The Plot Begins

At roughly the same time, in a dense forest halfway up a mountain, two groups faced off. More than twenty people stood divided into two sides—eleven on one side, sixteen on the other. Their gazes were sharp as blades, their tensions drawn tight, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder. These twenty-odd people were White and Black, though a closer look revealed that several had faintly blue skin. There was not a single yellow-skinned person among them.

The leader on the left was a young man in his mid-twenties. He was powerfully built, with rugged features, deep-set eyes, a large nose, and watery blue curls like surging seawater. He wore a finely crafted suit of blue light armor. This White youth was Victor, class monitor of Southern Sea Class 1223. Leading the right side, meanwhile, was a Black woman. Her skin was not coal-black, merely a light shade of black, glossy and smooth enough that her pores were nearly invisible. Her figure was impressive, needless to say, but most striking were her black-pearl-like eyes. Her hair was braided into countless little plaits, like snakes crawling across her head. Her clothing was simple and unremarkable. She was Nina, class monitor of Southern Sea Class 1232.

The two sides seemed unable to reach a decision over something, so they simply glared at one another, as if trying to force the other side into submission through sheer eye contact. From time to time, several people peered through gaps in the forest toward a village on the distant mountainside, clearly paying close attention to what was happening there.

As the standoff dragged on, the patience of both sides was nearly exhausted. Finally, Victor spoke. "Hey, Nina, listen to me. Give up on killing Sun Wukong! We simply can't defeat him. His strength is