Gloom

"Grandma, I'm heading over to the Captain's place now." "Wait a moment, wait! Take these pastries along for everyone to try. Your grandfather bought the fruit and syrup inside with point coupons." This household was not considered poor. Having retired as grassroots clerks from the Church of Order's Church Affairs Building, the two elderly people did not face much material strain in raising a single grandson. But that was only on a material level. When it came to point coupon income, they were actually quite impoverished; ever since Ventura was little, his contamination issues had cost a fortune. This could be seen from Mr. Pavaro—the contamination problems of his two daughters had nearly driven him and his wife insane. The same was true for Ventura's family. What modest savings they had were depleted early on when he was young, leaving them heavily in debt. And that was without factoring in the costs of grooming a child; from purification to becoming a God's Servant, the expense of ritual materials was unavoidable. Because of this, Ventura had developed a habit from an early age of gritting his teeth and enduring it whenever his contamination flared up, knowing that if he cried out, his grandparents would have to go out and borrow point coupons from former colleagues and friends. To repay those coupons, even after retiring, the two elderly people had to take on tedious, mentally draining work at the Church Affairs Building. Organizing certain documents and even stamping them required infusing spirituality. Both of them were merely God's Servants, and they had collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion on many occasions. Fortunately, everything had changed after Ventura caught the eye of the church school's principal. The principal secured numerous benefits for him, essentially covering Ventura's relief treatments and cultivation expenses, finally giving his grandparents room to breathe. This time, Ventura had even brought home ten thousand Order coupons—and that was after a portion had been retained for the squad's finances. When Alfred presented the ledger for him to sign and placed that thick stack of Order coupons into his hands, Ventura had been completely dazed. Back when his grandparents were working, their monthly stipend had been a hundred Order coupons. Even with other work benefits and bonuses, it wasn't much. Ten thousand Order coupons would have taken his grandparents three years of saving! Yet from just one mission—well, adding in the proceeds from selling the hotel's tobacco and liquor, though to Ventura that money felt like picking it up off the street. In short, Ventura's concept of money had been shattered. He felt the Captain was truly incredible; who knew that earning point coupons by following the Captain could be so easy? What he didn't know was that Karen had only discovered that point coupons could be earned like this after following Neo on missions! Ventura took the plastic box full of pastries. He didn't mind the trouble, nor did he look down on the treats his grandmother prepared as "cheap." Every time he brought pastries over, the Captain would take two to eat in front of him first, then have him distribute the rest to everyone, and the pastries would be devoured in no time. "Grandpa, Grandma, I'm leaving now." "Take care on the road." "Listen closely to your Captain." "Yeah, I will. Take care of your health at home, and be sure to go to the church hospital for physical therapy. Bring those two vouchers with you. I've already paid the coupons for them, just in case you'd be too stingy to go." "Alright, you silly boy, we'll definitely go." "Yes, we can't let those coupons go to waste." Ventura broke into a happy smile. The sense of fulfillment that came from earning an income with his own two hands to improve his family's standard of living was beyond words. Before heading out the door, Ventura deliberately glanced at the portrait of "Grandpa" hanging on the wall, knowing that was the Captain's grandfather. "Goodbye, Grandpa." *** *Knock, knock, knock.* Muri opened the door and looked at Mars standing outside. "What is it, Mars?" "We need to get ready to gather at the funeral parlor. I was worried you might oversleep." "How could I? I'm very sensitive to time, but thanks anyway." "Have you had lunch yet?" "No, you just woke me up from bed." "I brought some food for you. Eat a bit, and then we'll head out." "Alright." Muri welcomed Mars inside. "What time did you sleep last night?" "Quarter to noon." "Can you even call that morning?" "Yeah. I watched a movie series last night, from the first film all the way through the seventh." "You're something else." "Want to watch it?" "Is it good?" "The first one was brilliant, the second was pretty good, the third was barely passable, and each of the next four was more nonsensical than the last. After finishing it, I had only one thought: I'm an idiot." Hearing that, Mars couldn't help but chuckle. Muri looked at the meal in front of him and sighed helplessly. "Oh God, bean paste again. I really wonder how the people of Wien manage to survive." "They're learning new recipes; it takes time. What they're best at is all kinds of dishes cooked with bean paste." "*Sigh.*" Muri let out a breath and began eating. Once finished, he washed up, changed clothes, and walked out the door with Mars. Mars asked with concern, "The mission starts tomorrow. Are you alright in this state of mind?" "The Captain said that before a security assignment, the most important thing is to sleep. In theory, once the Captain assigns the duties and hands down the mission plan, all our time until the Moon God Church delegation arrives at the Port of York is meant for sleeping. You'll sleep until you feel like throwing up." "Oh, so that's how it is." Ashley and Blanche happened to pull their car up in front of the apartment building, so Mars and Muri hopped in to catch a ride. Everyone gathered at the funeral parlor, and Xili served each person a glass of iced water. Karen had originally scheduled the internal squad meeting for two in the afternoon, but since everyone had arrived early, he saw no point in obsessing over exact timing and walked straight out of the study. "Let's begin the meeting." Everyone sat up slightly straighter, each trying to strike the right balance between not seeming too stiff while still displaying proper respect. "Alfred." "Yes, Young Master." Alfred distributed the compiled documents to everyone, all of which had been condensed into key points. "What's being handed out now is an overview of the Moon God Church, mainly recording their taboos and which churches they currently have poor relations with under the present political climate. It isn't very long, so read through it on your own later. Alfred, next document." "Yes, Young Master." Alfred handed another file to each person. Karen spoke: "This is the mission plan. For this security assignment, our squad will be divided into two groups. One is the close-protection group, consisting of myself, Ashley, and Blanche, with me acting as group leader. Everyone else will be responsible for covert protection, led by Muri. The details and the protocol for receiving my orders are all in there. Take note of them." "Yes, Captain." "Understood, Captain." Karen took a sip of water and said, "Security assignments aren't difficult. In fact, among all missions, they're the safest, simplest, and most lucrative. The only downside is that if negotiations drag out for too long, things will get rather dull—mentally, I mean. I hope you're all prepared for that. Alright, that's all. We officially set out tomorrow morning. For the rest of the time, finish reading the materials. If there's anything you're unclear on regarding the details of a security mission, you can ask Richard." Hearing his name, a clear smile appeared on Richard's face, making his swollen features look slightly less exaggerated. Having left everyone with their "homework," Karen drove alone to the church hospital. The last grave-robbing mission had only been private business, an opportunity to help his people earn some extra cash. This, in the strictest sense, was his squad's first official assignment. Much like praying for good fortune before an exam, one always needed a spiritual pillar to pay respects to. And right now, the person who was the object of that reverence was lying in a hospital bed. Walking up the stairs, Karen thought to himself: *It's just as well. If he were fully healed right now, considering how active he is, God knows where one would find him.* Pushing open the ward door, Karen saw Neo leaning back against his headboard. "Believe me if I tell you I knew you'd come right about now?" "I believe you." "Come, have a seat." Karen walked over to Neo's bedside, pulled out a stool, and sat down. "Care for some fruit? I've got grapes here. Wend and the others brought them when they visited yesterday. Bought with point coupons—very sweet, not cloying at all." "Alright." Next, Neo pulled out a file and began reading, occasionally picking up a pen to jot down notes. Karen sat by the bed, holding a bunch of grapes in his right hand while his left plucked them one by one and popped them into his mouth. Over the next hour, neither spoke another word, nor did they exchange any further glances. Neo silently reviewed his documents, while Karen quietly ate grapes. Finally, having swallowed the last grape, Karen clapped his hands, wiped his palms on Neo's freshly changed bedsheet, stood up, and walked out of the room. After Karen left, Neo set down the papers in his hands and smiled toward the doorway. Then, glancing at the grape seeds in the trash can, his lips twitched. "Grapes that expensive, and he didn't leave a single one..." *** Eleven o'clock in the morning. Port of York. In the past, Karen had wondered why visiting church delegations insisted on arriving by steamship when they could easily use teleportation arrays. After going to Samsara Valley, he understood. It involved a taboo—just think about how the Church of Samsara had been ambushed back then. Ashley drove while Blanche and Karen sat in the VIP vehicle, which could be requisitioned during official missions. The pristine white carpet made Karen hesitate to step down firmly with the soles of his boots. Just then, another VIP vehicle drove over and parked alongside Karen's car. Ophelia stepped out. She and Karen met each other's eyes and nodded in mutual acknowledgment. "Captain, try this." Blanche produced a bottle of red beverage from the car's mini-fridge. "I bought the ingredients and mixed it myself. It's really good." "Alright." Blanche poured two cups, handing one to Karen and another to Ashley. "Captain, should we give one to her?" Blanche pointed toward Ophelia on the opposite side. "No need to act familiar with her." "Yes, Captain." This had been agreed upon between Karen and Ophelia. She would follow his commands, but the two of them didn't need to deliberately appear close, as the purpose of that Holy Child from the Moon God Church was very likely to verify Ophelia's "identity." One could only hope that the Holy Child had no fondness for listening to gossip. For some reason, Karen had an intuition that something momentous would happen during this security assignment for the Moon God Church. It felt just like today's weather: overcast and gray, carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression. Yet there was nothing he could do, nor did he possess the ability to make prior arrangements. All he could do was quietly wait for the storm to break. At that moment, Ashley spoke up: "Captain, the cruise ship is here! Look, isn't that the one? It's several hours ahead of schedule." Karen leaned out the car door to look. Far off across the water, a cruise ship was steaming toward them; it was indeed the vessel carrying the Moon God Church delegation. "Prepare to receive them. Notify the covert group to establish outer perimeter security." "Yes, Captain." Karen went to set down his cup, but in the middle of the motion, the glass inexplicably shattered. The drink spilled across the pristine white carpet, turning it instantly... blood-red.