Chapter 72: CH 72

Zong Yan sat in the passenger seat. After hesitating for a long time, he chose to vote with the conservatives.

The 《Treaty of Seclusion》 had been in force for almost three centuries. The reason it remained for so long wasn’t just to protect ordinary people, but to protect the occult world as well. After all, there were only a handful of human beings with powers. Normal people might be defenseless against them, but there were only so many Awakened. It would be hard for them to overcome the lies and slander of the world if they were exposed.

Zong Yan knew better than anyone how urgent the situation was right now. After all, he’d been warned by an evil god that the Earth was facing imminent destruction.

But that was exactly why Zong Yan felt so confident. He had more than one trump card in his hand.

He had faith that humanity would survive. That was why he voted for the conservatives. In the long run, it was better for the occult world to remain a secret from ordinary people.

In the tower of the Spire Council, the conservative councilors stood and applauded, taking off their hats to salute the radicals opposite.

“We thank the tenth Monarch for his vitally important and very wise decision! But, oh God, I really don’t want to take a fourth vote anymore!”

They shed tears even as they applauded. That was when the leader of the Council suddenly looked up and struck the back of the chair with his silver scepter.

And that was when an investigator arrived with news from the seventh Monarch.

Ghoul tide.

The video projected on the screen made every council member’s eyes widen.

Ordinarily, a single ghoul was a D-rank mission. But if so many ghouls attacked together, even Monarchs would have a hard time escaping with their lives.

“Everyone, I must tell you that because of the latest news from the front line, we may not be able to conduct a fourth vote,” the council leader said with regret. “All of us are investigators, an integral part of the occult world’s strength. It’s time for us to take up arms and go to New York.”

“Captain, are we…?”

He Yuan led the soldiers over to gaze at the multitude of ghouls in the street below. Their faces were solemn.

“Hold on.” Si Yan took a cigarette out of his pocket.

He Yuan endured a death glare from his captain to snag a cigarette as well. With a smile, he sparked a flame on one of his fingers and obediently lit the captain’s cigarette.

They were all standing on the roof of a building, looking down at the dense mass of ghouls below. No one spoke.

In the face of such numbers, investigators were almost useless. There wasn’t much they could do unless they flew fighter jets overhead and directly strafed the enemy.

That was why Si Yan had transmitted a live feed to the White House. The planes were on standby and would arrive soon.

The occult world wasn’t fussy about using weapons other than Awakening abilities. They sometimes cooperated with the military to develop new thermal weapons, taking the initiative to actively incorporate alchemy.

For higher-level otherworldly monsters, physical attacks were useless. But for low-level creatures, these kinds of weapons could be quite effective, which was why investigators were equipped with guns.

“Team leader, I think there’s someone over there!” a member of the Dragon Team said with disbelief, pointing to the horizon.

“Hmm?” Si Yan casually shook the ash from his cigarette and narrowed his eyes.

Below them, a tightly-packed crowd of ghouls crawled out of the enormous black pit in the center of the intersection. They spread outward like a surging tidal wave.

At the other end of the street, at the very limit of their vision, was a team of people who were obviously well-trained. They appeared to be armed and they were heading straight for the ghoul tide.

“That clothing and equipment… From a distance, they look like American soldiers?”

That’s right, they had to be U.S. military. He Yuan inhaled deeply from his cigarette and hid his face behind the smoke.

As he squinted and looked over, his heart suddenly leapt in his chest. He felt like he’d just seen something familiar. “Does anyone have binoculars?”

A Dragon Group member behind him immediately handed them over. He Yuan raised the binoculars to his eyes and gazed at the far end of the street.

The moment he got a clear view, He Yuan jumped to his feet. “Damn it! Why is the Little Monarch here!”

He’d seen Zong Yan as the Night Watchman before, and he was certain it was Zong Yan he’d just seen in the distance.

An instant later, the binoculars in He Yuan’s hand were rudely snatched away. Si Yan held the binoculars in front of his face with a black grimace. Then he squeezed the frame so hard it creaked.

These were military-standard binoculars with better specs than civilian equipment, especially for Monarch-level Awakened, whose bodies were strengthened by their abilities and whose vision was greatly enhanced. Aside from that, Zong Yan was standing directly under the street lights. In the gloom of night it was like being lit up by a shining lamp in the dark.

“All teams, prepare for orders.” Si Yan tossed the binoculars to a team member behind him. His voice was low and scary: “Another group of investigators is heading to our area. We’ll now proceed to meet them from the air.”

The Dragon Group and Delta Force team members behind him accepted the order in silence.

As soldiers, obeying orders was a natural duty, not to mention that it wasn’t a difficult task.

Just as China had special operations forces composed of people with abilities, the United States had them too. The special operations unit of the United States was the Delta Force.

Si Yan was the first of them to manipulate the wind and rise into the air. With a gun in his hand and goggles on his face, he killed his way through two city blocks. He Yuan and the other members of the Dragon Team followed close behind. Special operations members who didn’t have air powers carried grapnels and iron hooks. They immediately began an exciting parkour session between the skyscrapers.

One of the Delta Force members in back turned on the video equipment he was wearing.

He needed to broadcast the entire battle live to the White House. In fact, the Dragon Group also had professional drone cameras, in addition to the satellites which were closely monitoring the area.

In the meantime, one of the fighter jets had arrived. It flew in at supersonic speeds, producing a series of deafening sonic booms as it passed at low altitude.

Zong Yan didn’t realize he’d been spotted. He was standing under a dim street light with a black umbrella in his hand and a serious expression on his face.

The soldiers behind him took high-powered searchlights from their vehicles and focused them on the shadowy, claustrophobic city block in front of them.

Countless ghouls were headed for them. They moved with their heads hanging down, like a carpet of dense cockroaches leaping and scrambling over each other.

They flooded the entire street level. The stench was indescribable, and an abhorrent hissing noise came from their throats.

Ghouls were capable of communicating with humans. The ghouls in the Dreamlands occasionally invited MU students to explore the underground territories where they lived. But these ghouls were obviously unwilling to negotiate. Given their numbers, there was no way to establish communication fast enough.

Zong Yan’s team hadn’t encountered that many surviving humans along the way. His inner foreboding grew stronger and stronger.

“Prepare for battle.” He swept a glance at the troops behind him.

It was the first time these soldiers had faced an alien species, but their morale was holding steady. Their faces were a little disgusted, but they didn’t look all that afraid.

Ghouls could be killed by physical attacks.

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“Why are there so many of them?” Wang KeMing shouted nervously. Among all the people present, he was the one who had the most trouble accepting the situation. His scalp tingled whenever he saw those ghouls shambling along like walking corpses.

“Some of the ghouls have been lurking underground in New York City from the beginning. Others were originally human. Actually, if the ghouls feel like it, they can transform all the people buried in cemeteries into ghouls. That means that as long as there’s enough energy, any being that dies in this land can become one of them.” Anastasia condensed a chunk of ice out of thin air. The next moment it broke into countless pieces, and with the magic pattern at her fingertips, shaped itself into sharp blades that stabbed at the ghouls. “Why, are you afraid?”

The blonde beauty in the combat suit laughed. Suddenly she pulled out the knife strapped to her waist. After drawing a beautiful knife flower in the air, she rushed straight at a group of ghouls.

“Wow, that chick is bringing it.” The soldier didn’t whistle, but he grinned as he loaded fresh rounds into his gun. “I ain’t afraid of anything a gun can kill.”

The black muzzle of the gun instantly aimed at the hundreds of oncoming ghouls and opened fire with a roar.

Strike Eagle fighter jets wove between the skyscrapers. A rain of shells fell into the streets and exploded, setting off roiling waves of heat.

Obviously, in the face of this many ghouls, the U.S. authorities had their own decisions to make.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s good to see fighter jets here….” Edward intensified his flames and engulfed a ghoul. His expression was troubled. “In my experience, all politicians are the same. If the situation really falls apart, they might do something desperate.”

“Whoa, do you mean something like the trolley problem?”

The trolley problem was a famous dilemma in ethics. In one version, ten children are tied up on the left branch of a railway track, while one child is tied up on the right branch. A lever controls which branch the trolley will follow. If you don’t operate the lever, the train will run over ten children. If you do operate the lever, an innocent child will die who wouldn’t otherwise have to suffer.

“It’s not exactly the same as the trolley problem. For politicians, if they can sacrifice a few people to serve the interests of the majority, they won’t hesitate to do it,” Edward said. “Time’s running out. We have to act quickly. Otherwise, even if we tear up the covenant with the occult world, the United States won’t stand by while the situation gets completely out of control.”

“I know.” 

The Night Watchman slightly raised the tip of his umbrella, and the shadows of the ghouls that were cast on the ground by the street lights began to shift and move like ghosts.

The Night Watchman had the power to manipulate shadows. In a city that was covered in darkness like this one, that ability was enhanced to the maximum.

The ghouls’ shadows sprang up from the ground. Silently, they dragged their owners into the suffocating darkness of the night.

In the midnight world of shadows, it was impossible for living creatures to survive. This was a technique that was unpredictable, mercifully quick, and beyond understanding.

In seconds, an entire swathe of ghouls fell down like blades of grass.

“We can’t delay. I want to go to the very center.”

While Anastasia dealt with a group of ghouls. Zong Yan had a brief discussion with Edward, Wang KeMing, and the others.

They’d all seen the ghouls climbing out of the collapsed part of the road in the intersection. It wasn’t hard to guess that the ghouls’ city was somewhere below it.

“No, it’s too dangerous!” Edward rejected the idea outright. “And you’d be alone. We wouldn’t be able to help you. You can’t forget, we’re all members of the same investigation team!”

The little prince’s deep blue eyes stared at him in the dim light, full of sincere concern.

The Night Watchman revealed a heartfelt smile and patted Edward on the shoulder. “Of course I know that, but this is an emergency. Don’t you two know what I’m capable of? If the ghouls are willing to make such a big move, it means their summoning ritual is almost complete. If we don’t stop it right now, the situation might become hopeless. Or maybe the politicians will decide to make a sacrifice, just like you said.”

Edward began to mumble something, then faltered.

He couldn’t find a way to persuade Zong Yan.

“But it doesn’t feel right. Look, we’re friends, just like when we were in the tower of Buckingham Palace. Don’t try to push me away.” The little prince snorted coldly. Finally, he softened his tone. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch your back.”

“Well, I promise to come back safely,” Zong Yan said seriously. He reached out his hand and placed it on the back of Wang KeMing’s and Edward’s hands, then pushed down heavily.

Meanwhile, a fighter plane at high altitude was configuring its equipment to connect to the command channel. But since the communications ID was almost identical, the technician accidentally wrote down an extra digit. Unfortunately, no one noticed.

At the same time, the White House was holding a press conference.

“Yes, of course, I want to assure you that the situation in New York is under control. A nuclear meltdown cannot defeat the United States of America. This is a land blessed by God.”

The speaker stood before a podium with a speech neatly laid out in front of him as he answered questions from the press.

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“Then what about the rumors of biological mutations in New York caused by the nuclear leak? How can the White House explain that?” A reporter threw out a pointed question.

“Well, of course I saw the video of that alien. I have to say Hollywood’s special effects are getting more and more advanced these days. It’s amazing how realistic they are.” The speaker laughed a bit, with a confident expression on his face. “Right now we’re going to connect to the fighters on the front line in New York.”

In fact, the press had rehearsed their questions long ago. This was just a formality to shore up public opinion.

The authorities had sent a fighter jet to the usual filming site in Hollywood. They set up a green screen on the ground to fool the public, just like the Apollo moon landing.

A huge screen was unfurled on the wall of the press room. The media cameras focused on the screen one after another.

The nuclear meltdown and the evacuation of New York City not only caused public demonstrations across the U.S., they also attracted a great deal of international attention. Today’s scene was the result of careful preparation by the authorities. The most powerful special effects team had been mobilized. Every member of the team, as well as their families, signed a confidentiality agreement to ensure that nothing would go amiss.

At first, the video flickered. The next thing they saw was a night-dark city with tall buildings.

The lights from a fighter jet suddenly lit up the gloom.

At that moment, the people watching the live broadcast all over the world saw a young man wielding a black umbrella like the sharpest knife, cutting through a sea of alien creatures like a god of death descending from the darkness.

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TL Notes:

(Ghoul) tide – 潮 – tide, wave, surge – A common way to describe an overwhelming flood of enemies

(establish communication) quickly – 一蹴而就 – accomplish at one stroke; accomplish one’s aim in one move; at one stroke; be done at one kick

trolley problem – 铁轨问题 – railroad problem, track problem – A thought experiment in ethics and psychology involving stylized ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number (Wikipedia) See pic below. People sometimes have an intuition that it’s unethical to operate the lever and become responsible for the death of a person who wasn’t otherwise in danger, while utilitarians believe it’s best to save the most lives

A lever controls which branch the trolley will follow.  – I added this sentence and made other changes to hopefully improve clarity

beyond understanding – 汉英大词典 – Neither spirits nor devils may know of it — unpredictable; Even devils cannot circumvent.; Neither the spirits above nor the demons below will know anything about it.; so mysterious that even gods and spirits could not predict

like blades of grass – 就如同割韭菜 – like cutting leeks/chives – A common idiom for things that are easy to chop down or harvest repeatedly

fool the public, just like the Apollo moon landing – 打算像当初阿波罗登月计划那样愚弄一下民众 – No idea if the author literally believes this or it’s some kind of AU. Moon landing conspiracy theories claim that some or all elements of the Apollo program and the associated Moon landings were hoaxes staged by NASA. In 2012, images were released showing five of the six Apollo missions’ American flags erected on the Moon were still standing. Belief in the conspiracy is more prevalent in certain countries (Wikipedia)

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