Chapter 25
Jiang Fei vaguely saw a strand of silk thread between the boy's fingers, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if it was just her illusion.
No one around dared to speak, as if the mute button was pressed. No one came to stop them because everyone present could see that the boy was a person with superpowers and a changeable personality. He could be smiling one second and then cut off someone's head with ease the next.
Lucian pulled Jiang Fei back from the crowd and asked, "Are you satisfied now?"
"That person is a person with superpowers." Jiang Fei recalled that the silk thread in his hand was extended from his hair, which means that he just used a hair to separate the head and body of an adult man.
"Yes, and he's a very tough psychic." Lucian cast a stealthy glance in that direction.
It was still a long time before nine in the evening, so Jiang Fei and Lucian drove the medical equipment back to the base. On the way, Jiang Fei couldn't help but wonder, "Shouldn't someone with special abilities like this be very welcome in Sky City? Does someone like this have to participate in a selection competition to enter Sky City?"
"Sky City needs powerful people, but that doesn't mean they want powerful but empty-headed fools, or people whose powerful personalities are difficult to control." The two types Lucian was talking about happened to be the two people at the market. "I guess they won't be able to pass the selection. It's not a competition that can be passed by strength alone. Even the auditions are difficult for them." A sarcastic smile appeared on his face.
Perhaps because she felt the atmosphere was too quiet, Jiang Fei turned on the radio in the transport vehicle again. It was now noon broadcast time, and the host's voice was not one Jiang Fei was familiar with.
"Welcome to the 'Interesting History Ten Minutes' channel. I will take you to learn about a historical story in ten minutes. Listen to 'Interesting History' every day and become a person who understands history." It was a male voice. The host deliberately made the voice soft, but Jiang Fei felt it was very pretentious. It was not his original voice at first glance.
"The historical story we're going to talk about today is about the first Archon of Sky City. Some listeners may think they've seen this many times in history books. To be honest, when I was in school, I was also familiar with it. Every history exam involved the first Archon. After all, she created so many miracles and left behind countless achievements.
But today, let's put all that aside and discuss her bizarre death. Some historians speculate that she died of illness, while some unofficial records say she suddenly disappeared. To this day, there's no definitive explanation in academia, but unofficial records suggest she had a premonition before her disappearance..."
The transporter's radio jammed, and the sound became intermittent. "It's as if... zila...she had known about... zila... for a long time, and even left behind... zila...a plan."
Really, it got stuck at the most crucial part. Jiang Fei patted the radio. Lucian said, "It's an old habit, but do you still believe in unofficial history?"
As a person from another world, Jiang Fei had never heard of any history, whether it was unofficial history or official history.
The radio was stuck for several minutes. When it finally came back on, the program on that channel was coming to an end. Jiang Fei sighed in frustration.
"The credibility of the history they tell is even lower than that of a cheap novel." Their transport truck had just arrived within sight of the Sky City. He looked up. The Sky City, suspended in the air, was tiny. He extended his index finger and thumb, and with a slight push, it seemed as if he could capture the Sky City. "They always use public opinion to exonerate themselves."
History itself is written by the victors, so the image of Sky City recorded in current history is also positive.
Jiang Fei asked, "What kind of person was the first governor of Sky City?"
Lucian thought for a moment. "All I know is that she was a woman, and that she indeed had distinguished achievements. But such a person died suddenly at the prime of her life."
"Was he assassinated?"
“Who knows… maybe it’s true,” Lucian said perfunctorily.
They drove back to the base, unloaded the medical equipment, and did not set off again until around eight o'clock in the evening. Jiang Fei was a little worried that this would be too conspicuous. She was nervous when she submitted the application for the two of them to go out again to Coin.
Coyne glanced at the application and brought up the meeting. "Do you think something went wrong at that meeting of directors?"
"This is just my guess, but you didn't attend the meeting that time. Did anything happen after that?" Jiang Fei's first suspicion now is the person in charge of the A-1 base. Coupled with the previous example of Joshua raising pollutants, she feels that her guess is more and more likely. After all, the A-1 base can be said to be arrogant in the North District, so it is not surprising that it wants to use pollutants to control the heads of other bases.
"That meeting was led by the head of the A-level base, aiming to promote the development of the various bases in the northern region. It wasn't a particularly important meeting, because even if you attended the same meeting, the contempt chain was still everywhere. The A-level base looked down on the bases below the B-level, and the B-level looked down on the bases below the C-level. So even if I attended, I would just be a background figure." Coin smiled. "So I am still very self-aware. So, is your current suspect the head of the A-level base?"
"It's just speculation. There's no definitive evidence yet." Jiang Fei thought, "A-1 Base was nearly blown up. If there really was a second contaminant imprisoned there, there would definitely be some noise, right? Perhaps it was another A-class base?"
Could it really be another base?
More and more doubts were in her head, so she calmed herself down first. She would only get accurate information after going to the ghost market. Coin had already approved her application to go out.
She walked out of the office and left the base side by side with Lucian. It was a little after eight o'clock in the evening and the night was pitch black. There was not a single star in the night sky. Out of caution, Jiang Fei first released the human-faced hawk moth to fly to the location of the ghost market to gather intelligence.
The ghost market had just begun around nine o'clock. As the name suggests, it was not as lively and noisy as the daytime market. The vendors setting up stalls and the buyers who came to buy things habitually whispered to each other. Jiang Fei waited for Lucian to stop the car before she opened the door and got out.
The ghost market was not very large, with only about twenty stalls in total. Most of the people who came were wearing masks, and Jiang Fei also wrapped her head tightly with a headscarf to suit the occasion. She also threw a headscarf to Lucian, who looked at the headscarf with red and green floral patterns and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Jiang Fei looked away guiltily. She just picked it up when she went out, so how could she have thought that it would be this color?
Being a little annoyed by his stare, she said, "How about you change my headscarf?"
The headscarf on her head was light pink with large roses printed on it. Fortunately, most of the people present were dressed in strange clothes, so their unusual outfit was not conspicuous.
Finally, Lucian gave in. He silently put on his red and green floral headscarf and tied it under his chin. His eyes dimmed a little as he said, "Let's go."
The two of them tiptoed into the buyer's house. The vendors were selling things not found on the market, such as wild animal claws, teeth, fur, and bones, as well as potions that looked ominous from their color. Jiang Fei stood by and listened to the stall owner explain that it was a deadly poison that only needed one milligram to kill an adult.
In addition, there were weapons stained with sporadic blood. No one knew which crime scene they were stolen from. Seeing Jiang Fei's eyes lingering on the weapons for a while, the stall owner grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and asked, "Do you need anything?"
Jiang Fei immediately shook her head. She saw another stall not far away. What caught her attention was a pair of hands preserved in a container on the stall. The wrist of the left hand had a strange pattern on it. Jiang Fei walked over to the stall and asked, "Where did this thing come from?"
"I got it from a collector. Are you interested? I can sell it to you at a discount."
The container was filled with blue-green preservative liquid, and the skin of the severed hand began to turn white after being soaked in it.
"No, I want to ask about this pattern." Jiang Fei pointed at the pattern on the inside of the severed wrist, and the latter raised an eyebrow, "Don't you know? That's the mark of being 'redeemed'."
"Redemption?" Jiang Fei couldn't connect the two together. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, the Redemption Society believes that everyone in the world should be saved, so they mark their believers with this mark, which means they have been 'saved'."
No... this doesn't sound like a normal organization at all. Thinking of the various propaganda slogans she had seen in modern society before, she almost knew what this Redemption Society was.
"What are the Redemption Society? Do you know where to find them?"
The other person showed an unfathomable smile, with his index finger placed in front of his mouth. "Shh, I can't comment on this, but it is indeed salvation for the world. This world has long been unsuitable for human survival. Sometimes death can be a kind of relief."
Jiang Fei was completely bewildered by the Riddler's true purpose. What was the Redemption Society's purpose? More importantly, the mastermind behind this organization was manipulating dangerous pollutants.
The human-faced hawk moth that had been sent out to gather intelligence not long ago happily reported the news, "Master, Master! I've found the person with this mark!"
Jiang Fei turned around and followed the direction given by the hawk moth. She saw a figure wearing a black cloak. The person's entire face was covered by the hood, with only a little bit of the side profile and the tip of the chin exposed.
[He also has this pattern on his neck!]
The other person seemed to be aware of Jiang Fei's gaze and pulled his hood down a little bit. Now she could not see his face at all. Jiang Fei winked at Lucian, indicating that he should follow her. The ghost market was obviously not big, and the figure was still a few steps away, and then disappeared directly.
"It's gone..." Jiang Fei stood there and looked at Lucian in surprise.
“Looks like I lost him,” Lucian said.
"Could this person also be a psychic?" She had already encountered two psychics in one day, and suddenly she had the illusion that psychics were everywhere in this world.
"What are you thinking? He's probably hiding somewhere," Lucian said. "Do you think all espers are bought wholesale?"
However, according to the information from the hawk moth, it can no longer sense the other person's existence, which means that this person has really disappeared from here.
In the end, the problem with the pattern was still not solved, and the clue that was finally found was lost. Jiang Fei felt a little frustrated, which also made her certain that there would be some problems with the so-called redemption.
Jiang Fei walked to the stall where the man had stopped and asked, "What did the man in the cloak in front say to you?"
The stall sold poisons, drugs, and animal teeth or skulls. The stall owner, who looked like a stereotypical witch, chuckled. "He wanted to buy poison and drugs from me. I told him I could give him two more fangs if he bought more."
"Did you see what that person looked like?"
“I didn’t see that clearly.”
Jiang Fei stayed in the Ghost Market for a while. It was almost ten o'clock in the evening before she and Lucian left the Ghost Market. In the car, she reviewed the information she had collected that day. There was no doubt that the pattern represented the Redemption Society. Everyone who joined would have a pattern on their body, not necessarily on the neck, but also on the wrist. The Redemption Society's ostensible banner was to save the world, but it was hard to say what its real purpose was.
"The existence of the Redemption Society, if it really wants to save the world, then it will inevitably conflict with Sky City." Jiang Fei glanced at the only light source in the night sky, Sky City.
"Yes, because the Sky City doesn't want the people in the Underground City to be saved." Or rather, they don't regard the people in the Underground City as human beings at all.
"So if there's any activity in Sky City, the Redemption Society should also take action, right?" Jiang Fei's train of thought suddenly became clear. She looked at Lucian excitedly, "I know why he bought the poison and why he had to hide it from everyone!"
Lucian also guessed the answer. "Because the trials are about to begin, messing up this trial will damage the dignity of Sky City."
In this world, Sky City has always been an existence of absolute power and absolute authority. But what if this authority is challenged? What if the challenge is successful?
Jiang Fei was certain, "Their goal is the trials."
"In that case, I'm actually looking forward to it." Lucian narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'm looking forward to the day when Sky City will be challenged."
Jiang Fei looked out the window and said, "Perhaps the elephant has not realized how powerful the ant is."
Meanwhile, in Sky City, in a spacious lounge, the air was filled with the sweet aroma of desserts. The room's owner, the young noble who had pushed for the early start of the trials, was reclining on a recliner, his laptop lit up, and he was on a call. "The winner of the trials must be good-looking. I don't like ugly people, and they must also have a good temper."
As he spoke, he reached out and touched the heterochromic white cat beside him. The cat rubbed its head against his palm obediently. "Hmm... just as obedient as my pet cat."
On the other end of the call was the person in charge and planner of the selection tournament. Hearing the young master's words, they exchanged a look of frustration. The person in charge spoke up, "The selection tournament aims to select the best from the dungeon. The champion must be both highly skilled and intelligent. This has been the selection criteria since the start of the competition."
What this means is, save your energy, young master. This is about choosing a champion, not a pet cat. Where can you find a champion who is good-looking, well-behaved, and has high fighting power?
The noble young master was just like every unreasonable Party A, "I don't care, I just want this kind of championship, do you hear me?"
The planner twitched his lips and shook his head at the general manager, who then persuaded him, "But..."
"No buts. Is it my birthday or yours?!" After saying this, the noble young master ended the call.
The planner asked the general manager, "What should we do now?"
The general manager said with a bitter expression, "Then we can only do as he asks." After all, this young master's parents were both powerful figures in Sky City. And they were just ordinary workers. They couldn't afford to offend them. They couldn't afford to offend them at all.
"Then... let each base nominate a good-looking candidate to participate in the competition. Add in other voluntary contestants, and there will always be someone he wants." The planner suggested cautiously.
"Well, it seems this is the only way for now."
*
After Jiang Fei returned to the base, she wrote down all the existing clues. She trained as usual in the base for the next few days, until noon that day, when she went to have lunch with Gru and heard him mention the guests who would be coming today.
"The ones coming... seem to be the captain of D-2 base and her subordinates." Gru ate too fast and almost choked. He took a big gulp of water and finally felt better.
Because they were both D-class bases, Jiang Fei had previously specifically learned about the D-1 and D-2 bases. The captain of the D-2 base was a petite girl with short hair and bangs. Her facial features were delicate, but her expression was always cold, which easily reminded people of an exquisite doll.
In the afternoon meeting, Jiang Fei also met the captain as expected. When she stood next to Anna, she was a head shorter than Anna, but her whole temperament was full of awe and could not be underestimated.
"This is the captain of D-2 Base, Unica," Anna introduced. "And this is her subordinate, Norton."
Norton is nearly 1.9 meters tall and has a sturdy build comparable to Gru. His body shape is in stark contrast to Unica.
After sitting down, Yunica still held her back straight, her posture as elegant as that of a noble lady. She said to Coin, "I want to say hello to you on behalf of the person in charge."
Coyne nodded. "Your person in charge has already sent me a message in advance about the candidates for this round of trials..."
Jiang Fei was a little confused. Wasn't participation in every selection voluntary? This didn't seem to have anything to do with them, right?
"Ms. Coyne, I remember the tryouts were all voluntary," she asked.
"This happened a bit suddenly. I only got the news last night. Each base must select one contestant to participate in this year's selection. This is a hard requirement." Coin was also a little helpless. "And the requirements are good looks and a gentle and well-behaved personality."
Jiang Fei was filled with questions. Was this a championship selection or a concubine selection?
She muttered softly, "Isn't this really a selection of concubines?"
"No, family background is also considered when choosing a concubine. Basically, only people from Sky City are eligible. So, it's really more like... choosing a pet," Lucian said. "I want a pet that's cute and well-behaved, but not too weak. Ideally, it should have some skills to please its owner. With such a pet, I can show off to other nobles, 'Look, my pet is amazing, isn't it?'"
"Do we need to take every base?" Anna frowned. "Or do we need to find someone to fill in the gaps and then just forfeit once the game starts?"
"No, they've already thought of this. If the person you submit isn't qualified, they'll conduct a thorough investigation of the entire base. You can't just give up after the competition begins." Coin's expression was rarely so serious. "That would implicate the entire base."
"So I can only be forced to participate in the competition and then fight with others?" Jiang Fei couldn't understand this rule.
"No, we're just here today to discuss a temporary alliance," Yunica suddenly said. "One of the rules of the trials is that if a contestant is seriously injured and loses the ability to move, they will automatically be disqualified."
Jiang Fei asked, "Are you planning to form an alliance and then pretend to be incapacitated?"
"That's right, but this requires mutual trust, because it's not impossible to use this opportunity to kill the captain of the other base."
Trust was a prerequisite, but there was one more thing to confirm: who would be the player nominated by their base? Jiang Fei glanced around at everyone present. Could it be Anna? Or Gru? No, Gru's personality wasn't gentle or well-behaved at all. Could it be...? Her eyes fell on Lucian.
The latter raised his eyes, as if seeing through her heart, "Yes, you guessed it right, the player from our base is me."
“When was this decided?”
Lucian acted as if he was not the person involved, and said in a nonchalant tone, "I volunteered not long ago. Anna is the captain and can't take the risk. You are an important answerer. As for Gru, do you think he looks gentle and well-behaved? So... I'll do it in the end. After all, I'm very confident about my face." As he spoke, he tried to reveal a gentle smile, which was different from his usual sarcasm, which made Jiang Fei inexplicably sad.
Does anyone really make such light talk about self-sacrifice?
"What's that look on your face? You look like you're being bullied," Lucian said. "If I could just agree with Unica that I'd lie down as soon as the match started and then come back safely, wouldn't that be the end of it?"
But the truth is far from as simple as he said. First of all, the positions of the players are randomly distributed after the game starts, which means that Lucian cannot be sure that he will meet Unica at the beginning.
If they encounter other contestants, even if they have lost their ability to move, they will kill them directly to prevent future troubles.
Lucian suppressed his smile. "Maybe I've caught your shrewdness. I used to be pretty smart, too."
Jiang Fei couldn't laugh, "I really can't see that."
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