Xyrin Empire
Chapter 655 The Empire’s History Also Has Its Dark Side

Chapter 655: Chapter 655 The Empire’s History Also Has Its Dark Side

There were many matters I wanted to ask the absurdly knowledgeable Queen Sandora about, but after returning from Shadow City, I couldn’t catch a glimpse of that girl. Apart from a bunch of dolls busy watching TV in the living room, there were only two maids cleaning.

"Where did Sandora go?"

As Anwina floated by in front of me, I immediately called out to ask her.

Little Ghost blinked troubledly and unconsciously fiddled with the buttons on her maid uniform, a subconscious action when she was flustered.

"Lady Sandora said she was bored at home and went out to feed..."

Hear that? Feed! Now even Anwina daringly refers to Sandora’s behavior as feeding!

I broke into a cold sweat upon hearing Anwina’s words. In the past few days, there had been an increasing number of mysterious disappearances of barricades and inexplicable breakages of landscape trees in the new district XX area. Sandora, aren’t you afraid of causing humans to question the law of conservation of matter?

Having a sister who steps out to feed whenever she’s bored and eats whatever she sees is a great pressure on me. She’s a queen, after all, maintaining a dignified and commanding presence in most situations. Why does she have to be such a headache when no one’s around?

After saying hello to Anwina and Sayaka, I told Mercury Lamp and my sisters to enjoy themselves at home and not to go out. Then, I hurriedly stuffed Dingdang, who had bounced from the table, into my pocket and rushed out to find Queen Sandora, who might be feeding in some corner of the new district.

Fortunately, Sandora always maintained a clear spiritual connection with me, allowing me to easily pinpoint her location. That girl really knows how to roam around; she’d managed to wander all the way to the edge of the old district, nearly ten kilometers from home.

Using space-time teleportation where no one could see, I arrived in a matter of minutes to find Sandora loitering around a large urban park entrance, toting a massive bag of what must be hundreds of spicy hot skewers, enjoying the fallen leaves by the roadside while munching away. A little further off, five or six snack vendors were packing up for the day, all wearing somewhat dazed expressions. It seemed Sandora still remembered to use spiritual interference to avoid trouble. Munching on a snack had depleted several snack stalls of their stock; her appetite was worthy of being featured on "Approaching Science".

How many chefs could one Sandora keep busy?

"Sandora!"

Despite the convenience of spiritual connection, I still preferred to greet others from afar. It felt like only in this way could I capture a sense of closeness.

"Ah! Ah Jun!" The golden-haired girl turned around at the sound of my voice and beamed with joy, then immediately took a flying pounce at me from at least ten or twenty meters away.

Queen’s flying pounce, a vicious move Sandora always relished using when we were alone. She’d tormented me with it more than a dozen times, but it was something I simply couldn’t dodge in these circumstances. Watching her laugh as she leaped toward me, I had no choice but to brace myself, gather my energy, and prepare for the impact...

"Bang!"

Before I could even get into position, Sandora had already landed. Believe it or not, I swear I heard a sonic boom approaching! A sonic boom caused by a 36C impact, I must weigh my words!

"Cough cough, girl, I just put on these clothes."

Although Sandora had held the spicy skewers high up in the final second, a bit of sauce still dripped onto my shoulder. Once in her goofy mode, Sandora would do whatever made her happy, not quite as thick-skinned as Qianqian, but her carelessness could be equally terrifying.

"It’s okay, I can wash your clothes for you, Ah Jun!"

How blessed to have the majestic Queen herself, a woman who commands the world, offer to wash your clothes. I was ecstatic for a whole two days the first time this happened, but now, I could only muster a wry smile.

"Let’s leave it to Anwina, what if you get hungry halfway through?"

A queen that could snack on two down coats dipped in laundry detergent is simply unaffordable!

It was clear Sandora was in a very good mood, even verging on extremely happy, hence the usually serious Queen had entered her rare super goofy state of bliss. Part of this was probably because she went out to feed, and maybe another part, perhaps, was because she saw me.

This made me hesitate: should I share with Sandora the two bothersome matters that were troubling me? It was so rare to see her this happy. Sandora usually bore such heavy responsibilities and pressure that it didn’t feel right to impact her mood with trivial matters. But just as the thought surfaced, it was swiftly cut off by a comment from Sandora.

"Ah Jun, you’ve got something on your mind, right?" The sharp, empathic lover instantly saw through the little concerns I couldn’t hide, "Will it affect my mood when you tell me?"

"You saw through me," I admitted with a wry smile, shrugging my shoulders and accepting a few skewers of spicy food from Sandora as we walked into the park. As we looked for a bench by the roadside, I started by talking about the little girl in the spirit world.

Although I didn’t tell Bubbles and Qianqian, who were with me at the time, I casually mentioned it to Sandora when I got back. After all, she was a master of spiritual power. At that time, however, Sandora didn’t pay much attention to the little girl. Whether the spirit I had captured was Xue Huajing or something else, it had no value worth Sandora’s attention—but now, when she heard that the little girl had lost her memory because of me, Sandora’s expression grew serious.

"This makes me feel like I’ve taken on some responsibility."

I spread my hands, broke the leftover spicy hot skewer sticks into two, and stuffed them into Sandora’s mouth: I hadn’t found a trash can nearby.

"Huh, if it were me, maybe I wouldn’t care about this kind of thing," Sandora said, quickly disposing of the skewer sticks and showing a troubled expression, "but with Ah Jun’s personality, he definitely couldn’t let it go. What’s the story behind this girl called Xue Huajing?"

"She was the last doll created by Luo Zhen; you remember him, right? The alchemist trying to create the perfect life form, the father of the Mercury Lamps. After creating the regular Rose Maidens like Zhenhong, Luo Zhen must have sensed the constraints of the material world on life forms, so he created Xue Huajing—the seventh doll—unlike the previous six ’experiments,’ this seventh doll only possessed a spiritual body. To ensure unlimited evolutionary possibilities and traits unconstrained by the material world, Luo Zhen didn’t make her a body after producing Xue Huajing’s soul. Instead, he used a certain method to ensure that the soul could survive independently. That’s the origin of that little girl."

"Humans can actually achieve this?" Sandora showed a look of surprise on her face, "Although it’s not comparable to the pure energy life forms we created, that alchemist must have touched upon some part of the law theory, right?"

"Who knows, he’s already responded to the plot and kicked the bucket," I smacked my lips, "I haven’t finished yet. Although the spiritual state Xue Huajing was successfully born, she still had flaws. This doll needed to rely on human spiritual power as nourishment; otherwise, her disembodied soul would gradually weaken. This is probably the crux of the problem. When we left the Rose Maiden World, this spiritual little guy suddenly rushed over. Since we were in a hurry, I didn’t think much and just imprisoned her in my own Spirit Sea. At the time, Alaya and I both confirmed her state; though weak, Xue Huajing didn’t seem to be harmed. But just half a day later, her memory was wiped clean. This might be because she lost connection with the original ’nutrition sources’ and continually weakened, ultimately unable to resist the erosion from surrounding spiritual power. What I wanted to ask you is, if this is the case, is there any way to restore her?"

"It’s difficult," Sandora thought for a moment and then shook her head, "To describe it with something you’re more familiar with: take a hard drive, remove the disk platter, and then heat it in a microwave for six hours. Do you think it could still be used? A spiritual world that can control even Void Energy is that much higher compared to a beginning spiritual body that has freeload soul power and is continuously weakening.

Well, don’t worry too much, Ah Jun, if you think about it, maybe this is a good thing for that girl named Xue Huajing. Imagine, a pure spiritual life without even a body in a world with very little mystery. Isn’t that very lonely? She could only flit through people’s illusions and probably has never had the experience of being touched. It’s just as well to forget such memories."

"Maybe you’re right," I sighed and nodded, "Moreover, the Rose Maidens miss Luo Zhen too intensely. I remember how much suffering Mercury Lamp went through because of this, but at least Mercury Lamp had a body, at least she had memories of being touched by their father. However, Xue Huajing couldn’t even perceive that warmth, maybe forgetting everything in her past is a good thing for her... Let nature take its course. After all, no matter how noble the reasoning, I don’t like meddling with other people’s destinies. If Xue Huajing recovers her memories... I’ll just treat her as Mercury Lamp’s post-clear HARD mode."

If that 92.3 heard this, she’d definitely show her half-missing little tiger teeth at me decisively.

"Well, now you and Alaya are the only two people who can contact that little one; she can’t enter the real world, and our spiritual power is not suitable for fine operations that might hurt her. So, try to take more care of that little girl," Sandora said after finishing the last skewer of spicy hot, licking her fingers without any image, "Then, you have other matters to attend to, right?"

"Yeah, it’s about Ola," the second matter was probably more concerning to Sandora than the first, "What’s the significance of the Leader Bee’s face mask? Today, I encountered Ola at Silvia’s Candy House."

I recounted my unexpected meeting with Ola in detail to Sandora, including the slight reluctance she showed when I asked her to remove her face mask. The golden-haired girl in front of me listened quietly. After I finished, she fell silent for a while and then suddenly spoke faintly, "Well, Ah Jun would sooner or later find out... don’t take it to heart. The Leader Bee’s loyalty to the Empire is beyond doubt, but their birth involves a part of the Empire’s history that’s not very glorious, and... I have personally experienced it, do you want to hear it?"

I immediately regretted bringing up the topic: Sandora’s expression hadn’t looked too good when she first met Ola, and I should have known there was some inside story there. Could it be linked to the dark history of the Empire? And it was related to Sandora?

"If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. There certainly are a fair number of odd characters among the Xyrin Apostles," I said with a chuckle. While the quirks of Leader Bee and Ola’s dilemma regarding the exoskeleton were intriguing, if discussing them would upset Sandora, then it was best to let it go.

Sandora smiled in relief, "It’s not anything too serious, Ah Jun. Have you noticed that Leader Bee’s power is different from all other Xyrin units?"

I thought for a moment, "Do you mean their Crystal Wings? Would that be considered a mix of Mystic and Technology power?"

I had always been interested in Leader Bee’s abilities. They appeared like pure technology members of the Xyrin Tribe, with their sci-fi looking mechanical girl equipment and crystallized metal wings exuding a technological flavor. However, their abilities were more complex: The Fire Control Tower Skill and Emergency Signal Amplifier Function were powers typical of technological side Apostles, but an ability like Battlefield Resurrection leaned more towards the Mysterious system, and their use of the Crystal Wings to clone Mirror Soldiers... I still couldn’t classify that.

"Leader Bee’s power is what we call Crystal Power," Sandora negated my guess in one sentence. "It’s different from both the Technology Power and Mysterious Power of the Empire’s civilization. They are the only type of third-class power users in the Empire. And most importantly: the technology that uses ’Crystals’ as a medium to produce both technological or mysterious effects was not created by the Xyrin Apostles."

"It’s not Imperial technology?" I was shocked at the time. "Isn’t Leader Bee a Xyrin Apostle?"

"They are sinners," Sandora’s startling revelation came, "Their Crystal Power comes from a civilization that was destroyed by the Empire."

"Ah Jun, I’m sorry I never told you, but I actually know that Leader Bee named Ola—before she put on the mask, she was my comrade-in-arms."

"That was a long time ago, so long ago that I was just an ordinary commander of the Spirit Assault Team back then," Sandora prepared to tell a long story with a composed expression, "There was a period in the Empire’s history marked by mad expansion. We believed that the most effective way to eliminate the Abyss was to control all worlds in our hands, to force all Mortal Races to unconditionally accept our rule and to absolutely prevent the Abyss with an iron fist. This was the product of the military thought of the Xyrin Apostles. To us, such decisions were filled with efficiency and value; the weak Mortal Races had no need to choose. In fact, that’s exactly what we did.

I won’t get into specifics, but this period lasted for a full hundred thousand years, during which the Empire’s territory rapidly expanded to millions of worlds. That Great Expansion was known to us as the Golden Age. At that time, the Empire’s power was so immense that even the gods had to acknowledge our authority, and super civilizations throughout the Void looked to the Empire as the model. Everyone believed that the mad Xyrin Apostles would continue to expand forever, until they ruled all the worlds in the Endless Void not yet under the gods’ domain, and perhaps even ascend as the Third Divine Race within the Multi-universe.

But one day, we encountered a peculiar super civilization.

We called that civilization ’aKioNec’ or roughly read as ’Ocanic’—a strange pronunciation, right? In the common language of the Empire at that time, the word meant ’Crystal.’ This Race was the most peculiar civilization we had ever seen. They were immensely powerful, almost rivaling the Empire in both individual combat strength and legion battle power. They might even be said to be the most powerful civilization the Empire encountered during its pioneering era. Yet, this Race didn’t develop any Technology or Mystic powers. They were naturally bestowed with a remarkable Talent, which was to meditate and balance with the Universe, then imbue their will into certain materials, turning them into ’Crystals’ capable of performing miracles, and then utilizing Crystal Power to accomplish many feats. Because of the mysterious attribute of this ability, we categorized it as a form of the Mystic system’s Shape Magic. However, to ’aKinNec,’ they had no concept of magic at all. Creating Crystals was simply their instinct, as simple as eating or drinking for us.

Such an intriguing Race drew great attention from the Imperial High Levels of those days. We sent Envoys hoping to establish relations with this Race. For the Old Empire, which had exceedingly simplicity in values, ’a strong combat Race’ was the only standard for establishing relations. By then, the war between the Empire and the Abyss had escalated. We needed any sizable new force to expand our advantage; under such a premise, Imperial Leaders could even overlook the other’s attitude towards the Empire. As long as they could fight, as long as they opposed the Abyss, we wanted to pull them onto our War Chariot."

"For other Races, even those considerably weaker than the Empire but still classified as super civilizations, such an invitation was a tremendous honor. It signified that you had joined the ranks of the strongest civilizations in the multi-universe, not as cannon fodder, but as a warrior standing on the front line alongside the Xyrin Apostles. Thus, our overtures for diplomatic relations had never been refused, but..."

"That AkioNec Race refused you, right?" I became interested in this ancient story. The rise of any super civilization was accompanied by a dark and brutal history of expansion, and the Xyrin Empire was no exception. I had long heard of their era of expansion, but this was the first time I heard about what happened during that time.

"Refused? Maybe that’s one way to put it," Sandora said with a strangely amused expression, "In fact, I still don’t quite understand what happened back then. That ’Crystal’ Race simply ignored our invitation. Ah Jun, you might not quite grasp it, but that Race was incapable... incapable of communication, yes, that’s it. Our envoys were unable to communicate with the other party; the ’AkioNec’ had a mode of thought that was completely incomprehensible to us. They didn’t interact with any other Races, getting to the extent that each individual completely closed themselves off to outsiders, as if their spirits had long since departed the Main Material Plane, leaving nothing but a drivable shell in the real world. The Empire’s envoy stayed on their Primordial Star for months and didn’t manage to engage in a successful dialogue with a single ’AkioNec.’ It was so bizarre at the time: The envoy brazenly entered the ’AkioNec’ palace, stood on the table of their leader, and loudly read the Empire’s invitation to establish relations, yet they continued to study their glowing stones as usual. You have no idea how irritated that unfortunate envoy was. It’s not easy to aggravate a Xyrin Apostle with negative emotions."

"So you were completely ignored," I nodded, "And because of that, you wiped them out?"

"Of course not," Sandora immediately shot me a sidelong glance, "We later discovered Abyss Power in the universe governed by the ’AkioNec.’

The ’AkioNec’ was still a very powerful Race, though not quite comparable to the Empire, but they ruled only a single universe. Naturally, we couldn’t understand this. After repeated failed attempts at dialogue and growing impatience, the Empire’s rulers decided to disregard any respect for a powerful Race and simply sent out probes to patrol their domain. That’s when we detected traces of the Abyss: a positive Abyss reaction was found on some members of the ’AkioNec.’"

"You thought the Race was infected by the Abyss?"

"That’s right. Even though there was no evidence to suggest that the AkioNec had been entirely infected, in that era, having Abyss traces on some individuals living among the population was already some sort of evidence. At that time, there was a new outbreak of the Abyss Gate, the front lines were exceptionally brutal, and there were two or three reports of small-scale Abyss infections within the Empire. Even the Xyrin Emperor would be on edge in such a situation, and after experiencing two infectious rebellions on the front (I couldn’t help but maliciously suspect that this might also be related to the long-term iron-fisted rule of those war-obsessed fanatics), the Empire’s caution toward unfamiliar Races from the outside world was directly raised to an SSS level—’Infection equals extermination.’ Under such extreme circumstances, the ’AkioNec’ was issued an Extermination Order by the Emperor of the respective ruling region at the time."

Sandora paused, and I clicked my tongue: Infection equals extermination, what a draconian policy within five words. Though I knew the bygone Empire often played the role of executioner on many occasions, hearing this example from Sandora still made me tense up.

"They surely couldn’t have resisted."

"They didn’t resist—not until we attacked their Mother Star. The ’AkioNec’ were almost standing there waiting for us to slaughter them. The enigmatic ’AkioNec’ Race had been confirmed to possess immense fighting strength, and the Empire even mobilized two Conqueror-class Law Fortresses for that war. Yet billions of ’AkioNec’ simply serenely sat before our gun muzzles and awaited death; no one could fathom what those ever-silent beings were thinking. But once an Extermination Order was issued, there was no stopping it. Trillions of ’AkioNec’ died without resistance under the barrage of the ultimate warships...

The ’war’ swept through unopposed. With no one resisting, we shattered the ancient Stardust Belt crafted by the ’AkioNec’ using Crystal Power; our forces filled every inch of space above their Mother Star. But at that moment, the silent lambs began to fight back.

For the first time since the era of great expansion, the Imperial Army encountered a battle with an evenly matched ordinary Race. All ’AkioNec’ converged on their Mother Star and desperately resisted the Empire’s Purifier Army. They forcefully matched the Imperial Army in number and fought to the bitter end before their entire Race was annihilated. No one can say why those silent beings didn’t resist at the beginning but fought fiercely at the end. This remains a mystery in my heart to this day, but their power indeed left a deep impression on everyone... However, that’s all in the past. After the defense battle of the Mother Star, the ’AkioNec’ was erased from the civilization map."

"Indeed, it was a regrettable war. From beginning to end, it was all so bizarre, an inexplicable start and an inexplicable end," I patted Sandora’s slightly sunken shoulders consolingly, "So, how did the Leader Bee using Crystal Power come about?"

"We discovered a gigantic device on the mother star of ’aKioNec’," Sandora’s reply seemed disjointed, but the latter part of her statement made my expression instantly stiffen, "Abyss Purification System, an Abyss infection reversal device that even the Empire of the time had not managed to research. Then, we decrypted the information recorded on that device.

’aKioNec’ wasn’t completely infected—in fact, it could be said that they hadn’t been infected at all. Those silent creatures, who pondered the universe with the mindset of a mysterious worldview, were simply researching methods to eliminate Abyss infection. The carriers of Abyss reaction among them were merely researchers, much like Xyrin Technicians who carry notebooks around. That race... had been combating the Abyss from the very beginning."

I kept my hand extended to pat Sandora on the shoulder, unable to speak for a good ten seconds.

"This tragedy was caused by a combination of three factors: inability to communicate, blind destruction, and extreme rule."

"At that time, the one who carried out the Extermination Order was a famous general from the 116th administrative region of the Empire, and the commander of the Spirit Assault Team, the only one formed entirely by female apostles—Ola Evelyn. She was my friend and is now your first Leader Bee," Sandora gently leaned her face against my hand and closed her eyes, "This isn’t a pleasant story, Ah Jun. For us, the annihilation of another warrior Race fighting against the Abyss is an extremely grave sin. It means that to some extent, you have become an accomplice to the Abyss. At that time, Ola had violated this taboo. When she returned to the Empire, she would face the trials of the Imperial Court; even the Emperor who issued the Extermination Order might be questioned by the other Emperors."

"So, Ola, the person responsible for it all, inherited ’aKioNec’s Crystal Power and allowed their shadows to persist among her own soldiers as a form of atonement?"

"Pretty much," Sandora replied. "Ola was once a powerful Soul Controller, much like me, deeply versed in the pathways of soul survival. The souls of the slaughtered ’aKioNec’ still drifted over the battlefield. Ola, in her confusion and agony for breaking the taboo, spared no expense in drawing those wrongful dead into herself, and her Personal Guards followed suit. Originally obliterated, ’aKioNec’ obtained a different form of rebirth ten minutes after their extinction. From then on, Ola Evelyn was no more; her soul twisted and merged with the numerous souls of ’aKioNec’ to create a new life, now the Leader Bee Ola. Her soldiers underwent the same mutation, and thus the most unique race in Imperial history was born. Ah Jun, have you always wondered why the Leader Bees are so stoic? This is the reason: after their metamorphosis, they were influenced by ’aKioNec,’ beginning to consider problems with the latter’s incomprehensible worldview, which made the Leader Bees appear particularly rigid in communications with others. This condition improved slightly in the second generation of Leader Bees produced by the Empire, but the more powerful first generation suffered greatly from it. Like Ola, they even lost the ability to communicate normally as high-level Apostles... As their assigned administrative region was quite close, Ola and I fought side by side in several cross-planar collaborative operations, which led to a strong friendship. But after becoming a Leader Bee, she has never spoken to me again outside of missions. I can no longer understand what Ola is thinking... except that she still remains loyal to the Empire."

"From that day forward, Ola became the leader of the new Heroic Combat Soldiers of the Empire. She and her warriors reappeared on the battlefield beside me years later, wearing their faceguards. Actually, those aren’t protective gear, but ’ornaments’ fashioned after the headgear of the ’aKioNec.’ The Leader Bees stubbornly wear them to signify that ’aKioNec’ still stands tall in the forest of civilizations and to express their never-ending atonement."

"That war was not comparable in scale to the cross-planar warfare we routinely engage in; it affected only one universe, yet its nature had a profound impact on the entire Empire. Because of blind hatred and thoughtless extreme policies, we destroyed a brave Race, possibly as full of potential as ourselves and capable of metamorphosing into another Xyrin Empire fighting the Abyss, and we murdered them when they had almost given up on resisting. ’Attacking warriors fighting the Abyss, slaughtering the unresisting weak’—we instantly overturned our own revered warrior ethos."

"Did it bring about a revolution in the Empire?" I asked, looking into Sandora’s eyes with curiosity.

"Not exactly successful, but the Empire did finally change a bit. First of all, this incident indirectly hastened the end of the Empire’s great expansion era. Although not the deciding factor, it was definitely an important one. Then, we also became slightly more flexible, starting to attempt communications with common Races, learning from the strengths of other Races, developing a harmonious society, and using Extermination Orders with caution... Okay, Ah Jun, don’t give me that look. I know we haven’t been successful in any of the other reform efforts besides stopping expansion."

"I’m sorry for reminding you of these unpleasant things."

I couldn’t help apologizing as I looked at the melancholy expression on Sandora’s face.

Although I always found the Leader Bees strange and Sandora was hiding the story about Ola, I never imagined that there was such a dark history behind the birth of those Bees, or rather, that the Empire itself could have such dark history.

For Sandora, who always held the honor of the Empire in high regard, these memories were definitely not a good thing.

"Ah Jun, I think I can roughly guess what you’re thinking," the girl with a spiritual connection immediately sensed my hazy thoughts, "My sorrow is merely an expression of lament over the mistakes once made by the Empire and the plight of a friend. As for the embarrassing history, that’s secondary."

"Any mortal race encounters setbacks and might even stray on their path of development. I’ve never considered the Xyrin Apostles to be a perfect species. We have flaws, we make mistakes, or else we wouldn’t have destroyed our own civilization at the end due to arrogance and delving into forbidden knowledge," Sandora hugged my arm tightly and rubbed her face against it, "’aKioNec’s’ downfall and the birth of the Leader Bee are regrettable events in the progress of the Empire’s development, but in the long history of the Empire, there have been even darker times... Still, in the end, we always rise up and march toward victory."

Translated into plain language, this meant: These stubborn guys, no matter what calamities or hardships they faced, would steadfastly proceed down the path of defiance until the end.

Of course, I didn’t dare say this sarcastic comment out loud. As soon as it somersaulted through my mind, I decisively strangled it to death: Sandora has a much better temper than Mercury Lamp.

"Phew, okay, okay, let’s lighten the mood," I stood up, pulling Sandora to her feet as well, "We’re not supposed to fall into such a gloomy atmosphere when we’re together, right? After all, it’s all in the past. The Xue Huajing incident is history, as is the Empire’s dark past. Now let’s talk about something romantic—Sandora, look at this desolate winter park with its falling leaves, isn’t it a very artistic place?"

The Queen next to us looked around, shaking her head in puzzlement, "I don’t see it, but I know those big leaves don’t taste very good. The shrubs taste okay but the texture is not great. On the other hand, I’m more interested in those traffic bollards..."

Oh my god! Dingdang above! After such heavy talk, are we still going to discuss oddities?

Sandora’s quirky remarks momentarily stunned me into a reboot. I didn’t know how to describe this Queen who had nothing in her head but thoughts of eating. Although the heavy topic had just turned her towards a happier disposition, this kind of cute act wasn’t right, my dear Sandora.

"Oh! Look who it is! Someone looking for Sandora?"

A sudden shout from not far away pulled me out of Sandora’s gluttonous hell. I was taken aback for a moment by the somewhat familiar voice, only to see a young man I’d never seen before walking toward us.

Damn Darwin! It was a handsome guy!

Though he wore twenty-yuan pavement pants, and his white casual top still had the threads from a sewing mistake, and his shoes boldly bore the mark of N①KE, all of this couldn’t hide the fact that the tall, black-haired, strapping young man walking towards us was handsome!

When had I become acquainted with such a creature? Or was this one of the K-city Queen enthusiasts, thought to be extinct but recently resurrected?

I glanced at Sandora and suddenly remembered the series of city dramas she had once caused.

"Ah, dumb older brother, why are you walking so fast—eh? Chen? You’re here too? Looking for Sandora?"

While I was puzzled about the identity of the black-haired young man, another group of boys and girls emerged, also vaguely familiar.

A delicate-looking girl with black hair down to her waist, wearing a black winter outfit; a petite girl in a blue down jacket, with shoulder-length hair and an eternal look of aggrievance as if about to cry; a serious and dignified middle-aged man with an anachronistic artist-like beard and thick hair, wearing a white coat; and...

Leading the three was an absolute beauty.

Sporting a long dress in the dead of winter, her remarkable ankle-length glossy black hair swaying with every step, her walk though noble and elegant somehow exuded the air of a hooligan... Ah, a female hooligan.

Normally not paying much attention, I couldn’t help but cough at the thought of how this lady’s swaying seemed more pronounced than Sayaka’s... cough cough, my girlfriend is here, Sandora’s not bad either.

Seeing this group, if I still didn’t recognize them, I would be truly Silvia: It was none other than the Divine Clan’s opportunistic, freeloading, trouble-stirring, fire-fanning bunch of five!

Who let these guys out!

"They said staying home all day was boring," Sandora read my expression and knew what her lover was thinking, explaining nonchalantly, "Bingdisi said Shadow City wasn’t worth the protection money anymore, Avalon’s environment was too common and uninteresting for tourism, Monina became interested in human cooking methods outside, 123 heard that Sicaro occasionally leaves Shadow City to set up a stall around here, and Kenser just came to buy groceries for his family—he usually does that with the Dingdang Team."

It seemed Dragon God Lin’s opinion had been ignored, right Sandora? That girl was about to cry, oh!

In the midst of my shock, the disguised Divine Clansmen had already approached me and Sandora. Their human-like appearance was definitely a disguise; I could sense the very subtle energy covering them, but where did they find such top-notch gear? Without mentioning anything else, 123’s shoes bearing N1KE—with a numeral 1, no less—and a sharp check mark below were supreme imitations! Such craftsmanship would even be considered art in the Erli Bridge Market!

And Kenser, your coat, if I’m not mistaken, is definitely the one priced at one thousand and eighty, lunging sale price seven hundred six, blood-spitting stall owner offering five hundred, you haggle down to two hundred eighty and snatch it away for eighty-three! I saw that same clothing shop in the old city pedestrian street four or five months ago, playing the off-season sales card all summer. Seems like they still haven’t managed to sell it, huh? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)