Wherever humanity treads, its weapons shall follow.
****
In the New Calendar year 235, on the southern tip of the Cloud Mountain Peninsula in the Eastern Continent, lay Nine O’Clock City.
This metropolis faced Xuanshuang Island across the expansive sea, their connection forged by the grand and majestic ‘Horn of Peace Bridge.’ A monorail journey from Eleven O’Clock City, nestled in northern Xuanshuang Island, traversing several small islets across the Cloud Mountain Strait, would reach Nine O’Clock City in just an hour.
Indeed, if the monorail were permitted to travel at high-speed train velocities, the trip might conceivably take less than an hour. However, the ever-vigilant ‘traffic police’ would undoubtedly intervene, and the unfortunate fate of anyone responsible for such a transgression would be all too clear.
Undeniably, navigating a world teeming with players was fraught with peril. Yet, life necessitated movement, rendering travel unavoidable—even on a dreary, rainy night such as this.
Within the monorail’s confines, old residents heading home mingled with a handful of inconspicuous players. These players wore no outlandish costumes, made no boisterous clamor, nor engaged in any skirmishes. To the old residents, they seemed perfectly integrated into their surroundings; only another player could discern the subtle, underlying differences.
A girl sat by the window, her gaze fixed outwards, though it was unclear whether her attention was held by the vast expanse of the sea or merely the raindrops streaking across the glass.
She was dressed in a common white shirt and a suspender skirt, her head adorned with a sun hat. A jacket, matching her skirt in color, was tied casually around her waist, and a cylindrical backpack was slung across her back. Given her identity as a player, it was not difficult to deduce that her bag undoubtedly contained weaponry—for what else would a player typically carry?
Ke Yiyi found herself tinged with nostalgia, a quiet yearning for her past life in the Shell City police force. Though that period had only recently concluded, it now felt increasingly distant, slipping further into memory.
The shell-shaped ornament Section Chief Aiye had given her before her departure still hung from her backpack. Ke Yiyi would occasionally take it in hand, glancing at it thoughtfully. While life in the police force had been rather mundane, even the most ordinary tasks required someone to perform them. From the police’s perspective, wasn’t a perfectly uneventful day, devoid of incident, truly the best possible outcome?
‘Although I might have the chance to return after this departure,’ she mused, ‘it would no longer be as a member of the police force, but under a different guise… At that time, I would likely face all that was once familiar with a vastly altered state of mind.’
‘Such things… have happened before, haven’t they?’
A voice chirped, ‘Hi there, Shell City sister, may I sit beside you?’
Ke Yiyi looked at the reflection in the window, where a short-haired girl in a blue hat was visible. Her vibrant pink dress was particularly eye-catching, and her entire demeanor exuded vivacity as she awaited a response, brimming with expectation.
‘Yes, this seat is unoccupied.’
The girl, as if a great weight had been lifted, beamed as she settled beside Ke Yiyi. Ke Yiyi found herself bewildered. She had merely granted permission to sit, yet the girl seemed to shed a palpable burden of pressure. ‘Was I truly that intimidating?’ she wondered.
‘She mentioned ‘Shell City’ just now…’
Ke Yiyi instinctively glanced at the shell ornament dangling from the side of her backpack, her gaze meeting the girl’s, who was also looking at the same decoration.
‘Do you like this ornament?’
‘I just find it rather interesting, because Shell City’s emblem is a seashell, quite similar to your ornament.’
‘So, you believe I’m from Shell City?’
‘What else? Sister, that’s no ordinary trinket. It’s a special memento from the Shell City Police Department, usually given by department heads to members who’ve served there. So, sister, you used to be part of the Shell City police force, didn’t you?’
Ke Yiyi fell silent, momentarily stunned. She had been unaware that the shell-like trinket held such significance, having merely assumed it was a casual gift from Section Chief Aiye. How could she, a former member of the Shell City police, not know that this ornament was exclusive to their force?
‘How did you come to know about this ornament?’
‘A friend of mine used to work for the Shell City police. Oh? Did you really not know what this ornament meant, sister?’
The girl’s eyes widened slightly as she tilted her head, scrutinizing Ke Yiyi, who simply shook her head.
While Ke Yiyi had seen such ornaments before, the absence of any Shell City police insignia had led her to believe they were common items available anywhere on the market.
Having found nothing suspicious about the ornament, she had paid it little mind and thus never inquired about its origins or purpose.
‘Upon reflection, I’ve been far too negligent of details,’ she mused.
‘Oh, sister, don’t worry so much about it!’ the girl exclaimed. ‘It’s no big deal if you didn’t know!’
The girl pulled a packet of milk candies from her pocket, gently took Ke Yiyi’s hand, and poured most of the bag into her palm.
‘Here! Have some candy!’
Ke Yiyi looked at the milk candies in her hand, each wrapper a different hue. She couldn’t fathom why the girl had poured the sweets into her palm. ‘Was this her way of showing friendliness?’ she wondered.
‘Why are you giving me candy?’
Seeing Ke Yiyi’s perplexity, the girl couldn’t help but laugh.
‘It’s nothing, really! Sister, I told you, don’t dwell on it so much!’
She unwrapped a candy, popped it into her mouth, then carefully placed the wrapper into her small shoulder bag.
‘As long as you don’t litter the wrappers, it’s fine!’
‘It seems offering candy truly is her way of expressing friendliness,’ Ke Yiyi concluded.
‘What should I call you?’
‘My name is Li Qiwei, and I’m from Boson City!’
‘I am Ke Yiyi, from Shell City.’
‘Hehe! Sister Ke, I already guessed where you’re from. Now, let me try to guess where you’re going?’
Li Qiwei’s confident smile piqued Ke Yiyi’s curiosity slightly. She unwrapped a candy and put it in her mouth.
‘Alright! Where am I going?’
‘Nine O’Clock City.’
Ke Yiyi felt no particular stir this time. The monorail traveled between Eleven O’Clock City and Nine O’Clock City, and it was currently heading towards the latter. So, stating her destination was Nine O’Clock City wasn’t wrong… Yet, despite her actual destination being Nine O’Clock City, the answer felt like a clever evasion, a trick, until Li Qiwei uttered her next words…
‘The Robin Club.’
Ke Yiyi’s senses immediately sharpened. She instinctively began to rise, but swiftly realized she was in a public space and couldn’t afford any overly conspicuous actions. Thus, she reined in her astonishment, casting a wary gaze at the short-haired girl before her.
‘How did you…’
‘How did I know?’
Li Qiwei smiled, handing a document to Ke Yiyi.
‘Because we’re going to the same place.’
‘Citizen Li Qiwei, are you aware of the ‘Vega Co-Governance Academy of Sciences Staff Confidentiality Agreement’?’
‘Ah, Sister Ke, don’t be so serious!’ Li Qiwei exclaimed. ‘This isn’t something that needs to be kept secret; many people already know!’
Ke Yiyi was momentarily speechless, unsure how to proceed.
‘Sister Ke, if you don’t believe me, here’s the proof.’
Li Qiwei took a photo from her pocket and handed it to Ke Yiyi. The picture showed a group of people celebrating around Li Qiwei, with a banner above them proclaiming: ‘Celebrating Li Qiwei’s Transfer from the Archives Department of the Abnormal Creatures Investigation Institute to The Robin Club.’ Ke Yiyi couldn’t help but frown at this.
Not only did a group of people know about this, but they had even openly celebrated it…
Throughout the rest of the journey, Ke Yiyi said little more to Li Qiwei. While her own transfer had not been publicly announced within her Shell City police force, Li Qiwei’s transfer was common knowledge within her department.
‘Had she violated the confidentiality agreement by leaking the transfer news? Or had someone else, involved in the transfer process, divulged the information?’ she pondered.
‘Regardless of the possibility, for safety’s sake, I should minimize contact with Li Qiwei to avoid unnecessary complications,’ she decided.
Upon reaching Nine O’Clock City, the two eventually parted ways. In Li Qiwei’s words, she was going to—’first buy some local specialties, then report to The Robin Club…’
‘Such a carefree attitude… Could she truly be my future colleague?’ Ke Yiyi wondered, a flicker of doubt in her mind.
Ke Yiyi knew that overthinking was fruitless; her primary task was to report to The Robin Club first.
As for The Robin Club, Ke Yiyi’s knowledge was limited to it being a newly established Vega institution, currently understaffed and recruiting personnel from various departments.
Beyond that, she only had a contact address: 133 Bakunin Street, Eighty-Eight Coins District, Nine O’Clock City.
Nine O’Clock City boasted conveniently efficient transportation, a testament to Vega’s post-war reconstruction efforts. Ke Yiyi arrived at 133 Bakunin Street in less than half an hour.
From the outside, it appeared to be a building styled after the Western Continent, with a souvenir shop on the left, a Western restaurant on the right, and directly opposite, the Nine O’Clock City Police Department’s precinct in the Eighty-Eight Coins District.
The rain persisted, yet it was not heavy; the fine drizzle merely dampened clothes, far from soaking them. Still, few pedestrians remained on the streets.
The building’s plaque read ‘Vega Staff 226 Club.’ It seemed nothing more than a place for staff to unwind in their leisure time, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to a newly formed Vega institution.
With her backpack slung over her shoulder, Ke Yiyi surveyed the building. She felt that if her new job were at the Eighty-Eight Coins District police station, a subsidiary of the Nine O’Clock City Police Department just behind her, she would walk in to report without a moment’s hesitation.
‘But… huh?’
Ke Yiyi felt her body being gently propelled forward by someone. She froze in surprise. ‘When had she gotten behind me? How had I not sensed a thing?’
A gentle female voice emanated from behind. ‘Calm yourself, please don’t draw your blade, young officer. I am well aware of the Shell City police force’s capabilities.’
Ke Yiyi, vigilant, turned to face the speaker. She saw a short-haired woman in a white lab coat, appearing to be a researcher.
‘But how did she know I carried a blade?’
‘Excuse me, who are you?’
The woman behind her offered a slight smile, pushed open the club’s door, and, placing a hand on Ke Yiyi’s shoulder, guided her inside.
‘The one who’s opening the door to a new world for you… and…’
‘The one keeping you out of the rain.’