Chapter 684: Chapter 61: Spiritual Erosion
The Synthetic Human opened the warehouse, and everyone saw a spacious space filled with neatly arranged shelves, almost a thousand of them.
All the shelves were stocked with canned goods, including meats, staples, vegetables, fruits, and even purified water.
Mia: ……
Well, the food problem was solved, but making her, who was accustomed to Nora’s delicacies, eat canned food was more painful than killing her.
Of course, that was a problem for later. What everyone urgently needed now was to fill their stomachs.
With the Synthetic Human’s authorization, everyone picked out some canned food and were then led to the dining area for a meal.
In the Golden Age of extraterrestrial human civilization, the concept of public cafeterias seemed to have vanished completely. The so-called dining area was actually just a partitioned beverage room with lots of tables and chairs for three or five people to sit, talk, dine, and play cards.
Everyone opened their canned food, and the contents were not spoiled; the ancient preservation technology was unimaginably advanced. Mia ate voraciously, and after she was full, she lay back in her chair and started humming.
Miel wasn’t as casual; she just slightly filled her stomach, and the weariness was apparent in her eyes. During the first few hours of her arrival in the Abyss, although no enemies were encountered, the constant tension was exhausting, and she felt sleepy now that she could relax a bit.
Aske noticed this and asked the Synthetic Human if there was a place to rest.
“There are no resting places for visitors,” replied the Synthetic Human. “We used to have temporary guest rooms for visitors, but they were destroyed in an attack by Shadow Demons back in 1786.”
“Shadow Demons are a more common Transcendent creature in the Abyss Lower Level,” said the Banshee Queen indifferently.
“Yes, but Banshees are not,” added the Synthetic Human. “As a Banshee Transcendent, your guest access is additionally restricted, so there are areas inside this facility that are not open to you. Please be careful not to wander around unauthorized.”
The Banshee Queen scoffed, saying,
“I’m not even interested in coming to your nerdy place! I’m leaving, call me if you need anything.”
With that, she instantly unsummoned Miel and returned to her own world.
Everyone looked at each other, and the Synthetic Human maintained a cold tone as he continued,
“Of course, aside from the researchers’ rooms, you are free to rest in public areas… after all, there’s no one left in the facility now.”
“If there’s no one in the facility, why can’t we sleep in the researchers’ rooms?” asked Mia, puzzled.
“Because it is the regulation of the facility,” answered the Synthetic Human. “Whether the room’s owner is in the facility or not, their room is not allowed to be entered by others. Where do you want to sleep? I’ll go get some mattresses and blankets for you.”
“What time is it now?” Aske asked Miel.
“5:49 PM,” Miel responded.
“Sleeping at 5:49?” Mia said incredulously. “Early sleep” didn’t exist in her night owl’s dictionary.
“Yes, because as the time approaches midnight, the Spiritual Erosion from the Abyss becomes more severe,” explained Aske. “Our Spirit Resistance is higher when we are asleep.”
“Spiritual Erosion?” Mia was confused.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Aske said with a smile. “We’re getting ready to sleep now, if you can’t sleep you can walk around the room, but you’re not allowed to leave this place.”
The Synthetic Human brought mattresses and blankets, and Aske and Miel cleared the tables and chairs in the room and set up the bedding on the floor. Mia wandered around out of boredom, studying this and that, and no one bothered her for the time being.
Only when both of them had lain down in their clothes did Mia begin to exclaim in astonishment:
“What’s up with you guys? Really going to sleep now?”
However, no one paid her any attention. Mia waited a moment and then reluctantly hurried over to look at the two lying on the mattresses.
Aske was on the left, Miel was in the middle, and Miel had thoughtfully spread out Mia’s mattress and blanket to her right.
After hesitating for a moment, Mia took off her coat and then crawled under the blanket.
After about half an hour,
Mia couldn’t sleep.
She suddenly sat up. It was just past 6 p.m.—how could she possibly fall asleep!
“Miel~,” she gently pushed the shoulder of the girl beside her.
Miel did not respond, seemingly deep in sleep.
Mia felt angry.
But getting angry was useless, a lesson she had learned from a very young age.
So, young Mia got up again and wandered around.
The door to the room was sensor-activated, only opening automatically when that Synthetic Human named Kapei passed by. But of course, this was no obstacle for little Mia, who had mastered the Ripple Sword. Where could she not go?
Just as she stealthily approached the closed door, aiming to secretly teleport out, an image suddenly flashed through her mind.
It was an image of Peggy kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, with a sign around her neck that read, “I am a fool who violated team discipline.”
Reportedly, it was also one night when Peggy had secretly slipped away from Fire Island. By the time Mia got up the next day, Peggy had already been “publicly displayed” and “executed in public,” with Aske and Nora standing on either side, ceaselessly scolding her.
It was too embarrassing.
Thinking about this, little Mia couldn’t help but shrink back a bit.
She returned to the mattress again, thought for a moment, and then pulled her mattress and blanket away from Miel’s side to Aske’s side.
Hehe, I want to sleep next to the Squad Leader.
After staying under the blanket for a while, she still did not feel sleepy and couldn’t help but open her eyes and look around again.
Suddenly, a peculiar emotion arose from the depths of her heart.
The room was too quiet, eerily quiet, to the point of being frightening. Although there was no apparent danger, it instinctively terrified Mia.
Fear.
It spread uncontrollably and grew within her.
Little Mia shuddered with fright and quickly burrowed into Aske’s blanket.
Her heart felt like it was convulsing in alarm.
——————————————
Main Plane.
As The Azure Longsword Team made various maneuvers, this uneasy and anxious atmosphere gradually spread.
The two Demigods, Derek and Sherry, responsible for leading the Guerrilla, entered Palermo Palace that night and had a secretive discussion with Sigrdrifa, the current Family Head of the Otwell Family, who reportedly both had very stern expressions.
Rumors were circulating in the city that the core Squad Leader of The Azure Longsword had been trapped in the Abyss due to some accident, and now the whole team was rushing around on a rescue mission, having no time to handle other affairs— even the two Demigods were likely to head to the Abyss soon for the rescue plan.
Rumors are just rumors, but it was definitely true that a dramatic change was occurring within The Azure Longsword. Should the two Demigods go to the Abyss, it would mean that the military force maintaining the current order on Sicily would soon experience a brief vacuum.
The other two major powers, such as the Sicily Guerrilla and the Lixini Family, naturally had no time to think too much and still maintained their usual operations.
However, the Otwell Family, having been subdued by the Demigod’s force and compelled to submit to Sigrdrifa, also experienced some brief turmoil upon confirming the truth of the matter.
Although it quickly settled down again, the lurking malice and undercurrents began to make people uneasily churn.