It was twilight; the sun had already dipped halfway below the distant mountain ranges.
Upon receiving Captain Mark's report, the colossal Lighthouse began its slow descent from high in the sky.
Once it reached a specific altitude, the base of the Lighthouse whirred with mechanical activity, swiftly lowering a steel platform spanning several hundred square meters.
A reception crew was already stationed on the platform, standing at the ready. Under the direction of a white-haired elder, all the armored vehicles and transport trucks drove onto the platform, which then began its ascent.
Sitting inside the armored vehicle, Goku gazed out the window at the dense array of platforms suspended by steel cables all around them.
Those platforms were stacked high with various shipping containers.
"Is all of humanity in this world gathered right here?"
Closing his eyes, he extended his senses to perceive the Ki—the life force—of every living being within the entire Lighthouse; yet, he detected no presence of any particularly powerful Ki.
However, he wasn't particularly disappointed by this discovery. For having traversed so many different worlds, he had long since come to understand that not every master could be judged solely by the strength—or weakness—of their Ki.
"Duang!"
Having ascended to its maximum height, the platform came to a steady, firm halt.
The armored vehicles and transport trucks rolled off the platform, proceeding forward along the curving roadway.
Meanwhile, lining both sides of the road were the working Upper-class Citizens and Dust-class Citizens.
Upon seeing the convoy returning fully laden—and the Wilderness Hunters riding within it—they were each seized by a surge of excitement.
Although the Lighthouse cultivated various crops and raised poultry, it was incapable of generating the specific energy resources required to sustain its levitation and operational functions.
If the Wilderness Hunters failed to locate these essential energy resources, the Lighthouse would inevitably be forced to descend to the ground.
A grounded Lighthouse would inevitably face a siege by the endless hordes of Phage Beasts, ultimately resulting in total annihilation.
Thus, whether the Wilderness Hunters could successfully bring back sufficient supplies was a matter that bore directly upon the life and death of every single person aboard the Lighthouse.
Clearly, this bountiful return meant that the Lighthouse would no longer have to worry about the looming threat of a forced landing—at least for the next year.
"Captain Mark!"
"Ran Bing!"
"Erica!"
The crowd chanted the names of the Wilderness Hunters one by one, hailing them as their heroes.
Erica and Jeff, who had been seated beside Goku, had by now clambered out through the windows and onto the roof of the armored vehicle.
Basking in the crowd's adoration, they waved back in acknowledgment.
At that moment, Goku also poked his head out the window, a look of pure, innocent joy beaming across his face.
The scene unfolding before him reminded him of the World Martial Arts Tournament.
He recalled the days when they competed in the World Martial Arts Tournament... The surrounding spectators, too, were cheering and shouting for them in just the same way.
Meanwhile, inside a certain room on the uppermost level of the Lighthouse...
Three men clad in long red robes—along with a fourth man draped in a black overcoat—were gazing down through a window, observing everything unfolding below.
The three men in red robes wore expressions of utter sycophancy as they cast judgment upon the "Upper Citizens" and "Dust Citizens" below:
"Hmph! These ignorant fools! Have they forgotten that it is solely due to your blessings, Lord Head, that the Wilderness Hunters were able to return safely? It is you—the Head—whom they ought to be thanking!"
"Patience is wisdom; anger is folly. So long as one remains clear-headed, one shall naturally receive the favor of the Lord of Light and Shadow!"
In the center stood Charles—the Head—distinguished by his blond hair and black overcoat. With the air of a charlatan, he raised both hands in a gesture of feigned indifference.
Yet, deep within his eyes, a thick, consuming jealousy had already taken hold.
In his view, the sole object of worship for everyone aboard the entire Lighthouse could be none other than himself—the Head of the Order of Light and Shadow.
As for those Wilderness Hunters? They were nothing more than lowly tools—mere instruments who dared to steal his thunder.
Especially that Mark. Ever since becoming the captain of the Wilderness Hunters, his renown had soared, threatening to eclipse even that of the Head himself.
This was something Charles absolutely could not tolerate.
He was the City Lord's son; he was the chosen one of the Lord of Light and Shadow. It was he who ought to wield the supreme, absolute authority over the entire Lighthouse.
"Therefore... I am here!"
Upon hearing the Head's teachings, the three red-robed devotees wore expressions of fanatical zeal.
"Lord Head, a child has been found inside Mark's vehicle—a child who does not appear on the Lighthouse's official registry."
Just then, a seductive woman approached, carrying an advanced holographic display panel. She wore a specialized headpiece that left only her small, delicate mouth and smooth chin exposed, along with a unique uniform designed to reveal half of her buttocks.
The image displayed on the panel was none other than the photograph captured by the Lighthouse's surveillance system—a shot of Goku peeking his head out from a window.
"He isn't on the Lighthouse's registry list. Could it be that the Wilderness Hunters have discovered new survivors down on the surface?"
Charles's expression shifted uneasily.
This was hardly good news.
With no new survivors discovered in over twenty years, the residents of the Lighthouse had come to believe that humanity had vanished from the surface entirely—and that a return to life on the ground was no longer a possibility.
They believed that only by remaining safely within the confines of the Lighthouse could they hope to cling to survival amidst this apocalypse.
But what if they were to discover that humans could, in fact, still survive on the ground—that there was still hope of returning to the surface? Would their current state of stability and tranquility endure?
He was certain that his father—the Lord of the City—would not be pleased to hear such news, either.
Furthermore, Mark's prestige within the Lighthouse was already formidable; discovering human survivors on the surface would only serve to make him even more arrogant and emboldened.
When the time came to appoint the next Lord of the City, the position might very well slip out of Charles's grasp entirely.
"Vanti, take Big Dog and the Cleric with you. Go find out exactly what the deal is with that boy—and, ideally, secure him and bring him under our control first."
"Yes, Headman!"
Meanwhile, the convoy circled once inside the Lighthouse before arriving at the facility's designated supply distribution room.
Upon seeing the convoy come to a halt, the Dust-dwellers stationed there—the lowest caste of the Lighthouse—moved with practiced efficiency to unload the supplies from the transport vehicles.
Goku also hopped out of the armored vehicle, his eyes wide with curiosity as he looked around at his new surroundings.
After quickly wrapping up the handover procedures, Mark turned to his second-in-command and issued an order:
"Ran Bing, you and Erica take Goku to the mess hall to get some food first—put it on my Contribution Points tab. I'm heading to the Council Chamber to report on the situation!"
It was standard protocol: whenever a scavenging mission returned, Mark—as the captain—was required to proceed to the Lighthouse's Central Command Hall to brief the City Lord on the mission's progress.
This time, however, the stakes were even higher; not only had the scavenging mission been completed successfully, but they had also brought back a survivor from the surface world. There was absolutely no time to waste.
Only with the City Lord's personal approval could Goku be officially registered as a resident of the Lighthouse—and, subsequently, inducted into their ranks as a Hunter.
"Yes, Captain."
Ran Bing, the short-haired young woman serving as his second-in-command, gave Mark a playful salute.
Mark shook his head with a smile and headed toward the central elevator shaft.
"Food? Awesome! I'm absolutely starving right now!"
The moment Goku heard that Ran Bing and the others were going to treat him to a meal, his spirits soared; he obediently fell in step behind the group as they headed toward the mess hall.
The Dust-dwellers busy unloading supplies, along with the Upper-dwellers—the armed guards standing watch over the area—couldn't help but stare as they watched Goku walking right in the midst of the elite Hunters. They immediately began to speculate about his true identity.
Their curiosity reached a fever pitch when they noticed something truly bizarre: Goku actually had a tail—a real, furry tail—wagging back and forth behind him! A low murmur of bewildered chatter rippled through the crowd.
However, just as Goku and his companions reached the exit of the supply distribution room, they were abruptly intercepted by a small squad of figures clad in crimson robes and wearing masks.
Leading the group was none other than Vanti—a "Light-bearer" of the Order of Light and Shadow.
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