Chapter 97#
Side Story
The weather in the Twilight Belt was exceptionally clear this day.
The high, distant, azure sky was as clean as if it had been washed, and even the giant, eternally burning sunset at the horizon appeared gentle against the backdrop of a large expanse of crimson evening clouds.
Life in the Twilight Belt now was vastly different from before.
Three years ago, the Dyson Cloud re-established a coalition government, which replaced the position of the Central Empire’s White Rose Palace.
Shortly after, the coalition government allocated a large amount of funds, equipment, and technical personnel for the “Twilight Belt Transformation” project to conduct large-scale infrastructure construction on Earth. In addition to the government’s full support, millions of Dyson Cloud volunteers actively moved from the Dyson Cloud to the Twilight Belt to rebuild humanity’s mother planet together.
The technical team’s vision was to build a complete ring of wind turbines around the globe along the edge of the Twilight Belt and the Devil’s Ice Ocean, spanning 40,000 kilometers. This would not only reduce the wind speed in the Twilight Belt but also provide a vast amount of energy. The excess electricity would be used for seawater desalination—as long as there was enough fresh water, the Twilight Belt could become “green” again.
This magnificent plan was called—the “Emerald Ring Project.”
If the plan went smoothly, it was estimated that in less than a century, humanity could transform the desolate “Twilight Belt” into a green “Emerald Ring.” The transformed Emerald Ring would be a paradise with lush greenery and eternal spring, capable of supporting billions of people.
That night, after a day of vigorous work, the Locomotive Bar was exceptionally lively.
In the innermost booth of the bar, someone was arguing.
“Fatty Wu, I’m an adult now; I can drink!” A baby-faced youth stared with wide eyes, his cheeks puffing out in anger.
This baby-faced youth was naturally Mo Ziran. Now, he was also a mature Controller and the leader of the 22nd Windmill Belt Reconstruction Team.
Fatty Wu held a beer bottle and looked at him very skeptically: “Little Ziran, when you came to my recycling station to buy parts last month, didn’t you say you were only seventeen and asked for a discount?”
Mo Ziran stammered, “I, that was…”
“Mo Ziran, you’re quite clever.” Xu Youyou couldn’t help but sneer. “Boss Wu, I’ll testify for Ziran; he’s already in his twenties.”
Fatty Wu glanced at the baby-faced youth: “Really?”
Xu Youyou shrugged: “Believe it or not. My sister is coming back soon, and I wouldn’t dare sell alcohol to a minor in her shop.”
Fatty Wu still looked skeptical.
The naturally baby-faced Mo Ziran felt extremely wronged: “It’s true!”
“Cough, I can also testify for him.” A low, pleasant voice came from the bar’s entrance, followed by the “ding-dong” chime of the wind chimes as the door curtain was pushed aside.
Mo Ziran’s eyes lit up slightly: “Yu-cheng ge!”
Fu Yucheng smiled and nodded to him: “Ziran, long time no see.”
“Yu-cheng ge, is the project for the Mutant Animal Protection Center finished? You were gone for over twenty days last month; I missed you so much!” As Mo Ziran spoke, he stood up and lunged forward.
“Mhm, finished the day before yesterday. Francis also came along, planning to rest for a few days.” Looking at Mo Ziran’s idolizing, star-filled eyes like those of a small animal, Fu Yucheng couldn’t help but reach out to pat the other’s head.
“Cough.” The youth behind Fu Yucheng gave a low cough.
Fu Yucheng blinked and awkwardly retracted his hand meant for patting, instead patting Mo Ziran’s shoulder: “Ziran’s grown taller again; are you 1.7 meters yet?”
Mo Ziran protested, “I, I’m 1.72 meters!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a bit dejected. Both Fu Yucheng and Bai Mo were very tall, and Mo Ziran indeed seemed a bit short standing before them.
Fu Yucheng comforted him: “You’ll still grow.”
Bai Mo couldn’t help but give a soft snort.
Mo Ziran looked at the youth, who appeared as if carved from ice and jade, with a bit of trepidation: “Bai, Bai Mo, you’re here too.”
His appearance was so cowardly that Xu Youyou and Fatty Wu couldn’t help but roll their eyes simultaneously.
Bai Mo lowered his eyelids and nodded faintly: “Mhm.”
Mo Ziran didn’t know how to respond and could only swallow nervously.
When they were younger, Bai Mo always found him irritating, and now, the other’s aura was even colder… Fu Yucheng and Bai Mo had been very low-profile over the years, and most residents of the Twilight Belt didn’t know their true identities from the past. Mo Ziran had a vague idea, but it only made him more nervous.
Moreover, he knew that Yu-cheng ge and Bai Mo were… a couple. Mo Ziran also roughly understood the source of Bai Mo’s hostility, but he really just wanted to say hello to Yu-cheng ge.
While Mo Ziran was too timid to speak, Bai Mo naturally couldn’t be bothered with him. Fu Yucheng lowered his head and rubbed his forehead; the scene was quite awkward for a moment.
“Ding-dong—” The wind chimes at the bar’s entrance rang again, and a tall man of mixed heritage with honey-colored hair walked in.
This man was naturally the zoologist Francis, the underground hermit who had saved Fu Yucheng and Bai Mo in the desert years ago. Now, he was the head of the Twilight Belt Mutant Animal Protection Center and had recently been madly pursuing the bar’s proprietress, Xu Nana.
“Fu, Bai, you two walk too fast; I almost got lost.” While complaining, Francis turned to look at Xu Youyou: “Miss Youyou, where’s your sister?”
“My sister will be back in a bit.” Xu Youyou led several people to the booth. “What would everyone like to drink? Order whatever you want; anyway, my sister said it’s all on her tab.”
Fu Yucheng shrugged: “Beer is fine, with extra ice.”
“Mhm, extra ice.” Xu Youyou nodded and then looked at Bai Mo: “And you?”
Bai Mo lowered his eyes: “The same as him.”
Francis suddenly saw something, and his eyes lit up as he pointed to the small bottle in front of Fatty Wu: “I want that!”
Fatty Wu sneered and whispered, “Foreigner wants to drink Erguotou; it’ll burn you to death…”
Francis blinked, understanding neither “foreigner” nor “Erguotou.”
Xu Youyou shook her head with a smile and turned to the bar.
Before long, she brought the drinks and fruit platter to the coffee table and sat down herself: “I’m treating on behalf of my sister today; help yourselves, everyone.”
Fu Yucheng, Bai Mo, Mo Ziran, Francis, Fatty Wu, Xu Youyou… a group of people drank merrily, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. After just a few sips, people began to offer suggestions: “Drinking is so boring; why don’t we play… Truth or Dare?”
Naturally, no one objected.
The rules for “Truth or Dare” at the Locomotive Bar were very simple: everyone took turns rolling the dice, and whoever rolled the highest became the “King.” The “King” could then choose anyone to be the “Ghost.” The “Ghost” either chose Truth—answering a question from the “King”—or Dare—doing something the “King” required.
In the first round, Francis won.
He rubbed his chin, looked around at the nervous crowd, and finally rested his mischievous gaze on Bai Mo: “Bai, Truth or Dare?”
Fu Yucheng saw Francis’s sly look and knew he was going to make things difficult for Bai Mo. However, though Francis could be a bit annoying, he wasn’t a bad person. Fu Yucheng wasn’t worried and just raised his eyebrows to watch the show.
Bai Mo had never played this game before. He glanced at Fu Yucheng and said hesitantly, “Truth.”
Francis licked his lips and said slowly, “Bai, my question is—between you and Fu… who’s on top?”
Fu Yucheng couldn’t hold his drink and almost spat it out.
What kind of question was that!
He quickly said, “Francis, we of Eastern descent aren’t used to discussing such matters in public!”
Francis frowned: “Fu, although I don’t understand your Eastern culture, I know a saying: a gentleman’s word is a bond.”
Fu Yucheng had nothing more to say and could only shut his mouth awkwardly.
Fatty Wu, Xu Youyou, and the others looked at each other with gossipy expressions.
Bai Mo blinked very slowly, finally seeming to understand what Francis meant. He couldn’t help but steal a glance at Fu Yucheng, his snowy white face gradually turning a faint pink.
Francis urged impatiently, “Speak up!”
Bai Mo had never discussed such a topic in public. He lightly bit his lip and looked at Fu Yucheng as if for help. But the other just awkwardly lowered his eyelids, completely ignoring his plea.
Seeing Bai Mo’s silence, Francis thought he hadn’t understood the question. He thought for a bit, made a circle with his left index finger and thumb, then poked his right index finger through it, making a very vulgar gesture: “Bai, I mean, when you two do that… mhm, who’s the left hand and who’s the right hand?”
Bai Mo stared at that gesture, suddenly remembering something from last night, and for a moment even his earlobes turned completely red.
He hemmed and hawed for a long time, still unwilling to answer, and simply buried his face in the crook of Fu Yucheng’s neck as if acting spoiled: “Yu-ge…”
Between laughter and tears, Fu Yucheng stroked the youth’s hair: “Francis, he’s thin-skinned; don’t make it hard for him. The water source for your animal center was only sorted thanks to his ability… show some mercy.”
Francis gave a “tch” and rolled his eyes.
Fatty Wu muttered a few words with a look of regret, Mo Ziran blinked somewhat blankly, and Xu Youyou also gave two “tsks” and began to pour more drinks for everyone.
Bai Mo buried his face in the side of Fu Yucheng’s neck. The noise in the bar was loud, and only Fu Yucheng could barely hear his voice: “Yu-ge, I don’t want to tell them those things… You are mine alone, and what you’re like when you’re with me is only for me to know; why should I tell them?”
Fu Yucheng’s face felt slightly hot, and he couldn’t help but cough lightly: “Mhm, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t.”
Looking at the two of them acting so lovey-dovey, Francis suddenly had a moment of clarity: “I see, I was right after all!”
Fatty Wu shook his head as if sighing: “A-Cheng, I still remember years ago when you brought Bai Mo to me; he was only up to your shoulder, serving you like a little daughter-in-law… He was practically raised by you; how could you do it? If we hadn’t known each other for so many years, I would seriously doubt your character.”
Mo Ziran listened blankly to their conversation, his expression still appearing as if he didn’t quite understand: “Do what? What little daughter-in-law?”
Xu Youyou, on the other hand, sneered ruthlessly: “I saw through their relationship long ago. Yu-cheng ge, don’t bully poor Bai Mo too much.”
Fatty Wu raised his glass to Xu Youyou: “Great minds think alike, great minds think alike. Come, come, let’s have a toast.”
Francis also raised his small bottle of Erguotou, and the group toasted laughingly: “Great minds think alike!”
Fu Yucheng didn’t want to know exactly how these people’s “minds thought alike.” He glanced at the smug Francis and raised an eyebrow: “Next round?”
In the second round, Francis actually rolled another “five-five-six.”
He licked his lips and slowly scanned the group: “In this round… who should I choose?”
Fu Yucheng raised an eyebrow: “Francis, I haven’t rolled yet.”
Francis waved his hand impatiently: “Then roll quickly! Let’s see what you can get! Tch!”
Fu Yucheng gave him an amused look and casually rolled the dice.
Six… six… six!
Francis’s eyes widened like brass bells: “Fu, you cheated! There must be something wrong with these dice!”
Xu Youyou immediately became anxious: “The dice in my bar are perfectly clean!”
Fu Yucheng shrugged and handed the dice to Francis for inspection. The dice were indeed ordinary, but even for ordinary dice, the weight varied slightly due to the indentations of the dots. An expert like Fu Yucheng could naturally roll any number he wanted.
Francis inspected them for a while but couldn’t find anything wrong and could only say resentfully, “Fine, in this round, consider yourself the winner.”
Fu Yucheng slowly scanned the room, and under everyone’s nervous gazes, he tilted his chin at Francis: “Let’s go with you. Francis, you choose: Truth or Dare?”
Francis hesitated for a moment: “Dare.”
Fu Yucheng narrowed his eyes and said calmly, “Dare, is it? Mhm… by the way, there’s a newly installed utility pole at the bar’s entrance. Go outside, hug that pole, and shout ‘I’m saved!’ three times. How about that? Simple, right?”
Francis was slightly stunned. He vaguely remembered there was indeed a utility pole outside the bar, but what was the point of hugging a utility pole and shouting “I’m saved!” three times?
However, since Fu Yucheng had a very wicked personality, Francis had already prepared himself mentally. He thought the other might make him carry Fatty Wu on his back and run around the bar three times or something similar… Compared to that, hugging a pole and shouting “I’m saved!” three times sounded a bit stupid but didn’t seem like a big deal.
Francis gave a light snort and stood up: “OK.”
The utility pole outside the Locomotive Bar was a new silver-white model, mainly supporting the power transmission of the wind turbines. There were also some small Chinese advertisements pasted on the pole. Francis could speak Chinese but couldn’t read the characters, so he didn’t pay them much mind.
Fu Yucheng and the others leaned against the bar’s doorway, watching him with smiles.
Francis took a deep breath, suddenly hugged the utility pole, and roared to the sky: “I’m saved! I’m saved! I’m saved!”
After finishing his three shouts, he turned around smugly, about to say something to Fu Yucheng, when he suddenly froze.
The proprietress was standing three meters behind him, her beautiful eyes wide: “What are you doing?”
Francis snapped out of it, quickly gave his sweetheart a fawning smile, and opened his arms to approach her: “Dear Nana, I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”
The proprietress hurriedly took three steps back, glanced at the bunch of small ads for STD treatments on the utility pole, and stammered, “You, stay away from me.”
Fatty Wu couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into a fit of wild laughter: “Hahahaha… A-Cheng, you, how can you be so mean!”
The proprietress immediately understood that the idiot Francis had been tricked by Fu Yucheng. She shook her head speechlessly, ignored these boring people, and walked into the bar.
The group also returned to their booth, laughing and joking.
At this point, Francis finally understood. He glared fiercely at Fu Yucheng: “Fu, you, you…”
Fu Yucheng poured himself a beer and took a slow sip: “You chose Dare yourself.”
Bai Mo blinked and suddenly said in a low voice, “Yu-ge, are you venting for me?”
Fu Yucheng snorted: “This guy was too arrogant; it’s good to take him down a notch.”
“Hey, who’s arrogant?” Francis stole a glance at the proprietress and tried to defend himself: " I’m very gentle!"
“Tch, who are you kidding! Boss lady, don’t you ever fall for it!” Fu Yucheng sneered.
Fatty Wu nodded vigorously: “Right, right, don’t fall for it.”
Looking at them bickering, the proprietress suddenly gave a soft sigh.
Xu Youyou blinked: “Sister, what’s wrong?”
The proprietress sighed again: “When I came back today, I heard Auntie Zhou and the others saying that another group of sand bandits has appeared in New Sahara… several convoys have been robbed.”
Fu Yucheng stopped bickering with Francis and lightly knitted his brows: “What happened?”
The proprietress shook her head: “I’m not quite sure… I heard the leader of these sand bandits is a special-type Controller who can manipulate objects from a distance; very powerful.”
Fu Yucheng and Bai Mo simultaneously thought of something and couldn’t help but look at each other—Lu Xing’s own original ability was telekinesis.