The moon rises brightly.
On the tops of the numerous buildings, the moon hung like a fluorescent white kite in the dark sky. The night wind blows the flowing clouds in the sky, making it look like the moon is moving through the clouds on its own.
Looking at this scene, he couldn't help but open his lips slightly, as if he was about to eat the incomplete moon disk.
"...Zhou Yu."
Hongye's call came from behind. Zhou Yu turned around and saw that his cohabitant had put on a blue riding uniform.
"Are you planning to use your motorcycle tonight?"
"Well, because the destination is not very clear. If you want to patrol, it's better to ride a bike."
As Hongye said, the purpose of the two tonight is to search. To be precise, Hongye wanted to search for someone, and Zhou Yu was entrusted to help.
Zhou Yu himself didn't know what kind of help he could do to Hongye, who had inhuman power. After Ausir's death, Hongye's attitude toward him underwent a subtle change. What was initially a reluctance to let him participate has now turned into a proactive request to intervene.
Zhou Yu was still thinking about this while sitting on the back seat of Hongye's motorcycle. He didn't even know what he was getting into, he just accepted the invitation.
When I came back to my senses, the streets around me had become very familiar. That is the Yongning neighborhood where "Disappearing Alley" is located. Hong Ye is still moving forward, and according to this direction, the place they are going to is probably Osier Road.
"Does the person you're looking for live here?" he asked at a red light.
Hongye shook his head and said, "I'm not here to find anyone, I'm here to recover this area first."
"recover?"
"Well... didn't I say before that Auster is like the lord here? This city is managed by many people like him in different areas. Originally, Hongsen was all under Auster's jurisdiction... "
"Wait a minute, Hongye, you said there are other similar people, are you just referring to their abilities, or do you mean they have similar temperaments?"
"...It's not that similar. Auster is a special case. His time management here and his control over this place are unmatched by other 'lords'. He is also the only 'lord' who knows me, at least before. That’s right.”
"before?"
Zhou Yu wanted to ask again, but the red light had already started flashing. It was inconvenient to talk amidst the noise of the motorcycle engine. He had to keep silent for the time being.
The motorcycle drove all the way to Hongsen District and stopped at the intersection of Osier Road. Before getting off the motorcycle, Zhou Yu noticed that the road conditions around him were obviously different from what he remembered. He raised his eyes and looked at the road sign, which read "Sky Road".
"...red leaves."
Hongye sighed without surprise.
"The roads in the city can be decided by the lord. Because Auster has disappeared now, the area he is responsible for has changed."
"Is it a tradition to change your name to this?"
"No, very few 'lords' are willing to name streets after themselves, because that would be tantamount to exposing their jurisdiction and identity...Only Osel and this guy would do that." She stared at the street sign and said.
Judging from Hongye's tone, she obviously didn't like the short fat man named Moten either.
"Hongye, according to you, Moten is the one who brought the other horn to Osel, right?"
"Yes. Although the sheep's horns were meaningless at that time, Osr still kept his promise and gave the man half of the wealth-that is, control of the territory. Now that Osr is gone, I think most of the streets Let it be controlled by Ferris."
"Isn't that all?"
"No... I forgot to tell you, Zhou Yu, it is not the 'lord' who can designate a successor by his own will. The city will decide who will manage it. So even if Ao Sier entrusted his power to Motian, does not mean that Motian can take over his responsibilities. Now it is only because a new 'lord' has not been elected that he can maintain control of the streets.
"——But as long as the neighboring lord wants to rob it, he will lose part of the land to some extent. Also, the abilities he can use will be much different than when Ausir was there."
"You really act like princes fighting for hegemony."
Hearing his metaphor, Hongye immediately smiled. It seems that although she does not understand the concept of vassalage in the Middle Ages, she does understand the ancient feudal system very well.
"There are indeed some similarities, but generally speaking, there will be no conflicts between lords. First of all, it is difficult to take away the owner's territory, and secondly, it is of little use. In addition to management responsibilities, the 'lord' does not have much There are no taxes, and people on the territory can't really be forced to work. If it is advantageous to be the 'lord' of a neighborhood, too much land will only become a burden."
"Really? I think that guy Auster lives quite luxuriously."
"So he is a special case... and some of his actions are beyond the capabilities of the 'Lord'. That should be possible with the help of 'Freeze'."
While chatting here, the two of them arrived at the end of the road. Through the gaps between the buildings, they could see a dark building in the distance. That was the mall that burned down that night.
This sudden fire caused a great sensation in Migenzhu City. It is said that the source of the fire was lightning, but it was not a rainy day that night. And even a small probability of drought and thunder is unlikely to cause a disaster of this scale. Fortunately, because the shopping mall's planning for emergency passages was far more stringent than normal, a fire of this scale did not cause any deaths, and relevant reports were quickly suppressed.
However, this is only for media such as television and radio. Discussions on this serious fire, which has not been seen in the city for decades, are still quite heated on local forums, and there are various theories about the cause of the accident.
The more reliable ones include malicious arson by competitors, unreasonable internal decoration, and aging circuits. However, due to the abnormal scale of the fire and the abnormal lightning phenomena before the fire, there are also various strange theories. On the more scientific side, there are discussions about ball lightning, flammable gas leaks, and even ascension through tribulations and the punishment of ghosts from heaven, which are completely joking.
However, if the true situation were told, it would probably be even more ridiculous than the above reasons.
"Just right here."
While thinking, Hongye, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped. She turned back and said seriously: "Zhou Yu, I need your help for the next thing."
"How to do?"
"Just leave the details to me. But it may be a little uncomfortable, so please bear with me."
Hong Ye stretched out her hand and put her index finger on Zhou Yu's eyebrows. The touch of her fingertips was as cold as an ice pick.
Zhou Yu started to tremble.
A strong tingling sensation penetrated from the skin into the skull and invaded the inside of the skull. Deep in his brain, an all too familiar throbbing feeling began to strike.
The edges of his vision began to twist and squirm, and a faint black tide surged around him. This time it wasn't just a visual dislocation. The cold, invisible tide was squeezing and engulfing his body. His consciousness dissolved into the tide without any resistance.
Rationality collapsed, thoughts overflowed, and "his" vision continued to rise with the rising tide, drifting involuntarily toward the moon in the sky.
——Just like when he first met the red leaves, "he" looked down at the island-like city.
The distant city that looks like a fantasy painting is extremely real at this moment. Somewhere in the city, there were two "dots" as tiny as beans, firmly anchoring his consciousness above the city.
The connection that could not be confirmed with the naked eye left an indelible sharp pain deep in the nerves.
That is, coming from the island itself, the pain of being eaten, consumed, and devoured.
Some kind of foreign body was greedily eating flesh and blood from within the body.
However, since he does not have a vocal body, he does not even have the ability to scream. My consciousness is floating in the sky, as if I am living in the moon wheel.
Then, the cold feeling faded and he fell downwards.
