116: Someone touched fate

In the special detention area of the New Village Police Headquarters, sunlight streamed through the iron bars onto the wooden floor of the single cell.

Luigi Mangioni sat at his desk, perusing a copy of "A Theory of Justice," with a steaming cup of coffee beside him. The cell was so tidy it didn't resemble a prison.

There was a solid wood bookshelf, a leather armchair, and even a limited-edition coffee machine.

"Luigi, your mail." Warden Thomson personally pushed in a dining cart, which, in addition to lunch, held a thick stack of letters. "Another thirty-odd today. Same as always, they've all been checked, so don't worry."

Luigi put down his book and gave a gentle smile as he accepted the letters: "Thank you, Tom. What kind of soup is it today?"

"Your favorite cream of mushroom soup, and I even brought you some chopped parsley." Thomson lowered his voice. "Also, the presidential pardon has come through; you'll be out tomorrow. But, you know..."

He looked at the surveillance camera, hesitating to speak further, then finally whispered, "I don't doubt our new president's desire to release you, but many people don't want you alive, or at least, not free."

Luigi nodded knowingly and continued to open his mail. The first letter was from a textile worker in New Village's lower district:

Mr. Costa:

Thank you for your heroic act four years ago. Because of you, our factory finally installed safety devices on the sewing machines. Although you are imprisoned, the spark you ignited has never extinguished...

The second letter, with childish handwriting, was from an elementary school student:

Mr. Hero:

My dad says you're a true knight. Last week, I wrote an essay using your story, and the teacher gave me full marks! I want to protect the weak just like you...

"Four years, and it's been like this every day." Thomson looked at the mountain of letters with emotion. "Do you know why everyone in our police force respects you?" He pointed to the police badge on his chest. "These letters carry more weight than our badges."

Luigi gently touched the scar on his wrist, left from the assassination four years ago: "Perhaps. But to me, these letters at least show that what I did wasn't entirely wrong."

Suddenly, the cell door opened again, and the Chief himself entered, carrying the presidential pardon.

"Congratulations, Luigi." The Chief handed over the gilded document. "The president signed it personally. However..." He lowered his voice. "Many people have made demands; you need to leave the country immediately."

"I understand." Luigi calmly took the document. "Can I retrieve my personal belongings?"

The Chief clapped his hands, and an officer entered, holding a metal evidence box. When opened, the pistol that had once been used to assassinate the CEO lay quietly on the velvet lining, its barrel gleaming like new, without a speck of dust.

"Strange, isn't it?" The Chief shook his head. "It's been in the evidence locker for four years, untouched by anyone, yet it looks like it was just maintained."

Luigi picked up the pistol; its familiar weight made him feel as if ages had passed. But a line of text added to the grip made him realize that perhaps someone had touched his gun.

Engraved at the bottom of the grip was a line of small, somewhat unfamiliar text: Injustice persists, The Hunt is endless.

Luigi was about to ask who had engraved this line, but the Chief didn't give him the chance.

"And this." The Chief handed him a train ticket. "A cross-border train tonight at 8 PM, destination: Santa Maria City in the Apollo Federation."

At this, the Chief paused, his voice tinged with worry. "Take care of yourself; I'm afraid someone might be intentionally sending you there."

Upon hearing this, Luigi was somewhat confused.

However, this was normal, as he had no means of obtaining information in the special detention area. Getting him those privileges was already done secretly by the police headquarters at the risk of being held accountable.

At sunset, Luigi walked out of the police station in the old suit he had worn four years ago. There was no escort, no shackles, only over twenty police officers who had spontaneously lined up to salute him. Police helicopters circled overhead, not for surveillance, but for escort.

"Take care, Knight." Thomson helped him open the car door. "Santa Maria is the city of lithium mines, and recently... it's been turbulent."

On the outskirts of Santa Maria City, inside a dilapidated apartment building.

Luigi put down his backpack and looked around the temporary residence he had found. The mold stains on the walls and the creaking floor contrasted sharply with his "cell" at the New Village police station.

But at least, there was a sense of freedom here.

He opened the new computer gifted by the police department. After connecting to the internet, the first news headline that popped up froze him in place: 'Interstellar Peace Corporation Completes Phase One Construction of "Space Garden" Space Station, First Batch of Procurement Orders Reaches 120 Billion credit points.'

"What the hell..." Luigi's fingers trembled uncontrollably as he clicked the link. A holographic projection automatically appeared, showcasing the magnificent space structure in low Earth orbit. As he continued to search, more and more information surged in like a tide:

The Sea City Xu, controllable nuclear fusion technology, the Warrior robot army... Each item seemed like a plot from a science fiction novel, yet it had truly happened during his four years of imprisonment.

"So the Titan is just a department of this company?" Luigi murmured, his finger tracing the holographic image of Xu City. That steel metropolis floating on the sea was ten times more spectacular than New Village's most prosperous CBD in his memory.

Immediately after, news about the Space Garden project appeared. Among the many news reports, he noticed that the news within the New Union seemed to deliberately avoid the term 'Central Roma Continent.'

Confused, he changed his search method. When he entered the keywords "Central Roma Continent New Union," all his astonishment and doubt turned into anger.

The photos that popped up on the screen almost froze his blood:

Emaciated miners being forced to carry ore at gunpoint; weeping women holding photos of missing relatives; rows of bodies being bulldozed into mass graves, with soldiers laughing nearby... Each photo was watermarked with "Drug Dealer Clearance Operation."

"Beasts!" Luigi slammed his fist on the table, and the wooden table cracked in response, but his fist showed no swelling or injury.

Of course, he hadn't noticed this yet.

He frantically sifted through more data, discovering that the New Union government had designated the entire Central Roma Continent as a "Special Military Control Zone," preventing any international organization from entering to investigate.

What disgusted him most was that the New Union's mining companies clearly had various mechanical production equipment but chose not to use it, simply because, in their calculations, using human labor was cheaper.

A commotion suddenly erupted outside the window. Luigi alertly grabbed his pistol and, through the blinds, saw a dozen ragged locals being herded down the street by New Union soldiers. One teenager stumbled and fell, immediately drawing a rifle butt to his head.

"Move it! Drug dealer brat!" The soldier's curses were clearly audible. "If you don't meet your quota today, your sister goes to the pleasure house!"

Luigi's finger tightened on the trigger, his veins bulging. But reason told him that rushing out now would only cause more deaths. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to release his finger from the trigger.

He turned back to the computer and typed "New Union Resource Development Company Santa Maria" into the search bar.

Thousands of results immediately popped up on the screen. He clicked on the top corporate annual report, and a 3D structural diagram of the New Union Resource Development Company appeared in holographic projection.

A pyramid-like power structure, with photos of the board members at the top, each face looking well-fed.

"Karl Hoffman, CEO, former New Union Army Lieutenant General..." Luigi read the description, his finger tracing the projection. "So that's it, military-to-business, they're not even pretending anymore."

He continued to search for specific information about the Santa Maria mining area and found a string of unusual information in a hidden forum.

After using a simple decryption method, he obtained a clue:

Tomorrow midnight, Old Mine Area Well No. 4. Bring a light source and weapons. — Juan

Luigi looked at his watch; there were six hours until midnight. He opened a drawer, took out his pistol, and began to inspect it. As his fingers touched the inscription "Injustice persists, The Hunt is endless" on the gun body, a strange electric current suddenly shot from his fingertips up his spine.

"What's going on..." He looked down at his palm, noticing a faint blue glow that seemed to flash beneath his skin. But when he rubbed his eyes and looked again, everything was normal.

Police sirens sounded outside the window. Luigi quickly turned off the light and hid behind the curtains to observe.

Three New Harmony Army vehicles were driving down the street, their searchlights sweeping across every window. He instinctively tightened his grip on the pistol, suddenly realizing that he could clearly see the nameplate numbers on the soldiers' chests fifty meters away.

"When did my eyesight get so good?" he murmured. "Does being in jail improve your vision?"

Meanwhile, at Pierpoint.

Bronya suddenly appeared in Chen Hao's office, and a holographic screen lit up behind her: "Master, an abnormal energy fluctuation has been detected, matching one of the special energy spectrums you previously input."

"A suspected path resonance of The Hunt has appeared in Santa Maria City."

Chen Hao, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the sea, turned around at the sound. A golden light flashed in his pupils: "Let me see."

Bronya pulled up the data, and the screen displayed a thermal image of Luigi standing by the window, holding a gun. At his heart, a blue light pulsed rhythmically.

Just then, Chen Hao perceived an invitation from a higher dimension, and a guess immediately formed in his mind.

"Ya Ya, temporarily block all signals near me. I have something to take care of."

"Alright, leave it to Bronya."

Chen Hao closed his eyes, and an amber glow emanated from his fingertips. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had transformed into brilliant gold; the great power of the Preservation Aeon awakened within him.

In an instant, physical boundaries dissolved. Chen Hao's consciousness ascended to the Aeon domain, where there were no limits of time and space, only the eternally flowing River of paths. He saw a brand new blue-purple stream forming beside the amber flow representing Preservation.

A golden, arrow-shaped light pierced through the dimensions and condensed before Chen Hao into a semi-humanoid silhouette, with a pair of alien circles behind it. The newcomer was clad in Star-Dome armor, wielding a stringless bow, its face hidden behind light, with only its sharp, hawk-like eyes clearly visible.

"As expected, the path of The Hunt. It's you, Lan."

"Heir of Preservation." Lan's voice resonated directly in Chen Hao's consciousness, each syllable carrying the sharp whistle of an arrow piercing the air. "You have nurtured a good seed."

Indeed, Lan, as an Aeon, could perceive the authority of Preservation within him. Chen Hao's golden pupils constricted slightly: "Appearing now, is there something you need?"

Lan's projection raised a hand and lightly swiped, showing a slow-motion replay of Luigi pulling the trigger: "Look at the eyes of this life, a pure will to hunt, not for selfish desire, but only to punish injustice."

"You want him? Why? Does the Bowmaster of the Divine Arrows still lack an Emissary?" Chen Hao was somewhat confused and posed the question: "Logically speaking, this happened years ago, so why bring it up now?"

"I want the path of The Hunt to take root and flourish in this universe. How about a trade?" Lan let out a low laugh. "As for why I'm only here now, you'll have to ask that mask."

Chen Hao understood instantly. When in doubt, ask Aha; you can't go wrong.

The rules of the Aeon domain began to flow, and Lan's proposal materialized as golden runes:

Preservation aids the growth of The Hunt, and can obtain half the authority of The Hunt in this realm』

Chen Hao pondered for a moment, the amber light intertwining with the golden runes: "Then I'm getting a huge bargain; that's not like you. Tell me, what other conditions are there?"

Lan's projection suddenly moved closer, its arrow-like gaze piercing Chen Hao: "When The Hunt calls upon you in the future, Preservation must strike a blow."

After saying this, Lan seemed to think of something, and his tone lightened: "Perhaps it's a bit much, but considering the advantage you're gaining from me, it's fair enough."

With that, Lan's projection began to dissipate, leaving only Chen Hao making a big-eye, small-eye expression: "No, isn't it just a little bit of Xianzhou people? Isn't it just an Emissary? Do you really have to 'retaliate' like this?"

"No, General Jing Yuan isn't entirely your Emissary of The Hunt; Old Jing is of the path of Erudition, okay? If you were talking about little Yanqing, then I might feel a bit guilty..."

"Besides, I already cured the Mara-struck condition, okay? It's an equivalent exchange; how can you say it's taking advantage?"

Muttering to himself, Chen Hao's figure also began to dissipate. The amber stream flickered, and the adjacent purple-gold stream seemed to thicken slightly. Then, a thin stream branched off and merged into the amber stream.

His consciousness returned to the real universe, and Chen Hao chuckled softly, "That Lan fellow, I'm really impressed. Alright, what you're offering is indeed enough; I can't refuse."

Chen Hao pressed his communicator, "Have Topaz come over."

Five minutes later, Topaz entered, carrying Numby: "Boss, you called for me?"

"I have a mission." Chen Hao pointed to Luigi on the screen. "Go to Santa Maria and protect this person. He is touching the path of The Hunt."

Topaz's eyes instantly lit up: "The first local Pathstrider of The Hunt in this universe? Interesting!" She leaned closer to the screen. "Wow, he's quite handsome. But..."

She tilted her head to look at Chen Hao, "Why protect him? Pathstriders aren't that easy to kill, are they? Even if he hasn't officially stepped onto the path yet, his vitality is much stronger than ordinary people's."

"Besides, Boss, you haven't unlocked the power of the Cornerstone yet, and I haven't recovered yet—wait a minute? How did the path power suddenly increase so much?"

"Shhh, don't be so excited. I just made a deal with someone who plays with a bow; there are always some benefits."

Chen Hao walked to the window, gazing at the distant horizon: "You have the company's equipment and experience in using path power, and you can even hold your own against that battle maniac Yanqing." As he turned, the golden light in his eyes intensified. "But he's different. Until he can skillfully control path power, he is, after all, still flesh and blood."

Topaz clapped her small hands, understanding Chen Hao's meaning: "Got it, just don't let him get killed by small fries while leveling up. Alright, leave it to me."

She rubbed Numby's head, "Let's go, little one, I'll take you to see new things."

"Hum hum hum ~"