—Dispel her fog, ignite her candle, walk her path.
Given the vast operational scope of the Vega police force, its internal structure was divided into numerous departments. As Ke Yiyi stepped into the Worldly Affairs City Police Station building, her gaze swept across the many departmental nameplates. Some offices were already dark and quiet, their work concluded for the day, while others teemed with activity.
Within the three major councils, the immense scale of the Vega police force had been a recurring topic, with proposals to reduce its size often put forth. Yet, each time, these suggestions were dismissed under the pretense of ‘the force’s extensive duties.’ In truth, the Vega police force dwarfed its counterparts in other academies, not only in sheer numbers but even more so in its functional scope and authority.
It wasn’t a matter of Vega seeking to inflate its ranks with idle personnel; the sheer volume of work genuinely necessitated such a large force. The Vega police force’s responsibilities permeated every facet of society, encompassing everything from policy dissemination and traffic control to criminal investigations, armed protection, archival management, equipment maintenance, and even escort operations. In other academies, these duties were typically fragmented among numerous specialized agencies. But here on Vega, every single one of these tasks fell under the unified jurisdiction of the police force.
With such a large force and expansive authority, maintaining close ties with the populace was paramount. From their uniforms to their daily interactions, officers were expected to remain as approachable as possible, lest the three major councils perceive them as an unproductive, bloated bureaucracy. This philosophy gave rise to a popular saying on Vega: ‘Whatever your trouble, seek out the police—whether it’s tardiness, unemployment, or even the inability to find a girlfriend.’
Indeed, whenever that particular saying crossed Ke Yiyi’s mind, a knowing smile would invariably grace her lips, only to vanish almost immediately. The inclusion of ‘not being able to find a girlfriend’ among the police’s duties stemmed from a stark reality: women overwhelmingly dominated the police force. Beneath the veneer of a witty, popular adage lay the brutal truth of Vega’s World War, a conflict that had decimated its male population, costing tens of millions of lives.
Ke Yiyi held a particular fondness for the police uniforms. They eschewed the rigid, formal aesthetic of military attire, instead presenting a civilian appearance while maintaining remarkable uniformity. The ‘Luminous Blaze’ uniforms, currently in service, were typically born from public design submissions, refined through official review, and ultimately selected by popular vote. Even the name ‘Luminous Blaze’ itself was a public choice—though Ke Yiyi harbored a suspicion that the renowned Vega pianist, Sakamoto Guangyan, had so captivated the public imagination that her name had overwhelmingly secured the winning vote.
She systematically searched each office, one after another, until she finally located the medical room.
The door stood ajar, yet the makeshift bed of cardboard boxes lay vacant.
A jolt of alarm shot through Ke Yiyi. She frantically scanned the room, but the sparse medical office offered no concealment; Yagami Saichi was nowhere in sight.
“Oh, no…”
She cast a quick glance at Li Yuyi, then swiftly pivoted to exit. In that very instant, she spotted a petite figure stepping through the doorway.
Yagami Saichi stood in the doorway, a cup of water in her hands, her gaze fixed on Ke Yiyi. The rising steam from the cup veiled her face, rendering her expression entirely inscrutable.
“Were you looking for me?”
Her voice was as placid as always; the frenzied agitation that had gripped her earlier was gone, indicating she had regained her composure—at least for the moment.
“Saichi… you… I…”
Ke Yiyi’s face immediately flushed with acute embarrassment, leaving her speechless. Li Yuyi, standing close by, offered a glance but chose to remain silent. Ke Yiyi’s predicament was one she had to navigate herself; any intervention would only serve to deepen her evasion.
“It’s alright, I’m used to it.”
Yagami Saichi cast a brief look down the corridor before quietly stepping into the medical room. From her temporary ‘bed,’ she disassembled a cardboard box and offered it to Ke Yiyi as a makeshift stool. Observing this, Li Yuyi effortlessly claimed another box for himself, settling onto it directly—he was a man who preferred to handle anything within his own capability rather than relying on others.
Yagami Saichi’s gaze swept over Li Yuyi, and for a fleeting moment, a hint of approval seemed to pass through her eyes, only to be swiftly supplanted by her characteristic serenity.
Ke Yiyi noticed the backpack slung over Yagami Saichi’s shoulders, presumably holding a laptop. A sudden wave of speechlessness washed over her; it was astonishing that Yagami Saichi’s first act upon waking was to seek out work.
Catching Ke Yiyi’s lingering gaze, Yagami Saichi set down her backpack and once more looked towards the doorway.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t control myself. I thought I was fine, but I didn’t expect another episode… After waking up, I heard what happened later… I caused you trouble, I’m sorry.”
Witnessing Yagami Saichi’s solemn bow of apology, repeated twice over, Ke Yiyi’s heart ached. She closed her eyes, held her breath for a brief moment, and then, at last, she spoke.
“Saichi… I never thought it would be him… I knew him before, and back then he was… no… not like this. I should have realized all this sooner, sooner…”
Ke Yiyi’s voice trailed off. What else could she possibly say? That she should have drawn a line with Man Huai Zhi sooner? Or perhaps killed him before? Neither seemed within the realm of possibility. She possessed no prophetic abilities, no means to foresee the events that had transpired.
“I heard. You’ve already cut ties with him. If not for this incident, perhaps you could have remained friends, without such a definitive break.”
Yagami Saichi set her water cup aside, then rose and gently cupped Ke Yiyi’s face in her hands, her gaze fixed on the sorrowful, bewildered expression.
“None of this is your fault. You couldn’t possibly predict what every person around you would do next. Even if you could, you wouldn’t be justified in punishing them solely on that premise. Didn’t the police academy teach us that a person cannot be judged guilty based merely on criminal intent? Guilt can only be determined by a committed criminal act.”
Yagami Saichi’s gaze remained steadily calm as she looked at Ke Yiyi. Ke Yiyi sighed inwardly, convinced that even a furious reprimand would have been far easier to bear than this serene, almost indifferent, composure.
“His name is Man Huai Zhi, correct?”
Ke Yiyi nodded, a chilling thought suddenly blossoming in her mind. ‘Surely Yagami Saichi isn’t planning to kill him?’
“Don’t worry, he’s an observer now. I won’t harm him. I can’t cause trouble for the police force that took me in. At least now I know his name; it’s the first time in twenty years I’ve known the name of one of them.”
Yagami Saichi settled back onto the cardboard box, unzipped her backpack, and retrieved her laptop.
“After all this, it’ll be difficult for me to stay with the police force…”
“You’re leaving the police force?”
Ke Yiyi’s expression instantly shifted, and she pressed on, her voice laced with urgency.
“Is it because I brought you…”
“No, it’s not. It’s for my own reasons.”
Yagami Saichi’s gaze flickered towards the doorway. Though her eyes remained as placid as an undisturbed ancient well, a fleeting trace of helplessness colored her words.
“I noticed it when I went to get water just now. Even if people don’t say it, their eyes don’t lie.”
“Police officer Yagami Saichi of the Golden Hook City Police Department’s archives division was sexually assaulted, and as a result, developed a psychogenic mental disorder.”
“How profoundly ironic, for a Vega police officer to be sexually assaulted. This reflects poorly on Principal An, who personally vouched for my stay. I cannot become a burden to her.”
Yagami Saichi cleared her mind, her fingers already dancing across the keyboard. She resolved to complete as much work as possible before her departure from the Worldly Affairs City Police Station—though, in truth, her previous assignments were already done; this was simply new work she had just, moments ago, tasked herself with.
“But that was before you joined the police force…”
“But I am a police officer now.”
Yagami Saichi continued typing, her head bowed. Through the monotonous, day-in, day-out task of organizing archives, despite the sheer tedium, she had gleaned countless human emotions from the towering stacks of files—some positive, others profoundly negative.
People, at times, cared little for the truth, caring only for what they perceived.
Such was the case with criticisms leveled against army veterans, against the authority of the police force, and even more so against the three major councils’ perceived apathy in the face of war. She knew, with a certainty that chilled her, that she would be no exception.
“Saichi… I…”
“Stop apologizing. Pull yourself together, Ke Yiyi. We cannot let our enemies laugh at us.”
Yagami Saichi lifted her gaze to meet Ke Yiyi’s, and for the first time, Ke Yiyi witnessed such an expression in her eyes: resolute, tenacious, and utterly unyielding.
“The more arrogant they are, the less we can back down.”
“The more brazen they become, the more we must confront them head-on.”
“They can trample us, destroy us, kill us, but we will not yield to them.”
“Only through action can we prove we are unconquerable, just as you said.”
“Drain his waters, extinguish his fire, overturn his kingdom.”
Yagami Saichi met Ke Yiyi’s gaze and offered a faint smile. Ke Yiyi stood frozen, silently observing her.
This was the very first time she had witnessed such an expression on Yagami Saichi’s face, not once since their initial acquaintance at the police academy.
“I was the one who was sexually assaulted. If even I can face reality with equanimity, why do you allow your own nature to compel you to apologize repeatedly?”
“Your greatest virtue lies in your kindness, and your greatest flaw in your hesitation. You constantly prioritize the feelings of others, willing to sacrifice your own well-being to accommodate them. But people are not as fragile as you imagine. I survived one hundred and twenty days of sheer torment; do you truly believe I would cower before a Man Huai Zhi who turns tail and flees at my mere presence?”
Ke Yiyi remained silent, processing. Yagami Saichi seemed irrevocably altered, transformed from the person she once was—a metamorphosis Ke Yiyi had never conceived possible.
She had always perceived Yagami Saichi, in her role as a victim, to be fragile and easily shattered.
She had been mistaken. Even the petite Yagami Saichi could stand as tall and unyielding as a giant, utterly indestructible.
Her own understanding had been far too superficial. She had blindly projected her own perceived fragility onto others, mistakenly believing that weakness was simply weakness, the polar opposite of strength. Yet, these two qualities, she now realized, were complementary, not eternally at odds.
“Saichi, although there was no opportunity this time, in the future, as long as there’s a chance, I will definitely find Man Huai Zhi. The sins he personally committed must be personally repaid by him. I mean what I say; I will not break my word.”
“Alright, when that day truly comes, I’ll trouble you to teach him a good lesson for me.”
Yagami Saichi offered a faint smile, then gently tapped Ke Yiyi’s forehead with her finger.
“His character is quite flawed; he’s certainly due for a thorough dressing down.”
“I will. Not just Man Huai Zhi, but every person who commits a crime on Vega’s soil deserves the same.”
Li Yuyi observed Ke Yiyi standing before him, listening intently to her resolute words, and found himself narrowing his eyes almost imperceptibly.
He also hoped that this day of reckoning would arrive swiftly.
Of course, he would be no exception.