Chapter 71: CH 71

Now that Zong Yan had decided on a course of action, the next few steps fell into place.

After the initial storm of scrutiny, the soldiers’ attitude towards Zong Yan made a 180-degree turn. Their eyes filled with fear.

There was nothing fake about it.

“What’s the situation in Manhattan?”

After the transfer of command, Edward became Zong Yan’s first staff officer.

The little prince had been systematically trained in warfare and command. In this regard, he had far more experience than Zong Yan, so Zong Yan immediately appointed him to the job.

“We’ve been stationed in Manhattan for three days. We haven’t found any trace of alien creatures during that time.”

Lynn was leaning over a map of New York City with a pen. He described the situation and carefully pointed out some details.

“Our orders from up above are to perform daily patrols and protect the major buildings in Manhattan. That’s our mission.”

Manhattan was a financial district, which meant a lot of underground parking lots and similar structures. They could just about rule out any possibility that ghouls had an underground city here.

The Night Watchman put his gloves back on. He flexed his knuckles and tapped gently on the table. He had a sinking feeling.

Thanks to Lynn’s explanation, Zong Yan realized that the task assigned to him by the Logistics Department was incredibly easy.

To be honest, “easy” wasn’t at all what Zong Yan wanted. He knew the occult world meant well. They were trying to protect the new Monarch. But he wasn’t a greenhouse flower who was willing to wait meekly in the rear.

As long as he had the power to protect the human race, he wouldn’t ever sit back and be protected by someone else.

“How many soldiers can we mobilize right now?” the Night Watchman asked.

“If we set aside personnel who have to remain stationed in Manhattan, as well as the troops we need for routine patrols, there are only about a thousand,” the lieutenant general said cautiously. After answering the question, he seemed to realize something. “Are you—?”

“Good.” Zong Yan picked up his top hat and rose to his feet. He lightly said, “Instead of remaining here, we should take the initiative and attack. The situation in New York is critical. Do I have the authority to mobilize the unit?”

The matter was beyond urgent.

With the Night Watchman’s abilities, Zong Yan could sense that the city was full of souls, howling under the curtain of night. They weren’t concentrated in Manhattan but in other parts of the city across the river. The screams were agonizing, and they were audible from a long distance.

The situation there couldn’t be good. Zong Yan’s mood darkened.

What audacity! The lieutenant general was impressed. “You’re the commander now. Of course you have that authority.”

“That’s good to hear.”

When the Night Watchman was about to leave, someone suddenly barged through the door.

Wearing a tight-fitting combat suit and special tactical glasses, a blonde beauty pushed into the room and regarded Zong Yan with approval.

She’d overheard Zong Yan’s previous words and totally agreed.

When the tenth Monarch first enrolled at MU, the senior investigators picked him out as an excellent seedling.

“Hello, team leader.”

Before Zong Yan could speak, Wang KeMing stood and greeted her. Even Edward straightened up and nodded.

Anastasia nodded back, then strode forward and smiled at Zong Yan. “The Spire Council is voting on whether to expose the occult world to the public. You should check your phone.”

She didn’t express an opinion about Zong Yan’s current appearance. After all, a lot of investigators liked to dress in peculiar clothes. Whatever they wore was up to their own personal preferences. There were even investigators who wore bikinis on the battlefield.

As for Zong Yan, he was forearmed with Nyarla’s prediction. The world was about to end. He didn’t care about revealing this persona.

“Okay, thank you for the reminder.” Startled, Zong Yan hastily took out his cell phone.

Just now he was so busy cowing his new underlings into submission that he didn’t even notice the update on his phone.

Si Yan and He Yuan had both sent messages on WeChat, saying that the Monarchs were voting right now, and their superiors hadn’t set rigid requirements for Zong Yan’s vote. That meant he could choose according to his own opinion.

To be honest, it was a double-edged sword.

Human beings were instinctively xenophobic towards beings who were different from themselves. Fox’s series of movies about mutants was an illustration of that kind of dynamic.

But this wasn’t the time to hesitate.

Even if others didn’t understand, Zong Yan saw it clearly.

The situation in New York was getting worse. Nyarlathotep had told him what would happen if they didn’t interrupt the ghouls’ summoning ritual. The moment the ghouls’ evil god arrived, Ghroth would come along with him to shift the stars. And then the Earth would be destroyed.

When the planet was at stake, it wasn’t a problem just for the occult world. It was a problem for the entire human race.

Zong Yan had already made a decision. No matter what it took, even if he had to sacrifice everything he had, he wouldn’t let the home of the human race be destroyed.

“I have to give it more thought.” The Night Watchman was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Anastasia said briskly. “The voting’s at a critical point right now. Your decision could determine the final result. It’s good for you to take it seriously.”

From what Zong Yan remembered, this beautiful Russian mentor was known for her rash and eccentric personality.

But the person who was facing him right now was clearly a cold-blooded female warrior, and she didn’t seem to be in the best of moods.

“But you still need to hurry up. Everyone’s waiting for your vote.”

“I will.” After a pause, the Night Watchman walked outside and activated a voice-amplifying magic pattern.

He was about to give a pre-battle speech.

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The soldiers outside were in full gear and ready to go, standing in squared-off columns and rows, staring straight ahead.

“The situation in New York today is urgent. But the borough of Manhattan isn’t the main battlefield between us and the alien creatures.”

As he faced the eyes of the crowd, Zong Yan tightly gripped the umbrella in his hand. “If we don’t stop the black fog in time, the entire planet will be covered in darkness.”

Hesitation appeared on the soldiers’ faces. Zong Yan could see it in their eyes, and he added a strong dose of medicine. “For years the mystical community has been secluded from the world. This is the first and only time that investigators from around the globe have been summoned to the same place. That means the situation is critical.

“I’ve received orders to stand by here in the Upper East Side, but I’m not willing to settle in and wait. I choose to take the initiative.

“The enemy we’re facing isn’t from this world. These are beings that are possibly immune to bullets. But right now, we’re standing in a human city on human land. We cannot surrender human land to alien creatures. If there are any soldiers here willing to follow me into other areas of New York City, go and stand in the open space to the left.”

After these words, clusters of soldiers picked up their guns, fell out of formation, and went to stand on Zong Yan’s left.

He made a rough estimate and calculated that the number wasn’t very large. There were only  around two hundred.

“Good, you’re with me. I’ll now transfer command of Manhattan back to General Lynn. All right, let’s go.”

Meanwhile, Anastasia went over to Edward and Wang KeMing.

“Are you good friends with the tenth Monarch?”

“Yes.” Wang KeMing nodded.

Anastasia flicked a strand of her long blond hair. “My orders are to guide you through the investigation practice class. But as you know… for various reasons, the location of your mission is outside New York.”

Indeed, it wasn’t just Zong Yan who was getting biased treatment. Edward faced the same thing.

Edward had been determined to come to New York. Even if the royal family pressured MU, he wasn’t deterred. He told MU he didn’t want to be treated any differently because he was a prince. He was an adult and would take responsibility for his own decisions. After realizing there were no other options, the Logistics Department arranged a senior investigator and an easy assignment for him.

“I want to follow Zong Yan.” Edward, who’d been silent until now, suddenly said, “Right now I’m an investigator, not a prince.”

“Me… me too! If my brother’s going to save the world, I’m going also.”

Wang KeMing watched from behind as Zong Yan gave his speech. He made up his mind and clenched his fists.

“Good. It just so happens I agree.” Anastasia grinned and pumped her hands. “Don’t worry, I’m your team leader. If anything tries to hurt you, they’ll have to walk over my dead body first.”

Her voice coincided with the voice of the Night Watchman outside: “Then let’s march into New York!”

—

The Spire Council, meanwhile, was in the tower nervously waiting for the results of the vote.

“It’s not good!” An investigator suddenly barged into the council chamber with a copy of the latest secret report. “The ghouls in New York have begun to act in broad daylight. It’s organized and premeditated. It looks like they’re near the end of their summoning ritual.”

“What?” the councilors exclaimed.

“This is a confidential report from the ninth Monarch. They just encountered a wave of ghouls.”

The crowd drew a sharp breath. They opened a communications link with the Dragon Group.

Si Yan stood on the roof of a tall building. Behind him were members of Dragon Team 7 and the Delta Force. All of them were looking down, and their faces were grim.

In the street intersection below them, an enormous, deep hole suddenly opened up. Out of the black and bottomless abyss came a steady stream of ghouls, crawling upward, swarming over the abandoned streets and alleys of New York like a spreading tide. When they encountered a homeless person or an abandoned cat or dog, they revealed ferocious aggression. Pouncing forward with teeth bared, they removed the victim’s head, then jumped back into the large hole.

“They’re collecting heads.” The voice of the ninth Monarch was firm. “The ghouls may be using them to fuel their ritual.”

This scene wasn’t broadcast only to the occult world. It was also transmitted live to a conference room in the White House in Washington, D.C.

“Oh God! Are those things zombies?” the Secretary of State exclaimed. She’d never imagined that so many terrifying creatures lived below New York City.

“What’s the status of the situation in the occult community right now?”

“It failed to pass. The tenth Monarch voted with the Conservatives. He still believes the occult world can overcome the crisis.” The assistant looked at the tablet in his hand and reported dutifully.

“I heard the tenth Monarch is a little kid under the age of eighteen?”

“That’s correct, sir.”

“Hmf.” The commanding officer sneered. “If the occult community can’t handle it, mobilize our space-based weapons.”

“Continue real-time monitoring with magnetic sensors and infrared. For the sake of the human race, we must prepare to give up New York.”

—

The author has something to say:

Space-based weapons are a conceptual type of weapon launched from satellites. According to rumors, they’re being studied by the United States. It’s called “the Rod of God”. The impact is comparable to nuclear weapons, scary stuff

TL Notes:

180-degree turn – The author said “360 degrees” which would put them back where they started, so I changed it

staff officer – 参谋 – A staff officer is an officer who works for a commander or in the headquarters by “planning, analysis, information gathering and relaying, coordination and supervision of execution of [the commander’s] plans and orders specially in case of multiple simultaneous and rapidly changing complex operations” (Wikipedia, the weird grammar is all theirs)

cowing his underlings into submission – 下马威 – severity shown by an official on assuming office; putting on airs right at the beginning of one’s office; severity and power displayed by an official upon taking office; initial show of strength

Fox’s series of movies about mutants – 福克斯一系列和变种人相关的电影 – Most likely refers to the X-Men series

brother (is going to save the world) – 兄弟 – xiōngdì

the Rod of God – 上帝之杖 – Project Thor, AKA “rods from God”, is an idea for a weapons system that launches telephone pole-sized kinetic projectiles made out of tungsten from Earth’s orbit to damage targets on the ground. The idea was created by a science fiction author working at Boeing in the 1950s. (Wikipedia) The Wikipedia entry says the vertical projectiles would be difficult to defend against. On the other hand, China has publicly demonstrated weapons systems capable of taking out satellites

commanding officer (the one who sneered in the White House) – 司令官 – commander; commanding office

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