Sir! Don't close the net!

He had never felt the longing and love expressed in it so intense; just looking at it made him feel tormented.

"Miss Ashley..."

"I should do the right thing or the right thing."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Stop it!!!"

A loud shout stopped the homeless man who was robbing things.

The homeless man angrily turned his head, only to see the dark muzzle of a gun. Instantly, like a frog being stared at by a snake, he raised his hands above his head and knelt down with a thud.

"No, don't shoot!"

Sitch and Lorne exchanged a glance, their previously trembling legs immediately straightening. However, knowing full well that their guns were unloaded, they didn't intend to push each other too far.

"Come on!"

The homeless man nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice, then turned and ran.

The resident of San Die Quan who was robbed was stunned for a moment before realizing what had happened, "He stole my things!"

"Damn it!"

Sitch cursed under his breath, wanting to give chase, but the homeless man had already run quite a distance, and starting now might not be enough to catch up. In desperation, Sitch grabbed his shotgun and shouted in the homeless man's direction, "I'm going to shoot!"

The homeless man, who had been running happily, suddenly collapsed to the ground. Before Sitch and Lorne could even speak, the homeless man immediately took out everything he had hidden in his arms and knelt down, begging for mercy.

"Get out of here right now!"

Lorne's tone became more forceful, and the homeless man, who was kowtowing rapidly, ran away quickly using all four limbs.

Sitch put down his gun and turned to look at the residents of the Triassic Circle who had been robbed. He tried to act naturally, but since it was his first time, he stammered as soon as he opened his mouth, "Um, you, are you alright...?"

Lorne, carrying back the stolen items, stammered involuntarily, "I, we're not bad people..."

The residents of the San Die Quan community paused for a moment, then reached out to take the items while bowing their heads and saying thank you.

A simple thank you washed away all of Sitch and Lorne's tension and unease.

"It's alright! Remember to call us if something like this happens again!"

They didn't notice that the homeless man who fled in a disheveled state hadn't gone far, but had instead wandered into a small alley where Ryan and the other homeless men were playing cards.

"Boss, it's all sorted out!"

The homeless man snapped to attention and gave Ryan a proper military salute.

"Oh, I just saw it. You acted really well, you're really good—how come I never noticed this special skill of yours before?"

Before Ryan could speak, one of his henchmen stepped forward, grabbed the homeless man by the neck, and shook him from side to side.

"Haha—I just realized that too, but let me tell you, it's really super difficult. You didn't see it? Those two little idiots' legs were shaking like sieves. I suspect I could have taken the gun back if I had just raised my voice a little," the homeless man shook his head helplessly.

"Hmph—well done."

Ryan casually tossed the cards in his hand onto the barrel that served as a chair, nodded, and glanced at the others.

"It'll be your turn soon. Don't let them scare you away. Try to get them used to being threatened with a gun."

The other henchmen holding the cards immediately stood up and started rubbing their hands together, eager to fight.

“Boss, we understand what you want us to do… but what’s the point?” the flat-nosed underling complained.

Ryan glanced at his flat-nosed underling, tilting his head slightly. "That guy who calls himself a righteous sheriff seems to be trying to set up a security team, and it looks like he's doing it very well."

"Eh--"

The underlings stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"

"Would those two brats hit it off with that guy?" The homeless man, who had just put on a good show, was a little nervous.

Sitch and Lorne's guns were empty, but Puss's gun was loaded. He didn't dare gamble on whether Puss's gun would accidentally fire.

Ryan gave a cold laugh and remained silent.

Chapter 135 Illusion

"Hey~ Mr. with the sharp tongue, why haven't you said a word since the beginning?"

Leaning against the damp wall, the man sitting in the darkness waved at Li Yili's back, the clanking of the chains irritating her.

"Although I'm talking about something really shocking, I haven't gotten to the shocking facts yet. At this point, you should ask me what Guo Weidun is and why I've never heard of it before, because that was my reaction when I first looked it up."

"Really? What kind of place is Guoweidun?"

Li Yili turned her head, her eyes gradually shifting towards the man sitting in the darkness.

“A tiny, run-down place, so small it could only be marked with a single line on a map, can only be found on the most accurate maps,” the man said, arms crossed. “And what causes this?”

"..."

"Because there is only one temple in the Guoweidun area, and it has been hollowed out and cannot produce any heritage."

"The town could not be expanded, and its size even became smaller and smaller, eventually it could barely be considered a village."

Li Yili's silence bored the man, but he continued speaking.

"But just a year ago, a tragedy like never before occurred in this small place that is not marked on many maps. All the residents disappeared without a trace, and a brand new temple appeared. The tragedy they experienced became a record, as if they had disappeared from this world long ago, and just now, they were discovered by the people of this world."

The man put his hands behind his head and started complaining.

"While wiping away tears, everyone started arguing about who should receive the profits from this tragic masterpiece."

“Such things… happen every day in this world,” Li Yili said, turning her gaze away.

“That’s right, that’s exactly the point. But for me, who has found the right direction, there’s another perspective, a fact that’s far more impactful than the emergence of a new temple,” the man nodded.

"Don't you find it strange? Why would the Pal people, who are perfectly wealthy, give up their lives and follow the Cult of Steam and Steel to develop in a desolate place without even a temple, a land known as the wasteland?"

"At that time, the temple in Guoweidun was not emptied out. As the wealthy locals, the Pal family reaped the greatest benefits. Even if their appetite grew, they should have moved to places with greater development potential, such as... places like Hagen."

"No wealthy person would willingly go to a poor, remote area, much less establish a business in a place with virtually no value. If such a thing were to happen, it could only mean..."

The man tilted his head to the side, grinning to reveal his stark white teeth.

"What are they hiding from?"

"As it happens, I've met a few people from Pal. Although they've all caught the Millennium disease of the capital, I have to say they're far more capable and talented than the rumors suggest, especially that man named Dera Pal. As for the others who come to the wasteland to develop, well, that includes my family, most of them come from places that, to put it simply, are desolate places with little development potential, and there are only a handful of temples."

"The Cult of Steam and Steel can only find people from such backward places," Li Yili replied calmly. "Do you think the Cult of Steam and Steel has the ability to recruit people from Hagen?"

“Hmm? Ah~ That’s certainly possible, but there’s a saying in this world: better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. The Pal clan is undoubtedly at the top of Guoweiton’s hierarchy. No matter how desperate they are, they wouldn’t go so far as to become leaders in the wasteland,” the man shrugged and leaned forward.

"This is just a bold guess, maybe... those people are hiding in the temple!"

"That's quite an interesting way of putting it."

“Right? It’s interesting, incredible, but surprisingly plausible. Of course, I’m not crazy. I won’t tell anyone this kind of thing before I’ve actually investigated and collected enough evidence. And then, just like I said before…” The man’s head drooped, and he scratched the back of his head in frustration. “The plan failed before it even started, and I was thrown into a public prison. My symptoms are getting worse and worse, especially the auditory and visual hallucinations. Sometimes I can hardly tell what’s real and what’s fake.”

"However, thanks to this, I actually feel like I'm closer to the truth."

"the truth?"

"Yes, the truth. I dreamt about it. The Steel Stars are their eyes. Because we tore down the sky, we were exposed to their sight. But before that, they were watching us. Perhaps... those temples were surveillance. The Pal clan, the predecessors of the wasteland royal family and nobles, realized this and had reasons not to be monitored. That's why they chose to cover up everything in the wasteland, a place without temples, with the Cult of Steam and Steel, and start anew."

The man tilted his head back.

Leaning against the wall, his eyes stared blankly at the dungeon ceiling, his gaze seemingly piercing through the dark rocks, through the building, and landing on the stars in the sky.

"But it's just a cover-up. The truth is buried there and won't disappear. Even if you don't dig it out, it will naturally... pop up."

"and then?"

"And then?" The man paused, then smiled nonchalantly. "What else could there be? From the moment I realized I was living amidst a bunch of mysteries, finding the truth was all I had left to live for. Even if I wanted to escape reality, reality would only kick me back down."

The man raised his hand to touch his unusual face. After a brief pause, whether he was giving up or simply being nonchalant, he crossed his legs behind his head.

"Fortunately, I wasn't kicked back, and now I feel like I have the answer."

"is it?"

Li Yili raised her hand to open the cell door, and just as she was about to leave, the man suddenly started muttering to himself.

"Seriously... it's clearly my hallucination, why is it not cooperating with me?"

Li Yili paused, tilting her head slightly. "In your eyes, what am I like?"

"What do you look like? Ha... Do you need someone to tell you what you look like?" The man tilted his head. "By the way, why are you wearing a yellow raincoat in the dungeon? My taste isn't that gloomy."

"Who knows, maybe what you're seeing isn't an illusion, but reality."

Li Yili raised her hand and waved before walking out of the cell.

Good luck!

The man simply raised his hand and waved at Li Yili's retreating figure.

Chapter 136 Outside the Wall

Sunset.

Puss, who had been on edge and keeping a tight grip on the time, led a trusted person and, feeling along the wall, made his way through the alley to the breach in the city wall.

The middle-aged man following behind Puss hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and patted Puss on the shoulder. "Mr. Puss, there's something I don't know..."

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, Puss immediately raised his hand, "Shh—keep your voice down, there are still people who haven't left!"

The middle-aged man turned his body slightly and looked in the direction Puss was looking. In front of the gap, there were still a few people organizing construction tools.

The middle-aged man wanted to say that this wasn't a place they couldn't come to, and there was no need to be so sneaky, but seeing Puss's nervous look, he gave up on that idea and silently waited behind Puss.

The last worker dusted off his hands and walked away. Puss immediately rushed out, but because he was too nervous, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. However, Puss quickly steadied himself and raised his hand to point to several boxes on the construction site.

"Those, those, and those! Hurry up!"

Because Puss seemed very nervous, the others couldn't help but get nervous too, and they rushed towards the box Puss was pointing to. The unexpected weight made their hearts skip a beat.

Puss had hinted at what they were getting, but when they actually touched it, the intensely cold touch still gave them goosebumps.

The middle-aged man struggled to lift a box, then looked at Puss, whose face was flushed, as he lifted two boxes in one go. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Is it really necessary to go this far?"

Puss paused, then nodded to the middle-aged man after a moment of silence. “The wasteland is much worse than you think, maybe… even worse than I imagined.”

The middle-aged man, who hadn't expected Puss to give him such a serious answer, opened his mouth, then looked down at the heavy box in his hands, somewhat timidly, "Isn't there... an option to escape?"