The silence continued, even after the minute was over. Mayor Zhou thanked everyone for their time and closed off the PA. However...with the announcement of this news, I doubted anyone could just go back to what they were doing without a care in the world. The girls before me were a prime example of exactly that.

They stood still, too stunned to say anything.

I sighed. "Well...now you know why I've been pretty off lately."

"...Right..." Feng Mian murmured. "Principal Song..."

"I was never really close to him, but...he was still our principal..." Yu An Yan added. "I never thought he would just..."

Seeing her trail off, I averted my gaze. "Yeah...from this, I learnt that...we should treasure what we have. Because...you never know when they might just disappear one day, out of the blue."

"Yeah..." Qing Yue agreed. "Principal Song was a nice person."

"Well..I've never had any interaction with this Song Qian Long person, but from the way you guys are describing him, I can tell he's a kind man," Lan Xiao Su said. "May he rest in peace in heaven."

"Mm..." Yu An Xue agreed with a nod.

"Humans," Obsidia suddenly interrupted, and we all turned to look at her.

"...Have you ever thought about what you all will do from here on?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Feng Mian asked in return.

"You may have fought off the Midnight Syndicate this time, but this city is already nearly destroyed. It will be years before this place is restored to its original state. Obviously...you cannot stay here anymore, unless you wish to stop getting stronger."

That was what I was thinking as well...she made a good point. Most educational facilities of the city have been wrecked to some extent, meaning it would be a while before schools became operational again. If we wanted to continue getting stronger...we can't afford to waste several years' time waiting for this city to be fixed.

"...That's true," Yu An Yan said with a sigh. "Even if this place is my home and I have a duty to protect it...I really don't want to spend the next 5 years doing absolutely nothing."

Feng Mian turned to me. "Xuan Kai, what are you planning on doing?"

I shrugged. "Me? Well...I'm definitely not staying in this city, that's for sure. As for where exactly I'll go...I haven't really decided on that yet."

"Master...remember what you said a while back?" Mei Gui suddenly spoke up, tugging at my sleeve.

"What...?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"At around Christmas...you said to the girls you were planning on going on a trip to the Magic Capital."

Oh, yeah. That was just an excuse I thought up randomly to reject their feelings, though...

"Oh, I remember that!" Qing Yue exclaimed.

"Hm...did he? I don't really remember," Feng Mian said thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand.

"Uh...yeah," I replied. "I said that back then..."

I can't tell them it was just a random excuse...but to think I might actually be going along with this plan.

"But...the Magic Capital, huh?" I murmured to myself. "Shanghai...sounds pretty interesting. It's definitely the best place for magic studies, since it is the Magic Capital, but other than that I heard it's very different from any other city in the world as well."

"What does that mean?" Yu An Yan asked.

"I can answer that question," a female voice suddenly said from outside the door. It was a familiar one too, actually.

I frowned and pulled open the door.

"As I thought...Xiang Peng. Why are you here?"

"Hm, I was part of the army who fought back against the monsters just a little while ago too, y'know?" she said calmly. "After we got back, I was just chilling at a cafe...until I spotted you, that is. Then I just followed you because I was curious. But this is how you look without your mask, huh?"

Oh, shit-

...I forgot I wasn't wearing my mask...ah...

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, trying to block it, but it was futile. She had already seen my face...but she didn't seem to recognize my name, so...

"Oh, and yeah, I overheard. Your name is Xuan Kai, huh? I knew Zhang San wasn't your real name."

...Shit.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "A-Anyway...you said you could tell us about the Magic Capital?"

"Yes, I can - that's where I was born, after al-"

"Hold on. Who is she?" Mei Gui asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

I sighed. "Relax, Mei Gui. She's not an enemy."

"She was part of the rescue squad with Big Brother Xuan Kai who rescued me," Qing Yue explained.

"I can confirm," Yu an Yan said with a thumbs-up. Yu An Xue also nodded.

"..." Mei Gui fell silent, but her gaze was still locked on Xiang Peng.

"Um...okay then! Let me tell you all about the Magic Capital," Xiang Peng finally said. "First off, like you mentioned earlier, it is indeed an one-of-a-kind city in this entire world. In fact...it seems so surreal, that the best way to describe it would probably be a 'video game'."

"A video game...?" I echoed.

She nodded. "Indeed! The entire city of Shanghai is a lot like a FPS shooter game. People are allowed to own guns, and these guns are used just as much as actual magic."

"Guns...like the ones in video games? Wouldn't those be easily overpowered by magic?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Actually, no. The Magic Capital's guns are mana-powered weapons that can output just as much damage as magic, and can also have many other perks. For example, snipers have a huge range advantage over most spells. But you guys will find out a lot more once you actually enter the city...it's really fascinating, hard to explain in words."

I turned to look at the other girls. "Well? What do you guys think?"

"Sounds fine to me," Feng Mian said with a shrug. "It's the Magic Capital, right? Can't be bad."

"Yep! And guns sound exciting!" Qing Yue yelled, an innocent smile on her face.

Oh, man...I'm never letting her touch a gun. Never.

"I'm fine with it," Yu An Yan said.

"Me too," Yu An Xue added.

"Y-Yep! Same!" Lan Xiao Su yelped. "My mother is still in danger...I have to come with you to help collect the materials for the antidote!"

"Obsidia?" I asked.

She closed her eyes. "I do not have an opinion."

"And...Mei Gui."

"I will follow Master wherever he goes," she replied immediately with a bow.

I sighed. "Looks like...it's decided then."

"Oh, sweet!" Xiang Peng exclaimed. "I'll see you guys in the Magic Capital then! Come say hi~Xuan Kai knows where to find me."

With these words, she left the room. I spun around to face the girls after locking the door again, and spoke.

"Have you all really decided?''

"What do you mean?" Feng Mian asked. The other girls clearly shared the same question, by the look in their eyes.

"I mean...for Qing Yue and the Yu sisters, you'll have to say goodbye to your families. They can't leave this city, after all."

"That's true...but it's okay," Qing Yue quickly said. "My mom will be fine! Of course, I'll miss her and stuff, but I think she would rather me go somewhere else than waste 5 years of my life in this destroyed city."

"Yeah, same with us," Yu An Yan said. "Father and mother would want An Xue and I to get stronger as mages, instead of remaining in this city without an ounce of improvement."

"My parents would probably want to stay in this city as well, to be honest," Feng Mian added. "They've been here all their life...it would be difficult for them to move now."

"Are your parents alright?" I asked.

"Yes, I found them in the mall earlier. We had a nice long talk," she replied.

"I see...and Lan Xiao Su...?"

Lan Xiao Su flinched, not expecting me to call her name. "A-Ah! I, u-um, I'll come with you guys as well! That is...if you don't mind me being there..."

"What about your job? I-I mean, as a receptionist," I said, careful not to leak her popstar identity.

"Well...the Hunters' Guild branch is probably destroyed by now, and if not...I still want to come along with you guys! The Magic Capital sounds pretty interesting...s-so..."

"Then...we're going to Shanghai, I guess," I concluded. "Go find your parents, friends, anyone you want to say goodbye to...once you guys are all done, we'll discuss how we'll actually get to our destination."

"Hold on, Xuan Kai," Feng Mian interrupted.

"What?"

"Um...about your true feelings..." she murmured.

"Oh, that..." I fell into thought. "Well, let's just say...for now, I'm still not ready to accept your feelings or anything. That goes for all of you. But...I do admit I care about you guys. Somewhat, at least...if I didn't, I wouldn't have bothered trying to save you. So...if you guys are coming along with me to the Magic Capital, I'm not just going to let you die or anything."

Aha...who am I kidding? I care about them more than just 'somewhat'. But there's no way I'm admitting that, so.

"I see...good enough, for now, at least?" Feng Mian said, turning to the other girls. They exchanged glances with one another and then collectively sighed.

"Well, I guess this is fine for now," Qing Yue said with a shrug. "I'm expecting a proper proposal in the future though, Big Brother Xuan Kai! Ehehe~"

I averted my gaze, which caused the other girls to giggle. Well...most of the other girls, anyway. Obsidia remained silent, and Mei Gui was as expressionless as ever. Lan Xiao Su was just glancing back and forth between me and the girls, confused at what's happening.

This marks the end of an era. But at the same time, it also is the beginning of a new one. With no longer a place to truly call home, we will be constantly on the move, travelling from one place to another. Is this the right decision? I don't know. But one thing is for certain - I will never stop moving forward, no matter the harsh obstacles that may come in my way.

And as for the Midnight Syndicate...don't think I'm just going to let you get away with killing my godfather. I'll destroy you, no matter what it takes.