43: trace?

As Tom felt at a loss, Otto, the president of the Arcane Association, who usually appeared and disappeared without a trace, and who was only a step away from becoming a God Art Master, suddenly arrived.

Tom's ownership was finally determined.

It was this wrinkled, white-bearded old man, President Otto.

No one questioned it; whether in terms of strength or status, Otto was undoubtedly the strongest.

Tom's future was about to be smooth sailing, and Meng Yun also left silently with a smile.

Returning to the front desk, he couldn't find Vivian anywhere.

"Vivian?"

Meng Yun looked around, calling out tentatively.

No one responded.

Meng Yun expanded his search, preparing to head outside the door.

"Vivian, you wouldn't still want to play hide-and-seek with your brother..."

As he muttered this, Meng Yun kicked a round object.

He lowered his head, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It was a crystal ball.

It was identical to the crystal ball he had just bought for Vivian.

A sense of unease surfaced in his heart, and Meng Yun, with a last sliver of hope, held the crystal ball in his hand and silently activated it with his elemental power.

His and Vivian's figures clearly appeared.

That's right, this was the crystal ball he had given to Vivian.

Now the crystal ball was thrown on the ground, but the person was gone.

Meng Yun suddenly felt a moment of daze.

Could it be...

Had Vivian been pretending all along, deliberately trying to please him?

Pretending to be biased towards him and trust him.

Pretending to be dependent on him and focused on him.

After all, having lived for over a hundred years, wouldn't it be easy for her to pretend to be a little sister and deceive him?

Had she anticipated this day long ago, and now finally got what she wanted, successfully escaping?

Meng Yun's thoughts were very chaotic now.

The crystal ball had no emotions, mechanically repeating their images again and again.

Meng Yun looked at Vivian's slightly curved lips in the image, and his thoughts became clear again.

He felt a touch of regret.

Regret for his suspicion of Vivian; this was not something a qualified brother should do to his sister.

Body language can lie, but feelings cannot.

Only when she was with Meng Yun did Vivian feel something that could be called human.

This was evidence of the genuine emotions between them.

Holding the crystal ball, Meng Yun activated Levitation and soared into the sky.

Nothing could make her leave without a word.

Unless the person who left was no longer her.

"Vivian—!!"

"Vivian..."

That day, all the civilians in the Satellite City heard an Arcanist's cry for his sister from above.

Meng Yun was announcing to the entire city—

Her name was Vivian.

[You are surprised by Vivian's progress and decide to ask your superiors for permission to take her out for a day trip.]

[Under your guidance, Vivian eats, drinks, and plays, catches a thief, and has an epiphany, successfully stepping into S-level. But in the brief moment you leave her alone, Vivian disappears.]

[Vivian disappears from your world from then on.]

[You search frantically until nightfall, still refusing to give up, until the Foundation's A-level Personnel find you and demand an explanation.]

[You sneer disdainfully, believing them to be hypocritical, crying 'stop thief' while being the thief. You develop strong dissatisfaction with the order established by the Foundation.]

[You have your first violent conflict with Foundation personnel, your colleagues.]

[Originally, you should have been demoted to D-level Personnel and thrown into a containment room to be sacrificed as a test subject, but for some reason, the Foundation only suspended you and confined you to your home. You can do nothing but stay at home.]

[Three days later, a branch of the Foundation is destroyed by the Anti-Resistance Army. The next day, the Foundation claims to have found the leader and publicly tries and beheads him.]

[After the initial confusion, you begin to collect yourself and diligently study Arcane knowledge. You believe that only by strengthening your power can you pursue fairness and justice.]

[Your Arcane level further increases.]

[Five days later, the Foundation decides to launch a general offensive on the Anti-Resistance Army's headquarters, Holy City.]

[You know your chance has come.]

"Under the leadership of Foundation President Statham, three S-level combat sequence personnel and twelve A-level combat sequence personnel have departed today for the Anti-Resistance Army's headquarters.

We sincerely hope that the Calamity Witch will equally bestow death upon them..."

Meng Yun expressionlessly turned off the radio.

There was no room for luck.

Vivian had been silently taken away by them, once again becoming a tool of war.

He spread out a map and silently calculated the distance to Holy City.

Eight hundred kilometers away, if he only used Levitation, he might have to fly for an entire day.

But today's Meng Yun was no longer the same as before.

He was fully dressed, carrying the crystal ball he had given to Vivian, and a metal backpack.

As if he was about to go on a spring outing.

Meng Yun gently placed his hand on the wall, and the wall flexibly dissolved, opening a back door for him.

No Arcane alarms were triggered throughout.

Meng Yun easily merged into the crowd and walked towards the Satellite City gate.

Wartime security was even tighter. Looking at the layers of guards, the dark cannon holes, and the steam armored vehicles, Meng Yun knew that, being confined to his home, he couldn't sneak out of the city by conventional means.

Then he would force his way through!

Never underestimate the speed of an S-level combat sequence advance; delaying even a second would cause more harm to his sister Vivian!

"Level 4, Levitation."

"Level 4, Light and Shadow Protection."

"Level 3, Fluid Elementalization."

"Level 4, Wind Vortex Acceleration."

"Level 5, Thunder Movement Skill..."

That's right, Meng Yun could already use Level 5 Arcane, which meant he had officially stepped into the level of an Arcane Master.

The strong winds howled, and lightning flashed. Meng Yun shot straight into the sky and fled.

The Wind Elemental Arcane Masters on alert in the sky all issued warning signals, and Arcane attacks and countless dark cannon holes were all aimed at Meng Yun.

Amidst the colorful attacks, Meng Yun whistled past, unharmed.

"9527, you have violated Foundation law. Stop at once and surrender!"

"9527, if you don't stop, you will be considered a defector!"

"Immediately pursue defector 9527!"

A stream of light arrived in an instant. Meng Yun felt the heat wave behind him and sharply shifted his body!

A scorching fireball brushed past his body, and the sheer force of it made Meng Yun tremble with fear!

He smelled the scent of death!

This was a Level 7 Fire Arcane!

An Arcane Envoy had come to catch him!

The Foundation really thought highly of him!

"It's time to let you see the combination of future technology and Alchemy!"

In this era of modern industrial background, in this world where elements and steam are the main power sources—the internal combustion engine was about to make its dazzling debut!

Meng Yun dodged another fireball, and the Arcane Envoy behind him approached at almost twice Meng Yun's speed.

Meng Yun seized the opportunity and pressed the button on his backpack.

Two metal wings rapidly extended, and the lower part of the backpack began to spew roaring flames.

The intense G-force almost stopped Meng Yun's heart and held his breath.

Under the persistence of his indomitable will, Meng Yun kept his mind steady and whistled towards Holy City.

As for the Arcane Envoy behind him?

Go eat dirt!

He traveled at high speed, the hardships were over, and the journey was smooth sailing.

Halfway through the journey, in the distant sky, Meng Yun suddenly saw a mushroom cloud rising violently beyond the horizon.

It was fiery red and dazzling, with a pillar of smoke reaching the sky.

The shockwave arrived in an instant. Meng Yun watched with his own eyes as the tangible wave from beyond the horizon destroyed and flattened everything in its path.

Houses, trees, farmlands, windmills, chimneys, livestock...

The advanced and the backward, all returned to dust.

A feeling of extreme dread suddenly rose in Meng Yun's heart.

It couldn't be Vivian's.

It couldn't be.

Boom!

The deafening sound was like a god's wrath descending.