# 1912
Chapter 1905: Resemblance
"Madness... this world is truly mad."
At the outdoor basketball court in Cangnan City, a tall youth sat beneath the shade of a tree, staring at the live stream on his phone, muttering to himself.
He continuously scrolled through the barrage of comments beside the video.
【The wind and waves stopped? How is that possible?!】
【This is unscientific... truly unscientific! I majored in meteorology in college, how could clouds dissipate like that? And that's the ocean! How could the sea be calmer than a lake?!】
【That figure in the red cloak, pointed a finger at the sky... and the sky cleared?!】
【Who is he? Is he a god?】
【He came out of that Sunken Dragon base, so he must be one of ours! I told you! Great Xia must be protected by someone!!!】
【I remember a brother above saying he seemed to have encountered someone in a red cloak too...】
【Yes yes, I saw it too! So is the red cloak their标志? Is it a secret organization of the Great Xia military?】
【Impossible, I don't believe it... definitely CGI compositing, probably some kind of marketing stunt】
【...】
"Zhao Zhengbin! Are you going to play or not?"
While the youth was scrolling through the comments, a boy patting a basketball called out from afar.
Zhao Zhengbin glanced at the time on his phone, closed the live stream, stuffed the phone back into his bag, and stood up to walk toward the edge of the court.
"You all play without me... I'm heading back."
After bidding farewell to his companions, Zhao Zhengbin walked alone along the street.
He skillfully plugged two wired earphones into his ears, opened his music, and the noise of the street was completely filtered out of his world. He lowered his head, looking at the ground, and images from the live stream he'd just watched involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
The majestic silver fortress standing firm on the howling sea;
The thirteen crosses pinning the divine;
That dark crimson figure pointing through the sky...
Infinite imagination filled his mind. Recalling the descriptions in the comments, the fire of youthful passion in his heart burned uncontrollably...
Could this world truly have such extraordinary people silently protecting them?
Just as he was about to open the live stream again, someone bumped into his shoulder from behind and rushed forward.
"Ah! Sorry sorry! It wasn't intentional!"
It was a boy who looked even younger than himself, clutching a tablet. He stopped at a historic-looking agency and waved apologetically at Zhao Zhengbin.
Zhao Zhengbin pulled out his earphones, about to say it was fine, but the boy had already rushed through the door!
—Ding-dong! Welcome!
"Hongying Sister!! Hurry look!!! Sunken Dragon Pass has been exposed!"
"Ah? Where where!"
"It's on this live stream... the divine bodies from the God Hunt Festival are still there, the internet's gone crazy! I even saw Minister Wu Quan..."
As the glass door closed, Zhao Zhengbin couldn't hear the rest, but his feet had stopped at the agency's entrance.
Sunken Dragon Pass?
Is that the military base marked with "沉龙"?
What's the God Hunt Festival?
Where did this boy younger than himself hear about all this?
Questions flashed through his mind. Instinctively, he looked up at the sign above the agency:
—Peace Agency.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, after a moment of hesitation, Zhao Zhengbin gathered his courage and walked in.
—Ding-dong! Welcome!
"Did Qiye show up?"
"Not yet, but at this rate, I estimate it won't be long... hm?"
Inside the agency, two figures having a conversation both turned their heads, looking at this tall youth who had walked through the door.
"Hello, what can I help you with..." Hongying stopped mid-sentence when she saw the boy's face, freezing in place.
The air inside the agency suddenly went quiet.
"...Is there something on my face?"
Feeling Hongying's strange gaze, Zhao Zhengbin touched his face and asked in confusion.
Hongying came back to her senses, shaking her head. "No... nothing. What can we help you with?"
"What do you... do here?"
Before Hongying could answer, Jia Shasha took the initiative to speak: "We're an agency, we take on commissions within our capabilities, including but not limited to investigating extramarital affairs, rescuing stray cats and dogs, providing tutoring for children below middle school, rescuing trafficked children, and also..."
"What else is there?"
"Else?" Jia Shasha stared blankly for a moment, then turned to exchange a glance with Hongying. "That's it, right?"
"Then, may I ask what you just mentioned—Sunken Dragon Pass, and the God Hunt Festival... what are those?"
"Um, it's that live stream, people are guessing about it on there, and someone even wrote a novel about it overnight based on this... I just flipped through it."
"...I see."
Hearing this answer, Zhao Zhengbin's expression seemed somewhat disappointed. After a murmured apology, he turned and walked out.
"Hongying Sister, did I speak too loudly just now?" Jia Shasha realized it was her words that had attracted the person, taking the initiative to admit her mistake.
But Hongying seemed not to hear, standing in place, gazing at Zhao Zhengbin's departing figure, murmuring:
"Like... looks like... it can't be that coincidental, right?"
...
"Mom, I'm home."
Zhao Zhengbin unlocked the door with his keys and called out.
"You're a bit late today. The food I made is getting cold." A middle-aged woman stood up from the sofa, glanced at the time, and walked straight toward the kitchen. "You sit and rest for a bit, I'll reheat the food for you."
"I got held up on the way watching a live strea— err, watching the news."
Zhao Zhengting changed his shoes and walked into the house. First, he went to the corner of the living room, bowed before a shrine table with black-and-white photographs, then walked toward the kitchen.
"Mom, what's for dinner tonight?"
"Braised pork, steamed eggs, and braised eggplant."
"Three dishes?"
"You're at the age where you're growing, how can you not eat more?" The woman replied while reheating the food. "恰好，今天你爸的抚恤金又下来一批，下午我再去趟菜市场，给你多买点东西补补……"
Zhao Zhengbin was silent for a moment, then hummed in acknowledgment.
He walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. The TV was playing CCTV news, a stern-looking man in military uniform seated on one side of the screen, and a seasoned news host on the other.
"...At the public's request, our evening news today has invited a high-ranking official from the Great Xia military to answer the hot topic everyone's discussing today... Hello, Commander Lu."
"Hello, host."
"This afternoon, there were many images in the Pioneer Exploration Team's live stream that people thought were CGI composites... Earlier we interviewed the head of the Pioneer Exploration Team, and he stated that the purpose of establishing the Pioneer Exploration Team was to show the public the real world, and that there is absolutely no CGI compositing... What are your thoughts on this?"