While humanity might easily dismiss the divine, denying the spectral proves a far more arduous task.
“Jie Ge! Jie Ge! No, don’t!”
“Let me see it! Just let me see it!”
Ke Yiyi stood by the doorway, observing two men jostle each other. One frantically tried to conceal an object within his clothes, while the other relentlessly tugged at his arm, insisting he surrender it.
She noted their military uniforms, clearly identifying them as army officers, and found it astonishing that the object of their fierce contention was merely a small knife.
“Jie Ge! Jie Ge! Please, hear me out!”
“I won’t listen! It’s all just meaningless chanting! Let me see it!”
“You two are frightening our newcomer. Standing there, brawling like wrestlers, is hardly appropriate. If you wish to wrestle, kindly do so in the changing room, not by the entrance.”
The woman behind Ke Yiyi, sighing with resignation, pushed the two men aside. She then turned, offering Ke Yiyi an inviting gesture.
Her short, practical hair and white lab coat suggested she was a researcher.
“Look, we’ve only been established for a few days, yet so many have already come to grace us with their presence. It truly illustrates the old adage: where there are many people, there are many troubles!”
“Those two just now…”
“They’re from the Military Security Bureau’s ‘Second Department’. You might even have heard of them before!”
Ke Yiyi recalled that the Military Security Bureau’s Second Department served as the Internal Security Department. Since she knew no one within its ranks, she wondered how she could possibly have heard of these two individuals.
“Who are they?”
“Yu Renjie and Mu Li.”
“The heads of the Internal Security Department—’Torchlight’ Yu Renjie and ‘Iron Rain’ Mu Li?”
Ke Yiyi faltered for a moment, then swiftly comprehended that she had indeed heard those names mentioned by Section Chief Aiye.
“See? You *have* heard of them, haven’t you?”
Ke Yiyi gazed at the woman, a flicker of doubt stirring within her.
“Is this new department affiliated with the Military Security Bureau?”
“Not at all. They’re merely visiting. What? You don’t approve…”
As if struck by a sudden realization, the woman gently patted Ke Yiyi’s shoulder.
“I almost forgot, you’re from the police force. It’s only natural you’d harbor little fondness for the military.”
Leading Ke Yiyi to the bar, the woman began searching for beverages.
“I stepped out to buy something, and when I returned, Fletcher had vanished. Ugh… what a headache… What would you like to drink?”
“Anything is fine.”
“I can’t even find where Fletcher put his things! Oh? Is black tea acceptable?”
“Yes.”
Ke Yiyi remained utterly bewildered. Could this truly be a newly established department? By all appearances, it bore no resemblance to one.
“You don’t need to be so reserved. Although our department is newly established, it also…”
“Ah ha ha ha ha!”
A peal of wild laughter erupted, and the main door burst open. A middle-aged man, his features twisted into a grotesque mask of mirth, strode in, bellowing at the top of his voice.
“Yu Renjie! Yu Renjie! You scoundrel, why didn’t you tell me you’d arrived! Why the silence? Are you playing hide-and-seek with me? I spotted your black luxury car parked right at the entrance!”
The middle-aged man shook his head, showering rainwater from his hair, some droplets even spattering onto Ke Yiyi’s clothes. Despite this, he proceeded as if utterly oblivious to her presence, striding directly toward the back of the room.
“…we’re certainly not short on eccentrics.”
The woman spread her hands wide, a look of utter resignation on her face.
“Yu Renjie and Mu Li, from earlier, are not part of our new department, but this particular eccentric certainly is. Therefore…”
She regarded Ke Yiyi with a grave expression, prompting Ke Yiyi to instinctively straighten her posture, awaiting further explanation.
“Kindly pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“…”
Ke Yiyi found herself increasingly adrift in a fog of confusion.
“What exactly does this department do?”
“That’s a question I can’t adequately answer, for before my arrival here, I was merely a researcher at the ‘Supersymmetry Field’ Institute.”
The woman shrugged, then retrieved an identification card from her pocket and offered it to Ke Yiyi.
“Harshi, from the ‘Fourth Wave Laboratory’ of the ‘Supersymmetry Field’ Biological Institute.”
Having examined the identification, Ke Yiyi returned it to Harshi, her movements mirroring the routine checks she once performed for the Shell City Police Force.
She was no longer affiliated with the Shell City Police Force, possessing no ‘enforcement authority’, much less the right to arbitrarily inspect identification.
This peculiar system, instituted by the Vega Academy for personnel transfers, stipulated that an individual moving between departments must first complete all existing work handovers in their original department. Only upon conclusion of this process could they then proceed to the new department to undertake a fresh set of handovers.
During this transitional phase, having completed the handover in their former department, they ceased to be a member there. Similarly, having not yet finalized the handover in their prospective department, they were not yet considered a member of that new team either.
Just as she was now, her name had been expunged from the Shell City Police Force roster, yet it had not yet been added to that of the Robin Club.
This system primarily served to prevent instances of individuals holding dual positions or, conversely, a single position being held by two people. It also aimed to preempt any individual from exploiting their past or future roles during a transfer to engage in activities contrary to the Vega Academy’s regulations.
A sudden realization struck her: she had just overstepped her bounds.
Within the Vega Academy, presenting identification to acquaintances or strangers was a commonplace courtesy. Such documents merely contained publicly accessible identity data, not classified information or personal privacy.
Although she currently held no formal position, there was nothing inherently amiss in the other party presenting their identification to her. The true impropriety lay not in that act itself, but in her own conduct. As a ‘Vega Academy staff member in transfer,’ she ought to have reviewed the document with the impartiality of an ordinary citizen. Yet, she had just scrutinized it through the lens and mindset of the Shell City Police Force.
Had she spent too long within the police force? Despite having departed its ranks, she still perceived herself as one of its members.
“‘Fourth Wave Laboratory’? Affiliated with the ‘Technical Council’? A scientist?”
“There’s no need to assign me to a ‘faction’ so swiftly! While the ‘Supersymmetry Field Institute’ is indeed under the Technical Council, I previously worked within a department subordinate to the ‘Public Council’. Thus, I consider myself at least half a ‘Public Council’ individual, not solely a ‘Technical Council’ member.”
“The division into three councils was originally conceived to resolve issues with greater efficiency. Yet, ironically, it has now become the very wellspring of new problems.”
The man’s voice emanated from the side of the bar. He was notably tall, appearing to be in his early thirties. Several buttons at the top of his shirt lay unfastened, revealing an aged wooden pendant nestled against his neck.
From beneath the bar, he swiftly produced a dazzling assortment of bottles. He uncorked one, poured some juice, and then gracefully offered it to both Ke Yiyi and Harshi. His movements throughout the process were fluid and elegant, as though he had performed this exact ritual countless times before.
“Here, have a glass of orange juice!”
The man’s gaze fell upon Harshi, a hint of amusement in his eyes, as if he had just pinpointed the true culprit.
“Those two… no, *three* men wrestling in the changing room — were they your recommendation for that spot?”
“Oh? Were you perhaps inside at the time?”
“Fortunately, I made a quick escape, or else those three would have cornered me inside.”
The man chuckled, poured himself a glass of orange juice, and took a sip before speaking.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ke Yiyi.”
“I am Fletcher, the current provisional head of the Robin Club.”
Fletcher retrieved his identification from an inner pocket of his shirt and presented it to Ke Yiyi. While the peculiar design of an *interior* shirt pocket struck Ke Yiyi as odd, she quickly entertained the notion that he might simply be wearing his shirt inside out.
“I can see that you’re quite perplexed.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“Of course. After all, we are now colleagues.”
“What exactly *is* the Robin Club?”
Fletcher slowly brought the orange juice to his lips, his gaze unwavering from Ke Yiyi’s eyes.
They were eyes searching for answers, bearing the unmistakable intensity of a Shell City Police Force member.
“A department jointly approved and established by the Three Great Councils.”
“What about its affiliation?”
“Currently, none.”
Ke Yiyi narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing Fletcher. She didn’t believe he was joking, nor did she imagine the Three Great Councils would engage in such levity.
Yet, the words Fletcher uttered undeniably sounded like a jest: the Robin Club, a department supposedly not under the jurisdiction of *any* council.
Within the Vega Academy’s intricate system, the Security Council, Technical Council, and Public Council formed the supreme governing bodies of the Co-governed Academy, collectively referred to as the Three Great Councils. Crucially, no department within Vega could exist outside the purview of at least one of these councils. Thus, Fletcher’s assertion that the newly formed Robin Club fell under no such jurisdiction was utterly perplexing.
“Are you very confused?”
Fletcher spun the glass on the table, his gaze lingering meaningfully on the still-partially-filled orange juice bottle.
“Having served with the Shell City Police Force for nearly a decade, you must be aware of the Vega Police Force’s ‘special contingency plans’ concerning the Vega Army.”
Ke Yiyi nodded in acknowledgment. Indeed, the Vega Academy’s regulations stipulated that local police forces, under the ‘Public Council’, were to devise ‘special contingency plans’ specifically for the regional armies aligned with the ‘Security Council’. This provision meant that in the event of ‘special circumstances’ within the army, the police force was authorized to employ ’emergency measures’ to assert control, thereby maintaining order and stability. Such ’emergency measures’ encompassed a range of forceful interventions, including assassination, detention, and even annihilation.
The existence of this contingency plan was no secret; both the police force and the army were fully aware of its presence. However, the specific details of the plan remained confidential, known only to relevant police personnel.
“Why does such a plan exist? The police force and the army are both armed forces of Vega, so why should the police force guard against the army as if they were enemies?”
“Is it because they belong to different councils?”
“Do you know why Vega is divided into three councils?”
“To solve problems more efficiently.”
“So, a division of labor is necessary, right?”
Fletcher poured himself another glass of orange juice, but the bottle emptied after filling only half the glass. He then casually picked up the black tea and continued pouring it into the glass until it was full.
“This brings us back to the question I raised earlier: the Three Great Councils exist to solve problems, yet they have now become the very source of problems.”
Ke Yiyi looked at Fletcher, waiting for him to continue.
“So, Ke Yiyi, why has it come to this?”