—People’s suspicions can ruin everything.
“The World War twenty years ago exposed numerous issues within Vega. The Security Council’s forces acted without authorization, departments under the Technical Council leaked confidential information, and institutions affiliated with the Public Council unilaterally sought peace with Xuanji Star. From then on, the Three Great Councils began to strengthen their checks and balances on each other.”
“The result is what we have now: if a problem involves only a single Council, it can be resolved quickly. But once multiple Councils are involved, it takes a considerably long time to reach a solution…”
“Sometimes, I truly envy Polaris’s system. The Dean is paramount, and they alone can decide everything.”
Harshi, sipping her orange juice, cast a sidelong glance at Fletcher, barely suppressing a laugh.
“Such words could easily lead to misunderstandings!”
“Surely you’re not suspecting me of advocating for Polaris’s system on Vega! I’ve been an active opponent of authoritarianism since before the war; don’t go pinning labels on me! Even if you do, it’s fine, after all, we have freedom of speech here, so anything goes.”
Fletcher feigned a nervous defense, his comical gestures making Ke Yiyi chuckle. However, remembering he was her superior, she instantly stifled her laughter, deeming it inappropriate.
“Don’t hold back, laugh as much as you like! There are no defined work duties or regulations yet; The Robin Club is entirely an empty shell. Once all those miscellaneous things come down, we’ll likely be grim-faced every day. How dull that would be!”
Fletcher retrieved a large bottle of Xitele from beneath the bar, preparing to pour for the two of them. Suddenly remembering something, he ducked back down and emerged with a large platter of peanuts and chestnuts.
“We’ve been drinking for ages and I completely forgot about these.”
Ke Yiyi gazed at the peanuts before her, lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
Harshi nudged her, pulling her back from her contemplation.
“Nothing, just wondering why the Three Great Councils would approve the establishment of such an ’empty shell’ institution. Shouldn’t they have finalized its regulations, work content, and other specifics before granting approval?”
“An excellent question. The Three Great Councils have realized that their current relationship of checks and balances, and collaboration, is difficult to manage in many situations. So, they began to attempt to further strengthen cooperation and reduce disagreements and divisions. Thus, The Robin Club was born.”
Fletcher handed a roster to Ke Yiyi, pointing to the personnel information listed within.
“The Three Great Councils required their respective departments to recommend capable candidates to jointly form this new department. This is the final confirmed personnel list.”
There weren’t many names on the roster, and Ke Yiyi immediately spotted her own information. The details recorded were exceptionally thorough, chronicling her entire experience from the moment she joined Vega, right up to the present. Even personal information like her personality and hobbies was meticulously documented, making her wonder when Vega had recorded all of this. It was as if her every move couldn’t escape Vega’s watchful eyes.
“Some departments were very proactive. For instance, the Technical Council recommended all of their ‘Great Scientists,’ not holding anything back.”
As Fletcher said this, he glanced at Harshi, emphasizing the pronunciation of ‘Great Scientists’ with a hint of teasing.
Harshi noticed his jest and smiled.
“And some departments were perfunctory, recommending utterly troublesome fellows.”
Fletcher knew she was referring to him, but he didn’t deny it, simply changing the subject.
“That’s absolutely right! For example, the Harbor Comprehensive Management Bureau recommended Kincaid. That fellow is truly a rogue!”
“Kincaid is…?”
Ke Yiyi asked thoughtfully.
“That eccentric person from earlier… the Harbor Comprehensive Management Bureau is dumping trash again…”
Harshi quickly downed a glass of Xitele to calm her nerves, evidently not wanting to mention Kincaid’s name even once.
“The reason he was recommended must be that even the Harbor Comprehensive Management Bureau couldn’t tolerate him anymore. They seized this opportunity to recommend him under the guise of ‘this department’s elite’… I never expected him to actually make it onto the final list. The Harbor Comprehensive Management Bureau must be sighing in relief now, thinking, ‘That guy’s finally gone!’ Ugh, what a headache!”
“Actually, that’s quite normal.”
Fletcher chuckled, and Harshi felt his laugh was like that of a simpleton, though still much better than Kincaid’s devilish grin…
“The establishment of The Robin Club was a decision made by the Three Great Councils, so its members would naturally come from different departments within each Council. After all, internal divisions and conflicts exist within each Council as well, so a fair distribution of personnel is naturally preferable.”
“Hearing ‘fair distribution’ from your mouth always feels a bit strange.”
Harshi shot him a sideways glance. She had already figured out this tall man’s psychology over the past few days; without a doubt, he was not a serious person and loved to flirt at every opportunity.
“Hahaha, you’ll get used to it.”
As the two bickered, Ke Yiyi focused intently on the roster. Kincaid, whom they had mentioned, was on the list. His profile stated he belonged to the ‘Museum of Ocean Development History,’ affiliated with the Public Council’s Harbor Comprehensive Management Bureau. That was an institution dedicated to educating the public about Vega’s history and knowledge in ocean development. She truly couldn’t believe that the person with such a demonic laugh could be the head of such a civilian department…
She continued to flip through the personnel files. Fletcher, for instance, had served in the 21st Division of the Northern Legion during the World War. Ke Yiyi recalled that the 21st Division was among the units involved in the ‘unauthorized military action’ incident during the war…
Ke Yiyi remembered Fletcher had casually mentioned ‘unauthorized military action’ earlier. He didn’t seem to realize he himself had been part of the unauthorized forces, speaking as if describing something that happened to others.
She glanced at Fletcher, seeing him still smiling and bickering with Harshi, then lowered her gaze back to the roster.
Harshi’s information was also there. She was from the ‘Supersymmetric Field’ research institute in Mirage City, sharing the same city as Kincaid. Her profile primarily detailed her achievements and experiences in scientific research. Ke Yiyi particularly noted that the file stated Harshi had combat experience from the pre-war period… Could she be both scholarly and martial?
Before Morning Star’s dissolution, Vega gained rapid development opportunities through its cooperation with Morning Star. It was no exaggeration to say that Vega’s development at the time was the envy of all academies on the Eastern Continent.
In other words, the Academy Era was Vega’s most glorious period, and both Fletcher and Harshi were people who had lived through this golden age.
However, with the dissolution of Morning Star and the failure of the World War, Vega lost the territory of Yingzhou, its border with Xuanji Star now defined by the Snow River, never again able to set foot on the lands north of it.
It began to drift further and further away from its past prosperity…
Continuing to browse the roster, Ke Yiyi discovered someone she knew—the girl named Li Qiwei.
Director of the Archives Department of the Institute for Anomalous Biological Investigations… she was from the Technical Council…
Although she had been curious earlier about how Li Qiwei knew she was going to The Robin Club, that curiosity no longer existed. Given the current situation, since all institutions were required to recommend members to The Robin Club, it was already common knowledge. It was no surprise that the other party knew she was on the final personnel list, or even that they had seen her profile—though she herself had never seen a similar list. Perhaps she was the only one, as she rarely paid attention to other people’s affairs…
Even though Li Qiwei had joined Vega more recently than herself and was a civilian, her combat assessment was not low…
Could it be that combat assessment was an important criterion for The Robin Club’s selection of members?
“Excuse me, was this list ultimately selected and confirmed by the Three Great Councils?”
Fletcher stopped bickering with Harshi and winked at Ke Yiyi.
“The Three Great Councils authorized me to select, and then I submitted it to the Three Great Councils for confirmation. The authorization documents and the submitted list are all in triplicate…”
“Hmm? You picked Kincaid?”
Harshi frowned, realizing things weren’t so simple.
“My apologies, you’ve caught me.”
“I’ve been here for days, and you never told me you compiled the list?”
“You never asked!”
The two immediately resumed their back-and-forth banter. Ke Yiyi had no idea how to interject into their conversation. She could only continue looking at the roster, learning about the people who would become her future colleagues.
Although Fletcher spoke like an eel, incredibly slippery, he eventually chose to surrender.
“Alright, alright! No more nonsense! Not a single person was chosen by me, including myself. With my status, how could I possibly be qualified to select members for a new department!”
Perhaps afraid Harshi had actually believed him earlier, he quickly added.
“Don’t take what I said before seriously! All that ‘I chose’ stuff was made up. A list like this must have been hand-picked by the Three Great Councils. How could I have any say?”
“Excuse me, is this The Robin Club?”
The doorbell chimed, and without waiting for a response, the door was pushed open. A girl, completely drenched, stood at the entrance, carrying a large travel bag. On the side of the bag was a tightly wrapped, slender object, easily two meters long. With her short stature, carrying these two items would undoubtedly impede her movement, yet Vega’s regulations were strict: ‘displaying weapons in public’ was strictly forbidden, except in situations of danger, during missions, in specific venues, or with special authorization.
Ke Yiyi instinctively flipped through the personnel roster, scrutinizing the young girl.
Gan Lan, a Level 3 Assistant Instructor from the ‘Sunset Glow Martial Arts Hall’ in 4×4 Training Ground City, specializing in long staffs. She was even younger than Ke Yiyi in terms of seniority.
“On such a cold, rainy day, does the Sunset Glow Martial Arts Hall not provide pants for their cute assistant instructors? Bare legs, how cold! The rain clinging to them, wet and sticky… quick! Let me lick…”
Harshi pressed Fletcher’s head down with all her might, nearly submerging it into the bar.
“Snap out of it! She’s wearing shorts! Her oversized top just covers them!”
“I wouldn’t mind if she wore pants either!”
“Is that the point?! I haven’t even settled the score for you lying to me earlier!”
The girl’s gaze remained fixed on the bickering pair. Her wet hair clung to her clothes, and rainwater trickled down her legs into her shoes. She stood at the doorway like a statue, her eyes calm and vacant, indifferent to everything happening around her, repeating her earlier question.
“Excuse me, is this The Robin Club?”
“Yes, it is.”
Ke Yiyi answered on behalf of the bickering duo.
“Gan Lan, junior assistant instructor from the 4×4 Training Ground City branch of the Sunset Glow Martial Arts Hall, reporting for duty.”
The girl removed her soaked beret and bowed to Ke Yiyi and the others.
“Huh? How did the door open?”
A familiar voice sounded from behind Gan Lan, outside the door. Ke Yiyi’s gaze swept past Gan Lan, spotting the waving girl at the entrance.
“It’s you?”