Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

In a dimly lit office, a small puppet was carefully wiping another puppet.

The small rag in his hand carefully brushed over every tiny crack.

If you look closely, you can see that these cracks are all over the body, but thanks to the owner's patient repairs, they are almost imperceptible.

Rubbing the tiny wounds on his hands, Arcana smiled.

Today is the day when the rainstorm ends——

Today is the day that Chen Xi can return to the hands of Reshaping.

My little music box, you've been so wronged these days. I'm really looking forward to going home soon.

"Knock knock knock."

The rhythmic knocking on the door sounded so pleasant to Arcana at this moment.

"Ah...Ms. Arcana."

The person who came to report called out Arcana's name timidly, but Arcana, who was in a good mood, did not notice this slight abnormality.

She raised her head with a smile, but saw this scene——

The reporter's expression seemed a little frightened. His hand holding the document trembled slightly. He opened his mouth several times but closed it again. His eyes moved uncontrollably to the ground, not daring to look into Arcana's eyes.

A bad premonition suddenly spread wildly in her heart, even though she told herself over and over again that it was impossible.

But that thought was like ink dropped into clear water, destroying all her good mood and continuing to expand.

"Tell me about it."

Although he tried his best to sound normal, the coldness that came out of his mouth still made the person in front of him shudder.

"Ms. Arcana, the command post we built in the forest for Orito'o..."

"Discovered, breached, and burned by the Foundation..."

"There were a total of ten Reshape Disciples in the command post. Nine of them died, and one is missing."

When she heard that the command post had been breached, Arcana clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost dug into her flesh. Especially when nine people were killed, her heart seemed to stop beating.

Fortunately, at least one person is still missing...

"That……"

Before Arcana could continue asking, the reporter already knew what she meant and continued to report tremblingly.

“The list of the deceased has been compiled by the medical department.

Ollie, Sirios, Tobry, Star Lake...

And Master Chenxi."

After saying the last name, the reporter closed his eyes resignedly.

Arcana's mystical aura suddenly spread throughout the entire office, and the wanton black liquid spurted out and wantonly destroyed everything in the room in an instant.

The reporter was trembling all over as he listened to the sound of something breaking around him. The sound tore at his heart again and again. Finally, he could not hold on any longer and his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

At the same moment, the raging sound stopped and he carefully opened his eyes.

The room was darker than before, and the broken window frames and scraps of paper on the floor told what had just happened.

The puppet on the table was still quietly wiping the puppet in front of it, not affected by the surrounding situation at all.

The reporter covered his heart with his hands in fear - except for the area around his body, there was no intact wall in the room. If he was not careful, he would be turned into a pile of powder.

"Sorry, my emotions got a little out of control. Please continue."

Arcana covered his face and issued instructions.

“Yes…yes…yes!”

He tried to stand up tremblingly, but his legs would not obey him and kept shaking without any strength.

"Let's just sit and talk..."

Calm, so calm that it even seemed to have a hint of crying in it.

"Okay...ok."

"Based on the tissue fragments we later collected, we can basically confirm the above list of deceased individuals...but no tissue from Leon was found among the bodies."

"We suspect... he's been held hostage by the Foundation."

"I see, you go down."

The last piece of news made Arcana's eyes gleam with light. She would not believe that Chen Xi died so easily. She would go and find out the truth about Chen Xi's death, even if it required a crazy plan.

……

In the foundation office, Constantine, dressed in a white robe, was holding a white chess piece, wondering about its position on the chessboard.

Opposite the sofa, a column of black liquid rose and fell, revealing a beautiful figure within it.

He sat down elegantly across from the chessboard and also picked up a black chess piece.

The moment the liquid column appeared, Constantine knew who it was. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and did nothing else.

A poker face is also a basic quality of a politician.

"It's a real surprise that the leader behind the Hand of Reshaping would show up so brazenly inside the Foundation."

"Are you here to negotiate peace with us?"

"I came here today to make a deal that would be beneficial to both of us."

Arcana didn't say much. Just appearing directly inside the foundation like this had already consumed too much of her energy.

In order to save enough energy to go back, she must try to avoid provoking disputes and resolve them quickly.

But at the same time, she had to look comfortable doing it.

"What kind of transaction would scare someone like you into coming directly to the Foundation headquarters?"

Constantine asked with a smile, but in his mind he was thinking about how to win her over in one fell swoop.

"I think we should be more honest with each other."

Black moves his piece and cuts into the front line.

"When you came here, I had already placed the latest reshaped masks in various places in the Foundation."

"With just a thought from me, everyone around the mask will become Reshape's most loyal servants."

"It might not matter elsewhere, but what about those guys in the supercomputing center?"

"The Foundation's research on heavy rain has always lagged behind Reshape Hands. Why not take this opportunity to have a frank exchange?"

Arcana smiled as he looked across the chessboard at the tense-looking old politician.

(Tsk, I got checked.)

"Then I wonder what kind of deal the leaders behind Reshape are trying to negotiate?"

He continued to maintain a formal smile, but was unable to erase the hint of hostility in his words.

Sighing inwardly, Arcana spoke slowly.

"You destroyed our mob command post earlier and took a prisoner."

"I want that person, and in return we can provide tools for forecasting heavy rain."

"It sounds like a good deal, but how can we be honest about it?"

With a clang, an armband consisting of four sets of Nixie tubes appeared on the table.

"This mode can be switched between the current era and the time until the next rainstorm."

The Nixie tube emitted a gentle light, quietly showing the time of the world after it was washed by heavy rain not long ago.

"That's great sincerity. In return, we will also make sufficient gestures."

A phone call led to a man being taken into the office.

The moment he walked in, he recognized the figure sitting on the sofa.

"Ms. Arcana!"

But the murderous and cold gaze gripped his throat tightly, making him dare not utter any more words.

"Very good, happy cooperation."

As he spoke, Arcana eagerly walked up to Leon, intending to take him away, but at this moment Constantine suddenly stopped him:

"Ms. Arcana, who is this device for?"

"Don't you have an orphan of a mystic who can walk in a rainstorm?"

Gave the other person a smile full of contempt.

"Goodbye, cold-blooded hypocrite."

After saying this, Arcana suddenly raised a column of liquid and disappeared without a trace.

"Haha, hypocrite?"

"I was really tricked."

Constantine smiled and stroked the armband in his hand, imagining what the wearer looked like.

……

The Hand of Reshaping

"Hahaha."

After the liquid column descended again, Arcana weakly supported himself against the wall and slowly squatted down.

These things like reshaped masks and supercomputing centers are all lies.

In that situation, just entering the foundation was already an exhausting task for her, not to mention putting on so many so-called reshaping masks.

But it's worth it.

Picking up the man who was kneeling beside him, Arcana tried to look as kind as possible:

"What happened to Chen Xi when the Foundation attacked?"

Leon, who had reacted, immediately replied:

"Captain Chen Xi was attacked by the enemy's mystical magic and fell to the ground. He never got up again."

I understand. Chen Xi is definitely not dead. It is impossible for him to die from an attack of that magnitude.

"Ms. Arcana?"

Her gaze suddenly became sharp, and the black liquid instantly engulfed his body, turning him into an irrational monster.

The Hand of Reshaping will not attack any family member, but it will not tolerate any traitor!

Chen Xi...you really make me so sad. It's okay, there will be a heavy rain next time.

When the next rainstorm comes, I will find you again... Then, come and make it up to me~~~

Arcana covered her face with her hands, her fingers covering her cheeks like flowers, revealing her eyes that were shining with a strange light.

Looks like... there's one more reason for the heavy rain to come earlier.

Are you right, my little music box?