The airship landed safely and smoothly on the runway, and the passengers around Shavier couldn't help but let out a collective sigh of relief before casting reproachful glares at the alarmist siblings.
"Sorry!"
Shavier grabbed his sister and practically fled from the cabin, running all the way out of the airport terminal.
"Hey! Wait! Wait!"
At that moment, the middle-aged man who had been wearing the [Swift Shadow] watch earlier chased after them: "You dropped your wallets..."
"Oh! Thank you, mister!"
Gia took the pink toy wallet with the little bear pattern from his hands and thanked him politely.
"Haha... I'm only twenty-five, don't call me 'mister'! Just call me Wuyan..."
The clearly middle-aged man with a full beard smiled wryly: "And your names are?"
"I'm Shavier, and this is my sister Gia. We're here to enroll..."
Shavier tugged at his sister's arm and said cautiously.
"I see... Here's my contact number. I've got some connections in Wanxiong City, so don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything!"
Seeming to notice the wariness in Shavier's eyes, the young man Wuyan simply smiled without taking offense, rattled off a long string of numbers, then waved and disappeared into the crowd.
"Gia, don't just talk to strangers!"
After watching Wuyan leave, Shavier immediately straightened his face and lectured his sister.
"But... I felt like that Wuyan guy was a good person..." Gia bit her lip.
"Stop trusting those instincts and live like a normal person..."
Shavier sighed, then seemed to shed all his burdens as he flagged down a tireless, half-hovering circular taxi and merged directly into the main road that pulsed like the city's arterial highway...
However, neither Shavier nor his sister Gia noticed that a single strand of black hair had already wound itself around them — a power that existed between the real world and the plane of two dimensions. Even the two siblings, with their extraordinary perception, failed to detect it.
"Who would have thought... just taking a casual stroll and I'd run into blood descendants of the Myriad Serpents!"
Leilin remarked with emotion. From those siblings, he had sensed the aura of genuine Myriad Serpent bloodline, though it had grown extremely thin. But it was still there.
That heightened perceptive talent, in particular — the ability to glimpse fragments of the future, even vaguely sensing Leilin's presence — even though Leilin hadn't deliberately concealed himself — was a truly remarkable feat.
As such, Leilin made an exception and directed a measure of his attention downward. He even placed his own coordinates on the two siblings.
He now stood amid the bustling throngs of people, yet every passerby rushing past him looked straight through him as if he were invisible. His eyes swept in every direction, his expression growing ever more contemplative.
Whether it was the hundreds of stories of steel-and-glass buildings rising from the ground, the residential blocks divided into grid-like compartments, the enormous floating billboards, or the maglev trains and transparent tubular transit channels crisscrossing the skies above the city — all of it gave Leilin a faint sense of familiarity, even conjuring the illusion that he had returned to his previous life.
"No wonder I saw the light of civilization on the Primordial Sea of the Shadow World... This place has clearly undergone several technological and industrial revolutions... and the population is staggering..."
With just a cursory scan, Leilin could sense that Wanxiong City alone harbored no fewer than ten million inhabitants.
And a city of this scale, judging by the information he'd gathered on the flight, was merely a mid-tier administrative city of the Empire. Extrapolating from that, the total population of the entire Shadow World might rival that of the
"Throughout history, technological development has always been the path best suited to ordinary beings..."
For individuals who were mundane and lacking in supernatural abilities, collective effort and technology were the optimal path — especially when an unseen hand behind the scenes was constantly pushing things forward.
"In contrast to the explosive growth in ordinary populations, the supernatural individuals of this world seem to have been severely constrained..."
Leilin recalled the [Swift Shadow] watches he had seen earlier. Such devices seemed to be widely equipped among the common folk here, though only the older models that Shavier had mentioned — ones capable of casting zero to second-level spells.
"Supernatural energy has been completely reduced to a tool. As long as you pay a bit of money, even a child can download spells from the Shadow
Leilin's eyes gleamed with interest: "What exactly is this Maiden of the Night trying to do?"
His gaze shifted, and he spotted an enormous projection screen in the sky.
Countless light effects played across the half-air, forming a massive overhead display. Moments ago it had been an advertisement for some product; now it had switched to the news: "Breaking: Following the discovery of a new energy mineral, the energy sector of the stock market has plummeted across the board. Trading has been suspended as of today!"
"The Imperial Prime Minister's wife attended a charity gala at the Shangri-La Gardens in the capital, raising donations for refugees from thirteen coastal cities affected by the Shadow Storm. Analysts believe this signals..."
"In response to illegal trade of the [Swift Shadow] Type V, the Security Bureau has reiterated its determination to crack down severely and will soon launch a joint operation targeting fraudulent documents, particularly forged technical certificates and bachelor's degrees required for purchasing the [Swift Shadow] Type V..."
"Emergency Notice: Ando City was struck by a meteorite 3 hours and 12 minutes ago, causing several buildings to collapse. Tremors were felt in surrounding areas. Direct economic losses are estimated at 37.85 million. Casualty reports are currently unknown. Local military garrison has been deployed..."
The newscaster in a professional suit delivered the report in a grave tone, while the footage behind her showed fully armed soldiers filing into Ando City in formation.
"Fast response!"
Leilin shook his head and ceased paying much attention.
A rising technological empire, with the unfathomable Lady Night pulling strings behind it — once cornered, the energy it could unleash would be terrifying.
The glory of the ancient Netherese Arcane Empire spoke for itself. That had been a civilization capable of standing against the gods!
Leilin had no doubt that if Lady Night decided to play her trump cards, it was only a matter of time before his voodoo dolls were discovered.
Then again, they had been thrown out as distractions from the very beginning. The fact that they had held up this long was already more than satisfactory.
"Hmm! Maybe I should pay more attention to the news recently. There might even be information about the Mother of Myriad Serpents..."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Leilin's lips.
From his observations, the current Shadow World and the Shadow World described by the Mother of Myriad Serpents belonged to entirely different eras — as different as medieval Earth and twenty-first-century Earth.
Therefore, that ancient being would likely make quite a fool of herself upon arrival, and with today's advanced communications, someone might well capture her on camera and put her on the news.
But these were minor matters. Knowing the cunning of the Myriad Serpents, she would quickly realize how different things were after a few embarrassments and go into hiding.
"In other words, after the voodoo dolls, she would be my biggest target for drawing fire..."
Leilin's eyes flickered.
Though he had come at the Myriad Serpents' invitation, he felt no obligation to act as their nanny.
"For now, the priority is gathering intelligence. I can't rashly connect to the Shadow Weave — I need to find the right opportunity..."
Leilin watched the content cycling on the news display, and an idea suddenly sparked in his mind.
...
Outside the city center, in a small two-story villa.
Compared to the high-tech equipment everywhere outside, the interior decoration of this villa had a distinctly antique feel — or rather, it was steeped in the wear of age.
"Who knew the old place could still be livable without anyone maintaining it!"
Gia wiped the sweat from her face, and her dust-covered hands immediately left several dark streaks on her cheeks, making her look like a little tabby cat.
Frowning, Shavier — wearing an apron and holding a frying pan as he cooked — said: "You're filthy! Go wash up quickly..."
This was their old family home, abandoned for many years. If it hadn't been needed for their return to school, Shavier would never have moved in with his sister.
Still, after cleaning it up, it was barely habitable.
"I really don't understand why Mom and Dad never sold this place. Was what they said actually true — that our family has been here for centuries, and this is our ancestral home?"
Shavier clearly didn't quite believe it. After finishing dinner, he made a video call. On the other end was a kindly-looking middle-aged couple.
"I've got everything packed..." Shavier said casually.
"Mm! Xiao Xia, it's time to take on adult responsibilities. Take good care of your sister..."
The middle-aged man on the screen spoke, then hesitated for a moment: "Also... up in the old house, there's something hidden in the false panel of the study. You can take a look if you have time..."
"Oh! That tattered old book? I've thumbed through it cover to cover since I was three..."
Shavier said dismissively.
"WHAT???" The voice on the other end suddenly jumped an octave, and the man clutched his chest with an expression of utter disbelief.
"It's just an old book full of bizarre fantasies and supernatural nonsense. And you kept it hidden like a family heirloom — except you didn't even hide it well..."
Shavier rolled his eyes, exchanged a few more words with his parents, and hung up.
"The big tome... brings back fond memories..."
Still, despite his words, driven by some warm nostalgic impulse, Shavier went up to the study and found the massive book concealed behind the false panel.
Years of accumulation had long since rendered the book's cover illegible beneath a thick layer of dust, forcing Shavier to grimace and clean it all over again.
"Based on its condition, I'd believe this book is a thousand years old..."