Chapter 198: Missing?

A wooden roof was the first thing he saw. Though his sight was blurry initially, Lee scanned the view and deduced that it is the inside of a room. The next instant, the visual interface lit up.

Lee read the date and time that appeared just below the Qi and Mana counter. Assuming that the information is his hallucinations, he closed and opened his eyelids many times.

'22nd April. So, 21 days have passed since my arrival at Utopia.'

The events and incidents in which Lee had partook flashed through his mind. Innumerous faces came up and vanished in an instant, and many information flooded his brain.

The recap finished with some painful memories. The faces of Mia, Tera and An were etched deep in his heart. Without his consent, his eyes began to fill up with tears and they rolled down through his cheeks.

[Lee, we are uncertain whether they are dead or not. Perhaps, they could be well alive and waiting for you to rescue.]

Lee nodded at D's words. He could only hope for something like that.

'I heard someone else's voice. Was it Hudson?'

[Yes, it is. Previously, he did not have clearance to access the communication channel.]

'And how did you come back? I saw you being thrown into the space.'

[After being thrown into the space, I had lost all control over my direction and speed. All I could do was to wander aimlessly. Most of my powers were transformed into the system, thus the wisp of sentience stored in the human figurine was literally powerless. Though it took some time, I expended a good amount of my soul sentience to contact and communicate the Will of the Dimension, which teleported me to the outer areas of Piscerent city.]

'When did you come back? How long have I been sleeping?'

[According to Hudson, you were asleep for more than a day. I came back to the city, and sneaked into the system barely two or three hours ago.]

'Sneak?'

[You are in the medical ward of the Cultivator's Guild.]

D opened the Map and the 3D hologram appeared. The large and complex architecture of the Cultivator's Guild could be seen in detail. The projection was so big, D had to zoom it out to give Lee a full view.

Now, Lee could see the reality of the entire architecture. The Guild complex was not one building, but the construction of two independent buildings so close that it looked like one giant one.

The main architecture was similar to a large mall. It was here that the shops and stalls are present. Various products ranging from consumables to weapons and trinkets are available in these shops.

The second building was constructed independently. It was the real building of the Guild. When the mall complex had a two storeyed structure which consisted of more than 200 degrees of the entire complex, the Guild structure took the leftover space which was barely the size of a 150 degrees of a complete circle.

The actual Guild building was a five storey building with two storeys above the ground and three below the surface. The first underground floor was for processing the mission request objects and beings. There were many experts busy with their works on that floor.

The next two floors were transformed into one large floor to accommodate the dwarves and elves, and their works. The dwarves were busy with blacksmithing and weapon making in a designated space, and the elves were manufacturing potions and pills, along with experiments and explosions.

The walls were made up of a three layer mechanism which gave quite a premium protection. The tremors from the outside could be felt, but it could not disrupt the processes going on in here.

None were forced to work, and the Guild gives them a fixed base salary. If any new products could make a hit in the market, then the bonus will be rewarded.

Among dwarves and elves, there were many wearing cultivator's robes. Lee understood that most of them are free cultivators who have learned either alchemy or blacksmithing in order to have the protection of the Guild from potential threats.

A silent green beacon kept on blinking on the ground floor of the Guild building. Lee zoomed on it, and found that the room in which the beacon was, was the room in which he is now. Now Lee had truly comprehended the entire architecture of the Guild.

[The time is 3 A.M. The duel with Miss Ganga is set for today. Take some rest, and then we can depart to the academy.]

'No need. Let's move.'

Lee raised his torso and sat on the wooden bed. The Hundred Leaf Sandalwood's fragrance was undetectable, unless one consciously picked it up. The scent made him relaxed, and urged him to stay on the bed. But Lee was determined to leave the idleness.

'D, what about Gauthama?'

[He was nowhere to be found. Gauthama was beaten up so badly that he should be helplessly lying in a pit, but those who went to scan the premises came back with empty hands. Even his energy signature seems to have vanished.]

'Elaborate.'

[Gauthama is surely missing from the scene. He might have concealed himself and retreated to somewhere. I am sure that he would feel the same way you do. But, I am one hundred percent sure that he is not dead. If he was, then I would know his soul was being deported to his home dimension.]

Lee sat on a side of the bed and looked around. There were a few more injured cultivators lying on the adjacent beds. A quick glance at them, and the Foresight pointed out the reason for their unstable health problems.

"Malice?"

The Foresight showed him that they had traces of Malice energy in their bodies. The aura of density was absent, and Lee found that they are simply disrupted by the energy.

Lee stood up and walked to the nearest one. He took out 5 Qi from his reserve and attributed Serenity to it. Pressing the palm to the man's forehead, the distressed expression began to weaken.