Split Zone No.13

7

27th Floor Elevator

We finally reached the district border after running for nine hours .

While Westside and Eastside were located to the west and east respectively, that wasn’t all there was to it .

Beside Westside was a boundary forest . After passing through the forest, you would reach the district borerline, and on the other side of it, there was Eastside’s forest . Only after passing through that forest would you finally reach Eastside’s residential building .

Southside also bordered Eastside, by its merchandise market . I wasn’t very certain about the distribution of Northside and Southside though, as I’d never been to Southside, and the only times I went to Northside was when I went to the Split Zone center . And each of those times, Mr Blond had brought me there in a flash of light .

The darkness of night would hit in less than an hour . After passing through the forest, we soon came across the long, white borderline that divided the two districts . The line was already starting to glow now .

The moment that the dark of night came, the bordeline would give off a bright glow, which would form a barrier that people couldn’t pass through .

I looked towards the Eastside Forest . Since it was still day, everything looked pretty clear .

But forests at the borderlines were always very thick, so you usually couldn’t actually see through it .

I turned my head to look at Nie Zun, and the two of us made our way to other side of the boundary line .

With light steps, we stepped across into the Eastern Forest .

I bent over and reached inside my boot to touch my split symbol . I still had 47 MF remaining .

After I straightened up, I grabbed my bow and arranged my arrows on my back . My bow wasn’t very large, and it was very light . The arrows were also thin and slender, so my bag could hold more than a hundred of them . I held the bow with my left hand and used my right hand to sweep aside the hair in my face .

Nie Zun stood with his hands in his pockets, unconcerned as usual .

I’d rarely seen him engage in hand to hand combat with anyone, and of course, I didn’t understand what types of weapons he could use .

I didn’t much care for his life, and in fact, I sometimes found myself looking forward to his death .

I coldly glanced at him once more .

Feeling my gaze land on him, Nie Zun smiled . He looked at me with a pair of bright eyes, before motioning for me to look ahead .

We’d already passed throught the forest .

The residential building, along with the streets in front of it, appeared in my line of sight .

There were a lot of people on the street, but they weren’t as I’d imagined . I’d thought that strange monsters would be rampant in Eastside . And although there were many fantastic creatures, a lot of people kept a human appearance .

The people here didn’t look much different from the ones residing in Westside . Only, after seeing Nie Zun and me walk out from the forest, they cast unfriendly eyes our way .

The two of us didn’t stare much longer, lest we attract even more attention to the fact that we were outsiders . So, we passed through street after street, and we soon blended into the crowd and arrived at the residential building .

As long as we didn’t look like newbies with with no experience in the world, others wouldn’t pay much attention to us . Moreover, I wasn’t wearing my blood-red dress today, and everyone’s understanding of the Westside commander was simply a body dressed in red, and nothing more .

The residential building had an entrance every few meters, but I had no understanding of Eastide at all . Fortunately, You Ji had mentioned that Sly S should be living in the first room on the 30th floor .

I exchanged a glance with Nie Zun, and then we walked into the Eastside Residence .

There were a ton of people inside the building, so a few unfamiliar faces wasn’t really unusual . As long as we weren’t glowing like a new arrival, no one cared about us .

Still, Nie Zun and I received several strange looks .

I didn’t quite understand why . In any case, Nie Zun and I successfully made it into an elevator . There were also two others that got onto the elevator with us . One was a large and tall man, wearing a gray tank top and gray sports pants . His strong and muscular build made him look quite formiddable . The other had the appearance of a mummy, but he didn’t look gross . Instead, he was kind of handsome . His face was bandaged, revealing only a pair of piercing, bright eyes . The only thing that made him look relatively strange was that green glow in his eyes . The bandages on his face also appeared to be stained with dried blood .

I didn’t quite understand why . In any case, Nie Zun and I successfully made it into an elevator . There were also two others that got onto the elevator with us . One was a large and tall man, wearing a gray tank top and gray sports pants . His strong and muscular build made him look quite formiddable . The other had the appearance of a mummy, but he didn’t look gross . Instead, he was kind of handsome . His face was bandaged, revealing only a pair of piercing, bright eyes . The only thing that made him look relatively strange was that green glow in his eyes . The bandages on his face also appeared to be stained with dried blood .

All together, there were four of us in the elevator . After the door closed, the elevator started to move slowly .

The elevator itself was as ordinary as could be . As the elvator traveled upwards, a few people got on and off, but otherwise it was just the four of us, so it wasn’t very crowded .

After we passed the 20th floor, the elevator seemed to stop less frequently . When we reached the 24th floor, the people who got on at the 20th floor got off .

The last one to get off turned back and gave me a pensive look .

I found it a bit curious, so I turned to the two guys who had gotten on the elevator on the first floor with us .

Before I looked at them, I wasn’t concerned, but after I looked them over, I started to feeling uneasy .

Because at some point, the two of them had started looking at me .

When I glanced at them, they both continued to stare me down, without batting an eyelash .

I didn’t know what to do, and then the elevator suddenly stopped with a crunch .

What was going on? This didn’t seem to be an ordinary stop .

I frowned as I checked the display . It was the 27th floor .

The elevator had suddenly stopped, but the doors didn’t open .

I knew something wasn’t right, so I quietly grabbed my bow .

The muscular man standing closest to the elevator buttons suddenly said, “You guys aren’t from here . ”

My hand tightened on my bow, and I responded calmly, “How can you tell?”

My hand tightened on my bow, and I responded calmly, “How can you tell?”

The muscular man chuckled . His face twisted a bit and it looked both like he was and wasn’t laughing . “Because everyone in Eastside knows that floors 27 to 29 are reserved for S Clan officials ranked C and higher . Most of the elevators will stop at the 27th floor, but even at the 26th floor, the two of you didn’t look like you planned on getting off . You’re not wearing anything that indicates that you’re an S Clan official, which means that you must be from a different district with no understanding of our rules . ”

“Since you two also haven’t gotten off yet, that must mean that you live on the 27th floor or higher . So, why don’t you guys have any ID that suggests you’re part of S Clan?” I didn’t panic .

The mummy suddenly laughed . “Every member of S Clan wears contact lens made from a special material . We have an S mark on the left side of our face that only someone wearing the contacts can see . ”

No wonder people were looking at Nie Zun and me so strangely . Perhaps those people were part of S Clan? But how did they know that I wasn’t just another resident of Eastside?

I was aware of S Clan though . They were a group formed by and named for that strange woman, Sly S . The group was comprised of those who were loyal to her, and perhaps you might call them her fans . They say that S Clan has seven ranks, A through G . The closer to the start of the alphabet, the higher your ranking and ability . I didn’t know all the specifics about the number of people in their clan . I just knew that there were only three people ranked A and seven ranked B .

Eastside’s Sly S was the most famous woman in all of the Split Zone . When I first arrived, I’d heard about her .

I thought back to the first time I saw her . She wore a high school uniform and her hair was shoulder length with bangs . She looked like an obedient and good student, but she couldn’t hide that strange atmosphere that emanated from her—Sly S .

Every time I thought of her, the air around me grew cold .

She rarely made appearances and she rarely spoke to anyone . Anywhere she went, there was always a group of people protecting her . It’s said that those people swore loyalty to her . Before I arrived in the Split Zone, her power was already unquestionable . It’s also rumored by some that the last commander of Westside died by Sly S’s hands .

A lot of people followed her blindly, but no one really knew why . And she always wore that high school uniform, fashioned rather like Japanese school uniforms . Her face was always white as snow, and her eyes looked empty and lifeless .

Some say that she simply maintained the appearance she had when she died .

As for the type of schizophrenia that sent her here, no one seemed to know about it .

All I knew was that the first time I saw her and accidentally exchanged glances with her, those emotionless, lifeless, stagnant eyes sent a cold chill all across my body .

I didn’t have too much time to think because the mummy suddenly pulled off a piece of his bandaging and turned to me for an attack!

I didn’t move because Nie Zun had already extended his left hand from his pocket and stopped the attack .

Nie Zun was wearing a black glove on his hand .

I didn’t move because Nie Zun had already extended his left hand from his pocket and stopped the attack .

Nie Zun was wearing a black glove on his hand .

Well, he was wearing black gloves on both of his hands . He’d always been like that, never exposing any skin . He was always wrapped up from head to toe, like a dark zongzi . (t/n: a zongzi is like a big “rice dumpling”—Wiki article)

I’d always thought it was because he was scared of dying, so he wrapped himself up as to not expose his split symbol .

I was the only one who knew about his split symbol, since I saw it when we first met . Mr Blond had made him expose the crescent moon symbol on his neck to explain split symbols to me .

Even as Nie Zun’s left hand stopped right in front of my face, his lips carried an unfazed smile . “If she dies, things will be hard on me . So, good sirs, if you must attack, please attack me first . ”

His voice sounded clearly in the elevator .

The muscular man extended a hand to stop the mummy . He gave a nod to Nie Zun . “Apologies . It’s not that we must use violence against you . It’s just that even members of my family who are not part of S Clan cannot travel past the 26th floor . And well, the two of you are uninvited guests whose purpose we do not know . ”

After the muscular man stopped him, the mummy also retracted his bandages .

The musular man nodded to me . “Pretty lady, the two of you should head back . If you’d like to stay for a visit, we welcome you, but you cannot travel past this point . ”

“I’m here to see the district commander . ” Without loosening my grip on my bow, I looked at the muscular man .

Glancing at the bow in my left hand, he finally nodded . “It’s a rare occasion that Westside Commander Li Zhen would pay a visit to Eastside . It’s obvious that you’re here to see our commander, but without the commander’s agreement, I still cannot allow you to travel any further . Apologies, Ms Li Zhen . ”

It wasn’t strange that he could identify me . After all, not everyone was as oblivious to the world around them as I was . As a member of S Clan, with at least a C ranking, he’d likely already learned about my appearance and choice of weapons .

Suddenly, I couldn’t help being annoyed at myself for recklessly running here without first learning more about Eastside’s rules and customs .

I looked at the elevator door . The muscular man held a hand against the gap in the doors .

This was the 27th floor, a place where only officers ranked C or higher could go . It was clear that the muscular man’s intent was that, unless Nie Zun and I returned to a lower floor, we wouldn’t be able to leave this elevator at all . What? Were the corridors of the 27th floor and above filled with unspeakable secrets?