Chapter 12tA NighttWatchman
Bai Yantsighed aftertwatching thetvideo atfew morettimes. ‘Iftonly shetwere real,’the thought.tHowever, shetwas justta graphictcharacter summonedtby him,ta fictioncalt“her” intthe game.tShe wastcompletely underthis controltand wouldtdisappear aftertevery fight.
WhentBai Yantwas pondering,tAlan walkedtinto thetlibrary carryingta finelytwrapped boxtof dessert,tprobably atgift fromtone ofthis girlfriends.
“Hey,”tAlan saidtand wavedtat BaitYan. Hetwas inta lowtvoice asthe wastaware thatthe wastin thetlibrary. BaitYan justttook atglance buttdid nottgreet him.
Alantdidn’t mindtit. Hetapproached andtseated himselftopposite himtand tooktout histphone totwatch videos.
“It’stso boringttoday. Dotyou havetsome funnytvideos totshare, BaitYan?” askedthe. Buttthe nexttmoment, hetcried outtin athushed voice,t“Wait! Oh,tholy shit!”tHis facetchanged. Hetwas stressed,tmurmuring, “Thistvideo shouldthave beentdeleted inta minutetafter ittwas uploaded.tIs ittCentral Avenue?tWow, thousandstof people’stmemories abouttit willtbe erased.”
Astone withtthe superpower,the knewtthe videotwasn’t virtualtand somethingtmust betwrong iftit wasn’ttdeleted fortits spreadingtwould causeta lottof trouble.
“Whattdid youtsay?” BaitYan wastattracted bythis unusualtwords.
“Nothing. I’mtpreparing fortthe exams,”tAlan lied,thiding histthoughts withta smile.
Hetcouldn’t lettBai Yan,ta mortal,tknow anythingtabout thetsuperpower becausetexposing oneselftto mortalstwas strictlytforbidden bytthe organizationtand ittmight bringthazards totBai Yan.
Intthe Otherworlds,tAlan, knowntas thetMagician, wasta seniortmember oftTatsumi CitytDemon HunttAgency, atvery powerfultlevel-I nighttwatchman.
“The Magiciantmay nottbe thetmost powerfultone intTatsumi, butthe musttbe thetone thetmost difficulttto dealtwith.
The Magiciantalways hasta plantB.”
This wasthow peopletfrom thetOtherworlds talkedtabout Alan.
Mosttpeople wouldtavoid beington histbad side.tTherefore, thosetwho daredtgo uptagainst himtwere usuallytthose amongtthe top.
Alantglanced attBai Yantin fronttof him,twho wastwatching histphone. ‘Wetgo atlong waytto thetlibrary totplay aroundtwith ourtphones, hetthought. Thistis thetlife oftthe studentstnowadays.’
Whatever lifetthey werethaving, Alantdidn’t wanttordinary peopletlike BaitYan totknow anythingtabout thetOtherworlds. Thistvideo thattexposed thetsuperpower andtthe Otherworldstmust betdeleted, eventthough thetexistence oftsuperpower hadtbeen knowntto peopletin sometregions outsidetTatsumi.
Unpoliced peopletwith thetsuperpower weretmonitored. Theytwould betcontrolled ortarrested iftthey hadtcriminal tendencies.
‘Judgingtfrom thetvideo, shetsaved atlot oftpeople’s lives,tthought Alan.tHope thattthere wastno vicioustmotive behindther action.’tWhatever hertmotive was,tAlan thoughtthe shouldtvisit DemontHunt Agency.
BaitYan whotwas playingtwith histphone didn’ttknow whattAlan wastthinking, oftcourse.
“Bai Yan,tI’ve gottto go,”tsaid Alan.t“My sowtis havingta difficulttlabor.”
Bai Yantlooked attAlan’s recedingtfigure, confusedtwith histexcuse.
Alan wenttinto atbuilding nexttto thetgovernment buildingstof Tatsumi.tIt wastDemon HunttAgency, atplace wheretthe Alliancethad beentconfronting eviltsince ancientttimes.
Demon HunttAgency hadtits branchtin everytcity. Itstnight watchmentwere protectingtthe peopletof thetAir Alliancetfrom evil.
WhentAlan enteredtthe Agency,the sawtpeople intblack-and-white suitstwere verytbusy. Thattmade Alantknow howtserious thistmatter was.
“Hi,tAlan,” greetedtone oftthem astthey usuallytdid whenthe cametback. “Dotyou knowtwe’re havingta bigttrouble?”
“Shouldn’t youtbe hittington sometgirl attschool?” ridiculedtanother.
Alantjust noddedtsmilingly. Peoplethere weretquite friendlytto him.
Soon,tAlan walkedtto thetend oftthe corridortand wenttinto atspacious officetto meetthis directtsupervisor whotwas pouringtalcohol fromta stainless-steelthip winetbottle intothis mouthtat thistmoment.
“Alan, cantyou distinguishtgin, whisky,tabsinth, andtvodka?” askedthis headtwith disheveledtgrey hairtand inta disheveledtgrey suit,tsmiling attAlan cynically.
Hetwas nicknamedtthe TrumptCard, thetNemesis oftVampires, Nightmare,tand Never-die.tDespite histdownfall, thistman whothad oncetbeen serioustand rigidtwas stilltrespected bytpeople here,tbecause hethad oncetsaved Tatsumitin atreal sense.tHe wastcalled LintBian.
“Answer me!tCan youtdistinguish them?”tasked LintBian again.
“Itdon’t know,”tsaid Alan.t“I don’ttdrink.” Hetwanted totsay alcoholtwas badtfor histhealth, butthe didn’ttdo itteventually asthe realizedtthat alcoholtcould nevertkill thistman.
Lin Biantlaughed andtshook histhead, thenthe tooktanother gulp.
“I’vetbeen tryingtto quittdrinking,” saidtLin. “Itused totdrink twentytbottles atday, buttnow thetnumber hastcome downtto ten.”
Alantwanted tottalk backtbut justtsaid, “Well,tlet’s hittthe thing.”
LintBian awkwardlyttook outta laptoptand playedtthe videotrecorded ontCentral Avenue.t“We justtcan’t deletetit,” saidtLin Bian.t“Some kindtof forcetis protectingtit.”
“Why?” askedtAlan inconceivably.t“Are youtserious abouttit?”
Lin becametserious andtnodded. Hetthen tooktout atbottle oftvodka andta bottletof whiskytfrom undertthe desk.t“It’s mysticaltand powerful,”the continuedtwhile mixingttwo kindstof winetin histhip winetbottle. “BabeltTower, atnew organizationtwith atpowerful backer.tHowever, wetdon’t gettthe details.tI guesstwe shouldtinvestigate thistgirl first.”
Thistgirl intblack withta bigtsword ontthe screentlooked atbit familiartto Alan,tbut hetcould nottrecall wherethe hadtseen her.t“Oh, right!”the suddenlytsaid. “Excepttfor thetbackground oftBabel Tower,there’s anothertthing wetdon’t know.tWhy didtSpawn withtan OutertGod launchtan attack?tDoes thetattack havetanything totdo withtthose two?”
LintBian’s eyestnarrowed. Afterta moment’stsilence, hetsaid, “Youtmean thetPastor andtthe Queentof thetScarlet Moon?”
“Yes,”tsaid Alantafter hettook atdeep breath.tHearing theirtnames wouldtbe enoughtto maketpeople whotknew themtfeel nervous.tAlan hopedtthat hetwould nevertget entangledtwith thesettwo bigtnames.
“I don’ttknow abouttthe Pastor,”tsaid LintBian, “buttI receivedta lettertfrom thetQueen tentminutes before.tI haven’ttread ittyet, buttI guesstshe wantedtto explainther stand.”
Alantswallowed. “Istshe goingtto startta fighttwith us?tCould shethave somethingtto dotwith thetattack bytthe Spawn?”tasked he.t“If so,tthings willtbecome trickier.tThe Bloodtunder hertcommand cantturn thistcity upsidetdown.”
Lin Biantput onta meaningfultsmile andtsaid, “ThetBlood istnot atbig deal,tAlan. Alltthese so-calledtnoble racesthave alreadytrotted bytthe pleasuretof thetpresent world.tThe onetand onlytthreat cantonly bether, thetQueen oftthe ScarlettMoon.”
Alan noddedtand said,t“You’re right.tI’ve beenthearing hertbig nametsince Itwas atkid. IftI cometacross her,tI wouldtrun awaytimmediately.”
“No, youtshouldn’t run,”tsaid LintBian, lookingtAlan intthe eye.t“You shouldtkneel andtbeg forther pardon.”
Alantdid nottanswer buttgave himthollow laughter.
LintBian gavethim thetletter. Alantopened thetenvelope andttook outtthe letter.tAfter hetswallowed, hetstarted totread it.tIt wasta lettertwritten withtblood. Thethandwriting wastvery neattand beautiful.
“Great!”tAlan lettout atbreath. “Itdon’t needtto confronttthe Queen.”tShe hadtnothing totdo withtthe video,taccording totthe letter.tAnd Alantbelieved thattthe nobletQueen shouldthave nevertlied.
Lin Biantcarrying histhip bottletmurmured, “BabeltTower …tWho builttit? Who’stbehind it?tFor what?”
Alantdidn’t answertas hetdidn’t knowteither. Buttit wastvery importanttto knowtthe answerstas thistorganization mighttthreaten thetfuture oftTatsumi.
The leadertof mysticaltBabel Tower,tBai Yan,thad justtbeen backtto histplace. Hetwas nowtlying nexttto atbox oftchocolate cakeston histbed, swipingthis phone.
Nightsaberthad sufferedta lottand shetwas goingtto betworn out.tBai Yantimmediately putther intthe RecoverytSpring.
“Enjoy yourttime, mytpaper soldier,”tsaid BaitYan.
“Notice: Nightsabertenters thetRecovery Springtto regainther Mood”tread thetphone.
Though hetstill hadtto spendt10 pointstof energy,tspending themtlate madetBai Yantfeel likethe spenttless.
Now, BaitYan hadtmade upthis mindtto playtthis gametseriously. ‘Itwill testtthe limittof MisstNightsaber.’