CHAPTER 417: CHAPTER 32 I’M YOUR FAN

The Yousi community can be described in three words: old, chaotic, dirty.

There was no helping it. On one hand, the Venice authorities restricted all Yousi immigrants to living within a 0.45-hectare residential area.

On the other hand, due to religious reasons, Yousi people were very keen on becoming Transcendents, and becoming a Transcendent led to reduced fertility. Therefore, they engaged in frantic procreation before the age of 30 to prepare for drinking their first Magic Potion on their 30th birthday.

A typical Yousi family saw the woman marrying at 16, and by 30, she would have at least four children. This high fertility rate led to a rapid growth in the Yousi population. However, the community area was strictly delineated by the Venice higher-ups, so what could they do when there was not enough per capita living space?

Expanding front, back, or sides wasn’t an option, and below was the sea, so naturally, the only direction to build was... up.

The disorderly growth of buildings was the most distinct feature of the Yousi community, almost comparable to the real-life Kowloon Walled City. Of course, whether the game design team took inspiration from reality was unclear; in any case, the young women who arrived were truly shocked by the sight before them.

The entire community looked like a gigantic Rubik’s cube, divided by countless buildings, with not an inch of space wasted.

The onlookers gazed at this cube’s façade, noticing a canal extending from the bottom of the outer face into the complex.

The buildings to the left of the canal were made of brick, while those on the right were concrete. Then, from the third floor upward, the two buildings extended toward each other, meeting perfectly above the canal—a mingle of left-side bricks and right-side concrete, like a puzzle put together on a wall.

Even more bizarre was that the "joining" points were different on the second floor, third floor, fourth floor... every level was joined at different positions. Obviously, they were not assembled simultaneously but had gone through a lengthy process of illegal construction that gradually brought the two buildings together.

"I... I don’t really want to go in anymore," Eleanor hesitated, the sight of such a densely packed, immense structure... She could even imagine how narrow and suffocating it was inside, like a huge Hive with countless insect-like humans moving through the cramped corridors.

The other three girls could only offer wry smiles. Solomon City and Constantinople, of course, also had similar "run-down old districts," but none quite as exaggerated as this place.

Not going in was out of the question. So everyone looked for a while, only to find that the sole entrance was the canal...

After hiring a small boat that was passing by, the five embarked and slowly slid into the cube. The boatman was a middle-aged man with a beard, wearing a small white round cap, pushing along with a bamboo pole in the canal, and striking up a conversation with the only male, Aske:

"First time visiting our community?"

"Yes," Aske said, at least it was the first time in this world.

"What’s your relationship with them?" the boatman continued to inquire.

Aske:...

"We’re part of a Mercenary Corps," Aske said slowly.

"Why is there only one man in the Mercenary Corps?" the boatman asked, revealing a frankly skeptical look.

"That’s gender discrimination," Aske said. "Why must a Mercenary Corps be predominantly male?"

"No, no, I don’t discriminate against women. On the contrary, I respect them," the boatman apologized to the four girls, who swiftly indicated it was okay. "I’m just curious, spending all year round with young and beautiful girls, doesn’t your wife worry?"

"I don’t have a wife," Aske said. "I’m not married yet."

"If you were Yousi, at your age, you would’ve long been married," the boatman said. "Moreover, being a mercenary is a dangerous occupation. It’s entirely necessary to leave offspring earlier."

"In your area recently, have there been any major disappearance incidents?" Aske didn’t want to continue the tangential conversation and shifted the topic.

"Oh, you must have also heard some unpleasant rumors," the boatman immediately showed an indignant expression. "Yes, lately, many families in the Yousi community have lost their members. The high-ranking officials of Venice, however, are not sending out militia investigators to look into it. Not only that, they’ve also activated an Anti-Demon Magnetic Field that covers the whole city, suppressing our Extraordinary Abilities and preventing us from tracking down the real culprit."

"Now in the community, there are spontaneously formed Yousi militia units that patrol the buildings regularly. Since the Venetians don’t care, we have to take matters into our own hands." The boatman glanced back at the girls behind him, "You all need to be careful too; I’ve heard that most of the missing people are young women."

The girls’ expressions grew serious.

The entire canal was dark because the buildings above completely covered it, gradually turning the open-air environment into an interior space.

The boat docked at a nearby pier, and after paying the boat fare, everyone walked onto the street, only to see several armed Yousi militia in conversation.

Nora sighed. If it weren’t for the Anti-Demon Magnetic Field, she would have used Mind Reading straight away to gather all the information she needed. Now, she had no choice but to approach and fish for information.

"What are you asking this for?" The first reaction of the Yousi militia was also one of caution.

Nora once again used the excuse she had given earlier to the Venetian militia, emphasizing that most of the travelers were young and beautiful girls who were very scared of such dangerous situations.

The Yousi militia were even more vigilant than the Venetian militia, retorting that ordinary girls would be too scared to even approach and ask about such things.

Nora was speechless, just about to continue her defense, when one of the militia stared at her face and suddenly exclaimed:

"Eh, aren’t you that..."

Ah, has someone recognized me? Nora could only put on a restrained expression, and speak in a clear voice:

"Yes, I am..."

"Angel’s Light!" the militia member exclaimed excitedly, turning his gaze to Eleanor, "And the Knight of Dawn!"

Eleanor’s throat constricted, feeling an urge to vomit blood upon hearing these names.

Everyone finally remembered that a long, long time ago, perhaps last year, they had been in Olympia City on the Sirius Peninsula, which was Thira’s grandfather’s domain, and had helped fend off an attack by the Crusaders.

Then, some idle TV station in the city, without having been able to interview The Azure Longsword, took various side stories, rumors, and photos snapped by paparazzi from who knows where, and made a variety show called "The Azure Longsword: A Super Dominant Group of Beautiful Female Mercenaries."

As a result, the next day, they were all cornered in their barracks by local fans who had heard the news.

Being surrounded by fans might not be considered "an unpleasant experience," but it becomes quite awkward with a few chuunibyo aliases thrown in. It got to the point where everyone was unsure if these nicknames were an act of fandom or mockery.

"Haha, so you all watch TV, do you?" Nora said with a forced smile.

"There are many Yousi communities in Olympia City, too; your fame has spread all the way to us," the militia member explained, before enthusiastically asking, "So, The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps, are you here to solve the disappearance cases in our community?"

"Yes, exactly," Nora nodded. "Do you have any leads?"

"Please, follow me," the militia led the group to a nearby security station.

It was a slightly more spacious room, albeit still a bit crowded, with all sorts of documents, empty beer cans, and sleeping bags piled up everywhere.

A bald man was buried in writing at the back, and it was not until the Yousi militia called him several times that he lifted his head from behind the mountain of papers.

"This is our community detective, Sir Isaac," the militia introduced him to the group.