I write obituaries for the gods

It was the black sword. It stopped Lin Chen, and flashed twice through the gap in the helmet.

Is this considered ambient lighting...? Lin Chen looked at the black sword and asked:

"what happened?"

He roughly understood why Black Sword was looking for him, and he knew that this moment would come sooner or later.

"As the slayer of the demigod Euclid, you will be awarded the 'First Class War Hero' medal by the Rain City government," Black Sword said. "Before receiving this medal, we need to conduct a detailed background check on you, including..."

"The mayor wants to see me, right?" Lin Chen said softly.

Black Sword was caught off guard. He stared at Lin Chen for a long while before saying softly:

"Can't we just complete the process?"

“Sorry, I don’t really like formalities,” Lin Chen said with a soft laugh. “Time and place?”

“When the time comes, a car will come to pick you up. The token is a small goldfish,” Black Sword said. “Just do whatever the driver says.”

"Understood," Lin Chen said calmly. "May I bring weapons?"

"If it makes you feel safer, then bring it."

After finishing speaking, Black Sword nodded to Lin Chen and then walked towards the tombstone in the distance.

Lin Chen noticed that he seemed to have brought a small flower, obviously also to offer flowers.

Truly, a heart of a tiger... yet gently sniffing a rose...

Given their mysterious demeanor, the Municipal Security Bureau is certainly not as simple as it appears.

That day, just as Lin Chen was about to jump onto the Whale Nest platform, Black Sword seemed to say something:

"The Secret Service is always welcome."

The Secret Service—is this their true identity?

A shadow government hidden beneath the city government of Yudu?

Lin Chen shook his head, clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts.

As for what the Secret Party is, he will find out when he meets the mayor.

He took a step forward and walked towards Jiang Zhengge and Li Zhanyi in the distance.

"How is the situation now?" Lin Chen took the thermos cup handed to him by Li Zhanyi and took a sip of hot water.

“Just as we expected, the Foundation packaged Operation Whalers as a ‘joint operation between the Foundation and the Bureau of Investigation’ with the target being ‘the traitor Euclid’,” Jiang Zhengge lit a cigarette. “Objectively speaking, they did help us; Terry helped us take down the multi-eyed Sirens.”

"The premise is that the multi-eyed sirens weren't raised by them themselves," Lin Chen said softly.

“The possibility is slim,” Li Zhanyi shook his head, “and this is also an important direction for our next investigation.”

"After all, the 'second rift' incident caused too much damage to Yudu."

Jiang Zhengge looked out over the distant lawn, where many people were being buried at the same time, beneath the dark clouds.

“From Ironhorn Bridge to the Foundation building, and then to the Second Tear, nearly 50,000 people in Yudu have been caught up in it,” Jiang Zhengge said softly. “Some have died, some have been injured, and in my opinion, the Foundation’s true purpose has not been revealed at all.”

“Euclid told me that the current stage of the W weapon is only part of its ultimate goal,” Lin Chen recalled the scene he saw in Jürgen’s memory. “The reason he would seize power so drastically is because the ‘eldest brother’ of the hawkish upper class is about to implement an even more insane plan.”

An even crazier plan.

In an instant, all three of them thought of the same thing:

Space islands.

The Iron Cape Bridge incident has been confirmed as an accident. After the accident, the foundation immediately publicized it as a strangulation of the "United Concrete Group".

The underlying logic is to seize control of the space islands.

What kind of plan is going on on that island?

"The Foundation used the influence of the Mentis Cult to acquire aerospace materials on the dark web, and then turned on the Mentis cult members during the Ideal State incident, killing so many of them. They must have left a deep grudge," Lin Chen said.

“The Mentis Cult might be a good starting point,” Li Zhanyi nodded.

“Be careful during the investigation,” Jiang Zhengge took a deep drag of his cigarette. “When Terry came out to shake your hand, on the one hand, he put you under the spotlight of the entire city, and on the other hand, he was declaring war on you.”

"Euclid is a glass cannon, not very strong physically. Even so, our victory over him was due to perfect timing, location, and support. If he had fought freely, we would have had little chance."

"As for Triton... given his physical strength, a thermobaric bomb would probably be like taking a bath for him, right?"

“Understood. Avoid direct confrontation until we figure out his flaws.” Lin Chen nodded.

"Do you have any ideas?" Jiang Zhengge asked.

"Since Triton wants to put me in the spotlight, then let's go into the darkness."

Lin Chen took out his phone and opened the dark web interface.

His gaze gradually turned cold as he looked at the various listings on the "Urban Executioners" section.

Make a name for yourself on the dark web, get in touch with the Mentis cult, and then seek the truth about the Space Islands.

“By the way, Triton said that Xileina is his sister,” Lin Chen looked at Jiang Zhengge, “Did you know that?”

Jiang Zhengge was silent for a moment, then nodded:

"know."

"Then do you understand what this means?" Lin Chen asked again.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhengge lowered his head and remained silent.

He remained silent for a while, then suddenly exhaled a puff of white air, threw the cigarette on the ground, and stomped on it twice.

“Let’s go, it’s time to go to the Bureau of Investigation’s victory celebration,” he said. “Bring Huihui back, don’t let the child get cold. No matter what, we just won a battle, and we can’t let the children suffer.”

After saying that, he opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.

Lin Chen looked into the distance: Huihui was kneeling beside the grave, covering her face. Liti was beside her, gently patting her back.

Yes, all of this from beginning to end, whether it was Jürgen or Lin Chen...

Isn't everything they've done for the children?

A cold wind blew across the lawn, and a light drizzle fell.

In the slight chill, Lin Chen recalled the scene when he first met Jürgen in the medical tent at the school gate.

After the operation, Professor Jürgen gave Lin Chen a jar of valuable Azure Factor.

At that time, the kind professor said:

"Thank you for saving those children."

......

Volume One, The City of Mirages, Completed.

......

Volume One is complete.

Volume One has also come to a successful conclusion, bringing the story to a complete end, which is a good start.

However, compared to the smooth progress in writing, our academic performance has not been so smooth.

As I was writing, I kept complaining to my friend that I would definitely not be pretentious in my next book, and that I would choose a popular topic and start a book honestly, haha.

It's impossible not to feel anxious. As a successful author on an external website, even if I don't have to worry about making a living in the short term, writing is my career, so I will definitely still care about the data.

Besides, we didn't write badly, so we're bound to feel resentful.

But I acknowledge this result, there's nothing I don't acknowledge. If it doesn't attract users, it simply doesn't attract users. It didn't quickly create any exciting moments at the beginning, nor did it use any particularly big gimmicks.

This is a story with a relatively higher "threshold," requiring readers to calm down and read it carefully; once you get into it, it's a good read.

If you've read this far, it means you have excellent aesthetic sense and reading ability.

When I first arrived at Qidian, I was indeed feeling my way across the river. I was slow to learn about many of the mechanisms and rules for the new book period, which resulted in almost no traffic during the entire new book period. It took 160,000 words to get into the first round of recommendations, and then I was rushed to publish it after 200,000 words.

Overall, however, the results are still steadily improving, albeit slowly. But as long as there is momentum, there is hope.

It doesn't matter if there's no hope. You, Ying, are an author with zero unfinished works in your professional career. You have to finish the book you started!

The theme of Volume One is something I've wanted to write for a long time: urban setting, science fiction, investigators in trench coats and vests going back and forth in the rain, dealing with all sorts of strange things from the warp.

I kept adding things to this point during the writing process of my previous book, and eventually, as I added more and more, the overall structure of about 200 million words gradually became complete.

In addition, while watching "The Boys," I became fond of the "ordinary people plotting to kill superheroes" trope, which sparked many thoughts, and then "snap"...

The obituary was then published.

Actually, before I started writing, my friend advised me that it would be safer to write a novel when I first switched to Qidian. He suggested that I choose a more down-to-earth theme, start with some formulaic writing, and get decent results so that I wouldn't be completely broke.

My rebellious streak kicked in immediately. No way! I've wanted to write this story for a long time!

Let me write it down first!

The urge to create is irresistible! If I don't write this soon, it will vanish and never be seen again!

Then, unsurprisingly, he collapsed.

What I'm trying to say is that I really like this story, and I've been planning it for a long time (not really). The overall outline of the story is quite solid, the "characters" who are the essence of the ensemble cast have been initially established, and I've also written several characters that I personally really like.

I won't abandon this project, don't worry, you can continue to subscribe to my works with confidence.

However, I'm new to Qidian, so I don't know if the bad authors here who abandon their projects are really deceiving readers like this... Hahaha, I can only hope that the veteran readers will speak up for me and confirm my reputation.

You Ying has no other hobbies but love writing stories. Her dream is to support herself by writing and to keep writing until she is eighty years old.

A temporary lack of material possessions won't dampen my enthusiasm, but as everyone knows, it's too difficult to have both poetry and bread at the same time. If you lose poetry, you lose it; but if you lose bread, you'll really starve.

So I hope everyone will give me your support! If you relatively like the story of Volume One, "The Mirage City," and also like my writing style, and are a relatively discerning reader...

If I could set up an instant update and subscription feature, at least I could consistently earn a full attendance bonus.

I already have a lot of drafts for Volume Two of this book. I will continue to update at a rate of 10,000 words per day until I feel that I may need to slow down the pace to maintain quality. At that time, I will reduce the rate to 6000-8000 words per day.

Readers who enjoy the story can write reviews in the book review section, praising it and so on. This will also make readers who click in from outside think, "Oh? Let me see what kind of book is so good."

When you're reading, feel free to leave comments so I know there are people watching. It makes my writing process feel more real.

You can also recommend it to your friends so everyone can watch it together!

But no matter what, if you read my book, then you are my good friend.

Everything is up to you!

That's about it for now. Stay tuned for more great stories to come!

Thank you for reading my book. I hope you found it worthwhile.

See Volume Two, "Ebb Tide".

......

Prologue: Pink and White (Part 1)

Whenever the rain stops and the sky clears, Shirena Boswell always recalls the pinkish-white sky over New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina arrived.

She was just a child then, and since she could remember, she had been wandering around Louisiana with her Roma family, making a living by playing jazz.

When they wandered into New Orleans, the little family was quickly drawn to the city's vibrant side: jazz musicians always played at street parties in the Lower Ninth District, and the Mississippi River's humidity kept the city in a humid atmosphere year-round. Whenever Mardi Gras came, people would approach these Gypsy boys, pay them to play on the streets of the French Quarter.

At this point, Xileina would carry her violin on her tender shoulders and follow her brother out of the colorful tent, then spend the whole day immersing herself in playing.

For Xileina, that period seemed shrouded in a hazy mist, a mixture of alcohol, the sound of the jazz horn, and the shimmering light of a crystal ball.

No—she always hated recalling those crystal balls. To outsiders, Gypsies always seemed to talk to themselves in crystal balls, sketching out the future in vague and ethereal language.

That's how I remember my mother. She was in charge of all the finances, and otherwise she would lock herself in her tent all day, whispering to her crystal ball.

Xilena disliked her mother's prophecies. As a Rom person, she did not believe in those prophecies and hated the elements that made her seem different from the world.

Gypsies are all thieves, robbers, and liars—this is the stereotype that every Rom family member must bear. They are like a group of intangible cultural heritage kept in colorful tents, and the only occasions where they can appear properly are carnivals, parties, and museums, or simply appear in stories as eccentric villains.

Prejudice—it has been a label stuck to Xileina's face since she was born.

The black people in the Lower Ninth District didn't like the Gypsies, and Xilena could sense that. When she first arrived in the city, black people would throw stones at their tents, steal their supplies, and occasionally hurl insults at them at street corner parties.

Fortunately, the music quickly eased the conflict, and the Black people began to like this strange, wandering tribe and enjoy playing music with them.

tide Lena was quite famous among them. Her sea-blue curly hair captivated the young men. If it weren't for her brother protecting her, someone would probably have already started pursuing her.

“Don’t pay attention to those animals,” my brother always said. “They’re just hot-blooded and attracted to your appearance. Some prejudices are ingrained, and Black people probably understand the weight of prejudice better than anyone else.”