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An Yu‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌​​⁠⁠​⁠‌‌​‌‌​​‌⁠ picked up the [Prophetic Poems] that had fallen to the ground and just as he was about to close it, his gaze caught the title of the poem he had just read.

[Asylum]

“One person’s time is in disarray,

Silent panic,

His death flows quietly in the river.

A crowd’s time is in disarray,

The carnival echoes,

Their noise flows quietly in the river.”

Asylum…

As if guided by some unseen force, he found himself at the church again.

Poet was seated on a couch, sketching lightly on a drawing board.

“Sorry, I can’t interpret this poem,” he apologized with a smile. “There are always some flashes of inspiration that suddenly come to me, but this doesn’t mean I can see through everything. I’ve already shown everything I received.”

“Alright.” An Yu sighed. “I’ll be going on a long trip soon. If you remember anything, you can find Xu Shuangshuang at the Corner Bakery.”

“The Main City awaits your return,” the Poet smiled warmly. “Speaking of the bakery, yesterday a lady who came to night prayer brought me a Nostalgic Red Bean Bread. It almost felt like it took me back in time, reminding me of the mood I had when I wrote it.”

An Yu asked casually, “Which poem?”

“Do not arrogantly cut open a weak rabbit.”

An Yu suddenly stopped in his tracks.

That poem had once been recited by Yan Xi’s sister, and the Nostalgic Red Bean Bread was Yan Xi’s mother’s specialty.

Turning back to look at the Poet, he said, “Your prophecies are always spot-on. Not long ago, I did indeed make a minor mistake on something trivial—and surprisingly made a fortune from it too.”

The Poet replied candidly, “I’m used to my gift in this area. You know the lottery ticket that people in the Main City often buy?”

An Yu nodded.

“I also wrote a book called [Lucky Number Perception]. It’s just 5,000 credits— do you want it?”

“…… “

An Yu, feeling numb, asked, “Do you have any predictions that don’t cost money?”

The Poet sighed in regret, “There are some, but usually, no one cares.”

With that, he turned the drawing board toward An Yu, revealing a piece he had been working on.

It depicted a vast, dark sky, speckled with jagged patches of broken red light scattered across the horizon. Though static, the painting seemed to pulse with a disturbing energy.

An Yu noticed two patches of red light in the corner that had calmed, and each one of them was anchored by a small, golden gear. Though tiny, the gears exuded a peculiar sense of stability, with restraining lines radiating outward to secure the broken red lights.

Next to them, a third gear was beginning to form.

An Yu paused for a moment, “Didn’t you say last time that the second gear had just barely taken shape?”

The Poet smiled with satisfaction. “The second gear fully appeared five days ago and successfully stopped one of the red light’s fluctuations. My days are getting more peaceful. Now I have a premonition that the third gear will soon appear.”

Five days ago, exactly the day before An Yu had drifted into a coma, he had encountered a trigger that unlocked his memory-recall ability.

“……”

The string of coincidences tested his rationality and it almost made him tempted to buy that [Lucky Numbers Perception] book.

Clutching his wallet, An Yu hurried out of the church.

Back at the Spire, two hours had passed since the mission was posted, and only Jiang Xiao, Fengjian Tianyu, Slade, and Pat had signed up.

Fengjian Tianyu was a healer from a previous mission in District 84, and Slade and Pat were known top-tier damage dealers in the top 20 of the rankings who often participated in missions with him.

It was odd that only four had signed up.

An Yu checked his friend list and started messaging contacts one by one.

– Zhu Tao: Sorry, there’s an issue at the Southwest Seed Museum. I have to go there with my Commander.

– An Yu: Oh, you’re busy.

An has read but didn’t reply

– Ning: Sorry, An hasn’t recovered from last time’s exertion and he hates people who disturb his sleep-

– An Yu: Understood… What about you?

– Ning: I can’t leave An.

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– An Yu: Alright, the commander’s important.

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– An Yu: …

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The elevator stopped on the dining floor.

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There were several deep red marks on the wrists hanging by his sides, which were particularly eye-catching against his fair skin.

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Lumen glanced back, cold and contemptuous.

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“Not at all.”

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An Yu was dumbfounded.

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An Yu hummed.

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An Yu was confused, Copy what?

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Passing the Statue of the Protector, Qin Zhilu stood silently in front of it for a while and adjusted his gloves.

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Without meaning to, he asked, “Who’s the Officer on the statue?”

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Qin Zhilu pointed to the badge held by the statue, “These weeds symbolize the people of Bait Cities, while the enclosed, burning sparks represent those from the Main City. This is the Spark Act insignia, meaning that for humanity to survive, each person has a unique purpose, and all will face sacrifice.”

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“Used to?”

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The Commander was the most reliable line of defense for humanity’s order, yet he also seemed to watch that very order closely. An Yu thought that perhaps this was why the Commander had never, like the High Peak, completely severed ties with those in the Equality Zone.

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Qin Zhilu paused, then turned to walk out the door.

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An Yu found himself thinking about that last statement even after boarding the plane.

Protectors only had the authority to kill those who were aberrants, and the man in the statue had clearly not mutated. He thought, surely it was only the noisy snowstorm outside the dome that had made him mishear his Commander’s words.

This time, the pilot was Jiang Xiao. An Yu mustered a smile for him and then quickly found a seat by the farthest cabin to sit down.

The other three on board greeted him and Qin Zhilu. Fengjian Tenyu was a familiar face, but it was An Yu’s first time meeting the two damage-dealers.

Both were in the Top 20, their presence was imposing, and An Yu couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

Slade’s aberrant type was a wolf. In addition to his powerful offensive abilities, he excelled at tracking, making him a strong damage-dealer with intelligence-gathering skills. He ranked 18th on the leaderboards.

Pat ranked even higher, at 9th, with his antelope-like aberrant type granting him incredible agility. His career highlight as a Protector was in a mission where, in a dire situation, with no ammo and only 30% health and mental stamina left, he managed to take down more than a dozen aberrants with entropy levels exceeding 10,000 using nothing but cold weapons.

An Yu couldn’t help but think, if Pat was the one training with Jiang Xiao, Jiang Xiao would likely feel very accomplished.

Before takeoff, he received a message from Billy.

– My dear, you left [Dawn] behind.

– It stands out too much. At the orphanage, the supervising teachers would confiscate it immediately. I only brought the dagger.

– Oh, oh. I also noticed you left behind the only clothes you have. You’re not going to run out naked, are you? I haven’t seen you buy new clothes recently.

An Yu glanced down at the burlap sack he was wearing. He had put on the shabby garment issued to the slums, the same one he wore when he first came to the Main City. After the mission in District 53, he had specifically asked Black Tower to return it to him.

Billy didn’t wait for his response and continued with another question: “Got enough bread with you?”

Ever since becoming his personal assistant, Billy had started an endless mode of concern, sounding like a tenfold chattier version of Ling Qiu.

– Didn’t bring food.

– What? But you get hungry so easily!

Because possessing food that does not belong to the orphanage is absolutely high-risk behavior.

An Yu was too lazy to type and explain the complicated system of the orphanage, so he planned to close the chat box.

– Oh, and just so you know, reliable gossip tells me that both Slade and Pat are connected to thread 48728. Stay vigilant.

48728?

An Yu immediately remembered the string of strange, jumbled characters that had appeared abruptly in the “Want to Be a Servant” thread.

– In case you’re clueless, five-digit numbers are usually thread IDs.

An Yu clicked on the link Billy sent.

[Resist using deification to whitewash resource plundering. Atheists only.]

This was a thread opposing him.

Everyone in the thread spoke anonymously, saying that he was just a lucky guy with special abilities, and that he only had contact with high-level officers, so he naturally performed well in tasks. The so-called divine power was pure nonsense. His appearance did not bring any luster to the last line of defense for mankind. On the contrary, the Protectors began to worship him blindly, and all the precious healing resources were tilted towards him. At the same time, he also seized people’s minds by marketing bakeries in the Main City. He was a guy with ulterior motives.

Honestly, apart from “ulterior motives,” An Yu thought they had made some valid points. At least these people seemed more rational than those who deified him.

Being someone from a low status, he had a thick skin and didn’t care what people said about him behind his back, so he continued to scroll down peacefully.

– Let’s have a reasoned discussion: what’s the best way to kill him? The most reasonable way to kill him should be during a mission and avoid being discovered by Qin Zhilu.

The golden eyes suddenly darkened.

– Do you know Slade and Pat’s anonymous IDs?

After a few minutes, Billy sent two numbers back—they were both active in the “rational discussions” about how to kill him.

An Yu raised his eyes and happened to meet Slade’s gaze.

Slade’s smile seemed to be without any grudges. “Lord Corner, I heard you spent many years in a high-risk orphanage. Do you have any advice for this mission?”

An Yu glanced at the weapons they were carrying—Slade was holding a rocket launcher-like device, and Pat had both a heavy firearm and a half-human-height machete.

Compressed food bags emerged out of their bags.

An Yu replied calmly, “The orphanage is bigger than a Bait City. It’s easy to get separated. I suggest you keep any critical weapons and supplies to yourself.”

“Got it. Thanks for the tip.” Slade then turned to Qin Zhilu and said, “The person you chose to supervise is indeed as the rumors say, powerful and gentle.”

“Gentle…”

Qin Zhilu glanced at An Yu and didn’t comment.