Extraordinary Beings and the Enlightenment Potion

"What are you doing?" The sudden voice from behind made Bai Zhou's muscles tense.

The smell of Small Cake had drawn the sensitive-nosed Section Chief Liu over. He looked at Bai Zhou, who was crouching down to place the cake on the ground, with a puzzled expression.

"...Sorry. I was just too hungry."

Bai Zhou stood and turned around with a guilty look on his face, completely at a loss.

"By Evening City custom, before eating, we show courtesy. The elders underground take the first bite."

Evening City? A victim of the Blood Worship Cult's experiments...

Section Chief Liu froze for a moment, then fell somewhat silent.

In the end, he merely said in a low voice:

"Sorry. We got there too late."

I got away with that so easily? Bai Zhou blinked.

Then, under everyone's curious gazes, Bai Zhou openly put away the Golden Ticket that only he could see, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief.

...During the tour that followed, Bai Zhou made a point of memorizing the bloody last wills on those Black Boxes.

Though he still had no idea how to fulfill them, as long as he remembered them, he would surely find an opportunity someday.

"This miserable life is humiliating my flesh. If I'd known life would be this hard, I would've started saving in an explosive piggy bank at the age of three!"

"My hydrogen-powered heavy hauler just performed an inverted split around a bend on Mount Akina. You think six police cars can stop me... Oh no! Where did that Automaton come from?"

"After I die, will I also appear in the Reflection Ruins Realm and become a Walking Corpse, a Lost Soul monster?"

"..."

Bai Zhou also visited an old acquaintance, [Legacy of Blood Thirst]. The last will above its head remained as unsatisfied as ever.

Soon, the tour ended, and Bai Zhou walked out through the Great Door.

A familiar coffee scent brushed past his nose.

Bai Zhou looked around, but apart from his colleagues and Section Chief Liu's back view, he saw nothing.

Yet somehow, there was now a small note in his hand.

He walked to an empty corner and secretly unfolded it. Bai Zhou saw a line of elegant handwriting, forceful enough to pierce through the paper—

"When you go to the Cafeteria, bring me back a cucumber, a few small oranges, and a bag of Coffee Beans.

Thank you."

Well, Miss Ghost was still as elusive as ever.

Bai Zhou was good at picking vegetables, but he knew nothing about Coffee Beans. In the end, following the clerk's recommendation, he took a bag of Mandheling coffee beans.

The clerk seemed to recommend something called Kopi Luwak even more strongly, but Bai Zhou shook his head like a rattle drum the moment he heard the name.

Feed cat droppings to Ya? Bai Zhou was afraid Ya would chop off his head and use it as a ball.

Next, he ordered two portions of takeaway Beef Ramen, one without chili oil and one with extra.

Carrying his bags out of the Cafeteria, Bai Zhou passed between rows of gray-white buildings and headed back toward the Dormitory.

The Bell Tower, bearing only twelve numbers, stood there like a one-eyed Giant, while a sheet-metal box spirit with black smoke pouring from its rear passed in the distance.

In the plaza where the Black Robes had been executed yesterday, the eighteenth set of radio calisthenics, The Federation Calls, played on repeat. A group of White Coat researchers stood atop it, raising their arms and twisting their hips in perfect unison.

Armed Soldiers occasionally passed by on patrol. They paid no attention to Bai Zhou's identity tag, and when Bai Zhou looked their way, some even smiled back at him.

—It was worlds apart from how the guard Soldiers had looked at him with utter disdain before he joined the organization.

Though Bai Zhou still felt unfamiliar and detached from everything here, he had begun to slowly adapt.

He still did not know where his future would lead, but at least...

Bai Zhou lowered his head to look at the little white bag of Mandheling, trying to comfort himself however he could.

At least he now dared to buy Coffee Beans he had never even dared to think about before.

He was living the life of someone above the Black Robes now.

—Even if it was reimbursed by the organization.

Carrying large boxes and small bags, Bai Zhou fumbled for quite some time before finally pulling out his key and opening the Dormitory door.

Unexpectedly, Ya was nowhere to be seen in the room.

After setting the ramen on the table, Bai Zhou scratched his head, picked up the cucumber and small oranges, and went to the bathroom.

"Your efficiency was faster than I expected."

As he washed the vegetables, a cool female voice suddenly came from behind him.

Bai Zhou turned around. The Crow perched on her shoulder blinked its tiny red eyes at him.

"...Do you never use the front door?"

She always appeared in the most unexpected ways.

It was practically becoming Bai Zhou's fixed impression of Ya.

Ya took the vivid green cucumber from him. She glanced at the small oranges in Bai Zhou's hands but gave no clear answer to his question.

"It seems you completed the sealing of the Crown of Thorns quite well. All of Branch 36 should be grateful for your contribution."

"Unfortunately, no one knows of your achievement—but that is fine. I have seen it all."

As she spoke, Ya waved the cucumber in her hand.

The cucumber reminded Bai Zhou of something. He slapped his forehead while holding the oranges.

"Oh, right. I was worried that just cucumbers and oranges wouldn't be enough, so I also bought some Beef Ramen. Do you want some?"

"..." Ya glanced at the two ramen boxes on the table and shook her head.

"I don't eat beef."

"That's a shame."

Bai Zhou opened the ramen container, snapped apart his disposable chopsticks, and stirred it a few times. The fragrance of red-oil beef broth drifted through the air.

He sat down, raised his chopsticks, and cautiously glanced at the Maiden.

"Then... can I eat all of it?"

Not wasting food was a traditional virtue of Evening City.

"...If you can finish it."

The instant she finished speaking, the sound of Bai Zhou loudly slurping noodles came from the other side.

"But is this really enough for you?" Bai Zhou asked vaguely. "Should I go buy some more from the Cafeteria?"

No wonder she was not very tall.

"Food is not necessary for me to sustain life." Ya shook her head. "And who told you I brought them back to eat?"

"Huh?" Bai Zhou looked puzzled as he slurped up another mouthful of noodles.

Honestly, this ramen was much better than Four-Flavor Instant Noodles.

"Use simple mediums to pry open the power of a Ritual." Ya grabbed the cucumber in one hand and picked up two small oranges with the other. "That is the basic cultivation of an extraordinary being."

An extraordinary being?

Bai Zhou remembered the extraordinary power Section Chief Liu had displayed earlier, and his heart began pounding.

"So you wanted these to set up a Ritual?"

Having suddenly understood, Bai Zhou's gaze drifted involuntarily to the Mandheling Coffee Beans on the table.

So the coffee scent that constantly lingered around Ya was also meant to sustain some mysterious Ritual?

"Oh, not this." Ya took the Coffee Beans out separately.

She tore open the seal, pulled out two glossy black Coffee Beans, and put them into her mouth, chewing expressionlessly twice.

Ya nodded, tucked the bag into her pocket, and said, "It has another, greater use."

Bai Zhou: "..."

"There is something I need to tell you."

Using force, Ya broke apart one small orange. Then, in the same calm tone, she dropped a bombshell.

"According to intelligence, as retaliation for the destruction of the Evening City Stronghold, the Blood Worship Cult will soon strike at one branch of the Special Management Department."

"Personally, I believe Branch 36 is highly likely to be chosen, since it is the branch receiving Evening City's people!"

"Huh?" Bai Zhou froze in place, noodles halfway to his mouth.

Had he not just dealt with the Crown incident?

There was more?

"For now, only a very small number of people in the Special Management Department know this intelligence."

Ya lowered her eyes. "But with Branch 9 as a precedent, the Special Management Department has long since gone on high alert and dispatched additional protection to every base."

"So even if this place is unfortunately chosen by the Blood Worship Cult, it should barely be able to hold out."

"—But no matter what, the Special Management Department is about to fall into chaos, and people will definitely die."

With a sharp clang, a long blade left its sheath.

The long blade, its surface flowing with specks of starlike fire, flashed. The cucumber on the table instantly became dozens of perfectly neat slices, each edge bearing scorch marks.

"To be safe, before the Blood Worship Cult arrives, you need the ability to protect yourself."

"In other words—"

Ya lifted a cucumber slice with the tip of her blade and turned to Bai Zhou.

"You need to become an extraordinary being as soon as possible."

"You mean..." Bai Zhou slowly lowered his chopsticks, his eyes burning. "Become someone like Section Chief Liu?"

Or even... someone like Ya?

"Section Chief Liu?"

Ya was briefly speechless, then shook her head.

"No one is beyond reach."

"Even I am merely a fish swept along by the tides of an age."

"The truly powerful have always been those who lead the age."

Bai Zhou was stunned. "Someone even stronger than you... what would that be like?"

"For example, in 1776, Washington, the [Myth Inheritor] of the Rosicrucian Order, crossed the ocean and shot down the Aztec sun."

"Or earlier, in 1429, Joan of Arc, the [Sacred Maiden of Firewood] of the Holy Court of Judgment, set foot on the battlefield of Reims and swept down Avalon's stars."

"History has always been the history of extraordinary beings. They manipulate nations and drive currents of thought," Ya said. "—And only by becoming an extraordinary being can one qualify to rule one's own Destiny."

Rule his own Destiny.

Bai Zhou perked up. "So what should I do?"

"On Blue Star, 99% of people do not know that the 'mysterious' exists, much less become extraordinary beings. Since the Middle Ages, extraordinary beings have grown accustomed to standing behind the scenes in secrecy."

The long blade flowing with firelight gradually dissolved from Ya's hand.

She turned her palm upward. A cluster of burning golden flames slowly gathered in mid-air, quietly flickering in her palm.

Compared with the roaring blue flames Section Chief Liu had unleashed, this golden fire was far quieter. Yet to Bai Zhou, it felt far more dangerous.

"You could say you were fortunate to be born at the right time. The first step for an extraordinary being is awakening one's own [Destiny], but the long training and study required are enough to block 90% of those without talent."

"Until—"

Under Bai Zhou's incredulous gaze, the scorched cucumber and broken oranges slowly rose as though pulled by an invisible force. They spread into the air in a particular arrangement and revolved around the flame in Ya's palm.

The golden flame split into smaller flames, igniting each one in turn.

The next instant, it was as if the starry sky had been lit up.

Each flame became a star, outlining a Star Chart.

"Until 1753, when the Three Sages of France created the miracle known as the [Enlightenment Potion], greatly lowering the cost of awakening Destiny. The hidden population of extraordinary beings began to rapidly expand."

"From then on, extraordinary beings became the rulers of the world," Ya said.

The magnificent Star Chart revolving above her palm resembled a luminous, soaring Ursa Major. Leaping starlight illuminated the Maiden's face.

At the Great Bear's tail, the seven most striking stars were arranged like a dipper.

"Ursa Major, the Big Dipper. They break through the mist of mystery and guide the way forward... The medium is unimportant. This is the key to the Enlightenment Potion."

Ya lowered her gaze and waved her hand. The Star Chart immediately shone brilliantly.

Every star shrank, replaced by liquidlike starlight that slowly flowed out. It took the shape of countless olives and ten thousand golden threads, strung together and hanging down in clusters.

"Of course, the container is equally unimportant."

As Ya spoke, she took away the half-eaten Beef Ramen in front of Bai Zhou.

"I thought you didn't eat?" Bai Zhou's chopsticks were left hanging helplessly in mid-air.

The next instant, golden threads fell into the ramen container, gathering into a clear golden stream like the essence of stars, connected to a spiritual world.

The golden stream perfectly blended into the beef broth. Every strand of ramen coated in soup began to shine, golden radiance spilling out in a thousand colors and lighting up Bai Zhou's face.

"Your [Enlightenment Potion]."

With a smack, Ya slapped the glowing container onto the table.

The advertising slogan on the box—"A century of craftsmanship, handcrafted large-bowl ramen"—was impossible to look away from.

Glowing... golden Beef Noodles?

Facing Bai Zhou's utterly shocked gaze, Ya nodded faintly. "You're welcome."

Bai Zhou held the ramen container overflowing with golden light, nearly unable to open his eyes from the glare. "Becoming an extraordinary being... can I really do it just by eating a bowl of noodles?"

"This is a Ritual."

Ya nodded. "When midnight arrives, drink the Enlightenment Potion before a mirror. Your 'spirit' will steal knowledge from its reflection in the mirror, thereby anchoring your Destiny."

"...Steal?" Bai Zhou did not understand.

"What do you think extraordinary beings are?" Ya asked. "Those who transcend mortals, stand above all others, Gods of Man?"

"—They are none of those."

She shook her head. "Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the extraordinary being of the Hermetic Order who led the destruction of the Faustian Black Esoteric Cult, once said—"

"All extraordinary beings are pitiful creatures who steal the world's secrets."

"They shamelessly excavate the remnants of history and despicably steal power from Blue Star's reverse side. A powerful extraordinary being is first an outstanding archaeologist and a skilled tomb robber, because everything they possess comes from there."

As she spoke, Ya raised her hand and pointed at the electric lamp overhead.

"Even the technological development of all human civilization today—steam, atomic energy, quantum theory—came from extraordinary beings excavating and organizing the remnants of the Previous Civilization."

"Compared to certain lost ultra-ancient civilizations, these five thousand years of civilization are nothing more than a young infant still learning to walk."

"Lost civilization." Bai Zhou suddenly thought of the Golden Ticket on him and asked, "Have you heard of Jurassic? Does it count as a lost civilization?"

"Jurassic?"

Ya froze for a moment, then smiled. "It definitely counts. The age when dinosaurs covered the earth was indeed both ancient and lost. It absolutely isn't recorded in history books."

After all, there had been nothing but reptiles then—not even a single intelligent life-form.

Who knew where Bai Zhou had heard about Jurassic? When he got the chance, he should find him a copy of 100,000 Whys.

"Dinosaurs?"

"Mm, enormous reptiles. Like giant lizards."

"Oh..."

And so Bai Zhou began imagining Irina riding a dinosaur.

...That raggedly dressed empress pedaling a spinning wheel had such a majestic side to her?

The scent of Coffee brushed past Bai Zhou. Her robes fluttering, Ya strode toward the bathroom.

"The end of all things has converged on the reverse side of Blue Star. There, you can find relics from every era and Lost Souls wandering about."

"Whether it is the echoes of Atlantis or the ruins of El Dorado, countless remnants of lost civilizations have piled up there."

"—It is a hell that ordinary people must never glimpse, yet also a paradise for the extraordinary."

"In the past, people called it Eden, Nibelungen, the Kingdom of the Dead, Peach Blossom Spring..."

With a slap, Ya placed the anti-fog mirror she had removed from the bathroom before Bai Zhou.

"—But now, people collectively call it the Reflection Ruins Realm."

"The Reflection Ruins Realm..." Bai Zhou stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes widening slightly.

At first, he had noticed Ya's unusual nature because he believed she had a way to find Evening City, which lay within the Reflection Ruins Realm, again.

Now that he had finally heard news of the Reflection Ruins Realm, he discovered that it was far more mysterious than he had imagined.

"Unfortunately, even if you drink the Magic Potion, you are not qualified to explore the Reflection Ruins Realm until your Destiny has fully stabilized and you become a qualified extraordinary."

Seeing what Bai Zhou was thinking, Ya mercilessly poured cold water over him.

"Evening City lies at the edge of the Reflection Ruins Realm, but the Reflection Ruins Realm is not Evening City."

"The walls painstakingly built by the Blood Worship Cult back then were fences for captivity, but they also protected you. The true Reflection Ruins Realm is fraught with danger. Ordinary people can barely survive there, let alone explore it."

As she spoke, Ya pointed at the reflective mirror.

"Allowing ordinary people to use a Ritual to communicate with the Reflection Ruins Realm beyond the mirror, safely stealing power from the Ruins Realm through the gap between the Present World and the Ruins Realm..."

"That is the greatest 'miracle' of the Enlightenment Potion."

Afterward, Ya helped Bai Zhou make many preparations. In the blink of an eye, it was already the early hours of the morning.

23:58.

The lights were turned off. Burning candles flickered across the dim floor, while the remaining Orange segments and cucumber slices were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, with rose essential oil taken from the bathroom dripped over them.

Candlelight illuminated Ya's face. "[Apocalypse Ritual], used together with the Enlightenment Potion, simplified from the [Eleusinian Mysteries] of a secret cult in ancient Greece three thousand years ago."

"So this is... the world outside Evening City?" Bai Zhou was somewhat dazed.

So this was Blue Star?

"This is only the beginning." Yet Ya shook her head.

"Rituals, secret techniques—you lack far too much. Once you awaken your Destiny, I will put you through special training. You must be prepared for the bitter cultivation ahead!"

"Special training!" Bai Zhou's heart tightened.

"Of course, if you endure the special training and meet my requirements, you will undergo a transformation!"

"At the very least, surpassing most Special Management Department elites who rely on Mechanical Boxes will not be difficult." Ya's expression was calm, her tone utterly flat. "During the Blood Worship Cult's possible attacks to come, you will also have enough room to protect yourself."

"—When the time comes, if something truly happens, the higher authorities will certainly pay attention to this place. That will be your chance to earn merit."

Bai Zhou's heart pounded wildly as he listened.

He could hear Ya's confidence, making him even more curious about her identity.

Clang—

The bell rang out. Outside the window, the Bell Tower at the center of the base shattered the silence of midnight.

24:00. The Ritual began.

"Now." Ya said, "Use the incantation on the mirror!"

Bai Zhou responded by lifting his chopsticks and scooping the gleaming ramen into his mouth.

Then Bai Zhou recited the mysterious incantation he had just learned toward the mirror—

"Abrete Sesamo!"

According to Ya, the original meaning of this awkward incantation was:

"Sesame, open the door."

As he chanted, the Golden Ramen melted in his mouth and surged into him as a warm current. With a boom, Bai Zhou's mind seemed to explode, and he felt as though he were drifting blissfully through a sea of stars.

The air around him seemed to stop moving and grow thick. Fine, furtive whispers sounded by his ears, low, distant, mysterious, and strange, accompanied by an oddly rhythmic song that echoed again and again.

Bai Zhou felt as if his head were splitting apart. He struggled to remain rational, yet could not resist the urge to keep listening to the whispers.

The lights dimmed, shadows swayed, and spreading mist swept through the mirror—chaotic, hazy, boundless—drowning the reflected world.

Everything in the mirror became blurred. The only clear figure in the fog was Bai Zhou's own reflection.

Great masses of Gray Fog surged and overflowed from the edges of the mirror, spilling down by Bai Zhou's feet.

Bai Zhou was drawn toward the self in the mirror.

The Next Second, "Bai Zhou" in the mirror smiled at him.

"...?!" Bai Zhou's hair stood on end.

Suddenly, the image in the mirror changed drastically.

The Gray Fog vanished. The blank-faced "Bai Zhou" stood in place, the clutter of the Dormitory room reappearing in the mirror, with Ya's figure behind him.

The chaotic, overlapping murmurs receded. The surroundings became utterly quiet, while drifting mist flowed around him like water.

...Mist?

Bai Zhou suddenly snapped awake. Looking down and around, he realized with shock that he stood at the edge of an endless expanse of Gray Fog.

I... entered the mirror?