminished.

She pointed at Bai Yuekui, her expression agitated: "That woman...that woman! Honglu, tell me, she...she is...do you know something?!"

Honglu looked at the almost out-of-control Carrie, her expression remaining calm: "The person in the video is her, our Boss Bai, Bai Yuekui."

A simple introduction stirred up a storm in Carrie's heart.

Her name was originally Bai Yuekui... It really was her, and... she looked exactly the same as she did back then!
Just as Carrie was still reeling from the shock, Victor on the other side also got a clear look at Bai Yuekui's face.

Unlike Carrie's shock and inquiry, Victor's reaction was one of deep-seated fear.

He almost immediately retreated, trying to get away from Bai Yuekui.

However, Bai Yuekui clearly didn't look at any of them.

Her gaze fell on Yang Chen, who was standing behind Victor.

She walked straight toward Yang Chen. Victor stood frozen in place, watching Bai Yuekui brush past him. Cold sweat almost soaked his back. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he was sure that she was not targeting him, but the palpitation lingered for a long time.

Bai Yuekui stopped in front of Yang Chen, and their eyes met.

“The situation is stable.” Bai Yuekui spoke first. “Qiu Shi is comforting the child. Once the medical robot is in place, it can conduct screenings. If there is an illness, you should get treatment. Medication is too slow to be effective.”

Yang Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over Carrie, who was still in shock, and Victor, who was still shaken, not far away, before speaking to Bai Yuekui.

"This area is almost ready; the key areas are under control."

Yang Chen seemed to remember something and casually asked, "Where's Xiao Kui? I was planning to bring her to the village today to play for a day, and then take her back to Jiuchuan tomorrow before going to the lighthouse. But the hunters came ahead of time, and the whole plan was ruined."

Bai Yuekui replied, "I'm playing with Maiduo. Anyway, we're in the village, so nothing will go wrong."

Yang Chen nodded.

He then turned his gaze to a certain direction deep within the lighthouse and asked, "Now that we're up here, why don't we go take a look at the other half of the brain? When I was wandering around earlier, I went to the Kloto system, that thing... it looks quite special."

Bai Yuekui followed his gaze and glanced in that direction, but gently shook his head: "Let's wait until everyone has been safely evacuated before we talk about it."

"The situation is still unclear, and it's unknown whether the existence of this other half of the brain will cause unknown interference to the ground-based shielding tower. Although, as of now, the shielding tower is operating normally, and the initial data monitored by ASH has not shown any abnormal fluctuations."

The top priority right now is to ensure the safe landing and proper resettlement of tens of thousands of people in the lighthouse; any unnecessary risks should be avoided first.

Yang Chen listened and agreed that it made sense, so he stopped insisting.

"Okay, let's wait until it's completely quiet here before we talk about it." He nodded.

Hongkou turned to Honglu and asked, "Sister, have you seen Mark? Where...where is he now?"

Honglu's gaze softened for a moment before she replied, "He's in the room, being watched. Go and fetch him."

She paused: "Mark knows you, but he doesn't know me, someone who has been 'deceased' for many years."

Hongkou immediately understood what her sister meant.

When the three laws were promulgated, Honglu had already "sacrificed" himself, and now he was the one who could trust him the most, the one who had been with him day and night.

She nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll go right now!"

After saying that, Hongkou didn't linger any longer and turned to walk quickly toward the Lighthouse residential area.

Hongkou walked quickly through the somewhat empty lighthouse passageway and arrived at a closed door.

Two Guiyuan warriors stood solemnly at the entrance. Upon seeing her, they nodded slightly and made way for her.

Hongkou pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the room, Mark, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, quickly shrank into the shadows in the corner of the room when he heard the door open.

“Mark?” Red Hair called softly.

The figure in the corner froze abruptly, and then a small head cautiously peeked out.

When Mark saw that the familiar red hair and face standing in the doorway, the fear in his eyes was replaced by immense joy.

"Red Cocoon!"

He rushed out from the corner and crashed straight into Hongkou's arms, finally bursting into tears.

"Is it really you!?"

“Hongkou… I knew it! I knew you weren’t dead! They all said you were dead… I didn’t believe it…” Mark’s voice was muffled.

Hongkou was knocked back half a step by the impact, but then regained her footing.

She raised her hand and gently patted Mark's back: "You brat, are you cursing me like that? And don't be disrespectful, call me 'older sister'."

Mark shook his head vigorously in her arms, then nodded vigorously.

"……sister."

That one word, "sister," brought tears to Hongkou's eyes.

She ruffled Mark's hair and said softly, "It's alright, it's all over now."

Mark cried for a while, then gradually calmed down and looked up at Hongkou with teary eyes.

"Sis, what's happening outside? I heard gunshots, and... the lighthouse was shaking really badly earlier, did it encounter a powerful Devouring Beast?"

He was unaware that the lighthouse had changed hands, and even less aware of everything that was happening now.

Hongkou listened to Mark's tearful question, but instead of explaining the dramatic changes outside, she simply ruffled his hair vigorously.

"These things are a long story, you don't need to worry about them now. Come on, let me take you away from here to a better place."

She took Mark's hand, about to lead him out of the locked room, but Mark suddenly stopped and tugged at her sleeve: "Wait, sis! There's also Ran Bing! She's locked in that solitary confinement room next door, I want to take her with me."

Hongkou paused for a moment, but without hesitation, she nodded and said, "Okay, let's take her with us."

She took Mark's hand and walked to the door next door.

Hongkou pushed open the door, revealing a dimly lit and cramped room.

A girl who looked even shorter than Mark was curled up on the hard bed in the corner. Hearing the noise, she looked up in surprise, her eyes filled with vigilance and unease.

Hongkou's gaze fell on the girl, quickly sizing her up before raising an eyebrow.

"Ran Bing!" Mark entered the room and said to Ran Bing, "Look, Hong Kou has returned to the lighthouse."

Hongkou said with a smile, "Let's go, let's come out first."

Hongkou looked down at Mark leading Ranbing out and couldn't help but ask, "Have you made good friends?"

Hearing Hongkou's question, Mark scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "What good friend?"

Ran Bing, standing beside him, quietly observed Hong Kou.

Hongkou smiled at the two children and didn't ask any further questions. She simply said, "Let's go, let's get you to the surface first."

“The ground?!” Mark looked up abruptly. “Sis, you mean the ground?! We can go to the ground now? Isn’t that…”

“That’s right, it’s the ground.” Hongkou interrupted his exclamation and reached out to rub his head. “I’ll tell you the details when we get down there. Now, come with me to see my sister.”

"You have an older sister?" Mark was even more surprised. He looked up at Hongkou. "I've never heard you mention her before!"

Hongkou took his hand and led him and Ranbing away, saying, "Of course, when you were little, my sister even held you. But some things happened later."

She didn't explain in detail, but the information implied in her words was already making it a bit hard for Mark to process.

Hongkou has an older sister? And she even held me when I was little? Why do I have no memory of her at all? Why has Hongkou never mentioned her before?

Countless questions swirled in Mark's mind, but seeing Red Hair's profile, which seemed unwilling to explain immediately, he obediently refrained from pressing further.

Meanwhile, beside the elevator platform, Honglu, seeing that her sister had not yet returned, turned her gaze back to Dr. Carrie.

Carrie's gaze remained fixed on Bai Yuekui.

“Dr. Carrie.” Red Heron’s voice forcibly pulled Carrie’s attention back. “I don’t know much about Boss Bai that I can tell you. I can only say that she has lived from the old world to the present.”

Have they lived from the old world all this time?!

what does this mean?
This means that she witnessed the disaster when the mana ecosystem first broke out, and after so long, she shows no signs of aging.

Is this immortality?

Bai Yuekui didn't want to pay attention to the chaotic gazes behind her, but Carrie's gaze was so intense that she couldn't completely ignore it.

She turned her head slightly to look at Carrie: "Is something the matter?"

Carrie stepped forward: "You...you really lived from the old world until now?"

"How did you manage to do that? The number of times a human cell can divide is limited. Does your metabolism have a very slow rate?"

Hearing Carrie's question, Bai Yuekui replied calmly, "I am not your research subject."

But just as she was about to completely look away and ignore it, her gaze lingered on Carrie's face for a moment longer.

Bai Yuekui's voice rang out again: "You... are you the one who went into the operating room with me back then?"

(End of this chapter)