Chapter 34: Beneath the Yellow Fire. Liu Ming: The sound of a child I teased into crying…

“District Chief, we are…”

Yun Zhou didn’t act like a stranger at all, sitting down directly in front of Mute. He opened his mouth, intending to state their purpose in a formal manner, but he didn’t expect Mute to wave a hand dismissively.

“No need for introductions! Chairperson Black Swan already told me everything about why you’re here!”

Mute waved his hand again. Yun Zhou and the other three were somewhat bewildered. What was their purpose? Wasn’t it just to participate in the Carnival a few days from now?

The two parties stared at each other in silence. After a long moment, Mute coughed twice. He pointedly avoided Liu Ming’s gaze, barely managing to maintain the air of a “little adult” as he put on the dignity befitting a District Chief. “Aren’t you looking for the Anomaly Core of Y006 Surtr¹, just like the former District Chief of the Fifth District?”

Yun Zhou: …

Actually, they weren’t just looking for Y006; they were looking for all the Kings of Anomalies. Was that something he could say out loud?

Mute was clearly not one to read the room, and he started explaining his reasoning on his own.

Not long ago, before the Seven-District Council meeting that Black Swan had convened in the early hours of the morning, Mute had defeated the then-District Chief of the Fifth District, Sander, through a challenge. After Sander was defeated, the former District Chief had mysteriously disappeared as the loser, leaving behind only some research materials in his factory office.

Those records described a very strange flame – colorless and formless, capable of burning anywhere through any medium. When it burned, one could only see faint traces of yellow light leaking out.

All the heavy industrial factory bases in the Fifth District were built upon a unique mineral found there: Carnival Brass.

Legend had it that this mineral came from a burning sacred fire. It possessed terrifying energy supply capabilities, and the heat and special energy produced by its combustion were extremely high. This was the primary culprit that had once attracted residents from the surrounding 6th District and Seventh District to come “gold-digging,” and it was also the fundamental reason why the Fifth District remained standing in the Seven-District Council despite its chaotic management system.

As long as there was a steady flow of Carnival Brass, no region could refuse negotiations and cooperation with the Fifth District.

However, during his tenure as District Chief, Sander had discovered that when that eerie yellow flame burned on Carnival Brass, the combustion was most intense, reducing the Carnival Brass to smelted dross.

Yet, when faced with anything else, that strange flame possessed no destructive power at all.

Mute hadn’t been able to discern Sander’s true stance. The experimental reports left there only told him about Sander’s understanding of this special situation; they didn’t clarify whether Sander had intentionally allowed it to happen, was the culprit who created the yellow fire, or had simply discovered its existence and wanted to find a solution.

After some investigation, Mute and the brass factory behind him only knew that Sander’s mysterious disappearance was definitely inextricably linked to this strange matter.

“This strange yellow fire has a terrifying impact on Carnival Brass, the lifeblood of the Fifth District. And in the anomaly sequence list collected by The Tower, the alias for Y006 is the Emperor of Yellow Fire – Surtr.”

Mute’s expression became quite serious. At this moment, he finally showed an expression fitting his status as the District Chief of the Fifth District.

“You mean… Y006 has begun to awaken?”

Yun Zhou also turned serious. Mute nodded and pulled a stack of documents from beneath his plush seat. Du Shui and Liu Ming took them and looked through, finding that the files were all eyewitness accounts related to that strange yellow fire.

“I guess it’s just bad luck. Ever since I took office, these strange occurrences have become more and more frequent. At first, I had no idea what it meant, but fortunately, the Chairperson quickly convened the Seven-District Council. Speaking of which, I should thank you. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have been able to link this to the revival of Y006 on my own.”

Mute shrugged. “Actually, I’m quite looking forward to it. Sander didn’t let me enjoy myself at all. I wonder if Y006 has the strength to do so.”

His eyes became incredibly feverish, and for a moment, his madness was almost impossible to suppress – he truly loved to fight.

Ying Huo: “…It’s over, Yun Zhou. I’ve found someone even more nonsensical than you.”

Yun Zhou: “Thanks, you didn’t have to say that out loud.”

Mute had already handed the materials to them. It was only right that they go see the situation for themselves. The four of them scanned the locations of the recent strange yellow flame incidents and reached an immediate consensus. They decided that there was no time like the present; they would go tonight, racing against the clock.

Mute looked very happy, as if he had finally thrown away a hot potato. However, just as Liu Ming and the others were about to take their leave, Jenny, having finished dealing with the challengers, burst in majestically. A sleek, beautiful jaguar followed behind her, its claws still stained with blood.

Yun Zhou and Ying Huo stepped forward inconspicuously, shielding Liu Ming – who was still wondering why Mute was so afraid of him – behind them. They wanted to prevent him from feeling uncomfortable due to the bloodline pressure of a natural predator.

Liu Ming was a bit confused, but before he could figure out what those two were doing, Jenny spoke.

“Mute, go to the scene with the commissioners to check the situation.”

“What?!”

Mute let out a scream, looking like a convict who had just been bailed out only to be sentenced to another twenty years of hard labor. “Why do I have to go too? Can I just-“

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Liu Ming. Clearly, he didn’t want to go because he was afraid of him.

Liu Ming raised an eyebrow.

“Because you are now the District Chief of the Fifth District.”

Jenny didn’t raise her voice. She simply explained in a very calm tone, “Because you defeated Sander out of a desire for a match and became the District Chief. The current District Chief of the Fifth District isn’t Sander, it’s you. It’s as simple as that.”

Mute fell silent instantly.

“As District Chief, he is duty-bound in matters involving a King of Anomalies. But from the perspective of a sister, I must still thank you all. I’ll have to trouble the four commissioners to look after my useless younger brother this time.”

Jenny sighed, her expression so solemn that it startled Yun Zhou into waving his hands frantically. “Not at all, District Chief… your willingness to help has saved us a lot of trouble.”

“Then I thank you all. I hope the Fifth District and your team have a pleasant cooperation.”

Jenny signaled for Mute to step forward and shake Yun Zhou’s hand. Mute hesitated for a split second before walking over.

“A pleasure to work with you.”

Liu Ming, however, took a mischievous step forward, brushing aside Yun Zhou’s reaching hand and grabbing Mute’s hand instead.

Mute’s entire body jerked. He let out a shrill, piercing scream and went instantly rigid. His eyes turned vacant, as if his very soul had vanished.

He spun around and charged toward Jenny, clinging to her and wailing. His eyes were watery, looking as though he might burst into tears at any second.

No, he actually started crying.

Liu Ming’s smile grew even wider. Ah, I don’t know why Mute is so afraid of me, but making kids cry is just so satisfying!

Ying Huo, Yun Zhou, and Du Shui: “…” Liu Ming’s smile was terrifying.

The situation finally ended with both Jenny and Yun Zhou bowing frantically to each other in apology.

After Jenny and Yun Zhou agreed on a time to inspect the site, she hurried away with Mute in tow. Though Yun Zhou and the other two were bewildered, they didn’t dare say anything more after seeing Liu Ming’s demonic, slightly smug grin.

It felt like he truly enjoyed scaring children.

Unfortunately, Yun Zhou and the others didn’t make it to the scheduled time as planned.

In the early hours of the morning before the Carnival, a phone call reached Yun Zhou. The sharp ringing of the landline pierced the silence of the night, waking all four people resting at the lodging.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

Du Shui and the others rushed out of their respective rooms in a panic, ran down the hallway, and knocked on Yun Zhou’s door. They found him standing there with a heavy expression, holding the receiver of the disconnected call. His voice was grim.

“We have to go now.”

He set down the landline and looked at his companions. “There’s been an accident at the yellow fire location I mentioned before… a survivor escaped from that mine. He collapsed before he could say anything. His body is covered in severe burns.”

Everyone’s expression turned serious in an instant.

“Let’s go!”

Someone took the first step, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps as the youths filed out.

The location of the anomaly was the Fifth Brass Mine, the largest Carnival Brass mine in the Fifth District. Its area covered almost the entire Gobi desert and the rocky mountains. Countless minecart tracks wound out from the craggy peaks, creating a chaotic and eerie visual maze.

It was late, nearly dawn, and the star trails in the sky were clearly visible. Unlike the bustling metropolis of the Third District, even with many factories operating constantly, the sky over the Fifth District was noticeably clearer and more transparent.

That sense of clarity gave off a strange illusion, as if this place was incredibly close to the high heavens above, as if the sky might drop down like a blanket at any moment.

Liu Ming lowered his head, ignoring the strange sensation of vertigo. He focused his attention on the entrance of the brass mine before him. The minecart exit, which had been blocked by fallen rocks, was currently glowing with a strange red hue. Jenny had used her own mental power to create a secondary safeguard, seemingly to prevent something inside from rushing out.

Mute stood beside an anxious-looking Jenny, questioning the security personnel guarding the mine about the situation.

“…Surtr… Surtr…”

But the security guard was clearly scared out of his wits. He kept muttering that name, which symbolized natural disaster, his voice hoarse and suffocated.

Liu Ming didn’t have the heart to tease the kid anymore. He looked at Jenny. “Can you release the Spatial Barrier and let me feel what’s happening inside the mine?”

Despite such a major event occurring, the bullet chat had rarely appeared before his eyes since they arrived in the Fifth District. Even when it did, it was just intermittent garbled code… He felt that the trouble they were facing this time might exceed everyone’s imagination.

“I can… please, go ahead. Just wait a moment. I only sealed this place to prevent whatever is inside from leaking out. But if everyone on site is a Corrector… then there’s no problem.”

Jenny closed her eyes and sighed. She waited until the factory staff had moved all the miners who could be rescued, leaving only Sentinels and Guides at the scene, before she opened the Spatial Barrier.

In an instant, eerie yellow-blue flames surged out from the cracks in the collapsed mounds of earth and stone at the entrance.

“Based on this intensity, all the Carnival Brass in contact within the entire mine shaft is going to be ruined.”

Jenny’s voice sounded desperate.

The flames were too ethereal. From certain angles, they looked like the physical manifestation of the strange fire recorded by Sander.

Liu Ming couldn’t find a way to comfort her because it was the truth. He could only crouch down quickly, pressing his palms against the rubble blocking the fire, letting his threads penetrate deep into the mine.

Soon, his expression changed.

“No… it’s not just Surtr. The situation might be worse than we imagined.”

As the threads continued to spread beneath the soil, Liu Ming began to analyze the chaotic mental energy he detected. His face turned quite pale due to the terrifying pressure brought by those few traces of mental power. “There’s the scent of wind and snow here… and the scent of death… it’s too chaotic…”

Du Shui was in disbelief. “Could it be that not just Y006… but Y007 and Y005 have also awakened?”

Were they even going to be given a chance to survive?

“The most important thing is that, at the current rate of burning, it will only take three hours for them to burn through the entire mining area.”

Liu Ming didn’t even have time to answer Du Shui’s question. He stood up and informed Jenny and Mute of his findings with an expression that could almost be described as cold.

“Three hours…”

Jenny repeated the words under her breath, as if murmuring a death countdown.

“There’s no time… we must find the source of the fire as quickly as possible and stop it. Otherwise, the entire brass mine is finished…”

Jenny clutched her head in agony, but fortunately, before she could make a final decision, Yun Zhou spoke up.

“The source… it’s down here.”

Yun Zhou’s golden eyes brightened, taking on a unique, divine quality. Jenny and Mute quickly looked up at him as if he were their savior. Before either could ask another question, Yun Zhou repeated himself with firm conviction.

“I can feel the source of these flames. They’re like tightly held ropes… they’ve been artificially arranged to follow the layout of the tunnels inside this chalcopyrite mine. I also hear…”

Yun Zhou closed his eyes and frowned, seemingly bombarded by useless noise. He struggled to distinguish useful information from the static, and the moment he finally found a breakthrough, his eyes snapped open.

“Below us. Deep, deep beneath this mine, there’s a hollow space. That’s where these flames are coming from!”

The moment the words left Yun Zhou’s mouth, Jenny and Mute’s eyes widened. The siblings exchanged a look, both seeing absolute shock in the other’s gaze.

In the notes left by the former District Chief, Sander, he had indeed mentioned that directly beneath this mine lay an old miners’ residential area. However, it had been abandoned decades ago when the ore veins ran dry and had remained untouched ever since.

If Yun Zhou didn’t truly possess some strange ability to perceive the truth, there was no way he could have known that abandoned living area existed. After all, even the young master of the Liu Family, an authority in the world of Guides, hadn’t sensed the source of the flames just now.

Liu Ming nodded with satisfaction. Every cloud had a silver lining. Although the bullet chat was temporarily useless, at least the protagonist’s cheat was still working. By following the protagonist, he could always find clues that others might spend a lifetime searching for and never see.

“As expected of Yun Zhou!”

Du Shui and Ying Huo were very supportive, clapping their hands repeatedly.

“Wow, now I see why Chairperson Black Swan chose you as the captain for the Salvation Project! You’re incredible!”

Jenny managed to keep her emotions in check, but the younger Mute was completely unable to contain himself, looking at Yun Zhou with pure admiration.

Yun Zhou’s tail was practically wagging in the air. “Haha, it’s nothing, really. Just average.”

Unable to stand the exchange between the two canines any longer, Liu Ming interrupted. “Alright, everyone. Since the captain has identified the problem, do you all have the resolve…”

Liu Ming looked down at the piled stones. Judging by the intensity of the flames flickering in the gaps, the tunnels inside were likely completely engulfed.

“There are no easy paths to that residential area. It’s very deep, so we’ll have to force our way through. This is an affair of the Fifth District, so technically, it’s not right to trouble you commissioners…”

“No—”

Yun Zhou was about to agree, but Liu Ming cut him off. The silver-blue haired youth gave him a cool glance, and Yun Zhou immediately mimed zipping his lips shut, falling silent.

After all, what Sentinel was stupid enough to intentionally offend a Guide? His past self didn’t count.

Jenny sighed, but she was truly out of options now. “Could I ask you all… once this is over, the Fifth District will surely reward you handsomely.”

Good, a handsome reward. That was exactly what Liu Ming had been waiting for. Even with the Chairperson’s mission, the Liu Family didn’t believe in giving something for nothing. Charging through those flames was clearly a life-threatening, arduous task. Yun Zhou and the others were soft-hearted to a fault, but he couldn’t afford to be.

Otherwise, these guys would be eaten alive in the complex web of the Fifth District without even realizing it.

Liu Ming nodded in satisfaction. “Very well. Let’s go.”

As the person in charge of this mining area, Jenny knew of a small path that bypassed the most intensely burning central tunnels. The path was embedded deep within the yellowish-brown desert, looking like a man-made tunnel with jagged, uneven edges.

The mountain here was already riddled with holes from excavation. The path ended at a cliff inside a cavern, where cold winds carrying yellow flames surged upward, casting an eerie light.

“The fire down there is too bright… can we really go down?”

Ying Huo watched for a long time, unable to see any way they could survive the descent.

“With my Spatial Barrier… I can create a small pocket to block the flames. However…”

Jenny summoned a red Spatial Barrier and placed it into the yellow fire below, gauging how quickly her mental strength was being consumed. “My barrier won’t last long. Three hours is impossible. No, only one hour. We have only one hour. If we can’t find the source of the fire in the residential area within an hour, we must leave immediately.”

She reached out and quickly placed a Spatial Barrier around everyone present to shield them from the yellow fire. Mute and Yun Zhou were the most eager; the moment their barriers formed, they dashed forward. “Great! Let’s head out now!”

Jenny reached out in worry to stop them, but she was a step too late. “Wait, slow down—!”

Crack—

The abrupt sound of shattering rock rang out. The two had only taken a few steps when a tooth-aching grinding sound followed. A terrifying crack spread from the black rock wall all the way to their feet.

“Oh.”

Mute let out a flat, monotone exclamation. He looked at Jenny. “Sis, good thing you were fast with that Spatial Barrier.”

In the next second, the crack widened rapidly. The cliff beneath them crumbled at a speed no one could react to. Mute and Yun Zhou lost their balance completely, falling backward and tumbling uncontrollably toward the sea of fire below.

“I don’t think it’s quite that bad yet…”

Unlike the panicked Mute, Yun Zhou reacted quickly. He instantly summoned Flowing Wind to stabilize himself, slowing their descent. He grabbed Mute’s arm with one hand and easily braced himself against the cliff edge with the other, preventing them from falling unprepared into the vast, unknown sea of fire below.

“Brother Yun Zhou, your reflexes are incredible!”

Mute’s eyes had completely transformed into sparkling stars as he looked at Yun Zhou. Yun Zhou had never experienced such adoration from someone at the level of an Acting District Chief before, and for a moment, he felt rather smug. “Watch closely. I’m going to save us both right now. Falling off a cliff is nothing; your Brother Yun Zhou has been through much worse!”

Liu Ming and the other two remained silent. The relief they had just felt vanished, replaced by a sense of dread. They couldn’t help but feel that Yun Zhou’s arrogance was a harbinger of bad luck.

Perhaps as divine retribution for boasting, just as Yun Zhou prepared to use Flowing Wind to pull them both back up the cliff, the fire below underwent a strange and eerie transformation.

It was as if invisible hands were manipulating it. Despite the total absence of wind, the sea of yellow fire below began to burn with sudden, violent intensity. The flames surged upward, easily molded by those unseen hands into a terrifying fire tornado that roared straight toward Yun Zhou and Mute.

“Yun Zhou!”

Liu Ming and the others rushed forward to help, their hearts leaping into their throats. But the fire tornado was too fast. Even with the three of them exerting all their strength, combining their threads and umbrella, they couldn’t pull Yun Zhou and Mute back from the vortex’s grasp.

“Tch, damn it. Something’s wrong. Look at that thing—is it coming for us?”

Liu Ming clicked his tongue in frustration, but he quickly shook off the regret of failing to save Yun Zhou as he noticed an Anomaly in their surroundings. The fire tornado rising from the sea of flames below was swelling abruptly, as if the swallowed Yun Zhou and Mute were precious nutrients helping it grow.

It continued to expand, sweeping up the cliffside. With lightning speed, it engulfed the entire clifftop within its fiery body.

The winds generated by the fire tornado were immense. Even with Jenny’s Spatial Barrier acting as a protective shield, they could still feel a searing sensation pressing against the barrier.

It wasn’t merely heat; it was a burning that reached the level of the soul. Those yellow flames… they were consuming spiritual power.

Under the shock of this terrifying realization, Du Shui and Ying Huo, who were trying to steady themselves, instantly lost their balance. Even Jenny could no longer maintain her footing on the cliff. All of them were swept into the abyss below by the fire tornado.

**

A bottomless mine shaft.

Yun Zhou struggled to his feet in the darkness. His golden eyes flickered, glowing with the intensity of a wolf pack on the high plains.

A Sentinel’s vision was excellent, and when combined with the advantages of his wolf-type Spiritual Body, he could see quite clearly in the dark using only the faint glimmer of firelight. He scanned his surroundings. He had landed in a central hub for mine carts. Beneath his feet was a crisscrossing network of tracks. Aside from the strange yellow fire burning on the chalcopyrite inside the carts, the rest of the area seemed normal for now, untouched by the flames.

He rubbed his aching shoulder and, with natural ease, identified the safest path through the darkness, following the tracks into the distance.

The wind in the tunnel carried sounds to him. Yun Zhou quickened his pace and soon spotted three familiar silhouettes at a bend in the mine shaft.

“Du Shui! Ying Huo! Miss Jenny!”

Overjoyed, Yun Zhou ran toward the three, who looked equally relieved to see him. At the same time, he couldn’t help but complain internally.

While he was happy to find his companions, Liu Ming and Mute were nowhere to be found…

Don’t tell me that annoying fire tornado dropped the four of them in one spot and left Liu Ming and Mute together somewhere else?

That would be terrible luck for Mute, wouldn’t it?

Yun Zhou shivered at the thought of Liu Ming’s wicked sense of humor.

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Surtr: The Chinese text uses 苏尔特尔 (Sū’ěrtè’ěr), the transliteration of Surtr, a fire giant from Norse mythology. This identifies the ‘King of Anomalies’ with the mythological figure associated with the end of the world (Ragnarök) and fire. ↩