Citywide Mobilization

Around dusk, the water level in the city began to rise.

In the morning, the tide had ebbed very slowly, but now it was coming in fast. By 6:30 p.m., the water was already high enough for boats to pass.

A-Lin helped Chen Miemie hire a small boat and sent him to the Tide Palace.

The Tide Palace was a white, domed building. The structure itself was not particularly large, but the square in front of it was spacious enough to accommodate a great many people.

The entire palace and plaza had been built atop a high foundation. Even at high tide, the square remained slightly above the waterline and could still be used normally.

Chen Miemie entered the square with his ticket.

For today’s citywide mobilization, spectators did not need to enter the Tide Palace. They only had to take part in the event on the square.

With the symmetrical palace as its backdrop, a small balcony jutted from the middle of the palace, more than ten meters above the ground. Directly in front of it, a short distance below, were three rows of seats.

By the time Chen Miemie arrived, it was 6:50 p.m.

The back two rows were already more or less full, while half the seats in the first row had been taken.

Behind the three rows of seats stood a vast, densely packed crowd.

A narrow passage had been left through the crowd. Chen Miemie made his way through it and found his seat, number 19.

Each row had only twenty seats. The seats to the left of the center were odd-numbered, while those to the right were even-numbered. Chen Miemie’s seat, number 19, was at the far left edge of the row.

His arrival immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The seats here had not been assigned at random. The place he occupied normally belonged to a senior official of Tide Hall.

Because news did not travel easily between the cities of the Hundred Cities world, and because mystics preferred to keep themselves hidden, almost none of the powerful figures present knew Chen Miemie personally.

Some had heard his name, but could not match it to his face at first glance.

Almost none of them knew him—almost.

Seahorse, seated in the sixth position, wore a suit of armor that made her particularly conspicuous amid the crowd. She gave Chen Miemie a slight nod.

The black-clad woman in seat number 7 also smiled at him.

The middle-aged gentleman in seat number 17, directly beside Chen Miemie, even initiated a conversation.

“Mr. Chen Mie Mie, welcome to the Tide Palace.”

The man wore a gray suit and a neatly groomed mustache. His hair was styled to perfection. He was, in short, an exceptionally handsome middle-aged man.

Chen Miemie shook his hand.

“And you are?”

“My surname is Tong. My codename is [Tongqu]. I’m responsible for information-related affairs in the city.”

Chen Miemie understood at once. So this was the head of intelligence in [Foamwave Harbor], more or less the equivalent of Director Jia in Four Elephants City. He had probably been specially assigned to receive him.

Since someone had started a conversation, Chen Miemie naturally saw no reason to be polite.

“Mr. Tong, may I ask who the woman in seat number 7 is?”

Mr. Tong turned to look to his right and immediately knew whom Chen Miemie meant.

“That is the president of the [Black Tide Chamber of Commerce], Miss Bo Yunjian, codename [Black Box].”

Chen Miemie nodded and did not ask anything further. So she was the true owner behind [Black Tide Travel Agency]. After paying a high price for Dentist that morning, Miss Bo had presumably investigated him by now. It was hardly surprising that she recognized him.

6:58 p.m.

The final heavyweight made his appearance.

With an octopus for a head, Bajiao emerged from the Tide Palace amid the cheers of the crowd. He waved his tentacles at the people, then finally took his seat in position number 1.

Observing the crowd’s reaction, Chen Miemie now had a clear idea of things. It seemed that this governor enjoyed tremendous popularity among the people.

Exactly 7:00 p.m.

The ceremonial band on the balcony of the Tide Palace began to play, filling the air with a stirring, passionate melody.

The music continued for three minutes. Everyone in the square, whether seated or standing, focused on the balcony above them. The entire crowd held its breath in absolute silence.

When the band finished playing, a man in formal attire stepped forward and began to speak.

He did not introduce himself or offer any preliminary remarks. He went straight to the heart of the matter.

“Citizens, and friends who have come to our aid, good evening.

“I believe the entire city is already aware of the grave situation we face. This is a matter of life and death for [Foamwave Harbor].

“Our city was built on the seabed and has stood for more than ten thousand years.

“Not long ago, cracks appeared in the undersea ridge barrier ahead of us. If the ridge collapses, our city will be submerged and vanish beneath the waves.

“This is unfortunate news. But fortunately, we discovered the problem in time, and we still have a chance to buy ourselves time and seek a solution.

“We have assembled a large number of geologists, engineers, and oceanographers. We have summoned many of the strongest individuals from the human cities. We will do whatever it takes and give everything we have to protect the homeland where our people have lived for generations.

“The undersea ridge has been weakened by millions of years of erosion from hidden currents, along with unceasing geological activity on the ocean floor. It was already extremely fragile, making the problem extraordinarily difficult to solve. At such a moment, we absolutely cannot allow anyone or anything to hinder our efforts to preserve our home.

“The undersea demon clans have sent people to investigate the cracks in the ridge on several occasions. If we are submerged, the city will change hands, and they will be the ones to profit. Therefore, we must ensure that they cannot interfere with us…”

Chen Miemie listened through half of the speech. Once the man began arguing for the necessity and legitimacy of launching a preemptive attack on the undersea demon clans, his mind began to wander.

Eliminating potential dangers before they became real threats was a normal line of reasoning for those in power. From the human perspective, there was nothing wrong with it.

Especially when the potential threat itself stood to benefit from the disaster, suspicion became all the more reasonable.

Of course, different positions led to different conclusions. Chen Miemie could not be bothered to look at the matter from every possible angle.

The reason he found the speech dull was that all he heard were phrases about eliminating hidden dangers, buying time, and uniting everyone’s strength. He had heard nothing about the most crucial issue of all.

As far as he was concerned, the key problem was not the war between humans and the demon clans, but “how to stop the collapsing ridge.”

If that problem was not solved, then even if [Clam Ruins] were beaten to the point where none of its people could leave the city, [Foamwave Harbor] would still meet the same end.

The true destroyer of the city would not be the demon clans. It would be the natural terrain, the shifting of geological plates, and the enormous waves of the sea.

Fortunately, the official spoke at a moderate pace—not too slowly—and his speech was neither rambling nor overly long. After a little more than ten minutes, he brought it to an end.

“Finally, let us welcome our City Lord to bestow the ‘Battle Hymn’ upon the entire city!”

With that, he stepped aside.

Chen Miemie snapped out of his distraction, craned his neck, and stared at the balcony with keen curiosity.

Half a minute passed after the man’s voice faded.

Then, from behind the balcony, a slender figure slowly emerged.

Chen Miemie had excellent eyesight. Even from a considerable distance, he could make out many details.

The City Lord wore a plain formal gown without any complicated pleats or patterns. The blue fabric and her pale skin made her look like a sea-born wave.

Her hair was white, and the irises of her eyes were different colors—one black, the other gray.

From the moment she appeared, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her small hands were clenched into fists beneath her sleeves.

The birds that had been circling overhead because of the large crowd below now descended in flocks, settling on the ground around her.

She made her way to the microphone stand, which not only amplified her voice but was also connected to the citywide broadcast system.

Looking down at the vast sea of people below, the girl forced herself to remain calm, but the panic she was struggling to suppress showed in her eyes.

She stood at the podium and quietly waited for a full minute without saying a word.

Everyone remained silent, watching her in stillness and waiting for her to speak.

On the terrace, the man who had spoken earlier gave a light cough, signaling that she needed to begin at once.

The awkward silence made the atmosphere unbearably heavy, with every passing second seeming to stretch on forever.

At last, the girl parted her trembling lips and produced her first note.

“Ah.”

But that was all she managed.

Under the expressionless, unblinking stares of everyone present, the girl grew even more flustered. Her fidgeting increased—she bit her lip lightly and glanced from side to side, as though searching for help.

Unfortunately, this was her moment. No one could help her.

“Ah... ah~” She tried to sing again, but what came out still sounded like a wordless hum.

Chen Miemie looked around. The people seated nearby and those standing behind him all wore dark expressions, their eyes unfocused. Quite a few openly displayed looks of disappointment.

The girl continued trying. Bit by bit, she “split” the battle hymn into individual syllables, forcing herself to hum each one.

The next dozen minutes or so were the longest dozen minutes Chen Miemie had ever experienced.

When he finally walked out of the square, he had no idea what tune the song had been in. The only things he remembered were the frozen air and the oppressive tension hanging over the crowd.

[Seahorse] exited alongside him.

The armored witch spoke in a completely flat tone:

“You’ll get used to it. That’s just how our Mute City Lord is. She was born with a condition that left her half-stammering and half-mute, yet, unfortunately, she awakened the [Mystery] of ‘Chanting.’ It’s always been like this.

“Festival blessings are one thing, but for her to be like this even before a battle... It’s no wonder everyone finds it especially disappointing.”