The people of Steelbull City would never forget this day—at least not for the next three generations. On this day, chaos in Steelbull City reached its peak: gangs fighting everywhere, undead running rampant, explosions and death at every turn. Even the so-called army wasn’t acting as agents of justice. They seemed determined to kill anyone remotely suspicious, shooting on sight and leaving no one behind.
And as for what counted as 'suspicious'? The standards were absurd: anyone who dared to run was shot immediately. Those who didn’t run were herded together, only for the soldiers to throw bombs at them with twisted grins.
People in Steelbull City were used to fighting, some even took joy in it—otherwise, Mr. Reckless’s show wouldn’t be such a hit. But today, what they faced wasn’t just fighting. It was a massacre, an unprecedented slaughter. Since Kimberly’s assassination less than a month ago, the death toll in Steelbull City had already surpassed the total from the past three years.
Three years might not sound like much, but don’t forget—this city isn’t some peaceful paradise, it’s a battleground in constant turmoil. In three years, the corpses in Steelbull City could pile up into mountains on the outskirts. Now, the nerves of the survivors were stretched to the limit. If another major crisis erupted, the whole city would go mad, descending into hysterical self-destruction.
But on this same day, everyone in Steelbull City witnessed an unimaginable miracle.
At exactly noon, a piercing alarm blared from the Seventh District. As the siren wailed, the ground in the military zone began to rumble and shift. Huge chunks of earth, each the size of a football field, slid around with their buildings on top. After a complex shuffle, a massive round hole appeared right at the center of the Seventh District. Around this giant pit, smaller square openings lined up in a ring. Of course, 'small' is relative—each square hole was hundreds of square meters wide.
The shrill alarm kept sounding, almost like a countdown. When it finally stopped, a deafening roar echoed from underground. At the same time, thick clouds of dust erupted from those square holes, as if some giant beast was breathing below. Next thing you know, amid the roar, a massive object emerged from the round pit, breaking free of gravity and slowly rising into the sky.
Everyone still alive in Steelbull City saw the object rising. Every single person who saw it was stunned. Their expressions were exactly like Tokyo folks seeing a kaiju, New Yorkers spotting Godzilla, or people in Washington watching Independence Day happen for real.
Suspended in the air was a gigantic flying saucer. It wasn’t as massive as the alien mothership in Independence Day, but it was big enough to blot out the sun and cover a huge chunk of the city. Compared to the Helicarrier from The Avengers, this thing was like a fly on the edge of a pancake—no contest in terms of size. As the enormous ship floated through the sky, everywhere it passed, people felt like they were staring up at a dark steel canopy.
With something like that overhead, nobody had the heart to keep fighting. All the chaos paused, because whatever was up there clearly had the upper hand. Everyone waited, watching to see what this thing would do from its absolute vantage point. For those in the city, in such a weak position, all they could do was wait—or maybe just surrender and accept whatever came next.
Buzz—every TV screen still working lit up, showing the face of a young girl. Everyone recognized her, and shouts rang out: "Lady of the Night! It's Lady of the Night!"
On screen, Lady of the Night wore intimidating regal attire, radiating an air of supreme authority. She declared, "Steelbull City belongs to the Night family. And I will restore the Night family's rule over Steelbull City. Whether you're an ambitious gang lord or so-called government troops, I will sweep you all away!"
The giant thing overhead finally made a move. It extended a massive cone, which lit up with a blinding glow. It seemed to have been preparing for ages, and now aimed straight at its target—the military aircraft carrier. With an indescribable sound, a beam of energy shot across the sky, hitting the carrier dead-on. A violent explosion followed, splitting the once-mighty ship in two as it sank slowly into the water.
This scene was broadcast live on TV, leaving everyone completely dumbfounded.
"Commoners, kneel and beg for my mercy, beg for my rule. Anyone who bows before me will be spared. Those who refuse are rebels!" As Lady of the Night spoke, countless sleek shuttles flew out from the steel fortress in the sky, swarming toward Steelbull City. Anyone who didn’t kneel was shot by energy rifles.
To survive, countless people knelt.
And this scene played out on the walls of the round hall.
"Hahaha, see? This is the power of the Blood of the Overlord!" Elsie Nightwater—or rather, the other consciousness controlling her body—was so excited her eyes sparkled. "People in Steelbull City are tough as nails. To make them submit, you have to push them to the brink of despair. Since ancient times, humans have always obeyed commands from the nobility. The exalted Blood of the Overlord is the perfect crowning authority!"
Clap, clap, clap! Ghost Player and that hiding guy started applauding. Ghost Player’s face was weird, but his genuine admiration was obvious. Jill Young, though, looked truly stunned. She stared around in disbelief, muttering, "This thing... I really didn’t expect..." Then she turned to "Elsie Nightwater" and loudly demanded, "What the hell is going on? Was this all your scheme?"
Hearing Jill Young’s question, the person burst out laughing—loud and satisfied, like he’d finally cured a lifetime of constipation. "Yes, it was me! Of course it was! A hundred years—an entire century—and I’ve finally succeeded!"
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"Want to know what’s really going on? Aren’t you dying of curiosity?" Before Jill Young could ask more, Elsie Nightwater burst out with a huge urge to spill everything: "Alright, no problem! As someone special, I’ll tell you everything and let you see how awesome I am!"
"You probably know Steelbull City has secret weapons. But you’ve only heard of four: the Killing Fist, the Strategic Brain, the Mighty Physique, and the Iron Testicle. Let me tell you, there are actually eight secret weapons—one in every district! I call them the Eight Elements, and I’ve been planning them for a hundred years!"
Jill Young thought for a moment, frowning: "So the secret weapon in Wuran District is actually the Blood of the Overlord—that means Elsie Nightwater. You spent a hundred years raising this bloodline up, giving it huge prestige in Steelbull City, just to get everyone to bow down. And the Seventh District’s secret weapon is that spaceship—the one you call the Heart of the World. That’s about having absolute military power to crush any resistance, right?"
Elsie Nightwater nodded, "That’s right."
Jill Young pointed at Ghost Player: "You must’ve ordered him to research immortality, right? So he created the Mighty Physique, for a healthy, powerful body. I bet you’re the one who assassinated Kimberly and took the Strategic Brain. You probably captured Lucas, too, and took his Killing Fist. The whole legend of the Iron Testicle must be something you’ve been stirring up for a century—then Pure Lord actually pulled it off, and I bet you’ve got him too."
Elsie Nightwater nodded again, "Exactly."
Jill Young pointed at the patterns, altar, and the halo on Elsie Nightwater’s head in the round hall: "That’s probably your so-called Rebirth Ceremony, right? That halo is clearly a Quantum Network interface—so you must be using some kind of tech to reverse-project consciousness from the network into Elsie Nightwater’s body. That counts as the Sixth District’s secret weapon, doesn’t it?"
Elsie Nightwater, hearing this, gave Ghost Player a theatrical bow: "Have to thank him—without his research on memory, I couldn’t have pulled it off."
"That just leaves the Fourth District. Speaking of the Fourth District..." Jill Young glanced at the pillar, sneering, "That guy hiding over there must be the Devil Director, right? What’s his secret weapon, the Devil Screen or something?"