Chapter 80 The Grand Assembly Begins

Ye Ling followed Vladimir and the others to the seventh transit station with only three minutes left to five o’clock. The place was already crowded with people waiting. Astonished at the sea of faces at Station Seven, Ye Ling asked, “Are all these people hunters?”

“You’re right. The Huaxia branch has two hundred seventy thousand hunters; this is just a small portion. Many have already left ahead of time,” Vladimir replied, pointing to the enormous floating ship above. “We’ll be taking that to the headquarters soon.”

Ye Ling looked up at the ship for a long moment, then asked, “Why not use teleportation devices? Isn’t this ship much slower?”

Before Vladimir could answer, Xie Liu interjected, “You think teleportation devices grow like cabbages? That’s the city’s most advanced technology, and it hasn’t been widely adopted yet. The energy needed just to teleport all these people would keep the Energy Department busy for days.”

Though Xie Liu made sense, Ye Ling didn’t want to concede the point and was about to retort when Vladimir stopped them. “Enough, we’re about to depart.” Then they watched as countless elevators descended from the ship, and Ye Ling and the others boarded.

Once the hatch closed, Vladimir said suddenly, “Actually, Xie Liu wasn’t entirely correct. Teleportation devices are indeed cutting-edge, but they’re gradually becoming more common. Private, small-scale teleportation is still troublesome, so we gather everyone and teleport collectively.” As he spoke, he pressed Ye Ling into her seat. “Sit tight, we’re leaving.”

Ye Ling sat by the window and could still see the city’s rainbow hues outside. She noticed something. “Hey, aren’t we underground? How does this ship take off?”

“Finally, you ask,” Vladimir laughed. “It’s simple. Remember the spatial jumps you saw with the phenomenon-class battleship?”

“We’re doing that now.” Vladimir had barely finished speaking when the ship’s system announced, “Spatial jump channel opening. Jump begins in ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight…”

Ye Ling blinked, turned to look out the window again, and watched the scenery distort. She felt as if she were squeezed into a narrow rubber tube, twisting relentlessly.

The sensation was indescribably uncomfortable. She had just wanted to scream when, in the next instant, she found herself back in reality. The discomfort passed as swiftly as it came.

Ye Ling had felt this before—when she was teleported from the summit of Star City. She realized she’d just undergone spatial teleportation. Instinctively, she looked outside. Sure enough, the city had vanished. Nearby were dozens of ships like hers, neatly arranged at the clouds’ edge, creating a spectacular sight.

They didn’t wait long. After several more spatial distortions, seven or eight ships appeared in the sky. Ye Ling heard a long horn echo, and the ships began to move. The fleet broke through the clouds, rose into space, and after ten minutes began to descend, finally plunging collectively into the sea.

About fifty minutes later, Ye Ling heard a broadcast announcing the opening of the jump channel again. After enduring the discomfort of another jump, the ship stopped. “It’s about six in the morning here now.”

“You can disembark,” Vladimir urged. Ye Ling unfastened her safety belt and followed the crowd out of the ship, arriving at a platform where she could take in the entire scene.

In that moment, she finally understood why the Hunter Tournament was considered the greatest event in the City of Fantasy.

Ye Ling’s ship was now floating above Star City, alongside hundreds of other giant vessels. Each ship was pulled into place by a beam of light.

There were also countless smaller ships, densely arranged and guided by beams, settling in orderly formations.

“Welcome to the City of Fantasy! May fantasy endure forever.” Ye Ling saw, from afar, a massive illusory face appear atop the Star City summit, loudly welcoming everyone.

“Why ‘endure forever’? Isn’t it usually ‘with you always’?” Ye Ling was surprised. Lin Yang, approaching her, explained, “Most people say ‘May fantasy be with you,’ but the military has its own greeting: ‘May fantasy endure forever.’ When you meet military personnel, you should use their phrase, or you’ll be seen as an outsider.”

“Oh? That’s troublesome,” Ye Ling muttered.

Xie Liu jumped in, “You don’t understand the reason. The first phrase was spoken by the city’s founding sage, meaning that as long as fantasy exists, we can keep striving and advancing. So it’s preserved to this day.”

“But the military is different. During the Mongol invasions, part of their cavalry shattered the city. The highest commander led three thousand citizens to a heroic death, shouting ‘May fantasy endure forever.’ It conveyed the military’s resolve to protect the eternal city and its eternal fantasy, so ‘May fantasy endure forever’ spread more widely among them.”

After Xie Liu’s explanation, Ye Ling understood. Looking once more at the sky full of ships, her feelings transformed. This was not only the superpower tournament of the City of Fantasy, but also the military’s gathering—a voice of the army.

It was the backbone of the entire City of Fantasy! May fantasy endure forever—this was their wish and their goal, for which countless people fought on the front lines, never retreating.

“Although the official tournament begins tomorrow, today’s opening ceremony is the most exhilarating,” Xie Liu said, smiling and pointing skyward. Countless ships jumped in, stopping around Star City, as throngs of people rode small flying devices, weaving through the fleet. All shared a single objective: Star City ahead!

“I must go,” Vladimir said suddenly. Gong Hou glanced at him, nodded slightly, “Go, and return soon.”

Vladimir pressed a button on his watch and vanished. Ye Ling gasped, “Is that a miniature personal teleportation device?”

“Yes, but it requires a ‘signal marker’ to fix the destination, or you’d end up anywhere,” Lin Yang explained. After Vladimir disappeared, the group waited idly for about an hour. Suddenly, the summit of Star City began to spin rapidly.

A light curtain spanning the sky lit up from the Star City summit.

Within the curtain appeared twelve figures, Vladimir among them. The twelve sat in a semicircle, facing the crowd. Xie Liu spotted a familiar face among them: President Taro Toono!

Had he been released? Xie Liu wondered, but judging by his sullen expression, he wasn’t having an easy time.

Vladimir fiddled with a microphone-like device before him. Given the city’s technology, such devices were symbolic rather than practical.

He cleared his throat, and the clock atop Star City’s tallest tower pointed to eight o’clock sharp.

The world fell silent in that instant.

“Greetings, I am Chairman Vladimir, the highest commander of the Hunting Squad.” Vladimir spoke solemnly, his voice booming so that all could hear. He gestured for everyone to look behind him. “Behind me are the city’s eleven other chairmen, who will also attend this grand event to witness the glory of the Hunting Squad.”

Thunderous applause resounded, echoing across the skies. Vladimir waited for the applause to subside before continuing.

“It is a joy to see another annual Hunter Tournament. On the way here, I witnessed the might of the Hunting Squad. Hunters, you are truly outstanding, powerful, and magnificent!”

At this, Vladimir raised his hand, curled his index finger, pressed his index and ring fingers together, spread his pinky and thumb, and slowly placed the gesture over his heart, declaring solemnly, “May fantasy endure forever!”

In that moment, hundreds of thousands of hunters raised their right hands, mimicking Vladimir’s gesture, and shouted in unison, their voices shaking all of Star City.

“May fantasy endure forever!”

Ye Ling was bewildered. Xie Liu seized her hand, raising it, “Quick, make the gesture.” Ye Ling, still confused, complied, though she didn’t shout the phrase in time—Xie Liu’s booming voice did.

“What’s going on?” After lowering their hands, Ye Ling asked Xie Liu, who demonstrated the gesture again. “This is the sign of the Hunting Squad, our emblem. Its shadow forms a wolf—a hunter is the wolf in the darkness, and only we have the right to use it.”

Ye Ling uttered a sound of understanding. The moment’s impact was profound: hundreds of thousands, whether on ships or flying solo, raised their hands and shouted together, the effect overwhelming.

“This year, twenty-three thousand two hundred thirty hunters retired, but thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-one new hunters joined. First, on behalf of all hunters, welcome to you.” Applause echoed across the sky. Xie Liu smiled and pointed at Ye Ling—she too was a new recruit.

“The Hunting Squad has existed for one hundred forty-seven years. Over more than a century, the Squad has witnessed the City of Fantasy’s ups and downs, and the city has seen the Squad grow. Now you’ve forged an empire of superpowers; you are the city’s sharpest blade and its strongest shield!”

Vladimir waved his hand, and the light curtain shifted.

“One hundred thirty years ago, the Battle of the Frozen Sea—the Squad defeated twenty thousand special alliance mech troops.”

“One hundred four years ago, the Diva Uprising—the Squad quelled internal strife and repelled seventy thousand special warriors.”

“Ninety-six years ago, the Fall of the Northern Ice Branch—the Squad lost thirty thousand, holding off a joint army of one hundred seventy thousand special alliance troops for seven days.”

“Seventy-eight years ago…” Vladimir recited the Squad’s exploits, each a testament to their hard-earned reputation.

“Now, the Squad once again welcomes its annual festival. Please, step forth and show your glory to the world. The road to heroism, the path to honor, now unfolds!”

“We journey together…”

As Vladimir’s words faded, the sky suddenly darkened. Amid shouts of surprise, four battleships spanning the heavens jumped in.

“My God, those are four main battleships,” someone shouted.

“Phenomenon-class, Celestial-class, Star-class, Oracle-class—they’re all here!” Hunters cheered, leaping and shouting.

On each battleship appeared a light curtain with four faces.

“Commander of the United Team, Pan-Northern War Zone, extends congratulations to the Hunting Squad’s one hundred forty-seventh tournament.”

“Commander of the United Team, Far Eastern War Zone, extends congratulations to the Hunting Squad’s one hundred forty-seventh tournament.”

“Commander of the United Team, Western European War Zone, extends congratulations to the Hunting Squad’s one hundred forty-seventh tournament.”

“Commander of the United Team, Outer Space War Zone, extends congratulations to the Hunting Squad’s one hundred forty-seventh tournament.”

Four majestic voices echoed from the four corners, and Star City erupted in jubilation. Ye Ling joined the crowd’s wild cheering, watching as four main ships each lit up with a different colored glow.

“Doomsday weapons!” Ye Ling knew exactly what those glows meant.

Green, gold, white, blue—after brewing for a minute, the lights suddenly emitted a deafening roar. Four colossal beams shot upward, piercing the sky, evaporating all the seawater and revealing the clear expanse above!

In that instant, the festival reached its climax, with waves of cheers rolling like the tide.

Vladimir watched the scene, satisfied, then exchanged nods with the other chairmen. “I now declare the one hundred forty-seventh Hunter Tournament open!”

Currently available intelligence: The jump system was first developed by City of Fantasy scientists analyzing spatial superpowers. By simulating the external force manifestation of superpowers, they achieved spatial jumps outside the human body and soon applied it practically. To this day, spatial jump theory remains immature, and the city continues to deepen research by studying spatial ability users. The jump system requires immense energy, and the energy needed increases by the fourth power of distance. For average mass, the energy needed is inversely proportional to the third power of mass—which means the greater the mass, the less energy is needed per unit mass for a fixed jump. (It’s all nonsense, don’t believe it!)