School in Danger

Beiping, formerly Beijing.

The Yuan Dynasty was a great empire. The Mongol emperor created an unprecedentedly large country in world history by crushing not only China but also Eastern Europe, and despite tearing this country into several parts, he always kept its center in China.

The Mongolian plateau where the empire began, and the capital of the Song Dynasty that the empire swallowed, were too barren or off-center to rule this large country. They eyed Huabei. There seemed to be no better capital for ruling China and beyond.

Thanks to the Yongle Emperor’s coup in the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan capital Dadu remained the imperial capital even in the Ming era, and the Qing Dynasty, which crushed the Ming and entered within Shanhaiguan, also took Beijing’s Forbidden City as the emperor’s residence to stand tall as the true China.

It was the thousand-year capital symbolizing the history of the Chinese Empire. It’s like Kyoto for Japan, and like Gyeongju and Kaesong combined for Korea. Even though it’s been a long time since the city’s name was changed to Beiping, it’s still common for locals to respectfully call it Beijing.

In this thousand-year capital of China. In this city that is like China’s pride.

An atomic bomb exploded. No one here was stupid enough not to understand the meaning of this.

“Let’s arrest Barbara Tikhonov.”

Catherine Duey suggested. It was a surprisingly cold statement for her roommate who had been closest to her.

“National emergency. Considering the possibility of Soviet action, it’s natural to arrest and neutralize the only high-ranking Soviet official China has. Major Zhou Lizhi, please give the order.”

“Wait a moment, Lieutenant Duey. There’s no proof yet that it’s the Soviets’ doing.”

“I like Katyusha’s cold judgment. I had hoped for a bit more warmth though.”

Barbara Tikhonov shrugged. Churchill sat down with a bored expression and tilted her head.

“It’s China’s business, Duey? What do you have to get worked up about?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Churchill. A nuclear attack is all-out war. If all-out war breaks out between the Soviet Union and China, the League of Nations might have an obligation to intervene.”

“Even without mentioning the League of Nations, it’s not a situation we can just sit by and watch.”

Shradha Bhatt’s voice trembled slightly. It was a natural reaction in a situation where a second world war might be approaching.

“Lieutenant Duey is right now, Major. Let’s detain Colonel Tikhonov. If it turns out the Soviet Union is uninvolved, we can release her then.”

“Actually, you’re all subjects for detention.”

Zhou Lizhi said with a sigh. As everyone fell silent for a moment, I asked her.

“On what grounds?”

“Protection of foreigners in Chinese danger zones. It’s a manual policy in preparation for when China enters a war crisis situation. Naturally, both Huangpu and Beiping’s superhuman schools are strategic points that are quite vulnerable to attack in a war situation. Considering the possibility that they might strike with missiles first in case of a surprise outbreak of war, given that the combat power of the cadets gathered here is equivalent to or greater than that of an army corps, response manuals were written.”

“So in case of war, foreign exchange students are to be kept in a safe place while only Chinese cadets prepare for war, right?”

“It can’t be helped, can it? We can’t force foreign exchange students to participate in war for China. On the other hand, the Chinese gathered here are practically being drafted immediately. They receive education in preparation for this right after enrollment. We didn’t do that for you.”

Now I understood why Chinese students, regardless of age or grade, could immediately move to their positions as soon as the broadcast sounded. This place was not only for training officer cadets but also a military facility in itself.

“Even so, we can’t be treated the same as a Soviet colonel.”

The American model, Julia Curoo, who had been quiet, chimed in.

“That woman is a dangerous person. Put her in special detention somewhere.”

“Shouldn’t we think calmly? It’s not like war has broken out in Guangzhou right now. I think we should follow the manual, but there’s no need to move immediately.”

Worried that the atmosphere might intensify, I quickly raised my hand and tried to mediate. Fortunately, the students nodded to my suggestion with a rational attitude. Since their own country wasn’t attacked, and the attacked location, Beiping, is so far from Guangzhou, they haven’t lost their reason.

Or it could be due to the strong mental power characteristic of superhumans. I was concerned about Hoang Thi Linh swinging a coin in front of her eyes, seemingly trying to cast a self-suggestion spell, but it looked like she was just trying to encourage herself, so I didn’t want to interfere.

I couldn’t understand the content of the suggestion because it was spoken in Vietnamese. From the occasional “Linh” I heard, it sounded like she was speaking to herself familiarly.

“By the way, the bomb exploded inside the barrier.”

Katerfeld was the first to point out the part that was most concerning.

“Rather than a foreign attack, internal terrorism or a military conspiracy?”

“It seems so.”

Zhou Lizhi nodded.

“That’s why I don’t want to touch Colonel Tikhonov carelessly. Since the missile didn’t come from outside, my arbitrarily detaining a Soviet person could give a bad impression to the relations between the two countries. In the worst case, if the Soviet side uses this as an issue to attack…”

“I’ll say it again, I didn’t do anything.”

Tikhonov said with a sigh.

“But it’s also true that I find it difficult to assert that my country didn’t do anything.”

“What? So you’re saying this could be a Soviet attack?”

Demetriades slammed the table. Catherine Duey quietly approached Celine, took the Greek woman’s hand, and calmed her down.

“It’s true that a mere colonel can hardly guess the government’s decisions. Especially in an unstable country like Russia.”

I approached the Major close enough to whisper privately to Zhou Lizhi. I whispered to her first.

“What exactly is the situation? You know something, don’t you, Major?”

“The possibility of a Russian or Japanese attack is low.”

She answered. Judging by how she said it so decisively, there must be another suspicious culprit.

“Then who do you suspect?”

“A terrorist group within China.”

“How does a mere terrorist group get their hands on an atomic bomb?”

“They don’t even need to get their hands on it and bring it. China’s superhuman schools basically have underground missile silos equipped with atomic bombs.”

“…What did you just say…”

Zhou gently pushed me away and shouted loudly to all the students.

“Anyway, it’s a reasonable judgment that Huangpu isn’t necessarily safe either. It’s inconvenient to just gather here, so shall we all move to the underground bunker? We can think about how to deal with Colonel Tikhonov after that…”

That’s when it happened. There was a bang outside the cafeteria building, followed by a thunderous sound of something exploding. Judging by the not-so-loud sound, it seemed like a small explosion had occurred at a distance, but since the atmosphere was still tense enough for sirens to be blaring, everyone couldn’t help but react very sensitively.

Churchill immediately drew her baton from her waist, and Catherine Duey surrounded her hands with flames and her eyes flashed. Hoang Thi Linh… was still dozing off while looking at the swinging coin.

“Don’t tell me it wasn’t a courage-giving spell but a sleep spell? Hey! Hey!”

Celine Demetriades, Hoang Thi Linh’s roommate, shook her awake with an incredulous look. Meanwhile, Zhou Lizhi drew her pistol and carefully went outside the cafeteria to check the situation. I stuck close behind her.

“You wait inside. What do you think you’re doing…”

“If the situation goes wrong, everyone inside will die anyway, so does it matter if we’re inside or outside the cafeteria building?”

Zhou acknowledged the validity of my point. She turned towards the table and said.

“…Have everyone follow us out.”

“Everyone, move outside the cafeteria. Right now!”

At my words, the rest of the students all rushed to the entrance of the cafeteria. As we came out of the building, we began to hear repeated sounds of a large engine, wheels rolling, and what sounded like gunfire.

I know what this sound is. This is the sound of a tank moving. It’s the sound of a tank moving and firing its machine gun.

Sounds that should only be heard on a battlefield are now being heard inside the school.

“It’s not our military operating it. Chinese troops can’t roll tanks within Huangpu without reporting to me.”

Zhou said. If so, it means someone or some external force has hijacked a tank and is controlling it…

“Major, can’t you stop the tank with your superpower?”

“I can. But it’s too far away. I need to get closer.”

At that moment, we heard a shouting voice amplified by a loudspeaker from the direction where the tank was estimated to be approaching. The shout was bellowing in resounding Chinese:

“The blue sky falls! As it always has, the blue sky once again disappears into history! When the blue sky falls and the white sun drops to the ground, the yellow sky will rise again!”

“…That phrase…”

“I hope I haven’t gone back to the Han Dynasty…”

I muttered. Hoang Thi Linh, who had woken up by now, and Tikhonov, who had gradually come out of the building, seemed to understand the meaning behind that shout, but other foreign students from the West or South America seemed to have no clue.