The exaggerated pillar of fire shooting into the sky stunned the crowd lurking in the darkness.
In the first instant of the explosion, the large transport carriage at its center was cleanly erased from the earth's surface. The scorching heavenly light, equal before all living things, shattered and incinerated the packs of Death Servants still dormant inside the train cars, along with the Chen Family armed personnel nearby who had yet to understand what was happening.
In the second instant, the shockwave generated at ground level swept away everything. Like an invisible sledgehammer delivering a fatal blow, it came rolling in with searing metal fragments, rubble, and clouds of dust, instantly collapsing a large section of the enormous warehouse.
Then came the thunderous crash of concrete chunks being flung into the air and falling, the agonized cries of the survivors, and the frenzied roars of Death Servants awakened by the blast inside the warehouse. They rose and fell together in a chaotic din. The world was in complete disarray.
Zero stood fearlessly at the front of the group. An invisible defensive barrier spread out from around her, shielding all her teammates.
This was Dustless Land. More precisely, it was a Dustless Land obtained by using "Mirror Eye" to copy the Word Spirit of a Zhou Family member.
Mirror Eye was a rare supreme talent in the world, one bestowed with the name "Bloodline Imprint." It could analyze specific things at extraordinary speed or copy Word Spirits that remained effective only for a limited time.
When a Mirror Eye user copied the Word Spirit of someone with a lower bloodline than their own, they could even unleash power beyond the original.
Zero issued a command to the domain of Dustless Land, blocking the spreading shockwave, the scorching gale, and countless fragments of gravel outside it.
The fire and smoke erupting before the warehouse surged skyward, illuminating the ground, Zero's seemingly tranquil face, and her golden eyes, whose expression was clearly shifting violently.
What unbelievable power...
From a very early age, Zero had followed her boss, Lu Mingze, as his most obedient Three-No Girl. She had always prioritized carrying out her boss's orders perfectly rather than wondering why he had asked her to do so.
But now, she suddenly understood why her boss had demanded that the three of them spare no effort in coming to help Emiya and the others.
Because this was a grand fireworks show.
At this moment, countless descendants of prominent Shenzhou families had gathered around the Chen Family grounds. While sealing off the area, they were also witnessing this fireworks show in person.
The flickering light and the wind raised by the fireworks would scatter the stubborn prejudices of the old era, forcing ignorant people to confront the birth of something entirely new and making them understand that the times had changed.
The warehouse remained in uproar. Since a considerable portion of its overall structure had survived, many frozen Death Servants were still alive. Some began awakening amid the commotion, while a small number had already been blasted away at close range, their limbs and body fat ignited by the intense heat as they screamed madly on their way to death.
Others, however, fixed their sights on the Chen Family's armed hybrid soldiers. Starved Death Servants instantly lost their minds, opening their blood-filled jaws and lunging to bite the moving blood and flesh before them.
Through air warped by blazing heat and flames, Zero caught sight of a hellish tableau: severed limbs and chunks of flesh roasting, blood steaming like mist.
Just like Black Swan Harbor, destroyed by explosions, which she had experienced long ago... when she was a child.
A few scattered Death Servants and hybrids had layers of body fat burning on their bodies as they writhed desperately, trying to escape this hell, like the souls of Black Swan Harbor struggling to crawl out.
"Shing."
At Zero's side came the sound of Emiya drawing another projected weapon, nocking an arrow, and drawing his bow.
A weapon of the new era once again pierced the sky, and the price... was the fall of a Chen Family member.
Chen Family Manor.
"Let me toast you once more! From now on, once the Chen Family's path has been opened, we'll still have to rely greatly on your support."
At the banquet table, amid clinking cups, dancing, and music, Father Chen's face was flushed with delight. The middle-aged man, usually so stern-faced, had smoothly put on a shrewd, worldly mask. He spoke eagerly as he clinked glasses with the representative sent by the Gattuso Family and drained his cup in one gulp.
Drinking-table culture was a tradition that had to be sampled on this continent. Even the Gattuso clansmen far away in Italy had heard of it.
It was said that there was no matter, great or small, that could not be discussed over a drinking table. Moreover, every motion involved in raising a glass and offering a toast held layers of human sentiment and social etiquette to be studied.
The Gattuso Family had long shed its mafia origins and considered itself an upper-class noble house among hybrids. Naturally, its representative did not dare to be careless in this regard.
Faced with Father Chen's repeated toasts, he accepted every one to avoid seeming neglectful or discourteous. Each time, he drank heartily to the last drop, until he had nearly become a reeking wine barrel with a round, bulging belly.
Besides the two men, Nono, exquisitely made up and dressed like a princess, sat properly at the table as well. Not long ago, she had passed some Gattuso elders' interview—
In truth, it had merely been a few old men in retro white robes looking at her twice through a screen. The interview was over just like that, and somehow she had passed...
Nono's purpose in sitting there was not to drink with them—if she wanted to drink, she certainly would not drink with these two—but to serve as an excellent topic of conversation for Father Chen and the Gattuso representative to liven up the banquet.
Raising his cup and pointing at Nono, Father Chen said, "Our Mokutou performed exceptionally well in this interview. Once she marries over there, she'll certainly become Gattuso's most honorable and virtuous mistress."
The Gattuso representative replied slowly in somewhat imperfect Mandarin, "That is inevitable. Our Gattuso Family places the greatest importance on the inheritance of future generations. Since Miss Mokutou has earned the elders' esteem, she will surely receive the finest training and education, becoming a noble and highly praised bride for the young master."
Nono watched the two grown men trade pleasantries and boasts with a cold gaze. Words like political marriage and bride made her feel as though she were merchandise being bought and sold, stirring waves of revulsion and disgust within her.
But she had already completely recovered from truths such as the clone Freya. Being treated as bride merchandise again was no longer enough to make her lose her composure outright.
Nono was now carrying the Ancient Dragon Serum given to her by the Ninja Master, along with the short blade he had thrown in and a Beretta Tomcat Pistol...
Though the long evening gown she wore to the banquet was inconvenient, she could tie them to her leg. At Chen Family Manor, no one would dare search and inspect this young lady.
Nono now intended to keep a close watch on Father Chen. As soon as she found a suitable opportunity... she would put on a show of "filial piety between father and daughter"!
The banquet was in full swing. The Gattuso representative's face was already flushed red, his drunkenness heavy. Father Chen had been about to order more wine when his expression suddenly changed as he felt something in his pocket. He apologized to the Gattuso representative, saying he needed to take a call, then hurriedly left the table.
Nono's eyes lit up. She immediately excused herself as well, claiming she needed to use the restroom. She then left alone in another direction, only turning to follow Father Chen's path at an unhurried pace afterward.
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