Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

889
The Feynapotter stumbled away.

Edward reopened the newspaper in his hand. There was a small page on it that told the news that "Fernetpot farmers beat the priest of Thunder Church to death". Almost the entire page was about how the priest who died tragically was innocent. The photo showed a crying woman and an ignorant child. There was also a small page that briefly summarized the chaos in the East District. The larger page was a notice from the Church of Mother Earth:

"Starting from the 10th of this month, normal trade with Loen will be resumed."

In other words, the free bread at church relief stations will soon disappear, and the low-priced, high-quality food in major grain stores will soon return to its original price when it was imported.

This news has just been reported, and it looks like there will be some looting going on... But resuming normal trade will at least give some Fenapote people some comfort, and it can also divert some conflicts to a certain extent.

"Should we let the Demon Family take this opportunity to sell some of their stored food?"

"…Forget it. Intervening so early will change the opposing sides. It's probably better for them to do it themselves."

at dusk.

After the last believer left, Emlyn was about to close the church. Suddenly, he felt a sight behind him. He looked in that direction and saw the man who had left angrily two hours ago appeared near the church again.

He had calmed down, thinking that as a demigod, there was no need for him to get angry over such a small matter. He still had a lot of things to do.

But when he saw the other party coming, Emlyn still asked:
"The church is closed tonight. If you want to stay overnight, I can arrange a place for you."

The Feynapotter looked at him, his expression softening slightly. But then he became serious again, and he walked forward and asked seriously:
"Father, I found the murderer who used extraordinary powers to kill my neighbor. He is a priest of the Thunder Church."

Emlyn frowned.

"Don't do anything impulsive."

"...No, I won't." Feynapotter whispered, with a hint of hesitation that he himself didn't even notice. Then he looked at Emlyn expectantly, "Father, I won't do anything stupid, but I want to take him to court. I hope he can get the punishment he deserves. Can you help me?"

There's no point in taking it to court... Emlyn opened his mouth, but facing those eager eyes, it was hard for him to say anything harsh:
"If you have evidence, I can help you think of a solution... But the key is, was your friend innocently involved and accidentally killed, or did he take the initiative to participate and was eventually killed by a priest of the Thunder Church in the chaotic fight?"

"He - he went to reclaim wasteland outside the city. His salary was withheld and he wanted to get it back, so he joined the parade -"

"That wasn't a demonstration at all, it was just a simple dispute, and why was his salary docked?"

"Because he had a quarrel with a priest... It was just a few words! It's not serious at all! Our salary is not much anyway!"

"Well, don't get excited. Is the priest who had the quarrel the same person who killed him?"

"I—I don't know."

"...If that's the case, then I'm afraid I can't help you." Emlyn said regretfully, "This lawsuit can't be won, and I'm afraid your neighbor can only get some subsidies from the church. It's a pity, but you should give up this idea."

"Is it really impossible?" The Feynapote begged, "Father, please!"

"...You can also go to the Flower Church to ask, and the Earth Church, which is currently under renovation. It may be the future headquarters. If the priests there are willing to help you, they may be able to call out that Beyonder to apologize to you." Emlyn said, "Besides that, I don't have any other way...Also, there are many injured people and people who want to be treated who come to the Harvest Church every day. I am very busy, and you should be able to see that I really can't help you with similar matters. Don't ask again in the future."

Emlyn saw the other person's eyes dimmed in an instant, he turned his face away and closed the main door of the church.

Therefore, he did not see the other surge of crazy emotion that suddenly rose in the other person's eyes.

……

When Alan returned to the room, it was completely dark.

The Kress family chatted in the room for a while. Ms. Wilma gave the child a bath. Allen went to discuss with the waiter about ordering a few bottles of direct-sale beer and shipping them to Backlund's home by train. It was cold now, so it wouldn't be difficult to preserve them.

After settling the matter, Alan went back to take a bath. Thinking that they had to get up at 6:30 the next day, the family turned off the lights and went to bed early.

After an unknown amount of time, Alan suddenly woke up in a daze.

He opened his eyes a little and saw a long railway track in front of him.

He looked down in confusion and found that he was already dressed, wearing a tie, carrying a suitcase, and standing on the platform of the train station.

Wilma was also standing beside him. Allen could not raise his head to look at her face. He only knew that she was there, pushing a baby stroller with Wilma wrapped in a silver-white silk blanket. The family stood on the platform just fine. There seemed to be vague figures moving around, but when Allen tried to look, those figures disappeared.

There seemed to be a lot of people coming and going here, with the sound of people speaking various languages, but it also seemed like there was dead silence, as there were only the three of them in the huge station.

Alan felt as if there was a layer of frosted glass between him and everything around him. He couldn't see or hear clearly.

Just as a feeling of doubt arose in his heart, he calmed down again in this bizarre and strange scene... Yes, their family of three was going to travel, to a faraway place, a strange city, a... They were now waiting for the train to start.

Alan couldn't raise his head, and could only open his eyes a little. Everything around him became a blurry block of color in his vision. After waiting for a while, a voice sounded in Alan's ears, echoing intermittently around him:
"The Utopia... Express... has... arrived at the station..."

"Dear... passengers... wait for the bus... in an orderly manner... as soon as possible..."

This voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Alan looked at the empty railroad tracks in front of him, and a hint of doubt arose in his subconscious mind. He turned his vision left and right, looking for the location of the train.

Then he saw a pair of boots.

The reason why he only saw a pair of boots was because the pair of high leather boots was just at the level of his line of sight. The tall conductor was hanging in the air with his head lowered, his body swaying slightly, his mouth opening and closing, and his voice came out from the "horn" next to the pillar, echoing mechanically over and over again in the station.

Other train station staff were also suspended in mid-air. Alan looked into the station and saw the conductor behind the glass also hanging from the ceiling. This was probably a feature of the Utopia train. Their heads were blocked by the eaves, and only their drooping legs could be seen some distance from the table, on which were placed tickets and notebooks, as well as a cup of steaming coffee.

So Alan nodded slowly and saluted the conductor in mid-air.

Utopia... Yes, after hearing that voice, Alan remembered that he, Velma, and Will were going to Utopia.

But where exactly is the train?
Allen hadn't figured it out yet, when he noticed from the corner of his eye that Wilma had moved, pushing the stroller towards a pillar in the station, with the silver stroller in the front, looking like Wilma was leading the way for his parents. Allen didn't think much about it, and almost instinctively followed his wife and child. There were four pillars in the station, and the three of them walked towards the third one together.

The silver stroller hit the load-bearing column directly and then "crashed into it", followed by Velma, and then Alan also walked into the column.

In an instant, a brand new station appeared in front of Allen. The track in front of him was no longer empty, but a long black and white "train" was parked on it.

The train lit up, and the orange light illuminated Alan's vision. The door opened, and passengers around him began to board. Alan followed naturally, and when he passed the hanging ticket inspector, he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a familiar postcard and a colorful poster.

A corner of the poster fell off out of thin air, and then the ticket inspector's body shook slightly and opened the door.

The family of three entered the train and sat down in the empty seats.

After a while, the train seemed to start moving, and the scenery outside the window rapidly receded. Cities, plains, rivers and mountains flashed by one by one, and finally drove into a heavy snow.

Alan turned his head and saw the train speeding across a snowy field that seemed to have no end. In the distance, he could vaguely see towering mountains.

Some passengers sat quietly, some hung around. A metal cart without a steward pushing it wobbled steadily down the aisle between the seats, with cups of steaming cocoa and coffee on it.

The interior of the car was very warm, and there was none of the unpleasant smells that were inevitable on a steam train. Alan did not see any gas pipes, but he saw a small round outlet above his head spewing out hot air.

In this cozy and comfortable environment, Alan closed his eyes, his consciousness became blurred again, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The dining car stopped beside him, as if there was an invisible attendant standing next to it, and then a cup of hot cocoa flew out from the second level of the dining car and landed on the small table in front of the silver stroller, along with a small box of ice cream.

The dining car continued to move forward.

Will sat up from the stroller, held up the white porcelain teacup with both hands, blew on the hot cocoa inside, and then took a small sip. "This city has a counterpart in the spiritual world... As expected, it not only exists in reality, but also can be visited by more than just real means."

Dreams, wandering in the spirit world, trains, and other ways should all be able to lead to Utopia.

Will didn't plan to go to Utopia right away, but that didn't stop him from seeing how dangerous the city was for him before he went. Ouroboros could lay a big net to catch him, and he could also find a way to avoid being caught by the other party. Their fates would indeed have a moment of intersection in the future, but if it wasn't inevitable, Will still wanted to delay it a little longer.

It is obviously safer to go there through a dream. Besides, there are many people going to Utopia at the same time. Will can use the "Dice of Probability" to slightly conceal his own fate and blend in with them. It is not impossible to hide it from Ouroboros' eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky outside the train gradually brightened, the heavy snow gradually subsided, and on the plain ahead, a not-so-small city appeared within view from the train window.

Will's spirit was suddenly touched. He looked toward the city outside the window and was immediately shocked by everything he saw.

"A house made of...glass?"

He saw buildings that were more than five stories high. Their style and design were particularly strange. Not only did they look like rectangular blocks, but the outer walls also seemed to be made entirely of glass. They reflected light miraculously in the heavy snow, and he could vaguely see human figures inside.

But this only surprised Him. Some special buildings were nothing. Later, He found that there was not a single spiritual aura in the entire city.

There isn't even a single Beyonder puppet in there?

A city made up entirely of ordinary people?
If there were only ordinary puppets in the entire city, then the only extraordinary person would be Ouroboros! Will suddenly felt a subtle emotion in his heart. If that was the case, they would be as conspicuous to each other as torches in the middle of the night. Ouroboros must have hidden himself tightly, waiting for fate to guide them to meet by some coincidence.

When the train roared into the Utopia station, Will once again carefully observed the station.

The station had a tall glass dome, and the staff hanging there wore uniforms similar to those of Rune but different. There were no gas pipes anywhere, but one could clearly feel the warm air pouring in.

Just as the car door opened, the alarm clock rang at 6:30 in the morning.

Alan woke up from his dream and yawned.

The memories in the dream gradually disappeared. Alan saw the ceiling of the hotel. After a moment of confusion, he remembered his itinerary.

"Why do I feel like I'm already on the bus..."

He stood up and started looking for his razor and toothbrush. At this moment, he found that the poster that the young man had given him last night was missing a corner, as if it had been torn off.

Maybe it was torn accidentally... Alan didn't think much about it. He woke up his sleeping wife and children. They got up and washed up, and wiped Will's face and body. After packing up, the family went into the restaurant at seven o'clock and had a simple meal.

Then they checked out of the hotel, got into a carriage, and arrived at Thorn Station at seven forty.

His train had already started. Alan turned around as usual and found that the train parked opposite, heading for that utopia, had disappeared.

"Leaving so early?"

Alan muttered to himself and boarded the train to Dixie Bay.

……

The central open space of the Cathedral of Light with its beautiful gardens.

In the midday sun, the sunflowers were in full bloom. Audrey had just entered and had not had time to appreciate the garden carefully when she saw a carriage coming over. The driver was an ordinary middle-aged man wearing an old hat and a dark jacket.

However, in Audrey's eyes, the driver did not exist at all, because he had no corresponding mental island and conscious activities.

In other words, the driver is just an illusion, a dummy, and the horse itself is the master of the carriage. Even when the carriage was driving, the wheels did not leave any tracks on the garden path, as if it was an illusion from beginning to end.

A few seconds later, the carriage stopped in front of Audrey and the door creaked open.

"Please come in." A deep male voice came from inside.

Audrey lifted her skirt slightly and boarded the carriage, and saw old Mr. Hermes, with white hair and beard, already sitting on the seat.

He had a slight smile on his face as always, looking old and warm. His hair was neatly combed back, and there were a few wrinkles on his forehead. When he saw Audrey, he greeted her and invited her to get in the car.

"Your Highness Hermes."

Audrey bowed, then lifted her skirt and got into the car.

"I thought you would question me driving a carriage in the garden." Hermes winked at Audrey, as playful as ever. He moved back, but in fact the space inside the carriage was very large, and Audrey could sit down and relax in front of him. "Don't worry, others can't see this carriage, nor can they see the two of us. Good afternoon - I know you want to ask me why I changed the visit to this afternoon, because I plan to take you to a place by the way."

"What place is it?" Audrey asked politely as she watched the car door close automatically out of the corner of her eye.

Since Hermes did not ask her directly or indirectly about the Tarot Club and Mr. Fool, Audrey was not in a hurry to speak. She also wanted to see how Hermes would treat her, a new member who had already been confirmed to have converted to the demigod.

The angel, who was old but not old at heart, reached out and pulled open the silk covering the window. Audrey felt the carriage begin to move forward.
"A place you will need to know about later. You can understand it as the headquarters of the Psychological Alchemy Society."

"Well, to be honest, we're talking about changing the name of this place because of the Kingdom of Heaven."

Change your name?

Audrey nodded slightly, without too many questions, and sat down calmly.

Then, she looked out the window without disguising her gaze at all, and was slightly surprised to find that in just a blink of an eye, the park had turned into a strange city, a city shrouded in night.

In the city stand magnificent buildings with a mysterious and dark feel, and walking around are gentlemen in top hats and windbreakers and women in complicated and gloomy dresses.

Audrey glanced around and saw a gentleman next to the carriage with short black hair on his face and sharp canine teeth in his mouth.

This is a werewolf.

"What is this place?" Audrey asked without much change in expression, as if she was asking about the location of the dance tonight.

Hermes seemed to have been waiting for this question. Hearing this, he smiled and said:
“This is the city in everyone’s mind.

“It’s there wherever there are people.”

Audrey nodded thoughtfully: "In other words, we can enter here from any corner of human society?"

"Yes."

He did not explain further, but pointed at the pedestrians outside the carriage window and said:
"Everything here has a corresponding psychological symbol, which they call 'animal desire'."

Animal desire... Audrey repeated the word silently, while maintaining a dignified sitting posture and looking further away.

TBC
------

Its daybreak.

Feynapotter repeated the address over and over in his mind, and walked lightly to Second Street in Cherwood.

After arriving at the location, he looked up and saw the beautiful townhouse in front of him, and his Adam's apple rolled. The cold wind in the early morning made his face stiff. He gathered his sleeves, mustered his courage, and entered the small building. (End of this chapter)