Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Misty Tornado

Tang poetry? Guqin, chess, calligraphy, painting?

Lily’s smile froze. She found herself in a rather awkward position. You could say she was fluent in Summer Nation’s language, but that wasn’t really true. Lily’s current situation was that she could use Summer Nation’s language to express whatever she wanted to say—as if she had a translator within her—but she only half-understood what she was actually expressing.

In short, Lily could speak Summer Nation’s language, and her pronunciation was extremely accurate. However, she didn’t understand the meaning of each word. The reason she could comprehend what the black-haired girl before her was saying was because, to her ears, the girl’s speech was close to English, the language Lily was familiar with. Though it wasn’t English, she could grasp the intended meaning.

But for certain specific terms, like guqin, chess, calligraphy, painting, when Lily heard them, they were just those words—she had no idea what Tang poetry was, or what guqin, chess, calligraphy, painting meant. The atmosphere grew tense.

As for why she suddenly gained this ability... Lily suspected it was brought about by the coin of fate she carried.

Suddenly inspired, Lily went to the drawer in her room, grabbed a pen, some paper, and a clipboard, then returned to the girl and handed them over, asking,

“Um... Miss Poetry Guqin... could you write your name in Summer Nation’s characters here?”

Lily’s speech was still a little awkward.

Liu Shiqin saw no reason to refuse, took the pen and paper, and swiftly wrote her name. She couldn’t quite understand why this sister named Lily, who spoke Summer Nation’s language so flawlessly, needed her to write her name down. And those odd pauses...

Handing the paper and pen back to Lily, Liu Shiqin finally asked the question she most wanted answered:

“Lily... Sister, you seem older than me, so I’ll call you Sister Lily. May I ask, where am I now? If possible, could you be precise, down to the city name?”

“Mm... so that’s how it’s written...” Lily glanced at the paper in her hand, then looked up at Shiqin, answering her question:

“This place is called St. Lance Orphanage. It’s the largest and only orphanage in Dunlen City, of the Great British Empire, situated right here in Dunlen City.” Lily had learned this from her teachers and others introducing the place.

Lily was working hard to overcome her hesitation.

“The Great British Empire... Dunlen City... Could it really be the Great British Empire in Europe?” Shiqin’s face was full of disbelief.

“Yes, that’s right, unless something unexpected happened.” Lily felt her tongue was gradually adapting to the Summer Nation’s language.

At the door, Hugh and Aiden had been standing there for nearly five minutes. Both were completely bewildered. One wondered when Lily had learned Summer Nation’s language; the other marveled at her apparent overnight mastery of an entire language. One wondered what they were discussing; the other noted how surprised the girl seemed.

Two guardians at the door.

Liu Shiqin was equally stunned. Wasn’t she supposed to go to Magic City? How did she suddenly end up in Dunlen City, Great British Empire? Wait—did Sister Lily mention an orphanage?

Liu Shiqin grabbed Lily’s hand, urgently asking, “Sister Lily, which area of Dunlen City is this? Is it a government-designated safe zone, or a high-risk area...?”

Lily looked baffled. Safe zone? High-risk area? The government of the Great British Empire had never appeared here...

“To be honest... I don’t know either. The only people we ever see are adults in white protective suits. They give us bottles and jars, and bundles of ‘Treatise on 2.4 Mist.’ Other than that, they never say anything.” Lily thought for a moment, answering Shiqin truthfully.

So that’s how ‘2.4 Mist’ is pronounced... Lily also picked up another bit of strange knowledge.

Shiqin’s expression grew grimmer. She asked timidly, “Are they the kind who wear masks, only showing their eyes, carrying a large tank on their back?”

“Yes!” Lily’s eyes lit up. Did this girl named Shiqin know something?

“Heavens... Am I really inside Sisyphus of Dunlen City? Aunt Xue said the transfer would only happen within our country...” Shiqin looked like her soul had been sucked out, staring blankly at the corner of the quilt.

“Sis... what?” Lily keenly caught a word that wasn’t Summer Nation’s language, though it didn’t sound like English either.

“I think she said Sisyphus, a name from Greek mythology, meaning endless and... no return.” Dunn, who had somehow appeared at the room’s entrance, explained the term for Lily.

Liu Shiqin came back to herself, looked at Aiden, and asked Lily, “What did that boy just say?”

Handsome boy... Lily chuckled inwardly and explained,

“He explained the word Sisyphus. He said it’s the name of an ancient deity in Greek mythology, meaning...”

“Endless and no return,” Shiqin finished the sentence.

“To be honest, I can hardly believe anything I’m hearing right now,” Shiqin sighed.

Lily didn’t press her, but instead pulled a few candies and two packs of compressed biscuits from her pocket, then had Aiden bring some water. Lily and the others had no idea how long the girl had been unconscious or hungry, so they had brought some food.

Only now did Shiqin feel her hunger and weakness. She took the biscuits and candies, thanked them, and began to eat slowly.

After a few bites, Shiqin felt much better, the burning in her stomach easing. She began to explain to Lily,

“Sisyphus is a name given by a scholar to this phenomenon. Around the world, besides ‘2.4 Mist,’ there have been many mist tornadoes. The appearance of these mist tornadoes follows certain patterns. Usually, the center of the tornado contains a building over 240 meters tall.”

“Mist tornado... But there’s no building over 240 meters tall around us?” Lily thought for a moment, puzzled.

“Well, sometimes the center of the mist tornado encompasses an orphanage.” Shiqin finished slowly, accepted the cup of water Aiden handed her, and awkwardly thanked him in English.

Seeing Lily deep in thought, Shiqin continued,

“In the past five years, people have conducted extensive research and evaluations on mist tornadoes. I don’t know the exact data, but the ‘Treatise on 2.4 Mist’ records:

‘Mist tornadoes have a unique shape, only expanding where sky meets ground, with a diameter of 24 kilometers, while the middle part is extremely thin—estimated at 2.4 meters. The interior of the mist tornado can be explored, but only with appropriate protective gear and oxygen supply.’”

At this point, Shiqin paused to catch her breath and took another bite of biscuit.

“Oh, and one more thing. Any exploration team that enters a mist tornado is unable to leave.”

Shiqin finished the last piece of biscuit, neatly folded the wrapper, and looked at Lily.