Look Up

Meanwhile.

The district east of Detroit's First Avenue.

Vern, the White Hound, saw Gore, a miserly barfly from the environmentalists' organization, push open the door and enter.

And a somewhat unfamiliar, handsome young man.

At this moment.

The neon lights mounted on the nearby buildings outside Freezing Point Bar began to flicker.

The sleepless night of the City of Chaos had arrived.

The next day.

Su Wen woke up.

He opened his phone and saw the trending posts and searches on major video sites and news platforms.

The hottest post came from the Wall Street Journal.

It reported that the Detroit branch of the financial giant Leis Angton Group had filed for bankruptcy due to a business scandal.

The report caused a massive online reaction.

The Michigan state government apologized for it.

Meanwhile.

Faced with the various pieces of evidence anonymously released by the hacker Miss Caroline.

Leis Angton headquarters also held an emergency press conference, urgently distancing itself from responsibility and claiming that insufficient oversight of its branch had led to the scandal.

Of course.

For those American white liberals who already had no trust in oligarchic corporations or the federal government.

They had already imagined Leis Angton as some Umbrella Corporation preparing to release the T-virus and create a Resident Evil.

Meanwhile.

The flow of Wall Street capital and the stock market collapse also made everything clear.

Under pressure.

The California government announced that it had launched an investigation into Leis Angton headquarters.

There had been no progress so far.

Meanwhile.

This also declared that Detroit, which already met the relevant requirements of Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code and was eligible to apply for bankruptcy protection.

After becoming the largest bankrupt municipal government in American history in 2013.

Had also become a landmark case in the first anarchist resistance movement.

Civilization Chronicle faithfully recorded it all.

And the name "Rhine."

Became a name that neither history.

Nor the Wall Street Journal website and major video platforms could ignore.

Of course.

Su Wen did not appear often in the video.

The hero's appearance and his disappearance without leaving the slightest trace.

Coupled with his handsome, dashing silhouette.

Ninety-nine percent of the comments and scrolling messages were extremely excited:

"Did you see that silhouette standing atop the burning building in the video?"

"He was seriously so cool!"

"Rhine is my husband."

"This name matches the one mentioned in the Equality Act news report."

"Could this name actually be a top-secret operation codename used by the Night Watch? Maybe lots of people are called Rhine?"

"The Night Watch hasn't come out to clarify it."

"It seems highly credible."

"Putting everything else aside, if I had been there, I probably would have answered his call too. Rhine's Personal Charm is just too strong."

Looking at those comments.

Su Wen, who had always possessed a "correct understanding of himself," nodded and said:

"These comments are fairly objective."

He had merely explained the whole sequence of events to the Night Watch.

But since no one had come forward to clarify it.

So be it.

Meanwhile.

A film released by a familiar name also premiered simultaneously on major video platforms.

Look Up

Publisher: Azure

The film told the story of a Black child.

He lived in a city that could probably already be considered the frontier of civilized order—Detroit.

During his childhood, a fire broke out because of poor housing conditions. His parents suffered severe burns before they could escape. For the wealthy, perhaps their lives could still have been saved.

But for a poor family living in the slums, such enormous medical expenses were simply unaffordable.

After his parents passed away.

The child was adopted by an old man. There was a rundown auto repair shop, with a small Orphanage behind it.

In Detroit, kindness was a luxury.

And luxuries were probably meant only for a few to enjoy. Five years later, the old man eventually died of illness.

The Black boy gradually grew up as well.

To repay his debts, he came into contact with the Carnival Convoy during a chance repair job.

Afterward, he became a racer.

He became the former defending champion.

The labels used for him finally changed from "big guy," "idiot," and "rare good person."

Back to Grace-Arnold.

Even so, after all the evidence surrounding the missing children from the Orphanage pointed to Leis Angton.

He was furious, yet helpless.

A racing champion could not accomplish anything.

Until the burly Black man met that member of the Night Watch.

He saw what Detroit's cry truly was.

And understood that for people like him, beyond either being assimilated by an eternally restless, clamorous environment and becoming scum, or one day dying in an uncared-for street corner, there was a third choice.

Midway through the film.

Driver No. 25 drove his black race car, streaked with blue light, across the finish line.

The plot's climax followed.

Once the flames had ignited, they could no longer be extinguished.

Until the former landmark building, the "Leis Angton Supertall Tower," came crashing down overnight.

At the end of the film.

The words Miss Caroline had spoken at Freezing Point Bar became its closing narration:

"I don't know when it happened, but when we lifted our heads.

The stars once reflected above us had long since been concealed by clamorous heavy metal music and neon pillars that never went out."

"Now, after he appeared, the neon lights had not gone out.

But the starlight could no longer be concealed either.

To Detroit.

Cheers."

The film ended there.

The overwhelming majority of the comments were likes and recommendations:

Was this film a supplement to the Wall Street Journal report?

The emotions really hit home.

I don't know why, but Azure's stories are always happy endings, yet they always leave such a deep impression.

Rhine was seriously so cool.

The Night Watch was truly great.

At the end of the eighteenth century, Detroit built a great many buildings and was thus called "America's Paris." That era was known as the "Gilded Age."

And now, after this film was released, it could probably also be called the "Looking Up" or "Burning Fire" era.

After finishing the film.

Su Wen took out the cocktail he had made over the past few days using cheap ingredients from the refrigerator.

Then he lightly tapped it against the windowsill, as though clinking glasses with someone.

Afterward, he smiled calmly and said:

"Cheers."

At this moment.

The azure hyacinth beside the window swayed, bringing into the room a sea breeze that seemed to have traveled all the way from the North Atlantic.

Su Wen took a sip of the mixed drink, which resembled blue tonic water.

He savored it carefully.

It really did taste quite good.

Meanwhile.

He also received a message from Jiang Menghan:

"Even with my father's guarantee, obtaining extraordinary advancement materials only gave you the qualification. You still need to enter the ruins yourself.

Have you chosen your departure date and destination?"

"The Samoa Islands, Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean—Storm Cliff Natural Ruins. That will be my destination."

Su Wen replied gently:

"Don't worry. With a recommendation from the Night Watch and a letter of certification from the Mental Review Bureau, the visa will be approved quickly.

The flight will be sometime after the fifteenth."