It was a rainy night devoid of stars, cold raindrops streaming through the holographic advertisements, flowing into the city’s deep crevices. On the lower streets, throngs of hovercraft zipped by, and pedestrians hurried along with transparent umbrellas, their expressions hurried. The puddles on the ground reflected the myriad of neon lights like mercury mirrors.
Soon, a boot stomped down, shattering this iridescent reflection. It belonged to a member of the Holy Order clad in a white robe, wearing a sealed, fully reflective helmet. The body beneath the robes seemed mechanical, marked by gears and seams.
In hand, he wielded a black staff and approached an entrance of The Hive, beginning to knock on the door of the nearest residence.
The loud banging lasted for quite some time, but the occupants inside never opened the door. The member of the Holy Order paused, and the staff in his hand emitted a glow. He aimed it at the door, and with a thundering impact, an invisible pulse blasted the iron door off its hinges, twisting it as it fell into the interior.
Inside, the residents cried out in panic: “What are you doing?! This is my home! Do you have a search warrant?”
“The Holy Order is conducting an inspection; no warrant is required,” the White Robed member coldly replied. The next moment, several police officers charged in from outside, beginning to comb through the interior.
After a while, he confirmed the identity of the householder: “Not our target, but you do have a record—you’re a fugitive. Come along quietly.”
Soon, the homeowner was dragged away by the officers. The White Robed member nodded slightly and continued to search house by house, forcefully entering if the occupants were absent or pretended not to be home, conducting violent searches.
This process swiftly progressed until he reached a ground floor in a certain corner. However, unexpectedly, this house was not fully closed; it stood ajar.
The White Robed member stepped inside, rummaging through all possible hiding spots. Any locked cabinets he encountered were smashed to pieces until the interior had been turned into a wreck. Finally satisfied that no one else was present and no information remained, he turned and left.……
“Wow, there are so many people here,” a disguised Lianna remarked as she cradled the sleeping Zero in her arms, standing in a dim underground tunnel.
Yvette nodded, glancing over at the dim yellow overhead lights, which illuminated a mass of people. As a hidden refuge in the Firth River slums, The Hive had its share of local secrets, including this underground corridor that connected to the sewer, which was excavated long ago.
Due to the increasing pressure from the New Eden Government, the Holy Spirit Sect’s search for the two experimental subjects had become increasingly aggressive, to the point of sending the Holy Order and police to conduct violent searches. Yvette’s main goal was to drag out this situation; after all, President John had made a discreet agreement with the Pope, allowing the possibility of finding her. With around ten days remaining in the curfew, if she could just last that long, she could move Zero and Lianna to another city.
Yvette instructed, “If anything happens, I’ll draw their attention while you both move to the designated safe location.”
This was a contingency plan she had arranged with Lianna and Firefly. Firefly had mapped out the city and sewer system to pinpoint several suitable hiding places. Should their location be compromised, Yvette would create a diversion on the surface, drawing the attention of significant figures like the Soulfire High Priest, while Lianna and Firefly would take Zero through the sewer to change hiding spots.
Once it was confirmed safe, Yvette planned to figure out a way to escape on her own and regroup with them.
“It’s too dangerous; let’s run together, sister,” Lianna said, worried.
“I’ll be fine. The focus is on whether you two can escape.” Yvette smiled as she ruffled Lianna’s hair.
If she wanted to leave, she could directly break through the front lines; no army or Holy Order could block her.
Moreover, the federal president would pressurize Rusted Bone and the Holy Spirit Sect while reaching an agreement with the Pope ostensibly to “rescue national hero Nameless.” If she headed straight for the borders, she would immediately gain protection from the New Eden Government.
Her reason for being here was singular: to ensure that Lianna and Zero could escape safely.
As for any notions of observation or non-interference—she could easily discard the delusion that things would unravel just as they were at this point.
“Plans never keep up with changes!” she thought.
“Sister…” Lianna said, touched as she stood on her tiptoes, nudging her head affectionately against Yvette’s chin.
Yvette chuckled and lowered her head, but as she did, she noticed Zero, who had suddenly raised her head from Lianna’s arms. With dark red eyes devoid of vitality, she stared at Yvette, reminiscent of a zombie stirring from a coffin.
Lianna reacted quickly, raising her hand to cover Zero’s eyes, giving Yvette a reassuring glance.
Indeed, within a few seconds of maintaining that state, Zero slowly lowered her head and fell back into slumber.
……
Time passed, whether it was a few hours or more, and while the people in the basement lay unbothered in the dirt, someone finally entered the space from outside, announcing that the Holy Order had completed their inspection and left, and everyone was safe.
In orderly fashion, they returned to the surface, where daylight had broken—whether it was seven or eight o’clock, it did not matter. Shortly after, loud complaints erupted from various rented houses in The Hive as many discovered their homes had been ransacked, leaving a mess in their wake.
“The cult is truly terrifying,” Firefly remarked.
For even a wise AI to express such sentiments only confirmed the gravity of the situation. Yvette thought as she joined the rest in tidying up the disheveled room.
Admittedly, Lianna proved to be an exceptionally competent child, quickly restoring most areas to order, her dexterity far surpassing that of Firefly—not to mention Yvette, the perennial slacker.
Given they were both blonde little girls, sometimes Yvette couldn’t help but have visions while watching Lianna’s figure from behind.
“Lianna,” she suddenly called out.
“Huh? What’s wrong, sister?” Lianna looked back with her beautiful, big eyes, still busy putting things that had fallen from a cabinet back in order.
“Do you want to learn magic?” Yvette asked.
“She doesn’t want to,” a voice interjected from the side. Yvette turned to see Zero, who had been thrown onto the sofa, suddenly awake, and smiling at her.
What are you talking about? Yvette shot her a glance, only to hear Lianna shyly say, “Um… it’s too hard, sister… I can’t learn…”
“You’ve tried?” Yvette asked in surprise.
“Ivy taught me… but there are just too many symbols; I can’t memorize them…” Lianna’s face twisted in struggle.
Clearly, there was a difference between blonde girls; Yvette nodded gently, “Alright, I understand.”
But soon another thought struck her, and she turned to Zero: “Where did you learn your magic?”
She remembered that the Abyss Base did not teach such knowledge to orphans who participated in the Transcendence Project, nor was there any rationale for doing so. They had escaped from the Abyss Base two years prior; given the time spent evading and moving through various cities from Ish Island to the mainland and finally reaching New Eden, how had Zero encountered such high-threshold rune knowledge?
“Call me sister, and I’ll tell you,” Zero teased, looking at her.
Such a rude comment left Yvette speechless, but before she could respond, Lianna, visibly upset, piped up: “Yvette, how can you say that to your sister?”
Zero closed her eyes and feigned sleep.
“Pretending to sleep won’t work!” Lianna walked over and pinched her soft cheeks, tugging them with persistence, but Zero remained firmly in her act, and with no inclination to do anything too extreme, Lianna reluctantly gave up.
“She really wasn’t like this before,” Lianna said, glancing at Yvette, embarrassed as though she felt responsible for leading her sister astray.
“I know; she just seems to have a particular fixation on me,” Yvette replied with a mild nod.
“Why would that be?” Firefly curious, added, “Sister, do you think Zero is blaming you for not saving her before and is harboring resentment? I read a detective story recently where the protagonist’s grievances spiraled out of control, ultimately leading to a murder case because of lingering feelings of abandonment by family.”
“Ah~” Lianna displayed a frightened expression.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out,” Yvette mused, stroking her chin.
“It’s not that reason.” Upon listening to the three of them discuss her so openly, Zero finally stopped pretending.
She opened her eyes and shot Firefly a glare. Only after Firefly’s screen displayed a fearful expression did she turn to Yvette with a cold smile, asking: “If I told you that as long as you consume me, you could know everything and acquire everything, would you do so?”
Suddenly, the air grew quiet, and both Lianna and Firefly were left stunned, staring at Zero, unsure of what she was saying.
Yvette, however, quickly grasped the implication, her expression turning icy: “You want to eat me?”
She had no intention of consuming Zero herself; such a thought never crossed her mind. Thus, this had to be Zero projecting her own reasons onto others.
If this hypothesis were accurate, then her behavior could indeed be explained—if she perceived someone’s position merely as that of a food source, she would naturally be reluctant to foster a good relationship, lest any fondness prevent her from taking that action.
In fact, from Zero’s perspective, such suspicions might still exist; she might very well believe that Yvette harbored similar malicious intentions and had approached them for that reason.
But surprisingly, Zero shook her head and smiled, “Not at all; I’m merely reminding you.”
After saying that, she closed her eyes and leaned back into Lianna’s embrace, peacefully drifting back into sleep.