Mechanical Spear-Gun

"Thump, thump..."

Having understood the contents, Bai Zhou's heart suddenly began pounding violently, making his body tremble faintly as well.

Divine Era Shattered?

Blood-Soaked Coronation?

And who was this Golden King?

It sounded impressive, even if he had no idea what it meant.

He tried hard not to show anything unusual, but his thoughts were already a mess.

For some reason, the contents reminded him of the legend in Evening City about "the Miller who pulled out the Sacred Sword and the Millstone Knights."

Whoever pulled the Sacred Sword from the millstone would become the Destined Miller, marrying into the previous Miller's family as his son-in-law.

Could putting on the Crown make someone into that... Golden King?

Bai Zhou felt a nagging doubt rise in his heart.

...However, he had heard that the miller's son-in-law who drew the sword had later endured many trials.

Presumably, the trial of wearing the Crown would not be as simple as it sounded.

—Though such thoughts sounded like the wild fantasies of a madman.

If Section Chief Liu found out, he would surely loudly remind him that there were no kings or nobles on Blue Star anymore, only the equal Eastern and Western Federations.

Yet Bai Zhou still felt... it was worth trying.

But how could he avoid Section Chief Liu's gaze, enter the heavily sealed Black Room, open a Black Box made of special materials, and touch that mysterious object?

—That sounded less realistic than dreaming.

Bai Zhou withdrew his gaze. His expression remained calm, but he sighed quietly inside.

He should ask Ya about the Crown first.

Though he did not know why, she seemed to understand that Crown better than Branch 36 of the Special Management Department did...

Just then, Section Chief Liu called out to Bai Zhou from ahead.

"Come on, Bai Zhou. Time to head to the next Black Room Sector."

"Coming!" Bai Zhou answered and followed, temporarily suppressing his thoughts.

Section Chief Liu walked ahead, the silver-white metal Briefcase at his side occasionally bumping against his knee.

"Our Black Box Maintenance Department divides the Black Room into three sectors."

"We inspected the Third Sector just now. This is the Second Sector."

"Sectors?" Bai Zhou asked in confusion.

"That's right." Section Chief Liu nodded.

"Each sector is fully managed by a Level P3 Specialist. Every supervisor has the highest authority in their sector and is assigned several Level P2 Specialist subordinates."

"During special emergencies, such as a Black Box riot, supervisors are even permitted to mobilize F-Class Black Boxes throughout their jurisdiction without restriction."

Bai Zhou asked curiously, "Then which sector are you the supervisor of, Section Chief?"

"None of them." Section Chief Liu shook his head.

"I'm a Level P4 Specialist, the head of the Maintenance Department's Inspection Department. I report directly to the Maintenance Department Officer and specifically oversee whether these supervisors are neglecting their duties or stealing from their posts."

"—That's why I can take you around freely through every sector."

The Inspection Department!

No wonder he could carry a Stainless Steel Thermos and patrol the Black Room with that steady crab walk, completely unconcerned with sector boundaries.

"...However, we'll need to visit the Third Sector we just inspected quite often for a while."

"Because the supervisor of the Third Sector was unfortunately killed some time ago while handling the riot of Black Box F-2334."

Section Chief Liu added with a solemn expression.

"It was a hat that liked telling bad jokes and hadn't been washed in centuries. Actually, when it rioted, all you had to do was laugh at the bad jokes it told..."

"—However, the Third Supervisor had unfortunately suffered facial paralysis during a mission years ago."

"..."

Bai Zhou fell silent for a while before finally forcing out a sentence.

"That's regrettable."

Section Chief Liu nodded and sighed. "So until someone in the Maintenance Department is promoted to Level P3, that position will probably remain vacant for some time."

Third Sector. Supervisor. The authority to mobilize the Black Boxes within the sector without limits when necessary...

Bai Zhou blinked once, his expression unchanged.

The Crown was in the Third Sector.

If he could become the supervisor of the Third Sector—or even just gain a certain position within it—researching the Crown would no longer be so difficult.

However...

That was easy to say, but for Bai Zhou, who had only just joined the Special Management Department—

It was like how everyone knew money could solve most problems, but the people facing those problems usually were not rich.

But Bai Zhou had it even worse. In this problem, his status was neither that of a "rich man" nor, perhaps, even a "poor man."

He was a stray dog begging by the roadside that no one would even spare a glance at.

"Tap, tap..."

Their footsteps echoed rhythmically through the Black Room corridor lit by dim blue flames.

As he followed Section Chief Liu around, Bai Zhou found an opportunity to cautiously ask him about rank advancement.

"Other branches may care somewhat about seniority, but at our Branch 36, the Major never restricts himself when choosing people. He only looks at talent and merit."

"Work hard! Maybe you'll be the next supervisor of the Third Sector?"

Bai Zhou's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained composed.

"I wouldn't dare think that far."

But Section Chief Liu laughed and patted Bai Zhou's shoulder. "You're underestimating the organization, and you're looking down on yourself!"

"The Special Management Department never lacks crises, but crises are also opportunities."

As he spoke, he gave Bai Zhou a meaningful look.

"I heard you have high resistance to contamination? The higher-ups specifically mentioned it to me."

"At Branch 36, it's common for someone to be ordinary in the morning, then get promoted three ranks in a row that very afternoon because of their merit."

"Why can't the next one be you?"

The patrol was nearing its end. Their footsteps fell softly through the silent Black Room corridor as Section Chief Liu's voice slowly echoed around them.

He handed the Thermos to Bai Zhou for safekeeping. With a click, he pulled a "black tube" from his waist.

"—The Arbiter-300 enchanted pistol. Modular design, seventeen-round capacity, nine-millimeter caliber, specially modified by the neighboring Logistics Department."

"It was originally a SIG Sauer P320 pistol from the Western Federation. Only Commissioners above P2 are qualified to receive one during a base lockdown."

He lowered his voice. "The lockdown won't end anytime soon. As long as you work hard, you can finish your internship and be promoted to P2 sooner!"

"Then I'll personally teach you how to use a gun!"

Under the dim blue firelight, the smooth lines of the black pistol revealed a cold aesthetic of violence.

Several ornate and complex mysterious patterns had been carefully engraved along its body, faintly reflecting the dim blue glow.

Guns were a man's romance. No one could refuse such a dangerous, silent pistol, just as everyone in the age of cold weapons had wanted to conquer a galloping steed.

Many years later, whenever he faced a new recruit who had just joined, Section Chief Liu would always recall that distant afternoon when he first received his sidearm.

The excitement from back then was unforgettable. Perhaps it was human nature: rejecting the slaughter of blood and fire, yet instinctively pursuing the thrill of conquering danger.

—But Section Chief Liu did not see the excitement he had hoped for on Bai Zhou's face.

There was only confusion.

Because Bai Zhou had absolutely no idea what that lump of iron was for.

Section Chief Liu: "..."

"Fine. You'll understand someday."

Section Chief Liu awkwardly put away the Arbiter-300 and took back the Thermos, feeling his Temples twitch for no apparent reason.

"I was originally going to tell you more about Level P3..."

"Level P3 Specialists can not only take up the position of sector supervisor, but are even qualified to apply for Magic Potions."

"Then researchers will tailor a Magic Potion enhancement plan specifically for you. There is a certain chance that you will awaken Destiny, achieve the extraordinary, and receive a Mechanical Briefcase!"

"—But forget it. You'd definitely find it boring."

Section Chief Liu sighed.

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the exit of the Black Room.

The sealed Great Door allowed not a trace of light through. The surroundings were frighteningly dark and unusually cold.

Beep.

Section Chief Liu took out his access card and swiped it.

The Great Door slowly opened, and light from outside rushed in eagerly, making the two, accustomed to the darkness, instinctively shield their eyes.

"After all, you still can't understand what Magic Potions and extraordinary people really are..."

Section Chief Liu's muttering voice came through at that moment. "But you'll understand later just how unbelievable they are."

No, Bai Zhou actually understood this one...

He was even one himself.

An extraordinary person who had awakened Destiny and stirred his spirituality.

It was just that Section Chief Liu knew nothing about it.

Bai Zhou's heart missed half a beat, and his gaze unconsciously shifted toward the metal Briefcase that never left Section Chief Liu's left side.

The image of Section Chief Liu using it to produce a mechanical arm last time was still vivid in his mind.

The silver-white metal Briefcase gleamed brightly, with a Cross emblem bound in Chains prominently displayed on it.

...Once his special training was complete, he might be only one such Briefcase away from the "unbelievable existence" Section Chief Liu had described.

But then again—

What did it mean for researchers to tailor a Magic Potion enhancement plan and give someone a certain chance to awaken Destiny?

Were their Magic Potions different from Ya's Enlightenment Potion?

"I... will work hard!"

Bai Zhou took a deep breath and put on the appearance of someone inspired and moved by Section Chief Liu.

—No matter what, Section Chief Liu's words had indeed reminded him of something.

A Level P3 Specialist supervisor was nothing special.

From the sound of it, a Level P3 Specialist might not even be extraordinary.

But Bai Zhou was.

—And his Destiny aptitude was extremely close to five feet five inches.

As long as he was promoted to Level P3 soon, he could become the supervisor of the Third Sector.

Then the Crown's secret would be easily solved.

"Clang—"

The Bell Tower in the underground base rang at exactly six in the afternoon.

As the chimes echoed, Section Chief Liu stretched and got off work right on time.

From the moment the quitting bell rang, it was as though some filter had been applied to Section Chief Liu. His entire image came alive, and he looked much more energetic.

...But beside him, Bai Zhou grew increasingly silent, his face visibly turning bitter.

Because he knew that his "leisure" time was over.

—The real suffering was still waiting for him in the Dormitory.

On the way back, Bai Zhou dawdled.

He spent ages browsing a Convenience Store in the Cafeteria, taking twenty minutes just to buy a jar of Lao Gan Ma and a small bottle of Mustard Oil.

When he happened to see a line of ants passing by, those little black ants looked like a professional funeral team, carrying some unknown crumbs of steamed bun along to a neat drumbeat.

Bai Zhou practically wanted to count the antennae on their heads.

—Of course, this merely showed Bai Zhou's childlike spirit and love of life.

It definitely was not because he was dragging his feet and did not want to go back.

However, no matter how long a road was, it would eventually come to an end.

Standing before the yellow Dormitory building, Bai Zhou no longer found the color warm at all. Instead, the Dormitory's deep, shadowy entrance resembled the maw of a man-eating beast.

He had no choice but to encourage himself.

A true warrior must dare to face a bleak life.

Then he resolutely stepped into hell.

...That was what he said, but he was still "struggling every step of the way" on the Stairs.

The Dormitory building actually had an elevator. The first time Bai Zhou took it, he thought someone—or perhaps a Mule—was pulling ropes somewhere out of sight.

Back then, he had just arrived and felt insecure in enclosed spaces, always fearing that the elevator would suddenly stop.

The instant the elevator opened the next second, a dozen burly men wielding machetes would rush at him.

Only a true Elevator War God could remain standing when the elevator doors opened again.

—For Bai Zhou, who had just experienced the Black Robe execution, such an assumption was entirely normal.

Now, it was not quite that bad anymore.

He took the Stairs instead of the elevator purely to exercise.

—It was definitely not so he could dawdle on the way a little longer.

With an almost tragic sense of resolve, Bai Zhou stood before the Dormitory door and turned the key with a click.

The door slowly opened.

The burnt smell of Coffee Beans rushed at him.

The neat, clean Dormitory was utterly silent. It was even colder than outside, adding a touch of eerie chill to the atmosphere.

A thin, long black ribbon stretched across the room from left to right, connecting the two walls at about a person's height above the ground.

Maiden reclined sideways atop the ribbon, using it as a bed, as light as air while lazily flipping through a book.

Every so often, she casually tossed one or two Coffee Beans into her mouth, crunching them loudly.

The faint clamor of a crowd drifted in from outside the window as light streamed in, illuminating the red-eyed Maiden reading intently.

Delicate and elegant, yet cold as an iceberg.

As the light shifted, time seemed to freeze. The scene was peaceful and beautiful, like a painting.

It gave the illusion that even if the world ended at this very moment, Maiden would continue lying lazily on the ribbon and reading.

...A sound reached her ears, and the reading Maiden looked up.

Her red eyes came into view, like the setting sun slanting low on the horizon.

"...Sis, you already finished the Coffee Beans?"

That was Bai Zhou's first sentence upon entering.

Because at a glance, he saw the shriveled Mandheling bag in Maiden's arms.

It had only been a few days, and she had already finished them?

Were they really that good...

Maiden immediately turned with a solemn expression, bent her knees, and shifted into a cool, cross-legged seat atop the ribbon.

"Not exactly."

Then she answered expressionlessly:

"There's still a little left."

"...All right." Bai Zhou nodded. "Then I'll bring you a new bag tomorrow."

As he spoke, he set the plastic bag down on the table and turned to wash his hands in the bathroom.

His heart felt heavy.

There was no time to mourn the Coffee Beans she had eaten. Next came the recurring feature--

<My Demon Drill Instructor's Big Blade and Me, Who Wasn't Treated Like a Human>

"Oh, right. You came back at just the right time."

"The basic training is more or less done. It's time to begin advanced training and teach you something real."

"But before that..."

With a snap, Ya closed the book in her hands and flipped down from the ribbon.

"There's something I want to show you."

Only then did Bai Zhou notice the object behind Ya, propped against the wall beside her blade.

It was extremely conspicuous. It had not been there before.

"Is that... the broken Spear?"

Bai Zhou could not be sure.

Because it was no longer a broken Spear, but a complete long spear.

Yet what stood before Bai Zhou was not a spear in the usual sense.

It was something with a battle-damaged aesthetic, wrapped in springs and chains, welded with Steel Rebar brackets, fitted with multiple loading grooves and Caliper Interfaces of unknown purpose, its surface covered in hammer marks and burn scars...

"I call it the Mechanical Spear-Gun," Ya described it.

Like Section Chief Liu, she too had mentioned the word "gun."

Sure enough, a simple crosshair sight was fixed to the end of the Spear.

Bai Zhou could even faintly smell sulfur, though he had no idea what it was for.

"I studied the broken Spear you brought back and found both its material and mechanical ingenuity astonishing. It gave me a great deal of inspiration."

Ya said, "So I got some materials and repaired it according to my own understanding."

Repaired it?

When?

Bai Zhou froze for a moment.

While he had been at work, Ya had apparently not been idle either.

But where had Ya gotten the repair materials?

Why did the things welded onto its exterior look so much like discarded parts from the base scrapyard?

That was probably... impossible.

With a clack, Ya lifted the Mechanical Spear-Gun from beside the wall. It was covered in rust and welding marks, its patchwork construction obvious, yet the usually stern Ya wore a deeply satisfied expression:

"This is probably my most satisfying work in the past two years. I can guarantee it is ten times more useful than most Enchanted Firearms."

"It may look a little strange, but Karl Benz, the Father of the Automobile and a renowned Extraordinary One of the [Mechanic] Sequence, once said--"

"Extraordinary Ones never fuss over weapons, so long as they can compose music from an enemy's screams."

"Considering its original material, this Spear-Gun already qualifies as an Extraordinary Weapon!"

Holding the Spear-Gun, she stepped toward Bai Zhou.

"However, it differs somewhat from ordinary Extraordinary Weapons--"

"Following the original mechanisms of the broken Spear, I also installed many... well, practical little additions."

She did not need to tell him. Bai Zhou could already see them.

All kinds of mechanisms awaited activation on it. He had no idea what they did, but they looked utterly sinister.

Before Bai Zhou could think further,

With a clack,

Ya handed him the Spear-Gun in her hands.

About 1.7 meters long, covered in burn marks and exaggerated mechanical components, yet possessing a rugged industrial beauty, the Mechanical Spear-Gun

lay horizontally before Bai Zhou.

The sickly sweet scent of old steel rushed into Bai Zhou's nostrils, and his gaze was deeply drawn to the Mechanical Spear-Gun.

A complete Spear-Gun, an Extraordinary Weapon, Ya's proud creation...

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the excitement and pride on Section Chief Liu's face when he had taken out his service pistol.

Now, Bai Zhou seemed to understand that feeling a little.

"Want to test its power?"

Meeting Bai Zhou's fixed stare, Ya said softly:

"--Now, it's yours."