—Eventually, you will confront the truth, however unlovely it may be.
Timber City, at the ‘Wooden Man’ station.
As the train pulled to a stop, people streamed out, forming orderly queues on the platform.
To the locals, such a sight was uncommon. This city in the northern peninsula had once been renowned for its high-quality timber, but that was long ago. The World War had devastated much of the city, and the surrounding forests were scorched to ashes. Although the remaining woodlands could still supply Vega with timber, the reduced logging area meant the rebuilt city could not rival its former scale. Its population, compared to pre-war numbers, had dwindled by more than half; some had relocated, while others had simply ceased to live.
By official decree, Timber City was designated as a crucial assembly point for taking over the Great Promontory Region. Personnel would gather here before proceeding in batches to the Great Promontory Region for the handover. Within mere days, this sparsely populated city was inundated with a vast influx of Vega officials.
Departments ranging from the police and military to intelligence and technology all converged upon Timber City. They were poised to assume control of various affairs in the Great Promontory Region, precisely as pre-planned. However, this did not include The Robin Club.
The members of The Robin Club, lacking even a unified uniform, shared only one commonality at this moment: the badges pinned to their chests, which clearly stated their identity and duties—to observe the handover proceedings as observers from the Vega side.
“So many people! The military is over there, the police are over here. Maybe we’ll even run into someone we know!” Li Qiwei exclaimed, curiously scanning her surroundings.
Ke Yiyi, however, doubted they would encounter any acquaintances; the odds were simply too remote. With so many police officers in Vega, could it truly be that someone she knew was specifically assigned here? That felt far too far-fetched.
She had been carefully observing Gan Lan throughout the journey, but ever since Gan Lan’s outburst of tears that night, she hadn’t shown any further emotional fluctuations, as if the incident had never occurred.
Lan Xifang had also learned of Gan Lan’s situation upon returning from her errands that day—or rather, it would have been abnormal if she hadn’t. Yet, she said nothing, treating the entire incident as if she had never heard of it.
‘It seems I am still too unaccustomed to such things,’ Ke Yiyi mused. ‘Had I joined the Disciplinary Department back then, I would probably be unfazed by now.’
‘As long as Gan Lan’s emotions remain stable…’
“Hmm?” Ke Yiyi sensed someone looking at her. She instinctively turned her head, discovering a girl in the queued crowd watching her intently.
Judging by her uniform, she appeared to be from the ‘Detective Department,’ but that city emblem…
Ke Yiyi suddenly realized. That was the emblem of the newly formed Worldly Affairs City police force. These individuals had taken over policing in Worldly Affairs City and remained stationed there directly. But this girl… had she seen her before? She looked somewhat familiar…
Seeing Ke Yiyi’s bewildered expression, the girl subtly brushed a strand of hair from her face. Ke Yiyi instantly understood.
‘It was her!’
As if sensing a deviation among their team members, the leading police officer turned to look at Ke Yiyi.
“Oh? Ke Yiyi!”
Lan Xifang and her group paused, turning their gaze to Ke Yiyi at the back of the line.
Ke Yiyi focused her eyes, seeing a figure dressed in a voluminous uniform jacket, a black-brimmed hat, and a black umbrella propped against the ground.
“Long time no see, Senior Ichijō.”
Ke Yiyi vividly remembered Ichijō Hi as the top-ranking student at Polzo Police Academy during her time there. She was a year ahead, graduating earlier, and Ke Yiyi had heard she went to the ‘Window City’ police force. To think they would meet here—she had just thought she wouldn’t encounter anyone familiar, and now she had. Vega truly was a small world!
“Are you also assigned to the Great Promontory Region?” Ichijō Hi noticed the content on Ke Yiyi’s badge and asked no further.
“Yes.” Ke Yiyi watched the restless young woman in the crowd, whose gaze was fixed on Ichijō Hi. When Ichijō Hi subtly blinked, the young woman instantly felt relieved and called out to Ke Yiyi.
“Senior Ke Yiyi!”
“Long time no see, Kii.”
“Indeed! I heard you went to Shell City. I originally wanted to join you later, but then some changes occurred, and I ended up in ‘October Heavenly Palace City’.”
“I see!” Ke Yiyi noticed Lan Xifang’s gaze. Although happy to see an acquaintance, she was unwilling to delay their group’s schedule and decided to cut the conversation short.
“Be on time at the designated location tonight for assembly.”
Lan Xifang said little more, leaving them with that instruction before departing the platform. She seemed utterly uninterested in anything beyond their scheduled timeline; her personal file was a complete blank, impossible to trace.
Ke Yiyi didn’t know where she came from, what she had experienced, or even who she truly was. The only thing she knew was that Lan Xifang was currently the primary person in charge of The Robin Club, and indeed, its very core.
As for Lan Xifang’s demands, Ke Yiyi simply had to comply.
Seeing Ke Yiyi’s leader-like figure depart, Yagami Kii breathed a sigh of relief. With that person watching, she truly didn’t dare to say anything out of line!
“Oh? Little Ke! Long time no see.”
Ke Yiyi felt something press against her back and instinctively turned around.
“Principal An! What brings you here?”
The newcomer released Ke Yiyi, swaying slightly before standing steady. She was nearly a head shorter than Ke Yiyi, appearing slender and petite, yet possessed remarkably long legs with almost perfect proportions, which paradoxically masked her delicate frame’s youthful impression.
Her light blue eyes and long hair, subtly curled at the ends, exuded an exotic charm from the Northern Continent. Coupled with her habit of standing on tiptoe to peer around, she was indeed quite endearing.
An Xiaotao, originally a geometry teacher, later joined the police force. During the World War, she became a combat hero of Vega, one of ten recipients of the ‘Starfall’ medal. After the war, she served as the principal of Polzo Police Academy.
Despite her title, she was incredibly approachable, completely devoid of any principal’s airs. Due to her diminutive stature, students often regarded her as a sister.
“I was originally assigned to the police force in Golden Hook City!” An Xiaotao said, burdened by a stack of oversized teaching materials, swaying as if she might tumble with every few steps. Although both she and Yagami Kii were slender, An Xiaotao appeared far more delicate in comparison.
“After the war, Golden Hook City fell, so I couldn’t return to my post. That’s why I had to become the principal at Polzo.” An Xiaotao waved to someone in the distance, shouting,
“Saichi, look who’s here?”
“Saichi? Saichi is here too?” Ke Yiyi was slightly surprised. Yagami Saichi was Yagami Kii’s younger sister, also a year behind her in school, and the top student among their cohort. Her whereabouts after graduation had been unknown, so meeting her here was unexpected.
Yagami Saichi slowly approached. She actually appeared far more mature than her older sister, easily giving the impression that she was the steady elder sibling. She was someone who made no effort to conceal her thoughts, often flustered by others’ words, yet she was exceptionally skilled at processing vast amounts of data, essentially a person who would struggle to live without a computer—a stark contrast to Yagami Kii.
A dark purple butterfly, with deep pink on one wing, fluttered around her. It was a rare ‘Phoenix Lotus Butterfly,’ inherently harmless, and this particular one was an anomaly among monsters. It seemed to regard Yagami Saichi as a favorite flower, which was why Yagami Saichi had applied to keep it as a pet during police academy—she never expected it to have such a long lifespan. It was indeed a monster, with almost no commonalities with ordinary butterflies beyond its appearance.
She greeted Ke Yiyi. As Ke Yiyi responded, she suddenly recalled something. After Yagami Saichi had walked further away, she whispered to An Xiaotao,
“I remember Saichi before she entered the police academy once…”
“That’s right, that incident happened when Xuanji Star occupied Worldly Affairs City.” An Xiaotao, seeing Ke Yiyi fall silent midway through her whisper, immediately understood what Ke Yiyi meant.
“According to the regulations, she shouldn’t be involved in this operation, or at least she should avoid Worldly Affairs City and anyone from Xuanji Star.” Ke Yiyi voiced her concerns. She didn’t wish to reopen old wounds, but Yagami Saichi’s presence here could easily trigger past trauma, potentially affecting her emotional state and even leading to adverse consequences for the task at hand.
“Little Ke, after all these years, you’re still so considerate of others’ feelings.” An Xiaotao gazed at Yagami Saichi’s retreating back, then at Yagami Kii, who was counting the team members, and finally, at Ke Yiyi.
“Xuanji Star is our neighbor, our closest potential enemy. Worldly Affairs City is about to be reintegrated into Vega’s territory. Saichi cannot forever ignore all this, nor can she forever avoid contact with it…” An Xiaotao tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, adjusted the strap of her teaching bag, and continued,
“She can’t live in the shadows forever. One day, she will have to face all of this. Instead of letting it find her, it’s better for her to choose to confront it herself.”
“She voluntarily asked to come?”
“Yes, and you know her work ability. She was top-ranked at the police academy. She’s a very suitable candidate.”
“Aren’t you worried about potential problems then?”
“You’ve already left the police force, yet you’re still so focused on preventing problems?”
“I just think everything should be sufficiently stable. The exchange of territory is a grave matter, and no errors should arise during the handover.”
“How could there be no errors?” An Xiaotao’s lips curved into a smile, her signature expression that often captivated the male students at the police academy.
“Mistakes are inevitable; it merely depends on how your leader resolves them.”
“What?” Ke Yiyi didn’t understand what An Xiaotao meant.
“It’s nothing. Your leader is incredibly capable; she can handle everything.”
“Principal An, do you know something?”
“First, I’m no longer a principal. Second, even if I did know something, I couldn’t tell you. The confidentiality rules must always be kept in mind!” An Xiaotao winked, then delivered words that left Ke Yiyi stunned.
“Even the ‘Sleepless Light of Shell City’ is no exception!”
“Why do you know that nickname too?”
“Because Du Ruo from the Shell City Police Department and I used to work at the same school!”
“Director Du?”
“That’s right!”
Ke Yiyi felt an inexplicable sense of oddity… Had this nickname really spread throughout the entire Vega police force, and she was the last to know?