Gun of Ashes

This winter in Old Dunling is a bit abnormal. It’s clearly that time of year, yet the sky is still relentlessly overcast, with endless light rain falling, breaking into countless strands that lash down on the city.

The citizens are also irritated by this unceasing gloom; it can’t help but call to mind the long, long downpours of the rainy season this past midsummer.

Shao Liangxi stands under the eaves by the roadside, watching the raindrops patter down in front of her.

The Iron Whales cruise at low altitude between the buildings, their bodies bearing huge gas tanks swollen with light gases. Bloated, they blot out the sky and block the falling rain along with it. So on the streets you get this rather wondrous sight: pedestrians shrouded in shadow are briefly spared the curtain of rain by the passing Iron Whale, forming a strange vacuum in the middle of the street.

Down below on the slightly crowded street, Iron Serpents travel back and forth along the tracks, throwing up splashes. Houses are piled together along both sides of the road; you can see peddlers in raincoats walking, shouting words Shao Liangxi can’t quite understand.

”So peaceful.”

Shao Liangxi sighs, feeling this cold that the citizens despise so much.

Days of continuous gloom have dragged the entire city into dampness and low temperatures. The clammy chill is hard to endure, yet Shao Liangxi rather likes this feeling; all of this, to her, is something she never saw back in Jiuxia.

Rod stands not far away, watching the girl looking around. Shao Liangxi is a very lively, restless sort, but sometimes she’ll quiet down like this, gazing silently at the city.

”What’s there to see?”

Rod sidles up beside her and asks.

After living in Old Dunling for so many years, all this coldness is already overly familiar to Rod. He watches the street stretch and broaden with his gaze, intersecting with another street to form a huge cross, rails densely laid across it like patterns etched into the city.

”It’s just… I find it really strange. This kind of scenery, you hardly ever see it in Jiuxia… honestly, you hardly see it anywhere in the world. Maybe only here in Old Dunling.”

Shao Liangxi answers lazily. Her gaze lifts, and she can see that the distance between the buildings is very narrow, and beneath them lie dark alleys. Windows press close to other windows, fire escapes overlapping between them.

She guesses living there must feel pretty nice; you open your window and can see into the neighbor’s place, clearly see their wardrobe and wall hangings, then wave and shout a greeting.

All you’d need is to lay down a plank and you could climb right over to the neighbor’s place, then it’d be all laughter and fun and such.

It’s a pity Rod has no idea what Shao Liangxi is imagining, or he’d definitely say, ”The neighbors would call the cops.”

Rod really doesn’t get what’s so good about Old Dunling. The city is gloomy and damp, sunlight rarely appears, and the people here have grown somewhat pale, as if they were Dead.

A rustling sound rises beside his ear. Rod looks back and sees something squirming by the trash can at the dark end of the alley; then a cluster of rats bursts out of the shadows, sprinting madly through the puddles before disappearing into another patch of darkness.

Rod feels a chill crawl up his spine. After staying in Old Dunling so long, he’s almost forgotten what a normal city is supposed to be like.

”Let’s go.”

Shao Liangxi turns around and says to Rod.

”Huh? Go where?”

Rod doesn’t get it.

Ever since Roger’s attack on the Broken Dome the day before yesterday, the Purification Mechanism has gone into full combat readiness. Right now the citizens of Old Dunling have no idea that a war is being quietly prepared in the shadows. All forces are converging on Old Dunling; without noticing it, they’ve begun to see more Peacekeepers patrolling the streets, and Iron Whales thickly dotting the sky. Sometimes they gather in such numbers that they can cover the entire firmament.

The Purification Mechanism is slowly rising from the shadows; those hidden in the dark have stepped into the light and formally taken over this city.

The city is changing without a sound. Even Rod can feel the heavy pressure; if he could, he’d like to get a good rest after this job.

Lorenzo stayed in the hospital for one night, then mysteriously left. No one knows where he went. Red Falcon and Eve have also been reassigned to take part in the preparations for war.

Because of that, the Anonymous are instead left idle. Before orders are issued, it’s as if there’s nothing for them to do—bringing things to this moment now.

A few dozen minutes ago, Shao Liangxi came to him with an air of mystery and, in the hallway, said in a low voice,

”Are you free?”

Rod answered quite candidly, ”Mm, more or less. What’s up?”

Then she dragged him up from the underground, all the way up, until they reached the street.

”Hey, listen, leaving on our own like this isn’t exactly okay, is it?” Rod asks, voice quavering; he’s beginning to realize this is an unauthorized escape.

”It’s not really unauthorized, I mentioned it to Shao Liangye,” Shao Liangxi replies.

”You serious?”

Rod feels that he’s still essentially an off-the-books staffer; most of the time he’s quite restrained. But Shao Liangxi grabs his hand in one swoop and then flashes a communicator, its surface flickering with a faint glow.

”Any other problems?”

Rod doesn’t know what to say anymore. Then he stumbles as Shao Liangxi pulls him into a run, the two of them splashing through the water with a loud slosh.

”Umbrella! Umbrella!”

Rod shouts. They didn’t bring any umbrella at all, but Shao Liangxi points up at an Iron Whale drifting overhead and says to him,

”Then run faster!”

Rod’s brain doesn’t catch up for a moment, but he runs with Shao Liangxi. Under the Iron Whale’s protection, all the wind and rain are held above them; they move forward inside this brief vacuum, then switch into the shadow of the next Iron Whale.