"It's terrible," said Guo Tianyu as he and the others walked through this part of the town of Yuwu.
The homes here were in bad shape, with mold clinging to walls, street gutters reeking, and broken wooden structures scattered around. Overgrown plants crawled over everything. Compared to the rest of Yuwu, the area felt like a completely different place. It had been called "ghetto-like" before, but now, seeing it firsthand, the term felt like an understatement.
"It wasn't this bad before. It's worse than I imagined," Xinyi remarked, her eyes moving over the scene, her voice tinged with concern.
They turned a corner and came upon a small park, its circular design barely visible under the uncontrolled plant growth. The space hadn't been maintained in what seemed like years, the neglected state making it doubtful anyone had used it recently. They had seen a few adults during their walk, but not a single child had been in sight.
As they stopped just outside the park, Fenling began to stir. Noelani, without hesitation, delivered another strike to the side of his neck, rendering him unconscious once more. No one uttered a word; the sheer decisiveness of her action left them stunned. A few exchanged wary looks, silently wondering if Fenling could handle the repeated blows without lasting damage.
Yasushi, after observing the surroundings, spoke up as they moved closer to the park. "I've been thinking. If we're set on preserving the original design of this part of town, we should keep this park. It just needs to be made safer. From what I've seen, none of it seems built with safety in mind." He stepped forward to emphasize his point, only for a weathered sign, barely holding together, to fall right in front of him with a loud thud.
"That would be the top priority, yes," Xinyi said, joining Yasushi in the small park as the others followed behind, each step taken with care to avoid disrupting the surroundings.
They wandered through the space, exchanging thoughts about potential changes for this part of the town. Most of the suggestions, especially for the park, felt impractical or far-fetched, drawing chuckles rather than serious consideration.
"Hey! What's this?" Yinhaie asked, crouching near a section of the ground where a hidden entrance had caught her eye. It seemed out of place, the kind of discovery that didn't align with the rest of the park's overgrowth.
The group gathered around her, pulling aside bushes, vines, and tangled greenery until the entire structure was exposed. It was a wooden hatch, weathered but showing signs of recent use.
"You don't think Fenling's little group is behind this, do you?" Catherine asked, looking between the others. Her question lingered without an answer, as everyone turned inward, mulling over their own conclusions.
"I'll check it out," Yasushi said before pulling the entrance open and climbing down the ladder. He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping the screen to activate the flashlight. The beam cut through the dimness as he swept it across the area.
What he saw was...ordinary. A small hideout. The room stretched out larger than he expected, with three sofas forming a rough arrangement. Shelves lined the walls, crammed with books and various items. A single bulb dangled above a table at the center, casting a muted glow. Scattered around were pillows, blankets, snacks, and half-empty drink cans, giving the space an unkempt yet functional look.
Yasushi called up, describing the scene. One by one, the others climbed down, eventually bringing the unconscious Fenling. They surveyed the room silently, the connection to Fenling becoming clear in an instant.
"They've got a stack of those renovation fliers from around town," Xinyi said, holding one aloft and turning it slightly to examine the details.
"There's more," Catherine added, rifling through a pile of papers on the table. "Notes. A lot of them are wild, some completely unhinged. They're all about stopping the renovation."
They began to read aloud the list. Some suggestions were bizarre. One idea proposed buying around 100 SIM cards and using them to call various pizza shops across different towns, placing delivery orders to every home in each area. Once every address was exhausted, they would switch to using Xinyi's home for the remaining deliveries.
Another idea involved egging every single house in the area, followed by releasing at least one hundred chickens onto the Cheng family's property, ensuring the chickens would create a mess all over the lawn and their expensive ornaments.
The most outrageous one they came across suggested hiring a terrorist group to kidnap Xinyi Cheng, demanding a ransom to force the Cheng family into halting their plans to reconstruct the town and erase the parts everyone valued.
There were more absurd ideas that left them in disbelief, but these stood out the most after a quick read-through. Once finished, the entire group sat in silence, unable to speak.
"Erm, should we report this to the local police? Or just tell Xinyi's parents?" Jingliu asked, her gaze flicking toward her friend, whose expression immediately darkened at the mention of such a drastic option.
"Part of me agrees, but the other doesn't. I mean, these guys aren't going to pull this off in real life, so it's not exactly a real threat. But at the same time…" Xinyi paused, her eyes scanning the paper in her hands. "It's still there. It's written, it's been thought out. Even if they can't make it happen, it's something they've put into words."
She let out a frustrated sigh, holding up the paper as if it were some distasteful object. "Let's just bring it back and show Nianqing what's on it. After that, we'll contact my parents." Her suggestion was met with nods all around, and the decision seemed to settle the unease in the room.
Still, they remained for several more minutes, sifting through the clutter and inspecting the other items strewn about. Each piece seemed to offer some clue to Fenling and his group's bizarre mindset. By some stroke of fortune — or carelessness on Fenling's part — they found a book with names jotted down inside. It gave them something solid to follow up on if they needed to track down the others involved.
+-+
A few days passed since that incident, leaving them deep in thought. Guo Tianyu, Noelani Ewa, and Inari stayed in separate rooms at the Cheng family's home, avoiding the expense of hotels or inns.
On this particular day, they gathered for lunch in the Cheng household. The meal served not only as a time to eat but also an opportunity to discuss matters they had set aside. Once everyone had taken their seats, Xinyi took the lead, Nianqing sitting close by.
As they ate, Xinyi started speaking. "I finally got through to my parents last night. They were too busy to talk before. Anyway, we've decided not to press charges. We all agreed those idiots wouldn't be able to pull it off again. Instead, we'll contact any relatives of theirs and see if they can arrange something like troubled youth programs to handle them appropriately."
"And from what we saw earlier, the reconstruction of that part of town finally started too. We heard a lot of screaming from somewhere, but we never saw them. I think they were part of Fenling's group," said Jingliu, glancing at Xinyi, who nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. A few locals mentioned it earlier. They were upset, but with what we had already shown them, there wasn't much they could do. If they interrupt again, there will be serious consequences. Anyway, we'll be running some tests over the next few days, similar to what we did back in London with the fire department and police, using quantum tech and AI," Xinyi explained with an expression that carried a spark of anticipation.
"Sounds good. Yasushi told me about some of the things you got to work with. I wonder which ones we'll get to try this time," Guo Tianyu remarked, practically brimming with excitement like a kid waiting for a turn with a new toy.
"Well, let's eat and get going. That's all I needed to say anyway. Our parents gave us the freedom to handle this, so don't stress too much. Besides, most of the heavy lifting has already been done by the scientists and researchers here," Xinyi added, eliciting a few chuckles from the group.
+-+
Jingliu moved her fingers slightly, controlling the quantum AI gloves to manipulate the items in the air. "I feel like... this is telekinesis," she said, her voice carrying a mix of awe and hesitance as she continued to maneuver the objects.
Jenkins, the researcher who had spoken with them earlier in the week, adjusted her glasses before responding. "We haven't decided on a name for those gloves yet," she explained. "But thanks to the contributions of several renowned mages and gods, we've successfully replicated a form of telekinesis with them."
Her hand gestured toward a steel beam being lifted mid-air. "They have their limits, though. While they can handle objects like steel beams, anything significantly heavier is beyond their capability. And for safety, we've implemented restrictions. They can't be used maliciously unless someone bypasses the safeguards and misuses the knowledge we've built into them."
Jingliu gave a slight nod, focusing as the steel beam hovered steadily, then guided it toward Xinyi, who stood on another platform. Xinyi caught the object in the same seamless manner, using her own gloves. The ease of passing the beam between them felt almost magical, drawing expressions of amazement from the group.
"Is this the future of construction work? It seems both surprising and exhausting," Yunxue said as she worked to guide the steel beam upward. "I kind of expected robots or AI to handle it all by now."
"In the distant future, maybe," Xinyi answered, steadying the beam's path. "But there might also be laws to keep androids, robots, and AI from taking over every job on the planet. If they did, what would be left for people to do?"
Yasushi, observing their conversation, chimed in, "Don't count on anything going smoothly when it comes to this kind of stuff. People hate change, even when it's good for them. Take smartphones, for example. Did we need them? No, but look at us now. We had brick phones and flip phones that worked fine. The same will happen with quantum tech and AI — only this time, the older generation will just use it to get richer while leaving the rest of us behind."
"They won't live forever though! I heard there's a movement to challenge them, started by Millennials, our generation, and the one below us. They're saying they won't listen to what boomers want anymore. So war, fighting, and everything that comes with it. They don't even care if they end up in prison for it," Guo Tianyu said as he passed the steel beam to a worker, who immediately began welding it into place.
Noelani joined the conversation. "We actually looked into it, and what he's saying is accurate. There's a group focused on making the greedy Boomers and Millennials pay for what they've done. Their resentment runs so deep they've been using their digital skills to create fake images and videos, completely ruining lives," she explained before taking a deep breath.
Yasushi turned his head, looking at the open sky above. 'It feels like things are getting harder, not just because of what our parents did, but also from all the strain between the older and younger generations,' he thought, exhaling slowly.
Not far from them, Nandini and Yinhaie both wore the quantum AI glasses that had been tested earlier. Their reactions showed even more admiration this time.
"These have been improved further… are these connected to the internet now?" Nandini asked while adjusting the frame on her face.
"At the moment, they aren't. However, the data loaded into them is very current. Anything from recorded history is accessible, so searches and related results will show up if needed. But let's say something significant happens today — you wouldn't be able to access that until we perform an update," Jenkins explained, her stance showing how proud she was of the technology.
"The workers here have their own versions of these glasses, but they seem different. I'm guessing theirs are scaled down for tasks like guiding angle adjustments, controlling pressure, measuring equipment usage, and similar specifics for their jobs. You could say their versions are tailored for them," Jenkins continued, her tone filled with confidence as she elaborated.
"What other equipment was brought here to assist with the projects?" Yinhaie asked, turning to Jenkins.
"There's an AI system that constantly processes calculations and feeds them to our glasses when needed. For more... hands-on tools, we have the Quaffers, along with another one that hasn't been named yet. These are pills designed to speed up healing by at least a hundredfold, so any injuries are repaired almost immediately. We haven't had to use them yet, thankfully," Jenkins replied.
They kept discussing the possibilities the technology might bring, along with the challenges that came with it. Hours passed as they talked, until the sun dipped below the horizon, prompting them to retire for the night.
+-+
Yasushi pulled his phone from his pocket as it vibrated against his leg. The screen lit up with a familiar name — his dad. He slid his thumb across the screen to answer. "Hello?"
"Yasushi! How's my son doing? You've been keeping busy, right? Say, any plans for grandchildren yet?" Yuji Futakao's voice came through the speaker, loud and direct.
Yasushi's shoulders dropped as he held back a groan. "Dad, come on. We're way too young for that. No chance. Anyway, I'm doing fine. How about you and Mom?"
"We're great! Still keeping busy with work," Yuji replied, sounding cheerful as ever. "Actually, we're planning a trip to Spain in a few days. Should be a nice break. But that's not why I called! I've got big news!"
Yasushi tightened his grip on the phone, already dreading whatever his dad might say next. "…What kind of news?" he asked, dragging the words out.
There was a laugh on the other end, followed by a pause, as if his dad was savoring the moment. "You're going to be a big brother soon."
The words hit Yasushi like a truck. His brain stalled, caught between disbelief and an attempt to process what he'd just heard. "M-mom's… pregnant?" he stammered.
"That's right," Yuji answered, his tone practically brimming with excitement.