Chapter 246: Bonfire, Fireworks, Long Time No See

It’s lit—the pile of firewood as tall as a mountain was burning.

The Little Match Girl flipped it off, and then it caught fire.

Impenetrable dark clouds gathered in the sky, drawing the curtain of an artificial night. Lights flickered on in front of the temporary barracks, dotting the valley with the first specks of firelight.

Everyone had been invited to the square—all the children of the orphanage, the Council employees who had been taking care of them, and the Special Operations Bureau engineering team that would be withdrawing tomorrow. Hundreds of people gathered around the bonfire, and beyond the bonfire sat the silent giant figures of the Thunder Titans.

A phantom door materialized at the edge of the square. Yu Sheng pushed it open and stepped out, happily greeting Little Red Riding Hood and the others waiting in the square. “Look who’s here!”

Then Li Lin and Xu Jiali walked out of the door first. The two of them stared at the scene in the square with astonishment until Yu Sheng nudged them from the side, prompting them to quickly step forward and greet Little Red Riding Hood.

Engineer Sun, the head of the Special Operations Bureau’s engineering team stationed here, seemed to recognize Xu Jiali. Seeing this, he led a few people over to greet her warmly. Meanwhile, Teacher Su and the other “employees” dispatched by the Council also heard the commotion and came over one after another to welcome the new guests.

After another two or three seconds, an aloof figure with a gray-white ponytail and a white skirt suit stepped out of the door somewhat hesitantly, looking around curiously.

Instantly, the surroundings fell silent.

Engineer Sun stared wide-eyed at the figure emerging from the door. “B-Bureau Chief?”

Yu Sheng glanced over and was shocked to see that even Rapunzel, who was usually the most hyperactive and noisy, had instantly straightened her body, her eyes as resolute as if she were about to make a last stand against some evil force. She stood there not daring to breathe…

This made him burst out laughing, breaking the silence. “Come on, all of you, it’s not like Bureau Chief Bai eats people.”

“I knew this would happen,” Bai Liqing said, even her own expression somewhat helpless. She sighed. “Everyone, relax. I’m just here to join the celebration—just pretend I’m not here.”

“Uh, Chief, we’re just a bit surprised,” Engineer Sun, having recovered his composure, quickly coughed twice to ease the awkwardness. “Of course, it’s even better that you came, but we weren’t prepared…”

“It was a last-minute decision; I didn’t notify anyone,” Bai Liqing waved her hand. Her gaze had already fallen on Little Red Riding Hood and a few other “parental figures” standing nearby, and then she took a soft breath, her expression seeming to soften a little. “Congratulations.”

“Mm, thank you,” Little Red Riding Hood stepped forward half a step, a faint smile on her face. “You’ve always taken good care of us.”

“Let’s skip the formalities. Everyone just relax today,” Bai Liqing nodded. Then she looked up at the sky, paused for a moment, and turned to Yu Sheng. “Very creative… nightfall. So, what’s the first event?”

“Rapunzel, where are those fireworks of yours?” Little Red Riding Hood immediately turned to look at her roommate. “You’ve been clamoring to set them off all afternoon. Now you really can.”

“Oh right, fireworks! Wait for me!” Rapunzel jumped up instantly, happily shouting as she turned and ran toward the portal platform. “I’ve piled them all up over by the platform. Just you wait—Matchstick! Matchstick, come here! Let’s set off the fireworks!”

The two girls ran excitedly out of the square. A little while later, a sharp whistle cut through the night sky—a dazzling firework shot up from the direction of the “portal platform” in the center of the valley, and after a few seconds’ delay, a brilliant burst of fireworks lit up the night.

At the moment the firework exploded, Yu Sheng felt he vaguely heard a somewhat familiar voice in his mind: “Hey, hey, it blinded me…”

But it seemed no one could see a pair of eyes that flashed across the sky. One after another, fireworks followed, shooting up into the night.

The children cheered and screamed.

Erin also cheered and screamed—all three Erins were there.

And then there was Hu Li. As she cheered, she also fired a burst from her Fox-Carrot Machine Gun into the sky. Under her deliberate control, the eerie fox-fire mixed with the fireworks rising from the platform, exploding together in the sky. Blue flames spread across the sky, then fell like meteors through the night.

Though it was called a celebration party, there were actually no rules or procedures. The children just wanted to have a wild time today, using this unrestrained carnival as both the end and the beginning of their childhood, as a “marker” to remind themselves that a new life had started. Now, the carnival had begun.

With so many children around, there was no need for anyone to liven up the atmosphere.

Grills were set up right next to the big bonfire. The engineering team’s craftsmen and a group of older kids worked together. Younger children ran back and forth between the square and the portal platform, going to ask “Sister Rapunzel” for smaller fireworks or to bring snacks. The square and the platform were actually very close—only a hundred or two hundred meters apart—but the King waved his paw and summoned a squad of night-patrolling knights and lantern-carrying night watchmen to patrol this “Carnival Trail,” which was less than two hundred meters long.

A pumpkin carriage flew out from the roof of the “castle” at the edge of the town, passed between the bonfire and the fireworks across the night sky, and showered colorful paper slips over the square.

Yu Sheng casually grabbed a colorful slip of paper. On it, written with a marker pen in large letters, were the words: “I want to be Teacher Su when I grow up!”

Yu Sheng happily showed the slip to Little Red Riding Hood, but he saw a strange look on her face—a silence mixed with many emotions that he couldn’t quite read at first. But then, the girl smiled and pointed toward the bonfire.

“Look, the King has summoned its court jester.”

Dressed in colorful, comical clothes and wearing a jester mask and pointed hat, the court jester performed energetically by the bonfire. Even though he was just a “summon” with little mind, he seemed to feel the special atmosphere of the day—the exaggerated, upturned smile under his mask appeared sincere and eager. Then, traveling rural musicians and bards emerged from the air, playing unknown tunes.

Among the group of older children, a girl with smooth, long hair and wearing a light blue dress happily stepped forward upon seeing the musicians summoned by the King. She began humming along to the cheerful, unknown tune with effortless grace.

Her voice was not loud, but it echoed evenly across nearly half the valley.

No special effects, but it was just pleasant—really pleasant.

Yu Sheng quietly retreated.

Under the song of the mermaid, he left the liveliest part of the square without attracting anyone’s attention and arrived at an open space at the edge of the barracks.

Bai Liqing stood here with her arms crossed, looking at the square from a distance, a faint smile on her face.

“…Hiding this far away?” Yu Sheng said casually as he walked over. “…You actually smile sometimes?”

“I’ve emphasized many times that I’m not expressionless. I just need to maintain seriousness at work, and over time it became a habit,” Bai Liqing’s voice sounded especially helpless. “Besides, I’m not hiding—I’m just not used to such a noisy environment. And everyone else isn’t used to having a Special Operations Bureau chief watching them while they play, so I found this quiet spot.”

“Fine, quiet is good. You’re not the only one who likes quiet,” Yu Sheng waved. “What about your sister? Is she okay?”

Bai Liqing pointed to the air behind and to the side of herself. “Right here.”

Yu Sheng followed her finger and saw a pair of huge, spectral eyes floating in the night sky, blinking hard and shedding tears. But as soon as the tears left the eye sockets, they vanished into thin air, as if aside from these eyes, her entire existence had been erased.

Yu Sheng: “…”

“That huge firework exploded right in my eyes,” Bai Xue’s voice still carried a mechanical, flat quality, but Yu Sheng felt he could detect a strong grievance in it.

“…I warned you before not to stick your nose into everything,” Bai Liqing sighed. “Anyway, just recover slowly on your own. I can’t find a bottle of eye drops that big right now.”

The eyes slowly faded from the air.

A rustling sound came from the nearby grass.

Yu Sheng was not surprised at all; in fact, as if he had been expecting it, he had already crouched down when the sound came.

In the darkness, a small, reddish-brown figure jumped out of the grass and nimbly scurried up onto Yu Sheng’s shoulder in a few moves.

“Squirrel is here!” the tiny voice happily called to him. “The fireworks are so pretty!”

Yu Sheng gently pressed the squirrel’s head with his finger, then looked up at another direction in the night.

An empty figure in hunting clothes stood there, quietly keeping a distance from him and Bai Liqing.

“Good evening,” Yu Sheng smiled and gave a slight nod to the Hunter. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I wanted to come a long time ago! But the Hunter kept dawdling,” the squirrel muttered by Yu Sheng’s ear. “First he said his clothes weren’t ready, then he said there was something wrong with his hunting rifle. What does he need a hunting rifle for at a bonfire party anyway?”

Yu Sheng didn’t say anything. He just turned to look at Bai Liqing.

The latter walked forward a few steps, stopping in front of the Hunter. She calmly looked at the empty hunting clothes and hood, as if looking at faces and eyes that had long turned to nothingness.

“Long time no see.”

The Hunter’s hood moved slightly, and a somewhat hoarse, blurred voice came through the night: “Yeah, long time no see, Chief.”

Yu Sheng had originally been watching with only a mild curiosity, but at this moment he suddenly froze, then realized something.

…This “Hunter,” formed from the fusion of the deep-dive team seventy years ago, also calls Bai Liqing “Chief”?! And he said “long time no see”?

(End of this chapter)