Poison City

 

“What is the Special Sunday special?” Gloria asked through the door.

 

“There is no Special Sunday special! The only Sunday special is sundae!” The voice on the other side of the door answered without any hesitation.

 

“What is the ‘holiday but not Sunday’ special?” Gloria asked again.

 

“The ‘holiday but not Sunday’ special is beer battered cake.” The voice answered once again without hesitation.

 

“What is the secret coffee? Who can order it?”

 

“Secret coffee is mocha topped with whipped cream, with a shot of rum or vodka.” The voice answered: “Only adult returning guests can order it. No takeout and no leftovers.”

 

Gloria let out a breath of relief and opened the door. It was indeed Luoshan Zi. It seemed she received the messages left for her, or she was just an insanely clever detective.

 

“Okay, good on you to ask three questions.” Luoshan Zi was sweaty, her clothes were dirty and slightly ragged - she was in some kind of fight or scuffle, but she did not appear to be injured. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll cut to the chase: I’ve put word out in seeking some old friends of ours. You know some of them as well, Gloria, they taught you. And - not gonna get into too much detail, but we are trying to formulate a plan to rescue the sages and scholars, hopefully soon.”

 

“Oh!” Turner Ouyang and Tae Kuo gasped at the same time.

 

“What?” Luoshan Zi narrowed her eye.

 

“We know where they are - possibly.” Turner Ouyang raised the piece of paper with his sketch on it.

 

Luoshan Zi rushed to Turner Ouyang’s side and snatched the paper from his hand before he could even realize what was going on.

 

“Lake Aqiu - are these Qiyun Spots?” Luoshan Zi asked, her frown deepened.

 

“Not exactly - they are proposed locations of the electric substations - or - substations invented to serve as spots of the electric grid array.” Turner Ouyang nodded: “And I was just about to tell them - I think the scholars, monks and sages are hidden somewhere underneath the lake.”

 

“But where could that be?” Luoshan Zi handed the piece of paper back to Turner Ouyang.

 

“Cross Lake Express.” Turner Ouyang ran his fingers from the sketched lake, up to down: “Do you guys remember that?”

 

“Yes. A subway project the city initiated, it was never finished because they ran out of funding really soon.” Tae Kuo shrugged: “But that’s the official story anyway.”

 

“So, you’re saying there are tunnels left in that project?” Luoshan Zi thought for a moment before nodding at Turner Ouyang: “Good - good theory. And it makes sense, if there is even a section of unfinished tunnel in the lake, they could just do it there.”

 

“But - what about a boat? If they’re holding the scholars on a boat or a ship, that would make it easier, right?” Sue asked.

 

Luoshan Zi hesitated for a short moment before speaking in a calm but still furious tone: “Yes. But in order to actually use them as some kind of substitute pillar or blessing, you must have a steady central altar somewhere, and the pillars need to be grounded.” 

 

“I - I see.” Sue sighed: “That means if we want to save all of them, the best chance is to go underground?”

 

“I’m afraid so.” Turner Ouyang sighed: “And - even though I am very convinced of it, I must still say it’s still - still a theory.” His head got lower with almost each word out of his mouth.

 

“Don’t.” Sue grabbed his right hand and shook her head: “It’s the best theory we’ve got so far.”

 

“Yeah - but if you go there, you’d be risking - ”

 

“It’s fine. We’ll be prepared.” Luoshan Zi shook her head: “We have our people, and we have the element of surprise. And most importantly, this is something we have to do. We’ll do some quick preparations, then head out tomorrow evening. Gloria, what do you say?”

 

Everyone’s eyes fixed on Gloria at the same time.

 

“I - I’d really love to - ” Gloria looked Luoshan Zi straight in her eyes and apologized: “But - I’m really sorry about this, Luoshan, but I cannot join you on this quest.”

 

“What? Why?” Luoshan Zi was genuinely surprised.

 

Gloria took a deep breath, before responding to her boss and her mentor’s inquiry: “Because - because I already made a promise to Detective Cai. He has a plan to strike at them at their center of operation, strike them right at their heart. I - I know the importance of rescuing those scholars and sages, I really do. But - I must do this.”

 

Luoshan Zi stared at Gloria for a few seconds, before asking: “What are his plans? Tell me everything you think is proper to share.”

 

Gloria thought for a short moment before responding: “He found out that these people - the people who are using electric substations and the electric grid as a large scale array to suppress the paranormal. He plans to actually ‘reboot’ the array, and  He connected with the master from the Temple of Forgetfulness, and they are going to act the same time as you would tomorrow. I made a promise to him that I would go with him.”

 

Luoshan Zi fixed her eyes on Gloria’s eyes for a few more moments, long enough to make others in the room uncomfortable. “We could really use your strength in this, you know. We are there to rescue scholars, and take back the actual pillars - backbones of our community. When we get them back, those people’s plan, whatever it is, will be foiled.”

 

“Yes. But HIS plan would not only help rid the city of the corrupt Qiyun flow, it will also land a critical hit right at those people at their own place of operation.” Gloria responded, stern and unyielding.

 

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