Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 576 - 541 meets No. 7

Chapter 576: 541 meets No. 7

Although Little Bowl said it was fine for me to fall asleep resting on her lap, I didn’t actually fall asleep.

On one hand, it’s because I don’t need sleep, the thought of Little Bowl going through the trouble and effort to heal me while I just sleep carelessly on her thigh makes me embarrassed; on the other hand, we are in an unfamiliar faction’s stronghold and I don’t know if the power of the Unfortunate would suddenly attract dangerous situations. As a protector, I should not let my guard down.

In this way, I actually spent half a day resting on this little girl’s lap. Even with the pretext of receiving treatment, unspeakable emotions inevitably accumulated in my heart. The more difficult to express is that this feeling, like soaking in hot water, is indeed quite pleasant. Little Bowl might also be able to sense the various psychological changes on my side.

Her tender little hands gently stroked my hair and occasionally touched my cheeks. Although I didn’t look at her expression, I felt as if she was faintly smiling.

When the door was knocked, I reacted reflexively, as if wanting to break away from an embarrassing scene that couldn’t be watched by others, and sat up straight.

Little Bowl blinked, looked at her empty lap, and her face seemed a bit regretful. I too, for some reason, felt a sense of inexplicable regret, coupled with a lucky sense of finally finding an opportunity to get released, then looked towards the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It’s me, Lord Zhuang Cheng. I’m the guide who brought you to this room earlier." A somewhat familiar voice came from outside.

"Come in." I said.

The door was gently pushed open, and the guide walked in with the humble demeanor of a service staff pushing a cleaning cart to clean a VIP room in a high-end hotel. Speaking of which, might they have forgotten to deliver food to Little Bowl and me?

"What’s the matter?" I asked.

"The leader has just returned and has entered the regular inspection protocol. I reported your arrival to her, and after hearing it, she asked me to inform you of her return." The guide answered fluently, as if secretly rehearsed.

A mysterious woman has returned?

Little Bowl and I exchanged glances, and then I curiously asked, "What do you mean by ’regular inspection protocol’?"

"It is an internal rule of the Tai Sui Army."

Little Bowl seemed to know about this matter and proactively explained to me before the guide, "All members who operate outside the surveilled areas of the Tai Sui Army’s stronghold undergo strict checks when they return. This is to prevent enemies or strange entities from impersonating insiders and infiltrating the Tai Sui Army.

"Additionally, members who are active outside for a prolonged period might unknowingly approach sin demonization under the influence of frenzy, or maliciously transform into human forms after fully sin demonized to infiltrate the organization.

"Although it’s called ’regular inspection protocol,’ the process is intricate, and there’s no higher-level inspection protocol within the Tai Sui Army."

The guide seemed surprised by Little Bowl’s vast knowledge yet didn’t raise any related questions, instead, added smoothly, "Moreover, soldiers active outside might contract certain strange curses, or trigger specific bizarre death rules. If not properly confirmed, destructive dangerous situations could be attracted into the Tai Sui Army.

"Last time, a member violated such a taboo and unfortunately slipped through the inspection. According to the post-incident investigation, he encountered a strangeness masquerading as a suicide note. Those who read this note would write an identical note and commit suicide before their next sleep. Such notes possessed the same effect, manipulating other readers to perform the same actions, creating a cycle...

"Finally, the leader personally executed all members infected by the suicide note strangeness, thus ending the crisis."

The way the guide spoke didn’t reveal a heavy tone; rather, it exhibited a commonplace attitude, as if merely citing a ’recent example.’

Doomsday’s bizarre entities are varied and no inspection protocol can perfectly guard against them. Even I, an Impermanence, sometimes find myself unprepared. The Tai Sui Army might have just encountered a type difficult to detect.

Their rigorous defense against the Doomsday’s bizarre entities, and even so, being unable to fully guard against them, forced to view it as routine, made me reappreciate the darkness and danger the Doomsday Era poses to humanity.

The guide continued humbly, "Please move to the conference room, Lord Zhuang Cheng. The leader will also proceed there for a formal conversation with you after completing the regular inspection protocol."

I nodded and then left with Little Bowl.

The guide glanced at Little Bowl. Perhaps he was somewhat concerned about why I was bringing this child to such a formal meeting place, but seemed wary of saying anything in front of me. He could only perform his task obediently, guiding us through the intricate corridors of the Tai Sui Army’s stronghold.

A moment later, we arrived at the conference room he mentioned, entered, and he then took his leave.