“No.” Lei Ting rejected the request. “You should know better than we do the nature of the connection between yourself and the citizens of the Empire. We have neither the time nor the possibility to kill you.”
Black mist surged. In the distance, Kotales let out a long breath. This time, the source of that ethereal chill—a hazy, thin shroud of black mist—swept through the entire hall along with his breath.
The wind was as bone-chilling as the return of an ice age. This power also manifested from the avatar standing before them, sending a shiver through their hearts and instinctively heightening their vigilance.
“Fine.” Kotales ended his long sigh with a short word. “You are right,” he said.
The red-haired Kotales turned back to gaze at the city.
“I have actually waited for you for a long, long time,” he said. “In days you know nothing of.”
He did not sigh again, but the words themselves carried the weight of one.
Lei Ting and Evenheiler exchanged a look, both wearing slightly strange expressions—to be honest, neither of them had expected this turn of events today.
After a moment, the former asked Kotales, “From your perspective, when was the earliest we appeared?”
“I don’t know,” Kotales said.
“You don’t know?”
“I truly do not.”
Kotales repeated his answer. He raised his hand, letting the sunlight filter through his fingers. It cast dappled shadows across his thick, long hair—a red so vibrant it was almost gaudy—making it look like a burning waterfall.
“It is difficult for me to explain why...” He let out a long breath. “...I can only say that I have forgotten many things. But you will not lack the opportunity to learn it all, for I know that you will encounter me again.”
“Will this be the last time we meet you?” Evenheiler asked suddenly.
“I don’t know,” Kotales said again.
But this time, he was smiling.
“To be able to ask that question, you indeed know quite a bit... Yes, I can observe the future through the power of the ‘Alarm Bell’,” he said. “There are many powers in the universe that can predict the future. But the ‘Alarm Bell’ is among the most effective...”
“Why?” Lei Ting asked casually.
Evenheiler looked at Lei Ting, raising his left eyebrow: *Would Kotales really just reveal a secret like that?*
“Macro-information synthesis and analysis, plus a little bit of psychic power,” Kotales answered just as casually.
Evenheiler looked at Kotales, raising his right eyebrow: *You really just answered that?*
“Don’t give me that look, my friend... There’s no point in hiding things from you. After all, in your era, it has already been smashed to pieces,” Kotales laughed.
He seemed very familiar with both of them, which felt increasingly uncanny.
However, Kotales did not pursue the topic. “Knowing too much will not benefit you. If history changes, the past will be of no help to you; if history remains unchanged, it proves my choice was correct.”
“If I recall correctly, you were just saying you wanted to try something and ended up losing control,” Evenheiler said tonelessly, his words accurately striking a sore spot.
“...” Kotales’s expression stiffened. He pursed his lips, his expression remarkably human.
“Come,” he said. “Follow me into the city...”
“To do what?” Lei Ting asked.
“To have a meal.” Kotales’s expression was perfectly natural as he replied. “It wasn’t easy to meet you; I can’t exactly let you continue your journey on an empty stomach, can I?”
“...?”
An invitation to dinner? Lei Ting was stunned. He felt as though the concept had somehow become distant to him. Although he had recently treated Kang Li to a meal—using the massive salary savings he hadn’t touched for over twenty years—this felt different.
“Mm-hmm, I plan to treat you to a meal in what your history books call the early ‘Ancient Greek’ period. Any problems?”
Kotales smiled and asked back. Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Don’t worry, I won’t make it taste bad. Although I haven't brought anything from the ‘outside’ because I can’t risk exposing my interference in the historical progress of a primitive civilization, they already have salt here. Combined with some other plant seasonings, I can guarantee you a fairly sumptuous dinner.”
Dinner... yes, dinner.
The sky had darkened, and night had shrouded all things. However, the world in the eyes of a Hunter remained clear, merely overlaid with a transparent, dark blue filter.
Most of the people in the city had returned to their homes. Very few places emitted light, as stable lighting in this era could be as expensive as gold or silver.
Yet, in the center of the town, a soft glow persisted through the night. Figures flickered within; a banquet was taking place. Fat, milk, fruit wine, and honey were served in jars, brought to various tables by attendants alongside sweet fruits.
Though it was extravagant and cliché—and some of the activities within made one want to walk away—compared to cold iron walls and starship arrays, it was overflowing with the breath of 'life.'
It was enough to make Lei Ting’s expression turn momentarily vacant. ‘Life’—at some point, the distance between him and those two words had become even greater than the distance between him and a ‘dinner invitation.’
But... “No,” he said, believing that his work was far from finished and he had no time for pleasure—
“Sure,” Evenheiler said suddenly.
The mature, handsome blonde man’s voice was much louder than Lei Ting’s. With the most affectionate tone, he ruthlessly overrode the latter’s voice, accepting the invitation on his behalf and even fast-forwarding to a new question: “What are we eating? Are you the one hosting that banquet?”
“Me? No. Of course not.” Kotales also briskly ignored Lei Ting’s opinion, leading the two of them forward. “I have no pursuit of sex or luxury; my joy lies in nature and the stars. But I know the person hosting the banquet. I’m teaching him some interesting things. If you want to join in, I can take you inside...”
Behind him, Lei Ting’s brow furrowed. He tried to exchange a few words with Evenheiler in the night wind to confirm their current common goals and execution procedures, emphasizing that meaningless pleasure and dining were a complete waste of time—honestly, they didn't even need to eat. At their level of existence, the nutrients from conventional food couldn't possibly sustain their activities; eating was nothing more than a matter of taste!
But when Lei Ting said all this with a serious tone via mental transmission, Evenheiler let out a soft chuckle. “Oh...”
He suddenly raised his voice again: “Mr. Kotales, or should I say Atreus? I’d like to attend that banquet. Yes, just me!”
“The *two* of us!!!” Lei Ting growled out.
Then, his usually steady eyelid twitched, and his expression quickly returned to calm. But he could no longer stop the smile on Evenheiler’s face. Meanwhile, Kotales gave an affirmative shout from up ahead, his voice also tinged with a hint of amusement.
This made Lei Ting feel a long-lost sense of embarrassment.
He pressed his lips together into a cold, hard line and said nothing.
But Evenheiler had no intention of letting him off. Instead, he leaned in close with great interest, whispering up at him from a delicate distance: “‘Pleasure is just a waste of time’? Hmm?”
“...I am not going for pleasure,” Lei Ting replied stiffly, though his voice lacked any real conviction.
“Then why?” Evenheiler asked, knowing full well the answer. “The Speaker of the Federal Parliament must be very well-traveled... What are you going to such an ancient banquet for?”
As he spoke, he nearly laughed out loud seeing Lei Ting’s face grow increasingly rigid. “Or could it be that our galaxy’s most famous ‘Archaist’ has seen something he likes and is preparing to do some field research? Is he planning to go back six or seven thousand years later and use his formidable rhetorical skills to cross over into history and write a few papers?”
Sarcasm, teasing, and deliberate wordplay. From anyone else, these words wouldn't have elicited a reaction from Lei Ting, but coming from Evenheiler’s mouth, they made the veins on his forehead throb.
However, this flash of irritable anger couldn't stay in his heart for long. Soon, he relaxed his tense posture and let out a sigh.
“...Sigh............”
This breath was so long it felt as if it had been stagnating in his chest for twenty-five years. The weight it carried was enough to bend steel and crush mountains.
But Evenheiler still wore a smile, looking almost as if he had ‘succeeded.’
“Even... do you really have to torment me like this?”
There was a trace of helplessness in Lei Ting’s voice. “I really am not interested in entertainment.”
“But you can’t deny that humans need entertainment,” Evenheiler smiled.
Under the night sky, his emerald eyes were like two seas inviting one to dive deep.
But Lei Ting didn't look at him.
“Over these past dozen years, you’ve been far too tense... so tense I’ve wanted to punch you a few more times. Though to be honest, I can’t bring myself to do it.” Evenheiler shrugged. “But, I mean... you have to try, don’t you?”
“I’d rather you just punch me a few more times,” Lei Ting said, utterly helpless.
“No.” Evenheiler rejected him flatly. “Compared to giving you a few punches, I find going to a banquet much more attrac—”
“No!!” Lei Ting barked.
This shout in the Hunter language was powerful and resonant, as if he were vetoing some incredibly stupid military order. Kotales couldn't help but burst into laughter up ahead, quickening his pace as he entered the city streets.
The place didn't seem to have much of a curfew. On the dim streets, occasional pedestrians could still be seen, but none of them noticed the trio.
Stray dogs with filthy fur hid in the shadows, their eyes tracking the pedestrians with fierce, wild intensity, yet they dared not look in the direction of the three men.
Lei Ting fell silent and turned his head away.
It took Evenheiler a full thirty seconds of effort to keep himself from actually laughing out loud. He stopped provoking Lei Ting and instead grabbed the other man’s hand, locking their fingers together through their gloves and pulling him forward with long strides.
Lei Ting froze for a moment, habitually relaxing his strength so as not to resist the pull, and was thus forced to walk forward.
Both of them had exceptionally long legs, and they caught up to Kotales in an instant. But in that instant, Lei Ting turned to look at Evenheiler. He saw the top of the head of the man he once could only look up to. The collar of the futuristic trench coat stood up, obscuring half of his face, while soft golden hair rested on his shoulders, a beautiful gold fluttering in the cold night.
The night wind blew between them, as if trying to pass through their locked fingers, or perhaps chasing after Evenheiler’s sharply defined silhouette.
Lei Ting remained silent for a moment, then tightened his grip, locking their fingers firmly together.
He was no longer just passively following; he quickened his pace, catching up with the wind dancing through those golden strands.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
警钟 | The Alarm Bell | A powerful artifact or ability used by Kotales to observe the future through data and psychic power.
复古主义者 | Archaist / Revivalist | A term used by Evenheiler to tease Lei Ting's interest in ancient history and culture.
环世界 | Ring World | The location of the Imperial ruler's palace.
