The so-called Monument Square was also known as the Totem Square. Everyone had their own names for the place, but as long as the relevant words were mentioned, everyone knew where they were referring to. I didn't know why Fina suddenly suggested to visit the monuments with Anu Lili. This little queen, who was a little lacking in common sense, rarely invited strangers. But since I was going to take Anu Lili through the Monument Square, I gladly decided to go with her.
Of course, before heading to the Monument Square, we still passed by the commercial district. After all, the biggest tourist attractions of the City of Shadows were the few large commercial districts here. The dazzling array of items from the various civilizations of the Macro World was the most important feature of the City of Shadows. Many people had the rare opportunity to visit the City of Shadows, and one of their goals was to bring back some rare items. Even if they could not figure out what those items were for, they would never understand them for the rest of their lives. At the commercial district, we bought a lot of souvenirs for Anu Lili to bring back. The girl was now completely dizzy, and we basically dragged her wherever we went. People who came to the City of Shadows for the first time were all like this. She didn't even look at the things we picked out for her and happily kept them. These things would be great gifts for her to bring back to broaden the horizons of her people, and also to make her brother happy. Anuza didn't come with her this time. The young man was quite busy now. Although he couldn't help much in terms of technological reconstruction, he was still a rather charismatic young leader. He used to lead a village, but now he was leading a team that was working hard to build a new city. Originally, Anu Lili wanted Anuza to hand over the work at hand to someone else and come to the City of Shadows with her. But now, Anuza had another mission: to work with the local Goddess of Life missionaries and the Empire's researchers to find a solution to the sequelae of brain damage.
Anu Lili's race was the most devastated by the Merovans. Not only were they enslaved, but even their genes and postnatal growth had been tampered with. The Merovans had destroyed the brain tissue of the slaves since they were infants, causing Anu Lili's people to be unable to count or make logical deductions beyond three steps. This locked down the possibility of their technological recovery. After the war, in addition to rebuilding their homes and restoring production, the most important task they had to face was to eliminate the sequelae of this brain injury. It was obviously not enough to rely on the little information that the rebel organization had and the technical personnel with sufficient knowledge. Thankfully, the Imperial Army left behind a lot of missionaries of the Church of Life and carbon-based biology researchers, who were experts in the field of health, when they left. Now that the research on treating the sequelae of brain damage had made initial progress, Anuza volunteered to be the first batch of volunteers.
"Although I don't know your brother, you should be proud of him."
After hearing the story of Anurili and her brother and their race, Funa told the former seriously with a serious expression.
At the same time, she was also pushing Biburu, who was rumbling along the way.
"Yes, Anuza is a brave child. I have always felt that he was the luckiest part of my life." Anu Lili hugged a big bag of souvenirs, her face smiling like a flower. She seemed to have adapted a little to this dazzling place and began to enjoy today's wonderful journey.
"No, I am talking about the dedication he made for his race to be able to think freely," Funa said to her new friend next to her as she pushed Biburu forward. In fact, I was very curious about how she usually saw the road when she pushed the big ball. "Freedom is very important, especially the freedom of a race or civilization. Anyone who can make a contribution to this is worthy of being proud. You are all outstanding. "
Anu Lili smiled a little embarrassedly. She was still not used to Funa's precise and straightforward way of speaking. Biburu suddenly interrupted, "Your Majesty, your evaluation is very correct, but … but there is a …"
"It's a slope!!!"
Then we saw the big ball that Funa was pushing suddenly start to accelerate, and with a series of undulating exclamations, it rolled along the slope just like before. I was sad to find out that the end of the slope was a moat.
"Biburu! Wait for me! " Fei Na stood in place and said seriously. Then, she chased after him down the slope. My sister and I couldn't help but look at each other in silence. It turns out that in an emergency situation, talking nonsense is courting death. Just now, Bibolu said the first half of the sentence …
Actually, I felt that Funa should be able to catch up to her ball … to catch up to the ball that she was pushing earlier, so my sister and I didn't make a move. However, we all forgot that Funa wasn't an original Shiring Apostles. She often forgot that this superhuman body of hers had many functions such as charging at the speed of sound and short-distance teleportation. So, we watched as she foolishly ran to the end of the slope and watched as our prime minister jumped over the fence of the moat and fell into the river …
It was such a sad story. We still had to comfort and explain to the passersby who were disturbed along the way …
At this time, Anu Lili was scared silly once again.
In a place like Shadow City, every citizen had two things that were essential. The first was naturally the Citizen Identification Card. For ordinary races that couldn't use the Schilling network, this card was your identification card. Regardless of whether it was a long-term or temporary resident, in short, activities in the Shadow City and the use of the city's services all depended on this card. And the second thing … was the Citizen Safety Protection Set.
This set consisted of sensors that could detect the wearer's physical fitness, a danger response system, and a small personal shield. If there was an external threat, then it could choose to activate the shield after determining the user's ability to withstand damage to protect the user. This set of equipment was indispensable in the Shadow City because there were too many races gathered here, as well as the unfamiliar and dangerous environment for those races. Some races would accidentally hurt others — they were really careless. There were also races that would accidentally put themselves in harm's way — this was even more careless. In order to prevent superhumans from one plane from squeezing and injuring sightseeing students from another plane, or to prevent cultivators from Lingtai Immortal Mountain from being burned to death by psionic crystals while collecting spiritual immortal jade, we had to equip every citizen with this kind of protection, so that they could stay away from the fatal factors in the Shadow City. As it turned out, they were very effective: Although you would often see a shield suddenly pop up on people walking on the street, or you would suddenly have a shield pop up on you while you were walking … at least the priests of the Church of Life in the city hadn't written a letter of complaint to Liliana to reduce the intensity of work for two months.
When Biboru rolled down, I saw at least twenty shields light up one after another, and then there were pedestrians who were bounced like bowling pins. There were quite a lot of people on this ramp. Now, my sister was comforting the frightened citizens. But everyone was used to all kinds of accidents living in this city. Occasionally, a Dragon God who failed to land fell from the sky, or an out of control Godzilla rushed out of the military academy. To the strong citizens of the Shadow City, it was nothing, not to mention being knocked away by a one-and-a-half-ton iron ball. The people here were very tough.
Meanwhile, I pulled Anurili along with me and ran to the edge of the moat. Together, we looked at the spot where Bibru had fallen in. The ripples there had yet to subside, and Funa was staring blankly at the last bit of water. There was a large patch of water on the bank of the moat. The big iron ball had caused quite a commotion when it fell.
"Mister Iron Ball will be fine, right …" Anu Lili had now accepted the miracle of the diversity of life, accepted the fact that the prime minister of a country could be a big iron ball that could talk. She looked at the place where Biboru had sunk, and looked worried.
It was at this moment that a huge splash suddenly appeared in the moat. It was as if something was about to burst out of the water. Anurili and I stared at the surface of the water in astonishment. Then, a drenched girl really did rise out of the water!
It was a beautiful girl with long hair. Her clothes seemed to be made of some kind of slippery leather and seashells. When she came to the water, I saw a fish tail flash in the water behind her. Anu Lili continued to stare in shock. I was also surprised. "Isana, aren't you a saltwater fish?"
"I can live in freshwater. I'm here to visit." The mermaid girl was also surprised to see me on the bank of the moat. She was stunned for a moment before she replied, "Recently, a group of freshwater mermaids from a world called Gambora moved here. They live in the moat …"
The population of the Shadow City was really getting more and more diverse.
By then, Isana had recovered from her initial shock. She remembered that she had something important to do, so she cleared her throat and said, "Ahem, there was a big ball that fell into the water just now. May I ask if it was a gold ball that fell into the water? Or a silver ball? "
I was speechless. Was this saltwater fish so bored?!
Fina was stunned. She probably hadn't heard the story of Golden Axe and Silver Axe, but she still answered honestly, "It was an alloy ball. I don't know what material it is made of, but it can talk …"
Isana smiled happily. "Very good. You're very honest. It seems that you dropped the ball. It smashed the storage room of the mermaid village and a family's courtyard wall. Now it's been detained. You can pay for it."
As we spoke, another little girl who looked much younger than Isana floated up from the water. Amidst the splashes of water, I saw a light purple tail. This was probably the freshwater mermaid that Isana had mentioned that had recently moved to the City of Shadows. The new little girl looked at the strangers on the riverbank timidly. "Did you drop that big ball?"
I raised my head and looked at the land in Gaia, deep in thought. The story of the two axes doesn't seem to develop like this …
But forget it. Don't worry about the details. Nothing in the Shadow City is normal …
Afterwards, I called over the patrolling soldiers of the Empire and had the Ministry of Construction and Works send people over to help repair the houses of the innocent merfolk. Bibolu was finally sent over by the merfolk living in the moat. The Prime Minister expressed that many things had happened today and that his mood was rather delicate. He wasn't willing to talk about it in detail. Isana chatted happily with us for a while. She told us stories of her and her mermaid friends living underwater. These stories sounded very strange to us people on land. For example, the mermaids never knew what the seasoning packets in instant noodles were used for. After Bibolu was thrown onto the shore by the other mermaids, Isana happily said goodbye to everyone and returned to the river. I didn't get the chance to ask her how the mermaids made instant noodles …
When I left this place, I finally noticed that there was a notice board on the riverbank at fixed intervals. The notice board wrote about the recent mermaids living in the moat:
"Citizens, the mermaid students from the Gambora World and their families have settled down in sections C-33 to C-36 of the moat. This area is now a residential area. Throwing junk into the moat and swimming in the corresponding section of the moat are prohibited. Violators will be punished for trespassing on other people's property. In addition, fishing in the corresponding section of the moat is strictly prohibited. The mermaids who are caught have the right to confiscate the fishing rod and bait of the fisherman. Notice is hereby given. "
Some of the notice boards even had a small line of words below: "Also emphasized: Once again, swimming in the corresponding section of the moat is strictly prohibited, especially naked swimming. Please be more dignified. Citizens, you are all people with identification cards — Shadow City Publicity Department — Liliana."
… In short, I didn't care about the strange customs and practices of the Shadow City. Anything that happened in this place wasn't strange.
"This is the Totem Square, also known as the Monument Square."
Very quickly, we arrived at the destination of our trip, the most solemn place in the Shadow City. It was also a place where disrespectful behavior was absolutely prohibited.
The circular square gradually sunk inwards, like a shallow plate embedded in the ground. Dark obsidian and cold, hard, silver-grey alloy laid on the ground, incomparably sturdy. Monuments formed by holographic projections were arranged in rows on the square, circle after circle, row after row, solemn and respectful. Holographic images scrolled on the monument, using words and images to record the nations and heroes who had fallen on the journey, or those who were still persistently moving forward.
You could fool around anywhere, but not here. Even the leader of the Empire had the obligation to maintain solemnity in front of the monument in this square. In front of the entrance of the Totem Square, there was a symbolic monument. It was the only monument here that didn't use holographic projections. Instead, it was made entirely of star gold and superalloy. It didn't record anyone's name, nor did it have any carvings or images. There was only a line of words on the monument:
"For them, continue to move forward."
I stopped in front of the monument and silently greeted it. Next to me was Funa, who also had her head lowered. Bibru couldn't move like a human, and he didn't have any mobility either. Hence, he said in a low voice, "Old friends, we are still moving forward."
Anurili didn't know why the atmosphere had suddenly become so solemn, but she could already tell something from the surroundings and the solemn black monuments. She didn't know if an outsider like her should hastily bow, but she imitated Funa and I by lowering our heads in greeting.
"This is a microcosm of every historical moment on the path of the Empire. Most of them represent battles of life and death." I slowly led the way to the center of the Monument Square. Anurili, Funa, and my sister followed closely behind. As for Bibru, he temporarily waited at the edge of the square. It was inconvenient for him to move around, and he felt that he would disturb the peaceful atmosphere of this place.
"… Is this a monument to the fallen?" Anurili seemed to understand why this place was so solemn.
"… Not all of them," Funa replied after a moment of silence. "Only a small part of this place is used to commemorate those who died in battle. Most of them belong to a certain race, a certain war, or a certain historical moment. Look at these holographic images. You won't be able to finish watching them even if you spend a few days and nights. These honors are too heavy. Not many people can bear it. They should belong to the entire race, to the entire civilization, and even to the entire world … "
We stopped in front of a monument. On its heavy black body, there was a line of words floating: "Salute to the entire Tamu race. You fell before dawn, but please rest in peace — the dawn has arrived."
"This race was completely annihilated at the end of the Great Nebula Battle. There weren't many of them left, but they refused to return to the rear." Funa caressed the cold surface of the monument. "'Someone has to stop the Shepherdians. Our civilization has been completely destroyed, but your history is still intact. So, let us go.' I still remember what the leader of that race, which only had two thousand and six hundred people, said to me."
"Race … World …" Anurili was shocked by the truth. She didn't even hear the rest of Funa's words. The girl who had never imagined how big the Empire was became lost in the majestic square. She looked at the monuments around her as if she was sleepwalking. They were arranged in order, and there were so many of them. Behind each of them, it could even be the story of an entire race. At the very least, it could be the story of a hero who once saved the world.
"There's a saying in the Macro World," Funa suddenly said. "When I stand on that black square and look at the history before me, I suddenly feel that I'm worthless. The battles that I once led, the enemies that I once killed, the wealth that piled up like a mountain, and every glorious title that I once held slowly crumbled in front of those cold monuments. I once wielded my sword and charged into my own little battlefield, filled with pride, thinking that I was a hero. But now, I would rather be the most common soldier behind these real heroes. I only wish that I could charge into the battlefield that is truly filled with glory.
This was once said by a general from the Macro World standing on the monument square. His identity is unknown now, but his words are widely known. It should be the most fitting words for this square. "
"I hope that you and your people can forget the unpleasant history and fight for His Majesty." Funa suddenly turned to Anurili. "As you can see, this is a glorious Empire. It has protected many races, but it is facing challenges. If you want to protect your hard-won freedom … I hope that you can join us."
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