Mond leisurely stretched its massive body. It had crossed an important milestone on the Path of Ascension, that of eternal life. Since then, it had grown accustomed to setting its worries aside and began seeking more subtle and complex pleasures.
"Fine, I can wait," it said.
"Thank you," Xu Yang pondered, "There is one thing I still don’t quite understand."
"I can answer all your questions," Mond spoke, the dragon’s voice resonating like the low rumble of geological activity, its form as vast and solid as a moonlit volcano, brimming with awe-inspiring infinite power.
"The Giant Tower Project..." Xu Yang had gathered very little information about it, "...and the ’Tower Guardians.’ Do you know about this?"
"Ah, the great ’towers.’ Who could miss them. Wee guiii huihun, Paigis ge hexgag. ’Walk upon the Giant Tower, and you shall be gazed upon by the galaxy,’" Mond intoned.
"...Giant? If they’re ’giant,’ then where exactly are they?" Xu Yang pressed, "It is said that the gods allowed humans to build these towers, unifying our language to facilitate our visits to the divine."
"Of course, you can see for yourself," Mond chuckled hoarsely, "Witness the forbidden knowledge with your own eyes. There are two sets of giant towers, 6 ancient ones used in the past by humans, the Church, and witches. And then there are the 7 new towers currently in use by you all."
"...I don’t understand."
"In the Archipelago Continent, which is the highest building?"
"The 636-meter-tall Xisheng Divine Palace," Xu Yang instinctively replied.
"Then you’ve already discovered the tower closest to you," Mond said scornfully, "Quite close, isn’t it? Seven towers, seven seals. Anyone with a bit of sense would guess that there’s not only competition but also cooperation between corporations, Ancient Mystics, and witches. Behemoths like Xisheng Capital, Fuyin Global Investment, and Vanguard Associates Group treat the interests of human civilization as chips to exchange, effortlessly hollowing out the foundation of the Corporate Alliance, controlling various giant corporations and the fate of all humans like tendrils. Fortunately, I saw through everything long ago. The petty squabbles of humanity only lead to disappointment, so I made the wisest decision: to relocate to the Moon."
"And I cannot...stand idly by," Xu Yang said gravely, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information in Mond’s words.
"But you lack a simple way to triumph, don’t you?" Mond laughed lightly, "Resistance is feeble. Why not stop now and share a couch with those corporate folks—exchange technology, insights, and funds, and you would live a carefree life. This era is not yet ready to truly burn; acting rashly would only lead to utter ruin."
Surrender to the corporations?
Xu Yang felt a surge of anger deep inside, like an unnamed blaze leaping from his heart. Were it not for the suppression of the Digital Mind, this anger would make him lose control.
"I will not sully myself by colluding with the corporations," Xu Yang said with loathing.
"Sorry," Mond could clearly feel Xu Yang’s fury, "As one of the Immortal Kind, we see things from different perspectives. I didn’t mean to particularly mock anything."
"I understand," Xu Yang took a deep breath, "If I go to the Xisheng Shrine, will I find anything useful?"
"You will gain extraordinary insights," Mond declared, "Either the Giant Towers built by the people of the Middle Ages or the new towers people are continuously constructing today, they both contain the supreme force that connects the lifeblood of the world. And you might also come to understand the origin of witches."
"Witches seem like agents of the stars, living parasitically within human civilization, don’t they?" Mond now truly spoke with irony, "Why did the indigenous humans of this land suddenly bring forth witches who can communicate power with the stars?"
"...Witches are born in the reproductive process of humans, which seems almost natural. But saying it like that makes it seem particularly eerie."
"I’ve discussed this topic with Gillian, the founder of the Corporate Alliance. He was as nervous as you," Mond related, "So, after defeating the witches, Gillian nearly wiped out all the witches at a great cost, leading to desperate results—the witches still appeared en masse in the post-war baby boom, with every witch he had killed somehow reborn in gestation, still inheriting the same magic power and even similar temperaments. This means witches cannot be killed off entirely or exterminated."
"..." Xu Yang contemplatively thought. Witches brought endless variables to the whole world.
"To me, witches are like proxies of the stars. Whenever I gazed at the galaxy from the moon’s surface, I could feel the murderous intent from the stars. That’s why I dislike witches."
"If the answer lies within the Giant Tower, then I will explore it," Xu Yang said resolutely. "But there’s a price, isn’t there?"
"The price is that you share the insights you gain with me," Mond rubbed its claws together, "...you know, I seldom personally visit the Ground, nor have I investigated these new-age things."
"Fair enough. I’ll give it a try," Xu Yang said.
"Compared to the unscrupulous Farosa, your sense of morality is significantly more pronounced," Mond said in a calm tone, "Some secrets are suitable to be shared only with you. Yet, you two are both so young, and therefore both have distinct strengths and weaknesses. It cannot be said which one of you is superior to the other."
"Perhaps," Xu Yang sighed.
He lay down. Just then, Mond caught sight of a Blackfire fighter jet that had crashed and burned in a field. From this angle, its angular appearance drew on its reputation, and it suddenly realized that something was even stronger, sharper, and more rigid than a mother rhinoceros.
"Explore your future to your heart’s content. I’ve found that life is full of surprises, and you should travel more. Once you have any new discoveries, you know how to contact me," Mond quickly changed the subject, feigning sleep.
Xu Yang left Mond and returned to Shijin Mansion via a teleportation portal.
It was now 11:30 p.m., and the streets were very quiet. Xu Yang drove the Innovation out of the mansion. When he was alone in the leather seat, various thoughts flooded his mind.
His current state of mind was not suited for handling affairs. He had to sort out his thoughts before he could continue his actions. "Moonfire" Mond was an interesting Elder Dragon who had given him much valuable information. His perspective on observing the world was indeed unique, and this meeting had undoubtedly taught him a lot.
He and Farosa were clearly two different kinds of people, yet like pieces of a puzzle that fit together. Xu Yang thought darkly.
Farosa inspired Xu Yang. She had her own way of living and an even more independent mindset. In her view, she owed the world nothing, so she could casually hurt and trample on everything in it, unwilling to follow the rules it had designed, sparing no arrogance in her overbearing attitude to judge all things.
It was this attitude that honed Farosa’s execution ability. In all kinds of decisions, she implemented them with an iron-blooded stance, adhering to her own principles of action. She disdained fitting her behavior into existing logic to legitimize it. She didn’t need to explain her actions. Her sole motivation was "she wanted to do it that way."
In this regard, Xu Yang must learn from her. Because Xu Yang would place his hope in the role of morals and order, hoping for a set of ready-made logic to guide his actions.
But he found this to be impossible. The world was on the eve of burning, at a sharp historical turning point. All past doctrines, philosophies, and regulations were losing their power. They could not explain what was happening at this moment, let alone predict the future.
The Innovation passed through the streets of the night, returning to Aizu City. The checkpoints at the entrance and exit were guarded by personnel from the New Aizuwakamatsu Security Company. Refugees were piling up at the door, discontent with the slow admission process.
To avoid the spies and secret agents of Black Fire Innovation causing trouble among them, checks on the citizens, searches, and reviews were especially stringent. Particularly after the loss of credibility information from Century Pure Land, the identification of people became especially difficult. Therefore, they could not easily let them into the Underground City.
But there were other broader ways to go.
Xu Yang saw several hotels and commercial buildings owned by Kyoto Infinity along the highway. During the day, soldiers from Black Fire Innovation had attacked and harassed them, but they didn’t have much strategic significance and were eventually abandoned.
These buildings had ample space for citizens to sleep overnight, if only the entrances weren’t already occupied by several security personnel in pink uniforms, heavily armed, intent on defending the assets of Kyoto Infinity.
The lingering influence of giant corporations was still present, so no one dared to provoke them.
"We’re going to attack Kyoto Infinity’s remnants and then take over the city," Xu Yang sent a message to Asa Katsuragi.
"But Kyoto Infinity..." Asa Katsuragi was on the streets of Anjiu City at the moment, sitting in a Blackfire combat robot they had captured.
"It’s much more fragile than we imagined," Xu Yang said. "We live in a highly competitive world. If a company doesn’t perform well enough, it will be eliminated by the market mechanism. Let’s send Kyoto Infinity on its final journey."
Asa Katsuragi nodded subtly, setting out the plan.
At the entrance to Aizu City, gang members turned into security personnel, outnumbering the opposition. They marched out, threatening those uniformed dogs sent by Kyoto Infinity. These guards got scared, for they were just temporary workers pulled in a few hours before, outnumbered and only using the badges and work IDs of the giant corporation to intimidate. Realizing they couldn’t risk their lives over it, they looked at each other and decided to give up.
"Finally, a place to rest..." The bottlenecked citizens hurriedly carried their luggage into the surrounding buildings, seeing them as their new places of refuge. For refugees who had been terrified all day and were even more uncertain about the future, at least they had found a place to rest for the night, not having to wait miserably in the streets after a downpour.
After the crowd at the entrance had mostly dispersed, Xu Yang drove the Shuttle Machine into Aizu City. The whole Underground City was now on high alert. The environmental canopy had failed. Instead, bright lights were everywhere, and every streetlight was lit.
Past Tanaka Intelligence, Xu Yang wanted to see a friend.