“I can hardly believe it, ” Zorro greeted the motorcycle handlebars he gripped with joy and excitement. “You actually managed something so incredible. “
Little Red Horse had actually led everyone to escape disaster in the midst of danger.
{Whoosh-ha~ } A commotion of clamor erupted from behind, {Thanks to Little Red Horse! }
{She’s our hero. }
The motorcycle let out a “vroom~ ” sound, carrying Zorro atop it as it sped away like lightning in an instant, stirring up a gust of wind and sliding in an arc across the ground for a short distance. Though it covered a mere three or four meters, it left Zorro frozen with a stunned expression on his face.
“This is…? “
Lucius said from the side:
“Aha, our hero here has made astonishing progress thanks to this special training. Its understanding of speed and itself has undergone a tremendous change. “
Having grasped a bit of what was happening, Zorro let out an amazed sigh and stroked the Nightmare Motorcycle, which looked as though it had been fully serviced—even the external devices on its body seemed denser and sturdier.
{Let’s head to the next place quickly. } The Nightmare Motorcycle sent a telepathic thought that only Zorro could hear.
Zorro broke into a smile. He glanced at Lucius, who was looking at him with a smile. At Lucius’ side, a patch of unusually strange mist drifted across the ground in this area. Within it,dense, wobbly, jelly-like figures could be seen gathered, yet they did not emerge.
“Them…? “
“We’ve already found someone suitable to handle this matter. “
“I see. Thank you, Mr. Lucius, ” Zorro said. “I truly don’t know how to express my gratitude for your generous help. “
Little Red Horse’s wheels turned a bit, moving forward slightly, and Zorro could feel its eagerness to gallop.
“Mm-hmm, wanting to thank us is simple. “
“What? I had originally planned to… ” He hesitated, then said, “Because I once obtained intelligence through a certain burning manual, I know there are some things that cannot be spoken aloud. I hope you can understand, sir. “
“So that’s how it is, ” Lucius said with a smile.
“Don’t go to that Odrëv Bicephalic Lion Republic you’re headed for. The matters there are beyond your power to overturn alone. Even if you use the Key as bait, you’d only be playing the same exposed cards you’ve already revealed, over again. “
Zorro’s face showed a slight hint of embarrassment.
As someone who had once been ‘lured’ before, the other party was certainly the most likely to guess his plan.
Yet, admittedly, this plan of his—traveling to Odrëv with the Key, risking his life to lure out certain shadowy figures there, while using the element of surprise to destroy them—had a high success rate.
But the one problem was that the central control station operating in the seawater tributaries had already exposed the existence of that person and their power.
He would still go only because he held the Key, gambling that the other party might not have identified exactly who was responsible for causing the seawater surge at the node when that central control station collapsed. However, with him being part of the airship’s core team, the other party could hardly have avoided investigating his group thoroughly.
“Don’t lose heart. ” Lucius noticed Zorro’s expression and said, “I’ve witnessed your courage and the effort you’ve made to unite your friends in this crisis to devise a plan and act immediately. That’s why I’m here. “
He paused, waiting until Zorro’s emotions had settled for the span of one or two breaths before the other looked over, then continued:
“The reason I’m telling you not to go is because there is something more important, and more suited to you, that you need to do.“
The motorcycle gave a soft hum and turned slightly, its headlight dimming to a much more normal brightness as it faced Lucius.
Lucius lowered his head in thought. “But—even if I truly haven’t used any power that far exceeds the average Chosen One—the existence of the intelligence network and my knowledge of many secret events are undeniable facts. If I directly assign you a mission…“
Zorro’s heart tightened slightly.
He saw Lucius slowly lift his head, his gaze gentle. “I’ll give you ten seconds. Ten.“
Zorro’s eyes fell on the distant plain to the side, where beasts were gathering to embark on their great migration.
Not this. Although stopping the migration is indeed very important, how can any change be made with just one or two convergences?
“Not them, then.“
The motorcycle gave a low hum, its wheel wanting to move forward a few inches, but Zorro steadied it with his foot against the ground.
“Then… maybe it’s this?” Zorro raised his eyes toward the horizon. “The nuclear radiation zones?“
Yet a flash of hesitation crossed his face.
Lucius’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at him. “Time is running out.“
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lucius.“
“Two seconds left.“
“Goodbye.“
Without finishing his sentence, Zorro twisted the motorcycle’s throttle hard, his body naturally leaning forward in a hunched posture. The motorcycle let out a cheer of “Um-ho, ” colliding with the air with a bang, stirring up a whirlwind that fluttered the corners of Lucius’s garment, then charging into the darkness and vanishing from sight.
Zorro felt that he had never gone this fast, and his heart had never felt this wild.
The world was blurred by the high speed, as the motorcycle, sprinting in a state of ideokinetic force, rammed headlong into a rapidly approaching house ahead. Zorro instinctively closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he turned his head to look around.
The afterimage of that civilian house was already hundreds or even thousands of meters behind, rapidly turning into a hazy gray shadow cast off and lost beneath the dark horizon.
{Where are we going? }
Sensing something unusual about his physical state, Zorro tried taking a breath and, having adapted a bit, said:
“We’re going to deliver mail to some cities that don’t have airships, while also setting fires at the beast-gathering grounds and wilderness areas along the way. We might not get to too many places, but being able to stop some Iron Thistle Eruptions is always a good thing. “
{Woo-hoo! } The Nightmare Motorcycle called out, adding: {Then where are we headed first? }
“First, let’s go find some oil drums. “
……
On the corridor of a retro-styled inn.
“Woohoo! “
Li Aimin, poking his head out of the doorway, couldn’t help but cheer wildly and wave his arms upon seeing this long-unseen dwelling filled with warmth and comfort.
“Oh my god, President Old Yang, I really shouldn’t have listened to Old Kim. I should have had Karl contact you to come here earlier~ “
He squinted his eyes in enjoyment, pressing his face against the fabric wallpaper of the hallway, gently feeling the hard yet soft texture of the wall through his skin.
“Ah~ “
Taking a couple of deep breaths, Li Aimin heard only silence. He opened his eyes in slight confusion, and then saw, beside the carpet by the wall, a plush-thread mouse wearing a Western suit, its body rolling like a fabric toy, looking up at him with a slightly scornful smile.
“Huh? “
The plush-thread mouse turned around and walked silently toward the room behind it.
Li Aimin’s head followed the mouse’s movement, watching as it reached the base of the wall, pushed open a small hidden door decorated like an ornamental pattern under the skirting board, and walked in without haste.
After tugging hard inside for a while, it came out, dragging a long, slender segmented wooden ladder horizontally with one claw-like hand, while pulling a white plush cloth almost half its body size with the other.
It walked to a spot near Li Aimin’s heels, smiled, looked up, and scrutinized this being ten times its height.
“You, are… a fairy? “
The mouse, with an indifferent smile, raised an arm draped with the folded cloth and made a gesture of invitation toward the wall.
Li Aimin turned his head to look at the wall and took two steps back. Then he saw the yarn mouse step forward, set the small ladder against the wall, raise its little claw to turn the reel-like device next to the ladder, extending it little by little until it reached about the height of a person.
“Ai Min. ” Li Aimin, who was right there watching, heard footsteps from the stairwell ahead and Chairman Yang’s voice calling him.
He sidestepped forward in a flash, instinctively shielding the mouse perched on the tall, unsteady ladder behind him.
“Ah-ha, how did you get up there?! “
Looking for all the world like a thousand horses were stampeding through his heart, the young man forced a ha-ha laugh as he stumbled forward.
“Quick, follow me. We’re running out of time. ” A youth’s silhouette flashed across the stairway; just as he rounded the landing and descended a step, Yang Zicang craned his neck back to look at the long, narrow item leaning against the wall behind Li Aimin.
“What’s wrong with it? “
“Ah… ” Li Aimin glanced awkwardly back at the yarn mouse, which was simply and earnestly working without a single complaint, then opened his mouth with a deliberate slowness.
“Come on, quickly. We still need to go sign the papers before heading back to the boat. “
“Oh, Okay, okay. “
Li Aimin trotted swiftly away, his feet taking the steps with a rapid patter.
……
From behind the counter, Manager Mus watched the two youthful figures approach.
He took a single step toward the counter and broke into his usual, easy smile.
-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi took a moment amidst his busy schedule to check on my current status.｝
Yang Zicang quickly stepped forward, “Manager, I need to register a new member. “
“Of course. ” Mus set the register of the Lighthouse Tour Group, which was under the counter, on top.
Li Aimin, wearing a coat made of coarse, stiff fabric from the Tavko Electrical Institute, looked around the lobby of this inn.
The wooden-paneled pillars, the fabric sofas commonly seen in old movies, and the potted plants with greenery and display racks with ordinary decorations leaning against the walls—all caught the curious eyes of Li Aimin.
Their combination made the place look neither particularly luxurious nor overly ordinary and cheap.
“But I need to check the register of our Alliance Tour Group. I hope you’ll allow it. ” The voice of Chairman Yang came from up ahead.
“As you wish. “
The manager’s reply made Li Aimin look over.
The only things here that seemed a bit strange, apart from that mouse, were the manager in front and the guest room number signs with small light grids on the wall behind him.
He leaned closer to the man in front and placed his elbow on the counter.
“What are these, Chairman? “
“Hmm, the register. “
Yang Zicang flipped open his Lighthouse Tour Group’s register and scanned it. Besides Li Qian, there were no other names that had turned dull.
Once again, as if to be sure, he glanced at the signatures of Ning Jiajia and others behind Cheng Yunze’s signature, as well as Anxi’s signature. There was no problem.
His hand reached forward to touch the closed book, a copy bound with “Destruction Dragon Travel Group Unified Hotel Management Association Roster ” printed on it—the same edition entitled “Consolidated Hotel Registration Ledger Listing “—those associative name. Meticulous attention given chapter listing of single mention period insertion during step numbered rendering times completion.) Or simply: His hand extended toward the closed volume emblazoned with “Destruction Dragon Travel Group – Standard Hotel Management Association Roster. ” Li Aimin’s gaze grew honest and dulled, fixed on the string of trilingual text.
“You sign in this one. ” Yang Zicang slid the open roster in front of Li Aimin.
Having just rested his elbow on the counter, Li Aimin now pushed back from the desktop, looking at the registration form slid in front of him. It bore many names in different handwriting: Chinese characters, foreign letters, and even symbols he couldn’t recognize.
“Does this signature mean… “
“It’s the registration to join us. ” Yang Zicang tapped his finger at the blank spaces after those names. “Write your name here. The instructions are above and on the previous page. “
Li Aimin, pinching the pen, glanced at the instructions concerning hotel rooms and corridors above those signatures, then closed the cover to look at the writing on it.
“T-this… is this also…? “
Yang Zicang quickly scanned the names in Zhao Anlong’s travel group roster: “It’s our association’s hotel registration book. “
Li Aimin stood still as if stunned.
“So… this is our association, Chairman. “
The signatures on the paper were all normal—good. So far, no one had turned dim. Yang Zicang nodded to himself. Even including the registrations from his own travel group’s roster, those who had been away from the hotel for a long time had had not yet been overwritten by anyone emerging from the golden passages.
Just then, he noticed the young man’s unusual stillness beside him.
Yang Zicang thought for a moment, glanced at Manager Mus who was calmly watching the two of them, let out an “mm-hmm ” and said to Li Aimin:
“Because it involves accommodation issues later on, the existence of this association is very necessary. You’ll understand once you read the explanations carefully. “
“Oh. ” Li Aimin replied absently, then reopened the roster and picked up his pen. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the remaining blank space on this page, which hadn’t yet been completely filled with names, and quite naturally wrote down his own name with a final stroke.
“Alright, President. ” Li Aimin sounded very satisfied with his signing cursive handwriting.
Yang Zicang stretched his head for a look and said, rather worriedly, “You’d better add your axe name too. “
“Huh? “
Just as Li Aimin shifted his pen slightly, unsure what words should hit the paper, the Demon Train came whooshing into the lobby, materializing from its psychic form.
Yang Zicang glanced over at it, pondered for a moment, then turned back to look at Li Aimin’s chest area instead.
In an instant he lifted his head and looked at Manager Mus.
This gentleman manager said to Li Aimin, “Do you want your axe to give itself a name? “
“Ah, this… ” Li Aimin scratched his head. “Heh heh, I’ve been so ｛occupied｝, completely forgot about this sort of thing—how long ago thatit came up! Actually! ” He looked at Yang Zicang. “Do you mind if I quickly slip up to the train trunk and bring it down anon partner’n’n? “
Yang Zicang nodded.
Then he saw the train rapidly tremble, its carriages seeming to move in place, until a door section opened. This firefighter, step by step, ran over and dashed inside the carriage after glancing left and right.
{It’s in the room. I’ll take you back. } The demon train lunged upward toward the upper floor in a whoosh.
“……“
-｛Distributor February. Di’an cheerfully marked a new node for the prologue of my radiance.｝
Yang Zicang averted his gaze somewhat speechlessly, dropping a querying look toward the gentleman behind the counter.
Mus only now revealed a faint smile, speaking in a calm and steady voice:
“Yes, there are still restrictions, but there are times when a bond between an accompanying demon train and its human breeder requires them to communicate. Unless the role between them transforms from caretaker to competitor while inside the inn. “
Just as Yang Zicang was tensing from the biting chill brought on by someone he thought of after this discovery, he finally relaxed.
“Wow, I almost thought… Ah, wait. “
Yang Zicang remembered what had also been mentioned by the person in Room 408.
“May I ask, Mr. Mus, if you know where that pot is now? “
“It’s still in the inn. “
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