Angelina, hidden in the shadows of the pitched roof, watched the black-haired girl below with cold, vigilant eyes. She recognized this person as Bai Youyou, that three-winged—no, she should be called a four-winged investigator now. Why was she here in Chichutian?
The girl likely hadn't come here because of them. If the Fixer Association knew the locations of the "Abyssal White Flower" or the "Dark Gold Rose," they wouldn't have sent just a single four-winged investigator. They would have sent at least several special operations sections, an armed force sufficient to level Dragonfly Town.
Thinking of this, Angelina leisurely weighed whether she should let Xu Xiaoyou know about this. As if thinking of something amusing, the corners of Angelina's mouth curled up, and she let out another sinister chuckle.
January 16th, New Era Calendar 533.
One of the world's ten greatest unsolved mysteries: Where exactly does the Fixer Association's headquarters, the Light-Chaser Tower, stand?
No one knows. No one knows how much courage the ancestors of humanity in the ancient dark forests needed to lift the torches in their hands, step out of their caves, and peer into the dangerous and mad world outside. Similarly, no one knows how many generations of wisdom the sages of humanity utilized to build this high tower during their golden age.
Researchers in white coats walked through the long corridors. Outside the observation portholes was a world of falling gray ash. There were no prosperous city skyscrapers, no land, no oceans, and no signs of any biological activity. There was only this towering behemoth beneath their feet, rising straight into the atmosphere, its tower-shaped silhouette clearly visible even from near-planetary orbit.
Clouds as heavy as lead rolled incessantly, their interiors a dark red. Thunderstorms flickered faintly within; convection storms of several thousand degrees would destroy everything. Everywhere they raged turned into an absolute forbidden zone for life.
Like something out of a sci-fi film, the Light-Chaser Tower was like a thumbtack driven deep into the celestial body, its top extending infinitely into the atmosphere.
No one could glimpse the top of the tower. The lower section was composed of a magnificent, surging tide of steel. Its high-density hive structure made it look like a deformed giant, emitting a shimmering cold glow amidst the dense crimson clouds.
Scientific scholars once calculated that when the Light-Chaser Tower's power was fully engaged and the Fireseed Project was initiated, this high tower would be sufficient to accommodate 2.3 billion people living within it simultaneously. The simulated ecosystem would overload and collapse after 120 years of operation, but the food and energy would be enough for people to cross the river of time for two centuries.
At that time, all external threats would no longer exist. No one clearly knew the specific coordinates of the Light-Chaser Tower. Some guessed it was located somewhere in the badlands, while others guessed it was on another planet. Only the head of the Fixer Association, the Master of the Light-Chaser Tower, possessed the authority to enter the depths of the tower and communicate with the sages.
The ultimate goal for all of humanity, including hetero-races and sub-humans, remained only one: to survive the long winter until the arrival of the next warm spring day when flowers bloom...
-
Excerpt from "If the World Was BE: Dawn Winter"
The simulated sky outside shifted to a clear blue. The blackout curtains rose automatically, and cold sunlight shone into the room. A light flickered, and Bai Youyou returned to the Light-Chaser Tower. Outside in the plaza, the bell at the top of the giant tower tolled softly, corresponding to the dawn in Chichutian.
As an investigator for the Fixer Association, she had the right to teleport back to the Light-Chaser Tower three times a week. The time and climate of her sector matched Chichutian. To facilitate members of the Wing, Eye, and Palm in adjusting their jet lag and physical states, the Fixer Association had established different simulation areas within the Light-Chaser Tower for the seventy-three hive cities to replicate local scenes; Chichutian was at the top of the list.
Leaving her messy room, Bai Youyou had no habit of tidying up her own living space.
She needed to personally deliver the investigation report to her superior. Bai Youyou had never seen what that woman looked like; she only knew her name was Yaljia. Whenever they coordinated work, all she ever saw was a straight line representing sound waves.
Who knew what mysterious situation that woman had run into; she couldn't be contacted via the curtain.
Walking on the simulated streets of Dragonfly Town, the voices of several association members discussing things reached her ears: "I heard the situation at the Star of Art is very bad."
"A world-class urban legend artist?"
"In recent years, world-class urban legends have been breaking out far too frequently. First it was the 'Red High Heels' and 'Abyssal White Flower,' and now it's 'The Artist.' Nothing like this has happened in the past hundred years. It's truly unsettling."
"The outside world doesn't know yet, but I heard the Fixer Association dispatched all of Sections 1 through 3, along with two prism grade fixers, to finally 'solve' that world-class urban legend. The residents of the entire Starlight Avenue in the King's District were refined into musical notes during that battle..."
"Stop being so gloating. Chichutian isn't doing any better. Did you forget what happened at the Tower City?"
Lately, many things had been troubling Bai Youyou. Although her physical examination reports were all normal, she felt this body was strange. She would often perform unconscious actions, such as suddenly striking a pose as if hugging someone or smiling for no reason. Many memory fragments that didn't belong to her would also suddenly appear in her mind—scattered scenes from many different angles featuring strangers she had never met. She didn't know what was happening to her.
Suddenly, she stopped. Where her gaze fell was a green leaf shop named "Mint Green Leaf Shop"; such establishments were everywhere in the red-light district of Dragonfly Town.
It was happening again. This unconscious behavior. The command she had given her body was to go to the B23-A residential area, so why did her eyes involuntarily look toward a green leaf shop?
She had absolutely no interest in the most basic, primitive, and boring desires of physical love; they even filled her with disgust. Her gaze should have instinctively avoided such establishments.
Yet, these unconscious actions of her body often helped her, allowing her to discover clues hidden in the dark, dodge sudden attacks, or catch a green light just before the traffic signal changed. Though she never followed any rules in her work, she only pursued efficiency.
Could this be a reminder from her body this time as well?
Was there someone inside this Mint Green Leaf Shop who had some kind of connection to her?
Bai Youyou suppressed her thoughts for the moment and shook her head. She needed to submit her report quickly and clear the doubts in her heart. The Order Court hoped she would hone her performance in Chichutian; she couldn't let Mother down.
Thinking this, Bai Youyou pursed her lips into a gentle smile and quickened her pace.
Star of Art. A large-scale performance had concluded not long ago.
The arriving association members looked on in horror. "Fields of corpses" was no longer enough to describe the scene before them. Musical notes refined from the souls of thousands of people still hung high upon a musical score of flesh and blood, jumping and flowing to play a sweet and warm melody. A silent deadliness spread into people's hearts.
A butterfly silhouette was seated at a grand piano, dressed in a tidy suit and radiating a solemn aura. He played a requiem, his pure white gloves sometimes moving slowly and sometimes striking the piano keys violently, his body swaying with the rise and fall of the sound.
Hundreds of armed personnel stood ready, their hearts tense. Not one person made a sound as they stopped to look at the butterfly silhouette performing on stage. The heavy and solemn atmosphere of mourning made these battle-hardened fixers feel somewhat breathless.
They had just received intelligence that The Artist had undergone a second revival. This time he had descended upon the concert of the musician Chafens, directly causing the deaths of three thousand people present. The sound of the piano had indirectly caused hundreds of people in the surrounding area to fall into madness, and thirty thousand people were suffering from mental disorders and undergoing psychiatric treatment.
Behind them, even more fixers were rushing over, including the two prism grade fixers stationed at the Star of Art: Sparrow Feather and Calamity Whale!
"There's no mistake. This monster is the newborn Artist. Kill it!!" someone roared under the intense mental strain.
The taut strings in everyone's minds snapped, and they swarmed forward.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, the butterfly silhouette slowly rose from the piano. Massive black-patterned butterfly wings flapped, and a pair of black and white guns crossed at a point on his shoulder. The white gun pointed at the living, while the black gun pointed at the deceased.
"A funeral needs only solemnity, not ostentation."
"It is you who have offended these innocents who died, leaving none of them to rest in peace."
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