Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 653 Upper Rhine, Lower Rhine, and Little Bu no longer in the Rhine
"Line up, recite the name of the candlelight, and you can receive your meal!"

Frey coldly observed the church's stalls and the people queuing up, then pulled down his hood, concealing his expression in the shadows.

He had been in Rhine for several days.

The identity the Ash Alliance gave him was quite opportunistic. In the Rhine, the position of the Mechanicus was neither high nor low. Theoretically, the Mechanicus and the Candlelight Order were allies, and the two sides should unite to govern the Rhine, but in reality, it was just a title without substance.

But with this title, he could move freely in the city and openly present his identity whenever he encountered any inspection.

Furthermore, the Mechanical Sanctuary and the Candlelight Church are not affiliated, and he will not be subject to the restrictions of the Candlelight Church.

As for the true followers of the Mechanical Temple, Frey has not yet met them in the few days since he arrived in the Rhine.

However, this only applies to the Lower Rhine.

Frey had never been to Upper Rhine, and sometimes he even doubted whether Upper Rhine really existed.

Bypassing the sewage-filled path, Frey walked skillfully through the alley, the dilapidated houses on both sides made of rotting planks and broken bricks cutting the sky into fragmented strips of light and shadow.

Frey looked up at the dome above, the foundation of Upper Rhine and the sky of Lower Rhine, where countless dim candlelight hung, bringing cheap light to Lower Rhine.

It is said that the Rhine is divided into the Upper Rhine and the Lower Rhine, as well as the deeper, more sub-region.

Upper Rhine was the residence of the Papacy's important figures, a place where the sun never sets, the air is fresh, acid rain never falls from the sky, and one can even grow flowers and plants.

The Lower Rhine, on the other hand, was forever shrouded in dim candlelight, the air thick with filth and garbage.

The believers in Lower Rhine would occasionally kneel on the ground to pray, facing the candlelight in the dome.

Frey sometimes wondered whether they were praying to the candlelight or to the Upper Rhine.

After all, candlelight might not protect them, but the bigwigs in the Upper Rhine truly held the power of life and death over the lower classes.

Those mysterious corridors built in the sky are like dense chains, binding the lower levels tightly.

The stray objects that occasionally fell into the Upper Rhine seemed like a blessing from their prayers.

Frey twisted and turned through the alley, and somehow ended up through a trapdoor.

"Brother Frey, you're back!"

"How's it going outside?"

"I heard that the church has been distributing meals at more locations lately, is that true?"

A group of people rushed over, crowding around Frey. Their eyes were full of urgency, but they all stopped four or five steps away from him.

Frey didn't rush to speak, but instead looked up at the people around him:
Most of these people were covered in dust and their clothes were tattered. In fact, they were not only tattered, but almost none of them had any proper clothes to wear.

Those who were more particular used hemp rope to simply weave coarse cloth pieces to barely cover their bodies, while most people just randomly tore off some rotten wooden planks, or even tiles and broken pottery, strung them together with a rope and hung them in front of their bodies to cover themselves.

Some people weren't even wearing clothes. Their bodies were covered in mud and grime, making it difficult to discern their natural skin color. Whether they were wearing clothes or not made little difference.

If you look closely, these people have some unusual features. Their eyes are larger than those of ordinary people, their fingernails are sharper, and those who stand always have hunched backs. Some of them simply stand on all fours or squat on the ground.

Their behavior was also strange; although they looked eager and longing, they resolutely refused to take a step forward, as if they were afraid of something.

Surrounded by these people, Frey showed no surprise, appearing completely unfazed. He knew these people weren't afraid of him, but rather of themselves.

They dared not touch Frey, or even get too close.

These people are the residents of the lower class; the people of Lower Rhine generally call them—

Untouchable.

Frey doesn't know exactly why he got this title, but it's said that contact with them is cursed.

Frey initially thought it was some kind of contagious disease, but later discovered that the curse seemed completely different from what he had imagined, even...
"Brother Frey? Brother Frey?"

"Huh? Oh, what's wrong, Little Bu?" Frey snapped out of his daze and looked at the girl who was calling him.

The girl was wearing a large brown paper bag, which she had cut several holes in to pass through her hands and feet, and then she put the whole bag over her head and wore it on her body.

Among the untouchables, she was considered well-dressed.

Her name is Xiaobu.

"Brother Frey, I've explored all the passages you asked me to, but where's what I need?"

"Ah, well, I asked around at several settlements in the lower districts, and this is the only place I found." Frey handed over a bag with some regret, the bag making a crisp clinking sound.

Xiao Bu blinked her big eyes but didn't reach out to take it.

"There's no need to fear any curse, Little Bu, and the others. You can come close to me without any problem."

“But…that will mean you’ll never be able to be protected by candlelight again!” Little Bu swallowed hard, hesitated before reaching out, but then pulled his hand back. “Without the protection of candlelight, you’ll only be able to live in this dark underground.”

"The underground is even darker? I don't think so. On the contrary, I dislike the candlelight in the lower areas even more." Frey shook his head. "And have you forgotten who I am? I am a member of the Mechanical Sanctuary. I don't need the protection of candlelight."

The untouchables surrounding them exchanged puzzled glances and shook their heads.

They didn't know what the Mechanical Sanctuary was.

Many of them didn't even know about the Empire. They were born underground and would never leave, so of course they didn't know anything about the Silent Sanctuary. They could only look at the Lower District from afar, let alone the Upper Rhine.

Frey looked into Little Bu's dark eyes, sighed, put the bag in his hand on the ground, and took a few steps back.

These untouchables have undergone some physical changes due to living underground for a long time. Their eyes have become larger, their pupils are larger, and they have almost no whites in their eyes, which allows them to see better underground.

Frey was startled when he first saw them, thinking they were some kind of monster, after all, their big eyes were quite different from those of ordinary people.

After spending some time with them, Frey realized that these untouchables were actually the most human-like of all.

In this Rhine city, one has seen many demons and monsters, but far too few people.

Little Bu's gaze followed Frey's retreating steps. Once Frey had gone far enough, Little Bu let out a joyful shout and rushed to the bag.

It was a cloth bag. She carefully took the contents out of the bag, held it in her arms, and then put the bag back on the ground.

Cloth is a very precious thing; she can only afford to wear paper.

(End of this chapter)