Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Banquet
Lyra observed the ongoing banquet with a sharp and wary gaze. Ever since the beginning, she couldn't relax her guard or take it easy. She could feel the oppressive and discriminatory gazes directed at her, though the Ntuli people tried not to make it too obvious—or tried not to stare at all. Even they had certain levels of mixed feelings.
And that was only because of the person sitting next to her.
"What's wrong, Lyra? Is there something bothering you?"
Lyra felt a jolt as soon as she heard the unexpected voice—it was Huey's. She nearly raised her fist and threw a punch but was able to stop herself at the last second.
'I need to calm down.' All of the tension was getting to her nerves, which were already very sensitive.
'What tension? It's a fucking party, though!' Yes, one hosted by arch enemies deep inside their territory, where she's surrounded on all sides by possible and highly likely hostiles.
Lyra pushed her thoughts away and said, "Eh, no. I'm fine, just a little uncomfortable."
The only reason she was even allowed in here was because of Huey. Unlike him, Lyra directly hailed from the walls of Allan Fort. Huey gave her a soft look and smiled reassuringly.
"You should take it easy. Nothing will happen," he said.
This was Huey making his stance clear to the tribe and the Head by bringing along Lyra.
It was like him saying, Outsiders or those from the walls, the details don't matter to him. He does what he wants, with whom he wants, and when he wants. And if they really are looking to cooperate with him and maintain a favorable relationship for the future, then they should keep in mind to compromise on many levels.
After all, Huey wasn't the one who needed them. He also wasn't trying to make friends. At the same time, he wasn't bothered about making enemies either. Anyone or anything that gets in his way will be utterly and completely crushed by him. That's all.
Lyra nodded and turned. As long as Huey was here...
"Oii, beautiful platinum blonde over there! You! Yes, you. That's right—not you. The one with the glare that can freeze. Yes, her! Why don't you come have a drink with me, hm?"
'What is he doing?!' Lyra thought, and her expression fell. But she wasn't the only one.
'What is he doing?!' Tyla's whole body froze as her wide eyes stared at Huey's figure waving at her from across the room. He had a simple and innocent smile on his face as he gestured for her.
Immediately, all eyes converged on the two, with many more focusing on Tyla. If Tyla was frozen before, now she was stone.
Tyla cursed, finding it hard to hold her expression.
'That bastard!'
Under the gazes of every single soul present at the banquet, the short silver-haired young lady walked with rigid steps towards Huey, struggling to maintain a fake smile.
"Y-yes," she stuttered as she went down on one knee next to him.
Huey's smile receded slightly as he reached out an arm toward her. "Why so stiff? It's a banquet. Try to relax a little." As he said that, he pulled the still-dazed Tyla into his arms and settled her onto his lap.
Before Tyla could move or react, Huey wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed their bodies closely together. His red eyes were deep and glowing. He leaned his face over her shoulder, sharing the warmth of his skin with hers.
Tyla shuddered in his arms, feeling his touch. Her mind instantly went blank, and her temperature seemed to soar. Her face turned very red, and her eyes grew hazy. She felt the numerous baffled gazes falling on her, and she struggled to regain her senses.
"Wh-what are y-you doing??!" Her lips trembled as she stammered with a flushed face, trying to take control of her scattered thoughts.
"Hm? What do you mean?" Huey smiled pleasantly as he casually started stroking her head. "I'm snuggling."
Something dropped dead inside Tyla, and another piece broke inside Lyra.
'What is this shameless bastard doing right next to his date?!' Lyra screamed internally, on the verge of blowing her top.
She was both embarrassed and enraged. A dark gloom descended over her shoulders, and the cutlery she held in her hands bent and cracked.
Huey suddenly felt the atmosphere shift and become stuffy. Noticing the change, he turned to face Lyra with an oblivious smile.
"Did it get hot in here?"
Lyra's vein bulged.
"You fucking bastard! What are you doing when your date is right next to you?! Huh?!" She slammed the table and stood up. Her face twisted with anger and her expression was menacing.
Huey winced slightly, his smile turning crooked as he looked up at her, inadvertently gulping. He then said in a shaky voice, "Eh, Lyra? You look really scary right now."
Lyra stood over him silently for a few seconds, exhaling sharply as the banquet went quiet. Everyone stared in varying levels of bafflement. The Village Head watched with amusement in his eyes from afar, his gaze lingering on Tyla, who seemed to have passed out from overheating.
Lyra remained silent for a few seconds, violet flames igniting in her left hand. She raised her head slightly, her glassy sapphire eyes reflecting Huey's hateful image.
"Drop dead."
...
That night, the banquet ended on a splendid note—with fireworks.
***
"If you want to get into Allan Fort—or any other Fortress, actually—you will need a permit if you're a guest or envoy, or an identity stating that you're already a citizen of the Fortress in question, which in this case is Allan Fort…"
After the banquet, Huey listened to the professor explain the current migration systems. It was much harder to move to a Fortress now compared to seventy years ago when one could more or less easily sneak into a different country, state, or city.
"The Fortresses aren't lax on security, I'll personally tell you that," Hathaway said, shooting him a meaningful look with a hint of a smile. His family was responsible for establishing the Fortresses, making him likely the most knowledgeable person on the subject.
"They have an entire database recording the details of their civilians, right from the very clothes they wore at birth to the minutest details of their death." Hathaway emphasized.
Huey looked surprised. "That much?" he asked mildly, and the overworked professor nodded seriously.
At this, Huey's brow twitched. Given all the stressful processing involved, he was seriously beginning to consider how much easier it might be to just raid the Fortress from the outside.
As if understanding Huey's thoughts, Hathaway sighed and turned to face the computer screen lit before him.
"This is why it is extremely hard for an outsider to infiltrate. It's practically impossible, as the system is equipped with high-tech facial and DNA recognition. Because of this, every member of a Fortress is expected to carry identification with them." Hathaway turned back to Huey and presented something in his hand.
"Here." It was a small, flat, transparent card that felt smooth and fragile to the touch.
Huey looked at the card, which was blank like a screen, and asked, "What's this?"
Rather than answering directly, Hathaway said, "I need to register your blood. I'll create a new identity for you that will make it seem as if you're already a member of the Fortress."
Huey didn't react much to the request. Considering everything he'd heard from the professor, he roughly understood how tight the basics of how migration and movement between Fortresses worked, on a surface level.
In the end, the Walls kept track of their citizens via DNA signatures. Anyone not part of a specific Fortress would be easily and immediately recognized upon arrival at any of the gates.
Huey didn't like it one bit, but he took the card without saying anything. He bit his thumb until it bled and pressed it against the card. The transparent card lit up slightly, like a holographic screen. Moments later, a thumbprint, mirroring Huey's, appeared where he had pressed his bloody finger. The blood quickly dried or was absorbed, and a series of characters Huey couldn't recognize swept across the screen and vanished.
Then, a simple line read:
"Welcome."
***
[Bonus Chapters: 3/3] complete!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone