Attack

The Empire Building Economic Zone was the most prosperous area in the entire Empire.

Located near the center of power and the prestigious century-old St. Alice Academy, countless high-end shops competed here.

It could be said that if a shop sign were to fall, nine out of the ten people it hit would be millionaires, and the last one would be a multimillionaire.

Every year, countless people yearned to become a part of this place, wanting to take a gamble here—either have it all or lose it all.

Of course, the security here was also the tightest. Even if many people had bounties of millions on their heads, as long as they were willing to pay, they could hire the best teams to protect themselves.

Generally speaking, the daytime here was beautiful and peaceful.

BANG!!

“Stop! Catch them! Protect Lady Shala!” A group of guards, holding weapons, shouted into their communication devices and rapidly pursued the figures leaping between buildings in the distance.

Above them, black drones fired restraining beams, but the figures skillfully dodged them all.

“Damn it! I’ll have these rioting mongrels torn to pieces!” Duchess Shala was helped into her car, her face filled with rage. She then cursed at the people protecting her, “A bunch of trash!”

Suddenly, she saw a small ball fall from the sky. The ever-vigilant guards quickly deployed an energy shield and shot the small ball, shattering it.

The ball shattered in mid-air, emitting a flash of light. Then, the points of light formed a line of large words.

—[Stop the “Repeal Bill,” or you will never know peace.]

The “Repeal Bill” referred to the “Bill to Repeal Certain Rights of Individuals with Overloaded Mixed Bloodlines, Including the Right to Marry, the Right to Higher Education, and the Right to Hold Public Office.”

In order to protect the continuation of the human race and to reduce the painful upbringing caused by bloodline overload, the Empire had introduced this bill, indirectly reducing the probability of intermarriage between different bloodlines.

Duchess Shala was not afraid after seeing it. Instead, she let out a cold laugh. “Foolish. A group of uneducated mixed-bloods妄图 use violence to change the Parliament’s bills. What a pipe dream.”

Her expression was extremely foul.

Duchess Shala was the governor of Galimia Province and also a member of the Upper House of Parliament. She had come to the imperial capital today to report on her duties, but she never expected to be harassed by this group of rioters along the way.

If the external threat to the Ulysses Empire was the Nightmare Beasts, then the internal turmoil was this privately organized rabble from the lower class.

The fusion of multiple bloodlines caused severe rejection reactions, overloading their bodies. Yet, they couldn’t afford the expensive Blood Fusion Agent and could only resort to violence to make the Empire bow its head.

Rebellions of this kind, large and small, had occurred countless times throughout the land. Only the imperial capital—the seat of the royal family, a heavily garrisoned location—had a semblance of peace.

But this time, this group had actually caused trouble in the imperial capital—they were courting death.

“We got them!”

“Drop your weapons immediately! Those who disobey will be killed on the spot!”

The guards raised their guns. A few shining bullets pierced the rebels’ hands and feet. Instantly, their bodies fell, showing a state of paralysis as if they had been electrocuted.

Those people fell to the ground. On their originally normal bodies, various strange and twisted limbs gradually appeared—ears like incomplete fins, scales covering large patches of skin, even feet that twisted into sharp claws accompanied by miserable screams. But their eyes were still fixed on the guards, filled with a deep hatred.

Their distorted voices were hoarse and slurred. “You… you people will all go to hell with us sooner or later!”

“Have the City Patrol Knights been notified?” a guard asked seriously.

Causing a riot in the imperial capital was an act that severely violated imperial law. Such an organized and premeditated attack had to be reported to the higher-ups.

But before another person could answer, the others erupted in a strange excitement, as if they had spotted a celebrity. One guard shouted, “An Inquisitor from the Judgment Hall is here!”

The Judgment Hall was primarily responsible for adjudicating serious crimes, supervising the exercise of power by institutions such as the Parliament, and had a certain degree of inspection and intervention power over the Church. “Inquisitor” was the general term for officials who held positions in this court.

The crowd was in chaos. Many people scrambled to find a safe place to run, but there were also those who were curious about the attack. Hearing the guard’s shout, they fearlessly crowded around to watch.

Tap, tap, tap.

The footsteps were unhurried. The first thing that came into view was a dazzling red.

The fiery red of flying hair, the dark red of pupils, the faint crimson of thin lips, and… the deep red of blood dripping from the tip of a sword.

The face was covered by a silver-white mask symbolizing the law enforcement of the Judgment Hall. Only the owner’s eyes and the lower half of their face were visible.

The Judgment Hall had a rule. The pure silver mask was engraved with golden patterns. The more golden patterns, the higher the rank of the Inquisitor. The highest was seven patterns.

And on the mask of the newcomer, seven golden patterns, one after another, outlined the edge of the mask as if they were growing, shining brightly under the sun.

—It was the Chief Inquisitor.

“Damn it, Little Six and Ah Le, they’ve all been captured!” a man with a scarred face growled through gritted teeth, unwillingly punching the wall beside him.

They had escaped to a secret base. From the surveillance monitor left at the scene, they could see several of their comrades pinned to the ground, and that mysterious Inquisitor standing not far away.

“No, we absolutely can’t let those imperial lapdogs take Little Six and the others,” he looked anxiously at his silent, escaped comrades. “We have to go back and save them! Their bloodline disease has already flared up. We have to get them medicine quickly!”

At the mention of medicine, these people finally showed some reaction. A woman with dark brown hair said in a low, hoarse voice, “Then you try contacting ‘Double Mirror.’ See if they’ll give it to you.”

—Instantly, a figure appeared in their minds.

Medicine. The Blood Fusion Agent.

‘Impossible. Their mission failed this time. Will they… give them the medicine?’

He held on to a faint hope and opened the contact for that person.

A blue screen floated in mid-air. After what felt like an eternity, so long that he was about to give up, a figure suddenly appeared on the screen.

“Double Mirror” was propping up her chin, making it impossible to see the upper half of her face. One could only see her smiling lips. “If I remember correctly… now shouldn’t be the time to get the medicine.”

The scar-faced man pleaded, “My lady, Little Six and the others’ illness flared up early, and they’ve been captured. If we don’t save them now, they will… die.” By the end, his voice was trembling.

“Is that so?” “Double Mirror’s” voice took on a surprised tone, the end of her words lilting upwards.

“Yes! So… please, my lady…”

“What a pity then.” She sighed as if in regret.

Then, she continued indifferently, “Your supply of the agent for this time is completely canceled.”

“And the next time, and the time after that… hmm, permanently canceled.” She decided their life and death with a light and understated tone.

The man was stunned, then shouted in anger, “Why? You clearly have the medicine to cure the disease! Why do you want them to die?! Why do you want us to die!”

The others also all stood up after hearing the last sentence, staring intently at the person on the screen.

Faced with this scene, “Double Mirror” was unperturbed. She held up her hand and looked at the pink polish on her nails. Then, she paused, as if remembering something, and the corners of her smiling mouth slowly turned down.

“Idiots,” her pink lips parted, her voice icy.

“You’ve exposed the base’s coordinates, and you still don’t know that your time of death has arrived.”

At the same time, a terrified voice said, “Look at the monitor!”

‘What?’

The others subconsciously turned to look at the other screen projecting the surveillance feed. They met a pair of eyes as deep red as a pool of blood, looking down at them.

Then, she lifted her foot, clad in a silver-white long boot. Accompanied by the “click” of the screen shattering, blackness covered their vision.

Chief Inquisitor: “Found you.”

BANG BANG BANG!!

The next second, fierce banging came from the door in reality, along with muffled voices. “The Chief Inquisitor said they’re in here!” “The location is correct!” “The rebels inside, come out immediately!”

‘It’s over.’

Everyone’s heart sank as if plunged into an abyss.

“Goodbye.” And the “Double Mirror” on the screen watched this scene, as if the ones dying were not her people. The corners of her mouth curved up into a smile again, and she waved cutely like a cat.

“Pray that you’ll be smarter in your next life.”

Alice Girls’ Academy. The sky was boundless. Sparse clouds faintly smeared white across the blue. After class, students bustled towards the cafeteria. Wang Ning yawned as she went to get food, her eyes so sleepy she could barely keep them open.

To cope with the exams, she had practically summoned the same energy she used for her third year of high school review. With a heavy heart, she had given up lemon soda and was chugging coffee to stay up late every night.

In the cafeteria, a large screen was playing the news. After getting her food, Wang Ning would sit with Xiali and Chloe to eat.

After inviting Chloe to go to the library with her after school in the evening, Wang Ning had casually asked, “Do you want to eat together?”

Chloe was flustered for a moment when she heard this and said in a small voice, “Will it be too much trouble for you… And will your friends mind, Student Wang Ning?”

“Not at all,” Wang Ning said casually while scribbling furiously with a pen in one hand. “Xiali is a very easygoing person. She won’t mind.”

And so, that led to the current scene.

Wang Ning had Chloe on her left and Xiali on her right. She tried her best to bury her head in her food, not letting herself look at either side.

…‘A miscalculation.’

Xiali… didn’t seem very happy that there was an extra person between them.

‘Or maybe she’s just not used to it.’

Wang Ning’s eyes darted around. Her original intention was to help Chloe make more friends and take the initiative to communicate. In addition, it would also reduce the frequency of Chloe being alone, which might lead to her being bullied less.

But, reality didn’t seem to be developing in the direction she had imagined…

Her gaze shifted to the screen, watching a news report as her mealtime entertainment.

[We interrupt this program with breaking news. This morning at ten o’clock, a terrorist organization attacked the Empire Building, causing hundreds of casualties. The perpetrators have now been apprehended and will be tried tomorrow by Inquisitor 01.]

On the news, a familiar figure flashed by, and then it broadcasted the chaotic scene at the time.

Wang Ning saw a criminal’s body suddenly become deformed, and then, the scene was switched, and the news jumped to the next story.