The truth requires no explanation.
On the morning of the second day, after all observers had arrived, the various academy observers began to make their way, one after another, to the government building across the street for their final work arrangements.
They proceeded sequentially because, despite their current truce, deep-seated divisions persisted among the academies due to issues from the World War. For instance, Xuanji Star, Vega, Southern Dipper Star, and Polaris were fundamentally incompatible. Rather than journeying together, it was better to simply avoid one another, minimizing contact whenever possible.
Upon entering the building, the Vega contingent was quickly led to the entrance of a conference room.
Clearing her mind, Ke Yiyi knew this was not the time for such thoughts. She was about to face official observers from other academies; this was an international affair, not a casual chat. She needed to compose herself, maintain her image, and remember that her every action and word represented Vega…
“Relax,” Lan Xifang whispered, tilting her head slightly towards Ke Yiyi. “We are currently members of an independent observation group. We represent neither Vega nor The Robin Club, only the independent observation group.” While she said this, she knew well that while the Independent Observation Group transcended national boundaries, its individual observers did not. She couldn’t voice this truth, however, as it would only heighten Ke Yiyi’s anxiety.
“Everyone here knows their purpose. Just act natural; there’s always someone to take the bottom spot, after all.”
Ke Yiyi paused, unsure what Lan Xifang meant by ‘someone to take the bottom spot,’ but Lan Xifang had already entered the conference room, leaving Ke Yiyi no choice but to follow.
Inside, approximately two hundred people were present. If adhering to the Independent Observation Group’s basic guideline—that each academy dispatches eleven observers to Worldly Affairs City and Yuansu City—then there were roughly twenty academies represented. This wasn’t the total number of academies, as not all enjoyed participating in international affairs that were irrelevant to them and outside their spheres of influence.
Years of experience in the detective division immediately alerted Ke Yiyi to the unusual seating arrangement within the conference room.
intriguingly, the Xuanji Star observation group sat neatly in the very center at the front of the room, while other academies were scattered loosely on either side. The Southern Sirius Star and Northern Sirius Star observation groups, a rare sight, sat together on one side—Ke Yiyi recalled that in most international affair photographs, these two never stood together. The Eastern Yaoguang Star observation group did not sit with Xuanji Star; instead, they occupied the right side, while the Western Yaoguang Star observation group sat behind Xuanji Star.
Ke Yiyi wasn’t particularly sensitive to international affairs, but from news reports she’d read in her leisure, she knew that during World Alliance meetings, Eastern Yaoguang Star representatives typically sat with Xuanji Star representatives, and Western Yaoguang Star representatives with Polaris representatives… Why had it changed this time? And the Polaris observation group…
She saw the Polaris observation group lounging haphazardly at the very back of the conference room, a group of them munching on dark, unidentifiable morsels that appeared to be leftover roast meat from the previous day.
‘Could this be what Lan Xifang meant by ‘someone to take the bottom spot’? Eating in such a solemn setting was truly beyond the pale…’
Near the entrance were the Sirius-Neptune Academy personnel, with Yuliga seated prominently at the front, indicating she led the Sirius-Neptune observation group.
Ke Yiyi noticed a detail: all the Sirius-Neptune observers wore uniforms identical to Yuliga’s, clearly belonging to the same department, differing only in the color of the diagonal stripes on their collars and cuffs—some were silver-white, others copper-red. For instance, the young woman who had accompanied Yuliga that day wore a silver-white striped uniform. When Ke Yiyi later mentioned this to Fletcher, he suggested that person might be Selena, the ‘Lucky Clivia,’ Yuliga’s assistant, who had fought alongside her in the Battle of Mount Ragnaros. In short, she was a formidable individual.
Ke Yiyi followed Lan Xifang and found a seat. Though it was improper to stare, she still used her peripheral vision to survey everything in the conference room.
To Vega’s left sat the Neutron Star observer, a woman dressed similarly to Lan Xifang. She appeared remarkably young, yet her appearance was made somewhat incongruous by a small pigtail tied on the right side of her head, which swayed like a pendulum with her every movement.
She noticed Ke Yiyi’s gaze and tilted her head slightly, offering a smile.
“Hello, Officer Ke Yiyi.”
“Hello, do you know me?”
“The tireless Light of Shell City—even Neutron Star has heard of you!”
As the woman averted her gaze back to the documents on the table, Ke Yiyi felt utterly bewildered. Why had that nickname spread so far? Was it possible the whole world knew, yet she alone remained ignorant?
“That’s Shi Yiguang, formerly of Morning Star’s ‘Foreign Affairs Commission Bureau,’ now serving Neutron Star’s ‘Foreign Affairs Commission Bureau’.” Fletcher’s voice sounded from behind her. Ke Yiyi turned her head to the right, finding him leaning over the table, whispering to her. “It’s said she has completed over eight hundred missions for Morning Star and Neutron Star to date. To call her a living legend would be no exaggeration…”
Ke Yiyi didn’t fully comprehend Fletcher’s words, but she nodded in response, then naturally looked to her right.
On the right sat the Gouchen Star observer. Ke Yiyi glanced over and found a young woman in a white shirt and black tie returning her gaze. The woman nodded impassively in greeting, and Ke Yiyi reciprocated. What was particularly striking was the girl’s eye color, which differed from that of typical East Continent people. She knew Gouchen Star had many border ethnic groups, so this was not surprising—given the characteristics of players, those born in border ethnic communities would resemble the locals in both name and appearance.
Behind her waist, the girl carried a wooden blade, less than a meter long. Though Ke Yiyi lacked X-ray vision, her observation training allowed her to discern, from the slight sway of the wooden blade as the girl moved, that it was hollow. Concealed within, a metal weapon undoubtedly lay, the wooden ‘blade’ merely serving as its sheath.
Seeing Ke Yiyi’s acknowledging nod, the young woman turned to speak to the woman beside her. That woman then glanced over, and a sudden, intense chill immediately seeped into Ke Yiyi, freezing her from the core of her being to the tips of her toes.
The woman was dressed identically to the younger girl: a white shirt, black tie, tall and slender, with a braided pigtail—a hairstyle not uncommon in East Continent villages, and Vega was no exception.
Yet, her eyes conveyed a particularly terrifying sensation. Though her gaze was outwardly impassive, it radiated an imperceptible, suffocating coldness, as if an unseen hand had clamped around Ke Yiyi’s heart, leaving her utterly defenseless, like a laboratory mouse on a dissection table.
Though they belonged to different academies, Ke Yiyi recognized this person, though this was her first time seeing her face-to-face today.
Ma Yun, Director of the United Commune Forest Police Bureau under the Gouchen Star Academy of Sciences. Rumor had it she would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, a formidable figure who showed no mercy to enemies, willing to kill even surrendered prisoners without hesitation if necessary. It was said she was implicated in the ‘Kite Ridge Death March’ and the ‘Feiping Atrocity’ during the World War…
“Are you frightened?” Lan Xifang whispered to Ke Yiyi.
“She’s not targeting you; she’s like that with everyone.”
Ke Yiyi responded to Lan Xifang with a look of lingering apprehension, chiding herself for her momentary lapse in composure. To feel such panic from a mere glance—her psychological training at Polzo Police Academy had been instantly forgotten. She was, after all, merely a member of the Vega police force, knowing little about the internal affairs of other academies, and thus unaware of just how terrifying a person Ma Yun truly was. Even within Gouchen Star, many colleagues regarded her with apprehension, let alone those outside.
As observers from various academies continued to arrive, Southern Dipper Star’s contingent also made its entrance. Ke Yiyi noted that, just like yesterday, Southern Dipper Star still made a grand, final appearance—a prominent role fitting for the Fifth Column. He was the highest-ranking individual among all observers from the academies present.
Although Ma Yun was the Director of the United Commune Forest Police Bureau, her standing was significantly diminished when compared to the Fifth Column.
Setting aside the overall disparity in comprehensive strength between Southern Dipper Star and Gouchen Star, the Fifth Column’s personal renown and the critical importance of the Strategic Intelligence Bureau within Southern Dipper Star alone spoke volumes. The Fifth Column possessed the authority to report directly to the Federal Parliament Co-governance Chamber and could activate certain emergency laws without a vote from the Federal Parliament Co-governance Chamber. Under the Southern Dipper Star system, this power essentially mirrored the ‘expedient authority’ bestowed by emperors in ancient tales. It would not be an exaggeration to call him half a Southern Dipper Star Dean, or even a direct representative of the Federal Parliament Co-governance Chamber.
Upon his entrance, the Xuanji Star observers instinctively glanced towards the door, then swiftly refocused their gaze forward, as if they regarded the Fifth Column not as a person of consequence, but merely as an inconvenient force of air resistance. During the World War, the ‘War Intelligence Bureau’ led by the Fifth Column had repeatedly inflicted heavy losses on Xuanji Star in the realm of intelligence, causing considerable trouble and even contributing to the defeat in a major battle. Naturally, Xuanji Star held no favorable impression of him.
The woman wielding a tsuba-less straight sword followed closely behind the Fifth Column. Her seemingly vacant eyes swept over the heads of the Xuanji Star observers who had just glanced sideways, before she resumed her position behind the Fifth Column.
‘It seems she’s the Fifth Column’s guard,’ Ke Yiyi thought. She had heard that the Fifth Column himself wasn’t particularly skilled in combat, so it was entirely reasonable for Southern Dipper Star to dispatch highly capable personnel as observers to serve as his protectors. ‘But then… wouldn’t the personnel dispatched by Vega be the weakest in terms of combat effectiveness?’
‘No, that’s not right… This is a supervisory operation by an independent observation group, not a battle. It has nothing to do with combat ability.’
Ke Yiyi lifted her head, looking at the giant portrait hanging at the very front of the conference room. Although the abundant light from the front made the face somewhat indistinct, according to Xuanji Star’s conference room layout standards, it had to be a photograph of Long Xiao—the eternal Grand Dean of Xuanji Star…
She wasn’t interested in Long Xiao, merely giving it a casual glance. But that fleeting look made her notice a pair of eyes reflecting from the glass frame, staring towards Vega’s side. It was someone from Xuanji Star.
The person seemed to realize she had noticed, and quickly averted their gaze.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I merely caught sight of a lively little rabbit.”
An adjacent Xuanji Star observer cast a sidelong glance at the speaker, then quickly returned to their usual expression.
“When we are directly facing the Grand Dean’s photograph, it is best to refrain from speaking and maintain a solemn demeanor.”