"What are you doing?" The sudden voice behind him 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 squatting down to place the Small Cake on the ground, with a puzzled expression.
"...Sorry, I was just too hungry."
Bai Zhou stood and turned around with a guilt-ridden face, looking utterly at a loss.
"By Evening City custom, we show courtesy before eating. The elders underground get 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 arrived too late."
That was enough to fool him? Bai Zhou blinked.
Then, under everyone's curious gazes, Bai Zhou openly put away the Golden Ticket that only he could see, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
...During the tour that followed, Bai Zhou specifically memorized the bloody last wills on those Black Boxes.
Though he had no idea how to complete them yet, as long as he remembered them, he would find an opportunity eventually.
"This miserable life insults my flesh. If I'd known life would be this hard, I would've started saving up for explosives when I was three!"
"My hydrogen-powered heavy hauler just performed an upside-down split turn on Mount Akina, and 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 Lost Soul monster?"
"..."
Bai Zhou also saw an old acquaintance, [Legacy of Blood Thirst]. The last will above its head was still as unsatisfied as ever.
Before long, the tour ended, and Bai Zhou walked out of the Great Door.
A familiar scent of Coffee brushed past his nose.
Bai Zhou looked around, but aside from his colleagues and Section Chief Liu's back view, he saw nothing.
Only then did he notice that a small note had somehow appeared in his hand.
He secretly opened it after reaching an empty corner and saw a line of elegant handwriting that carried tremendous force—
"When you go to the Cafeteria, bring me back one cucumber, several 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 picked up a bag of Mandheling Coffee Beans.
The clerk seemed to recommend something called Kopi Luwak more strongly, but Bai Zhou shook his head like a rattle drum as soon as he heard the name.
Would he dare feed Ya cat shit? Bai Zhou was afraid Ya would chop off his head and kick it around like 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 to the Dormitory.
A Bell Tower with only twelve numbers stood there like a one-eyed giant, while tin box spirits with black smoke puffing from their backsides passed in the distance.
In the square where the Black Robes had been executed yesterday, the eighteenth set of radio calisthenics, The Federation Calls, played on loop. A group of white coat researchers stood on it, raising their arms and twisting their hips in perfect unison.
Occasionally, heavily armed Soldiers passed by on patrol. They paid no attention to Bai Zhou's identity badge, and when Bai Zhou looked at them, some even smiled back at him.
—It was worlds apart from before he had joined the organization, when the guard Soldiers had treated him with utter disdain.
Though Bai Zhou still found everything here unfamiliar and distant, he was slowly beginning to adapt.
He still did not know where his future would lead, but at least...
Bai Zhou lowered his head to look at the white bag of Mandheling, consoling himself as best he could.
At least he dared to buy Coffee Beans he had never even dreamed of buying before.
He was living the life of someone above the Black Robes now.
—Even if the organization was reimbursing him for it.
Carrying large boxes and small bags, Bai Zhou struggled for quite a while before finally digging out his key and opening the Dormitory door.
Unexpectedly, there was no sign of Ya in the room.
After setting the ramen on the table, Bai Zhou scratched his head and took the cucumber and small oranges into the bathroom.
"Your efficiency was faster than I expected."
While he washed the vegetables, a cool female voice suddenly came from behind him.
Bai Zhou turned his head. The Crow perched on her shoulder blinked its tiny red eyes at him.
"...Do you never use the front door?"
She always made an entrance in the most unexpected ways.
It was practically becoming Bai Zhou's fixed impression of Ya.
Taking the vivid green cucumber from Bai Zhou and glancing at the small oranges in his hands, Ya neither confirmed nor denied his question.
"Looks like you handled the sealing of the Crown of Thorns very well. All of Branch 36 should thank you for your contribution."
"It is a pity that no one knows of your achievement—but that's alright. I saw it all."
As she spoke, Ya shook 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 an extra serving of beef ramen. Do you want some?"
"..." Ya glanced at the two boxes of ramen on the table and shook her head.
"I don't eat beef."
"That's a shame."
Bai Zhou opened the ramen container, snapped apart the disposable chopsticks, and stirred it a few times. The fragrance of red-oil beef broth wafted through the air.
He sat down, raised his chopsticks, and cautiously looked up at the Maiden.
"Then... I can eat all of it?"
Not wasting food was a traditional virtue in Evening City.
"...If you can finish it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Zhou's loud slurping filled the room.
"But is this really enough for you to eat?" Bai Zhou asked indistinctly. "How about I go buy more from the Cafeteria?"
No wonder she was not very tall.
"Food is not necessary for sustaining my life." Ya shook her head. "And who told you I brought those things back to eat?"
"Huh?" Bai Zhou looked confused as he slurped up another mouthful of noodles.
Honestly, this ramen was much better than Four-Flavor Instant Noodles.
"Using simple mediums to leverage the power of a Ritual." Ya grabbed the cucumber in one hand and picked up two small oranges with the other. "That is a basic quality of an extraordinary one."
An extraordinary one?
Bai Zhou remembered the extraordinary power Section Chief Liu had displayed earlier, and his heart could not help pounding.
"So you wanted these to set up a Ritual?"
As realization dawned on him, Bai Zhou's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the Mandheling Coffee Beans on the table.
So the Coffee scent constantly lingering around Ya was also meant to sustain some mysterious Ritual?
"Oh, not these." Ya separated the Coffee Beans from the rest.
She tore open the seal, took out two glossy black Coffee Beans, and put them into her mouth, chewing expressionlessly twice.
After nodding, Ya put the bag into her pocket. "They have another, greater purpose."
Bai Zhou: "..."
"There is something I need to tell you."
Using force, Ya split one of the small oranges apart, then casually dropped another bombshell.
"Intelligence indicates that, in retaliation for the destruction of the Evening City Stronghold, the Blood Worship Cult will soon strike one of the Special Management Department's branches."
"Personally, I believe Branch 36 is highly likely to be chosen, since it is the branch that received the people of Evening City!"
"Huh?" Bai Zhou froze with noodles halfway to his mouth.
Hadn't he just resolved the Crown issue?
There was more?
"Only a very small number of people within the Special Management Department currently 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 if this place really is unfortunate enough to be selected by the Blood Worship Cult, we should barely be able to hold out."
"—But no matter what, the Special Management Department is about to descend into chaos, and people will certainly die."
With a sharp clang, a long blade left its sheath.
The blade, its surface flowing with specks of fiery starlight, flashed. The cucumber on the table instantly became dozens of neat slices, each edge marked with scorching burns.
"To be safe, before the Blood Worship Cult arrives, you need the ability to protect yourself."
"In other words,"
The tip of the blade lifted a cucumber slice as Ya turned to look at Bai Zhou.
"You need to become an extraordinary one as soon as possible."
"You mean..." Bai Zhou slowly put down his chopsticks, his eyes blazing. "Become someone like Section Chief Liu?"
Or even... someone like Ya?
"Section Chief Liu?"
Ya fell silent for a moment, then shook her head.
"No one is beyond reach."
"Even I am merely a fish swept away by the tides of an era."
"The truly powerful are those who lead the age."
Bai Zhou was stunned. "Stronger than you... What would someone like that be?"
"For example, in 1776, Washington, the [Myth Inheritor] from the Rosicrucian Order, crossed the ocean and shot down the Aztec sun."
"Or earlier still, in 1429, Joan of Arc, the [Sacred Maiden of Firewood] from the Holy Court of Judgment, stepped onto the battlefield of Reims and swept down Avalon's stars."
"History has always been the history of extraordinary ones. They manipulate nations and drive ideologies forward," Ya said. "—And only by becoming an extraordinary one can you qualify to control your own Destiny."
Control his own Destiny.
Bai Zhou's spirits lifted. "So what should I do?"
"On Blue Star, ninety-nine percent of people do not know that the 'mysterious' exists, much less have any chance of becoming extraordinary ones. Since the Middle Ages, extraordinary ones have grown accustomed to standing behind the hidden curtain."
The long blade flowing with firelight gradually faded away from Ya's hand.
When she turned her palm upward, a cluster of burning golden flames slowly gathered in the air and quietly danced in her palm.
Compared with Section Chief Liu's roaring blue fire, this golden flame was much quieter. Yet Bai Zhou felt it was far more dangerous.
"You could say you were born at the right time. The first step for an extraordinary one is awakening one's own Destiny, but the lengthy training and study required are enough to block ninety percent of those without talent."
"Until—"
Under Bai Zhou's incredulous gaze, the scorched cucumber and split oranges slowly floated upward as though drawn by an invisible force. They spread through the air in a special arrangement and revolved around the flame in Ya's palm.
The golden flame split into countless smaller flames and ignited them one by one.
The next instant, it was as though 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 [Enlightenment Potion], greatly reducing the cost of awakening Destiny. The hidden population of extraordinary ones began to expand rapidly."
"From then on," Ya said, "the extraordinary became the rulers of the world."
The magnificent Star Chart revolving in her palm resembled a luminous, spirited Great Bear. Flickering 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, breaking through the mist of mystery and guiding the way forward... The medium is not important. That is the key to the Enlightenment Potion."
Ya lowered her eyes and waved her hand, and the Star Chart immediately blazed with light.
Every star shrank, replaced by liquid-like starlight that slowly flowed out. It resembled countless olives, ten thousand golden threads, linked together and hanging down.
"Of course, the vessel that holds it is not important either."
As she spoke, Ya took away the half-finished beef ramen Bai Zhou had been eating.
"I thought you didn't eat?" Bai Zhou's chopsticks were left hanging in mid-air.
The next moment, the golden threads fell into the ramen container, gathering into a clear golden liquid like the essence of stars, connected to the spiritual world.
The golden liquid blended perfectly into the beef broth. Every strand of ramen coated in soup began to shine, overflowing with brilliant golden radiance and illuminating 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, handmade extra-large bowl ramen"—was impossible to ignore.
Glowing... Golden Beef Noodles?
Facing Bai Zhou's utterly shocked gaze, Ya nodded calmly. "You're welcome."
Bai Zhou held the ramen container overflowing with golden light, nearly unable to open his eyes from the glare. "Something like becoming an extraordinary one can be done just by eating a bowl of noodles?"
"This is a 'Ritual.'"
Ya nodded. "At midnight, consume the Enlightenment Potion before a mirror. Your 'spirit' will steal knowledge from its reflection in the mirror, thereby anchoring your own Destiny."
"...Steal?" Bai Zhou did not understand.
"What do you think extraordinary ones are?" Ya asked. "Transcendent saints, lofty beings, gods among men?"
"—They are none of those."
She shook her head. "Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the extraordinary one from the Hermetic Order who led the destruction of the Faustian Black Esoteric Cult, once said—"
"All extraordinary ones are pathetic creatures who steal the secrets of the world."
"They shamelessly excavate the remnants of history and despicably steal power from Blue Star's other side. A powerful extraordinary one is first an outstanding archaeologist and a skilled tomb raider, because everything they possess comes from there."
As she spoke, Ya raised a hand and pointed to the electric light above them.
"Even the technological development of all human civilization today—steam, atomic energy, quantum theory—comes from extraordinary ones excavating and cataloguing the remnants of the Previous Civilization."
"Compared with certain lost ultra-ancient civilizations, this five-thousand-year history of civilization is merely a tender infant learning to walk."
"Lost civilization." Bai Zhou suddenly thought of the Golden Ticket on him and could not help asking, "Have you heard of Jurassic? Does it count as a lost civilization?"
"Jurassic?"
Ya froze for a moment, then smiled. "It absolutely does. An era covered in dinosaurs—it was ancient and lost indeed, definitely not recorded in the history books."
After all, that age had been full of reptiles; not even a single intelligent life-form could be found.
Who knew where Bai Zhou had heard about the Jurassic? Given the chance, Ya ought to find him a copy of 100,000 Whys.
"Dinosaurs?"
"Mm, a kind of enormous reptile, 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 swept past Bai Zhou. With her robes fluttering, Ya strode toward the bathroom.
"The end of all things has gathered on the far side of Blue Star. Here, you can see relics from every era and Lost Souls wandering about."
"Whether the echoes of Atlantis or the ruins of El Dorado, the remnants of countless lost civilizations have piled up here."
"—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 snap, Ya placed the anti-fog mirror she had removed from the bathroom before Bai Zhou.
"—And now, people collectively call it the Reflection Ruins Realm."
"The Reflection Ruins Realm..." Bai Zhou looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes widening slightly.
At first, he had noticed Ya's peculiarity 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 found it far more mysterious than he had imagined.
"Unfortunately, even after drinking the Magic Potion, you are not qualified to explore the Reflection Ruins Realm until you have completely stabilized your Destiny and become a qualified extraordinary."
Seeing through Bai Zhou's thoughts, Ya mercilessly poured cold water on 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 hardly survive there, much less explore it."
As she spoke, Ya pointed at the reflective mirror surface.
"Allowing ordinary people to use a Ritual to communicate with the Reflection Ruins Realm beyond the mirror, safely stealing power from the Ruins Realm within the gap between the Present World and the Ruins Realm..."
"That is the greatest 'miracle' of the Enlightenment Potion."
After that, Ya helped Bai Zhou make many preparations. In the blink of an eye, it was already dawn.
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. Rose essential oil taken from the bathroom had been dripped over them.
Candlelight framed Ya's face. "[Apocalypse Ritual], used in conjunction with the Enlightenment Potion, was 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.
This is 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 had better prepare yourself for the grueling cultivation to come!"
"Special training!" Bai Zhou's heart tightened.
"However, as long as you endure the special training and meet my requirements, you will undergo a complete transformation!"
"At the very least, surpassing most Special Management Department elites who rely on Mechanical Boxes will not be difficult." Ya's expression remained calm, her tone utterly casual. "When the Blood Worship Cult's possible attack comes later, you will also have enough leeway to protect yourself."
"—By then, if anything truly happens, the higher departments will certainly take notice of this place. That will be your chance to earn merit."
Bai Zhou's heart thumped wildly as he listened.
He could hear Ya's confidence, and grew ever 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 Curse on the mirror!"
Bai Zhou responded by lifting his chopsticks and scooping the gleaming ramen into his mouth.
Then Bai Zhou recited the mysterious Curse he had just learned to the mirror—
"Abrete Sesamo!"
According to Ya, the original meaning of that tongue-twisting Curse was:
"Sesame, open the door."
As he recited the Curse, the Golden Ramen melted in his mouth and turned into a warm current that surged into him. With a boom, Bai Zhou's mind seemed to explode, and he felt as though he were drifting through a sea of stars.
The air around him seemed to stop moving and grow thick. Fine, furtive whispers sounded beside his ears, low, distant, mysterious, and strange, accompanied by a peculiar rhythmic song that echoed over and over.
Bai Zhou felt as though 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 and shadows swayed. Spreading mist surged through the mirror, chaotic, hazy, and boundless, drowning the reflected world within.
Everything in the mirror blurred. The only clear figure in the fog was Bai Zhou's own reflection.
A great mass of gray fog churned, overflowing from the edges of the mirror and spilling at Bai Zhou's feet.
Bai Zhou was drawn to the self in the mirror.
The next second, "Bai Zhou" in the mirror gave him a smile.
"...?!" 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 where he was, while the clutter in the Dormitory room reappeared within the mirror, along with Ya's figure behind him.
The chaotic, overlapping murmurs receded, and the surroundings became utterly quiet. Shifting mist flowed around him like water.
...Mist?
Bai Zhou suddenly jolted awake. Looking down and around, he realized in shock that he stood at the edge of an endless expanse of gray fog.
I... arrived inside the mirror?
Before you continue