When lies are forced upon everyone as their only means of livelihood, truth becomes nothing more than a suicidal road to ruin.
Ke Yiyi felt she had recovered. She couldn’t sit idly by indefinitely. Rest was beneficial, but endless rest was not.
Gudang Weixiao, after confirming her physical well-being once more, finally allowed her to leave, reiterating the importance of taking her medicine. Though seemingly young, her habit of repeating herself made her seem as if she had entered middle age.
Ke Yiyi felt a knot of frustration tighten in her chest, like something was lodged there, a bitter taste lingering, like a bone caught in her throat. ‘That child’s father is truly despicable… but he’s a Xuanji Star citizen, completely outside Vega’s jurisdiction. Vega has no authority to cross borders and deal with him…’
‘Xuanji Star has committed so many heinous acts, yet every time I see Man Huai Zhi and hear his impassioned arguments, I find myself unable to counter them…’
‘Perhaps I’m simply not eloquent enough… If I had been assigned to the propaganda department from the start, I wouldn’t be left speechless by his words in situations like this.’
“Saichi, aren’t you with Kii?”
Ke Yiyi looked at Yagami Saichi’s armpatch, its background a golden fishhook. She recalled that Yagami Kii’s armpatch featured the Family of Five Building. Were the sisters not assigned to the same place?
“She’s in the Detective Division in Worldly Affairs City, and I’m in the Archives Division in Golden Hook City.”
Yagami Saichi unplugged the power cable from the patrol car’s emergency power outlet, closed the cover, and skillfully placed her laptop into her backpack. The backpack bore the Vega Police Force emblem and the Worldly Affairs City Police Department emblem, signifying that both the bag and its contents were police property.
“Won’t it be difficult to see each other, then?”
“Wouldn’t that be better?”
Ke Yiyi’s heart tightened. Recalling what had transpired at the police academy, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of unease.
Back then, Yagami Saichi, after experiencing a certain trauma, suffered a psychogenic mental disorder episode. She had seized a knife, intending to kill Yagami Kii. Ke Yiyi vividly remembered Yagami Kii’s back being turned to Yagami Saichi, with only a short distance separating them. Yagami Saichi had moved swiftly, leaving Yagami Kii no time to react. It was only thanks to Ichijō Hi and Qian Wanyu, who restrained her, that Yagami Kii had not been killed.
The incident had been reported to Principal An Xiaotao, but An Xiaotao had said little, simply releasing Yagami Saichi after a routine inquiry and investigation. Afterward, Yagami Saichi was no longer permitted to receive training in violent application subjects, such as weapon usage. Ke Yiyi had expected Yagami Saichi to be expelled, but she remained unscathed, and the matter wasn’t even routinely reported. An Xiaotao seemed to have used specific wording to reinterpret a very serious incident as something less severe.
However, Ke Yiyi had no idea where Yagami Saichi went after graduation. She had just noticed a handgun in Yagami Saichi’s leg holster, though it lacked a magazine. It appeared that Yagami Saichi had resumed training in violent application subjects after graduating from the police academy.
Although Yagami Kii held no grudge against Yagami Saichi for trying to kill her, a thick barrier had formed between them, primarily from Yagami Saichi’s side.
Gudang Weixiao had already departed, having other matters to attend to, leaving only Ke Yiyi and Yagami Saichi walking along the small path behind the police station.
“So, that man isn’t your boyfriend?”
Ke Yiyi froze, her thoughts utterly disrupted by Yagami Saichi’s sudden, disjointed question. She was momentarily speechless. ‘Was she referring to Li Yuyi?’
“Of course not. He’s just a colleague for now.”
Yagami Saichi looked into Ke Yiyi’s eyes, a meaningful glint appearing within them.
“Perhaps.”
“Why the sudden interest in this? Just because he gave us two bottles of water?”
“During police academy, male cadets had absolutely no interaction with you. Forget a bottle of water, you barely exchanged a few words.”
“Because I’m not good-looking… and my personality isn’t pleasing… there are too many people better than me…”
Ke Yiyi felt a hint of embarrassment as she spoke, her voice growing softer towards the end. She remembered that at the academy, men were few and women many; the ratio of male to female students was nearly one to ten. Male cadets were very popular, while she was among the most inconspicuous of the female students. Besides, she had no interest in romance, as her heart remained fixated on Man Huai Zhi, leaving her no time for other considerations. Others, like Ichijō Hi, often received gifts from male cadets, though male cadets certainly received more gifts themselves.
Yagami Saichi glanced at Ke Yiyi. In truth, Ke Yiyi wasn’t ugly; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was quite comely. It was simply her disinterest in dressing herself up that allowed her reserved nature to overshadow her looks. She was always hesitant and overthinking, long on deliberation but short on decisive action. Though she was a woman of action, she pondered far more than the average person, often worrying that her words and deeds would trouble others, and frequently prioritizing others’ affairs over her own, even dedicating her own time to their concerns. Yet, if she were the timid, clingy type who only saw her partner, she wouldn’t be Ke Yiyi.
Turning around the side of the building, they arrived at the main entrance. Many police officers came and went along the way. Although Ke Yiyi wasn’t part of the police force, she didn’t forget to greet them with a salute.
After the World War, due to the catastrophic blow to Vega’s population, the male-to-female ratio became severely imbalanced, forcing many industries to be staffed solely by women. Taking the military and police as examples: the army remained predominantly male, while the police force had to be supplemented by a large number of female officers to shoulder the primary workload.
While a single-gender workforce was far from ideal, there was no alternative. When Ke Yiyi served as a volunteer police officer, she personally witnessed a town of five thousand reduced to only two thousand inhabitants, the remaining population consisting entirely of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Even sixteen-year-old children had been sent to the front lines. The sight of every household having lost someone was horrifying; once seen, she never wished to witness it again.
“I need to report on the progress of the archive organization. Could you hold my water for a moment?”
Yagami Saichi stood before the police station’s main entrance, cradling her laptop, ready to enter.
“Saichi, can you give me back my identification and communicator? I really need to get to work.”
Yagami Saichi gazed at Ke Yiyi, remaining silent.
“I’m truly fine now. Look, even Gudang Weixiao said I was fine just now.”
“Alright!”
Yagami Saichi finally relented.
“Once I go in and transfer the organized archives to the Worldly Affairs City Archives Division, I’ll come out and return your identification.”
She had just turned when she swiftly looked back at Ke Yiyi.
“Promise me, don’t put pressure on yourself, and don’t be so hard on yourself anymore.”
Ke Yiyi nodded. Though she had to wait a while, at least Yagami Saichi had agreed to return her identification. ‘What was Lan Xifang thinking, anyway? Why would she give my identification to Yagami Saichi…?’
Without her observer’s identification, Ke Yiyi couldn’t enter Xuanji Star territory to participate in her upcoming work. With nowhere else to go, she could only stand at the police station entrance and wait. She searched for a long time but couldn’t find a trash can, so she held her empty water bottle and Yagami Saichi’s full one in her hand.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the street, and her body moved towards it without her realizing. She stood by the roadside, seeing the pool of blood-red near the center of the street. A perfectly healthy person had died just like that, without even uttering a word before their demise.
But whom could she blame? Xuanji Star? Vega? The killer? Or herself?
It could only be herself.
“Little Ke, have you recovered?”
A man’s voice came from behind her. Ke Yiyi’s heart leaped; she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed anyone approaching. She turned to find that the speaker was none other than Man Huai Zhi.
“Man… why are you here?”
Ke Yiyi suppressed the rest of her usual address. This was Vega territory, and she didn’t want to use such a familiar term for Man Huai Zhi here.
“I came to see you!”
Man Huai Zhi still wore his amiable smile. He said with a chuckle, “I was quite worried about you before. Seeing you look well now, I’m relieved.”
“No need to bother, I’m fine.”
Ke Yiyi didn’t want to look at Man Huai Zhi’s face. Recalling his previous words, she felt only profound disappointment.
“You’re really not suited to be a police officer. To faint at the sight of a corpse? Have you considered a different profession?”
“No… being a police officer is quite good.”
“Little Ke, stop lying to yourself. Don’t I know you well enough?”
Man Huai Zhi looked at Ke Yiyi earnestly, speaking with great sincerity. “Think about what I’ve told you. Wouldn’t it be better to come to my side? I’ve heard people call you the ‘Light of Shell City,’ but in the end, doesn’t that just mean you sacrifice your own holidays to endlessly run around for others’ affairs? You don’t have to live so exhaustingly. Just come over to my side, and you can live a happy life free from worries about food and clothing. You won’t have to live in those ugly, crowded ‘Qiming Star-style buildings,’ nor go to the police canteen every day, or even work overtime late into the night. As long as you come to me, everything will be better, and you can even have a dedicated ‘life secretary’ to take care of your li—”
“I… I quite like… my current life…”
Ke Yiyi didn’t know what to say. She always felt incapable of resisting anything Man Huai Zhi said in his presence.
Man Huai Zhi shook his head with a sigh, then spoke gravely. “Your current life? Vega’s life? Little Ke, think carefully! Vega is finished! Material scarcity, resource shortages, a highway that’s been under construction for ten years and still isn’t finished. Your government is rife with internal strife and power struggles, and every household consists of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Look at your streets—how many men do you see? And those who survived, aren’t they all surrounded by women, with countless illegitimate children? Women have to do all the work. To what extent has the social fabric deteriorated? How is it any different from a brothel? Don’t be foolish. Xuanji Star will unify the entire continent. By then, not just the Cloud Mountain Peninsula and the Oceanwind Four Islands, but the entire world will belong to our Blaze Clan! Join us! Become our comrade, and together, let’s forge this glorious era that will last for millennia!”
“No… it’s not like that…”
Ke Yiyi stared at Man Huai Zhi. She hadn’t expected him to utter such words on Vega territory, presuming on his status as an observer. ‘Has he truly become like this?’ she thought, suppressing her emotions as she replied, “This world will always have truth and justice. Just because you are strong does not mean you represent justice. Though we are weak, we will not yield to you. We will resist to the very end, even if only one person remains.”
“Truth? Justice? The last person?”
Man Huai Zhi couldn’t help but laugh aloud, then let out a long sigh. “Oh, Little Ke! In this world, the strong survive and the weak perish. Truth and justice only favor the strong; the weak have no place at their table. ‘Resist to the very end’? With what will you resist? You are merely a drop of water, but you face a vast ocean. You are but a single spark, yet you confront a prairie fire. In the end, you are just a mere speck of land on the celestial map, but you seek to defy a boundless empire on the verge of conquering the world! Think carefully, Little Ke.”