Second Review

Who is the examinee?

At the entrance of the monitoring center, a security guard peeked out of the window and glanced at the group of people standing there. Sigelica carried a first-aid kit, Chisa's hand was on the hilt of a knife, Zhou Yu carried a briefcase, Chisaki had a tablet tucked under her arm, Dania stood in the middle, holding a bag of daifuku (mochi).

"I'm the candidate," Dania raised her hand.

"What are these?"

"Family members accompanying the examinee." The whole team said in unison.

The security guard didn't ask any more questions. He was afraid of getting stabbed if he asked too many.

The first-aid kit was packed by Sigelica, containing three days' worth of supplies. Chisa's knife was so clean it reflected a person's image. Zhou Yu's document bag contained a complete set of materials: an admission application, a registration form for accompanying examinees, and at the bottom, a blank complaint form.

"You even brought a complaint form?" Chisaki asked.

"It's best if we don't need it," Zhou Yu said. "But if we do need it, we definitely need it."

No one noticed when they left that a furry supervisor was missing from the softest cushion on the counter inside the shop. Bozai climbed out of the back window and followed the aroma of a bag of dou dafu (a type of Japanese tofu) at a distance from the back of the line.

The testing room was on the second floor. Dania placed her hand on the testing table, took a deep breath, and the reading began to rise.

It jumped three times. The third jump didn't stop; it shot straight out of the top of the watch. The pointer inside the glass cover bounced, the screen went black for half a second, and then a message popped up. "Equipment malfunction, invalid data, retest to be conducted on another day."

"Is it broken?" Sigelica asked.

"The instrument can't make a judgment." The operator wiped his sweat. "This reading is beyond the range. I've been doing this for eight years, and this is the first time I've seen this."

"Could we take the test again?" the clerk asked.

"It can't be measured." The operator pointed to the screen. "The measurement range is locked. To measure again, we'll have to use a different machine first."

How long will it take to replace it?

"Application, approval, goods transfer." The operator counted on his fingers, "If all goes well, a month."

"Congratulations," Zhou Yu said to Dania. "Excellent results, the equipment couldn't handle it."

The problem arose in the next step. The retest required a new appointment at the window, and the regulations for the observation period and the review period were written in two conflicting booklets. The window staff started flipping through the compilation of regulations, page by page, slower than they could read.

Forty minutes later, the clerk looked up.

"It's been investigated. The two conditions are mutually exclusive. To conduct a review, the observation period must be suspended first. If the observation period is maintained, a review cannot be scheduled."

"Then what am I?" Dania asked.

"The decision is pending."

Sigelica stared at the well-worn compilation, then suddenly whispered, "I used to think that if all the rules were followed, no one would be left behind."

"Rules are useless," Zhou Yu said. "The rules should reflect people."

The moment he finished speaking, the entire building lost power.

The darkness lasted for ten seconds. In the second second, a hand touched Zhou Yu's sleeve in the darkness. He turned his hand around and grasped the hand, enveloping it completely in his palm.

When the light came on, no one let out a sigh of relief.

Sigelica had a flashlight in her first-aid kit, but she held it up for a long time and found nothing.

The cause of the accident was quickly identified. A capybara, following the scent of soybeans, sneaked into the testing room through the fire escape. Unable to climb over the soybean cake, it bit into the main power cable. The cable burst, causing a ten-second power outage throughout the building, rendering all testing records for the day invalid.

"So what's the conclusion today?" Sigelica asked.

Chisaki finished writing on the tablet and read aloud, "Today's conclusion: the instrument determines Dania is unreadable. Note: the instrument itself is also unreliable."

When they left, Zhou Yu divided the dou dafu. He broke open the largest one and handed the thickest half of the red bean paste to Dania.

"Your portion is excessively sweet and therefore not compliant with regulations."

In the first-floor corridor, the window clerk chased after him, holding up a compensation slip.

"Who should pay for the cables?"

"Remember it." Zhou Yu pointed to Bozai.

Bozai buried its face in the side pocket of Chisaki's backpack, pretending to be asleep. Chisaki didn't make a sound about the real loss: while it was rummaging around, it chewed up a data cable, the one her dad used for connecting his coffee roaster, and there might only be one of its kind in the whole Honami. She silently noted this down in her memo, marking it with a bold date.

That night, the aftershocks returned at 5:44 AM.

The air at the entrance of the pedestrian street was torn apart, and Tacet Field lit up one after another. Chirpuff, puffing out their bodies, floated out of the fissures, crawling sideways along the ground with Snip Snap Whiff Whaff, and then swarmed through the air. In the very middle of the procession, a three-meter-tall behemoth stepped out, its body like a walking boulder, and with each step, a piece of the street paving stone shattered.

"Stonewall Bracer." Chisaki's tablet swept across the screen. "Elite Class. Original file description: Destroy all obstacles that hinder its progress."

"The file is as honest as the person themselves." Zhou Yu handed the document bag to Chisaki. "Let's proceed according to plan."

Chisa's blade flashed first on the flank. The whirlwind dart thrown by the Cruisewing was cut in two in mid-air before it even hit the ground. Sigelica's shield wall blocked the main street, and the first one to Snip Snap was slapped back into the gap by the shield. The two had worked together once in the dark in the Flower Shadow Underground Street. This time, on the main street, one blocked the edge and the other guarded the gate, their movements as fast as if they had rehearsed a hundred times.

Dania stood at the top of the steps, her eyes closed.

"Seven, in the alley on the left. Three, on the riverbank," she counted. "The biggest one, on the main street."

The reports came out one by one, from the street corner to the riverbank. Chisa's knife followed her voice; wherever the voice went, the blade flashed.

Zhou Yu pulled out a piece of paper and slapped it on the street bulletin board. It was a notice about the control of the Honami Festival parade, stamped in red, with a complete number, and dated today.

The pollution at the cognitive level dissipated. The Chirpuff immediately turned around, lined up, and circled around to the side alley. The others followed behind, Snip Snap in a line with Whiff Whaff. The line moved more neatly than children leaving school.

Only the Stonewall Bracer don't queue.

The honesty of the archives was proven true for the second time. The notice, too, was an obstacle; it bowed its head, faced the shield wall, and charged forward.

"Blind spot, three degrees," Chisaki reported the angle.

Sigelica charged forward with her shield, the shield striking the rocky chest, shaking the entire street. Two white lines were left by the soles of her shoes on the ground, and she took a half step back, but her shield didn't. The three-meter-tall behemoth was pushed off course by half a step, crashing right into the blind spot that Zhou Yu had calculated beforehand. Chisa fell from above the blind spot, delivering a fatal blow.

The Stonewall Bracer shattered into dust. The dust fell like a light snowfall.

After the battle, Dania came down the steps, clutching Zhou Yu's clothes, making several creases. Throughout the entire fight, she hadn't been able to lift a finger.

"I stood there calling out the numbers," she said. "I called out so many, my hand is sore from calling them all."

"Seventeen." Zhou Yu pried her fingers off the hem of her clothes one by one, and rubbed them. "You reported seventeen points today; that's more effective than actually taking action."

The registrar arrived overnight and was supposed to issue a ticket for illegal use of force. He checked the emergency avoidance clauses at the street corner for a long time and then issued a different ticket.

"A certificate confirming an act of bravery," he said. "I'll put it on the wall when I get back."

"Can I hang it in the store?" Dania asked.

"You can hang it anywhere," the registrar said, putting away his pen. "Just don't hang it where the tower can see it."

Zhou Yu glanced at him but didn't ask.

"That's it?" Sigelica asked.

"That's it." The registrar stamped the document neatly. "Next time, report it before using force."

Before leaving, he grabbed Zhou Yu and lowered his voice.

"Things haven't been peaceful in the tower lately. That noise you were investigating... please stop investigating, okay?"

It wasn't a threat. His hands were trembling. He was afraid.

On the way back, the fog rolled in again.

Dania turned around and glanced at the Rainbow Sound Tower shrouded in mist. There were no lights on the spire.

"Xiao Yu," she said, "It wasn't broadcast today."

"Um."

"Is it gathering its strength, wanting to say something very long?"