Chapter 16-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
Ye Zheng followed the four secretive teenagers as they turned into a small bar.
The bar was unexpectedly lively, but Percy and the others took off their disguising robes and pulled her over to sit down.
Ye Zheng discreetly took in the place. It seemed to be a small hideout for the protagonist's group, and they must have been quite familiar with the owner and even the regulars.
Sure enough, as soon as they sat down, the bartender at the counter actively sent drinks over to them. Ye Zheng sniffed it; it seemed to be juice.
"Is this your new partner? He doesn't look like someone from the lower district."
The bartender eyed the new face with a hint of hostility.
"It doesn't matter where he's from. It's enough that he's our friend," Percy replied gently but firmly. The bartender could only shrug and return to the counter.
Ye Zheng looked sideways. As the protagonist of the manga, Percy was courageous and loyal, a young man of excellent character.
It was no surprise that such a person would be the protagonist. Long before the system appeared, she had noticed this team that shone brightly in the Ability User Competition and had long since arranged a special position for Percy and his team.
"Why is the newspaper still publishing this article? Aren't people tired of reading it yet?" Roy looked dejected, with a hint of suspicious blush.
Lucy picked up the newspaper from the table and read aloud in a clear voice, "The sudden rise of the Cloud-Soaring Squad proves how ridiculous the empire's centuries of arrogance are. Resources were given to the upper district's sword, while the true shield of the empire, bruised and battered, stood unyielding against 90% of the empire's Demonic Domains..."
"The fine wine spilled by the upper district dyed half the river, while the hot blood shed by the lower district will forever remain in the Demonic Domains. And yet—"
"The struggle will never cease; the lower district will never fall!"
The girl read the last line loudly, and the other people in the bar began to wave their fists, excitedly shouting the latest popular slogan of the lower district.
"The struggle will never cease; the lower district will never fall!"
The bartender at the counter quickly made a shushing motion, stopping the group of agitated customers. "Hey, hey, the person who wrote this article is already dead. Do you still dare to be so loud?"
"Precisely because he is dead, we should speak even louder," a slightly hoarse voice said.
The bartender looked at the new face with black hair and green eyes. The boy, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, his calm words igniting even more fervent emotions.
"The new kid is right! We people of the lower district have been working so hard for so long. The people up there won't even give us an extra bone from a dragon!"
Five hundred years ago, the God of Hope killed the core demon dragon of a super S-rank Demonic Domain. The dragon's bones deterred other Demonic Domains, and the upper district, which possessed the dragon's bones, was no longer subjected to Demonic Domain invasions.
However, the lower district, with nothing, bore the brunt of 90% of the empire's Demonic Domain arrivals!
"Mr. Lauren just died inexplicably in prison for writing this article. How can we continue to be spineless?"
"What are you afraid of? The Cloud-Soaring Squad, our hope for the lower district, is here. Do those city lord's dogs dare to come here and arrest people?"
Listening to the impassioned discussions around them, Percy looked at the boy across from him with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Babe-Mei. This might cause you trouble. The lower district has been particularly lively recently, and the discussions about us have been intense."
"It's fine. Like you said, we're friends." The beautiful green-eyed boy rubbed his cup, showing an understanding smile. However, Percy suddenly noticed that he hadn't tasted the juice. He wondered, did Babe-Mei not like juice? Or was he... being cautious?
Ye Zheng lowered her eyes. How could she feel troubled? Everything was developing as she had expected. She had approached the protagonist's group with a lie, but the smile she had just shown was the most genuine.
The Cloud-Soaring Squad was on a triumphant march, greatly boosting morale in the lower district.
As usual, Lauren had published an article from his wife Wen Xin. The overly radical views and enthusiastic response led to the brash man's death in prison, further igniting an even bigger wave of public opinion.
Today was the election day for the city lord of the lower district. The public opinion surrounding this incident became the biggest obstacle for this year's successor, but it was still far from enough—
"Oh, right, turn on the projector. Isn't that pig-headed guy giving his election speech today?"
"Let's see how that upper district lapdog twists the truth!"
Amid the lively discussion, someone raised their hand to suggest, and everyone agreed.
A staff member dragged a heavy, square box to the center of the bar and, with a pained expression, inserted a green crystal into the box. A short, chubby figure immediately appeared above the box.
Lucy next to them turned away in disgust and whispered in her new teammate's ear, "He's so ugly; it hurts my eyes to look at him."
"You're not from the lower district, so you probably don't know him, right? His nickname is Pighead, not only because he looks like one but also because his appetite is the same. He crazily implements policies to exploit us commoners and then uses the money to pay off people in the upper district to secure his position..."
Caleb, who was as big and strong as a small mountain, clenched his fist in anger. "He demanded that all the ability schools in the lower district buy the textbooks he wrote. One book costs 700, which is enough for a month's worth of my living expenses!"
"Since everyone hates him so much this time, he'll definitely be out, right?"
"Just thinking that when we win the championship, we'll become his political achievement, ugh, ugh, ugh—"
Roy mercilessly shot down his two teammates. "Get ready to take a photo with him after you win and throw up on him, Lucy. Whether he steps down or not depends on the people above. He's the son of the Minister of Finance."
Percy didn't speak, but his furrowed brows showed that he was also not optimistic about the situation.
The handsome boy with black hair and green eyes propped his chin up and softly comforted them. "Maybe something unexpected will happen. Maybe he'll suddenly—"
Bang!
Someone suddenly knocked over a cup. The red liquid spilled on the white carpet, just like the head of the man in the projection, which had burst open.
The bustling bar fell into an incredible silence. Only the projector continued to work faithfully. A group of people rushed onto the podium and hurriedly carried away the fallen, short, and chubby man.
"...Maybe he'll suddenly die," the slightly hoarse voice leisurely finished his sentence.
The bar instantly erupted in an uproar. Dead? The Pighead was assassinated?
Someone excitedly shoved their companion. "Did you see it clearly? What kind of ability attack was it? Pighead is dead?"
"I couldn't see clearly; his head just suddenly exploded!"
The teenagers sitting together looked at each other, never expecting the outcome of today's election speech to be this.
Lucy and Caleb's mouths were agape in disbelief, the usually composed Roy couldn't control his shocked expression, and the calm and mature Percy was stunned.
Hating the city lord was one thing; witnessing him get his head blown off was another.
They were good at fighting monsters from the Demonic Domain, but they had never used their abilities to kill a person. For the teenagers, a close-range murder was still too shocking.
Suddenly, a hand waved in front of their eyes. Everyone came back to their senses and looked at Babe-Mei, whose expression was still composed.
"Everyone, it's 5 PM already."
After the boy's reminder, the few of them remembered that today's main event was the announcement of the rules for the third phase of the Ability User Competition. The official competition would make the announcement to the entire empire via projector at 5 PM.
"Oh, right. We have to listen to the rules." Caleb was still a bit dazed, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
"Boss, can you help us change the channel?" Lucy proactively ran to the counter to talk to the owner.
Ye Zheng blinked. The green fake contact lenses made her feel a bit uncomfortable, but her mood was very cheerful. Even Percy could see a trace of it.
"That greedy man is dead, which is a good thing, but I always feel it's strange. The way things are developing is strange..."
To be precise, Percy felt that everything that had happened recently was strange, as if some things had deviated from their original course, but what was the original course?
"What's so strange about it? The lower district has been full of complaints about him recently. It's not surprising that someone would assassinate him during a public appearance."
Percy stared at the boy. What Babe-Mei said made sense, and his demeanor was very gentle and understanding, so why did he feel that Babe-Mei was so out of place?
The steady boy looked bitter and blamed himself. He thought, 'It's all because I've been too tense recently. It's not my style to suspect a friend for no reason.'
Just as Percy was about to apologize to Babe-Mei, a familiar, magnificent, and deep voice resounded through the bar.
He abruptly turned his head. A golden-haired, golden-eyed figure in a dark red uniform appeared on the projector.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
At once, everyone's gaze was drawn to the imposing figure on the projector.
Sykes's misdeeds were even more notorious than the city lord's, but no one dared to make a sound at this moment, even though the projected image couldn't hear them at all.
This was the only 3S-rank ability user in the empire, with the most powerful strength and the noblest status. He quieted the crowd that had just been passionately scolding the rulers of the upper district, like a flock of lambs being driven back into the sheepfold.
The quiet boy unconsciously stood up.
Ye Zheng stared at the flame-like, arrogant figure. The man's intense eyebrows suddenly lifted, and he wore a playful expression.
"Due to a major reform in the third phase of the competition, I, the Crown Prince of the Empire, Sykes Aston, will personally announce the rules."
Something was about to spiral out of control. The expression of the black-haired, green-eyed boy became grim.
Translator's Note: Fixed the team name in previous chapters, if there is any other name not consist please let me know.
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