"What are you doing?"
The sudden voice behind him made Bai Zhou's muscles tighten.
The aroma of the pastry had caught Section Chief Liu's sharp senses. He looked with bewilderment at Bai Zhou, who was crouching and setting the cake on the ground.
"...I'm sorry. I was just too hungry."
Bai Zhou stood up and turned around, looking thoroughly contrite and flustered. "Back in Wancheng, it's our custom to show respect before eating. The departed elders underground take their chopsticks first."
*Wancheng? A victim of the Blood Worship Cult's experiments...*
Section Chief Liu paused, then grew somber.
In the end, he only said in a low voice, "I'm sorry. We arrived too late."
*It was that easy to brush off?* Bai Zhou blinked.
Then, under everyone's curious gazes, Bai Zhou casually slipped away the golden ticket that only he could see, breathing an inward sigh of relief.
...During the rest of the tour, Bai Zhou made a special effort to memorize the crimson last words inscribed on the Black Boxes.
Though he had no clue how to fulfill them yet, as long as he kept them in mind, opportunities would surely come in time.
*"This miserable life is humiliating my body. If I'd known life was this hard, I would've stuffed my piggy bank until it burst from the age of three!"*
*"My hydrogen-powered Dayun heavy truck was just drifting backwards around the hairpin turn at Mount Haruna when a mere six police cruisers dared to try and intercept me... Oh no! Where did the Autobot come from?!"*
*"After I die, will I appear in the Reflected Ruin Realm too, becoming an undead walking corpse of a monster?"*
*"..."*
Bai Zhou even revisited his old acquaintance, the Legacy of Bloodthirst. The dying wish hovering above it remained as insatiable as ever.
Before long, the tour concluded, and Bai Zhou stepped through the main doors.
A familiar scent of coffee drifted past his nose.
Bai Zhou glanced around, but saw nothing except his colleagues and Section Chief Liu's retreating back.
Yet somehow, a small slip of paper had found its way into his palm.
Stepping into a secluded corner, he unfolded it in secret. A line of elegant yet forceful calligraphy met his eyes:
*When you go to the cafeteria, bring back a cucumber, a few mandarin oranges, and a bag of coffee beans for me.*
*Thanks.*
Well, Miss Ghost was elusive as ever.
Bai Zhou was adept at picking out fresh vegetables, but he knew next to nothing about coffee beans. In the end, guided by the clerk's recommendation, he took a bag of Mandheling beans.
The clerk had seemed more eager to push some sort of civet coffee, but at the mention of the name, Bai Zhou had shaken his head like a rattle-drum.
Dare he feed cat droppings to Crow? Bai Zhou feared she would chop off his head and kick it around like a ball.
Next, he ordered two takeout containers of hand-pulled beef noodles—one without chili oil, and one with extra.
Carrying his parcels out of the cafeteria, Bai Zhou wove between the rows of pale gray buildings, making his way back toward the dormitory.
The clock tower with only twelve numerals stood like a cyclops, while off in the distance, an iron box monster chugged past, puffing black exhaust from its rear.
On the plaza where the Black Robes had been executed yesterday, the eighteenth set of national radio calisthenics, "The Federation Is Calling," played on a continuous loop, while a group of white-coated researchers raised their hands and swayed their hips in unison.
Soldiers armed with live ammunition patrolled past from time to time, paying no heed to Bai Zhou as he wore his credential badge. When Bai Zhou looked their way, some even returned a smile.
—A world of difference from the disdainful looks the guards had given him before he joined the organization.
Although Bai Zhou still felt estranged from everything here, he had begun to gradually adjust.
He still did not know where his future would take him, but at least...
Bai Zhou looked down at the little white bag of Mandheling beans, offering himself a meager comfort.
At least he now dared to buy coffee beans he once couldn't even dream of.
He was living the high life of a Black Robe overlord now.
—Even if it was all billed to the organization's account.
...
Laden with boxes and bags, Bai Zhou fumbled with his keys for quite a while before opening the dormitory door.
To his surprise, Crow was nowhere to be seen.
Setting the noodles on the table, Bai Zhou scratched his head, picked up the cucumber and mandarins, and headed into the bathroom.
"More efficient than I expected."
As he was washing the produce, a cool female voice spoke abruptly from behind him.
Bai Zhou turned to look. The crow perched on her shoulder blinked its beady red eyes at him.
"...Do you never use the front door?"
Always appearing in the most unexpected fashion.
It was fast becoming Bai Zhou's fixed impression of Crow.
Taking the crisp green cucumber from Bai Zhou and glancing at the mandarins cradled in his hands, Crow offered neither confirmation nor denial to his question.
"It seems you did an excellent job reinforcing the seal on the Crown of Thorns. All of Branch 36 owes you a debt of gratitude."
"A pity your deed will remain unknown to everyone—though it makes no difference, for I witnessed it all."
With that, Crow lightly shook the cucumber in her hand.
The cucumber reminded Bai Zhou of his purchase. He smacked his forehead with a mandarin orange. "Right, I was worried just a cucumber and oranges wouldn't be enough, so I bought an extra portion of hand-pulled beef noodles. Would you like some?"
"..." Crow glanced at the two takeout containers on the table and shook her head.
"I don't eat beef."
"That's a shame."
Bai Zhou popped open the noodle container, snapped apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, and gave the contents a stir. The fragrant steam of red chili beef broth rose into the air.
Sitting down and lifting his chopsticks, he cautiously glanced up at the girl.
"Then... I'll eat them all?"
Not wasting food was a virtue upheld in Wancheng.
"...If you can stomach it."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the loud slurping of noodles echoed across the room.
"Is that really enough food for you?" Bai Zhou mumbled between bites. "Should I run back to the cafeteria and get something else?"
No wonder she wasn't very tall.
"Food is not a necessity for sustaining my life," Crow replied, shaking her head. "And who told you I had you bring these back to eat?"
"Huh?" Bai Zhou paused, chopsticks half-raised, and slurped up another mouthful.
Truth be told, these hand-pulled noodles tasted far better than four-flavor instant noodles.
"To leverage the power of a ritual through simple mediums." Crow held the cucumber in one hand and picked up two mandarins with the other. "That is the fundamental literacy of an Extraordinary."
An Extraordinary?
Bai Zhou thought of Section Chief Liu, who had just demonstrated supernatural might earlier, and his heart pounded.
"So you asked for these to set up a ritual?"
Enlightenment dawning, Bai Zhou's gaze drifted instinctively toward the bag of Mandheling coffee beans on the table.
Was the lingering coffee aroma around Crow also meant to sustain some sort of mystical rite?
"Oh, not this." Crow picked up the coffee beans separately.
Tearing open the seal, she plucked two dark beans and tossed them into her mouth, chewing twice with an impassive face.
Nodding slightly, Crow slipped the bag into her coat pocket. "This serves a far greater purpose."
Bai Zhou: "..."
"There is something I must tell you."
Snapping a mandarin open with a press of her fingers, Crow dropped a heavy bomb in a calm tone:
"Intelligence indicates that, in retaliation for the destruction of their stronghold in Wancheng, the Blood Worship Cult will soon strike against one of the Special Control Bureau's branches."
"Among them, my personal deduction is that Branch 36, having taken in the refugees from Wancheng, has an extremely high probability of being chosen!"
"What?" Bai Zhou froze mid-slurp.
Hadn't he just resolved the issue with the Crown of Thorns?
There was more?
"At present, only a very few within the Special Control Bureau are aware of this intelligence."
Crow lowered her gaze. "However, learning from the precedent of Branch 9, the Bureau has already imposed martial law across all levels, reinforcing defenses at every base."
"Therefore, even if this place is unfortunate enough to be targeted by the Blood Worship Cult, it should barely manage to hold out."
"—Nevertheless, the Bureau is about to be thrown into turmoil, and people will certainly die."
*Clang!* A long blade was drawn from its scabbard.
A brilliant arc flashed as sparks of starlight flowed along the blade's edge. The cucumber on the table was instantly sliced into dozens of neat rounds, the perimeter of each piece bearing a trace of scorching.
"Just in case, before the Blood Worship Cult arrives, you need to possess the power of self-preservation."
"In other words,"
Crow tilted the tip of her blade, impaling a slice of cucumber, and turned toward Bai Zhou.
"You must become an Extraordinary as soon as possible."
"You mean..." Bai Zhou slowly lowered his chopsticks, his eyes gleaming. "Become someone like Section Chief Liu?"
Or even... someone like Crow?
"Section Chief Liu?"
Crow paused, then shook her head.
"No one is out of reach."
"Even I am merely a fish tossed about by the tide of the times."
"The truly powerful have always led the era."
Bai Zhou stared blankly. "Stronger than you... What would that even look like?"
"Take the year 1776, for instance. Washington, the Mythological Inheritor from the Rosicrucian Order, set foot upon the shores across the ocean and struck down the Aztec Sun."
"Or even earlier, in 1429, Joan of Arc, the Saintess of Kindling from the Court of Judicature, marched onto the battlefield of Reims and swept down the stars of Avalon."
"History has always been the history of Extraordinaries; they manipulate nations and drive ideological tides," Crow said. "—And only by becoming an Extraordinary do you earn the right to master your own destiny."
*Master your own destiny.*
Bai Zhou's spirits rose. "So what do I need to do?"
"On Blue Star, ninety-nine percent of people remain ignorant of the 'mystical,' making it even more impossible for them to become Extraordinaries. Ever since the Middle Ages, Extraordinaries have been accustomed to standing behind the veil of secrecy."
The flame-licked blade in Crow's grip gradually faded into nothingness.
Turning her palm upward, a cluster of golden flames converged slowly in midair, dancing quietly in her hand.
Compared to Section Chief Liu's roaring blue fire, this golden blaze was far quieter, yet to Bai Zhou, it felt incomparably more dangerous.
"You could say you've arrived at a fortunate time. The very first step for an Extraordinary is awakening their Fate Principle, but the grueling training and study required for that is enough to weed out ninety percent of those without innate talent."
"Until—"
Under Bai Zhou's astonished gaze, the scorched cucumber slices and opened mandarins rose slowly as if tugged by invisible threads, arranging themselves in a peculiar pattern in midair and orbiting the flame in Crow's palm.
Threads of golden fire branched out, igniting each piece one by one.
In the next instant, it was as if the night sky had been set ablaze.
Point after point of fire transformed into stars, sketching out a celestial map.
"Until 1753, when the Three Sages of France created the miracle known as the Enlightenment Potion, drastically lowering the cost of awakening a Fate Principle. The ranks of hidden Extraordinaries began to expand rapidly."
Crow continued, "From that point on, the Extraordinary became the rulers of the world."
The resplendent star chart rotating above her palm resembled a radiant, rearing bear, the flickering starlight playing over the girl's features.
At the bear's tail, seven striking stars formed the shape of a dipper.
"Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, parting the mists of the mystical to guide the path forward... The medium does not matter; this is the core of the Enlightenment Potion."
Crow lowered her eyes and waved her hand, and the star chart blazed with brilliant light.
Each star shrank, replaced by liquid starlight that flowed forth like countless golden olives, streaming down in myriad shining threads.
"Naturally, the vessel used to contain it does not matter either."
As she spoke, Crow whisked away the half-eaten beef noodles in front of Bai Zhou.
"Didn't you say you don't eat beef?" Bai Zhou's chopsticks hovered helplessly in the air.
In the next second, the golden threads dropped into the noodle container, pooling into a clear, golden fluid that looked like the concentrated essence of stars, connecting to the realm of spirituality.
The golden fluid blended seamlessly into the beef broth. Every broth-coated noodle began to gleam, radiating dazzling golden hues that illuminated Bai Zhou's face.
"Your Enlightenment Potion."
With a soft thud, Crow set the glowing takeout container down on the table.
The printed advertisement on the side—*Crafted with a Century of Dedication, Handmade Big-Bowl Noodles*—was impossible to ignore.
A glowing... golden bowl of beef noodles?
Facing Bai Zhou's utterly stunned expression, Crow gave a faint nod. "You're welcome."
Holding the radiant container, Bai Zhou squinted against the glare. "Becoming an Extraordinary... is as simple as eating a bowl of noodles?"
"This is a ritual."
Crow nodded. "When midnight arrives, drink the Enlightenment Potion before a mirror. Your spirit will steal knowledge from your reflection, thereby anchoring your Fate Principle."
"...Steal?" Bai Zhou asked, confused.
"What did you think Extraordinaries were?" Crow countered. "Transcendent beings standing above all, walking gods among men?"
"—None of the above."
She shook her head. "As Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, a sage of the Hermetic Order who spearheaded the destruction of the Faustian Black Cult, once put it:"
*"All Extraordinaries are wretched parasites who steal the world's secrets."*
"They shamelessly excavate the remnants of history and despicably steal power from the far side of Blue Star. A great Extraordinary is first and foremost an outstanding archaeologist and a skilled grave robber, because everything they possess comes from there."
Saying this, Crow pointed toward the lightbulb overhead:
"Even the technological advancements of human civilization today—steam, nuclear energy, quantum theory—all stem from Extraordinaries excavating and compiling the wreckage of pre-existing civilizations."
"Compared to certain lost super-ancient civilizations, our five thousand years of documented history are merely the toddling steps of a newborn infant."
"Lost civilizations..." Bai Zhou suddenly remembered the golden pass card on his person and couldn't help asking, "Have you heard of the Jurassic era? Does that count as a lost civilization?"
"The Jurassic?"
Crow paused, then smiled faintly. "It certainly does. An era crawling with dinosaurs is ancient and lost indeed—definitely not found in any history books."
After all, it had been populated entirely by reptiles, without a single sapient life form to be seen.
She had no idea where Bai Zhou had heard of the Jurassic, and wondered if she should find him a copy of *One Hundred Thousand Whys* when she had the chance.
"Dinosaurs?"
"Yes, massive reptiles, like oversized lizards."
"Oh..."
Bai Zhou began to picture Irene riding on the back of a dinosaur.
...Could that tattered empress, furiously pedaling a spinning wheel, have truly had such an imposing, glorious past?
The scent of coffee drifted past Bai Zhou as Crow turned and walked toward the bathroom, her coat fluttering.
"The culmination of all things converges on the far side of Blue Star. There, you can witness the relics and wandering souls of every bygone age."
"Whether it is the echoes of Atlantis or the ruins of El Dorado, countless remnants of lost civilizations lie heaped within."
"—It is a hell that ordinary mortals must never glimpse, yet it is a paradise for Extraordinaries."
"In the past, people called it Eden, Nibelungen, the Land of the Dead, the Peach Blossom Spring..."
With a sharp clatter, Crow set down the defogging mirror she had unscrewed from the bathroom wall in front of Bai Zhou.
"—And today, people collectively call it the Reflected Ruin Realm."
"The Reflected Ruin Realm..." Bai Zhou stared at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes widening slightly.
Initially, he had noticed Crow's extraordinary nature because he believed she possessed a way to locate Wancheng within the Reflected Ruin Realm once again.
Now that he was finally hearing more about it, he realized the place was far more mysterious than he had ever imagined.
"Unfortunately, even after drinking the potion, you will not be qualified to explore the Reflected Ruin Realm until you have thoroughly stabilized your Fate Principle and become a proper Extraordinary."
Reading Bai Zhou's thoughts, Crow poured cold water on his enthusiasm without mercy.
"Wancheng sat at the periphery of the Reflected Ruin Realm, but the Reflected Ruin Realm is not Wancheng."
"The walls the Blood Worship Cult spent years constructing served as a pen to keep you confined, but they also protected you. The true Reflected Ruin Realm is fraught with peril; ordinary mortals cannot survive there, let alone explore it."
Crow pointed to the reflective surface of the mirror.
"Allowing ordinary mortals to communicate with the Reflected Ruin Realm through a ritual, safely stealing power from between the seams of reality and the Ruin Realm..."
"That is the greatest miracle of the Enlightenment Potion."
...
Afterward, Crow helped Bai Zhou complete numerous preparations, and before long, midnight approached.
11:58 PM.
The lights were extinguished. Burning candles flickered in the darkened room, their flames casting long shadows across the floor. The remaining mandarin segments and cucumber slices were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, glistening with drops of rose essential oil fetched from the bathroom.
Candlelight played over Crow's face. "The Revelation Mystery, used in conjunction with the Enlightenment Potion, is a simplified version of the Eleusinian Mysteries practiced by an ancient Greek cult three thousand years ago."
"Is this... the world outside Wancheng?" Bai Zhou muttered in a daze.
*Is this Blue Star?*
"This is only the beginning," Crow said, shaking her head.
"Rituals, secret arts—you lack far too much. Once you awaken your Fate Principle, I will put you through special training. You must be prepared for the grueling discipline ahead!"
"Special training!" Bai Zhou felt a chill run through him.
"However, as long as you endure the training and meet my standards, you will undergo a complete transformation!"
"At the very least, surpassing most of the Special Control Bureau elites who rely on their mechanical boxes won't be difficult," Crow said calmly, her tone matter-of-fact. "In the potential attack by the Blood Worship Cult, you will also have the leeway to protect yourself."
"—When that time comes, if something truly happens, the higher-ups will certainly turn their eyes here. That will be your opportunity to make your mark."
Bai Zhou's heart thumped against his ribs.
He could hear the unwavering confidence in Crow's voice, and his curiosity regarding her identity grew even stronger.
*Bong—*
A bell tolled, echoing from the clock tower at the center of the base to shatter the dead of night.
Midnight. The ritual began.
"Now," Crow said. "Recite the incantation to the mirror!"
Bai Zhou lifted his chopsticks, gathered a mouthful of the gleaming noodles, and ate them.
Then, facing the mirror, Bai Zhou chanted the newly learned mystical phrase—
*"¡Ábrete Sésamo!"*
According to Crow, the original meaning of this tongue-twisting incantation was:
*"Open, Sesame."*
As the incantation fell from his lips, the golden noodles dissolved in his mouth, transforming into a warm current that surged into him. With a mental roar, Bai Zhou felt as if his mind had exploded, leaving him drifting through a sea of stars in utter euphoria.
The surrounding air seemed to thicken, turning viscous. Subtle, furtive whispers rose beside his ears—deep, distant, and bizarrely eerie, accompanied by a rhythmic, strange chanting that echoed over and over.
A splitting headache seized Bai Zhou. He fought to retain his sanity, yet found it agonizingly difficult to resist the urge to keep listening to the whispers.
The dim light receded into murky shadows. Rolling mist surged across the glass, chaotic, hazy, and boundless, drowning out the reflection of the room.
Everything in the mirror blurred into formlessness, until the only distinct figure remaining in the mist was Bai Zhou's own reflection.
Vast billows of gray fog churned, spilling over the edges of the mirror and tumbling down to pool around Bai Zhou's feet.
Bai Zhou was transfixed by his reflection.
In the next second, the Bai Zhou in the mirror flashed him a smile.
"...?!" The hair on Bai Zhou's neck stood on end.
Abruptly, the scene within the mirror shifted.
The gray fog vanished. A blank-faced Bai Zhou stood in place, the clutter of the dorm room reappearing in the glass, with Crow's figure standing behind him.
The chaotic, overlapping whispers receded, and absolute silence settled around him, with wisps of drifting mist flowing like water beside his body.
...Mist?
Bai Zhou snapped awake and looked down in shock, realizing that he was standing at the edge of an endless expanse of gray fog.
*Did I... cross into the mirror?*
Chapter 6