Motorcycles and the Sunset

"Well, now Mo Bai and the Rover are officially students. That means we can go pick up your bikes!"

Whenever motorcycles came up, Lynae grew especially excited.

But Mo Bai remembered her riding skills, which had been worthy of a street racer. He couldn't help feeling a little nervous...

"Come on, come on! As your senior, I'll take you to get your bikes, and then we can all go for a proper ride!"

Lynae could hardly wait. She set off, leading Mo Bai and the Rover.

Mo Bai had no choice but to recall Jade Hound and follow her.

"Looks like you're not very good at handling Lynae."

The Rover teased Mo Bai as they walked.

Mo Bai didn't mind the teasing from his new friend. He merely sighed.

"I was injured when I rode with her earlier, so I experienced firsthand what it meant to add injury to injury. And besides..."

Mo Bai trailed off.

"It's not that I can't handle Lynae. I just didn't have many friends before, so I'm not sure how to respond to her enthusiasm." Mo Bai scratched his head.

Back then, he had been a twenty-year-old homebody. When had he ever met such a warm, welcoming senior?

"Is that so? Well, at least you don't dislike her. Maybe you'll become close friends someday."

The Rover gave Mo Bai a small smile.

"You make it sound like you know me better than I know myself."

With the Rover looking at him like that, Mo Bai wasn't sure what expression to make.

For a moment, he thought she looked like a sly old fox who could see into people's hearts.

With that thought, Mo Bai glanced at her face again.

No. Rather than an old fox, she looked more like a quick-witted little cat, with a hint of mischief on her face.

"Rover! Mo Bai! Hurry up! I can't wait to take you racing around the academy!"

Seeing the Rover and Mo Bai taking their time, Lynae turned and urged them on.

Faced with Lynae's impatience, Mo Bai and the Rover could only shake their heads helplessly and catch up.

"Let me introduce Mr. S.I.G.M.A. He manages vehicles for our academy."

Lynae led the Rover and Mo Bai to a safety officer whose head, of all things, looked like a traffic light.

This time, though, Mo Bai was hardly surprised.

After meeting Ms. N.A.N.A. and seeing the academy's advanced technology, he had more or less grown used to how things worked here.

"Zero compromise on order! Zero danger to life! [Integrated Signal Coordinator] S.I.G.M.A. is here to keep you safe!"

After delivering that electronically voiced announcement, Mr. S.I.G.M.A., dressed like a traffic officer, turned to Lynae.

"Student Lynae! Your vehicle shows signs of multiple unauthorized modifications! Your dashcam also records numerous instances of speeding! You have even entered uncharted areas of the map on several occasions!"

Neither the Rover nor Mo Bai was surprised to hear any of it.

It all sounded exactly like something Lynae would do.

"Ahem! Mr. S.I.G.M.A., I'm here to help the new students collect their vehicles. We still have to get their Tacet Discs afterward, so we don't have time for this."

Lynae waved a hand and quickly shifted the conversation to Mo Bai and the Rover.

Following his instructions, S.I.G.M.A. prioritized assigning motorcycles to new students like Mo Bai and the Rover.

Once the two had completed the paperwork and collected their vehicles, Lynae promptly led them out of Mr. S.I.G.M.A.'s jurisdiction.

If she stayed any longer, there was no telling how long he would lecture her.

Vroom, vroom!

Lynae took the lead on her motorcycle, guiding Mo Bai and the Rover along the vehicle-only roads that circled the academy.

"Woohoo! Let's go! As your senior, I'll take you on a proper ride and show you around the academy!"

Lynae shouted into the oncoming wind.

Riding behind her, the Rover and Mo Bai could tell how excited she was and how much she was enjoying herself.

Mo Bai noticed that whenever Lynae was on her motorcycle, speeding along, she never stopped smiling.

She looked so free, as though nothing could hold her back.

"Ahem, first, the important stuff." Lynae pointed toward Star Torch Academy on the left side of the road.

From his motorcycle, Mo Bai could make out a faint green barrier around the academy.

"That barrier protects the academy from Voidmatter Magnetic Storms. It's usually only half active. If it switches on completely, we're in serious trouble."

Lynae had explained Voidmatter Magnetic Storms to him and the Rover on the way to collect their vehicles.

They were disasters caused by the Threnodian in Lahai Luo and usually had the following effects.

One: Living creatures within the affected area lost control and went berserk.

Two: All electronic communications equipment in the disaster zone was cut off.

Three: Ordinary people and creatures directly exposed to high concentrations of Voidmatter Magnetic Storm could disappear entirely, existence and all.

Vroom, vroom—

After they had ridden for a while, Lynae pointed somewhere else.

A perfectly straight road rose ninety degrees into the sky.

"That's the transport elevator to the surface: Transit Spine. It was built alongside the giant sword the Tunneler left behind and is one of Lahai Luo's most important structures. You'll go up there to get your Tacet Discs later."

Staring at the road stretching into the sky, Mo Bai was stunned.

That enormous structure was only as large as the Tunneler's sword? Just how immense was the Tunneler itself?

And how terrifying was the Threnodian, whose enemy was the Tunneler?

But right now, what Mo Bai most wanted to ask was...

"To the surface? You mean we're underground?" Mo Bai asked Lynae.

Yet when he looked up, he saw a darkening blue sky and white clouds above them...

Wait. Something about it was different.

"You didn't even know that, Mo Bai? Oh, right. I forgot you have amnesia." Lynae only remembered at the end of her sentence.

Mo Bai found it impossible to reconcile her expression with the words "perfect marks in every subject."

"The sky above the academy is simulated. Thanks to Professor Mornye, we can see the sky even underground. You should meet her when you go to get your Tacet Discs."

Leaving that for them to wonder about, Lynae pointed to several things in the distance that looked like mechanical manta rays flying past.

"All the mechanical animals in Lahai Luo are called the Rover Swarm. They're actually parts that fell off the Tunneler, and Lahai Luo couldn't function without them."

Vroom, vroom!

Once Lynae finished her introductions, she suddenly picked up speed. Mo Bai and the Rover had little choice but to accelerate with her.

As they raced along, Mo Bai and the Rover both felt something strange.

They couldn't tell whether it was good or bad, but speeding up made them feel at ease.

At dusk, they pulled over together.

From there, they had a clear view of the sun slowly setting.