Chapter 660: Chapter 660: The Eve
Xue Huajing’s addition had our family buzzing with excitent for a while, and as the rightly proclaid “First Family,” we were very welcoming of any new mbers. Nonetheless, the celebration plans that Qianqian proposed ultimately were not carried out: Little Qijing was just too weak after her rebirth. She lasted less than ten minutes in the outside world before retreating back into my mind to sleep soundly.
Coupled with Alaya, who also resided within my Spirit World, I can now proudly declare that I have achieved the status of taking the entire family out with just one person!
Although, to be honest, this ability seems pretty la.
The following days passed peacefully, everything was on track, and the carnival was fast approaching.
The Disciplinary Committee of Divine Realm’s five mbers, after a few days of initial chaos, finally simred down quite a bit. Aside from occasionally wreaking havoc in Shadow City or swindling various tribal envoys, they knew to keep out of trouble when going out and saved the hassle; I have to admit Dingdang does hold so sway over 123 and the like. And Bingdisi, being a High Order God, knew so limits—at least in theory.
As for Shadow City and the other two assembly areas, they were now in the final stages of construction. Following my suggestion, all venues were built using a mix of construction thods, all combined. The super-efficient Xyrin Builders took charge of the main venues and public facilities, while craftsn from various tribes handled their unique cultural decorations. Consequently, the more powerful and significant forces within the Empire naturally presented their culture well, whereas the weaker and perhaps only handful-sized groups attending the celebration, known as “refugees,” benefited from modular spaces mass-produced by the builders to suit their preferences. It seems that many visitors from the Macro World made such a choice: typically, only a dozen or so people from one world could take part in the festival and thus could not construct their own stage. For them, the best option was to use the generic venues, and quite a few Macro World visitors even decided to form groups to alleviate their staffing issues. For instance, I recently heard that Sakazaki Yuli and Sakagami Tomoyo tead up and they’re planning to host a tournant in area A73…
Of course, most people co here for the excitent. They don’t participate in the performances or cultural displays; they’re just pure tourists, accounting for eighty to ninety percent of the attendees. That is a considerable influx of people, and the diversity in that crowd is extre. It’s expected at that ti, forget the overall venue—even a small district could see a daily foot traffic of tens of thousands. Naturally, managing such a gigantic population beca the biggest headache for the carnival organizers. Initially, we urgently expanded the number of city managent officers, but this was a short-term solution, not a cure. Fortunately, at the critical mont, a lazybones saved the day and solved this major problem.
Boli Lingng: “Ah, why do we have to tire ourselves out like this? It’s people from other worlds who co to play, so why not have their own people maintain the order?”
And so, the problem was solved.
By having major worlds establish their own security departnts to help manage discipline among the tribes during the carnival, that was the idea from the No Morals Red and White Witch who was always lazy if she could be and constantly particular about her own salary.
Although it seed like a lot of work, any world with a bit of strength vied for this opportunity. It was proof of power and capital you could hold over other races in the Ti-Space Administration in the future. When you greeted soone, you would be able to say, “A Skytopian? Back at the carnival, didn’t our Light Music Departnt issue fines so relentlessly that just the sound of the paper had them cramping up?”
That’s how it went.
Now, Azeroth’s City Managent Team, Vedis’s Societal Security Patrol Group, Kepulu’s Resident Behavior Disciplinary Office, and Cross Sect’s “Cultural Renaissance and Imperial Spirit Civilization Construction Leadership Team” had all officially been established. Judging by the sequence of their establishnt, we can tell that their nas beca longer and longer—the competition among the races was there.
Today, Shadow City had completely transford. The streets, once slightly desolate, were now bustling with an endless stream of people from all races and walks of life, wearing bizarre attire, their appearances each unique. At first glance, it looked like a scene of chaos, exuding a sense of massive cultural amalgamation, far beyond the initial wave of immigrants and even more exaggerated than the racial mix in the Pan-Galactic Civilization Community. Standing in the city center, you could see pointy-eared beings, those with big beards, arms longer than legs, faces with three eyes, knees bent backward, tailed creatures, mouthless beings, and just a giant eyeball floating by in the sky, or a giant iron ball rolling down the street; without soone explaining, you wouldn’t dare confirm if what was before you was even a living thing…
Among them was a bunch of characters sporting red headbands.
“Your suggestion has been well implented, and the results look good.”
Standing in the city center square, I nodded appreciatively to the Red and White beside , as I watched the people of various races hard at work.
The No Morals character who had burst onto the scene and swiftly adapted to the local environnt in just a few days had a smug smile on her face, a “City Managent” armband pinned to her arm. With a heh-heh laugh, she began to haggle with , “So, do I not get my bonus deducted this month?”
Honestly, if it weren’t for various reasons, I really wanted to see if her morals were genuinely worth a hundred thousand!
“Look at Yukari Yakumo, now that’s what I call diligence.”
I glanced over at the golden-haired girl behind who was frantically adjusting the schedule of the Dinsion Hub, and said with a sigh.
They say Yukari Yakumo’s power is “Boundary Manipulation”, which ans controlling the “Concept Boundary” of everything in the world. For example, the edge of a mountain, the surface of water, the separation of space, and even the boundary between life and death—although that last part is a bit mystical. In short, she can separate the world from a state of Chaos into a clear, ordered state, and she can also turn an orderly world into complete Chaos—but theoretically speaking, she probably doesn’t have that much energy.
It’s an incredibly profound skill anyway, and it was for this Talent that the Dinsion Hub Chief Dispatcher recruited her to help ease the workload of the Dinsion Hub’s mainfra. Looking at how things are going, Yukari Yakumo is indeed doing a very good job. Although…
“Wow! Why has this stopped working?”
Occasionally because of her chanical ignorance, a little chaos breaks out.
Seems like these two poor girls who are working off their debts are in for a bit more bad luck.
“Brother, this is today’s school newspaper!!” Judgnt rcury Lamp was hopping on one foot and shouting.
The sudden voice from below interrupted my thoughts, and looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a big head angled almost at ninety degrees, with a rolled-up newspaper held high beside it.
I paused for a mont, then realized that the three-headed rcury Lamp’s arm had boldly a Disciplinary Committee armband on it.
“What’s going on here? You guys are maintaining public order too?”
From the way she spoke, I knew that the controller of this doll had to be one of Sister Misaka, but when did this ruthless “Judgnt rcury Lamp” appear on the roster?
“Since the Misakas are busy preparing for the Academy Festival during the festival period, it is up to them to be responsible for the security of the Academy City District. Therefore, the rcury Lamp Corps has collectively disguised themselves as the Judgnt rcury Lamp Corps! Please leave the peace of Shadow City to us during the festival! Brother, this is today’s school newspaper,” Judgnt rcury Lamp said, stretching on her tiptoes to hand over the newspaper to Brother.
…After seeing so many law enforcent volunteers from different worlds, it’s still this bunch with big heads that are the most ruthless.
I accepted the Academy City news from Disciplinary Committee rcury Lamp with a stunned expression and glanced at the paper only to beco even more dumbfounded.
“…The newspaper reports that there’s been a problem with the sports competitions scheduled to take place during the Academy Festival. Due to the high synchrony rate among the Misakas, the student council is urgently discussing whether to allow a situation where all participants in the sports events tie for first place…”
“Ah— I’m exhausted, today’s work is finally done. Ling ng, let’s go get so food. I forgot my al card… Eh? What are you doing here?”
The voice from behind made put down the newspaper, and the resentful face of Yukari Yakumo imdiately captured my attention.
In just a few days, had she already completely transford into hardworking girl A? The Imperial No Morals aura’s contaminating power is truly vicious!
Getting Miss Yakumo to obediently work off her debts was no easy feat; I even thought it impossible in theory. Everyone knows she’s a big demon who’s lived for who knows how many years, and she’s definitely not lacking in intelligence. Convincing a cunning demon boss to willingly beco a lowly worker is no laughing matter, but to everyone’s surprise, after just two or three days, Miss Yakumo, who had been causing small disturbances, straightened up. Not only was she working diligently now, but she even knew to queue up with Qijia She and the others for als—last ti, there had almost been a fight.
“You know, I’ve heard about you,” the eternally seventeen-year-old Miss Yakumo explained, “and I feel like you, the one they call Emperor, are soone who’s rather to my taste. Your city reminds of Fantasy Country—I an the way that everyone treats it like ho. Plus, since I ssed up your stuff, I figured I might as well work off the debt.”
A big demon with a conscience, that’s my second impression of Miss Yakumo, while my first was that she seems to love sleep even more than Alaya.
Working in Shadow City ans no more napping whenever she likes or disappearing into gaps to skip out. This is probably Miss Yakumo’s biggest complaint about her current life, but apart from that, it seems she’s as content with life here as Ling ng is, for the ti being.
“When can we go ho?”
The young girl before brought up this age-old question again. She had been hanging around the Dinsion Hub these past few days and naturally understood what it ant for the city to be connected to all worlds. So, when she could return ho had beco her most pressing concern. Unfortunately…
“Sorry, we still haven’t found your world,” I replied with so regret, “In fact, we’re still looking into the cause of the massive cross-dinsional surge from before and why the frequency of these events has increased since then. We’re also investigating how many worlds were affected by it. So, finding your and Ling ng’s howorld might just be a matter of luck at this point. But don’t worry, in theory, that world should be sowhere near the C.C Reviewer’s world. We’ve set up a giant scanning array there—once we detect energy similar to the aura on you, we can pinpoint that world.”
“Oh, I see.”
The golden-haired girl sighed regretfully.
“Yeah, I’m a bit curious—do all the demons in Fantasy Country have as much personality as you?”
During our casual conversation, I grew interested in Fantasy Country. A lifeti of dodgy situations had taught , the bearer of an unlucky aura, one thing: never underestimate the ridiculousness of any situation you encounter, as it’s often a prelude to an even more ludicrous developnt. Since Miss Yakumo and Boli Lingng had dared to barge into Lulu Xiu’s world, it seed unreasonable to assu Fantasy Country was still peaceable. Prophet Lin hadn’t provided any divine revelations yet, but for the sake of prolonging my peaceful life, I thought it best to learn a little more now.
Miss Yakumo looked over with a surprised expression, as if our conversations always caught her off guard: “You sure like to stick your nose into others’ business, but yes, the demons back in Fantasy Country do have strong personalities. As for ? I don’t think being emotional is anything special. I could never get used to living in your city, despite your rule which I can get behind. I just don’t like a place where even my freedom is restricted.”
Don’t demons ever just beat around the bush?!
I looked at her, feeling sowhat dismayed: “What do you an by that? I’m responsible for the welfare of my people, you know. It wouldn’t be good if you injured soone here, and you’re not ignorant of what this place represents.”
“A strange world,” Miss Yakumo grumbled without restraint, “and a strange ruler. You really don’t seem as formidable as the legends say. Where does all the soldiers’ fervor for you co from?”
I was speechless…
I felt that if I took a demon too seriously, I’d have completely lost.
“Be patient, at least earn enough to pay off your debt before you leave,” I glanced at Ling ng next to , who was about to slip away. She imdiately stood at attention, the City Managent armband on her arm strikingly conspicuous. “Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the festival, so take the chance to see the grand event, and enjoy the fun on the sly. Opportunities like this are rare.”
Indeed, the opening ceremony is tomorrow, so why do I feel not the slightest bit nervous now?
After so much preparation and so many happenings… well, let’s not reminisce about those mostly frustrating accidents, having been busy with nearly a month’s worth of nerve-wracking arrangents, everything is now in place. Tomorrow marks the opening ceremony of the festival. So why can I wander so calmly through the streets now?
I thought about it, maybe it’s because I have indeed been influenced by Qianqian’s carefree spirit… ahem, maybe it’s because all the possible preparations have been completed, and there’s no longer any need—or way—for to worry about how this unprecedented festival will unfold.
With a complete lack of professional integrity, I harbored this thought as I bid farewell to Yukari Yakumo and Ling ng, who were still striving to earn their freedom today, and began wandering aimlessly through Shadow City on my own.
The Xyrin people’s inherent culture has no concept of holidays; they never hold periodic celebrations without practical value. In the classic worldview of the Xyrin Apostles, to celebrate and entertain just for the sake of holiday festivities is an absolute waste, shaful to even consider; they have no ti to pause their march of battle. The Xyrin Apostles do have celebrations, but those are restricted to irregular events like victory in war or the Emperor’s ascension. As for corresponding morial days, those are simply out of the question. The Xyrin Apostles have a saying: Each victory only needs to be celebrated once, and then we prepare for the next triumph.
Thus, the festival could be said to be the first official holiday ever formally recorded in the history of the Xyrin Apostles, with no one having any experience in organizing such events. Sivis can only do his best to employ Bubbles’ calculation ability to anticipate all possible scenarios, such as how to handle the massive influx of people during the festival and managing the countless celebrations. Lin Xue has been of great help too, using her prediction ability to help Sivis patch up systemic gaps on one hand, and referencing her own experience organizing various events on the other, although I have no idea where she gained such experience…
Surrounded by visitors from different worlds, the city buzzes with festive atmosphere. Since clashing with the Abyss and the Fallen Apostles, it seems like it’s been a long ti since I’ve had a day that could truly be called a festival. Now, I feel a bit sentintal.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the entrance to the assembly square.
The boundary of Shadow City ends here. An endless grid divides the area in two. After crossing through the grid, what lies before is the ticulously arranged venue of the festival. During the festival, Shadow City will be open to everyone, but the main celebrations are still to be held here. It looks a bit like a gigantic chessboard, simply divided into different sizes according to the scale of the participating worlds. The largest venue, possibly several kiloters in length, is big enough for the Kepulu Star Zone Marines to perform a legion-level group drill, while the smallest venue is only a few dozen ters wide, typically applied for by visitors from the Macro World to make a quick fortune by selling their world’s specialities.
Right now, the venues are quiet with only a few builders and craftsn doing the final work; it looks a bit deserted. But tomorrow, this place will be unprecedentedly lively.
Moving forward along the central axis in front of the entrance, I arrived at a rather special place.
A circular plaza with a radius of several kiloters.
The Totem Area.
This area was established following a proposal by Big Sister. It isn’t a place for festivities, nor does any race have the right to use it. The only one of its kind during the festival period, it forbids visitors from frolicking and is reserved only for respect and contemplation. There is no stage here, no speaking area, but rather, countless giant projectors dotting the plaza floor.
The Vedis Abyss War, the Azeroth Salvation War, the Magic Prohibition World Catastrophe, the Kepulu Doomsday Battle, the establishnt of the Mars Sanctuary, the Big Nebula Ten Thousand Clans Counterattack, the records of the fallen, the life stories of racial heroes, the history of civilizations’ struggles, the deeds of heroic spirits, and the lists of extinct civilizations…na after na, story after story, race after race.
This area is dedicated to “war heroes,” chronicling the hardships they endured for the survival of their races. These heroes include many naless individuals, who perhaps were simply among the first to fall in early battles or who managed to deliver several carts of food to the front lines. Everything is morialized here within the nurous holographic monoliths strewn across the square.
Regardless of race, world, or side, this place not only holds the nas of common race heroes but also those Imperial Commanders who perished on the front lines. They have beco symbols here, allowing visitors to understand the heroics of these figures, and this plaza will remain intact even after the festival, forever preserved. Perhaps in the years to co, visiting the Totem Area will beco a fixed custom in the Empire’s celebration of holidays.
Salute to you, my friends.
“Finally, after all these years, dawn is about to break.”
A gentle voice suddenly rang in my ear, startling in my reflective state. Turning towards the voice, I was both shocked and delighted:
“Gaia?!”
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