Qian Yuliu was a truly "perfect" victim.
Qian Yuliu's memory was excellent; he had mastered techniques similar to those of the Memory Palace, and organized his recollections meticulously. His memories were like a neatly arranged grand library, so if Le Yuxin wanted to find anything, she just had to follow the clues—never missing, never mistaken.
But there was a downside to this gradual digestion: when missing key information, Le Yuxin could not read the corresponding important memories.
If she had not heard the keyword "Lin Jinyao," Le Yuxin would never have known that Qian Yuliu was actually a traitor, a Backlight Particle revolutionary!
Qian Yuliu was gifted, accomplished at a young age—given time, he would surely become a top minister of the Imperial Court. Why would he rebel? "Suppressing her own curiosity, Le Yuxin turned her thoughts to what she should do next."
"Now was not the time to read Qian Yuliu's psychological journey as a spectator; he wasn't an onlooker at the edge of a narrative, but the main character acting out a scene within the story!"
"Squad Four and Five, surround the house and attack from the back door; persuade escapees to surrender, then subdue them. Squad Two and Three, take the east and west outer walls, then surround and enter. Squad One will follow me through the front for breaching—logistics, prepare the floodlights... Everyone, although the situation is not yet entirely settled, I do not wish for casualties, but for everyone's safety..."
Lan Yan clapped his hands and solemnly said, "In the name of the Statistical Department, I authorize all officers to engage armed suspects at will, remove firearm restrictions!"
Three black boxes were pushed to the front of the officers. As Lan Yan clapped again, the boxes boomed open, revealing racks inside filled with lightweight handguns!
Le Yuxin reached for the grip of a handgun; a slight shudder ran through the back of his neck, a surge of heat entering the weapon, and a feeling he could barely describe welled up in his heart.
The handgun seemed to bond with him in some way. It was no longer just an object, but an extension of his own body.
"Luminous Certification."
For centuries, the Luminous Imperial Court had been uncovering the potential of Luminous Stones. Among these discoveries, "Luminous Certification" was called one of the four great inventions. The crucial parts of nearly every device contained Luminous Stone chips; anyone using the device needed to pass Luminous Certification, and only those with permission granted by the Luminous Charter could operate important equipment.
Firearms were undoubtedly important equipment. The handguns that Le Yuxin and the others wielded now were for "Statistical Department agents only"—even if others got their hands on them, they would not be able to use them without certification.
Though the technology was not on par with the previous world, the Luminous Imperial Court's control over the populace ran all the deeper in its own ingenious way.
"Begin the operation!"
With Lan Yan's command, everyone moved in silence according to orders. The thunderous stomp of military boots echoed. Just then, cold rain began to fall as if on cue, adding a footnote to what was about to happen.
Noticing Lan Yan's gaze, Le Yuxin exhaled gently and raised his left wrist to press a watch-like device. In the next second, fifteen red dots appeared under the glass cover, along with a tiny scale—a trained eye could instantly estimate the actual distance of each target.
The Light and Shadow Detector, a must-have tool for Statistical Department agents, could emit a special sonar that resonated with the Luminous Charter within a fifty-meter radius. With this device equipped, the locations of all Luminous citizens within fifty meters were crystal clear.
Looking at the glowing red dots, Le Yuxin felt a chill ripple through his heart.
The existence of the Light and Shadow Detector was enough for the imperial departments to smother any covert actions, secret gatherings, and assassination plots in their infancy—a primitive Sky Eye system of sorts.
Yet, even with such refined equipment and draconian oversight by the Court, the chance of a rebellion's success should have been vanishingly slim. And yet the Backlight Particles pressed on with revolution, proving "that class conflict in this world had already reached the point of no return."
"With thoughts racing through his mind, Le Yuxin was the first to approach the manor's front door, handgun ready. He didn't bother knocking—he shot the lock off and kicked the door in—"
"Statistical Department—official investigation!"
The agents streamed in. Meanwhile, the logistics team raised three high-beam lamps to illuminate every corner of the yard from outside. It was like stage lighting, except the light was far from warm; it was cold and pale, almost clinical.
The people inside, hearing the disturbance, started to come out. A uniformed young man spotted Le Yuxin and the others and was briefly startled, but quickly glared at them with rage, "Spies from the Statistical Department!"
Spies?
Le Yuxin faltered for an instant. Thinking it over, he realized that Qian Yuliu and his group arrested revolutionaries, conducted secret detentions, and had discretionary power to kill. Even their titles were "special agents"—they really were just like spies from the old legends.
"With conflicting thoughts crossing his mind, Le Yuxin and the rest raised their guns at the youths, 'Statistical Department investigation! Hands in the air, all of you!'"
"Senior Qian, Senior Chen—what are you doing…"
In the crowd, a black-haired, porcelain-skinned girl spotted them, showing a look of shock.
Before Le Yuxin could recall her, Chen Fu at his side looked deeply troubled and quickly called out, "Lin Xue, don't worry, the Statistical Department won't let bad people go or wrong good people!"
Lin Xue—daughter of Lecturer Lin Jinyao, a few years younger than them, also a Star Engraving Military Academy student, a familiar junior schoolmate.
Lin Xue seemed about to speak, but was pulled aside by a young man, "Xiaoxue, they've already gone over to the Statistical Department and are arresting innocents left and right. There's no point talking to them—they're nothing but parasites clawing their way up the ranks by any means!"
"Who the hell are you calling a parasite?" Chen Fu yelled, "Everyone, hands up and get on your knees! Resist and you die! Bullets don't have eyes!"
"Getting thrown in your dungeon is death anyway—in here or out there, it's the same. We might as well die here, at your hands, so everyone can see how shameless and brutal your department really is!"
The young man stepped forward into the floodlight, his chest bare, standing tall like a martyr, "And you, Qian Yuliu, you're betraying your teacher and your roots—shameless and vile! I never would have believed it—you didn't just side with the Department, you brought them to arrest your own mentor. I, Gao Jin, am ashamed to have ever called you a comrade!"
As his words rang out, Le Yuxin recalled this young man: Gao Jin, two years behind Qian Yuliu, once studied and researched together under Lin Jinyao, and used to be Qian Yuliu's biggest fan.
Just then, Lan Yan stepped up behind Le Yuxin, his tone apologetic, "Sorry, Captain Qian, Deputy Chen—I knew you both studied at Star Engraving Academy, but I didn't know you were close with Lin Jinyao… you can step out of this operation if you wish; I won't hold it against you."
Chen Fu hesitated, slowly lowering his gun, signaling to Le Yuxin with his eyes—it felt unbearable to point a gun at old friends. He knew walking away wouldn't really help those inside, but with his own moral code, he just wanted "the peace of looking away, sparing himself the pain."
Le Yuxin raised an eyebrow, but before anyone could respond, a loud voice echoed from deeper inside the house, "Old friends? I don't deserve to be called an old friend of two 'pillars of the nation,' much less pillars from the Statistical Department."
Lan Yan smiled a little, pushing up his glasses and calling out, "Mr. Lin, you really have the wrong idea about the Statistical Department."
A middle-aged man in formal black stepped from the main house, wearing a wool hat, tall and straight, head high and stride steady. Standing among the young, he seemed in no way aged—if anything, his quiet maturity stood out, like winter bamboo.
"The Statistical Department acts against the people, I have no need to misunderstand." he said calmly.
Lecturer at the Star Engraving Military Academy: Lin Jinyao.
Seeing him, fragments of memory emerged within Le Yuxin's mind:
"Yuliu, the Imperial Court has lost its way, policies are corrupt, the nation is in chaos, rot spreads within—this thousand-year dynasty's time is up, a shift not seen for two millennia. Yet the shackles upon the people will not die with it. We must not stop at reform; we must break the chains and put out this Luminous Sun that never dies! We do not need a sun—each of us can be a dawn!"
"With the collapse, the Court grants local rule to the regions, and each will use fighting the rebels as an excuse for power and profit. Governor Lv Zhong in Chenfeng District is wildly ambitious—he won't waste this chance. However, Star Engraving County's governor, Ding Yi, is no pushover; there's bound to be an open and secret struggle between them. Yuliu, your moment isn't far."
"Sure enough, Ding Yi took the chance of founding the Statistical Department to plant his confidant Lan Yan. He'll use these revolutionary hunts to let Lan Yan root out rivals as well. Yuliu, now is the time—once the Department comes to lobby the Academy, that's when you step in!"
"As a core division, the Statistical Department will be close to Ding Yi and have access to tons of info! Yuliu, you'll be White Night's sharpest tool—a nail in the heart of Ding Yi!"
"When Ding Yi and Lv Zhong tear each other down in their power grab, that is when we, White Night, set things right and smash the chains of Chenfeng District!"
"No one will know your true identity—except me and 'Stargazer.'"
"From today forward, your codename is 'Meteor!'"