Its Name Was Ya

"?"

Bai Zhou looked around, his heartbeat suddenly quickening, the echoes in his chest so violent that he could hear them himself.

The officers wore puzzled expressions, their gazes not falling on the girl in the windbreaker at all.

Instead, they all looked at Bai Zhou strangely, as if he were a patient spouting nonsense.

This was very strange.

Bai Zhou would never forget the sight of the girl in the windbreaker descending like a deity, Flowing Fire Long Saber in hand. No one could possibly ignore a presence like that.

—Unless they truly could not see the girl in the windbreaker.

Thinking carefully, although the girl in the windbreaker had remained in his sight all along, it seemed that no one had ever interacted with her.

She had always been talking to herself.

Even the Great Door at the entrance could not detect her.

—She was like a ghost.

A ghost wandering through the underground base, visible only to Bai Zhou.

"Bai Zhou, right?"

The girl in the windbreaker stood there, her entire body seeming to be shrouded in hazy mist. Her cool voice resembled an icy spring.

"Let me give you a piece of advice. Pretend you never saw me."

The girl in the windbreaker folded her arms.

"Otherwise, they'll think your contamination is too severe and that something is wrong with your head."

Just then, an officer spoke fiercely—

"Has the contamination from the Reflection Ruins Realm eroded his mind badly enough to cause hallucinations? This isn't an ordinary mental illness anymore. He must be placed under control!"

"I trust the judgment of [Legacy of Blood Thirst]." The Major frowned slightly and waved a hand.

"It doesn't matter whether his head is working properly. I only value talent!"

Bai Zhou: "..."

It seemed the girl in the windbreaker's advice had been correct.

"You've successfully piqued my curiosity, but unfortunately, this isn't the place to talk."

The mysterious girl spoke again. As she spoke, she turned around, seemingly preparing to leave.

"Caw!" The Crow on her shoulder turned its head, flapping its wings at Bai Zhou as if waving goodbye.

"I'll come find you again."

She left those words behind, winked at Bai Zhou, and said, "See you tonight."

The instant her voice fell, the girl took a step and abruptly vanished from where she stood.

Like ripples spreading across water, shattering the moon reflected within it.

"..."

Bai Zhou stood in place and blinked at the empty air.

She really was a ghost. Appearing and disappearing without a trace was Miss Ghost's privilege.

"Someone, take him to complete his onboarding procedures."

The Major's voice brought Bai Zhou back to his senses.

The Major raised his wrist and glanced at his military watch, frowning.

"It's getting late. Hurry up with the remaining tests!"

"—Efficiency!"

"How many times have I said it? Wasting one minute of one person's time means wasting hundreds of minutes for all of us!"

"Yes, Major!" The crisp, synchronized stomp of Military Boots immediately rang out.

Unable to watch the remaining tests, Bai Zhou was led away to handle his onboarding procedures under the envious gazes of the others.

After passing many solemn gray-white buildings, completing the process, and signing the contract, Bai Zhou pinned an identification badge to his chest bearing the words "Bai Zhou, P1 Specialist." A QR code sat at the bottom of the badge.

From then on, Bai Zhou officially became a member of this underground base.

The five- or six-story pale yellow Dormitory building was one of the few warmly colored structures here. His guide brought Bai Zhou to the door and said,

"You're lucky. The six-person Dormitories are all full. Since the Major thinks highly of you, this vacant single room is yours."

"It even has its own bathroom."

"Thank you for the trouble!"

Taking the key, Bai Zhou was finally able to settle into his Dormitory.

With a snap, he turned on the light. Its pure white brilliance was completely different from Evening City's dim yellow old lamps, like the Holy Light he had only ever heard of in the doctrines preached by the Black Robe Enforcement Team.

Having arrived in an unfamiliar environment for the first time, Bai Zhou quietly inspected every corner of the room first.

The Dormitory room was not large. A desk and chair stood quietly inside, while a new set of white bedding rested on the small iron bed. The floor was fairly clean, though it had accumulated a thin layer of dust.

Bai Zhou actually had a mild obsession with cleanliness. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have immediately cleaned the room, taken a shower, and prepared to sleep.

But not now.

With a scrape, Bai Zhou dragged over the chair and sat facing the door.

...He was waiting for someone.

Time slowly passed.

Leaning against the back of the chair, Bai Zhou subconsciously raised a hand and rubbed the identification badge on his chest. Feeling its matte texture beneath his fingertips, he let his thoughts gradually drift.

The Evening City where he had grown up had crumbled away, and he had been told that Blue Star was his true homeland.

His once-beloved Black Robe idols had fallen in pools of blood, along with those Blood Letter Last Words...

—Before he had even had time to mourn the collapse of his Black Robe dream, a brand-new identity had appeared: Commissioner Bai Zhou!

...But were Commissioners really any different from Black Robes?

Bai Zhou remained skeptical.

They said Evening City was a cult's testing ground, an ignorant land exploited by Black Robes.

But so far, Bai Zhou had not felt that this organization was much more refined or civilized than the Black Robes.

That was why he had remained alert and observant even after arriving at the Dormitory.

Still, having a way out was better than having no choice. Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.

At least for now, as the newly appointed P1 Specialist Bai Zhou, he was far better off than his fellow Evening City residents who had been sent to the hospital for treatment.

I wonder how everyone is doing now...

Bai Zhou muttered to himself internally until, with a soft tap—

The faint sound of Military Boots stepping on the floor came from behind him.

A peculiar yet familiar burnt aroma drifted into Bai Zhou's nose.

Bai Zhou had smelled something similar at Uncle Xiang's Convenience Store. It was called Coffee, absurdly expensive, and usually bought only by Black Robes.

To Bai Zhou, it would be more filling to buy several extra packets of Four-Flavor Instant Noodles and eat them with two cloves of garlic.

But in Bai Zhou's memory, this scent was often accompanied by one particular person—

Sure enough.

When Bai Zhou turned around, a slender figure in a Black Trench Coat entered his view.

The Incandescent Lamp's light poured down, making her standing at its center look like a hazy Goddess of War enveloped in Pure White Holy Light.

Her valiant, upright posture was like an unsheathed saber, making the unremarkable Dormitory seem like a warrior's residence.

"You're here."

Bai Zhou slowly stood, carefully studying her.

"Although I guessed you probably wouldn't use the front door, I still have no idea how you got in."

"We meet again."

The girl in the windbreaker stepped out from the shadows in the corner. The Crow on her shoulder tilted its head and examined Bai Zhou.

She said, "Actually, I'm very curious."

The girl's indifferent face looked difficult to approach, with no emotion visible upon it.

Only her gaze at Bai Zhou revealed a trace of confusion.

"From Tinghai City to the Reflection Ruins Realm, from the Supernatural Response Countermeasures Bureau to the Black Box Special Management Department, from an ordinary person to a transcendent capable of Thunder-Driving and Lightning-Controlling."

"I have traveled to many places and met many people in this form, including mysterious beings who were no different from Deities in the eyes of ordinary people."

"Everyone ignored me completely."

"—Except you."

She looked into Bai Zhou's eyes and enunciated each word. "You are the only special case."

"So, Bai Zhou, who exactly are you?"

Bai Zhou was speechless.

Shouldn't I be the one asking that?

"If I said I also don't know why I can see you, would you believe me?"

Although even Bai Zhou himself felt that it was unconvincing, it was the truth.

Too many things had happened to him, yet he understood none of them.

For the past eighteen years, "ordinary" had been Bai Zhou's greatest label. If giving up fantasies and accepting mediocrity were a course, then Bai Zhou, who had no parents, would have earned a perfect score eight hundred times over.

Yet suddenly, his "ordinary" life, along with everything he had believed in for eighteen years, had been shattered completely.

The woman before him was the chief culprit who had chopped his everyday life into pieces. No matter how he thought about it, she should not have been the one questioning him.

...But Bai Zhou did not expect her to believe his answer, nor did he intend to question her in return.

After all, she had a blade. That gave her the greater say.

So, he could only helplessly rack his brains, considering how to deal with the girl's next questions.

But—

Faced with Bai Zhou's answer, which even he himself could not believe, the girl in the windbreaker lowered her head and thought seriously.

Then she nodded. "I believe you."

You believe that?

Bai Zhou raised his head and met those Ruby-like Eyes.

"Humanity has explored less than five percent of the real Blue Star. Some people are born with special abilities that no one knows about."

"Perhaps you are one of them."

She met Bai Zhou's gaze and said with certainty,

"Because I am certain that there is absolutely no trace of contact with the supernatural on you, which rules out the influence of the Blood Worship Cult."

"The only explanation for why you can see me is that this is some innate ability of yours, one that even you yourself have never developed."

"—But that isn't important."

The girl's voice paused as she took a light breath.

"What matters is that I need someone with this ability—you."

"...You need me?"

Bai Zhou pointed at himself, feeling even stranger inside.

It had appeared!

The Mysterious Person everyone fantasized about as a child had appeared.

The girl in the windbreaker with Flowing Fire had descended from the sky after cutting the moon to pieces, then told him that he possessed special abilities and that she needed him.

Maybe Miss Ghost's next sentence would be that there was a Sword in the Millstone, and only he could pull it out and become the destined Savior.

Bai Zhou had heard that story. Once, a Brave One pulled the holy sword from the millstone at the village entrance and became the Destined Miller—

But he had later heard that the man was arrested by the Black Robe Enforcement Team for monopolizing the Mill Business with his Millstone Knights.

"More accurately, this is a transaction," the girl added.

"A transaction... What do you want me to do?"

Transactions proposed by ghosts were often ill-intentioned.

Yet this mysterious ghost in a windbreaker truly did not resemble the kind of Demon who tempted people into deals. Instead, her entire presence was like a sharp blade laid bare.

It was as though she were openly telling Bai Zhou that once he accepted her deal, his life would race toward an unpredictable direction, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that his normal life would end there.

...But Bai Zhou's normal life had already ended long before this.

"According to convention, a colleague will take the newcomers to tour the Black Box tomorrow."

The girl said, "One of the Black Boxes contains the Crown of Thorns of Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire, the First Female Emperor of Europe."

"But their containment of the Crown is incomplete. Before long, the Crown will lose control and riot."

"When that happens," she said calmly and softly, "a Blood Sea will drown the entire base. No one will survive."

Bai Zhou: "...?"

Hadn't he just joined the organization?

What kind of bizarre development was this? What did she mean, no one would survive?

"So, I need you to take something I give you and find the Black Room where the Crown is located."

"As long as you stay near it for a period of time, the item I give you will react and complete the additional containment."

The girl lowered her eyes and said,

"This matter itself isn't difficult. It is even very simple, but only I know how to do it, and only you can see me."

"But why don't you do it yourself?" Bai Zhou was somewhat confused. "With your abilities..."

"Because others can't see me." Her answer was utterly frank. "I can't pass identity verification, so I can't even enter the Black Room's Great Door."

"Breaking in by force might work, but it would disturb the other Black Boxes and cause more trouble."

"I see..." Bai Zhou fell into thought.

He raised his head and met the girl's dark red eyes, which appeared exceptionally deep within the shadows.

"—Of course, you can also think I'm talking nonsense. You can even directly regard me as your hallucination; that would be fine too," she added.

"Refusing such an inexplicable deal is entirely understandable. But let me make this clear in advance... If you become involved with me, what comes afterward may be even more dangerous than the Crown itself."

The girl said:

"Behind me lies the inner side of the world truly bound to the Reflection Ruins Realm. Even a glimpse of the madness leaking out would be enough to cost an ordinary person their life."

She was utterly frank—almost excessively so.

The nearly exaggerated warning seemed as though she were deliberately trying to drive Bai Zhou away, hoping he would back down.

But Bai Zhou had his own calculations to make.

The matter of the Crown was probably real. If he simply turned a blind eye to it, then one day, perhaps before he even woke up, his soul might already have drifted back to his old home in Evening City.

Just as she had said, as long as he found where the Crown was and avoided being noticed by others, this transaction did not seem too difficult.

...In fact, compared to the danger of the Crown, after hearing all this, Bai Zhou was now more interested in another question.

A Crown that sounded so dangerous, so ancient and significant—

Would it also bear Blood Letter Last Words?

Like the [Legacy of Blood Thirst].

"Come to think of it," Bai Zhou asked, "Miss Ghost... I still haven't asked your name. What is it?"

"I'm not a ghost." The girl shook her head. "But I don't know what I count as now, either."

"As for my name, you may call me [Ya]."

"Ya." Bai Zhou glanced at the crow perched on the girl's shoulder and felt that the codename suited her well enough.

In truth, the choice was not difficult.

Alone in the underground base of a mysterious organization, who could Bai Zhou trust besides the girl?

At the very least, someone as powerful and unusual as her truly had no need to deceive him.

Imagine a scene like this:

If you stood on the edge of a cliff in a desperate situation, with even the world collapsing behind you, would you cry for help in vain or simply jump?

Bai Zhou wanted neither.

Because he saw a woman riding a mule, sparks and lightning flying all around her as she charged toward him, like she had hacked through a power line with a kitchen knife.

At that moment, even though Bai Zhou did not know her at all, he could only climb onto her clip-clopping mount without hesitation and roam the world at her side.

Even if she was a ghost no one else could see.

"Then what are the terms?" Bai Zhou suddenly asked.

"What?" Ya did not understand.

"Since it's a transaction, there must be payment."

"As the condition, if I agree to this deal, what can I get from you?"

Bai Zhou raised his head and met the gaze of the girl named Ya.

"If I place my life on one side of the scales, then how much weight can you offer on the other?"

"..."

The girl fell silent at his words.

She suddenly took several brown coffee beans from her clothes, tossed them into her mouth, and chewed with puffed cheeks.

The beans crunched, and the burnt aroma around her grew even stronger.

Bai Zhou's eyes met those ruby-like pupils.

His vision blurred slightly. In a daze, he saw swirling flames within Ya's pupils, blazing brilliantly and magnificently.

In an instant, the crimson blaze turned pure white. Countless streams of light appeared like a grand burst of fireworks, stabbing pain into Bai Zhou's eyes.

Then it all vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving only the girl's slender figure before him once more.

"Extraordinary Sequence, Forbidden Book Secret Techniques, Mythical Inheritances, Ruins Secrets..."

She finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse. "Things of that sort. All of them."

With a caw, the crow on the girl suddenly spread its wings as if about to take flight.

Vast wings unfurled, blotting out the light and casting a broad shadow across the ground.

"If you wager your life, then on the other side of the scales..."

The air currents swirled. The girl's shadow stretched out, like a devil imprisoned by a god for a thousand years turning its gaze back upon the human world.

A pitch-black feather drifted slowly down from the air.

It landed in Bai Zhou's palm.

Then the girl's soft whisper slowly reached him—

"It is everything I have."