The bonfire—a towering pile of wood as high as a mountain—was ignited.

The "Match Girl" gave it the middle finger, and it went up in flames.

Dense, impenetrable clouds closed in the sky, creating an artificial night. Lights illuminated the temporary barracks, casting the first flickers of starlight across the valley.

Everyone was invited to the square: all the children from the orphanage, the Council employees who had always cared for them, and the Special Service Bureau's engineering team that was set to leave the next day. Hundreds gathered around the bonfire, while the silent shadows of Thunderbolt Titans sat outside the circle of light.

An illusory gate appeared at the edge of the square. Yu Sheng pushed the door open from the inside, joyfully greeting Little Red Riding Hood and others waiting at the square, "Look who's here!"

Then Li Lin and Xu Jiali stepped out of the gate first, their eyes wide with astonishment as they took in the scene on the square. Yu Sheng had to remind them to step forward quickly and greet Little Red Riding Hood.

Sun, the head of the Special Service Bureau's engineering team, seemed to know Xu Jiali. He led a few people over and warmly greeted them. Teacher Su and the other Council-assigned "employees" also came over, welcoming the new guests.

After two or three seconds, a cool figure with a single gray-white ponytail and wearing a white dress hesitantly stepped out of the gate, curiously looking around.

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.

Sun stared at the figure emerging from the door, "Dir... Director?"

Yu Sheng glanced over and saw even the usually hyperactive and boisterous long-haired princess standing stiffly, looking as if she were ready to face off against dark forces. She stood there, not daring to breathe...

This made him burst into laughter, breaking the silence. "What's the matter with all of you? Director Baili doesn't bite."

"I knew this would happen," Baili Qing said, her expression slightly resigned. She sighed, "Relax, I'm just here to join the celebration—pretend I'm not even here."

"Er, Director, we're just a bit surprised," Sun quickly recovered, clearing his throat to ease the awkwardness, "It's great that you've come; we just didn't prepare for it..."

"It was a last-minute decision; no one was informed," Baili Qing waved it off, her gaze falling on Little Red Riding Hood and the other "guardians" nearby. She took a deep breath, her expression softening a bit, "Congratulations to all of you."

"Thank you," Little Red Riding Hood stepped forward, a faint smile on her face, "You've always looked out for us."

"No need for formalities; everyone just relax today," Baili Qing nodded, then looked up at the sky, remaining silent for a moment before turning to Yu Sheng, "Very creative... this artificial night. What's the first event?"

"Long-haired, where are those fireworks?" Little Red Riding Hood turned to her roommate, "You've been going on about lighting them all afternoon. Now you can actually do it."

"Oh right, the fireworks! Give me a second!" The long-haired princess jumped up, cheerfully turned around, and ran towards the teleportation gate platform, "I stacked them over there. Just wait and see—Fire Stick! Fire Stick, come on! Let's light the fireworks!"

The two girls excitedly ran off to the edge of the square. After a little while, a sharp whistle pierced the night sky—a bright flame shot into the sky from the direction of the teleportation gate platform. After a few seconds' delay, a brilliant firework burst open, illuminating the night.

As the firework exploded, Yu Sheng thought he heard a familiar voice in his mind, "Ow, it blinded me..."

But it seemed no one else noticed the fleeting eyes in the sky. A series of fireworks soon lit up the night.

The children started cheering and shouting.

Erin joined in the celebration— all three Erins were there.

Then there was Hu Li, cheering while firing a burst from her Fox Carrot machine gun into the sky. Under her careful control, the eerie fox fire mixed with the fireworks from the platform, exploding in the sky together. Blue flames spread out, falling like meteors in the night.

Though it was called a celebration, there were no strict rules or schedules; the children just wanted to enjoy themselves today. They intended this exuberant festivity to serve as both the end and the beginning of their childhood, a marker that a new life had begun—now, the carnival had started.

With so many children present, no one needed to hype up the atmosphere.

Barbecue grills were set up by the large bonfire, and the skilled craftsmen from the engineering team busied themselves alongside a group of teenagers. Little kids darted between the square and the teleportation gate platform, looking for "big sister Long-hair" to ask for smaller fireworks or to deliver food. The distance between the square and the platform was actually very short, only a hundred or two hundred meters. Nevertheless, the King waved his claw, summoning a team of knights and a night watchman carrying an oil lamp to patrol along the "Carnival Path" back and forth...

A pumpkin carriage flew from the roof of the "castle" on the edge of the town, gliding over the bonfire and fireworks, scattering colorful confetti over the square.

Yu Sheng caught a piece of the colorful paper and saw large words painted on it with watercolor:

"I want to grow up to be Teacher Su!"

Yu Sheng happily showed the paper to Little Red Riding Hood, only to see her expression turn a bit strange. It was a mix of many emotions that he couldn't comprehend at the moment, but soon the girl smiled, raising her hand to point at the bonfire.

"Look, the King has summoned his court jester."

The court jester, dressed in garish outfits, wearing a clown mask and a pointy hat, performed energetically beside the bonfire. Despite being just a "summoning item" with little mind, even he seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere of the day. The exaggerated smile under the mask appeared genuine and enthusiastic. Then, village musicians and minstrels on their travels emerged from the air, playing an unknown tune.

Among the group of older children, a girl with smooth long hair and a light blue dress joyfully stepped forward as soon as she saw the summoned musicians and sang along to the cheerful, unfamiliar melody.

Her voice was not loud, yet it echoed evenly throughout the small half of the valley.

No special effects, but it sounded pleasant, truly beautiful.

Yu Sheng quietly retreated.

Under the mermaid's song, he left the liveliest part of the square unnoticed and came to an empty spot on the edge of the camp area.

Baili Qing stood there with her arms crossed, looking towards the square with a faint smile on her face.

"... Hiding this far?" Yu Sheng said casually as he walked over, "… You actually smile?"

"I've emphasized many times, I'm not expressionless, I just need to maintain seriousness at work. Over time, it became a habit," Baili Qing's voice sounded particularly helpless, "Besides, I'm not hiding—I'm just not used to such a noisy environment. Plus, people wouldn't feel comfortable playing around with the Special Service Director watching, so I found a quiet place."

"Alright, a bit of peace and quiet is good, you're not the only one who likes it," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "Where's your sister? Is she okay?"

Baili Qing pointed behind her to the air: "Here."

Yu Sheng followed her finger and saw a pair of illusory and gigantic eyes floating in the night sky, blinking hard and shedding tears—but the tears vanished into thin air as soon as they left the eye sockets, as if "she" had been wholly erased apart from those eyes.

Yu Sheng: "..."

"Such a big clump, and it burst right into my eyes," Baili Xue's voice still carried a mechanical and wooden quality, but Yu Sheng felt a strong sense of resentment from it.

"… I warned you not to poke your nose into everything," Baili Qing sighed, "Anyway, take your time to recover. I can't find such a big bottle of eyedrops on short notice."

The eyes slowly faded from the air.

A rustling sound came from the nearby grass.

Yu Sheng wasn't surprised at all, as if he had been waiting for it. When he heard the sound, he squatted down.

In the darkness, a small red-brown figure leapt out of the grass and agilely climbed onto Yu Sheng's shoulder.

"Squirrel's here!" The tiny voice shouted happily to him, "The fireworks are beautiful!"

Yu Sheng lightly pressed the squirrel's head with his finger and then looked up in another direction in the night.

A hollow figure in hunter's clothes stood there, silently watching, separated from him and Baili Qing by some distance.

"Good evening," Yu Sheng smiled and nodded slightly at the Hunter, "I thought you wouldn't come."

"I've wanted to come for a long time! But the Hunter kept dawdling," the squirrel whispered into Yu Sheng's ear, "First he said his clothes weren't ready, then he said his hunting rifle had issues—what's the point of bringing a hunting rifle to a bonfire party."

Yu Sheng said nothing, only turned to look at Baili Qing.

She walked a few steps forward, stood in front of the Hunter, and calmly looked at the empty hunter's outfit and hood, as if looking at those faces and eyes that had long turned to nothingness.

"Long time no see."

The Hunter's hood moved slightly, and a somewhat hoarse and vague voice came from under the night sky: "Yes, long time no see, Director."

Yu Sheng, who had been watching with only a little curiosity, was suddenly stunned and then realized.

… This "Hunter" formed by the fusion of the Deep Dive Team from seventy years ago also called Baili Qing "Director"? And they said long time no see?

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