Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Sunday. Today was also a day off.

In the dorm, Xiya was packing some things.

"Are you going out, Xiya?"

Mo Ying asked lazily as she yawned.

She had stayed up all night again yesterday, and she still looked half-awake.

"I'm going to a concert,"

Mo Ying lifted her head slightly.

"Yes, I heard there's an angel band performing, and I'm interested,"

Angels were one of the rarest races to encounter. They valued knowledge and music, and ordinary people only had a chance to see them in orchestras.

It was unclear whether Xiya was more interested in angels or in music.

"Ah, an angel band..."

Mo Ying yawned again.

"Want to come along?"

Xiya extended an invitation.

"No, thanks. I think I'll stay here in the dorm. I don't want to go anywhere,"

Mo Ying said, flopping back down.

With that, Xiya left for the concert alone.

By the evening, Mo Ying was woken up by hunger.

Since Xiya was at the concert, there was nothing for Mo Ying to eat today.

She got up from her bed, went to the restroom for a quick wash-up, grabbed her keys, and headed out.

Mo Ying couldn't think of anything she wanted. She'd grown completely tired of the campus cafeteria.

Not that Dreamscape Academy's cafeteria was bad—she had just eaten there too many times.

The thought struck Mo Ying suddenly.

She hopped over to the school gate, swiped her Sky Crystal Id, and the doors opened automatically.

The Sky Crystal Id was not only a card for storing money, but also served as her student ID.

Leaving campus, Mo Ying stepped onto a small teleportation array. This array could take her straight to the central avenue, where the crowds were thickest.

Standing on the array, Mo Ying blinked—and in the time it took to do so, she arrived at the central avenue.

The bustling street was lively with people coming and going, and at night, the taverns were always busiest.

Mo Ying looked at a tavern on the left, called the Dawn Court. She hesitated for a moment, then walked inside.

It was her first time entering a tavern.

She was already nineteen, so there would be no issue.

The tavern's proprietress was a stunning beauty, and the woman beside her looked very much like her—probably her sister.

"New guest? I'm Elu, and this is my sister, Eyu.. If you want to order, just use the machine on every table, and your order will be delivered to you. Please also pay through the machine,"

Elu explained briefly before returning to her work.

"Such advanced tech..."

Mo Ying picked a table at random, where a mechanical touchscreen served as the menu, listing a vast selection of dishes.

Mo Ying, dining alone, ordered a ton: two portions of grilled cake, a serving of tossed noodles, two chunks of roast meat, and a glass of juice.

After placing her Sky Crystal Id onto the machine, the device showed that payment was successful.

A few minutes later, a girl in an apron brought the food to her table and walked slowly away.

She was an adorable girl—Mo Ying couldn't help but steal a glance or two.

Silvery hair, red eyes, petite figure, and, curiously, dressed in boy's clothes.

"Hey, Tina, bring two crates of beer over here," called one of the tavern's patrons, waving to the girl.

Only then did Mo Ying learn the girl's name—Tina.

The girl lifted two crates of beer with one hand.

"My, Tina, you're as cute as ever today!"

Judging by the scene, Tina had been working at the tavern for some time.

Though, this didn't have much to do with Mo Ying.

She picked up a fork and started to enjoy her dinner.

Even with such large portions, Mo Ying finished everything.

She was famous for her appetite.

Satisfied, Mo Ying left the tavern.

She looked up at the moon hanging in the sky—it was night now.

Mo Ying murmured. She hadn't really had any plans.

Mo Ying had barely walked a few steps when she noticed something odd.

In the crowd ahead, a ragged man was looking around with a ferocious expression.

The bustling street had suddenly grown much quieter, with knights patrolling the area.

Was that man some kind of fugitive?

Before Mo Ying could think further, the man pulled out a knife and attacked the crowd.

A random, purposeless attack? Was he mentally unstable?

"Aah!" a passerby screamed. Chaos broke out instantly.

Only Mo Ying seemed to notice the attacker's location.

She felt she ought to do something.

However, she was nervous.

Yes, Mo Ying was strong, but she had never fought for real.

She felt a mix of anxiety and fear about this kind of thing.

"The attacker's here!" she shouted, trying to draw the knights' attention.

But the shouts of the crowd drowned out her voice completely.

The man noticed her and raised his knife.

With nowhere to retreat, Mo Ying clenched her fists and faced the man.

Suddenly, he let out a fierce yell and charged.

A completely indiscriminate attack—he must have lost his mind.

Mo Ying gritted her teeth and stepped forward, knowing it was dangerous but determined to try and restrain the madman.

A grey-white figure flashed past Mo Ying—so fast that she could only see a blur.

Crack—the sound of bones breaking reached Mo Ying's ears.

One hit, and the bones were broken?

Did a little girl really have that kind of strength?

The man shrieked in pain and stabbed at Tina with his knife.

Tina caught the knife with her hand and snapped it in two.

Realizing he was outmatched, the man immediately used spatial magic to create distance.

Tina chased after him like the wind.

Eventually, the man fled into a corner alley, and Tina followed him in.

Bang! Bang!—Two gunshots rang out.

Yes, Mo Ying distinctly heard gunshots.

Then she saw Tina silently returning through the chaotic crowd, her pistol still stained with blood.

The gunfire made the street even more chaotic, but no one noticed Tina.

Only Mo Ying, who had witnessed everything, knew that the girl who had just been serving tea in the tavern had ended the fight in under a minute—and erased the opponent completely.

The knights sealed off the corner alley, and one of them even spoke with Tina.

They nodded to each other, and Tina returned.

"Tina, task complete."

Tina walked past Mo Ying. Not a trace of blood was on her, and her firearm had vanished. Her expression was as calm as ever.

As if she hadn't just killed someone.

She walked into the tavern as usual. Some people inside craned their necks to investigate, but they saw nothing.

So, they went back to drinking.

The knights dispersed the crowd, including Mo Ying.

But from afar, Mo Ying still saw the knights dragging the man's corpse out of the alley.

"They just killed him?"

Lilica from the tavern said to Tina.

"Eliminated. He tried to use self-destruction magic. Tina stopped him. Tina believes the choice was not wrong,"

Tina said as she picked up a rag and wiped down the tables.

"If he tried to self-destruct, then there was no other choice. Any idea why he did it?"

"Possibly exited from the Hunting Grounds, went mad. Tina detected his mental state was unstable,"

"He didn't hurt any other passersby, did he?"

"No, Tina has already spoken with the knights,"

"It's lucky Captain Lina warned us in advance. Otherwise, it would have taken ages to explain."

"That guy, too. If your mind isn't tough enough, you shouldn't enter the Hunting Grounds. He got what he deserved."

Lilica started sweeping the floor.

"Tina is puzzled. Entry into the Hunting Grounds is strictly filtered, and the candidate's mental fortitude is tested. If mentally unstable or fragile, entry should be impossible."

Tina took out a laptop and opened it on the table.

"He probably snuck in through some means, or... perhaps there's been a change inside the Hunting Grounds,"

"Tina's data indicates the Hunting Grounds are stable, but no conclusion can be made."

Tina shut the laptop.

"I'll go in again sometime, after this arm is repaired,"

"Have some fruit—after all, it's been a tiring day."

Elu brought over a plate of watermelon for the two of them.

Lilica picked up a slice and began gnawing it, quickly forgetting all about the Hunting Grounds incident.

Tina was a machine—she didn't need to eat—so Lilica devoured almost the entire plate herself.

"If that's not enough, there's more at the front. Ask Yu Elu. Even after tonight's chaos, we'll still have customers, so let's stay alert," said Elu.

"My spirits are high. Let me grab two more plates of watermelon."

Lilica went to the front and fetched two more plates.

"You burn through your wages just on food and drink,"

Tina observed, watching Lilica wolf down her watermelon.

"Mm, it's not like I have any other need for money. Better to spend it on food than let Luna trick me out of it,"

Lilica said indifferently.

"But food decays over time. Lately, we've invented a machine that greatly extends how long food lasts, and it's non-freezing—hot food will still be hot after ten days. It sells for fifty thousand Naye in Machine City. If you buy it from me, I'll give you a price of sixty thousand."

"I always finish my food on the same day, so I don't need it,"

Lilica replied, not noticing the suspicious price at all.

Outside the tavern, the knights passed by—it seemed the matter was settled.

The night wind drifted through the streets of Tianqing City, carrying with it a faint scent of blood.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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