(Keep asking for votes, keep asking for votes——!!)

The twilight scenery in Shadow City is always more enchanting than in the real world. With precisely adjusted lighting and the perfect refraction of air, the soft and mysterious glow evenly washes over every building on the verge of rest. It’s said that the best place to spend this fleeting moment of dusk is a mysterious dessert shop next to the military blockade—I can attest that this legend is true.

You won’t find a better place to unwind during this peaceful and serene time than Little Xi Dessert House.

As usual, the dessert house is deserted, with only a Raven who comes to help, humming an odd tune while fiddling with the juicer. This is the only sound in the shop, and the gentle, intermittent, and tuneless noise only adds to the serenity here. Through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see the not-so-wide street outside is bathed in a dreamlike orange-red hue. The last traces of sunset glow over the military barracks isolation wall and the back wall of the residential buildings on the other side, dimming visibly bit by bit. The faint golden orange glow spills through the bright glass windows, painting the small shop in warm colors. Silvia sits across from us with her eternally serene smile, star-like sunset hues dancing on her silver-white long hair. We haven’t witnessed this scene for over two months now—the slightly restless mood calms in an instant, leading me to suddenly feel that perhaps this is indeed a kind of magical power belonging solely to Silvia, a magic that can turn all restlessness into a lazy afternoon tea atmosphere in the blink of an eye.

"Number One is such a good child-" Silvia smiles at Sandora and me for a long time before suddenly saying, "Always comes to help—though there’s nothing much to be busy with..."

The "Number One" she mentions is naturally the Raven 001 fiddling with the juicer. Born after the establishment of the New Empire, this new-generation Apostle, whose character is a bit out of place with her other comrades, still doesn’t have her own name; she is just called Raven 001, and she prefers others to address her this way. In fact, this peculiar Raven seems not to care much about anything, treating everything in a playful manner, except when carrying out orders from her superiors or fighting with Vega.

She is the closest to Silvia among all the Ravens, even the only "friend" in Silvia’s pitiably small social circle. They are not in a subordinate-superior relationship, nor like ordinary friends, which indeed piques my curiosity.

"You’re living quite leisurely every day," I said, looking at the impeccably clean little shop. I could imagine that Silvia and the Ravens who come to help must be just cleaning endlessly here, as they don’t have many customers to entertain, "Oh, Santa Claus... Christmas has long passed, hasn’t it? And no one in Shadow City celebrates Christmas."

I noticed that behind another window of the shop was a Santa Claus doll. I could barely make out the words "Merry Christmas" written on the card before it. I blurted out, surprised that even a slow person like Silvia remembered to do some seasonal decoration for her little shop during Christmas, and also surprised that she was so clueless—Shadow City doesn’t celebrate Christmas at all; the only acknowledged Jesus here is Lilina...

"Oh—I forgot to take it down," Silvia looked at the cute Santa Claus from afar, hesitating for a while before remembering what it was about, and then thinking for a while again, "Just leave it there—to prevent forgetting to take it out again next year..."

Me: "..." This philosophy of life is truly tenacious; her procrastination must be on a monthly basis?

Suddenly, a clattering noise came from the direction of the counter, mixed with the sound of a machine idling and something being crushed. Just as Sandora and I were about to ask what happened, Raven 001 flashed over, dripping with orange juice, holding up two freshly squeezed juices: "Umm, the juicer might be broken."

I stared dumbfoundedly at Raven 001, as she was covered in juice, with a small piece of pulp stuck on her nose, and a slice of orange peel slowly sliding down her silver hair—was this guy really preparing juice just now?

"You... had a rough time." I calmly took the freshly squeezed orange juice from her, carefully removing the floating orange peel before taking a sip, promptly spitting out half a gear, "The juicer indeed seems to be broken..."

"These primitive tools are just not as sturdy as what the Empire makes; they’re just toys!" Raven 001 said righteously, finally causing the small piece of orange peel on her head to fall as she talked.

Actually, I think the root cause of the destruction lies elsewhere, but... forget it, after all, these Ravens are all mechanically clueless.

"Would you like to use the bathroom?" Silvia finally responded, looking concerned at her clone, "It’s just..."

"Ah, no need, no need, I’ll use Dissociation Technique to clean myself up." Raven 001 hurriedly waved her hands, and I thought she made a wise decision: Silvia’s water heater is saved.

"The new generation of Xyrin Apostles is very different from the previous generation," Sandora remarked, watching Raven 001 with a sorrowful face using Arcane Radiance to decompose the stains on her at the door, then muttering as she cleaned up the pieces of the juicer. "They seem to be more noticeably emotional, and always have some peculiar quirks."

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" I scratched my head, internally feeling that the emergence of peculiar new-generation Apostles like Raven 001 had something to do with me, and this isn’t unfounded. Father God once mentioned that Void Creatures are massive sources of information disturbance, meaning that if I just stood here doing nothing, a hundred or so Fantasy Species would appear within a hundred miles after many years, so the fact that these newly born Xyrin Apostles of the New Empire have become somewhat... annoying in nature has something to do with me.

"I don’t think it’s a bad thing," Sandora said while sipping the orange juice and occasionally chewing, "The racial nature of Xyrin Apostles won’t change, at least their personalities won’t affect their mission and honor as Apostles. Moreover, Taville has an unverified statistic that the probability of basic soldiers among the new generation Apostles evolving into more advanced forms is about two percent higher than the average probability recorded in the Old Empire. Although this is a negligible figure, I believe it’s mostly the result of their enhanced emotional abilities—high levels of psychological activity can enhance an individual’s ability to handle and judge ambiguous information, helping them have more opportunities to interact with external stimuli that can lead to their evolution."

I found Sandora’s explanation too technical, so I translated it into something I could understand: the likelihood of evolution mainly depends on whether you’re carefree enough, like Raven 001, who seems destined to become a general...

"Ah, by the way—" Silvia sat with us quietly for a moment, seemingly recalling something suddenly, "Bellavilla said she had something to discuss with you—I’ll call her out..."

Bellavilla? What could she want from us?

Sandora and I exchanged confused glances. Bellavilla is an absolute recluse, even quieter than Silvia in Shadow City. At the very least, Silvia stands behind the counter daydreaming every day, while Bellavilla maintains a biological clock of sleeping in the depths of Silvia’s consciousness, only waking up once every seven days. She wouldn’t actively come out to reach out.

As we spoke, Silvia had already closed her eyes, her aura slowly changing. Moments later, she reopened her eyes, and the lazy, serene expression on her face was replaced by a commanding queenly demeanor—instantly knocked back by Sandora’s equally strong presence. She glanced down at us and nodded, "Oh, here to mooch some meals?"

Bellavilla sure doesn’t hold back with her words—her fuel consumption is about to surpass that of a large rear-wheel drive truck!

"Keep babbling and I’ll raise your rent," Sandora shot Bella a sideways glance. It seemed she rather enjoyed the occasional bickering when Raven King appeared. In turn, Raven King seemed completely unfazed. "Go ahead, my main body is Silvia, the one paying rent is also Silvia. I bet you two can’t be heartless enough to bully a disabled person..."

"...Oh well, we didn’t bring Lilina and Bingdisi today, so we’re not outfitted enough to out-talk you. Otherwise, they’d have you in tears," I waved my hand. "Did you come looking for me and Sandora for something?"

"The Fifteenth Day Zone... it’s restored, right?" Bella casually summoned a sparkling Arcane Sphere in the air, letting the energy core filled with devastating power bounce around in her hand. "I saw it through the information link. You always manage to surprise people whenever you venture out; you’re never subtle. This time, you conducted an information release within the Void Zone."

So it was about this. I was a bit surprised that Bella, who had long declared her withdrawal to the forest, showed interest in this news. "Indeed, the commotion was quite large. You probably already know, even my sister and others got involved this time."

"I’m not interested in your overly extensive family," Bella continued to create Arcane Spheres one by one and arranged them on the table like a child. "I just know those ’old friends’ won’t be taking this quietly, right?"

Bella meant none other than the Fallen Apostle, which Sandora acknowledged directly, "You’re right, Ah Jun and I anticipated this and have prepared some plans to mislead the enemy."

"Want them too busy to interfere with your New Army Group’s formation?" Bella hit the nail on the head, even though her guess was only approximate, it was still spot on. I suddenly felt alert: don’t let that lazy demeanor fool you; she’s still the Queen of the Empire we know from back then! I’m sure, whatever Sandora and I can think of, she can too, from a similar height!

"Do you need help?" Bella chuckled as she looked at my slightly dazed look, switching topics.

I didn’t quite catch on at first. Instinctively, I nodded and, two seconds later, uttered a "What?" with an open mouth.

"...Is he always like this?" Bella glanced at Sandora in disbelief, pointing at me. Sandora casually shrugged, "I find Ah Jun quite charming when he’s confused — besides, he never muddles in important matters."

"Ahem, the concerned party is right here," I retorted as I realized what was happening, looking at Bella in amazement. "You mean... you plan to step out again? Help us form a corps or train soldiers or something?"

Realizing Bella’s intention brought to mind her other identity: one of the one hundred thirty-five Supreme Leaders of the Old Empire! A hero of epic stature, with prone to drop at least five epic items after defeat... Suffice to say, she was among the pinnacle of all Xyrin Apostles, and as the leader of all Ravens, how deep must her Mysticism expertise be? I suspect she might be the most skilled in Secret Technique within the Empire today. Yet despite knowing this all along, Sandora and I never considered roping Bella into the task, simply because most of the time, she was less the Raven King Bella and more a humble girl selling desserts at the military blockade line, relying on subsidy to get by each month — Silvia’s fondness for cuteness other than that had etched deeply in people’s minds; neither I nor Sandora had placed her on the labor roster...

"I can tell by your look what you’re thinking." Bella, with her regal flair, glanced sidelong at me before snapping her fingers toward the counter direction, "Number One, come over."

Raven 001 quickly scurried over, clutching half a piece of cake, her cheeks bulging, prompting my surprise, "You spent all this time sneaking snacks at the back?!"

"These things probably won’t sell anyway," Bella waved dismissively, "Her managing to finish yesterday’s leftover cakes would be a big help..." Before she could finish, Sandora’s eyes gleamed, propping her hands on the table excitedly, "I can help too!"

Bella glanced helplessly at Sandora, "...Can’t you act less disgracefully? At least you’re the Battle Song Princess."

Sandora merely pointed at the flour on Bella’s chest and the cream lingering on her face, "And you are the Raven King."

"Well..." Raven 001 finally swallowed the cake, seizing the gap to speak amidst the big shots, "Mother, you have instructions?"

"Sit here, deep standby," Bella pointed at the chair opposite us. Raven 001 uttered an understanding "Oh," evidently aware of Bella’s intent, then sat as instructed. As Sandora and I gazed clueless, she slowly closed her eyes, ultimately collapsing onto the table with a thud. A sound of energy venting from within echoed. Meanwhile, Bella also lost consciousness but had wisely commandeered my arm as a pillow beforehand...

"Perfect transfer." Barely five seconds into deep standby, Raven 001 sat up, beckoning me and Sandora with a nod. I was instantly taken aback: regardless of merrily bouncing around, this mass-produced Raven would never dare make such audacious gestures towards her superiors in usual times!

And the "Bella" resting on my arm stirred and lifted her head to grin, "You got cream on your arm—"

The tone was slow, seemingly drowsy and soft.

"You are..." I had a vague inkling of what was happening, pointing at Raven 001 in surprise, the latter nodding proudly, "As you can see, I am Bella, temporarily borrowing this body."

Prompted by Sandora’s curious inquiry, Bella, temporarily inhabiting Raven 001’s body, finally divulged her research achievements: "You know, Silvia and I share a body, even a soul, we’re both incomplete, hence I can never leave my shell, mostly residing in Silvia’s sluggish brain as the inner personality. Ordinarily, it didn’t affect me much, living in someone else’s Spirit World, actually, there’s plenty to do — those mother and daughter residing in your Spirit Sea must know best — but recently, hearing news of Mother Star’s merging, I felt I should lend a hand since, after all, you did offer me refuge. Thus I found the solution: temporarily entering a mass-produced Raven, I can remain lucid for extended periods and enjoy almost perfect independent activity capability like before. Look, my affinity for this body is nearly a hundred percent." Possessed Bella flexed her arm — Raven 001’s arm — with a satisfied expression. "All mass-produced Ravens were cloned from my Soul Fragment; they’re extensions of my soul. Temporarily occupying one poses no pressure on either side, and since the consciousness still clings to my soul, it adheres to the principle of sharing a soul with Silvia. Consider this: theoretically, every Raven within the Empire shares a soul." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"That can be done?" I gazed at Bella in astonishment and then at the nearby, perpetually blissful Silvia. "Won’t Raven 001 be affected? How long can you maintain this state?"

"As I mentioned, this ’borrowing’ minimally impacts both sides, resting can fully recharge," Bella explained, suddenly smiling at me, "Oh, Number One cheered earlier because you cared for her first thing. Now let me think... this is the first complete transfer, predicting the duration is unclear yet I suppose each transfer can last a day, followed by a day’s rest. Considering the co-existence with Silvia though, this is far superior, so I’m planning for the mass-produced Ravens to take turns as my vessels, as their endurance remains somewhat lacking."

"Now, I am free to move," Bella concluded, focusing her gaze on me and Sandora, "I presume you need an expert to enlighten you on how to establish a formidable Caster Corps." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations or monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)