Superhumans of the Dome City

"You're quite the gentleman, I might just fall for you."

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

Alice simply took off her helmet, letting her blue hair flutter in the air.

She gazed down at the buildings that looked like miniatures from high above, down at the passersby who had turned into tiny dots. The city atop the giant dragon's back was so vast that her sight could only reach another variety of street view, not the end of the sky city.

The hunter slowly stretched out her hands to either side, feeling the cerulean expanse with her skin.

She had never been so close to the sky.

Gongsun Ce wanted to remind his passenger not to be too capricious and to be careful of falling, but before he could say a word, he heard a burst of silvery laughter.

The laughter sounded so joyous, so exuberant, like that of a child on a trip, it was hard to imagine it came from a hunter of this world.

"You seem very happy."

"Ah, yes, really... very happy. It's like a ludicrous story from a fairy tale! I never imagined I'd be soaring through the skies on a pigeon!"

"I thought you as an experienced hunter might have some sort of undead horse as a mount."

"What do you take an Impermanence Law Enforcer for? It's not that things fitting your description don't exist, but if I could afford such things, would I still need to work for the Wild Hunt?"

Alice stared dreamily at the sky.

"So happy."

Unconsciously, she repeated her earlier words.

"This might be the most joyous moment I've ever had... no, perhaps, from my birth till now."

The superpower user had wanted to turn around, but he paused when he heard this.

It was then that he realized the everyday scenery that many residents of this city took for granted could be a precious, once-in-a-lifetime experience for people from the outside.

Was what he heard a heartfelt sentiment from this woman?

He didn't have Alice's extraordinary intuition to judge the truth without foundation, but he was willing to believe that within these sighs was contained real emotion.

"Then make sure to enjoy it."

So, he didn't retort with teasing words as before, but rather gave a flat response without real significance.

The silence between them lasted for a few dozen seconds. The young man guessed that maybe Alice was still immersed in her recent thoughts.

After a few more seconds, her voice came from behind him, "Are you mentally prepared? The battle we're about to engage in is a matter of life and death."

"I've been ready for a while. But are you, Miss Alice, prepared to trust me to some extent? Because if we trip each other up during the battle and end up getting taken out by the giant dragon's worshippers, well, I'll have to respectfully decline."

"Heh, big sister here is a mature member of society, not like you college kids." Alice grabbed his shoulder, "If we agreed to cooperate, that means we're partners! Just don't blame me for bossing you around~"

"Likewise, please don't forget that I also have the right to ask you to do things."

"Don't be like that, where's your gentlemanly decorum?" Alice pouted, "Alright, be serious. Take advantage of this time before landing to go over the intelligence on our enemies and to broaden your understanding of the Impermanence Skill..."

The big pigeon flapped its wings, soaring over the Thorn District during their conversation and reached the central district brimming with academies. Following the guidance of the chip in its brain, it chose the appropriate flight path, turning its head towards the left side of the giant dragon, and soared with wings spread towards the Fixed Wing District, established on the giant dragon's left flank.

A mix of commercial skyscrapers hid modest residential apartments, and the streets were lined with shops and various countries' masters' dojos and martial arts schools. The imposing shadow of the Thorn District was absent from the sky, overshadowed by an intricately woven web of overhead bridges. These structures, along with the aerial traffic lanes, were rapidly shifting in accordance with the traffic signals to alleviate as much of the rush hour stress as possible.

This was the Fixed Wing District, the left wing of the City of the Firmament, the second-largest residential area in the city, and home to the city's largest port. It was a transportation hub that handled countless goods daily, situated at the edge of the district. Now at 5:43 PM, it was the time when students got out of school. The main thoroughfares were clogged, with bio-horse carts, trucks, and sports cars packed tightly in a fight for survival on the road, while energetic Superpower Users dashed along the pedestrian walkways, riding on Fireballs and lightning. The United States-made single-passenger airboats and a few flying Superpower Users shuttled back and forth above the heads of the crowd. Gongsun Ce and Alice had just leaped off the back of the big pigeon thirty seconds ago, and were now swiftly running towards the position indicated by the transmitter, blending into the crowded human tide of the fast-paced city.

"Has the devotee moved, Mister?"

"The signal indicates he's still in the area we locked onto, either he's certain he's completely shaken us off and is resting, or he's found the transmitter and plans to set a trap instead. I hope it's the former."

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your transmitter that takes more than ten minutes to respond after being installed?"

"I'm sure he run off to the sewers or underground... ah, not underground, I don't know what you call it, the place under our feet, hiding there so no wonder there was no signal!"

Such a cheap transmitter! That's the thing with technology products outside the city, you just can't trust them!

Gongsun Ce glanced at the map and planned his route in his mind.

"That way's the unloading dock area. If we get past the overpass up ahead, we can reach it. Gogogo!"

They ran across the pedestrian overbridge where dynamic screens on either side were broadcasting the evening news: Today, more precious artefacts were unearthed from Lishan Site No. 1 in Kongtong Province of the Empire / Zero Island's major criminal, Shiyu Ling, still on the run / Cecil Laboratory at Central United University in City of the Firmament announces pleasing results from cyberspace experiment... Following the news bulletins were advertisements for the new CD from local idol Xingli.

Under normal circumstances, Gongsun Ce would have taken this opportunity to discuss the matter in depth. But now, his mind wasn't on these distractions; his focus was entirely on the impending fight.

"Are you sure you want to go with that risky battle plan?" Alice asked.

The two ran down the escalator; the dock area marked by the signal was almost within reach, "From your description, this enemy seems a bit tricky... so I'll take the lead. Better I get hurt than let him escape again." A few dozen meters from the dock area, Gongsun Ce could already see the silhouettes of several huge bridge cranes. "Do you know what to do if something unexpected happens, boy?" "Plan B." "Huh?" "Adapt accordingly." "Now I believe you're experienced. Let's go up!"

The pair stopped in front of the access control at the dock area.

Looking up, several bridge cranes measured in thousands of tons were basking quietly in the light, their red paint almost merging with the sunset. Under the bridge cranes, the differently colored containers seemed like child's play bricks, with such strong contrast it was almost easy to forget their actual size.

They were getting ready to put the previously discussed plan into action—when, at that moment, Alice's exclamation stopped the advancing youth in his tracks.

"Gongsun Ce, wait. The signal is moving towards us!"

It seemed to be a trap.

The Superpower User quickly prepared for combat, but a second later, he furrowed his brows. Not just because the man walking out of the dock was toying with an inconspicuous little black dot in his hand. It was also because this person's appearance was completely different from what Alice had described.

The giant dragon devotee that Alice Adar had described had dark skin and long orange hair, but this man was dressed like a cowboy from the western United States, with a big pink mustache.

Was the information incorrect, or had there been a change in circumstances? Gongsun Ce heightened his vigilance, observing the man's actions and movements.

"Heads up! It's been tough for you two to come all this way, but unfortunately, you're a bit late..."

The pink mustache tossed the object in his hand, the miniature transmitter bathing in the sunset mid-air. He flashed a bright smile at the two, "This is no longer your concern, Miss Hunter."