Playing House

Jingjing's mother sank into her memories. The overly antiquated term did not immediately bring its exact meaning to mind. Several seconds passed before she hesitantly spoke. "Is that the one that caused a stir in Mei County a while back...?"

"Yes, yes, that one."

"Didn't they say in the end that there was no Chelated Being, and that the local Quicksilver Needles station had overreacted?"

"...Where did you hear that?"

"In the newspaper."

"What era are you living in that you still read newspapers? Someone filmed videos and posted them online. Quicksilver Needles and a Chelated Being faced off in a residential area, and several floors collapsed right then and there."

Jingjing's mother shuddered involuntarily.

"...Is it serious? Why haven't we heard any alarms in Orange Town?"

"You don't need to worry now. If anything really happened, Songxueyuan would definitely be the first to react. As long as Songxueyuan is fine, we'll be fine too," her friend said. "But my sister's child—you remember her, right? She started middle school this year—her school has been holding drills recently. Besides some common disasters, they also mentioned Chelated Disease. My sister and I have been thinking about it lately. Paired with that news from Mei County, the whole direction of things feels a little off."

"Stop worrying about things that may never happen," another person at the table said. "Quicksilver Needles has already been incorporated into our local forces here. What are you all still worried about?"

At the mention of this, several people at the table lit up, eager to launch into the next topic. Everyone had friends or relatives, near or distant, who had gained official posts after the AHgAs District 14 branch had been taken over by the United Government. They had leaped from insignificant office clerks to legitimate civil