Once Yang saw that my conversation had wrapped up, his head perked up, and he jogged up to me. I approached him leisurely.

  “I’m hoping your conversation with Feiyu went better than last time?” Yang asked.

  “Every conversation I have with him is a bad one.”

  “What about Owl? I thought he was a bit eccentric when I first met him. It’s noble and a bit crazy to take on such a large party, but it seems like he’s done a good job of keeping them alive, even if they’re in bad shape.”

  “I hate that guy more than I hate Feiyu. He’s so performative.”

  Yang quirked his brow, and I rolled my eyes at the suggestion behind them. “In a different way than me. He’s just been kissing ass since he came back in third place. What a shame it is to share a podium with that loser…” I lifted my head to look at the rows of people from Owl’s party now resting against the station’s pillars. “How are they doing?”

  “They’re doing good. Cheng is extremely talented, you know?”

  “Yup. Probably the best healer we’ll have in these parts. Though,” I pointed a finger at Yang, “I think you’d have a pretty good knack for it if you decided to pick it up.”

  “Me?” He exclaimed in surprise, pointing at himself.

  “Yup. I think you’re special, too, Yang. You could do whatever you set your mind and heart to.”

  “Did Feiyu cause your brain to short-circuit?”

  “No. I’m just kissing your ass. See how annoying it is?”

  Yang smiled and looked down at the ground.

  “Mind helping me out a bit more in the meantime?” I asked Yang.

  “If I refuse, I think you’ll really lop my head off this time.”

  “I want our party to garner more favor with the disciples. Ruoming’s party benefits a ton from Feiyu’s presence and the fact they set up the entire train-base system when they first got here. It’ll be bad if people see us as wannabees that want to uproot everything for power.”

  “It’ll be easier if we work with Ruoming’s party to accomplish that. It’ll only be a benefit if we’re on good terms with them, and I’m not better than Feiyu when it comes to saying the right things.”

  “That Ruoming guy… how did he get so lucky?” I asked, vividly remembering the first moment I spotted Ruoming.

  It was still hard, if not impossible, for me to think he wasn’t Rui. Obviously, a part of me desperately wanted to believe that I’d encounter Rui again, and if I did, he would accept me and tell me why he left me all thouse years ago.

  He even managed to get my sister into his party. Even if I didn’t want to work with Ruoming or Feiyu for a moment longer than I had to, I wanted to be close to Qijing, just to keep an eye on her. If she lost both her mother and father, then it only made sense for her big sister to step up to protect her.

  I shook my head. “You’re right, Yang. In that case, I think you and Cheng make a good pair, and you two can keep working toward healing the other disciples. But make sure it’s clear who you’re allied with. This isn’t charity work. It’s garnering favor.”

  “I hate to think of it like that, especially if I don’t mind helping them.”

  I remembered our final conversation before the apocalypse—about how Yang didn’t mind helping hoarders. About how he simply wanted to propel them forward into a new life that might be a little more kind to them.

  For the most part, we were still the same people, even if some pieces of us had been swapped out with new ones.

  I smiled softly at Yang, and he looked back at me in surprise. At the very least, I could be reassured that Yang would always be a better person than me, and that thought brought a feeling of great calm through me. There would always be good people in the world, even if they were pushed past the edge.

  “You’re right.”

  I opened up my blue profile screen, and quickly navigated to the party chat. I opened it up.

  [Party Chat]

  Peijin: Let’s do our best to leave a good impression on the disciples and work with Feiyu. Yang, keep working with Cheng to help heal the disciples. Yue, lightly use Magician’s Hand to help soothe patients who might be haunted by what they saw in their dungeon rooms. Have Amelia accompany you. Wei, tail Feiyu for a minute. Or you can rest if you think that’s better.

  I wanted Wei to be with Feiyu rather than alone with his own thoughts. I figured that no one could better soothe Wei than Feiyu, and I knew Wei wouldn’t go into too much detail as to spill what we knew about the Major Arcana.

  I suddenly remembered how Wei received the white robes I originally wanted to give him, and my chest tightened. Was that from Ruoming, then? My lips pressed together in a thin line.

  [Party Chat]

  Peijin: But I don’t want any of you talking to Ruoming, period.

  Yue: Keeping him all to yourself? :,(

  Peijin: Watch yourself in front of Amelia.

  Wei: Thank you, Peijin.

  Yang: Understood.

  Amelia: Okay!!!

  I looked up at Yang and smiled. “Alright. Let’s secure this win.”

  “Got it boss,” he answered brightly.

  Yang moved away from me and the platform, immediately returning to Cheng who greeted him with open arms.

  A flash of blue appeared behind me, and I instantly recognized it as my personal broadcaster.

  “You’ve got a bit of a collaborative streak going, don’t you?” Chang said, hovering behind me with his arms crossed. “I have to say, I’m really surprised.”

  “Do you have anything important to say to me?”

  “Hmph. The next arc starts soon. I’m preparing the arc message to be sent out.”

  “It’s the one about the citadel, right?”

  The third arc took place in a citadel, in which the top three parties from the second arc would be competing with each other to conquer the throne. It sounded incredibly simple, but it was a massive location, and the stakes were high. Whoever took control of the throne would rule over all the local disciples, however they would also be subservient to the gods who supplied them this power.

  This time, Chang’s face hardly showed any surprise at the knowledge I possessed. He must have gotten used to my antics by now.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Of course. My dearest Peijin could never be wrong about one of her predictions!”

  “Do you have another candy?” I asked, turning to face him and extending a hand out.

  Chang shot me an exasperated look with a slight pout. “Is that the only way I can get your favor?”

  “Yes. I suggest you keep a massive stash of orange lollipops on you now, and I’ll keep sending money your way.”

  “You’re so mean and transactional,” Chang sighed.

  He lifted his two clawed hands and cupped them before his chest. A blue flash appeared before a lollipop fell into his claws. He promptly unwrapped it and shoved it into my mouth without warning.

  I was about to scold him before I spotted his one missing scale. I felt a slight pang of guilt go through me until I remembered just how much this little creature was profiting off of my presence in his broadcast, and I instantly felt fine.

  Besides, this thing worked for the gods. Maybe I would feel more sympathetic if he wasn’t so corrupt. Oh well.

  I sucked on the lollipop and savored the flavor for a moment before I grabbed the stick and popped it out my mouth. “Is there anything I should know about the next arc?”

  “Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t tell you unless you give me something in return.”

  “Gosh, Chang, don’t even pull that on me right now. Or I really will be cranky and mean.”

  Chang faked a shiver. “Sorry, sorry. Just the thought of that terrified me. But I really can’t tell you much because of karmic restraints. All I can say is that popularity matters.”

  “What?”

  “That means you need to be popular.”

  “I could tell that much. Are you serious?”

  “Why would I lie to you?”

  “Well, shit.”

  “I mean, if you think about it,” Chang said, bringing up a blue screen before the both of us, “Your popularity has grown quite a bit. See this graph? Before, you were at five percent approval, but now you’re at twenty percent. It’s incredibly impressive if you think about it.”

  “...”

  “I’m not being facetious, Peijin.”

  “Okay, okay. I get it. I’m sure things will work out.”

  “You’re definitely a great optimist when things are totally hopeless.”

  I shooed Chang away, and he vanished in a flurry of blue sparks.

  Theoretically, if popularity or the votes of gods and observers influenced the next arc, it would have pretty polarizing results. My party had a handful of loyal observers and gods, but at the same time, my party was well-hated by members of both…

  I let out a heavy sigh and ran my hand through my hair. There wasn’t a point in worrying about it yet. I was already trying to improve my party’s public standing, and a good performance was always going to curry favor.

  As long as my party didn’t fumble the entire citadel, we still had a very good chance. And, I had no intention of losing this time around.

  I pushed through the crowd of disciples and leaned against a nearby pillar, tapping Zhige on the ground as I stared into its eye.

  “Zhige. Do you like me more than your past owner?” I asked, lifting the blade until we were looking directly into each other’s eyes.

  Zhige blinked at me before looking away.

  “Zhige…”

  Zhige hesitantly looked at me again.

  “Zhige, don’t you think I’ve been very nice to you?” I pouted. “Was your old owner that cool?”

  Zhige moved its eye up and down, as if nodding. I glared at it.

  “Didn’t you turn me into The Tower? I think you should take some more responsibility, Zhige. Now, I’m in some super crazy time loop. That really breaks my heart, you know?”

  Zhige’s eyes widened and quickly shook side to side, as if it was vehemently denying my claim.

  “Hmm, that’s definitely how I see it, though. Maybe I’ll find it in my heart to forgive you some day.”

  The eye squinted painfully, like it was getting ready to cry. I let out a laugh and patted the blade gingerly. “I’m just kidding. I trust you. For now.”

  Before I could continue teasing it, I saw Amelia sprinting toward me from across the platform.

  “Peijin!”

  I squatted down so I could catch her in my arms and toss her up into the air. “Where’s Yue-ayi?”

  “Yue-ayi is okay, but I missed you.”

  “Good girl!” I praised her, a big grin on my face. “Make sure you remind Yue-ayi of that all the time, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  Amelia buried her face into the crook between my neck and shoulder again. I smiled at her.

  “Peijin… do you like me more than anyone else?”

  Amelia’s question caught me entirely off guard, and I looked at her in surprise. “Of course. Amelia is my favorite out of everyone.”

  “Do you promise?”

  Had she overheard my conversation with Zhige? It would be pretty amusing if she was jealous of a simple blade, and a slight smile grew on my face.

  “Of course. Why do you ask?

  “Because I’m worried Peijin won’t like me as much in the future.”

  “Huuuh?”

  Amelia pulled away from my shoulder, her lips in a pout and her brow furrowed. Her eyes bore deep into mine. “You won’t like Qijing more than me. Will you?”

  I paused, my eyes widening slightly as I looked at her. I quickly brought my expression back to a warm and pleasant one. “Did you see us talk earlier?”

  “I heard it.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “I thought you were asleep. Is your hearing that good now because of your skills?”

  Amelia gave a slight nod, but the frown was still on her face. “You’re ignoring me.”

  “Amelia, you’re the dearest to me. Far more than Qijing. If you think I was being extra nice to her, it’s only because she’s a lot more shy than you. I wanted her to warm up to me.”

  “But it’s not like that,” Amelia insisted. “You talk to us in totally different ways. I’ve never heard you ever struggle with me like you struggled with Qijing. You didn’t even talk to Ailun like that, even though he hardly spoke a word!” Her expression twisted into an even bigger pout. “I’m really jealous.”

  I suddenly burst out laughing, bringing up one hand to cup her cheek while my other still held onto her securely.

  “I’m sorry, Amelia. I didn’t think you’d feel like that. I only want you two to get along.”

  “And you promise you won’t change your mind?”

  “I promise I won’t.” I brought my hand up and extended a pinky out to her. “I’ll even pinky promise you. Do you know what that means?”

  Amelia shook her head back and forth.

  “It means I can never break this promise. If I break it, I’ll have to cut off my own pinky,” I said dramatically.

  Amelia’s eyes lit up in fear. “I won’t make you do that!”

  “I’m just kidding,” I laughed, grabbing her pinky with my own and shaking our hands. “But, it means I’ll never break this promise, okay? So don’t keep Yue-ayi worried about you. You snuck away from her, didn’t you?”

  She looked up at me expectantly, and I gently ruffled her curly, blond hair. Amelia didn’t say another word, but she reached out and hugged my leg with all her strength before running back off toward Yue, who had since realized Amelia went missing and was desperately scrambling all oer the station looking for her.

  “Amelia!” Yue shouted, her shoulders tense. “What the hell?! Don’t run off like that!”

  “I’m sorry, Yue-ayi!” Amelia exclaimed apologetically, her voice trailing off the farther she got from me.

  [Divinity Far Shooting Queen of Beasts watches Disciple Amelia fondly.]

  [Party Chat]

  Peijin: Yue, how the hell could you take your eyes off Amelia for even a second??

  Yue: Oh my god, I swear she snuck away. I was literally watching her like a hawk the entire time

  Peijin: Obviously not. I saw her terrified and alone. The poor girl must have been terrified.

  Amelia: Yes!!

  Peijin: And if you knew she was missing, why wouldn’t you shoot a message in the chat, huh? Trying to keep your mistake a secret?

  Yue: If I didn’t find her I would’ve sent a message…

  Amelia: Yue-ayi, don’t waste your messages!!

  Yue: I actually hate you guys.

  Yang: LOL

  [Observers Chat]

  Socrates: Jia Li, I’m curious. If it ever came down to it, would you save Amelia or Qijing?

  “What the fuck kind of a question is that?” I exclaimed at the message, glaring at my screen. “Didn’t you just hear the conversation I just had? I would try to save them both, but Amelia is my responsibility.”

  [Observers Chat]

  Socrates: I’m just asking… Jia Li, you’re weirdly kind to that girl. I’m only worried that Qijing could be a weak spot for you.

  No one knew that Qijing was my sister. Not even Socrates. It made their doubts all the more frustrating. Why would I choose a girl they thought I had no connections to over Amelia?

  “My family is my party,” I emphasized. “They’re all I have. Apart from them, there is not a single thing left for me.”

  [Observers Chat]

  Socrates: I’m not down there with you, but I hope you know that I always have your back too, Jia Li.

  I let out a huff. “What happened to hating me?”

  [Observers Chat]

  Socrates: You’ve weaseled your way into my heart. Congratulations.

  “Your virtual heart?”

  Before our banter could continue, a giant blue screen appeared before me, and I instantly read through it.

  [ARC #3—BATTLE OF THE ASCENSION CITADEL

  Difficulty: C

  Task: The top three parties will be competing in the Ascension Citadel. Parties will be spawned into the main floor of the citadel, and they must fight their way to the throne. Whichever party sits on the Ascension throne first will become the ruling party of China. Both gods and observers will participate in ongoing votes for their favorite party or disciple, granting the winners buffs or the losers debuffs.

  Reward: Recognized leader of China and 100,000 stars per party member.]