The so-called Monunt Square is actually Totem Square. Everyone has their own na for this place, but as long as you ntion it, everyone knows where you’re talking about. I don’t know why Fina suddenly suggested going to see those monunts with Anu Lili: this little queen, who is sowhat lacking in common sense, rarely invites strangers so proactively. But since my tour route with Anu Lili passes through Monunt Square anyway, I decided to gladly go together.
Of course, we stopped by the comrcial street before heading to Monunt Square; after all, the biggest tourist attraction in Shadow City is these enormous comrcial districts. The various items from civilizations across the Macro World, dazzling and whose functions are sotis beyond guessing, are the ultimate feature of Shadow City. Many people manage to visit Shadow City and one of their purposes is to take back so rare items: even if they never understand their use for life. In the comrcial street, we bought a whole bunch of souvenirs for Anu Lili to take with her, and she was now completely overwheld and in a daze, essentially just being dragged around by us—just like any first-ti visitor to Shadow City. She didn’t even bother looking at the things we picked, but was happy to accept them. These things would make good gifts; she could take them back ho to amaze her people or perhaps to cheer up her younger brother. Anuza didn’t co with her this ti; that young man is now busy too. Although he can’t help with technological reconstruction or such, he is quite an inspiring young leader. Once he only led a village, and now he leads a team striving to build a new city. Originally, Anu Lili wanted him to hand over his duties to soone else and co with her to see Shadow City, but now Anuza has another mission: cooperatively work with the local Life Goddess missionaries and Empire researchers to find a way to treat the after-effects of brain damage.
Anu Lili’s race was one of those most devastated by the lowa people, who not only enslaved them but tampered with both their genetic makeup and later growth. The lowa destroyed their brain tissue from infancy, making it impossible for Anu Lili’s people to count or perform logical reasoning beyond three steps, blocking the possibility of technological revival. After the war, apart from rebuilding their hos and resuming production, their most pressing task was eliminating these after-effects of brain damage. Relying on the fragnts of information held by the resistance organization and the limited knowledgeable technical personnel was obviously insufficient. Fortunately, the Imperial Army left many Life God Sect missionaries and carbon-based life researchers upon departure, who are experts in health domains. Now, research on treatnt for brain damage after-effects has made initial progress, and Anuza volunteered as one of the first participants.
"Even though I don’t know your brother, you should be proud of him."
After hearing the story of Anu Lili and her brother’s people, Fina earnestly said to her, with a serious expression.
She was also pushing the rumbling Bipperloo along.
"Yes, Anuza is a brave child. I’ve always felt he is the luckiest part of my life." Anu Lili, holding a large bag of souvenirs, was all smiles, as she seed to slightly acclimate to this dazzling place, beginning to enjoy today’s extraordinary journey.
"No, I an his contributions for your people to be able to think freely," Fina added while pushing Bipperloo forward, genuinely curious about how she navigates while pushing this large sphere. "Freedom is very important, especially the freedom of a race or civilization, those who contribute to it should be proud. You are excellent."
Anu Lili smiled a little bashfully; she wasn’t quite used to Fina’s precise and straightforward way of speaking, while Bipperloo suddenly added his piece: "Your Majesty, your assessnt is very accurate, but...but ahead is a..."
"A slope ahhhh!!"
Then we saw the large sphere Fina was pushing suddenly accelerate, accompanied by fluctuating cries, rolling away down the slope as it appeared earlier. With sad realization, I noticed the end of the slope was the moat.
"Bipperloo! Wait for !" Fina earnestly stood still and said, before running down the slope to chase it. My sister and I couldn’t help silently exchanging glances: as concluded, in ergencies, unnecessary talk leads to disaster, and Bipperloo indeed spoke too much just now...
I think Fina should be able to catch up with her sphere...she should be able to, so my sister and I didn’t intervene. But we forgot that Fina isn’t an original Xyrin Apostle; she often forgets her superhuman body has many features like Sonic Charge and Short-range Jump, so we watched with open eyes as she foolishly ran to the slope’s end, watching her Pri Minister jump on the moat’s fence before plopping into the river with a splash...
This truly was a sad story—and there were also many disturbed passersby we had to placate and explain to along the way...
Anu Lili was once again frightened out of her wits at this point.
In Shadow City, every citizen has two essential items; the first, naturally, is the Identification Card. For ordinary races unable to access the Xyrin Network, this card serves as your ID. Whether long-term or temporary, this card is indispensable for city activities and using city services. The second essential item...is the Citizen Safety Equipnt Suit.
This outfit, composed of sensors that detect the wearer’s physical condition and a danger response system along with a small personal shield. It activates the shield after assessing the wearer’s damage endurance to protect the user when external threats are detected. This outfit is indispensable in Shadow City because it’s the congregational hub of nurous races, many of which find the environnt unfamiliar and dangerous. So races often inadvertently harm others—they are indeed careless—and so often end up in dangerous situations themselves—again, pure oversight. To prevent a superhuman from one plane from crushing a visiting student’s hand from another, or prevent Lingtai Immortal Mountain monks from being crippled by Ghost Energy Crystals while mining Spiritual Immortal Jade, we provide every citizen with such protective gear, keeping them away from lethal factors in Shadow City. Evidence shows they are effective: although you might frequently see shields pop up around people suddenly on the street, at least Lily has not received any complaint letters from the Life Goddess priests requesting reduced work intensity in two months.
As Bipperloo rolled down, I saw at least twenty shields light up consecutively, followed by pedestrians bouncing like bowling pins: quite a crowded slope. Now my sister was soothing frightened citizens. But everyone living in this city is quite accustod to unexpected situations. Occasionally, a failed-landing Dragon God might fall from the sky, or a rogue Godzilla bursts out of the Military Academy, but these instances are not considered big deals for Shadow City’s resilient citizens, let alone being hit by a one and a half-ton iron ball: this place is very robust.
And I pulled Anu Lili running swiftly to the moat’s edge, watching where Bipperloo went down together. The ripples hadn’t settled yet, and Fina was staring at the last bit of splashing water dumbly at the riverbank. There were large traces of water on the moat bank; the huge tal ball really made quite a scene falling down.
"That Mr. Iron Ball wouldn’t have any problems...?" Anu Lili, having accepted life’s diverse wonders, accepted the fact that a nation’s Pri Minister could be a talking giant iron ball, looked at where Bipperloo sank, worrying.
At this mont, vigorous splashing occurred in the moat as though sothing was about to erge from it, Anu Lili and I gaped at the water’s surface, and soon a dripping girl indeed rose from the water!
She was a long-haired, beautiful girl dressed in clothes seemingly made from so slick leather and shells. When she surfaced, I saw a fishtail flash behind her in the splash. Anu Lili remained dumbfounded, and I was quite surprised too: "Isana you’re not a saltwater fish?"
"I can live in freshwater too—I’m just visiting today." The rmaid girl, seeing appear on the moat bank, was also astonished before replying, "Recently, so freshwater rmaids moved in from a world called Gangbola, they live in the moat..."
...Shadow City’s population is getting increasingly diverse.
At this point, Isana recovered from initial surprise, rembering her official business for surfacing, she cleared her throat: "Ahem, just now a large ball fell into the water, may I ask if the ball you lost was a golden ball...or a silver one?"
: "..." Has this saltwater fish finally reached such a boredom level?!
Fina hesitated for a mont; she probably hadn’t heard the story of the golden axe and the silver axe, but she still answered honestly: "It’s just an alloy sphere. I don’t know what material it’s made of, but it can talk..."
Isana laughed happily: "Very good, you’re honest. It seems that the big sphere is yours — it smashed the storage room and the garden wall of a house in the rmaid village below, and has been detained. You better think about compensating."
While speaking, a little girl, who looked much younger than Isana, erged from the water. With a splash, I caught sight of a light purple tail, and this might be the freshwater rmaid Isana ntioned, who had recently moved to Shadow City. The newly appeared little girl looked timidly at the strangers on the riverbank: "Was it your sphere that fell?"
I looked up and silently contemplated Gaia’s earth: In my mory, the story of the two axes didn’t develop like this...
But never mind, don’t fuss over the details. Nothing in Shadow City ever unfolds normally...
Later, I called the Imperial Soldiers patrolling nearby and asked the Urban Construction Departnt to send soone to help those innocent rmaid citizens repair their houses. Bieberu was finally brought up by the rmaids living in the moat. The Pri Minister expressed that many things had happened today, making him feel peculiar and unwilling to talk about it in detail. Isana, on the other hand, chatted with us cheerfully for a while, sharing stories of her life underwater with her rmaid friends. These stories seed intriguing to us land-dwellers, such as rmaids never knowing what seasoning packets in instant noodles are for... Once Bieberu got tossed onto the shore by the other rmaids chanting a work song, Isana, waving her tail, happily bid us farewell before returning to the river: I didn’t even have the chance to ask her how rmaids prepare instant noodles...
When leaving the area, I finally noticed that projection noticeboards were placed at intervals along the riverbank, indicating that rmaids had recently moved into the moat:
"To all citizens: rmaid exchange students and their families from the Gangbola world have settled in sections C-33 to C-36 of the moat. This area is now a residential district. Throwing trash into the river or swimming in the corresponding sections is prohibited. Violate these rules, and you will be penalized for damaging others’ property. Furthermore, fishing in these sections is strictly forbidden; rmaids caught on hooks will have the right to confiscate the fishing rod and all baits. Special notice given."
So noticeboards also had a footnote: "Furthermore, it is emphasized once again that swimming, especially nude swimming, in the corresponding sections is strictly prohibited. Have so dignity, citizens; you all have identification cards — Lilina, Shadow City Publicity Departnt."
... In short, don’t bother with Shadow City’s peculiar customs. It’s no surprise for anything to happen here.
"This is Totem Square, also known as Monunt Square."
Soon, we arrived at our destination, the most solemn and absolutely reverent place in Shadow City.
The large circular square gradually sinks inward like a shallow platter embedded in the ground. The earth is solidly paved with deep obsidian and cold, hard silver-gray alloy. Holographic monunt projections are neatly arranged one row after another, in circle after circle, evoking a sense of solemn dignity. The holograms on the monunts display historical images, docunting through text and imagery the races and heroes who have fallen along the way or are still persistently marching forward.
You can frolic anywhere, but not here. Even the Imperial Leaders are obligated to maintain solemnity in front of these monunts at Monunt Square. At the entrance of Totem Square stands a symbolic monuntal tablet, the only one crafted entirely from Star Gold Stone and Super Alloy rather than using a holographic display. It bears no nas or decorations, only a single line of words:
"For them, keep moving forward."
I stopped in front of the monunt, offering a silent tribute, beside was Fina, who also lowered her head. Bieberu could not move like humans and currently had no mobility, so in a deep voice he said, "Old friends, we are still moving forward."
Anu Lili was unsure as to why the atmosphere suddenly grew so solemn, but she could already see from the surrounding environnt and those solemn black monunts so clues. She wasn’t sure if as an outsider she should ceremoniously pay her respects, yet she followed our example and bowed her head in tribute alongside and Fina.
"Here lies the epito of every historical mont in the Empire’s advancing journey, predominantly representing life-or-death battles," I took the lead in slowly walking towards the center of Monunt Square, with Anu Lili, Fina, and her sister right behind . As for Bieberu, he stayed at the edge of the square for the mont, lest he disturb the tranquil atmosphere of the place with his restricted movent.
"...Is this a monunt for fallen soldiers?" Anu Lili seed to grasp why the place was so solemn.
"...Not exactly," Fina paused for a mont before replying, "Only a small section commorates those fallen; most pertain to a particular race or a war, or a historical event. Look at these holographic images, you could spend days and nights here and not finish viewing them. The weight of this glory is too burdenso, too few can bear it. They belong to an entire race, an entire civilization, even the entire world..."
We paused in front of one monunt. Embedded in the heavy, black monunt body, a line of text floated: "Salute to all of Tam’s tribe, you fell before dawn, but rest assured — dawn has arrived."
"This race perished entirely in the later stages of the Big Nebula battle, their population wasn’t large to begin with, but they refused to retreat to the rear," Fina gently touched the cold surface of the monunt, "’Soone has to hold off the Shepherd, our civilization is already extinct, but your history remains intact, so let us go,’ I still rember what the Clan Leader of that only 2,600-people race said to ."
"Race... World..." Anu Lili was shaken by this reality. She didn’t even hear the rest of what Fina said. This girl, who had never imagined how great the Empire was, wandered dazedly in this majestic square. She gazed at the towering monunts all around her, arranged in succession, their numbers so nurous, and each representing possible whole racial sagas, or, at the very least, stories of heroes who had once saved the world.
"In the Macro World, there is a saying:" Fina suddenly spoke, "When standing on that black square, witnessing history before my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel utterly worthless. The battles I used to lead, the enemies I used to slay, the mountains of wealth I used to amass, and every shiny title, all crumbled slowly before those cold monunts. I once brandished my sword towards my small battleground, full of pride, thinking of myself as a hero, but now — now I’d rather be just the most ordinary soldier behind these true heroes, willing to charge onto genuinely glorious battlefields.
This is sothing a General from the Macro World uttered while standing on Monunt Square, now he’s untraceable, but these words are widely known. They’re likely the most fitting words for this square."
"I hope you and your people can forget those unpleasant histories and fight for my Majesty," Fina suddenly turned to Anu Lili, "As you’ve seen, this is a glorious Empire. It shelters so many races but is facing challenges. If you wish to protect your hard-earned freedom... I hope you can join us." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to qidian to vote for recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)