The City of Shadows had recently undergone some changes. The main change was the addition of more streets and new residents.
After the monsters of Fantasy Village settled down in Avalon, they naturally wouldn't stay cooped up inside. Many lively and curious monsters would frequently come out to play. Eleanor opened a cold drink shop in a prime location in the city. Naturally, her source of goods was purely handmade fairy popsicles.
Wenwen applied to join the Space Administration. After three failed examinations, she reluctantly joined the World Patrol as an intern. Now, she was a glorious military reporter. Every day, she would be busy writing her Wenwen Daily. What was different from before was that the speed and credibility of the publication of the newspaper had clearly improved. Furthermore, the content was much richer. For example, Claude's interview after he saved the world.
Marisa opened her magic shop in the Blood Elf district and sold some potions and other magical products that she created herself. It was said that her business was unexpectedly good. The only regretful thing was that a certain black and white had not changed her habit of shoplifting. Furthermore, she had a 100% failure rate under the eyes of a group of Blood Elf Archmages. Currently, on average, Marisa or Eight Cloud Purple would head to the Silvermoon Public Security Bureau to collect her every five days. It was said that Patrice even paid a friendly visit to Marisa while she was imprisoned. However, the very next day, Marisa's sentence was extended. Patrice brought her a Blu-ray edition of 'Prison Break'.
As expected, Alice enrolled in the Imperial Army Academy. She rented an empty house near the academy and used it as a training room. It was said that her grades in magic puppetry and alchemy were among the best in class. It was a pity that her warship piloting wouldn't be able to pass before the arrival of the new millennium. It was unknown which bastard recommended her to enroll in that profession.
Soul Dream was still an officer of the City of Shadows. Initially, this job was something that I forcefully placed on her head out of mischief, forcing her to work to repay her debts. I didn't expect her to persevere. Currently, Soul Dream was earnestly patrolling every day. Her large fluttering bowtie could often be seen flashing in the streets where monsters gathered. Using her own words, patrolling in a place that was least prone to chaos was much easier than dealing with the abnormalities in Fantasy Village. Furthermore, there was an endless amount of employee benefits. This was simply great.
However, I suspected that she just felt that it was easier for her to slack off as she often patrolled alone. I believed that Reimu wouldn't slack off, and I would rather hope that Sicarro would give up his bag.
After the carnival ended, the workload at the Dimensional Hub had plummeted. Moreover, the dimensional divergence points opened in other worlds and the Keplu Sector of this universe had also reduced the work intensity of the Hub Square. Now, Yama Cloud Purple was probably busy sleeping every day. Her name could only be seen occasionally when she looked up the Administrative Bureau's personnel registration form, which meant that the great monster, who was about to enter hibernation, was still in the state of a 'working girl'.
As for the previously mentioned Rhododendron Spp.'s clothing and hat shop, it was still operating as usual. I visited it a few times in the past and was deeply shocked by the shop's slogan: Pure fur, ten times fine for fake, winter supply, fresh and reliable, fox fur for sale at 20% off, not for sale if it's still on the body — — Monsters have dignity, no one is allowed to visit when they molt.
That line of words caused my eyes to wander around many times. I used my probing gaze to observe a certain fox girl's furry big tail until I was finally pushed out of the shop by the nine-tailed girl with a red face.
As it turned out, the phenomenon of self-production and self-marketing was very popular among the monsters in Fantasy Country.
Ten minutes ago, I just made a trip to the base in the city center and met with Tawil's projection there. Now, her main body was personally leading the meticulous dismantling of the last fragment of the Star Ring at the Kuiper Belt Base. From the transmitted image, I could see that the huge fragment of the Star Ring had been dismantled into a large area of scattered machinery floating in space. It was as if a gale carrying countless sand and stones had suddenly stopped. All kinds of probes were flashing with a faint light as they shuttled back and forth between the fragments, trying their best to reconstruct the structure of the fragment when it was in perfect condition and trying to find out who had thrown the most special fragment.
Tawil's report was very optimistic. The power of the Dark Goddess had helped us to remove many research obstacles in advance. Perhaps, within a few days, Tawil would bring me good news.
Other than meeting with Tawil's projection, I also met an unexpected person in the base: Ares, the Atlantean warrior.
Recently, he had been cooperating with the research center for an inspection. A research team was analyzing the data of the ancient expedition team in the Atlantean data storage device. Reverse analysis of the Atlanteans was obviously the best practical method. Of course, it was through a safe and gentle method.
The series of biochemical modifications carried out by the old Empire on the Atlantean civilization now seemed to be unscrupulous. Even though the Atlanteans themselves weren't dissatisfied with such treatment and were even grateful for the "power bestowed upon them by the Great God," we couldn't ignore the twisted and strange synthetic monsters, cyborgs, corpse guards, and the Valkyries and Anubis that were created from the souls of living people. No matter what, the old Empire that had been proven to be full of hidden dangers couldn't be repeated. Even if we were to use the living modification technology again, we had to ensure the safety and humanity of the Atlanteans.
It was currently 9: 30 in the morning. For a busy city, this was the time when the city's machinery was operating at high speed. Even though the City of Shadows didn't have an ordinary business and capital system, the city would still be bustling at this time every day. There were all sorts of strange vehicles on the road and the three-headed Mercury Lamp that flew low in the sky. The shops on both sides were also welcoming travelers from various worlds. The city patrols walked the streets along different patrol routes every day. Eleanor squatted at the door and counted her earnings from yesterday with her fingers. There was only one quiet place: Sylvia's little shop.
It was opened in the military zone. The shop manager was slow and never advertised. Every now and then, he would forget to open for business because he didn't remember it. Such a shop had no other merits other than being quiet.
After taking a detour to the research center, I saw that it was still early and there wasn't anything to do. I strolled to the border of the military zone to see if the person I had been waiting for for the past two days had appeared.
In order to ensure the last remaining customers of a certain silver-haired mole, the Bubble purposely opened a door on the military zone's barrier beside the dessert shop. One could directly reach the shop by taking a detour from the light weapons research and development factory. However, in order to ensure the safety of the military zone, Sylvia had no choice but to set up a large number of sentry cannons and guards near this' exceptional passage '. This basically eliminated the possibility of Sylvia's business flourishing.
Usually, when the mass-produced mainframes changed shifts, there would often be little girls walking in twos and threes on this quiet path. It was still a mystery as to why the mass-produced Bubble would be interested in desserts. All sorts of tests showed that the mass-produced Bubble didn't have any signs of developing a personality. But let them be. Even if it was just a vague conditioned reflex, I specially added some allowance to the mass-produced Bubble: money specifically used to buy sweets and puddings.
Pushing open the glass door of the dessert shop, a melodious wind chime and a crisp and cheerful greeting sounded at the same time. I was stunned for a moment. "Welcome!"
I raised my head in astonishment, only to see a silver-haired girl dressed in a shop assistant uniform looking at me with a bright smile that showed eight teeth. Behind this girl who looked exactly the same as Sylvia, there were two fellows who had the exact same appearance, appearance, and height.
"Ah, it's Your Majesty. Today is my lucky day to be able to serve Your Majesty on my third day of work."
"Raven?" I was a little stunned. "What number?"
"Raven 998 greets you!" The silver-haired girl in Sylvia's shop assistant uniform bowed cheerfully. "If it's you, would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Uh, okay …" I replied casually. I sat in my usual seat by the window and watched as Raven 998 hurriedly prepared a cup of coffee for me. Her clumsy appearance was a huge contrast to the gentle and steady image of the shop assistant just now. Obviously, a Raven who was a master in magic was not necessarily smart in other aspects.
After a series of clanging noises in front of the coffee table, Raven 998 turned to look at me apologetically. "Um, Your Majesty, can I have some tea?"
I nodded and watched with a twitching expression as Raven 998 continued to wreak havoc on another set of equipment. A few minutes later:
"Your Majesty, what do you think of orange juice?"
"I … I'll just drink water." I quickly waved my hand. "If there's anything that's not going well at work, we can talk about it. If there's anything that's wrong with Sylvia, we can talk about it face to face. Don't be like this …"
Raven 998 looked at the water dispenser next to her with a troubled expression. After some thought, she walked over and said, "Your Majesty, I think it's better if I chat with you."
Where the hell did this weirdo pop out from? At least that mechanical idiot Sylvia knows how to use a water dispenser!
"She's usually a soldier, so she has a centralized logistics department. She's never done housework or used these civilian equipment," Raven 998 awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair. The other two Ravens pretended to clean but they were actually laughing. "And I've only been here for three days, so I'm not used to it."
Only then did I remember to ask what was going on in front of me. Raven 998's words stunned me for a long time. "Because we wanted to help the Matrix with something, but the Matrix wanted nothing else other than to open a shop. After a discussion, the three of us decided to come here and work."
I looked at the empty shop. There wasn't a single customer. In theory, other than a few Mass-Produced Bubbles or one or two Misaka who would come in the afternoon, the shop's revenue for the day would stop here. Suddenly, three part-time employees popped up in front of me. Just what kind of irreconcilable conflict did they have with Silvia? Why did they have to work so hard to ruin that silver-haired girl? Even Silvia had to rely on the allowance from the City of Shadows to eat!
Ugh, speaking of Sylvia, I haven't seen her since just now. Where did she go? One of the reasons I came here was to look for her … Well, strictly speaking, it was to look for the other person in her body.
"You're really looking for the Matrix. She's resting at the back. We're looking after the shop." Raven 998's gaze turned to the small door leading to the back of the shop. "She's probably going to wake up soon. She's been sleeping for a long time these past two days. She said she wanted to communicate with the Matrix, Belavilla."
Just as Raven 998's voice trailed off, the small door suddenly opened. Sylvia rubbed her eyes and floated out. She walked straight to me and said, "Morning. Oh, looks like it's getting late. "
I was stunned by her fluent speech. Then, I suddenly reacted. "Belavilla? Now it's your turn? "
"Ah, the first time is resting. Now it's the second time. Sylvia said that you've gone to the Realm of Gods. So, you might come to look for me. I've been preparing for the past two days. I also wanted to let Sylvia recuperate. " The former fallen emperor, who was sharing a body with Sylvia, yawned. He got up and took a few pieces of cake from behind the counter. At the same time, he called out to the shop assistant. "Hey, you're number 998, right? Help me make a cup of coffee … "
I rubbed my forehead. "Didn't you see that the coffee pot has broken in half?"
Belavilla was stunned with the cake in her hand. She looked at Raven 998 with a weird expression. "Do you have tea?"
Then, she saw the teacup that had been melted into glass by the arcane flames.
Belavilla bit the cake in her mouth. She looked at Raven 998 with a subtle expression. "What's your main dissatisfaction with this world?"
Raven 998 hugged her head and went to the door to reflect.
"It's really awkward sharing a body with Sylvia. Her stupid actions always cause trouble for others, especially me. I can't avoid it at all. Letting Raven do this? I can't believe she came up with this idea. "Belavilla shook her head as she handed me a chocolate pudding." Do you want to try it? This was made by Sylvia herself. That girl is only good at making desserts. "
"Don't you think that as a half-manager, it's a little inappropriate for her to eat the product that she's selling?"
"Ha, I'll eat it myself after a while. That idiot Sylvia, is there anyone who runs a shop in the military zone? Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about you guys first. You've been in the Realm of Gods for many days. During this time, the Basilica of the World Tree suddenly grew. There are also a lot of technicians in the research institute who are busy with something. Even the Bubbles don't come often. It seems that you guys have experienced a lot in the Realm of Gods. "
Perhaps it was because a long period of hibernation always made people want to talk. Even if Belavera was eating something, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from talking. However, compared to a certain Dragon God, this Queen of Magi was still far from being able to talk.
"Huh? Don't you trust me? "
Belavilla suddenly asked.
"Of course not." I waved my hand. Even though the situation back then was extremely strange, Belavilla was indeed on my side now. She was the mother of all Ravens. Furthermore, she shared a body and authority with Sylvia. Under such circumstances, there was no need for me to hide anything from her. "I'm just organizing my words. It's about the Fallen Apostles. I know that you were once a high-ranking member of them, so you might know something. "
At that moment, I told her about my experiences in the Realm of Gods, especially the possible ultimate goal of the Fallen Apostles. Back then, Belavilla had talked to us about this topic many times. However, due to the limited amount of time she could appear and the internal situation of the Fallen Apostles was too complicated, the information I obtained from her mouth was really insufficient.
"Changing the structure of the void? Perhaps that's already very close to the answer." Belavilla stretched her body. Her tone was rather unconcerned. "Oh, you might not be able to understand what kind of organizational form the Fallen Apostles are. I've told you before, there are many contradictions, suspicions, hostility, and even backstabbing among the Fallen Apostles. After losing their mental network and having their personalities distorted, everyone became a little neurotic. However, under such circumstances, the Fallen Apostles still move in an organized manner. Furthermore, they have a common ultimate goal. Don't you find it strange? "
"You're saying that the Fallen Apostles have a supreme leader or something like that?"
I thought for a moment and said with uncertainty. The former Shiring Apostles maintained extreme discipline and stability under the joint rule of a hundred and thirty-five emperors because all of them had a core goal of 'resisting the abyss and developing the race'. Due to this goal, they established an extremely strict authority system. However, that great goal no longer existed. Moreover, there might be a problem with their authority system as well. The authority system might still exist, but among the Fallen Apostles of the same rank, the authority system's restriction might have already gone out of control. That was why Ockham was able to sneak attack Belavilla from behind.
Under such circumstances, the stability and collective advancement of the race could no longer rely on the self-discipline of the individual apostles. Instead, they needed to be like the 'lower races' and have an absolute ruler appear.
If that was really the case, the internal strife of the Fallen Apostles would still exist. They were only carrying out the same goal with ulterior motives. Although this goal was indeed what the Fallen Apostles desired, it still wouldn't be able to make them a solid block.
"The supreme ruler …" Belavilla lowered her head in contemplation. "It's very similar, but I'm not sure."
I was immediately shocked. "Could it be that even you have never seen your own superior?"
"Perhaps no one has seen him before." Belavilla looked into my eyes. "All of the Fallen Apostles use 'that lord' to refer to a certain person. He directly speaks in our spiritual world, and we directly carry out his orders. This is all of our communication. I have never seen the other party's true appearance, but I can confirm that he is a 'person' that truly exists, and a member of the old Empire. Only heaven knows who obtained that kind of power after the great calamity. Up until now, all of the Fallen Apostles' actions were carried out under the 'lord's' instructions. It could be said that apart from him, there were no other classes among the Fallen Apostles. Everyone was an executor. There was only a difference in power, and the weak instinctively obeyed the strong. That was why I wasn't too clear on what the detailed plan of the entire Fallen Apostle group was. Apart from a unified final goal, none of the plans belonged to us. This cake tastes pretty good. As expected, eating things yourself is the most meaningful. Normally, I only know the taste of certain foods from Sylvia's memories … "
"Eat slowly. No one is going to fight with you." I got up and poured a glass of orange juice for Belavilla as I tried to calm myself down. "In other words … you don't even know what that person looks like? You don't even know what his power is, and you obediently listen to his orders? Are all Fallen Apostles masochists? "
Belavilla put down the food in her hand and stared into my eyes. She raised her hand and pointed at her own head. "We really don't know what that person's power is, but at the very least, he can do one thing: cut off this."
"Head?"
"The spiritual power of the Shiring Apostles."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
