"I want to see the City Lord!"
Mark arrived at the central command center with Ran Bing and Goku, announced their presence to the guards, and waited quietly.
Soon, they saw the old City Lord, Morgan, walk out with a look of gratification on his face.
"It seems you've made up your mind!"
Earlier that day, he had announced that Mark would succeed him as City Lord, but Mark had refused the position due to the old man's role in the execution—by burning at the stake—of Mark's older sister, Hong Yan.
Despite repeated attempts at persuasion, Mark had remained hesitant.
Morgan assumed that Mark had come to see him so late at night because he had finally resolved his doubts.
"I have made up my mind: I want to become the next City Lord of the Lighthouse!"
Mark declared firmly.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Old City Lord Morgan was deeply gratified.
However, before he could say another word, the communicator in his pocket suddenly rang; the caller was Victor, Commander of the City Defense Force.
He picked up the device, but as he listened to Victor's report, his expression shifted rapidly.
He then glared angrily at Mark:
"Mark, so this is the reason you wanted to become City Lord!"
He believed Mark had agreed to take on the role of City Lord solely to use that authority to exempt Ran Bing from punishment after she violated the Lighthouse's Three Great Rules.
But this was something he absolutely could not allow.
The Three Great Rules were the fundamental basis for his absolute control over the Lighthouse. Therefore, anyone who violated them had to die.
He hadn't shown mercy even to the previous captain of the Dust-Scavenging Team, Hong Kou; he had ordered her burned at the stake. Instead of passing the role of City Lord to his own son, Charles, he appointed Mark to the position.
This decision was not born of pure selflessness; rather, it was because only Mark could ensure the Lighthouse's continued survival in this post-apocalyptic world.
In reality, the Lighthouse was never intended to be a "Noah's Ark" for humanity; in the Old World, it had simply been a massive airborne prison.
When the apocalypse struck, the prison guards and inmates were forced to cooperate. After rescuing large numbers of surface survivors, the facility evolved into humanity's final sanctuary.
The Lighthouse has managed to endure to this day primarily thanks to the "Clotho System," created by the first City Lord. This system is a hybrid construct, formed by combining a high-tech mechanical spine with the brain of an unknown biological entity.
It possesses the ability to predict the future by analyzing the trajectories of microscopic particles.
The Lighthouse relies on the Clotho System's predictive capabilities to plot its flight paths and steer clear of repeated crises.
The first City Lord once used the Clotho System to seek a solution to the threat posed by the "Mana ecology." The only result was a set of incomprehensible formulas and symbols, along with a specific set of coordinates.
At those coordinates, the first City Lord discovered an infant—the very same Mark who stands before us now.
Thus, Mark holds the key to resolving the Mana ecological crisis and ensuring the enduring survival of the Lighthouse. That is precisely why he wanted Mark to succeed him as the City Lord.
If he had let his own son, Charles, take over, Mark would undoubtedly have been killed.
Without Mark, the Lighthouse would sooner or later be devoured by the ever-strengthening
Phage Beasts.
If the day came when the Phage Beasts evolved the ability to fly, then no matter how the Klotho System ran its simulations, it would be unable to calculate a safe flight path.
In that event, both he and his son Charles would perish.
Once Mark became City Lord, he would ostensibly abide by the rules the old man had established and voluntarily leave the Lighthouse for the surface.
In reality, however, he would retreat behind the scenes, hiding in a pre-prepared secret chamber to secretly control everything on the Lighthouse.
Victor was his man, and the Light-Energy would belong to his son.
Once Mark resolved the issue of the Mana ecology, he and Charles could immediately reclaim control of the Lighthouse whenever they wished.
But there was a prerequisite for this:
The Lighthouse had to strictly adhere to the Three Laws he had established.
Without the Three Laws, the Lighthouse could no longer function as it did now, and his so-called authority would naturally vanish.
Therefore, the condition for Mark becoming City Lord was that he must continue to enforce the Lighthouse's Three Laws.
"That's right. If I become City Lord, the first thing I'll do is abolish the Lighthouse's Three Laws.
I'll restore the social dynamics of the Old World— abandoning the practice of ranking people based on genetic concerns and instead assigning important roles based on actual ability.
Then, we'll take the offensive to eliminate the Phage Beasts and the Mana ecology, allowing humanity to return to life on the surface."
Mark stated his views without holding anything back.
"You've seen Goku's strength; with his help, we stand a chance." "
"Insolence! Mark, do you realize what you are saying?"
City Lord Morgan's face flushed red with anger.
He hadn't expected Mark to harbor such an intention; there was no way he could agree to it.
Just then, Victor arrived with the elite forces of the City Defense Guard, closely followed by Mo Cheng and other elite Dust Hunters.
As they stepped into the hall, they heard the old City Lord Morgan issuing a stern order.
"Dust Hunter Ran Bing has refused to carry out the breeding assignment; she is to be executed on the spot by Captain Mark.
Upon completion of the execution, Captain Mark will assume the position of City Lord in seven days.
If he refuses, he will be stripped of his rank as Dust Hunter Captain and confined to the detention cell to reflect!"
This was a test.
If Mark killed Ran Bing with his own hands, it would mean he had ultimately bowed—bowed to the Lighthouse's three fundamental laws.
If Mark refused, he would no longer be qualified to serve as City Lord, and Morgan would have to reconsider how to utilize him to ensure the Lighthouse's continued survival.
"Lord City Lord!"
Upon hearing the City Lord's order, the expressions of Mo Cheng and the other elite Dust Hunters changed drastically, but they were quickly surrounded by Morgan's City Defense Guard.
"Mo Cheng, I order you to immediately dismount from your Heavy Exoskeletons."
The old City Lord Morgan barked the command.
Mo Cheng and the others hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped out of their Heavy Exoskeletons.
When the fanatics of the Light and Shadow Society had tried to kill their captain, they had been willing to defy Lighthouse rules to come to his aid.
But this situation was different.
This was an order from the old City Lord—a man whose authority was etched into their very bones—and they dared not disobey.
"Lord City Lord, I will not kill Ran Bing, nor will I allow you to confine me."
Mark shook his head and bowed to Morgan:
"Please step down, City Lord!"
He had already made up his mind; if Morgan refused, he would forcibly seize the position of City Lord.
"Insolence, Mark! Everything I've done, I've done with a clear conscience—all for the sake of the Lighthouse.
The Three Laws are the very principles that allow the Lighthouse to survive in this apocalypse.
Even if you use this boy's power to kill me, the people won't accept your rule!"
Morgan cast a wary glance at Goku, who was standing beside Mark, and rebuked him with an air of righteous indignation.
He already knew from Victor just how formidable Goku was; if Mark used that power to seize control by force, it would indeed be a major problem.
However, he knew the weaknesses of a man like Mark, and he knew how to handle him.
Sure enough, upon hearing Morgan's words, a look of hesitation appeared on Mark's face.
Deep down, he still held some respect for the old City Lord who had kept the Lighthouse alive all this time.
"How about this: the breeding assignment for Ran Bing is cancelled—she can redeem herself through service—and you, Mark, can still take over as City Lord.
But there is one condition: the Lighthouse's Three Laws cannot be changed; they are the foundation of our existence!"
Seeing the hesitation on Mark's face, Morgan's tone softened.
Goku's terrifying power forced him to make some compromises.
Moreover, if he could persuade Mark, Goku's power would become the Lighthouse's power—and the power that maintained his own authority.
"Mark, he's lying. He doesn't care about the Lighthouse at all; he just wants to use you.
And this guy is a bad person; he's done a lot of terrible things!"
Just then, Goku's voice rang out in the hall, and the hesitation vanished from Mark's face.
"Goku..."
"Goku, tell us what you saw."
Knowing that Goku possessed the ability to read minds, he had instructed the boy to carefully scan City Lord Morgan's memories before they entered the main hall.
This was because he had long harbored doubts about many aspects of the Lighthouse.
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