In a building not far from the Special Defense Command Headquarters, elites from various barracks of different cities in Haven Resk have already gathered.
Several conference rooms are holding task assignment meetings simultaneously.
The new liaison officer next to the General walked with her gaze leveled, stepping past doors that were either half-open or tightly shut. She passed by a completely open doorway and collided with a warrior who spoke with a rural Tschei-Bin isle accent.
“My apologies, Ma’am. “
“It’s you all who have worked hard, ” Lieutenant Lindana said in a clear voice.
Then she watched the male warrior from the seaside hurry to straighten his uniform and rush inside. The operator by the wall had just put down the phone; looking up, he met her eyes. The female adjutant thought for a moment, stepped into the room, and, amidst a group of only three or four female soldiers in dark uniforms, looked for an empty stool behind the men, dragged it over, sat down, and began to listen in.
At the head of the large conference table, a man in a green military uniform spoke amid the murmurs of the crowd:
“Through communication with Steffin and various departments back home, we have a high degree of certainty that the one who was ‘discovered’ this time is still the same one whose path was obscured— “
“Or, perhaps, the onesalvagedfor today, ” interrupted a handsome, spirited officer at the meeting.
“You are correct, Sir. “
The man picked up a thin wooden rod at hand and pointed toward the city map on a small blackboard nearby.
“Anyway, this kind of miraculous power, I think, is linked to certain events in our history that had some signs but for which we could find no specific items—unspeakable, hard-to-describe incidents. “
The rattan rod tapped and then withdrew from an area in the city’s northwest.
“The so-called unspeakable events may simply have been … modified. Hmm… The Blue Glass Lamp… the ‘key’ to that event serves as the ‘key’ to this. “
Amid the low, buzzing murmurs, the man in a muddy-yellow coat and brown attire, bearing a small scar on his face, walked over to his seat by the table.
This man a the soldier, wearing grass-green uniform, saluted the officer and returned to his own seat.
The man who now stood by the table said grimly:
“I am Major General Lior from the General’s office. The enemy has been pushed so far that they are exposing even their hidden members, launching this operation on a large scale. We must absolutely crush their plans from the very beginning. So in this assembly, let’s divvy up our patrolling tasks for this area. “
Amidst a light haze of smoke and dust, some of those reading the files looked up.
“Captain Swain.“
“Here.“
“You are responsible for patrolling the two streets in the East District. Confiscate the equipment of anyone still using telescopes at this moment. Try to avoid conflict with them.“
“Yes, sir!” The man stood up, then sat back down.
“Captain Rahul Hrush.“
“Here.” A chair’s legs gave a creak, and another Warrior turned sideways, looking over as he stood up.
“You’re in charge of patrol support near West City Street. There’s already a team over there. We’ve received a report that members of the Octagon Chamber of Commerce on bicycles are there, looking for people to help find someone…“
A rapid rustling of footsteps came from the hallway outside the door, quickly moving across toward the staircase.
“Wei Yi.“
“Yes.” A woman stood up.
Lindana also stood up with a light puff of cigarette smoke, straightened her clothes, and walked out. From behind came the man’s instructions.
“Later, a troupe performing the ‘Liuli Zhan’ show will head to a gathering spot in the southern area. You and your men from Tal Kor will be responsible for protecting their nighttime performance.“
The combat briefs from the meeting rooms were rapidly disseminated downwards.
Having ascertained that the general situation in all the meeting rooms had not deviated, Lindana internally breathed another sigh of relief that yet another matter had passed smoothly.
Though it felt like there were countless more waiting in their wake.
A small squad of Warriors ran past her, hopping into open-top, four-wheel-drive military jeeps in the yard.
“Madam Liaison Officer, would you like to come along to the office? I happen to be heading to the General’s place. ” A colonel asked.
“Have you already completed your mission? “
“Not really. But since some of my subordinates were seconded to World Ark headquarters, I was assigned to notify the repair team and inspect the broken broadcast lines around the city. “
“Then you should not be heading to the General’s office. “
Lindana turned around, her face solemn as she stared at the male officer:
“The broadcast is extremely important. This is the real core of our operation tonight. You must go to the front line and instruct the employees in each factory area to carry out this work well. This is related to dealing with enemies who attempt to guide the end of the world. “
“Uh. ” The male officer glanced at the back of the woman walking out of the courtyard, helplessly shrugging his shoulders.
Inside Talkol District.
Candle flames flickered, and the rhythmic sound of chopping meat could be heard continuously from the bar counter.
The people gathered here had just noisily finished a meal when another batch of tired folks wearing power plant uniforms entered through the old double-leafed wooden door.
“Ah. Finally it’s our turn to have a small drink. “
“The wind is too strong, it suddenly started blowing. “
“It’s really worrying. Without a campfire, what if the demons come find us from underground? “
“That’s why we need to drink, to raise our body temperature a bit. “
A person sitting nearby on a tall wooden stool said. He took out an old flat cloth cap hidden in his clothes, shook it off, put it back on his head, raised his gaunt face, his eyes gleaming intently as he awaited the worker distributing wine at another table. This batch of wine seemed to have just been transported by truck.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open. A second lieutenant holding a black iron bell, wearing long black boots that covered his trouser legs, entered from the doorway and shook the iron bell.
The personnel who hadn’t yet fully sat down, along with those lumber yard workers who had risen from their seats while speaking, all looked towards this forty-something-year-old second lieutenant.
“Sorry, gentlemen. It’s time for work. Even if the wind picks up a bit more today, we have to ensure the line is stable. “
An uproar immediately broke out.
“Don’t complain. Look at today’s situation. The gale and the enemies destroying our lines are teaming up to obstruct our electric lights and communications. Come on, just leave the drinks. “
“Ugh… ” Came a chorus of sighs.
The workers, whose backsides had barely warmed their seats, picked up their clothes again, turned, and rose from the wooden benches with slouched shoulders. They either stared straight ahead with glaring eyes or talked to one another while converging at the entrance, squinting as they stepped into the wind, each under the scrutinizing gaze of the sharp-featured second lieutenant.
……
Hodges of the Talko Grand Theatre, quite pleased with himself, led the troupe, including the two actresses he had invited back that morning—who had run through the whole repertoire all day but didn’t know what they were doing—into a welcomed special van, sailing through the wind, to perform near the World Ark headquarters.
Facing these oddly shaped boxes called film cameras, ranging high and low, they appeared both excited and moved, alongside a feeling of honor.
“Are we going to perform for the heroes who guarded Talko last night? “
“I’ve heard there’s incredible magic that happened here several times today. “
Hodges, sitting in the front, listened to the soft murmurs of the ladies in costume behind him.
Now another troupe was performing. It was a bit strange, seemingly an alternate version of the Glazed Lamp story.
As the play began, he thought eagerly, his heart suppressed with urgency,the world’s crisis should almost be over by now, right?
Inside the spacious civilian house, where some walls had been temporarily dismantled leaving only pillars, he felt both anxious and immensely relieved.
All of this was exchanged for receiving several gentlemen who came to investigate the story in the morning, with full dedication.
……
Many similar performances were taking place everywhere.
And countless figures, for various reasons, walked out of their homes, either dispersing or gathering, to go where they needed to be.
Flames devoured the forest; the people, unable to start aCampfire, lined up and marched out of the city under command.
……
“Has it not been observed yet? “
“Those ballet stories have been playing for at least an hour and a half. Could it be that they… “
“Forget about that. ” In the room, Liya, dressed in a robe, paced with her head bowed in deep thought.
She sighed in a low voice, “It’s because too few people remember the president. “
Among the other three in the room, the Vice President of theOctagon Chamber of Commercepondered solemnly, “Yes. He is someone no one can stop. But we still can’t find the point where that ‘key’ will emerge. “
“Haven’t theWarriorsarrived yet? ” she asked.
“They… should be almost here, ” someone answered uncertainly.
Liya looked up, gazing out the window at the swaying shadows of trees in the gusting wind.
“I’ll just have to add some spice. “
……
In the pitch-black night, the sudden howling gale continued unabated. Yet it had already maintained this speed for several dozens of minutes.
People had no idea if it would grow stronger, nor when it might subside.
However, the sense of despair this storm brought to the masses did not diminish simply because it ceased to grow colder. Instead, it was like a razor blade skirting the city’s edge, ready at any moment to transform into a sweeping black scythe.
Thump! A dark shadow at the corner of the wall fell to the ground with the sound.
The man in the yellow-striped robe, who was knotting the rope in his hands, turned his head back with a stern face.
“Are you called Marko?! “
The other two leaped down from the wall and rushed toward the young man in his twenties with curly hair who had struck the shadow. One of them raised a gun at him.
The swirling tree shadow suddenly slowed somewhat amidst a vast, oppressive atmosphere.
Two more punches rang out. The young man with curly hair, having knocked out the two people on the ground—who were dressed in black “Vincierke” military uniforms and curled up like shrimp—one punch each, ran over.
The swirling elemental yuan aura on the man in yellow stripes retracted back into his body.
“Sir, this is the last tracker. I’ve dealt with him. However, they know your name? “
“That’s not my real name. It’s fine. “
The man didn’t respond, turned back, dropped the rope in his hands, and said to the person huddled over, refueling something before the vague apparition in front of them within the darkness: “Let’s begin. “
“Yes. “
The flame whooshed up, illuminating a hot air balloon-shaped aircraft in the darkness at the street corner. Its basket was a rectangular, box-like cabin.
“I’m going to pick up President Yangliner. You go and inform Ms. Liya and the rest. “
“Yes, sir. “
“Marko, ” dressed in a yellow robe, began boarding the aircraft and ascended diagonally into the sky against the wind.
The curly-haired man approached the two at the entrance of the street and looked up into the dark night sky.
“Will Marko succeed? “
One of the men who had brought the aircraft stared at him coldly and said, “After searching for so long, someone must have spotted him by now. “
Although slightly puzzled, the curly-haired man nodded gently, turned, and ran off into the darkness on the other end. The other two swiftly dispersed as well.
As he rose to a low altitude, the windborne “Marko ” peered down at a stretch of dark woodland. He tugged at a piece of cloth burning beneath the balloon above the flame, let go, and jumped, plummeting headfirst into the darkness.
After he jumped, the hot air balloon, which had been soaked in a special chemical solution, was soon ignited by the burning cloth strip it had kindled. It drifted higher, blazing fiercely in the wind.
All across the city, the mobilized teams, peering through telescopes at the pitch-black sky in search of someone named President Yangliner, were growing increasingly irritated and frustrated with each passing moment.
On a balcony bathed in the sparse moonlight, a man in his thirties standing beside a woman lowered his telescope and scratched his neck.
Suddenly, he shouted, “My God, I see it! “
The woman immediately turned, bringing her telescope to bear on the spot the man had pointed to.
Inside the circular lens, a tiny point of faint light was tilting and drifting upward in the wind.
“Oh my god, ” the woman said, lowering her telescope and looking with her naked eyes. There was nothing but darkness.
She glanced excitedly at the folded paper in her hand, which was almost impossible to open in the wind.
Finally, she gave up and picked up the telescope again, scanning the sky, but this time it took her a long time to find the light, now smaller and higher.
“I think we found him. That chairman, Yangliner, hasn’t gotten lost. This telescope is mine now. “
The burning hot air balloon, carrying its wicker basket, climbed higher and higher, burning larger and larger.
Within a few minutes, as several planes roared closer in desperate pursuit, it lost its lift, tilted, and plunged downward.
The wicker basket hit the ground from the darkness of the high altitude, shattering into pieces while the ashes of the burned-out embers in the ropes scattered with the wind.
At that moment, Liya, hearing the report of this matter from inside the house, indicated her understanding and motioned for the reporter to leave.
She walked back into the room and spoke to the three people there: one from the Octagon Chamber of Commerce, one a labor yard representative, and a third man with parched skin.
“The searchlight has been lit. “
……
At the city’s edge, in front of a large gathering area for refugees, several cut metal drums were propped up against large rocks, placed on the sheltered side of a building.
A temporarily formed troupe was performing.
Because very few people could remember the details, the ones chosen this time were a performing team made up of several young women. Even the roles of the court ministers were played by women with curled false mustaches drawn in ink.
Right as they were performing.
Outside the venue, two bright-eyed young men were led by a person wearing a gray plaid coat to a thin man who was using a telescope to scan the sky from inside a small alley.
The thin man had his shoulder tapped by the person in the gray coat. “Give us the telescope. “
“I’ve already seen what you described. “
Then, the thin man watched as this person snatched the telescope from his hands and handed it to the man with a broad forehead, who stood closer among the two. “Do you know how to use it? “
The man took the telescope, looked at the materials it was made from inside, and said, “This is truly a treasure. “
With that, he pulled the telescope apart, raised it to his eyes, and looked toward the sky.
Seeing his movement, the man in the gray coat pointed to the sky on another side and handed an ordinary lookout telescope to the thin man with a deeper gaze.
They began to observe the sky.
The man in the gray coat said in a deep voice, “From now on, you are the captain’s observers. “
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