Gun of Ashes

The gentle sound of knocking on the door echoed, and after a brief pause, Anakin pushed open the door and stepped into the slightly dim chamber.

The only source of light here was the daylight filtering through the glass dome, which fell vertically onto the center of the chamber, illuminating a large area, but many places remained shrouded in darkness, where shadowy figures could be seen standing.

"Your Majesty, the shift of power is complete, the contract is here."

Anakin lifted the case and spoke to Queen Victoria, who was not far away.

Due to Queen Victoria’s unique position, her status among the Nation-Builders was extraordinarily distinct. She was essentially the leader of all the Nation-Builders in Ingwig, managing their transitions and providing assistance to other Nation-Builders.

The Queen nodded to Anakin from her wheelchair. In response, Anakin took the case and proceeded deeper into the Platinum Palace to permanently seal this blood oath contract.

As the sound of footsteps gradually faded, venturing into unknown depths, a solemn quiet filled the air, followed by another elderly voice from the darkness.

"A very impressive young man, though he seems not very approachable, like a cold serpent."

"His family has always served Victoria from the shadows; he is trustworthy," the Queen responded.

"That’s good then."

The elderly advisor emerged from the shadows, having shed his armor, wearing a loose robe embroidered with cloud patterns. His white beard hung down, and the air of hostility was gone, leaving a subtle smile on his face, as if he were a kindly grandfather.

If Anakin were here, he would surely break into a cold sweat, not because of the elderly advisor’s identity, but because he hadn’t noticed the advisor’s presence at all. When Anakin conversed with the Queen, the advisor had stood in the shadows nearby, without trying to hide his identity, and yet Anakin had completely overlooked him.

"How do you do it?"

"What are you referring to?" Left Garrison chuckled, looking extremely amiable.

"Anakin didn’t seem to notice you; he’s not negligent."

The Queen queried curiously.

As Ingwig’s monarch, the head of the Victoria household, a Nation-Builder, she wielded significant influence throughout the Western world. Yet regarding the mysterious East, like many others, she remained entirely ignorant.

This elderly advisor named Left Garrison had been seen by the Queen in her childhood, but upon careful recollection, she couldn’t remember anything about him.

It was as if the memories had been deliberately erased.

"To ensure Jiuxia’s security, to isolate detrimental information beyond the realm of oblivion, only someone like me can leave Jiuxia," Left Garrison explained to the Queen, "We undergo specialized training and reinforcement, much like your Purification Mechanism Knights; we share similar traits."

"For instance, when you walk among crowds, you involuntarily overlook the passersby, don’t you? Try recalling the faces of those passersby you’ve encountered; can you remember them?"

"You passively become ’passersby’ yourselves?"

The Queen found this fascinating; due to Jiuxia’s security, they would always erase any information about themselves, much like the mysterious Cleaner Squad. This information was somewhat novel to the Queen.

"Pretty much. If we don’t actively reveal ourselves, few people will notice us among crowds; our presence is extremely faint, easily forgotten." Left Garrison continued.

"Anonymous."

The Queen looked up, meeting Left Garrison’s gaze, "That’s what they’re called, right?"

"Yes, Anonymous," Left Garrison nodded, "Typically, that’s what we’re called."

"Then what is your true designation?"

"We have none; we don’t have any designation. Even our department lacks a concrete name. People just know there’s a group like us, but no further details... actually, many things we insiders don’t even know."

"So you don’t make mistakes in your operations?"

"No, we remember the creed. The creed binds us tightly together, even if we don’t fully understand the situation." Left Garrison was quite confident about this, his smile was imbued with a mysterious intrigue, much like his name; the Queen couldn’t discern his true thoughts.

"Judging by your abilities, your Anti-Meme technology seems to advance rapidly." The Queen praised.

"Indeed, that’s partly why we’re here — the time has come."

Left Garrison smiled, then as if suddenly recalling something, he waved his hand, and another person emerged from the shadows.

"Oh right, let me introduce, this is my nephew, Zuo Tang. If I were to die, he would succeed me in my position and continue to fulfill the duties."

The Queen looked over; she knew Left Garrison had come, but didn’t expect someone to be with him.

The man stepped out from the shadows, bowing and smiling to the Queen, bearing a striking resemblance to Left Garrison, as if Left Garrison had looked like him when he was young.

Unlike the leisurely Left Garrison, Zuo Tang was fully armed, wearing foreign armor with weapons at his waist. They had secretly arrived at the Platinum Palace, directly interfacing with the Queen.

"Do you think you’ll die here?" the Queen asked.

"Just a sense of unease. No one is infallible, myself included, let alone the crisis we face this time surpasses all previous ones."

Despite his words, Left Garrison didn’t appear panicked; Zuo Tang, after briefly showing himself, retreated back into the shadows. His duty was to assist and protect Left Garrison, not to participate too much in the conversation.

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