In the shadowy depths of the Bayard District, the “Lorn River” meandered by like a dark scar forgotten by the city.
This was one of the most renowned rivers in Agash, once a witness to the city’s rise and development. Every year, countless visitors came to travel and take photographs. But this stretch of the river in the Bayard District was an eyesore; the murky waters reflected bizarre, colorful hues under the neon lights, with dirty foam and unrecognizable industrial debris swirling on the greasy surface, resembling a large, fetid drainage ditch.
On the other side of the riverbank, however, a completely contrasting clamor greeted her. Bar signs flickered with enticing glows, the neon lights of cheap inns flashed erratically, and crowded streets overflowed with people in eccentric outfits, the air thick with the mixed scents of cheap perfumes, fried food, and a vague exotic spice.
From this perspective, while the Bayard District shared a similar reputation to the Blackwater District, it was still evident that Agash’s vibrancy surpassed that of Ish City; even its slums had a certain exotic flair.
Yvette’s gaze moved across the passersby on the street as she contemplated whether to use her hacking abilities to gather some intelligence for her upcoming plans. But just then, a vehicle suddenly flew directly in front of her.
From its design, it appeared to be a steam lantern-style shuttle, driven by wind elements. Its bright yellow lampshade was set against a black grille, resembling something out of a fairytale school of magic, and was undeniably cute.
“Excuse me, beautiful lady,” a clear male voice cut through the air, emanating from the lantern. “We are the AJSP of Agash police, conducting routine checks for illegal immigrants in the Bayard District. Please present your ID card. Thank you for your cooperation.”
ID card? Yvette stared calmly at the flying lantern and said nothing. She didn’t have an ID card; even her digital currency account was hastily registered on a random platform. How could she prove her identity?
The key issue was that she was indeed a shadow citizen… With this thought, Yvette sighed inwardly, wondering if she was going to be expelled from the New Eden government as an illegal immigrant on her first day in this new world—or perhaps thrown in jail?
Running away was an option, but to outrun the shuttle, she would have to reveal herself as a mage, and being identified as a mage would raise her profile significantly in the police department, instantly elevating her from a street-level commoner to a five-star general…Thus, she decided to resist a bit: “I lost my ID card.”
“Lost it? I see. Well, please face the camera; we can provide an ID recovery service. The AJSP official website is currently running a promotion to issue a new generation of ID cards at a 10% savings on the usual fee…”
The officer controlling the flying lantern launched into a series of promotional pitches, speaking one after another until Yvette grew a little impatient. Finally, it released a yellow scanning beam that swept across her face.
“Identity confirmed! Hello, Miss Yvette Sien from Blackwater District, Ish City! Your identity has been verified. I can immediately apply for your new ID card, and if you sign up for VIP status, you can waive an additional month’s worth of in-app advertisements…”
The promotional chatter resumed from within the flying lantern, but Yvette was now in a daze, pondering whether that name was indeed the same identity she had donned during her last dream.
Four years ago, she had asked Hans to get her a new ID card through the police route, but the name remained unchanged—still Yvette Sien…
And it still worked?
Why did it still work?
Could it be that she had not entered a dream but a real world?
Or could it be that she had the power to redirect the course of the dream world, creating a new reality line?
“Um… miss? I mean… what do you think?” Noticing her prolonged silence, the officer began to feel a bit awkward and cautiously inquired.
“…That’s fine. Please proceed.” Yvette snapped back to reality, her voice dry.
“Great! Please wait a moment, and your new ID card will be delivered to this location within five minutes!” the flying lantern exclaimed happily.
After it departed, Yvette stood by the Lorn River, watching the waves glimmer like neon-colored fish. Soon after, another gray shuttle sliced through the night, accurately dropping a light package. Without expression, Yvette caught it, tore open the wrapping, and revealed a metallic card carrying remnants of her past credit.
Immediately, she pressed the ID card against her magical terminal and successfully entered her citizen account page to see her familiar name and the over 20,000 credit points she had left from her previous dream.
Besides that, she accessed the message interface and found a multitude of surprised, shocked, and worried messages, mostly from Mrs. Susan, Mary, and Hans, with a small portion from Hans—he had sold out the remaining “Arcane Wind Blade” packets he had and was looking for another supply, only to find out that the sorceress had mysteriously disappeared.
After multiple messages, Hans eventually gave up three years ago, leaving a message asking Yvette to reply if she was still alive—many buyers were still eagerly awaiting her return.
It seemed Hans really missed his business selling Arcane Wind Blades…
Yvette smiled slightly, feeling that this alleviated her financial pressure significantly. She then typed replies to both Hans and the Hoffman family, checking in to let them know she was safe and explaining that she had encountered unavoidable high-risk circumstances before regaining her identity.
As for what kind of extraordinary high-risk circumstances could lead to vanishing for four years, she didn’t need to elaborate; she trusted that Hans and the Hoffman family wouldn’t pry too deeply.
Hmm, in another two years, Regel Hoffman would be released; she could prepare a scheduled congratulatory message for him…
What about Hans and Mary? Were they still hoping to hang out with Rosalyn? Hopefully, one day they could. But thinking about it, they had only spent four years in their dream while Rosalyn was over two hundred by now. Would they still be able to rejoin their threads?
Reflecting on those events from two hundred years ago, Yvette felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her, as if she were back on that rainy night, standing outside the Groni Clinic with an umbrella, watching her student stumble out in a daze.
Then, she searched online, intending to gather intel on the Bayard District and mercenary opportunities. But upon logging into a social account with her newly authenticated ID card, an unexpected message caught her attention.
It was a three-year-old message from an ID named “The Firebearer,” who had privately messaged her: “Friend, are you interested in learning about our ‘Civilization Continuation Society?’”
Yvette’s eyes narrowed slightly.
In her last dream, she had attempted to hack into the official site of the Civilization Continuation Society but had been intercepted by a mysterious top-tier rune hacker. After a fierce battle of attacks and defenses, she willingly retreated, but she hadn’t expected to leave even a thread for them to find her.
In fact, it wasn’t just a thread; due to the real-name registration, finding her account often meant that her false identity, “Yvette Sien,” had been compromised as well.
What reason could they have for sending her a private message?
A warning? A reminder? Or perhaps a provocation?
She contemplated briefly and replied, “I’m very interested in your proclaimed ‘apocalypse,’ but I won’t be easily convinced. If the apocalypse is indeed real, I hope to learn more details.”