"It's been half an hour."
Outside Aurora City, Han ng checked the ti, his brow tightly furrowed. "Why hasn't Aurora City responded yet? Did you really relay the ssage to headquarters?"
"I did. You saw it yourself, didn't you?" The enforcer guarding the gate replied impatiently.
Han ng's gaze turned icy. He had indeed watched the ssage being sent, but given the severity of the situation, Aurora City should have reacted imdiately. There was no reason for such prolonged silence.
Just as Han ng considered forcing his way through the gate, a low, thunderous rumble echoed as the massive city gates slowly creaked open, stirring clouds of dust.
Only one figure stood beyond the gates.
A man clad in the sa black trench coat, his wild white hair resembling a lion's mane. The hem of his coat bore seven shimring silver stripes, gleaming under the sunlight.
The mont they saw him, the enforcers at the gate widened their eyes in shock. Even Han ng's heart skipped a beat, his expression filled with disbelief...
A seven-stripe enforcer. There were only five in all of Aurora City, each holding imnse power and status, figures rarely seen by ordinary people. Even these enforcers, who had grown up in Aurora City, had never laid eyes on one.
Yet now, one stood before them at the gates.
"You're Han ng?" The seven-stripe enforcer glanced at him and spoke indifferently.
"...Yes."
"I am Gu Yuan. I'm here to escort you into the city."
Gu Yuan?
Han ng's pupils contracted slightly. The na was all too familiar to him. He was the only seventh-tier enforcer on the [Judgnt] path in Aurora City—the pinnacle of [Judgnt] in the current era.
Years ago, when Han ng had first embarked on the [Judgnt] path, he had heard of Gu Yuan's legendary status. It was said that he presided over Aurora City's highest court, wielding supre judicial authority over all disputes and cris, standing at the zenith of the city's legal system.
And now, this legendary figure had personally co to the gates to escort him inside?
The other enforcers stared at Han ng with undisguised envy. They couldn't fathom why a re enforcer from District Three warranted such attention from soone as esteed as Gu Yuan.
"...Into the city?" Though shocked, Han ng was even more confused.
He had only co to deliver a ssage about District Three's crisis. Why would soone like Gu Yuan intervene? For a mont, he couldn't discern Aurora City's stance toward the districts.
Gu Yuan gave him a faint glance, then turned and walked into Aurora City without another word.
After a brief hesitation, Han ng followed.
The gatekeepers exchanged glances before silently closing the heavy doors behind them. With a resonant boom, the city at the heart of the Aurora Domain sealed itself once more.
"Senior Gu Yuan, where are we headed?"
"Headquarters." The reply was terse.
Hearing this, Han ng hesitated before pressing further. "The situation in District Three is dire, but surely it doesn't warrant your personal involvent?"
Gu Yuan remained silent, continuing his steady pace toward headquarters. Han ng trailed behind, his frown deepening with each step...
"We sent countless distress signals to Aurora City, but received no response. I assud the fog disrupted communications, but Aurora City isn't even shrouded in mist." Han ng glanced up at the clear sky above, where the aurora danced in srizing waves.
"Senior... you did receive our pleas for help, didn't you?"
Still, Gu Yuan said nothing.
Finally, Han ng halted. He took a deep breath, his expression grave.
"Is Aurora City... abandoning the seven districts?"
Gu Yuan's footsteps paused almost imperceptibly.
---
"You think Aurora City would harm Brother ng?" Xi Renjie imdiately shook his head. "No, that makes no sense. Forget whether they'd abandon the districts—Brother ng is a fifth-tier enforcer. Even in Aurora City, he'd be exceptional. Why would they target him? He's already proven his potential. He's not so helpless rookie anymore."
"I didn't say they'd attack him. But if they're determined to suppress information, they might detain him instead of letting him return."
"Chen Ling, you're overthinking this." Xi Renjie t his gaze solemnly. "Brother ng's last order was for us to maintain order in District Three. The district is chaotic enough as it is. There's no need to spread baseless panic."
Chen Ling held his stare for a mont before sighing in resignation.
"I hope I'm wrong..."
These were, after all, just conjectures without proof. But ever since witnessing the scene at the clinic, the thought had lodged itself in his mind. He'd even begun considering—if Aurora City truly abandoned the seven districts, what would he do? How could he survive?
As Chen Ling stared blankly at the steps beneath his feet, Xi Renjie patted his shoulder.
"Chen Ling, don't push yourself too hard. Your talent is on par with Brother ng's. Sooner or later, you'll enter Aurora City... Maybe once you're there, you'll realize District Three was just a broken stepping stone. People like you don't belong here."
Hearing the undisguised envy in Xi Renjie's voice, Chen Ling couldn't help but ask, "Is Aurora City really that great?"
"Of course it is." Xi Renjie nodded firmly, gazing toward the fog-shrouded horizon. "I've never been, but it's nothing like District Three... It's a paradise. Maybe only there can you truly live."
"Then why don't you go?"
"?" Xi Renjie smiled bitterly. "I'm not like you or Brother ng. My path is ordinary, and my talent is diocre. It took three years just to advance from first to second-tier... How could I ever enter Aurora City?"
Seemingly unwilling to dwell on the topic, Xi Renjie waved a hand.
"Enough. I need to continue patrols... You take the western streets."
With that, he strode toward the eastern district, his black coat gradually vanishing into the dim fog.
Seeing this, Chen Ling didn't linger either, turning toward Frost Street.
Along the way, shattered doors, bloodstains, and residents wailing over severed limbs lined the streets. Their injuries weren't fatal, so the clinic had turned them away, leaving them to clumsily tend to their own wounds.
Chen Ling's eyes swept over them as he pressed onward. Only when he neared Frost Street did the war-torn atmosphere fade, as if he'd stepped from an era of chaos into one of peace.
No limbless residents. No collapsed buildings. Even the air carried little scent of blood. Chen Ling inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly... As expected, Frost Street had suffered far less than the other districts.
As he stepped onto Frost Street, faint rustling sounds erged from the houses. One by one, residents cautiously cracked their doors open.
Hiding behind their thresholds, they peered out at Chen Ling—their eyes brimming with gratitude.
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