Chapter 69: CH 69

After the school chief’s three-member investigation team met up, the next step was to find MU’s temporary base of operations in Boston.

“I heard that China’s college entrance exam is incredibly important. How long will you be on holiday?”

Edward and Zong Yan were walking side by side.

After the semester, the little prince’s face lost much of its elated glow. His temperament had begun to shift towards silence and resolve.

In fact, Zong Yan knew Edward wasn’t nearly as naïve as he previously seemed.

The British royal family was one of the few in the world that continued to wield power. But in addition to power, they controlled massive wealth.

The desire for power and riches was the original sin that inspired the worst in humanity.

Edward had grown up in such a royal family. He was experienced in dealing with people, especially when it came to reading them.

Even so, he’d held on to his purity.

Zong Yan appreciated people who were pure. But purity didn’t mean simple. It meant having clear goals, living soberly in the world, and preserving a sincere heart.

“Not very long. I’ll probably head back a few days after the Spring Festival.”

Zong Yan did some calculations and realized the break for New Year’s wasn’t even a month long.

There was no helping it. After all, it was senior three.

They walked together to the parking lot outside, where a streamlined sports car was parked. A blue and gold shield logo glittered brightly on the hood.

“Wow, cool!”

When he saw the sports car, Zong Yan felt like his straight male aesthetic had bent for a rare moment.

Edward smiled, helped him put his luggage in the trunk, and opened the driver’s side door.

The British royal family owned property all over the world, Edward included. Although he looked like an ordinary MU student, he was actually extremely wealthy.

This Koenigsegg was said to be Edward’s eighteenth birthday present. After learning the little prince was coming to the United States, the British royal family had shipped over the car from the other side of the Atlantic.

Handsome is as handsome does, and the number of second glances it attracted was very high. But there was one drawback—there were only two seats.

Edward hadn’t even thought about it. After all, he thought he was only partnering with Wang KeMing this time.

“Should we call and ask them to change the car?” Edward frowned and pulled out his phone.

“It’s okay. We can squeeze in.”

Fortunately, the seats were spacious, and Wang KeMing had lost some weight. Zong Yan waved his hand to show it wasn’t a problem.

""

After Wang KeMing and Zong Yan got into the passenger seat, the sports car quietly started up.

“Who’s your team leader?”

Zong Yan had directly contacted the Logistics Department of Miskatonic University about his assignment. He was a Monarch, after all. However, considering the fact that the tenth Monarch didn’t have any experience carrying out high-level missions, and the fact that the Logistics Department had been threatened by the ninth Monarch, it wasn’t clear what kind of task they were going to assign.

“It’s Ms. Anastasia.”

Anastasia was a senior investigator with Level 4 awakening ability. Among all the senior investigators, her awakening ability was the most mediocre. Everyone in the occult world knew she was unable to progress because of something unknown that happened in her younger days.

However, she was extremely proficient in the use of magic patterns. She could fight against Monarch levels directly with magic patterns and a lot of calculations. That was why she was known as the “Magic Pattern Monarch” and the “Russian Witch”.

Zong Yan had met her a few times at MU. He couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

Anastasia was a senior investigator renowned throughout the occult world. It wasn’t clear why she would come here to lead a few MU students.

But then he thought about it more and considered that Edward was the presumptive crown prince of the British royal family. The occult world was probably committed to protecting him. It didn’t matter if he was only here for experience and training. The priority was to ensure the safety of the young prince.

As he thought of this, Zong Yan suddenly turned his head to Edward, who was driving.

“What is it?” In order to prevent being photographed, Edward had only removed his mask in the car. He was still wearing sunglasses.

Zong Yan hesitated for a moment, but decided to get straight to the point. “You don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

Wang KeMing, who was squeezed in by the side: ! ! !

After Zong Yan took leave from school, the relationship between Wang KeMing and Edward had improved a bit. Edward wasn’t as enthusiastic about him as he was about Zong Yan, but he’d come to regard Wang KeMing as one of his own people.

To be honest, Wang KeMing felt a little guilty.

When he first joined the team, his plan was to make friends with the crown prince and get close to him. But when they actually became friends, he realized how unscrupulous and distasteful he’d been.

Wang KeMing got the feeling that Edward hadn’t been in a good mood lately, but he also knew how to read the air. He didn’t think their relationship was close enough, so he hadn’t tried to ask. Now he quietly pricked up his ears.

The little prince’s hand suddenly tightened on the steering wheel. After a long time, he slowly said, “Something happened to my father.”

Wang KeMing: ! ! ! ! ! !

He paid close attention to international media, but there wasn’t any news at all about that. The events in New York right now were the focus of international attention. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth was as quiet as a chicken. Not a word had been revealed.

Anyone who was interested knew that such a situation with the king could easily cause a crisis of confidence among the people. It might even lead to turmoil within the royal family. Lanchester II was a bold and brilliant king. He liked to maintain control of everything, which meant the whole government was sealed tight as a drum.

So they’d just learned one of the royal family’s secrets?

Wang KeMing realized this after the fact.

Wait a minute, if something really happened to King Lanchester, wouldn’t that mean…

His eyes widened. Zong Yan was also taken by surprise.

After all, just six months ago, Zong Yan had a secret conversation with the aging king in Buckingham Palace.

“He hasn’t been in very good health for years.” Edward said slowly, “He moved from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle to recuperate. It’s been hidden from the media.”

When he said these words, the blond-haired, blue-eyed prince looked very calm. His words didn’t contain much emotion. They were even a little cold.

But if you looked carefully, you could see a trace of the bewilderment and confusion he hid beneath his cold, indifferent expression.

“A few days ago I received a message that I should prepare myself, probably in a few months.”

The implication was that the situation wasn’t optimistic.

There was silence in the car. Zong Yan racked his brain but had no idea what to say. He sensed that his friend was sad, and that not comforting him would be unkind. In desperation, he somehow managed to say, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Wang KeMing: “…”

He was horrified. Yan Ge ah! It’s not the right time to say that kind of thing!!

Fortunately, Zong Yan had automatically spoken in Chinese. The little prince’s fluency wasn’t good enough to understand idioms, so the awkward moment soon passed.

“It doesn’t matter.” Edward smiled and changed the subject to lighten the heavy atmosphere in the car. “Anyway, I can still participate in the New York mission with you. Let’s forget about the other things for now. Our task is more important.”

As they chatted, a text message arrived from the Logistics Department.

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Basically, the investigators had assembled in Boston, then traveled to New York either through official means or via their own transportation.

New York was closed off. Only a few checkpoints were open for investigators to enter and exit. When investigators left the city they underwent strict inspections. After all, it was possible that a ghoul might try to sneak out. In contrast, entry into the city wasn’t as strict.

The text message was simple and brutally direct. Zong Yan was handed control of a large chunk of the city, and he was responsible for scouting that area. Not only that, he was also given the authority to deploy troops.

There wasn’t anything extraordinary about this. For example, when Si Yan arrived, not only did the ninth Monarch bring the members of Team 7, he also took over command of the famous Delta Force. In comparison, Zong Yan could only mobilize ordinary soldiers.

The MU app also sent updates related to the New York incident. Zong Yan quickly went in and read them.

“The incident in New York is the result of a ghoul uprising. They’re attempting to summon the evil god they worship. There may also be a group of cultists cooperating behind the scenes.”

Zong Yan read the notice word for word: “The ghouls live underground. Your current instructions are to locate the underground altar they’ve built to summon their god. If you find any trace of ghouls, report it immediately. If you encounter any ghouls in your vicinity, kill them, regardless of their behavior towards humans.

“There may be a city of ghouls beneath New York.”

A document containing an introduction to ghouls was attached at the bottom.

This kind of information about otherworldly creatures came from experience their predecessors had paid for with their blood. Zong Yan read through it carefully.

“Then we should head straight to New York. Anyway, our mentor Ms. Anastasia should be there already.”

Edward gave a shrug, took the next turn, and merged onto the freeway.

The area assigned to Zong Yan was the borough of Manhattan.

Manhattan was the lifeblood of New York. Even after its people evacuated, countless financial secrets remained there. It was also where the troops sent to New York were stationed. After all, that was the area the army had inspected first. They could guarantee the ghoul city wasn’t nearby. Relatively speaking, the danger wasn’t high.

They drove from daylight into darkness. When they arrived, the sky was divided into two stark halves, both of which looked out of place.

After entering New York, Zong Yan felt a clear sense of oppression. If he guessed right, the ghouls’ summoning ritual was already underway.

“Investigators from the occult world? Oh, head directly to the temporary base for staging.”

The soldiers at the checkpoint muttered a bit and let them in.

Manhattan was under military control, which meant there were no investigators stationed there. This allowed them to allocate personnel elsewhere.

However, the U.S. soldiers stationed in Manhattan weren’t eager to cooperate with the instructions given at the checkpoint.

Their opposition reached a peak when they saw Zong Yan’s team.

“Jesus Christ! Was that Congressman kicked in the head by a donkey? How is a little beardless boy our commander?”

“That can’t be right, the new commander? A fresh recruit who doesn’t even have a military rank?”

""

After they explained their purpose and showed the command transfer order, the soldiers began to boo and make catcalls.

Whether it was Wang KeMing, Edward or Zong Yan, the faces of all three young men were fresh and tender. These ruthless veterans could tell at a glance they’d never seen blood, let alone a battlefield.

“Hey! Listen up, go back and play in your little sandbox. We’ve been here for days and haven’t seen a trace of your so-called occult world. We don’t have time to play kiddie games with you!”

The commander of the unit was a middle-aged lieutenant general. He stood outside the square and coldly watched the situation unfold. He had no intention of stepping in and taking control.

U.S. Army soldiers were highly-disciplined to obey orders. These soldiers might seem arrogant, but whose orders were they following right now? Zong Yan could figure out who was responsible without a moment’s thought.

Bang—

When the three didn’t answer, a white soldier loaded his gun and fired a shot into the sky. “Get the hell out! This is a free country. America doesn’t welcome yellow people here!”

“Hahahahahaha!”

The other soldiers followed suit and burst into laughter.

Racial discrimination.

In the Land of Liberty, racism was a serious problem. Asians, much like Blacks, were usually at the bottom of the chain of contempt.

It had become popular for politicians and public figures to implicitly espouse “political correctness” and emphasize Black equality. But Asian Americans continued to be discriminated against.

The military had been stationed in Manhattan for two or three days, and for two or three days, nothing happened. Not a hair had been seen of the “unidentified creatures” mentioned in the directive from the top brass. 

After several days of relentless searching that bore no fruit, these soldiers were exhausted, but the orders kept coming in. The result was discontent and bad morale, like a build-up of carbon monoxide in the air. At this point, it would only take one spark to set off an explosion.

Zong Yan was the fuse.

The ridicule and words of contempt ignited Zong Yan’s temper as well. Wang KeMing clenched his fists.

No Chinese could stand by in the face of such insults.

Smiling coldly, the black-haired teen crushed the card in his hand.

Everyone was here to face otherworldly creatures, army troops included. The Treaty of Seclusion didn’t apply.

New York was shrouded in permanent night, which meant the cost of the Night Watchman card was cut in half.

Stepping out of the dark fog, a gentleman appeared in his place. He lightly tapped on the ground with his black umbrella.

All the soldiers who were laughing so hard suddenly came to a halt. They stared with wide eyes.

The shadows around them had suddenly grown sharp claws and teeth and seized them by the neck.

The Night Watchman hooked the corner of his mouth and said, “Now am I qualified?”

—

The author has something to say:

Zong Yan: Do you want me to do something for real, or do you already know you’re wrong?

TL Notes:

In my opinion, some of the things in the last part of this chapter are dumb and inaccurate. Regarding the military bits specifically: I know I’m biased because I’m a veteran, but the U.S. military is one of the most racially integrated institutions in the country. Racist speech is a great way to get a near-instantaneous dishonorable discharge. You’ll be “promoted to civilian” so fast your head will spin. I could go into various other things but I’m not gonna bore you. I’ll just chalk this one up to the lieutenant general(!) who was standing by(!!) doing nothing(!!!). ( ︣ʘ‸ ︣ʘ✿) Anyway, I know the author is just setting up a face-slapping arc, so… let’s just move on.

Note I also spoke up for the U.K. when they were accused of having universally atrocious cuisine. I’m fair to everyone lol

Oh, I’m so annoyed by this chapter, so irritated… I guess it’s time to… post another one! (✿◉‿◉) *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

straight male aesthetic – 直男审美 – Paraphrasing from Baidu: the type who always chooses the least popular color in a row of lipsticks and loudly proclaims, “This is the color men love the most, all women should wear this to please men”. A person who thinks he has invincible fashion taste when in fact his opinions are not very popular. (I get the feeling this entry has been massaged quite a bit to avoid offending those very same straight men)

Koenigsegg – 柯尼塞格 – A Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars. The Koenigsegg Regera (2016-present) has a base price of US$1.9 million

I’m sorry for your loss – 节哀顺变 – restrain one’s grief and accord with inevitable changes – Used to comfort family members of the deceased

Delta Force – 三角洲特种部队 – Delta Special Forces – 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta

play in your sandbox – 玩你们的泥巴去 – go back and play in your mud

without a moment’s thought – 用脚指头都想得出来 – figure it out with his toes

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