And then there was light.

Without warning, darkness turned to day, exploding every inch of the cell, eradicating every inch of shadow.

The blinding glare flooded Gwen's eyes, sending her into a blind panic. She rolled out of bed and fell to her knees, touching her knees against the cold floor. The gray tiles emitted an anti-magical resonance, forcing her to rest on her elbows for a moment. She leaned herself against the wall, facing the glass window, feeling her eyes painfully adjust to the lifeless glare of omnidirectional lighting.

The clanging echoed through the hallway, followed by the creak and groaning of hinges. The sound of boots hitting the concrete heralded two soldiers in olive uniforms walking past Gwen's cell, their eyes straight ahead.

The other pair followed, moving stiffly with the mechanical efficiency of a puppet, their shoulders adorned with a strap, and below it was a set of phoenix wings with two bars on it. They walked all the way to Gwen's cell and turned their backs to her.

Gwen leaned one hand against the wall, standing steadily. The vicious gaze gave her a headache. How long had she been asleep? How many hours? She barely had any rest.

She tries to ignore the thump on her head, studying the guards' uniforms, trying to find out how the world resembles her previous world, even though she doesn't know anything about China, except that in 2006 she took a cheap trip that took her to shopping destinations all the time.

The soldiers wore double-breasted tunics with four equally spaced pockets on the chest and waist. The bottom is flared to allow a pair of colour-matched pants to extend over the steel-capped combat boots and polish them into a mirror-like finish. At the top, a crimson band wraps around a wide-brimmed hat, and in the center of the hat is a badge adorned with five gold stars, looming over the Forbidden City.

Gwen thought to herself, a professional soldier at that time. Soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, if there exists here.

But that still doesn't explain why she was kidnapped.

Stand back!"

A voice came from the hallway, and Gwen was startled by the unexpected start. She stepped out of the glass window, and the face of an expressionless middle-aged Chinese man appeared in front of her, which was flat and devoid of any memorable features.

This is an officer with a vertical stripe on his lapel with two gold stars. She tried to laugh at the stoic man, but he turned like two soldiers.

Gwen felt a smile slip down her face.

How does one communicate with those who refuse to look you in the eye?

Two grunts and officers saluted in dashing manners in the hallway, right out of Gwen's line of sight.

Ah, Gwen thought to herself, it must be the big guy.

She was right.

She could feel the mage's presence, a heavy aura with supernatural pressure. This is similar to the feeling that Gunther blood feels when it goes up, but more of a clotting and clotting.

An old man made his existence known to everyone.

Gwen scrutinized the senior officers. He looked old, in his 60s, and his two drooping jaws gave the impression of a pit bull and reminded Gwen of a famous British prime minister. When he stopped and turned his head to Gwen's face, she saw his black obsidian eyes, cold and intense, like the core of a long-dead star.

Maybe she should say something? What is the etiquette when a kidnapped person greets a superior officer?

"Sir, can you give me a minute?" Gwen tried her luck and added a higher octave to her voice, sounding younger. Of course, incarcerating children, even those standing 6 feet tall, is not standard practice in secret police manuals, at least in the 21st century.

The old man's lips moved, forming a thin line. She frowned almost indiscohencingly, but it sent shivers down her spine.

Who was this antique? Why was he upset with her? They didn't know any of them.

She stared at the badge on the man's neck and shoulders.

Two stripes - four stars.

Four-star General Colonel Gwen did not know how the badge of the People's Republic of China worked, but it was clear that the old man was from the top of the military.

He began to move.

She had to get his attention.

"My name is Gwen Song, sir. I went into this institution with my father, Moyeson. Excuse me—

The old general left her sight.

The old antique is gone!Gwen became excited because she didn't believe it. If he doesn't want to talk, why stop and stare blankly?!

Next to her cell, the plexiglass windows of her father's cell became irrelevant. The old general crossed the threshold, followed by a middle-aged officer.

"Try!" the officer shouted in his barking voice.

Gwen could hear her father scrambling to his feet.

The new crisis next door has removed the urgency of her predicament. She ignored the guard in front of her cell and pressed her head against the glass window to see what was going on next door.

Is this the general whose father killed his "family"? What will happen to Moyer? If she can, what can she help?

Gwen tried to summon her mana reserves, but she was exhausted. Even her unicorn amulet defies any attempt to summon its power. Gwen tried her storage ring, but it was dormant and unapproachable. Only passive effects affect the mage's remaining energy, such as her gems. If only she could find a mana crystal, especially an HDM crystal. The energy within her should be enough for her to summon Kaliban or Ariel to help her father and escape from prison.

"Come on!" Gwen muttered softly, eliciting a stern glare from one of the guards.

Useless. The cacophony of the anti-magic floor relentlessly drained every particle Gwen could summon. In her current state, she couldn't even feel her own signal, let alone enough mana to command her astral body into her elemental portal.

"Hello, old man," her father's voice came, a little blocked by the plexiglass barrier, okay?"

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" said the general, his words with a thick accent that even the translation stone could not replace. Gwen heard the cacophony in his voice and felt her hair stand on her arm.

"Twenty years! Twenty years, I've searched everywhere, you ungrateful, white-eyed wolf. ”

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" replied her father. "You've got me. ”

His voice trembled a little, something Gwen had never heard before.

Her father was scared! Was the invulnerable Moyer afraid? Gwen wanted to see this incredible sight with her own eyes. Who will this "old man" be?!

"Are you ready to face the wrath of the Creator?" the old general's vulgar voice was full of malice.

Bad luck!!! Will her father be executed in cold blood? She put her hands on the screen and leaned her face against the glass to distort.

"No!" she shouted, slamming her fist against the glass. "Daddy!"

No matter what kind of person her father was, Gwen still felt a blood bond between them. The last thing she wants is Moyer being murdered!

"Get down on your knees and repent. "The voice coming from the hallway is absolutely authoritative.

"Crack!"

A loud thud tore the air apart. There was the sound of healing hides hitting flesh, followed by her father's snoring in pain.

"You ungrateful son! Do you know how worried your mother is?"

'Quick!'

"Do you know how many nights she cried and fell asleep?"

'Quick!'

"Do you know how many resources we have spent and how many favors we have attracted to find you all over China?"

'Quick!'

"Did you know that Joon gave up his promotion to get you out of Marshall Court?"

'Quick!'

"Get up! I'm not done yet!"

"I ...... I can't... "I can't see in my left eye," her father muttered and spat out, most likely throwing away a bloody tooth. "Can we take a break. Will I do this after I've gotten some treatments?"

There was a familiar flash of mana.

Water.

Negative energy.

Salt.

"Ahh

"You impudent worm! How dare you! I want you to know that every year you waste will suffer! Once you pay homage to your mother, you will meet your ancestors!" the general's gruff voice echoed across the walls.

In the safety of her cell, Gwen tries to deal with a string of pronouns.

The old man refers to Moyer as an "ungrateful son" and also mentions "your brother" and "grandmother".

Doesn't that mean that the old general is Moyer's father? He's her grandfather!

The news made her almost collapse on the glass window of her cell. She could not have been killed by her father, even though he seemed to have molted before his torture was over.

Gwen exhaled. The fear of that moment had been forgotten, and she was buoyed by the unexpected hope and elation.

She looked up from her compromised position and saw her grandfather standing in front of her cell.

When did he move here?! The old man is like a ghost!

More importantly, would he like to see her now?

Gwen stepped out of the windowpane and straightened herself up on her reflective face.

The clothes she wore were certainly not meant to see the old man.

She wore white khaki shorts cut a few inches above the knee, and her long legs were bare, except for a pair of wedge-shaped sneakers. Her blouse was cut above the elbows, tapering at the waist and chest, and had a French-style round neckline. Her hair, as before, was loosely wrapped around her face, and thankfully, there was no makeup except for the dark wingtips that accentuated her hazel eyes.

Cold people prefer the plain and orthodox white clothes on a black background.

But it's too late now. Gwen didn't realize that Opa 2 would be here. She has been in Singapore for less than 24 hours and is walking around in the sweltering heat, where she dresses perfectly appropriately. Gwen wished she had something to cover her legs, which made her imagination a little too much, maybe a snuggling tank top or something that gave her upper body a more cautious air than frivolity. In this case, a pair of angle-rimmed glasses will work wonders. After all, first impressions are one step at a time.

"Turn it on," Opa Company Two ordered.

Plexiglass is dematerialized, allowing middle-aged officers, a guard, and her grandfather to pass through.

Gwen points out that, unlike Sydney Tower or elsewhere in Sydney, men rarely notice her unusual beauty. Is this the condition of their training? Or is it the professionalism of the soldiers? Or maybe Gwen is too big and too beautiful in their eyes. She knows from her old world that Asians are very fond of "small" and "cute" over "tall" and "big". As a wealthy woman, Gwen felt a little annoyed because she didn't have the right to appeal, which would give her an advantage in negotiations.

"Hello, Grandpa. Gwen didn't know what to say, so she made a Western curtsy.

The general nodded.

Good, Gwen thought to herself.

"You're older than I thought. The general's voice was deep and resonant.

Gwen forced a smile.

"Lower the frequency of draining," he ordered his second, who commanded a guard, who manipulated a series of glyphs invisible from Gwen's point of view.

The sound of the floor dimmed.

"Show your talents, kid," her grandfather said expectantly, his voice faint with anticipation. He stood stiffly with his legs apart and his hands behind his back, as if inspecting a piece of military equipment.

Her magic?!Gwen felt a small amount of mana condensed particles, enough for a sensitive spell.

"Work your magic," the old man repeated.

“...”

More excuses may only arouse the suspicion of the elderly. Perhaps, it is better to show it than to say it. Salt is a quasi-element, and so is her lightning.

Gwen pointed to a clearing on the wet bricks, facing the general and soldiers. She didn't want to expose all of her cards, but she had to impress.

"Lightning!"

An elemental bolt of lightning arched from her fingertips to a distant tile, and the blazing energy went with it to ashes, leaving a scorched splash.

Gwen turned to her grandfather, wondering what he thought of her rare would-be genius.

Yang ...... And the air? It's not yin and water, how strange. ”

A pensive look appeared on her grandfather's face.

"What a rare genius. ”

Gwen gasped, and the old man's expression softened.

"What's your school?"

"Evoke. Gwen paused, for dramatic effect and magic. ”

It seemed impossible for her to show her grandfather anything else. The advice she made was accurately written on her student ID card and multiple passes, and she was sure that MSS would check it. If any other information is to be displayed, it means that her card is fake, and she is hiding something, and the result is the monotony of puzzling lies.

Her grandfather nodded approvingly.

"What a rare genius, kid. Do you have any other gifts?"

"I'm afraid not, grandpa. ”

"That's good. You should know that I love your talent. Your grandmother is very fond of Yangren. Maybe you inherited it from her? I'm sure she'll be glad to see you. ”

"I hope so, Grandpa. ”

"You have your grandmother's looks," her grandfather continued in an affectionate tone, and you looked exactly like her. ”

"Ha, I believe my grandmother's beauty is unparalleled," Gwen said. Her grandfather was much easier than she thought, at least after something happened to Moyer.

"Tell me, daughter of my ungrateful son, what have you done. "I mean, in Sydney. Her grandfather's tone reverted to his usual subdued composure.

"I'm a student," Gwen replied solemnly, and while the city's decline affected my school year, I thought I needed to find a place to graduate. ”

"It's unfortunate, kid. "Her grandfather motioned for the two people next to him to leave the cell, do you mind if I help? ”

"Oh......" Gwen thought for a moment, glad she could find another Opa company. This is Opa 2. "I'm afraid I'll have to go back to Sydney first, I have a couple of friends who are sick. ”

"It's nice to have friends. "Opa Corporation Two walked through the shield and invited her to follow, are these friends your teammates?"

"We're very close people," Gwen fell backwards, her head hitting the barrier with a thud.

"Grandpa?" she felt her stomach squirm, echoing the painful bump in her head. Gwen didn't have to guess what was going on, the implications were obvious.

Her grandfather shook his head.

"It must be easy for you to lie. ”

Gwen stares at her grandfather, whose once affable demeanor has become acerbic and cynical. As his anger rose, she could feel the mana gathering within him. Gwen felt as if she had fallen into a pool of icy water. She got goosebumps all over her body and shivered with fear. She wanted to leave him, but her body wouldn't move. How did it feel to face a high-level mage in a first-class city? Her blood seemed to freeze. Even against Elizabeth, Gwen did not feel so helpless. Her teeth chattered as she tried to say the next sentence, but she couldn't find the words to understand.

Her grandfather turned to the middle-aged officer next to him.

"Tell MSS to do their job next time. As for that, let them know what she knows and who she is. I will review it thoroughly and leave no stone unturned. ”

Gwen suddenly felt a rush of panic, overcoming her deliberate calm. Did she go to room 101?Will she be tortured by rats?Was it a mistake to hinder her talents?What was the old man expecting?What about MSS?Give her to MSS?What does that mean?Isn't she going back to Sydney?Shouldn't he say, 'Let her go home, she's innocent and not involved?'" Why is he so paranoid?

Her grandfather turned and looked at Gwen with a blank expression.

"Do you have anything to confess?"

Gwen didn't know what to say. What was there to repentance of? She didn't even know what the old antique wanted.

"What do you want?" she tried to calm herself.

"The truth. ”

"I don't know what that means. ”

"All your abilities, get started. "Her grandfather showed no mercy and then your colleague, your master, your employer. ”

“...“

He thought she was a spy?!

"I'm not a spy!" Gwen blurted out, then immediately bit her tongue. "I mean... Why do you think your granddaughter is a spy?"

"If you want to imitate a 16-year-old, your 'acting' is terrible," her grandfather snorted contemptuously, didn't your handler let you follow the correct protocol?"

"I'm sixteen to seventeen," Gwen retorted.

"Of course, I'm sure my teenage granddaughter is so good that she won't be swayed by the Ministry of State Security! Calmly tell her friends that she will be kidnapped by a strange man in a dark suit! Walk into the infamous Sky Prison without even blinking an eye! What the hell are you doing? Change a skin resurfacer?"

"I'm just... I!" Gwen cried. How could she make this old antique believe her?

"Then you have evidence on your fingers," her grandfather roared, the delicate media storage ring, the teleportation emergency ring, the evasion ring!"

"Tell me, my granddaughter. How does a teenager, let alone the daughter of my worthless son, get access to nearly 15,000 HDM magical items?Is your father in charge of the mysteries of Sydney?Is he the owner of that tower?Does my son finally decide to be useful?!"

"I ......," Gwen said, choking up. What could she say that didn't implicate her?

"Tell me, then, Gwen Song, my grandfather—who are you?"

"I'm not your enemy! I'm not lying, damn you think so!" Gwen resisted her grandfather's pressure, her willpower. "Look at me! I don't even want to be here! You're going against my will! You think I want to be here? I want to go to Australia, to rebuild my life in the ruins! to be with my friends and my real family! Nothing, nothing! I want what you give me!"

Gwen's face was now an iron-green liver, and she was flushed with anger. Her grandfather was also breathing harder.

"Daddy!" Gwen cried, her voice starting to grow hoarse. "Daddy, tell him, tell him I'm telling the truth, tell him to send me back!"

There was no response from nearby cells. Or is Moyer too scared?Gwen prays that it's the former, otherwise her anger will be endless.

Her grandfather turned to the middle-aged officer next to him.

"Captain, activate the cognitive field. ”

"Yes, sir!"

The tiles beneath Gwen's feet began to shimmer in a faint shade of gray, trembling until they took on a mirror-like sheen.

"What are you doing?" Gwen knocked on the glass window. "What is this?"

"Your last chance to give up the truth," her grandfather said flatly, I want you to value your life. ”

"Damn!" Gwen hissed at him. What if the Chinese military found out? How much talent does she have in her hands. She hadn't been to a room since Henry had last tested her abilities after the Mark incident. What will happen?

The flash stopped.

Gwen swallowed nervously and looked down.

It was there, her astral body, reflecting all its brilliance beneath her.

A glass sculpture refracted in an unstable harmony in a mixture of darkness and light, void and lightning. There was something else in her glass statue, particles of emerald energy surging between light and darkness that appeared and disappeared at the Lichtenberg bifurcation.

"Yin and yang?" her grandfather frowned. "Fu, use a more powerful dispelling spell in your cell. ”

An aura of white-blue energy shone through Gwen from head to toe.

Captain Fu and her grandfather stared at Gwen as she stood with her hands against the glass.

"Do you believe me now?" Gwen choked through gritted teeth, shame, indignation, and anger filling her head with a white noise. "I'm innocent. I'm real. ”

"Sir......" Captain Fu looked at his senior officer suspiciously, I can... Do you want to continue?"

The old man's breathing became slow and contemplative. Was he wrong? Is Gwen a teenage girl after all? No, it's too dangerous to let her go. He must know the truth, even if it hurts his children.

"Give her some magic," he ordered, I wanted to see how she did it. ”

The tiles stopped tapping.

Gwen felt her body fill with mana, condensing from the aether into her astral form. The dark dust becomes darker than black, and lightning begins to arc and jump, forming intricate patterns within the delicate glass sculptural space.

A signal flare is very bright, which is a sign of summoning.

Then came another, even brighter than the first—a silver spell.

Her grandfather took a breath of cold air.

16-year-old mage! The girl didn't lie to him.

What a genius! That's great news for the family!

Then there is the third, which glows maliciously in the transmuted lilac spread.

Gwen's audience fell silent.

Sexual intercourse. Gwen closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate. It's over. They know now. Her secret was revealed. All that remains is to wait for the dissection. Then she trampled her father's head to death. Yue and Eve, she just wanted a chance to talk to them again before they took her away.

"Sir......" Fu muttered to himself, his eyes as big as eggs.

The fourth signal began to form.

"Clear!" her grandfather held up a hand and touched a symbol hidden in the air that Gwen couldn't see.

All the magic drained from the room, and Gwen stood on the gray tiles again, tapping softly on the arches of her aching feet.

"Are you satisfied?" Gwen asked her grandfather in a hoarse voice, her voice running out of life.

"Everyone. Her grandfather turned to the others and went out. ”

The men obediently shuffled out.

"Blessed. ”

"Colonel?"

"Level 6 protocol. Responsibility. ”

"Yes, sir. ”

Gwen watched Captain Fu leave.

So her grandfather was a colonel, and it didn't matter to her.

"I'm in. ”

To her surprise, he walked completely around the glass window and into the cell. She watched silently as he walked past her, with his back to her, and then sat patiently on the bunk bed.

"Gwen, my granddaughter...."

He looked up to face her, and his pit bull's face was now really full of gentle emotion. Gwen wondered if she had passed some of the tests and if her interrogation was over.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," Gwen said quickly. Maybe she can salvage this one too. Maybe there's a scene here. She really wanted to see Avia and Yue. She hated this place, she hated this claustrophobic cell. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"I want to say I'm sorry, Gwen, but I didn't," her grandfather said matter-of-factly, I believe you. I know, but your dishonesty annoys me. ”

"Just ask. Gwen tried to adjust her voice, but after such a reception, one couldn't help but chill.

"Are you alone in Australia?"

"Nope. ”

"Who else?"

"My mom. My brother. My actions. ”

Hearing the word "brother", her grandfather's eyes, as bright as those of a hound, turned into two black pucks.

"Go on. ”

The intimate atmosphere suddenly disappeared.

The old man's pressure knocked Gwen's knees with a bang. Her hunch screamed at her to avoid everything that was coming. Cold sweat oozed from her pores.

"I ...... Belch...... I need to sit down. Gwen found herself slumped against the wall next door.

"Tell me about your brother. ”

His voice was a little cold, so that she had to tell the truth.

"His name is Percy. "Percy's song," Gwen replied as she heard herself. She ordered her lips to stop, but it was as if she was going through a disembodied experience, floating above the shell of her body, feeling as if she had become a puppet.

He competed in the Sydney Boys Tryouts. He is very talented in his craft. He was fourteen years old. ”

"What is his element?"

Gwen felt the words pouring out of her mouth involuntarily.

"Salt. ”

Her grandfather was visibly stiff, and his face was filled with an illegible emotion.

The pressure was released, and Gwen could hear herself gasping for air. She willfully returned to her body, pushing away the strange force that had brought her to her knees. She didn't know what it would be like for other mages, but once the initial impact of her magic was exhausted, she easily resisted compulsion.

Her grandfather's piercing eyes looked at her with unpleasant surprise.

"Are you trained as a spy?" his face turned suspicious again, his jaw stiffened with displeasure.

"No!" Gwen leaned against the wall. "It's just... No! Oh, for God's sake! I'm not even a high school graduate! I don't even have a diploma! I'm still in my final year! Don't think I'm not!"

"Explain, then, how a high school student can resist the compulsive innuendo of those trained in the art of interrogation. ”

"I ......"

Gwen felt the panic she had avoided with her accumulated strength. This new grandfather of hers is too neurotic and too eccentric. What does that old man do for a living, and why are there secret and constant accusations that she is a spy?

Opa ...... Grandpa, Colonel, please, you have to trust me. I'm Moyer's daughter! Just ask my dad!"

Moyer wasn't his name!" her grandfather yelled at her, his voice rising several octaves. "It's the sea! You don't even know your father's real name!?"

A disgusting burst of mana erupted from the old man's body. Salt chips on the floors and walls crystallize. She even had a few strands of hair hanging from her.

"I'm innocent," Gwen growled, her voice growing firmer with each syllable but you don't care, do you? Okay, come on! Roast me! Roast me! Burn me alive! Send me to the rats! Beat me to pate! Tear my face off!

Her grandfather shook his head sadly.

"You're not going to get hurt," he said calmly, and then got out of bed and walked out of the screen, but you won't leave here either. ”

"Guards!"

Captain Fu and four calm guards came in. They then walked next door, where two guards rescued her beaten father. Moyer looked like he was dying from the beating. His face was bruised and bleeding. His clothes were torn from the belt used to knock him down.

As he passed by her cell, he turned around, his eyes filled with sympathy and sadness.

"Daddy......" she put her hand on the plexiglass, wondering if he had any suggestions.

"You'll be fine," Moyer said with blood in her mouth, a broken tooth, and a stream of crimson spit spraying on the glass of her cell, and believe me, you'll be coming out soon. ”

"Daddy!" Gwen shouted, but it was too late.

Her grandfather walked through two doors and disappeared from her sight. The guards retreated, and as Gwen banged frantically on the glass window, shouting Moyer's name over and over again—no, the name of the sea—still ignoring her.

The double doors slammed shut as they shut, leaving her alone in the rows of isolation rooms.

Gwen stared at her cell, dizzy at the suddenness of it all.

What just happened?

Gwen felt a terrible epiphany happen in her world.

Helena!

What if her grandfather wanted to take Percy away from her mother? What could Helena do to resist? Her family was powerless against any force from the Tier 1 cities, let alone the power that her grandfather had put into it. Her mother pinned all her hopes and dreams on Gwen's brother, and now she's going to lose her only son because Gwen chatters like an idiot?

Gwen felt stomach cramps, but it wasn't just because of hunger.

She screwed up.