Chapter 16

Ye Zheng followed the four cautious youths as they turned into a small bar. Contrary to her expectations, the bar was surprisingly lively. Pei Xi and the others removed their disguising cloaks and pulled her down to sit with them.

Ye Zheng quietly surveyed her surroundings. This appeared to be one of the team’s minor strongholds. They were clearly familiar with the bar owner and even with the regular patrons.

Sure enough, the moment they sat down, the bartender proactively brought drinks over. Ye Zheng sniffed hers. It appeared to be fruit juice.

“This your new partner? Does not look like someone from the lower district.”

The bartender eyed the newcomer with clear hostility.

“Where he comes from is not important. That he is our friend is enough.”

Pei Xi replied gently but firmly. The bartender could only shrug and return to the counter.

Ye Zheng glanced sideways. As the protagonist of the story, Pei Xi possessed both courage and righteousness, a young man of admirable character.

It was no surprise that someone like him became the protagonist. Long before the system’s appearance, she had already noticed this team’s brilliance in the ability competition and had arranged special positions for them early on.

“Why are the newspapers still running this article? Have people not grown tired of it yet?”

Roy spoke gloomily, his face flushed in a suspicious manner. Lu Qi picked up the newspaper from the table and read aloud in a bright voice:

“The sudden rise of the Cloud Soarers proves how laughable the empire’s centuries of arrogance truly are. Resources were lavished upon the treasured swords of the upper district, while the true shield of the empire, battered and wounded, stands unyielding against ninety percent of the empire’s Aberrant Realms.”

“The fine wines spilled in the upper district stained half the river red, while the hot blood shed in the lower district remains forever within the Aberrant Realms. Yet—”

“Resistance never ceases! The lower district shall never fall!”

As she read the final line aloud, patrons throughout the bar raised their fists in unison, shouting the slogan now most popular in the lower district.

“Resistance never ceases! The lower district shall never fall!”

The bartender hurriedly gestured for quiet. “Hey, hey, the person who wrote that article is already dead, and you still dare shout it so loudly?”

“Precisely because he is dead, we should shout even louder.”

A slightly hoarse voice sounded.

The bartender turned toward the speaker. The black-haired, green-eyed boy who had remained silent until now finally spoke. His calm words ignited even greater fervor.

“This newcomer is right! We in the lower district have endured too much in silence. Those people up there would not even spare us a finger bone from the demonic dragon.”

Five hundred years ago, the God of Hope had slain the core demonic dragon of a super S-Class Aberrant Realm. Its remains deterred other Aberrant Realms, and since the upper district possessed them, it had remained free of invasions ever since. The lower district, possessing nothing, bore nearly ninety percent of the empire’s Aberrant Realm descents.

“Mr. Raun died inexplicably in prison simply for writing this article. How can we continue being cowards?”

“What is there to fear? The hope of the lower district, the Cloud Soarers, are right here. Would the city lord’s dogs really dare to arrest anyone?”

Listening to the heated discussions around them, Pei Xi looked apologetically at the boy seated across from him.

“Sorry, Zhao Mei. This may cause you trouble. Things have been unusually volatile in the lower district recently, and discussions about us have become intense.”

“It is fine. Like you said, we are friends.”

The beautiful green-eyed boy gently rotated his glass and offered a warm, understanding smile. Yet Pei Xi suddenly noticed that he had not taken a single sip of the fruit juice. He wondered whether Zhao Mei disliked it, or whether he was simply being cautious.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze. How could this possibly trouble her? Everything was unfolding exactly as she had anticipated. She had approached the protagonist team under false pretenses, yet the smile she wore just now was entirely genuine.

The Cloud Soarers had triumphed according to the plot, greatly uplifting morale in the lower district. Raun, as expected, had published his wife Wenxin’s article. Its radical views and fervent reception led this reckless man to die in prison, stirring an even greater wave of public sentiment.

Today was the day of the lower district’s city lord election. The controversy surrounding this event had become the greatest obstacle to the succession, but it was still far from sufficient.

“By the way, turn on the projector. Is that pig-headed fellow giving his campaign speech today?”

“Let us see how this upper-district lapdog plans to twist black into white!”

Amid the animated chatter, someone raised the suggestion, and the crowd eagerly agreed.

The clerk dragged the heavy square box to the center of the tavern. His face twisted with reluctance as he inserted a green mineral stone into it. At once, a short and stout figure was projected above the box.

Lu Qi, seated beside them, turned her head away in disgust and whispered into the new teammate’s ear, “He’s so ugly it physically hurts my eyes.”

“You are not from the lower district, so you probably do not know him. His nickname is Pighead. It is not only because of his appearance, but also because of his appetite. He ruthlessly enacts policies that squeeze us ordinary people dry, then uses the money to bribe those in the upper district to secure his position.”

Kyle, whose build resembled a towering mountain, clenched his fists in fury. “He forces all ability schools in the lower district to buy the textbooks he compiled himself. One book costs seven hundred. That is enough to cover an entire month of my living expenses.”

“With everyone hating him this much now, he is definitely going to be forced out, right?”

“And if we win the championship, it will become part of his political achievements. Just thinking about it makes me sick.”

Roy coldly shattered their hopes. “You might as well prepare yourselves to take a commemorative photo with him after winning. You can vomit on him while you are at it, Lu Qi. Whether he steps down or not depends on those above him. He is the son of the empire’s Minister of Finance.”

Pei Xi remained silent, but the tight furrow of his brows revealed that he shared their lack of optimism.

The beautiful black-haired, green-eyed boy rested his chin in his hand and gently tried to comfort them. “Who knows? Maybe suddenly he will just…”

Bang.

Someone abruptly knocked over a glass. Red liquor spilled across the white carpet, blooming outward like the projected man’s head as it burst open.

The tavern, moments ago at its liveliest, fell into a stunned silence. Only the projector continued its dutiful function as several people rushed onto the platform and hurriedly carried away the collapsed stout figure.

“Maybe he will just suddenly die.”

The slightly hoarse voice leisurely completed his sentence. The bar instantly descended into chaos. Dead? Pighead had been assassinated?

Someone excitedly shoved their companion. “Did you see it clearly? What kind of ability attack was that? Is Pighead really dead?”

“I did not see it clearly. His head just exploded out of nowhere.”

The several youths seated together stared at one another in shock, never having imagined that today’s election speech would end in such a manner. Lu Qi and Kyle gaped in disbelief. Even Roy, usually so composed, could not suppress his stunned expression, while Pei Xi stood frozen in place.

Hating the city lord was one thing. Witnessing his head being blown apart at such close range was another entirely.

They were accustomed to fighting Aberrant Realm monsters, but none of them had ever used their abilities to kill a person. For youths like them, a murder unfolding right before their eyes was far too overwhelming.

Suddenly, a pair of hands waved in front of them. Everyone snapped back to their senses and looked toward Zhao Mei, whose expression remained utterly calm.

“Everyone, it is already five in the afternoon.”

Reminded by the boy, they finally recalled the real purpose of today. At five o’clock, the officials were scheduled to announce the rules for the third stage of the ability competition, broadcasting them across the entire empire.

“R-Right. The rules.”

Kyle still sounded dazed, as though he had yet to fully recover from the shock.

“Boss, could you switch the channel for us?”

Lu Qi hurried over to the counter to speak with the tavern owner. Ye Zheng blinked. The green contact lenses she wore were slightly uncomfortable, but her mood was inexplicably buoyant, so much so that even Pei Xi beside her noticed it.

“That greedy man is dead. It is a good thing, but somehow it feels strange. The way things are developing feels strange.”

To be precise, Pei Xi felt that everything happening recently was strange, as though certain events had deviated from an invisible but predetermined path. Yet what that path was supposed to be, he could not say.

“How is it strange? The lower district has been filled with resentment toward him lately. Someone taking advantage of a public appearance to assassinate him is not unexpected.”

Pei Xi looked at the boy before him. What Zhao Mei said was entirely reasonable, and his demeanor was as gentle and understanding as ever. Yet for reasons he could not articulate, Zhao Mei felt subtly out of place.

A bitter expression flickered across Pei Xi’s face. He blamed his own frayed nerves. Suspecting a friend without cause was not like him at all.

He was about to apologize when a familiar, deep, and captivating voice echoed throughout the tavern.

Pei Xi sharply turned his head.

Projected above them was the figure of a golden-haired, golden-eyed youth clad in a dark crimson uniform.

“Good afternoon, everyone.”

In an instant, all eyes were drawn to the towering projection.

The crown prince’s misdeeds were far more infamous than those of the city lord, yet no one dared utter a sound. Even though the projection could not hear them, the tavern fell utterly silent.

This was the empire’s sole SSS-Class ability user, possessing both unmatched power and the highest status. The crowd that had moments ago been fervently denouncing the upper district now resembled lambs driven back into their pen.

Pei Xi unconsciously rose to his feet.

Ye Zheng stared at the arrogant figure, radiant as a blazing flame. Sykes’s sharp brows suddenly lifted, a playful glint flashing through his eyes.

“Due to major reforms in the third stage of the competition, the rules will now be announced personally by me, Crown Prince Sykes Aston of the empire.”

Something was about to spiral out of control. The black-haired, green-eyed youth’s expression darkened.