[Tao Twe: Northern Bank is a subsidiary of Northern Heavy Industries, officially known as the Northern United Savings Bank. Established in the year 1383 of the Red Calendar, its founding goal was to meet the financial shock brought by the arrival of the 'Eight-Spider Hive Mother,' stabilize the currency system, supervise domestic finance, and achieve the transformation of Red Heaven's heavy industry.]
[Tao Twe: Its internal power structure is composed of the Northern Reserve Joint Committee, the Winter Market Research Committee, and 15 reserve banks across the territory of Red Heaven.]
[Tao Twe: Two hundred years later, it has gradually transcended the framework of Red Heaven to become one of the most influential financial institutions in the world. As the second most secure financial institution, it has long kept its inflation indicators at 1.81%, with a floating index not exceeding 0.1%. Its routine gold reserves exceed 45,000 tons, a number that rises sharply during wartime. Such massive gold reserves allow it to withstand the impact of any financial tsunami.]
[Tao Twe: Its internal power is divided among the Winter family, Northern Heavy Industries, and the Chi family. The Northern Reserve Joint Committee consists of 13 members; the chairman and secretary-general are appointed by the Universal Heavy Industries Council of Elders. Of the remaining 11 seats, the Winter family holds 2 fixed seats, 4 seats are held by the rotating chairpersons of the reserve banks across Red Heaven, 1 seat is elected by the people of Red Heaven, and the remaining seats are composed of rotating personnel assigned by Northern Heavy Industries and the Chi Pin family.]
The land-air vehicle drove forward steadily as Xu Xiaoyou's gaze remained on the virtual light screen in front of her, while Chi Chuchun leaned against the window, her fingertips idly tracing patterns on the frosted glass.
Looking at the messages sent by the girl, Xu Xiaoyou's thoughts began to drift.
Asgard was the chief city of the Northern United. As the first city to transform toward industry, many heavy industrial miracles were born here.
There was the Nibelungen-class aerospace carrier, driven by twenty-three sets of Surtur nuclear fusion power engine stacks.
There was the Jormungandr, a mobile land-warfare fortress known as the Sighing Serpent, capable of turning the capital city of any hive city to dust with a single shot.
There was the wolf-type military titan codenamed Fenrir, powered by a single molten core fusion engine.
Technology, art, and medicine flourished together, and the present age for humanity was infinitely close to the golden opera moment praised by poets.
People of this era only needed to cross the final barrier and defeat the greatest enemy on the opposite side of civilization—'Mystery'—to begin exploring the vast universe and embark on the journey they most longed for during their period of ignorance.
It was not that the people of this world had never tried to leave the giant star beneath their feet to find a home more suitable for nurturing civilization.
However, whenever they tried to escape the planet's gravitational pull, all probes and aerospace equipment would be destroyed by some unknown force. Precise instruments would grow sarcomas and sharp teeth with near-madness, immediately becoming space junk.
The brushstrokes of her thoughts stopped, and Xu Xiaoyou's gaze refocused on the curtain.
[Natsume Yuzuri: Miss Tao Shier, I'm sorry to trouble you.]
[Tao Twe: Queen of Hearts, I'm glad I could help. But I'm actually quite curious—why did you suddenly ask about this?]
[Natsume Yuzuri: I'm currently in the Northern Realm of Red Heaven. Do you want to see the silhouette of the Jotunheim Mountains hanging inverted in the sky?]
[Tao Twe: Is that so? The Northern Bank uses the most primitive storage services. If you encounter any problems, you can look for me. I once served as the secretary-general there. As long as you don't go blowing up the vault for fun, I can step in and help you resolve most things.]
The other party seemed to have said something quite incredible in a casual tone, Xu Xiaoyou thought.
[Tao Twe: Oh, by the way, are you planning to play in this season's Oasis league?]
[Natsume Yuzuri: What's wrong?]
[Tao Twe: If you're short on hands, you can look for us. The Dawn Society's influence in the Oasis is not small.]
Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow and shook her head while typing.
[Natsume Yuzuri: No thanks, I already have candidates in mind for the remaining four team members.]
[Tao Twe: That's great—er, I mean, that's for the best.]
[Tao Twe: Anyway, I'm happy to help you. See you later, Queen. Drop by Daybreak City if you have time.]
[Tao Twe is offline.]
Xu Xiaoyou swiped away the curtain in front of her. Chi Chuchun had turned her head by then, pointing at the little raccoon she had drawn on the car window with bright eyes.
The land-air vehicle stopped below the Fountain of the Gods hotel. Seeing the familiar luxurious decoration style of the hotel lobby, Xu Xiaoyou couldn't help but recall some unpleasant experiences on Siren Island.
Following a specialized bionic service staff member to the suite they had reserved, the door opened to reveal a room with a simple style. This was a perfectly ordinary room without any extravagant decorations—marble bathroom, a sunlit balcony, simple wall lamps, and a modern oak desk. The aisle between the desk and the large bed was just enough for one person to pass through.
With their status, even without a reservation, they could have gone to the roof of the Fountain of the Gods to enjoy presidential treatment and soak in a blue temperature-controlled pool while overlooking the city's bustling night.
However, following the little family head's strong request—saying she wanted to experience life—they had moved to a position near the middle of the hotel, around the fortieth floor. From here, they could still clearly take in all of Asgard, such as the giant Ferris wheel standing tall on the city's skyline.
"Wow—"
Chi Chuchun's eyes lit up as she pounced onto the soft bed. She bounced after making close contact with the surface and rolled around on the bed wrapped in the sheets, completely ignoring the fact that she wasn't alone in the room.
Xu Xiaoyou was already used to the girl's constant excitement. She placed their luggage under the desk, went to the bedside, drew the curtains, and observed the external environment.
"Yuzu, sometimes I really wonder if you have persecution mania," the red little raccoon wrapped in a duvet like a zongzi on the bed said speechlessly. "We finally came out to have some fun, why are you so tense?"
Xu Xiaoyou shrugged. "It's just a habit."
"If you don't want to attract attention, then you should be more low-key," Chi Chuchun complained.
"It's different in the Oasis. I want it both ways—I need to expand my influence there, but I don't want to bring trouble to my real self."
Xu Xiaoyou was quite aware of her own character flaws. She was never satisfied with the status quo, always craved more, and would ignore her own safety to achieve her goals.
Speaking of character flaws, she thought of Tang Xin, Bai Youyou, and Angelina. It seemed that everyone around her had character flaws to some extent.
As for Chi Chuchun, the experience in the previous dungeon had made her a bit concerned. Especially when the other party mentioned her playmates, she realized she had been confusing one point.
The Oasis read every player's memory and used those memories to construct dungeons. Without a doubt, the Xia Li in the dungeon corresponded to Chi Chuchun when she was a child.
As for Xia Li's playmates like Owl on the train, she had originally thought they were generated by the Oasis based on Chi Chuchun's experiences in the Night Walkers. She hadn't expected the girl to say that she had given her companions those codenames herself, claiming it was a sudden flash of inspiration.
A deeper level of information could be excavated from behind this.
Humanity's subconscious and conscious minds are like two lines that constantly meet and separate. The body's protective measures choose to fade or even completely seal away memories that cause too much self-harm.
Perhaps Owl, Sparrow, Night Owl, and Benjamin were all part of Chi Chuchun's past memories, only forgotten by the girl for some reason.
And the Oasis chose to bloodily peel back the memories wrapped deep in the girl's heart and present them as metaphors in the form of a plot.
What exactly had the other party experienced in the past?
"Children chosen and protected by the Red Tree will have such a mark left on them."
"Yuzu, Yuzu, are you there?"
Her thoughts returned to the present. Xu Xiaoyou found that the girl had appeared before her at some point, kneeling by the bed and holding up the duvet while looking at her with concern.
Xu Xiaoyou placed both hands on Chi Chuchun's face as the girl watched with a confused gaze.
With a deadpan expression, she began to squeeze and knead with force.
"Wuuu-ah, wuuu-ah, it hurts..."
Seeing the girl glaring at her while clutching her reddened cheeks and shrinking into the corner of the bed, Xu Xiaoyou let out a soft laugh.
It was noon when the sound of the door closing echoed in the foyer.
Xu Xiaoyou returned with takeout food: cheese waffles, caramel foie gras mousse, toasted croissants, and yogurt salad. Most of them were sweet treats the girl liked.
Back in the room, warm sunlight passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, forming swaying shadows on the bedside cabinet. Tiny dust motes became specks of light, and the pale gold light path traced the annual rings of the wooden table before leaving marks on the white sheets, caressing the face of the sleeping girl.
A few strands of dark red hair fell, covering the girl's exposed rosy shoulders. Beneath her delicate nose, her lips were slightly pursed. This lively little family head also had a rare quiet and beautiful side.
A cold hand pressed against her face. Chi Chuchun's lips tightened, her eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes. Upon seeing Xu Xiaoyou with a curled lip pointing the screen at her, she muttered a few complaints, pushed Xu Xiaoyou's hand away, pulled the quilt over her face, and curled back into her cocoon.
"I hate you..."
"Don't bother me, I'm sleeping."
"I haven't had a good sleep these past few days. Let me sleep a bit longer."
Before long, realizing something, Chi Chuchun snapped her eyes open and threw back the quilt, pouncing out. "Yuzu, I'm going to fight you! Delete it!"
After some roughhousing and under Chi Chuchun's tooth-grinding threats, Xu Xiaoyou finally deleted the photo.
She sat watching the girl stuff her cheeks with sweets, feeling like a raccoon caretaker.
At the same time, at the Fixer Association headquarters, the Light-Chaser Tower.
Deep White Midnight was about to officially start enjoying his lunch as usual when the arrival of an uninvited guest shattered the peaceful atmosphere.
"Long time no see, Deep White Midnight."
Deep White Midnight instantly became alert. He looked up to see a deep blue figure had appeared outside the door at some point.
Her beautiful cyan curly hair flowed down to her shoulders, and she wore a deep blue coat over her shoulders. Lustrous deep blue gems adorned her chest, and she exuded the fragrance of orchids. Her exquisite custom evening dress made her look like a noblewoman from the Middle Ages.
"Deep Blue Tide?" Deep White Midnight remained unmoved, watching her walk behind him, then looked up at the virtual the Miserere.
Despite the presence of the Miserere, everyone in the association knew this person was an emotionally unstable lunatic. Who knew if she would act right in front of the Miserere.
"What are you doing here?"
"Why are you so wary of me?" Deep Blue Tide said in a sentimental tone. "It's been fourteen years since we last met, hasn't it? I missed you, Little White."
"Being so distant the moment we meet... I'm really quite heartbroken." Deep Blue Tide placed her hand gently on the young man's shoulder.
The ground beneath the young man's seat cracked instantly, the fissures spreading throughout the room. The prism crystal in the center developed fine cracks, and the projections of countless hive city worlds flickered unsteadily.
The Miserere's long grey hair flowed with bright red light, and her eyes opened and closed. Time reversed at that moment—the cracked ground quickly closed, and the crystal shards scattered on the floor flew up to fill the cracks on the prism's surface. Only the two of them remained unaffected.
In the blink of an eye, everything was restored to its original state.
"I don't have time to play riddles with you." Deep White Midnight brushed the hand off his shoulder.
"Someone told me that Dark Gold Rose is in one of the hive cities under Universal Heavy Industries. I think as the boss of Universal Heavy Industries, you couldn't possibly be unaware of this, right?"
"I'm sorry." Deep White Midnight glanced at Deep Blue Tide, whose face was full of longing and expectation. "I can't even handle the company's daily affairs. A single hive city has a resident population of hundreds of millions. How can I keep track of one person's movements?"
"She isn't just one person. She is the beautiful Dark Gold Rose. How could she be compared to those low and humble ants?"
Deep Blue Tide shook her head sadly.
"You obviously know everything, Little White, you just don't want to tell me."
"I thought we had a deep bond and always had things to talk about."
"Do you think the matter of you blowing up the left spiral arm of R'lyeh would just pass so easily?" Deep White Midnight's gaze suddenly turned cold.
"I just wanted to give you a surprise on your birthday. I thought you would like it."
Deep Blue Tide's lips curled into a smile as if thinking of an interesting image.
"What a wonderful and melodious sound of wailing. It's such a pity for it to dissipate in the vast universe. I regret not being able to record that moment."
Deep White Midnight didn't want to reason with such a lunatic and rose to leave, only for Deep Blue Tide's voice, deliberately elongated in tone, to come from behind him.
"Finding them one by one would be quite troublesome."
"Let's just set off Red Heaven, Stillwater Prison, Star of Art, Trax, and Xibomia as fireworks. That will surely get Dark Gold Rose's attention. Just thinking about it is quite a lot of trouble, though."
"You lunatic!"
No one could see Deep White Midnight's movements. In the next instant, he was in front of Deep Blue Tide, a thorn-wrapped longsword infinitely close to her throat. The latter only wore a polite smile, her fingertips resting on his longsword to completely neutralize his offensive.
"Try it if you dare."
At the moment of their clash, the resulting gale instantly blew their location into the void, and the world fell into absolute silence.
"Trying to kill me again, Little White." Deep Blue Tide wore an excited smile as the phantom of a giant cross appeared behind her.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Time is the one thing we aren't short of. There is nothing that can't be left to time."
"Perfect. Let me see what progress you've made after not seeing each other for so many years!"
The Miserere's eyes were quiet as she folded her hands. The prism crystal condensed between her palms, and ten thousand stardust specks draped her in a mysterious veil. Suddenly, every strand of her long hair turned bright red. Time flowed backward rapidly. Every brick and tile cast into the void was traced back, and the room returned to its original state once more.
With a light lift of her hand, the two entangled figures were forcibly separated and placed back in their seats. Powerful restrictions were layered upon them, making it difficult for either to move an inch.
"So." After a moment of silence, Deep White Midnight calmed his mind, reflecting that he shouldn't lower himself to a lunatic's level. He rubbed his brow and asked, "What exactly do you want with Dark Gold Rose?"
Deep Blue Tide's expression turned mysterious as she opened a palm-sized box. A shining diamond ring lay inside. "To show her how I feel."
Rate on N.U.
