City Gates and Fish Ponds

In the general public's impression, people called professors are usually refined, slender scholars, or those with white hair and glasses, exuding an air of academia...

However, these descriptions are unlikely to be applicable to a mountain of flesh over two meters tall.

This mountain of flesh was now showing Ai Qing a warm smile, its face gleaming with oil, as dazzling as the sun. Its hands were busy, skillfully manipulating delicate instruments that seemed too intricate for its thick fingers.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee," Ai Qing replied. "No sugar."

Soon, a steaming cup of coffee was placed on a saucer in front of Ai Qing, presented in an exquisite cup.

The professor turned around on his exaggeratedly large swivel chair, opened the refrigerator beside him, and continuously brought out a variety of exquisite cakes, puddings, chocolates, macarons, fruits from the Archipelago Nation, mille-feuille from Rome...

"It's just about dinner time, let's eat together."

He cheerfully fastened his napkin, picked up his knife and fork, and said, "I'm on a diet recently, so I don't eat meat at night."

Ai Qing looked at the table full of calories and, uncharacteristically, seemed tempted for a moment before regretfully shaking her head and refusing, "You'll die of high cholesterol sooner or later."

"As for a cerebral thrombosis, I've had it several times already."

The professor chuckled and tapped the scar on his head from surgery, "Thanks to the Astronomical Society and the Continuance Institute's medical technology, I can continue indulging in this hobby."

"Even if you're flattering me, it's no use. Regardless, I'm just a newly promoted regular staff member," Ai Qing picked up her coffee and took a sip, nodding with satisfaction.

Although she was reluctant to admit it, the coffee here was indeed the best in all of Xinhai. Her own home had plenty of rare coffee beans, but her brewing skills couldn't compare to this guy's.

"You got promoted at this critical juncture? You must have had a tough time—"

The professor's brow furrowed slightly. "Will the war in the Dragon Triangle affect Xinhai?"

"It probably will, to some extent."

Ai Qing tapped the table and sighed.

This was a textbook example of the gate of the city catching fire, affecting the fish in the pond.

As the world's foremost behemoth, the Astronomical Society's power was undeniable. It was essentially the dark side of the United Nations.

Ninety years ago, to counter threats from beyond the borders, under the advocacy of the Vanguard Council, the International Astronomical Society was established with the participation of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: Dongxia, Rome, the Russian Union, the American Commonwealth, and the First Dynasty of Egypt.

And the current ruling body of the Astronomical Society, the "Unified Bureau" which replaced "Utopia's" "Unified Bureau," is composed of political dignitaries and major monopolistic groups from various countries.

Therefore, the First World War was called the war that ended all wars—

Since then, there have been no more wars on a global scale. That's true, but it doesn't mean war has disappeared; it has merely shifted to places unseen by ordinary people. How many proxy wars have there been between countries over the years to gain a voice in the Unified Bureau?

Otherwise, how did Baghdad become a ruin?

Dozens of borders were sunk by four fierce Natural Enemies fighting each other, falling into the depths of Hell, and the aftershocks are still ongoing.

Although countries and groups maintain the existence of the Astronomical Society under pressure from beyond the borders, internal conflicts have never been absent...

Just like the current border war in the Dragon Triangle.

Over the years, everyone has tacitly agreed that the country and affiliated organization where a border is located has the primary development rights for that border—but borders are called borders not only because they are at the edge of the current reality but also because they are like borderlands with thin sovereignty.

Especially in special circumstances, they can move...

Over the years, to compete for the ruins of the former Yamatai Empire—the "Dragon Triangle" border—representatives of the Tianjin Faction and the Kunitsu Faction within the Archipelago Nation have been in constant conflict. This is not the first time the two sides have shed blood, and the speed at which border sovereignty changes hands is more exaggerated than the speed at which prime ministers change domestically. As a result, in their fighting, they broke the Boundary Wedge that fixed the border...

They actually broke the Boundary Wedge!

Are you guys doing this on purpose, friends?

In short, according to the Astronomical Society's calculations, the Dragon Triangle has begun to drift. It first drifted a section towards the Australian Archipelago, then suddenly turned northwest...

That's right, it's drifting towards Dongxia.

This made Dongxia extremely happy. The border development group, Taiqing Heavy Industry, is already rubbing its hands together in anticipation, waiting for this piece of land to fall into its pot.

Then, the Archipelago Nation started to get unhappy. But now the Dragon Triangle is in international waters, and if you're unhappy, who are you to say? The will of the people is what truly matters.

Moreover, with such a large object drifting over, if you hide it and don't let others intervene, what if there are dangerous items inside?

Dongxia declared loudly: Come, let me see!

Whether it's developing normally or not is unknown, but the situation will definitely become more tense.

And what troubles Ai Qing now is that if Dongxia really intends to take countermeasures against the Dragon Triangle, Xin Hai City will become one of the most convenient outlets for sea access after some time.

This means that more and more Ascendants who want to make money, seize treasures, earn extra income, and cause trouble will come here.

And what Ai Qing has to worry about is not only the inevitable increase in Ascendant crime incidents at that time but also the mutual attraction between borders—

What if the Yamatai border within the Dragon Triangle collides with the Dongxia coast, or with any other border?

That would be like a comet hitting the Earth!

Of course, she's not the only one worrying, but her name will definitely be on the list of those who will take the blame. Becoming a formal inspector of the Astronomical Society at this time is really not a good opportunity.

Rather, if she wants to protect herself, she should prepare for a transfer within six months.

The speed of border drift is not fast, but with the current momentum, a major disturbance will likely erupt around Xinhai within a year at the latest.

"Have you found a place to go?"

The professor asked casually, "Your connections surely wouldn't be unable to handle even this, right?"

Ai Qing shot him a glance but said nothing.

"Curiosity. Purely curiosity."

The professor chuckled heartily. After a whirlwind of activity, he had already devoured more than half of the decadent desserts on the table, washing them down with coffee so sugary it was almost syrupy.

He had eaten only half his fill at dinner.

He wiped his mouth and pulled a thick file from under the table, placing it in front of Ai Qing.

"This is the investigation you requested, all current records and information regarding the Savior Society," the professor said. "As per your instructions, I've only done a basic compilation, removing any unnecessary redundancies. However, I haven't added any subjective analysis. I trust this document won't be too challenging for you."

Ai Qing was quite confident in her document-reading abilities. If she needed to guess, she didn't need anyone to make wild conjectures for her and inject their own subjective opinions.

The most important reason she had been selected as an inspector from tens of thousands of candidates wasn't just her near-perfect test scores, but also her 'intuition,' a talent considered rare even within the Astronomical Society.

Yes, that was right – intuition.

If she were to randomly guess whether a number was odd or even, she'd probably have a 50/50 chance. If it were a dice-rolling game, she'd likely fare far worse than professional mathematicians.

But only when faced with complex and chaotic situations did her intuition reveal its true value.

In terms of probability, the chance of her being correct was around sixty-five percent.

This accuracy rate, exceeding that of ordinary people by more than fifteen percent, allowed her to stand out from the rigorous testing and be rated as a top-tier A+ talent.

Such a talent was a perfect match for a precognitive Holy Mark, and even without soul sublimation, it was enough to inspire great expectations.

The Astronomical Society didn't care about that thirty-five percent failure rate; in fact, they had more than enough resources to afford the consequences. If Ai Qing hadn't refused the recruitment offer from the Strategy Department and chosen a local posting, the Astronomical Society would have already begun cultivating her with targeted programs.

It was precisely because of this that she was ridiculed among her training peers as a prime example of someone who didn't know her place.

As an information broker, the professor knew his collaborator's background intimately. He was familiar with all the documented records, but what he was more curious about were the things that hadn't been put to paper.

Ai Qing was tight-lipped about them, never revealing even a shred of information to anyone.

In the silence, she focused on flipping through the thick pages. The professor didn't speak to disturb her, merely swiveling his chair and picking up some obscure professional books from the table.

If Ai Qing were to describe her reading experience, it would be that the Savior Society's affairs ran deeper than she had anticipated.

Although they seemed like a scam group from every angle, there were countless inconsistencies. Whether it was the origin of a peculiar border relic or the Ascendants who had secretly interacted with them…

Wang Hai, as confessed by an accomplice, was merely a temporary leader. Before he took charge, when the Savior Society wasn't even called that, there were traces of other leaders.

While they had indeed been operating discreetly from Old Pond Town, their public facade, including various companies under the Benevolent Charity, had extensive dealings with other entities.

Their reach extended not only to Xinhai but also to other locations, covering all sorts of connections. If the Red Glove hadn't overextended its influence and exploited this fraudulent church, it's hard to say how long it would have taken to detect these entities that had been quietly growing among the lower classes in rural areas and remote cities.

Now, it seemed more like a subsidiary and front for some massive organization.

But whose hand was reaching out from where?

There were too many suspicious directions.

The Black Sky Cult from India? The Beatific Land from the border? The Scientific Deities Society of the American Commonwealth? Or the hundred thousand ghosts and monsters of the Archipelago Nation?

It was a shame that the only two people who knew the details, Wang Hai and Nue, were already dead. Otherwise, Ai Qing wouldn't have to start her investigation from scratch, like searching for a needle in a haystack.

She wasn't worried about what the Red Glove, killed by Huai Shi, and the border's largest terrorist organization, Green Day, were up to.

The power of the border was, after all, confined to the border. To make any significant moves in the present world, one couldn't bypass the Astronomical Society, which enveloped the entire human realm.

What worried her was what those lunatics from the Savior Society, who preyed on the elderly for origin essence, were trying to achieve. Had they succeeded, were they still in the process, or how did they plan to do it?

And who else was working with them?

She genuinely didn't believe that Wang Hai, a good-for-nothing who only knew how to scam money, could have infiltrated the middle and upper echelons of Xinhai through the Benevolent Charity.

Just looking at the files, that guy was only ever good at scamming pension funds.

So, who was fanning the flames behind this?

Before long, her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of a phone.

After she finished the call, she completely lost the mood to think further.

"This will be the initial report," she said, gathering the files from the table. "I'll transfer the subsequent payment to you, but the investigation into the Savior Society must continue. Please remember to notify me of any new developments."

"Don't worry, I will."

The professor sipped his tea, observing her expression. "Did another corrosive entity or Ascendant crime appear?"

"No, it's worse than that."

Ai Qing tapped the armrest of her wheelchair with a blank expression, recalling the description of Huai Shi from the phone call, and couldn't help but sigh:

"Much, much worse than that."