Chapter 15

Late night, Yacheng North Mountain District Office.

Just after slamming the office door, Wen Wen’s phone rang.

Su Zi calling.

"Hello? Sister Wen, the file you wanted has been found." As soon as the call connected, a voice with lingering fear came from the other end, carrying the exhaustion of someone overworked to death.

"Any discoveries?"

"Yes, very much so, too much!"

Su Zi’s tone became resentful: "It’s simply too scary, okay! Where did you dig up such two monsters with one shovel? Each has their own strengths, each has their own unique skills... Could you please not give me this kind of surprise next time?"

"First, tell me about Lu Feng."

Wen Wen leaned back in her chair, legs propped on the desk, swaying: "He shouldn't be the law-abiding common citizen he claims to be, right?"

"...Law-abiding is barely enough, but whether he’s a common citizen depends on how you look at it."

The sound of flipping paper came from Su Zi’s side: "He has two files in total; one is from Yacheng, looking completely normal, just that kind of very ordinary normal.

Adopted family, the adopter is the owner of an auto repair shop; he fought and caused trouble since he was a child, never letting anyone worry less; he lied about his age to join the army before he was an adult, then came back after retiring and helped out at the family repair shop; because his service awareness was not up to par and he cursed people at every turn, he got a bunch of bad reviews... anyway, just muddling through life."

"And the other, not-so-ordinary one?"

"The other one starts to get scary; red seal, very high confidentiality level, directly under the Central City Military Department, with six confidentiality stamps on it, fucking six!"

Su Zi couldn't help but curse: "I’ve been in the Investigation Department for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen confidentiality stamps on a file like stamp collecting; just applying to access it, I received a warning email from the Military Department."

"Normal."

Wen Wen was clear; in fact, the first time she saw Lu Feng, she already knew—the tattoo on his arm, besides some decorations common in the army, also had a mark of half a lion and half a skull.

According to her knowledge, there was only one place that claimed to be an airborne battalion that had been to the Middle Earth and had such tattoos, and among the federal top brass, its existence was not a secret at all.

Inside were all people who did dirty work for the Federation.

Including but not limited to assassination, kidnapping, inhumane weapons testing that violated international human rights charters, and even terrorist attacks...

Precisely because of this, it felt bizarre.

How did you retire alive?

You have to know, in that mud pit of Middle Earth, besides the security forces watching the oil fields, other legions participating in wars and operations, it’s not easy for an ordinary person to make it to retirement, let alone walk away whole from an airborne battalion.

Not dying on the battlefield, not dying in a classified mission, and not committing suicide by shooting oneself thirty times in the back... this kind of person, either has heaven-defying luck where whoever touches them dies, or there must be a thigh behind them that is thick beyond measure.

No matter which one it is, the lackeys of the Dragon Sacrifice Society provoking such a person can be considered poking a hornet’s nest of the Military Department.

"Being able to find out he has a relationship with the Military Department is enough; anyway, the Security Bureau’s job is to prevent abnormal criminal events; even if he’s killing and setting fires while idle, it’s the Military Department’s headache, none of my business."

Wen Wen asked directly:

"What about the other one?"

"The other one is even scarier."

Su Zi rubbed her temples: "Sister Wen, you only came back in the last two years; you should have heard about the big event that happened in Haizhou ten years ago, right?"

Wen Wen was silent for a moment, thinking for a long time, and couldn't help but straighten her body from the chair: "You mean... the Day of Sea Burning? Could he be related to the Calamity of Tide Flame?"

"Yes, he is a survivor."

Su Zi sighed, "To be exact, Ji Jue is the only survivor of the Calamity of Tide Flame."

In a dream that was too long, Ji Jue heard the sound of the train hitting the tracks again, so familiar.

He opened his eyes, leaning against the window, gazing at the scene rapidly passing by in the distant fields outside, mountains, wilderness, sparse and desolate villages, and the burning red sunset glow on the horizon.

The glow of the sunset shone into the child’s eyes, the crimson color dancing above the sky.

This was his childhood.

"Awake? Rest a while longer, we’ll be in Yacheng soon."

Someone touched his head, the movement gentle: "After we arrive, how about Mom takes you to see the sea?"

"..."

Ji Jue was silent; for a long time, he whispered softly: "Actually, I don't like the sea; seeing it too much is actually annoying."

"Clearly, when you heard we were moving to Yacheng, you secretly saved money to buy a swimsuit."

The person beside him laughed, pulling him into her arms, rubbing his hair, gentle and light: "Don't worry, there will be new friends and classmates in the new school; everyone will play with you."

She said: "You will adapt; the past will become very far away, and you will embrace a new life."

"But the new life is so hard, Mom, too hard, much harder than I imagined."

Ji Jue leaned on her shoulder, lowering his head: "The things in Haizhou taste very bland, I’m always not used to eating them, and the dialect is also very complicated, I can't understand it no matter what.

The hospital medicine is very hard to eat, the nurses are very fierce, the old house is prone to dampness, and during the return-to-south season, there is water everywhere in the house; if you don't deal with it quickly, it will get moldy. Some classmates in school also like to bully me, and the teachers are always making things difficult..."

"So hard." She sighed softly.

"Don't worry, I’ve handled it all, Mom; they can't stump me; I’ve already been admitted to university, just like you, both at Tianmen University; the scenery there is as good as you said, it’s just that the braised pork rice in the cafeteria is very hard to buy."

He gently held his mother’s hanging palm, as if holding up that dream that was too fragile:

"Lu Ma likes to lose her temper, but she is very good to me, treating me like her own child. Although Professor Ye has very strict requirements and always says she will kick me out if I don't do well, she has never looked down on me. If someone bullies me, Brother Feng will help me fight. The senior sister also takes good care of me and has never made things difficult for me on projects...

They are all very good people, and they all like me very much."

"So, rest assured, Mom, I’m doing very well."

.C〇

Ji Jue laughed, assuring her: "I will definitely become someone who achieves something... no matter how hard it is."

"Then why are you so sad?" Mother stroked his cheek, so gentle, making Ji Jue’s nose ache again.

"I just, miss you very much."

"Me too."

There were gentle arms hugging him, just like eternal protection and care, making this cruel world and all the suffering no longer scary.

Ji Jue closed his eyes, snuggling in her arms.

No longer looking at the scene outside the window.

Those dancing red clouds radiated their final light, and then, were swallowed by black clouds; later on, the black clouds were gone too.

In the shaking of heaven and earth, screams and shouts rang out, just like in countless nightmares before.

The black clouds were killed, and scarlet rain fell.

When the rain fell on the ground, it planted flames that could not be extinguished; the flames rose to the sky again, and when they gathered together, they were like a tide without end.

Everyone called it the Calamity of Tide Flame.

That was a natural disaster crowned with the name of destruction; when it appeared, even the ocean would be burned to a boil; after the invisible flames swept past like a flood, everything was burned to ashes.

Ten years ago, it appeared in Haizhou without warning, rushing toward the southeast, burning everything along the way to ashes.

Whether it was mountains, wilderness, villages, or a train that happened to be shrouded by the aftermath.

Just like that, it nonchalantly took away everything Ji Jue had.

Four hours after the disaster occurred, Yacheng’s search and rescue team was the first to arrive at the scene; someone found the only surviving child from the broken wreckage of the train.

Severely burned, on the verge of death.

He was held in the arms of his deceased mother, not crying or struggling, letting the search and rescue team take him away.

Afterward, experts wrote long, detailed arguments about how lucky and coincidental this was. Everyone looked at the newspaper headlines and said this was a miracle of life, rejoicing for it.

But so-called miracles, sometimes, are no different from curses.

And Ji Jue was never the lucky one.

He didn't know how many times he would have this dream again, but the ending of the dream had never changed because of his actions.

Every time it reached this point, the dream should have ended.

But this time, he didn't wake up.

He raised his head, looking at the sky that didn't belong to this dream.

Above the broken night sky, countless shining stars gradually appeared, rotating, overlapping, intertwining, turning into blurry outlines, just like magnificent gods appearing in the mortal world.

One, after another.

They, them, or They, were looking at him.

Solemn and silent.

Waiting as always.

In the office, it was silent.

Only a wisp of blue smoke from the ashtray rose silently.

Even in the history of the Federation suffering from disasters, the Calamity of Tide Flame ten years ago was a rare natural disaster.

The collapse and fall of a rift caused the disaster value to rise above the alarm line; the burning wind rose from the south of the Quancheng ruins, charging and crashing, burning the West Sea to a boil.

Even though no major city was destroyed because of it, the losses brought about by it caused the economy of the entire Haizhou to be hit hard, almost unable to recover, and the tragedies caused by it were countless.

As the only survivor of that accident...

Wen Wen didn't know whether Ji Jue’s luck was good or bad.

Facing a natural disaster, even being able to survive doesn't mean luck, but the beginning of misfortune—for people who faced a natural disaster and survived, there is usually another term, called "Cursed One."

Ordinary people getting involved with natural disasters, just being a bit unlucky is good; the probability of alienation is also much higher than ordinary people, almost never ending well.

For so many years, Ji Jue hasn't had a spontaneous combustion situation, which is already lucky to a hair-raising degree.

"Sister Wen, why did you suddenly check this?"

After a long silence, Su Zi on the other end of the phone asked curiously: "Could it be that he got involved in some event?"

"No, nothing."

Wen Wen shook her head decisively: "Just met him when repairing a motorcycle, just a bit curious."

"...Eh?"

Su Zi’s voice dragged out a long tone, clearly being politely deceived: "Then remember to treat me to a meal later, don't use the Security Bureau cafeteria to make up the numbers."

"Okay, okay."

Wen Wen nodded, and after pondering for a moment, she suddenly asked: "Su Zi, you’ve been working in the Investigation Department for so long, looking at so many people’s files.

If, I mean, if, a Cursed One receives Heaven’s Choice..."

"Are you serious?"

Su Zi was also surprised: "This probability? Without relying on the calling of the higher-ups, autonomous awakening cannot be said to be absolutely impossible, but it can only be said that daydreaming is more practical than buying a lottery ticket.

Ordinary people affected by alienation have almost been marked by the vortex.

For example, it’s like walking a tightrope on a cliff with a hundred-pound iron ball tied to your ankle; being able to move forward two steps is already very impressive, let alone being able to fly to the sky."

"Is that so, thank you."

After Wen Wen finished listening, she didn't say anything else.

After the phone hung up, the office was once again shrouded in silence, with only the ticking of the clock.

And looking at the empty report document on the computer screen, she was distracted again, looking at the sky outside the window.

If, a person who should have fallen into the abyss could one day soar in the sky... then his wings must be very beautiful, right?

Wen Wen laughed.

The sky in the night was so clear, with no clouds covering it.

The stars were shining, and the light was gentle.

V0.0001 patch update notice: The organization name "Dragon Worship Sect" that appeared in the previous chapter has been renamed to "Dragon Sacrifice Society" because it clashed with many works, to avoid reader confusion.