National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

"..."

Nathan's excitement vanished instantly.

Memory Palace?

He drawled, "That's it?!"

Could it be some kind of mysterious power that communicates with heaven and earth, or something like divine consciousness in novels?

The arbitrary answers given were as cold and impersonal as disinfectant in a hospital...

There's absolutely no romance in it!

"Otherwise what?"

Completely failing to grasp the romanticism of explorers seeking secrets, the author continues to bluntly shatter his fantasies.

"Human short-term memory is extremely fragile, but the imprints on space and emotion are almost infinite. By attaching logical fragments to specific spatial objects, they will not die."

"A palace can be your estate, or...any place you're familiar with. If the impression is strong enough, numbers cease to be numbers."

"For games like blackjack, thirteen memory pegs are enough."

Sita, however, was completely engrossed in listening.

She wagged her tail, trying to think of something particularly memorable that could build a memory palace, but couldn't think of anything for the time being.

"Boss, what do your memory pegs look like? For example... what is the 8 of Clubs in your palace?"

Is it the 8 of Plum Blossoms?

His gaze fell on a corner of the room, but drifted off somewhere else.

"Felder G. White".

Siddhartha blinked blankly. Nathan felt that the answer might not be what he expected, so he didn't say anything more.

The air fell silent for a moment, until—

"Splash!"

The bathroom door was pushed open, and Klaus, dressed neatly, walked into the living room, looking somewhat dazed.

"My God, I feel like I've been reborn!"

He took a deep, blissful breath. "Even if all of this, like that ghost ship from last time, is just a dream woven for me by Golden Anchor Town, it's still worth it!"

Seeing Renyi and Nathan, Klaus wiped his dripping hair:

"When did you guys get back? That was way too fast!"

"..."

How much time has passed?

Ren Yi sighed helplessly, "If you don't come back soon, you'll turn into a fish-man..."

Anyone who wants to become a fish-man, will become a mermaid—pshaw!

"Thanks for the invitation..." Klaus muttered.

Nathan beckoned to the man who had broken the somber mood, gesturing for him to come and see, "Look at the boss's spoils."

He walked closer to the coffee table.

The stacks of cheap chips in the wooden box looked rather shabby.

"Did the casino give out souvenirs?"

Klaus casually picked up a white one with 100 written on it.

"Do you think Mayor Willie will eventually back out?"

Roughly counting, there are nearly three thousand gold coins in chips here.

Denying responsibility?

He casually changed his posture and disassembled the box along with all the chips into the warehouse, so as not to attract the town mayor's attention.

"If he refuses to acknowledge it, then melt down his precious golden anchor to mint coins..."

"...It can be considered as taking from the people and using it for the people."

The three of them burst into laughter.

A moment later, Klaus also sat down on the sofa, his hands neatly placed on his knees.

"If that's the case, why not strike while the iron is hot and win over even Willy's underwear in one fell swoop?"

He asked the question very seriously:

"Why not just gather six thousand gold coins and leave?"

"Yes—Hurrah!" came Ivan's earth-shattering, delirious shout from behind the door at just the right moment, "Take this—!"

He casually raised his index finger to his lips to signal me to speak softly, so as not to interrupt Ivan's dream of killing enemies.

"The rules that Willie set for us are logically inconsistent."

The townsman who lost all his wealth today mutated on the spot and was easily captured by Vili's men. Moreover, he mentioned mortgaging his soul, which Vili dismissed with disdain.

There are only two possibilities.

Either his soul was useless to him, or...

The townspeople had already lost their souls; they had nothing left to bet on.

In addition, the townspeople did indeed show respect, or rather, acted respectfully towards Mayor Willie, at the circus.

But there was no reverence.

All the clues put together, and it's almost certain that Willy wasn't actually the rule-maker in Golden Anchor Town; he was probably just an agent who was pushed to the forefront.

The rule-makers of this amusement park must have an extremely perverse sense of humor.

This reminded him of a despicable fellow.

"No...that's not right..."

If it really is that guy, there would be no neutral townspeople like Uncle Bud or Old John.

Either they all become its puppets, or they should be struggling in agony!

so......

"The cards have all been turned over. Now, let's wait for the next deal," Renyi said softly.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for Aurora." Perhaps the afternoons and evenings at the church are just as exciting as Mayor Willie's casino.

At the same time.

A church on the outskirts of Golden Anchor Town.

The evening breeze passed through the collapsed walls and the rows of tombstones, heading nowhere.

"Thank you, I feel much lighter now."

A woman with a sorrowful smile held Aurora's hand tightly, her tears glistening in the lamplight.

Aurora responded gently:

"May the Lord's peace be with you always, Amen."

When I entered the church again.

The priest, tall but slightly hunched, was lighting the candles one by one with a match. Aurora hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the priest and greeted him.

Today, this abandoned sanctuary is bustling with activity, just like it used to be.

The priest, hiding in the shadows, stared blankly at those familiar faces. So... in this despairing place, there were still people yearning for something?

"This is boring...find anyone..."

Little Nine tugged listlessly at Aurora's sleeve, her eyes fixed on the priest in front of her.

"This tastes really weird..."

"..."

Father Myriel met Xiao Jiu's beady eyes—

There's a kind of provocative and scrutinizing quality to it, yet it's also adorably naive and illogical; staring at it for too long can even give you the creeps.

...This is terrible.

So... how come this kind of mollusk can live in a church so openly?

"Father?"

Aurora's voice pulled him back from his wandering thoughts.

"I'm fine, thank you for today—"

He instinctively started signing, but halfway through, he remembered that this nun wasn't like the young magician who could understand her.

Just thinking about that rambling, aggressive guy...

Father Myriel's chest heaved slightly. He had such a deceptive face, yet he was utterly incompetent... Tomorrow, that troublesome fellow would most likely come knocking again!

He couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Just when Aurora thought he would stand there forever, the priest moved.

He pulled a bound parchment book from his wide sleeves and rudely handed it to Aurora.

"Take it."

Without even glancing at Aurora, he dragged his heavy steps through the small door on the left.

Church Diary - Myriel

By the flickering lamplight, Aurora lightly touched the words with her fingertips.

The first page contains only one sentence, without a date:

On the day He came, the sunlight turned into gold coins; we no longer had worries, nor did we have a tomorrow.