Superhumans of the Dome City

"That retreat came quite unexpectedly," Gongsun Ce shrugged his shoulders. "It's more suitable for before the final battle, not right after we've just won against a minor boss."

"You still have the mood to joke... You understand what I mean, right?" Alice tapped her fingernails on the table, her face full of worry. "This isn't like what you imagine; it's not over just by catching a few lunatics. You might get caught up in the struggles among experts from various countries, and even run into those deadly freaks..."

The Hunter hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to say what was on his mind, yet he twisted his mouth into an almost spiteful attitude and said,

"Better sober up, young man. So you have some unique abilities and think you're something special? You escaped that kind of hell three years ago, but going back to your city is not a good idea. It's the experts' job to protect the world and engage in tricky battles, while the best thing for an ordinary person like you is to go back and enjoy everyday life with your little girlfriend."

Alice herself didn't notice that her tone had unconsciously softened a bit.

"...It's rare to find someone to sit with me and watch the scenery with pigeons. I don't want to see you die horribly in chaos."

Gongsun Ce remembered the hesitant look on her face when she was on the back of a pigeon, and he suddenly understood.

Actually, Alice had regretted wanting to persuade him to leave at that moment, right? It's just that she had agreed to accompany him and it wasn't the right time to advise retreat. She must have thought he would back down in front of Tierlos's abilities, but she didn't expect his strength to be a bit stronger than imagined, so much so that he easily defeated the dissociated demon body, leaving her no choice but to speak up directly, albeit vague and unclear.

Suddenly, Gongsun Ce asked, "Miss Alice, why did you choose to become a Hunter?"

"Me?" Alice looked at him in surprise, "For me... because being a Hunter pays well and is free."

"Free?"

"Our line of work is very relaxed, like mercenaries in a gray area. There's no boss above us issuing compulsory assignments, nor do we have to endure the scowls of the big shots. If I'm in a good mood, I'll take on a couple of jobs and then loaf about for a few months; if I'm not, I won't take any jobs and just go home and drink cold water with the northwest wind blowing." Alice laughed, "After the collapse of the country, the Impermanence Law enforcers are short-staffed, and we small fries are just there to make up the numbers and amplify the presence of the Knight overlords, making up what's called the Wild Hunt. But the way we work inside is still the same old way... It's just running from the gray area to an official designation, and how you live still depends on yourself."

Gongsun Ce imagined the Hunters' daily lives, sleeping as many days as they wanted in a week, and when they needed money, they'd take on a job, catch a criminal, then return home with a bag full of gold coins to eat and drink lavishly. The temptation of freely arranging their time suddenly made the job seem very appealing, and he was quite tempted.

"Listening to you, I'm starting to want to be a Hunter."

"Don't. You'll know how tough it is when you are the one drinking the northwest wind. And once you take on a rotten job, you're really out of luck." Alice rolled her eyes, "Like Big Sister here, I'm just incredibly unlucky this time. I thought capturing a few dragon-crazed fools would be easy, but once I got into a fight, I realized they all had abilities above Divine Communication. Once I captured one and interrogated them, they said they planned to summon a giant dragon, and I knew then that I couldn't just walk away from this..."

Gongsun Ce abruptly cut her off, "Miss Alice, then why are you still following this job? What makes you step into this murky water with them?"

Alice didn't immediately reply, as if she didn't expect him to ask that. She tapped her foot on the floor, her voice still lively, but with a hint of something in her words that Gongsun Ce couldn't quite understand,

"Of course, it's for the big bounty when completing a task... Besides, I'm an expert after all, it wouldn't be right to retreat knowing the difficulties."

Hearing this, Gongsun Ce smiled and said, "Likewise, I have my own reasons I can't give up. Summoning a giant dragon is too big of a deal. I'd rather trust you and myself than other experts whom I have never met."

Without waiting for Alice to respond, he swiftly changed the subject, "Let's drop the topic of persuading me to retreat. You just mentioned those 'freaks'... what were you referring to?"

Alice's expression was twisted like that of a fisherman who learned a storm was coming but was already at sea.

"You have met Impermanence Law Enforcers like the Dragon Madman and experts affiliated with the authorities like me... but there are also free agents in this world who don't work for anyone! It's very possible these freelancers have also gotten wind of the situation in the City of the Skies, and just thinking about them coming gives me a headache to the point of death..."

Gongsun Ce frowned and asked, "How strong are these free agents? Compared to Tierlos..."

Alice's mouth twitched, "Compared with them, Tierlos is at best a mere amoeba."

The gap in strength was of microscopic proportions!

"That exaggerated?"

Miss Hunter lined up her fingers rigidly and spoke with a sense of resignation, "Do you know who is coming? Sky Extreme, Ming Guest, Red Mage, Hidden Law Master, Shiyu... At bare minimum they are Manifestation Mages, and several are even Creator Realm Mages! Each one of them is a renowned disaster, with their files marked with 'information unknown' and 'extremely dangerous'. You can't imagine how outrageous that list is, I deeply suspect that the intelligence agencies haven't found a shred of evidence and just sent me the list of dangerous individuals they thought of first!"

The word "Shiyu" seemed a bit like a personal name amidst a string of obvious nicknames...

Gongsun Ce tentatively asked, "Who is the worst among them?"

"Of course, it's Sky Extreme, the Sky Extreme from the Empire." Alice cursed in a low whisper, "Sky Extreme has no objectives, his strength is astonishing, yet he only seeks battle. Everyone knows of the lawless lunatic in the Yong Guang Empire. He cares not for wealth, fame, worldly status, nor the safety of others or social peace, seeking only a satisfying fight. What do you think such a person would do after getting a method to summon a giant dragon?"

"It sounds like a Knight who would face an Evil Dragon in a one-on-one duel."

"I'm afraid of exactly that. No matter who wins or loses, we and this city are certainly doomed." Alice instinctively tightened her arms, "Another person I definitely do not want to encounter is Shiyu from Zero Island."

The name sounded all too familiar, but Miss Alice had no reason to know his old friend. So, the one she was talking about was most likely another... Another name he had heard today.

Gongsun Ce pulled up the day's news brief on his phone, and within seconds, he found the latest headline. Last year at the end of the year, a massacre occurred in the eastern part of Zero Island, said to be a mass death tragedy on a scale unseen for years.

"Is it this person?" Gongsun Ce pointed to the photo on the phone screen. The name of the suspect was annotated underneath: Shiyu Ling.

The photo showed a slender black-haired woman, her black eyes indifferently staring ahead, looking like a frail female. Gongsun Ce could imagine her flipping through books in a library, but it was difficult for him to associate such a woman with murder.

Alice said with disdain, "They call it a tragedy, but in reality, it was a disgraceful accident. The Shiyu Research Institute got wiped out by their experimental subjects, and although it's not quite appropriate for me to say, their deaths were a good thing for the public."

"Your tone sounds like you're talking about some crazy scientific institution."

"That's exactly what it is. The Shiyu Research Institute is a purely 'practical' oriented institution, attempting to cultivate Impermanence Law Enforcers with a directed approach. Judging from their results over the years, their research outcomes could only be said to be 'too practical' — the Impermanence Law Enforcers who come out of that place are either incomprehensible madmen or maniacs who wouldn't find it strange to laugh while killing."

When Alice said the word "practical," she emphasized it in a mocking tone.

"Now they've gone and screwed themselves over first, and we poor souls have to help with the aftermath. The intelligence division's divination shows that Shiyu Ling is very likely on the way to Cangqiong City. No one knows what the Shiyus will do; it would be best not to run into them."

"Shiyus?"

"Shiyu is a term for a group of people?"

"All the Impermanence Law Enforcers trained by that research institute are surnamed Shiyu." Alice waved her hand dismissively, "Staying away from anyone with the surname Shiyu is just common sense in our line of work."

"People who happen to be surnamed Shiyu would be quite unlucky, wouldn't they?" Gongsun Ce retorted.

Miss Alice stretched out her hand and prodded his forehead.

"You've already entered the inner world and you still think there's room for such coincidences around you? Being that unguarded can get you killed in the most horrible ways!"

His statement was indeed irrefutable.

Although it made sense, Gongsun Ce still felt troubled in his heart, especially since he happened to have a good friend surnamed Shiyu. The information he'd been given conflicted with what he knew of his everyday life, and the dissonance happening right beside him made the feeling of being out of place utterly severe.

For a moment, he didn't even know what to believe.

"Sky Extreme and Shiyu..."

As if to etch it deeper into his memory, Gongsun Ce quietly repeated the names of these two individuals. The notification sound from his social media app chimed in at that moment, drawing a conclusion to their conversation.

"Miss Alice, time to head out. The information broker says it's nearly time; we'll get the intelligence just right if we go now."

"Go there? You still do face-to-face exchanges for information?"

"People in that line of work always have their quirks." Gongsun Ce smiled, "Thanks for the warning; I'll be extra careful in my actions from now on."

"Sigh..." Alice, sensing his resolve, waved her hand dismissively, "Well then, I'm going to make full use of you, no backing out, okay?"

"How could I?"

Alice tore up the napkin with symbols on it, and the oddly quiet feeling disappeared. She counted out the exact amount of cash from her purse and signaled to the cashier to pay the bill.

Gongsun Ce stepped out of the shop first. The evening commercial street was bustling with people; teenagers who had just finished school were running and playing in the streets, the scent of food and the smell of oil mingled with the earthly smell of daily life, and in the fast-paced urban scene, there wasn't a hint of anything abnormal.

He couldn't help but think, if people knew about the imminent giant dragon phenomenon, if they knew about the city's potential doomed future, even if it was just a possibility...

Would the peace and order be shattered? Would chaos descend upon the city once again? Upon hearing this news, there would certainly be those who would want to evacuate, but where could superpower users run to…

Gongsun Ce could neither know nor wanted to continue imagining.

Just then—

(Gongsun, to your right.)

Without warning, a clear voice echoed in his heart, its gentle tone all too familiar to him.

Gongsun Ce did as instructed and looked to the right. At the mouth of a side alley on the street, amidst passing pedestrians, stood a young man in a suit, standing straight. The man raised his right hand, placing his index finger against his lips in a silencing gesture.

(Shh.)

Afterward, Shiyu Lianyi took a step back. His black suit blended into the diverse attire of the people around him, disappearing into the crowded throng.

"..."

Gongsun Ce was silent for a long time, until Alice came out of the store just then: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just saw a classmate."

This wasn't a lie.

Perhaps because he hadn't lied, this time Alice's intuition wasn't triggered.

·

Gongsun Ce and Alice quickly left the commercial street, turning into two insignificant points among the crowd. Meanwhile, as Shiyu Lianyi silently retreated, another person was hiding in the shadows.

Gongsun Ce always maintained a telekinetic net for detection around him, yet he failed to notice this observer. She was all too familiar with the habits of superpower users, enough to easily evade his detection radius. She stood hundreds of meters away on the rooftop of a building, tracking the tiny grey dot in the crowd with her extraordinary eyesight, observing their movements.

She picked up her phone and dialed an expert's number.

"Hello, hello, it's me. Ah Ce is mixing with some weird woman, and I'm worried."

The man on the other end of the phone said something to her, and after listening for a while, she nodded and replied.

"...Understood. I'll go and see for myself then."

She jumped down from the top of the building, landing on the ground as lightly as a feather, and like her friends, she disappeared into the crowd, heading in a direction different from theirs.