Chapter 33: Explosion is Art; Liu Ming: ??? Why are you afraid…

Before Liu Ming could delve deeper into his research on human nature, new word arrived from the Tower.

The affairs of the Third District had come to a close. Izayoi Ame had reported everything to the Tower, represented by Black Swan, at the new Seven-District Council meeting. The Savior Squad received a hero’s welcome in the Third District. Liu Ming also achieved his wish, personally seizing more chains of interest to restructure under the Liu Family’s control. Relying on the information leaked by the Great Elder, it was practically a guaranteed fortune.

However, just as they thought things would remain quiet for a while, the Tower sent another message.

This time, the mission requirements were personally written by Black Swan. The driver for this mission wasn’t some new prophecy from Y009 Ratatoskr, but rather a private request from Black Swan herself.

Because there were many lingering issues in the Third District, both the Tower and the Correctors of the Third District had to work overtime. They had no time to attend certain regional grand events that the Council Chairman was technically required to attend. Therefore, she needed this Savior Squad to head to the Fifth District and represent her personally to witness the Fifth District’s “Carnival.”

“…What is the Carnival?”

In the Third District hotel, which had fallen into silence since Black Swan’s new message arrived, Yun Zhou was the first to live up to expectations by asking a common-sense question, breaking the quiet atmosphere.

Liu Ming couldn’t even be bothered to criticize him: “Forgive me for asking, but do you even know what kind of place the Fifth District is?”

Yun Zhou went silent.

Aside from the First District where he studied and his hometown in the Seventh District, he truly had no understanding of the other seven major districts. He was in a state of having absolutely no common sense.

Liu Ming: …Please, say something. What does silence mean? I’d rather you just say anything, even if it’s something shocking!

Du Shui looked at Yun Zhou, then at Liu Ming. With a sigh, she began to smooth things over by providing an introduction.

The Fifth District bordered the forests of the Sixth District and the wilderness of the Seventh District. It was a transitional zone between the two, consisting mostly of deserts and heavy industrial production bases. Because its terrain was complex and varied, and there were many Corrector factions, it was the most complicated district among the seven.

Precisely because of this, the Fifth District’s selection system for the District Chief was the most unique among the seven districts. New District Chiefs were chosen through continuous challenges and competitions. To suppress all the factions within the Fifth District, every District Chief was, without exception, a powerful standout in terms of martial force.

Whenever a new District Chief of the Fifth District set a record for the “fastest speed to defeat a District Chief” and suppressed all Anomaly tides and Corrector factions within the district through sheer force, the Fifth District would follow ancient tradition. They would invite all factions across the land to hold a “Carnival” for the new District Chief.

The Carnival evolved from a traditional festival in the Fifth District. Originally, it was a sacrificial ritual used to celebrate the symbol of the Fifth District – the legendary “Heart of the Boiler,” an incredibly sturdy giant stone.

Legend had it that in the distant past, the Fifth District was a wasteland much like the Seventh District. To aid in the development of the people’s livelihood, a meteor fire descended from the heavens, granting the people of the Fifth District “Seven Days of Revelry” to constantly attempt any possibility. After those seven days, through the attempts of the people, they possessed endless energy. The entire Fifth District rapidly established industrial bases built of steel, and the heat of the meteor fire swept through the entire district like a tide.

Later, the “Seven Days of Revelry” became the “Carnival,” developing into a grand feast where various factions celebrated the absolute suppression of the new District Chief, inviting factions from all seven districts to participate. The cultural significance eventually outweighed the political meaning. Everyone in the seven districts looked forward to casting off their daily shackles during this assembly, completely liberating their natures and setting their souls free.

During the seven days of revelry brought down by the legendary “Heart of the Boiler,” various factions from the seven districts would send representatives to participate in the Carnival, joining in endless dancing and combat. On this day, anyone could challenge the new District Chief and trade blows without having to pay the price of death for losing.

This was the closest the mad fighters of the Fifth District could get to the strongest person in the district – the one who could sweep away everything with martial force.

“Do we really have to go on behalf of the Council Chairman… I feel like the Fifth District is a bit too ‘free’.”

Ying Huo’s lip twitched. He hailed from the Sixth District and was quite familiar with the terrible situation in the neighboring Fifth District. During every Carnival, people would cause massive commotions in the name of revelry. Many of the Fifth District’s landforms were formed because of this. He didn’t know how many factories had been blown up; he truly had a psychological shadow regarding that place.

“But the mission has already been assigned. Besides, don’t you want to experience what real combat is like?!”

Yun Zhou, on the other hand, was quite looking forward to it, his eyes sparkling. A Carnival sounded like a day where very exciting things would happen!

Ying Huo: …So the massive Anomaly tide caused by Y008 in the Third District didn’t count as real combat to you?

He wanted to complain to the Council Chairman; this captain was a warmonger!

Liu Ming didn’t mind. If anything, he was happy to use the opportunity provided by Black Swan to extend the Liu Family’s reach into the Fifth District. The Fifth District had always been in a state of managerial chaos because the District Chief was frequently replaced. It was difficult for the Liu Family to plant “hidden nails¹” as easily as they did in other districts; they had to change them constantly. The consequence was a decline in the accuracy of their intelligence.

As for Du Shui, she cared even less. Ever since the Kraken incident ended and the Elder Council was taken away by the Tower, represented by Black Swan, to await trial, her only remaining obsession was to eliminate all “Kings of Anomalies” alongside her companions.

Ying Huo looked back and around, finding no one standing behind him. He could only sigh. “Fine, whatever. It’s just the Fifth District anyway.”

It was just the Fifth District, just happens to be close to the Sixth District. It shouldn’t… expose anything, right?

That was his hope.

After Black Swan’s notification arrived, everyone began preparing to head to the Fifth District. In addition to the transportation provided by the Tower, Izayoi Ame had also arranged temporary housing for them in the Fifth District. Before they left, he nagged his four juniors incessantly about precautions in the Fifth District and what items they needed to bring.

Especially when facing Du Shui, he acted exactly like a parent sending a child off to school, leaving Du Shui feeling utterly helpless. “District Chief, I’m going to help the Council Chairman with a mission, I’m not a student starting school for the first time…”

Izayoi Ame’s expression instantly turned sorrowful as he lowered his eyes. “But when you actually started school, I never had the chance to see you off.”

Back then, all his movements were restricted by the Elder Council, which was controlled by Y007 Hela. Every person he saw was someone arranged by the Council; he didn’t have a shred of autonomy.

Being able to get Du Shui out of the Third District had taken every ounce of his strength. As for anything else, he’d had no opportunity to look after her. Consequently, when Du Shui left that remote shrine in the Third District to study at the Tree Tower Academy, the only person there to see her off was an elderly Guuji².

Du Shui: …This man is playing dirty.

“Fine… I’ll take it with me.”

With a sigh, Du Shui finally accepted the emergency kit Izayoi Ame had prepared for her. For once, she didn’t wear her usual dignified, polite smile, but rather the spirited, high-flown grin of a youth.

“I’m off, District Chief! Take good care of yourself and the Third District!”

Du Shui waved and ran forward. Under the golden glint of the sunlight, a silver-grey orbital craft bound for the Fifth District sat waiting. Yun Zhou leaned out of a window to wave, Ying Huo waited for her at the entrance, and Liu Ming leaned against the guardrail outside the craft. None of them moved until Du Shui rejoined the team.

She stepped firmly into the medium-sized craft with her companions. Izayoi Ame remained watching until the silhouette of the vessel turned into a tiny black speck on the distant horizon.

“What’s with that look? Not that I’m one to talk, Little Du Shui, but you really do look like a parent sending a kid to school for the first time. And the anxious version, at that—the kind who wishes they could give the kid a smartwatch and have them call every hour.”

Hozuki, chewing on takoyaki, walked up to Izayoi Ame and held out a piece on a bamboo skewer. “Here, want one?”

Izayoi Ame glanced at it. Although the box of takoyaki looked delicious, it always reminded him of unpleasant things.

For instance, the Anomaly tide brought by Y008, where forty percent of the Anomalies were mutated octopuses with tentacles.

Izayoi Ame’s lip twitched. “I’ll pass.”

Hozuki understood immediately. “Oh, right. Psychological trauma. Forgot about that, sorry, I get it. But seriously, is there really a need to worry this much? After all, even Y008 was slain by her own hand.”

Hozuki paused. “If Du Shui truly cuts loose, her upper limit is even higher than yours.”

She really couldn’t stand Izayoi Ame’s indecisive, parental hovering anymore. After all, the more Izayoi Ame wallowed in worry, the more of the Third District’s work would be dumped on her.

“I’m not…”

Izayoi Ame truly couldn’t stand being compared by everyone to a parent waiting longingly for a child to return home. He tried to argue back, but his rebuttal was too weak to be convincing.

“I just feel…”

Izayoi Ame trailed off. He thought of the two other Vessels who, like him, had been trapped in a narrow world by the Elder Council in their youth. Now, they had grown into free flying fish, capable of roaming the vast ocean at will. The thought left him in a daze.

He couldn’t help but treat Du Shui with the same mindset he’d had when they were children, always feeling like she was still that Experimental Subject who needed help. But overall, his feelings were mostly of relief.

“She has companions she can trust now. It’s good.”

Izayoi Ame finally smiled. He sighed as he looked at the horizon where the sea met the sky, then turned to walk back toward the Izayoi Family estate.

Along the way, he grabbed Hozuki by the collar.

“Let’s go. Don’t forget how much work is waiting for us on our desks.”

Due to the Y008 revival incident, the Third District had suffered heavy losses. The documents piled in the District Chief’s office were almost high enough to form a small mountain.

Hozuki’s face immediately fell. “Hey! At least let me finish this takoyaki!”

Fifth District.

The scenery outside the window gradually shifted from a continuous ocean to a blend of forest and gobi desert. A clear line divided the land: on the left was a vibrant, emerald green; on the right was a desolate, dust-blown gobi where the black, metallic blocks of industrial bases stood out starkly.

The Tower’s medium-sized craft flew smoothly. To Liu Ming’s surprise, they actually had a safe landing this time.

The reception personnel for the Fifth District was a tall young woman. Her Spiritual Body appeared to be a large feline that ran gracefully through the jungle. Her skin was a healthy, deep tan, and even her hair tie had a leopard print pattern. She practically had the words “My Spiritual Body is a Jaguar” written on her forehead.

Liu Ming glanced at the name tag on her chest. The name read: “Jenny”.

“Commissioners, welcome to the Fifth District.”

Jenny’s voice carried the warmth and uninhibited energy unique to the Fifth District. She gestured toward the area outside the craft. It was a massive industrial park, far more heavy-duty than the maritime defense platforms of the Third District. Layers of steel were stacked together, and massive industrial chimneys emitted white mist that could be seen from kilometers away.

“Please follow me, Commissioners. We will head to the District Chief’s reception room and wait for the District Chief to personally—”

“Boom!”

A sharp roar erupted. Fireworks of flame suddenly burst from the industrial park’s chimneys. Red fire rose, mingled with billowing black smoke. Something had exploded. The aftershock of the blast instantly tore through the nearest steel structures and surged directly toward them. Yun Zhou rushed to the front, attempting to use his Flowing Wind to dissipate the terrifying shockwave, but he was a step too late.

Jenny stepped forward and extended a hand. A flash of fiery red light flickered in the air, condensing into a solid Spatial Barrier that easily blocked the incoming tremors.

Liu Ming and the others didn’t even feel a breeze; they could only watch as the surrounding scenery distorted violently under the impact of that terrible shockwave.

The violent explosions nearly shattered the eardrums of the four unlucky students, but clearly, the Fifth District had no intention of sparing them.

Jenny’s expression turned quite ugly. She brushed a stray curl behind her ear and let out a roar from the depths of her lungs. “Mute! What are you doing?!”

Liu Ming sighed inwardly. Mute? Wasn’t that the name of the newly appointed District Chief of the Fifth District? Although the name meant silence, the massive commotion he was causing right now didn’t match it at all.

A flurry of footsteps echoed from the factory across the massive docking platform. Teams of factory workers in overalls poured out of the industrial park’s exit. The only answer Jenny received was another explosion, even more violent but slightly further away.

Jenny’s face darkened instantly, especially as several young workers from the factory watched the smoking building with stars in their eyes, exclaiming in awe, “Heavens, the District Chief is so powerful! He lured the challengers to the section of the factory scheduled for demolition and blew them all up at once. It’s literally two birds with one stone!”

“Uh… Miss Jenny, maybe we should leave first? We can wait until the District Chief is available to—”

Yun Zhou braved Jenny’s fury, speaking with a trembling voice while bathed in the sympathetic gazes of his three companions. To his surprise, Jenny shook her head. “It’s fine. No need.”

She reached out, and red light formed a Spatial Barrier once more. These red barriers took on strange diamond shapes, flashing through the air before instantly vanishing into the depths of the factory.

Following a series of crackling sounds that rivaled the noise made by the District Chief, five red diamond barriers rampaged through the factory. Finally, they firmly encased a blonde youth wearing a yellow hoodie within a pentahedron.

“Little B! Come to my arms!”

The boy looked two or three years younger than them, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. He was clutching a dog in his arms, his eyes closed as he allowed the pentahedron to whisk him through the factory. He was clearly used to this.

“He’s actually that young?”

Yun Zhou cried out in surprise. He truly hadn’t expected the powerful District Chief who had been so arrogant at the Seven-District Council to be a boy younger than himself.

If Mute hadn’t risen to power so quickly and wasn’t still in his acting period, Izayoi Ame’s title as the youngest District Chief would have certainly been handed over by now.

With a casual pull from Jenny, the hand-shaped pentahedron flew over from the direction of the factory.

Liu Ming frowned. “A space-type…?”

The intelligence from the Serpent Guard definitely hadn’t mentioned that the Fifth District possessed such a skilled and powerful space-type Sentinel.

Du Shui and Ying Huo looked at the medium-sized dog in the boy’s arms—it was a Beagle Spiritual Body.

The two exchanged a look, their lips twitching. They clearly understood why this District Chief was so rowdy.

That was a Beagle!

Commonly known among the people as the “Big-Eared Screaming Donkey³“!

Yun Zhou was still wondering why his companions’ expressions had suddenly turned so serious when he saw Du Shui and Ying Huo cover his ears from both sides.

A second later, he understood why.

Jenny dispelled the Spatial Barrier around Mute. In an instant, Mute and his Spiritual Body were exposed to the air. A piercing howl rang out across the entire factory—the Spiritual Body had been barking the entire time it was inside the barrier!

Jenny’s brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly. She casually used a Spatial Barrier to cage the Spiritual Body again and glared fiercely at Mute. “You! Put your Spiritual Body away this instant! What will the commissioners think of you acting like this?!”

Mute made a face. “I don’t want to! Sis, you have no idea how many people were chasing me just now! Since it’s like that, of course I’m going to have some fun! Hurry up and send me back! There’s still some unfinished business over—”

Mute started to turn and run, but as he turned his head, he spotted an “acquaintance” among the four commissioners.

Liu Ming was looking at him with a mischievous smile, his eyes full of interest.

Mute’s entire body froze. He was a step too slow in his escape, and Jenny grabbed his hood. He was jerked backward uncontrollably, nearly losing his balance.

But a District Chief was a District Chief after all; he managed to hold that awkward, twisted posture and stop right where he was.

“Run, run, run! All you know how to do is run all day. Why aren’t you running now?! Go and receive the four commissioners! You are the District Chief of the Fifth District!”

Jenny smacked Mute’s head, causing him to bob his head with every strike. After being dragged to Jenny’s side, Mute became completely subdued. He lowered his head and remained silent as Jenny pushed him in front of Yun Zhou and the others.

“Then, Factory Manager, what about those challengers from the other industrial parks…?”

A nearby worker asked. Jenny stretched her limbs and began walking toward the factory that was still suffering from explosions. “I’ll handle it.”

With that, she ran off at high speed, as if she were afraid of something.

Liu Ming: …It seems the District Chief’s sister doesn’t really want to interact with him much either.

“Ah, haha, then let’s get down to business. Welcome to the Fifth District—”

Mute gave a forced laugh. He turned to lead the way, but after Liu Ming cast a casual glance his way, he instantly stopped talking. He froze in place as if someone had hit a mute button.

Liu Ming: “??? What is this supposed to mean?”

Yun Zhou and the other two paused. They looked at Liu Ming, then at Mute, feeling that something was very wrong.

This District Chief seemed, maybe, perhaps… to have become as quiet as a mouse specifically because of Liu Ming?

Was that right?

Mute didn’t speak, and Yun Zhou’s group, seeing the District Chief so intimidated that he wouldn’t even look up, didn’t dare speak either. The atmosphere turned silent. Yun Zhou nudged Liu Ming. “What’s going on? Why did you scare him like that?”

Liu Ming frowned. “I’ll take credit for things I’ve done, but I haven’t done anything here. Seriously, I have no idea why he’s so afraid of me.”

Sensing Liu Ming’s gaze sweep over him, Mute shuddered again. He forced another couple of awkward laughs. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk. We can’t have our honored guests chatting out here. The sun is so bright…”

Liu Ming looked up. A thick layer of dark clouds currently blanketed the wasteland of the Fifth District.

It looked like it could rain at any second. Where was the sun supposed to be?

Mute didn’t care. He simply marched forward, oblivious to the fact that the factory ahead was still exploding.

“Will someone please listen to me?” Ying Huo cried. “The factory up ahead is exploding! It’s literally blowing up! Are we really going in there?”

Yun Zhou had already rushed inside, and Liu Ming didn’t seem to mind the distant sounds of the factory’s destruction either. Du Shui patted Ying Huo on the shoulder. “The Captain is already gone. We’re just following him.”

Ying Huo looked at the shrine maiden in disbelief. “We’re just following him?”

Du Shui shrugged. “Anyway, nothing more terrifying than what happened in the Third District could possibly happen here.”

“You know,” Ying Huo muttered, “I was fine until you said that. Now I have a really bad feeling about this…”

Leading the way, Mute guided the four specialists and several factory workers into the massive facility. The interior was partitioned into small chambers by transparent materials, where various assembly lines were rapidly processing heavy industrial supplies for use across the seven districts.

The roar of explosions continued to echo from the other end of the factory, but the sound was growing more distant. Clearly, Jenny had more restraint than Mute; she had already lured the challengers further away.

“Over here, over here! Everyone, come on, hurry up!”

Mute excitedly pushed open a door bearing a sign that read 【District Chief’s Temporary Office】. Due to the unique selection process for the District Chief in the Fifth District, nearly every factory complex had an office ready, allowing any challenger who successfully claimed the title to begin working immediately.

However, Mute’s office was clearly different from the conventional idea of a District Chief’s workspace. The interior was almost cozy, filled with piles of orange plush toys that made the entire room look as if it were constructed out of fluff.

“Come here, come here!”

Mute ran over and plopped down onto a plush toy chair. He patted the seats around him so enthusiastically that one could almost hallucinate a powerful tail wagging behind him.

Liu Ming and the other two immediately turned their gaze toward Yun Zhou.

Yun Zhou flicked his own wolf tail behind him. “What? What are you all looking at?”

Du Shui let out a long sigh. “It seems we have much more in common with Miss Jenny than we originally thought.”

After all, they were all fellow canine handlers.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. hidden nails: A metaphor (暗钉, àndīng) for deep-cover spies or sleepers planted within an organization or region to gather intelligence or exert influence over a long period. ↩
2. Guuji: A transliteration of the Japanese term for the head priest of a Shinto shrine (宫司, gōngsī in Chinese). This reflects the Third District’s cultural aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by Japanese Shinto traditions. ↩
3. Big-Eared Screaming Donkey: A Chinese internet meme (大耳怪叫驴) used to describe Beagles, referencing their stubborn nature and notoriously loud, baying barks that can sound like a donkey. ↩