Dance on the Edge

Whether it was Nurse Zhao or Old Chen the sanitation worker, whether they could be found was no longer important.

Building 18 in the South District belonged to the Moon Church. Old Chen, who was monitoring Chen Miemie's movements, belonged to the Church. The medical assistance quota that Nurse Zhao had tampered with also belonged to the Church.

The truth was clear: the mastermind was inside the Church.

Interestingly, a whole day had passed since he left the Church after exposing the loop, yet nothing had changed in Sixiang City. There was no breaking news about a new race emerging from the mist.

The Night of the Frost Moon.

8:00 PM, the routine assembly of the Silver Moon Court.

Today, Chen Miemie was fifteen minutes late. He tiptoed to his little moon, trying to go unnoticed.

"Chen Miemie, why are you sneaking around like a thief?"

Chen Miemie looked toward the voice, his heart sinking. Great, it was Leng Ruxue. This guy was definitely getting back at him for telling him cold jokes at the market last night.

"I just slept too well this afternoon and woke up late. Don't mind me, please continue."

"Slept too well? You didn't actually sleep on that mattress, did you?"

"Of course I did. It'd be a waste to buy it and not use it."

The Second Seat, Architect Framework, started laughing. His laugh was grating.

It wasn't that he meant any harm; rather, the bone structure in his throat seemed different from others, making his voice sound like glass scraping against the floor.

"Why wouldn't he sleep on it? If my bones weren't so sharp, I would've used that mattress myself."

It turned out that Framework was the previous owner of the Slumber Embracer.

Leng Ruxue fully agreed with Framework. "True. If you slept on that mattress, you'd probably be poked full of holes by morning."

Chen Miemie had seen the Architect Framework's fighting style before. Bone blades and spikes would sprout all over his body, turning him into a literal hedgehog.

Their banter failed to distract the President, Fina.

She turned her Rubik's Cube-like head. "Chen Miemie, you're late."

Chen Miemie took responsibility. "Yes, I am. How about this? I'll perform a little something for everyone. To tell you the truth, I'm also a bard. I'll perform my original song, The Moon Represents My Heart, dedicated to you all."

"That won't be necessary," Leng Ruxue quickly stopped him.

"Pass."

"No need."

An overwhelming number of people rejected the offer.

Chen Miemie was forced to swallow his brimming talent, feeling a bit hurt.

He hadn't even started singing, so why did they all refuse?

The reason was simple. The members of the society were all aloof and proud. If Chen Miemie set a precedent for performing, it would eventually be their turn, and no one wanted to die of social embarrassment during an assembly.

Fina made the final decision, announcing a minor punishment: "Chen Miemie, you're on street patrol next week. We'll start the schedule with your group."

Kassan had been secretly laughing. As a dancer, she was the only one in the society who wasn't afraid of performing in public. She hadn't expected to become collateral damage the very next moment. Next week, she and Chen Miemie were temporarily grouped together.

The Silver Moon Court only held meetings twice a week on Frost Moon nights. This frequency was relatively low among all the societies.

For example, the South Lord Society required its members to work out together every night. The Day of No Tomorrow didn't count, meaning they could only take one day off out of six.

Liu Bo's Return Society was even more absurd. They worshipped the sun and actually had to hold morning meetings six times a week!

In the Silver Moon Court, few liked to waste words. Therefore, their meetings were very brief if there was nothing important, without dragging out the time.

Tonight, Fina primarily introduced information on some Mystics who had recently arrived in Sixiang City. They might have to fight them next week, so intelligence work had to be done in advance.

"Alright, what we know so far is the twenty individuals I just mentioned. Please make sure to stay home tomorrow during the Day of No Tomorrow and memorize their profiles."

Memorization was Chen Miemie's biggest headache. He held the stack of printed documents he was given. With one page per person for the twenty individuals, the stack was almost as thick as a book.

While the Silver Moon Court was holding its meeting.

Dawn, who was on long-term sick leave, flew alone to the roof of her apartment building.

With her sightless eyes facing the Frost Moon in the sky, she felt the chill in the air and stood motionless for a long time.

After a long while, she let out a deep sigh.

"No matter how bright and beautiful it is, if I can't see it, it has no meaning. We've only known each other for such a short time, yet I chose to trust him. It's truly unbelievable."

Not long after, Kassan returned. Not finding Dawn in the apartment, she skillfully climbed up to the roof.

The sound of the wind stirred by Kassan's movements reached Dawn's ears.

"You're back. What important matters were discussed at the assembly today?"

"The Society Alliance shared intel on a group of powerful individuals. I'll read them to you one by one tomorrow."

"Mhm. There are still more than two hours until the Day of No Tomorrow. Let's go home. The ritual materials are ready, and it's time for you to start your breakthrough."

"Yes, let's go home."

Kassan helped Dawn back home. It was easy for Dawn to fly up and strike a pose, but getting back down on her own was a bit difficult.

After returning home, Kassan bathed and changed her clothes.

Her entire bedroom had been completely emptied.

The bed, desk, chairs, and all other furniture and items had been removed, leaving nothing behind.

With the door closed, it was an empty, sealed room containing nothing but the ritual materials.

Dawn stood guard outside the door.

Kassan was alone in the room.

The ritual for a Critical Point Dancer to advance from Mystery 4 to Mystery 5 began.

Ritual Name: Dance of the Critical Point.

Kassan covered the floor with sand, a full finger deep. This was a type of white gravel from a salt lake, with an extremely high salt content.

Holding a paper umbrella, she stepped barefoot onto the sand.

The white light of the Frost Moon shone through the window, making tiny, sparkling crystals visible in the white sand.

Kassan began to dance.

Her movements went from slow to fast, and at their fastest, they slowed down again, repeating this cycle over and over.

She spun barefoot on the gravel on her tiptoes. The soles of her feet were soon worn raw and began to bleed.

The gravel cut into her skin, and the salt seeped into her wounds.

It was exhausting, making her sweat profusely;

It was agonizing, bringing tears to the corners of her eyes;

But she could not stop.

Gradually, as she danced, her sweat, tears, blood, and the salt crystals began to merge. She gradually lost the sense of the boundary between herself and the salty sand. It seemed that with every spin, her body was weathering, peeling away, and blending into the salt crystals.

The salinization and sandification began to spread upward from the soles of her feet. Kassan was losing her human form.

If this continued, she would eventually turn into a sand or salt person. Fortunately, the paper umbrella in her hand began to exert its power. With every rotation of the umbrella canopy, a small trinket would fall: candy, fruit, balloons, or dolls.

Kassan ate what was edible and tied the balloons and dolls to her body. The sweet taste and childlike joy swept through her, fighting against the salinization and sandification.

The two forces were incompatible like fire and water, pulling back and forth in a stalemate.

Just as Kassan was suffering from excessive blood loss, unbearable dizziness, and double vision...

The critical point arrived.

The critical point was not the pain or the coma, but the exact moment when the concentration of her blood perfectly matched the salty sand beneath her feet.

Finally, in the split second before she completely lost consciousness.

She saw a crystal-clear teardrop fall onto the tip of her toe, which had long since lost all sensation.

The sense of pain returned.

The Dance of the Critical Point was complete.

Critical Point Dancer Kassan achieved Mystery 5.