"It's snowing in Keminting Town...? What the hell? The weather's been so weird lately." Nixon's colleague waved the newspaper. "The Environmental Protection Organization and the Ministry of Health will definitely come to us again to inquire about any illegal emissions from large factories."
Nixon Evelyn fiddled with his cigarette case while reading an article analyzing the Zerg's official manifesto. "That part wasn't my responsibility."
"I know, I was just saying it casually." A colleague walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "Have you been under too much pressure lately? Garcia called me a couple of days ago and asked me to stop smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. 'I don't want the first thing I do after being transferred back to the capital from Porto Alpre Hospital to be looking at an old friend's rotting lungs,' that's what the doctor said."
"Nosy," Nixon complained. "He's the only one who needs maintenance, and I'm not even thirty yet."
"So, how about going on a trip to relax?" A colleague pushed a flyer in front of him. "Kemingting Town, peak tourist season, discounts starting at 20% off."
"You just want to see snow in the middle of summer, right?"
"Hahahaha, it's really rare after all!" My colleague rubbed his hands excitedly. "Eating ice cream while watching the snow in the middle of summer is a pleasure that you can't enjoy normally!"
"...Never mind. Whatever. This barely counts as a major news item for the short term, so just keep an eye on it." Nixon closed the pile of notebooks on the table one by one. "But seasonal anomalies are no small matter. If you encounter a natural or man-made disaster, don't complain."
"Okay, I get it, Dad Nixon! Wait a minute, I suddenly remembered that Richard Torum is also in Keminting Town, right?"
Nixon paused in his efforts to clear the table. After a moment, he pursed his lips and gave a slightly twisted sneer. "Really? Seeing this old friend who hasn't been out for so long might be a pleasant experience."
**
"Mr. Richard Torum—welcome to Keminting Town!" The manager, sporting a jet-black beard, walked out the gate and gave the visitor a warm, muscular hug. "It's been a long time since you've been here on vacation. What's going on? Has the supervision been strict lately?"
Richard Tolrum, a thin, shriveled man with brown eyes and brown hair, smiled awkwardly and said, "You know, I've been a little busy lately."
The bearded administrator gave a subtle smile and feigned surprise, "Is it because of your heroic act in exposing Marshal Igor Sullivan—sorry, the currently wanted fugitive Sullivan? You should be rewarded handsomely. Mr. Richard, you should be happy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for promotion."
Richard couldn't smile. His worried expression returned, and he nodded. "Thank you, but I'm not here for vacation. I wanted to ask about that child... Kunna. How is she doing now?"
"Kuna? This is the first time I've heard you mention her name. Let me look through the records." The administrator opened the file on his mobile terminal. A photo of a girl about sixteen or seventeen appeared on it. She had dark blond shoulder-length hair and a beautiful face, but her eyes were tightly closed. "Kuna, life hasn't been easy for her lately, has it? Without pheromones, you could say she's a Beta, but you can't hide those eyes."
"She was originally an orphan, and the only gravekeeper willing to adopt her recently passed away. She fought with her classmates at school during the day, had no friends or family, and relied on working in bars and guarding cemeteries at night to support herself, but she was unwilling to do those dirty jobs..."
Richard fidgeted uncomfortably, pulled an envelope from his office bag, and handed it over. "Half of the star coins in here are yours, and half are hers."
The administrator narrowed his eyes and looked at him. "No way, why did you suddenly remember to take care of Kunna? Seventeen years have passed... Haven't you never acknowledged her as your daughter? Are you suddenly regretting it now that you see this human-like appearance?"
"It's none of your business," Richard said stiffly. "Besides, aren't you the businessman? Shouldn't the tragedy of these half-human, half-insect children be blamed on you?"
The administrator threw back his head and laughed heartily. "You're really joking, Mr. Richard. I'm just catering to the market. Without buyers like you who are willing to spend lavishly, no matter how ingenious I am, I wouldn't be able to expand this business to its current size."
Richard wanted to say something else, but suddenly he looked out the window and said in a daze, "It's snowing."
"What are you talking about? It's August now, dear Mr. Richard..." The administrator suddenly stopped talking and stared blankly at the heavy snow falling outside the door and windows, just like Richard. "...Shit." He cursed and changed his words, "Oh my God, am I dreaming?"
Richard rushed over, flung aside the curtains and opened the window. A howling cold wind lashed his face, carrying with it the lingering heat of summer. Snowflakes landed on the windowsill, quickly melting into shimmering droplets. Then, more and more polygonal crystals drifted down from the dark gray clouds, one after another, huddled together. It was foreseeable that if these snowflakes continued to grow, it wouldn't be long before Keminting Town was completely covered, transforming it into a pure, silvery world.
"Oh my God..." At this moment, the same exclamation from different people was heard all over the town.
"Fuck." Kunna must be the one who is different.
"Who are you?" She closed her eyes, shovel in hand, and looked up and down at Hugo and Erica suspiciously. "The elementary school isn't over yet, is it?"
"So you can see? Is this a racial gift?" Hugo looked up at her. "Besides, I had no intention of coming over here. Didn't you just greet me through the camera and ask me to come over?"
"Well, that was you," Kunna shrugged, not asking how Hugo managed to control the school's security cameras. "I thought it was a security guard. What a bummer... Ah, choke!" She shivered and rubbed her exposed arms. "What the hell is this weather? The temperature has dropped by almost ten degrees, hasn't it?!"
"7.65 degrees Celsius to be exact," Hugo replied.
Erica poked Hugo and signaled with her eyes: Was it done by God?
Hugo looked back affirmatively: It must be Azathoth, I can't think of anyone else who would be so boring except him.
It actually suspected Azathoth might have some Frozen-like sentimentality; otherwise, why would he choose a deserted planet covered in snow and ice to slumber? Sweaty in a cloak in temperatures over 30 degrees in Port Alpre must be quite bothersome... While it's unknown whether the tentacle monsters actually have sweat glands, Azathoth's fondness for snowy scenes is evident in this heavy snowfall.
If Azathoth knew its thoughts, he would definitely point out the mistakes in it rigorously: I am not interested in the snow scene, but the humans falling from the sky in the snow.
"Why are you all suddenly silent?" Kuna asked. "Are you scared by me? I'm so sorry, I actually wanted to scare the idiot behind the surveillance camera."
"What did they do to you?"
"Why are you asking so many questions, little brat?" Kunna shouldered the shovel and turned to leave. "That Omega next to you is your sister, right? Aren't you afraid of hurting her innocent heart by talking too much?"
Erica said obediently, "Actually, I came from Port Alple."
Kunna paused, took a deep breath, turned around, half-knelt down, and asked seriously, "So, is there really an evil god in Port Yarple?"
Erica's eyes wandered: "...that..."
"No," Hugo said, "Be a mature adult. I think our mental endurance and knowledge are much greater than yours."
"You're right." Kunna actually nodded in agreement. She didn't know what kind of devilish city her impression of Port Yarple was. "Since you're an Omega from Port Yarple, you shouldn't burst into tears just because you hear something provocative, right?"
"In short, it's that old, unsatisfied Beta guy in the security office. His perverted desires couldn't be vented, so they gradually became twisted. Every time I got into a fight with those brats, he would report to the teachers and the principal that I was the first to start it."
"Ah," Erica asked sympathetically, "Why is he so unreasonable?"
"Yeah, why?" Kunna said in a deep voice, "On the one hand, it might be because I was the one who started the fight."
“…”
"On the other hand, perhaps it's because I'm a hybrid of human and insect. Although my household registration is now in the Federation, it's quite normal for pure-blooded humans to dislike the existence of people like us."
Hugo showed a complicated and shocked expression.
This wasn't the first time Kunna had spoken of her ancestry to a stranger. She nonchalantly replied, "Are you scared again? This is a local specialty of Keminting Town, but for various reasons, you rarely see reports about it on the Star Network. Think of it this way: just like watching monkeys at a circus. You might not see them anywhere else..."
"No," Hugo murmured, "No, I just never thought about it."
"——Humans and Zerg don't have reproductive isolation?! This is unscientific!"
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