Hao Ren was curious about the social form in Twilight Capital.
He had been an inspector for three years. Though his experience was nothing compared to the veteran inspectors like Galazur and Anthony Alfonso, he had cultivated a certain level of professionalism. The biggest change was that he was now full of curiosity about various forms of civilization and worldviews, and he could observe them with a more objective and professional perspective instead of just being a spectator. He was curious about how order was maintained in Twilight Capital, the ability of the Steam Assembly to control the city, the relationship between the Steam Assembly and the Lightseeker organization, and even more curious about the attitude of a city that had operated in a completely closed state for two thousand years and had always been developing, facing a group of foreigners from outside the barrier.
When a society with all its internal organs was confined to a city (albeit a huge city) for two thousand years and struggled with the deadly external environment all year round, many things could no longer be reasoned with common sense.
Wendell and Borcen talked about something enthusiastically, exchanging information about the light-seeking journey and the recent changes in the city. Finally, Borcen arranged a train for them to go straight to the upper city.
"A locomotive will leave in a quarter after," said Borken, rapidly scribbling a piece of paper. "A trusty old steward will take you up to the upper town. I can't get away now, but Wendell, you should have a way. "
He sealed the note into a delicate small cylinder and stuffed it into a copper pipe next to his desk. There were a dozen of such copper pipes neatly lined up next to his desk. With a slight airflow, the cylinder was sent far away along the pipe. Borcen picked up a long-handled microphone with a wire and plugged it into a corresponding socket next to the copper pipe. "Kostov, receive an emergency pass and add it to your schedule before you leave."
A quarter of an hour later, Hao Ren and his entourage boarded the steam locomotive to the upper city.
As special guests personally arranged by Administrator Borcen, they certainly did not have to squeeze together with the ores in the carriage. They were arranged to sit in a clean compartment at the front of the carriage. This compartment was located behind the driver's cab. It was originally a resting area prepared for the driver and apprentices. However, the train would only be at full capacity when traveling in the dark wilderness. When returning to the upper city, the control staff would only need less than half, so this resting area just happened to be empty.
Given the huge size of the locomotive, the rest room was quite spacious. Hao Ren and his entourage did not seem to be cramped in it. Lily happily leaned against the window and looked at the city scenery flying by outside. No matter what she saw, she would shout happily. Y 'lisabet was also with her, but the little demon's focus was obviously on the locomotive itself. Nangong Wuyue was the closest to the two clowns. The siren maiden was much calmer. She was as gentle as water, but her heart did not waver. She even wanted to spit bubbles.
Wuyue's stomach full of detergent had not been digested yet.
Hao Ren left his seat and came to the door at the end of the lounge. He poked his head and looked inside. Through a dirty glass window, he could see the situation in the opposite cab. He saw that the cab was full of complicated pipes, valves, pressure gauges, and control wrenches. Two strong apprentices were adding fuel to the fuel bucket, while a grey-haired old man was busily working between the wrenches and the valves, carefully controlling the locomotive. That old man was the "Kostov" that Borken had mentioned. It was said that he had been driving this kind of locomotive for forty years, running back and forth in the dark wilderness and Twilight Capital, and he was still healthy. This was a great achievement for the staff on the locomotive.
The drivers and apprentices did not have to work in the dark wilderness for a long time like the miners. The time they came into contact with the magical environment was only when the locomotive was running outside the barrier. There were also very thick protective shells and pipes inlaid with runes near the steam boiler. But after all, they also worked under the night sky. The pervasive magical radiation could always bypass the tightest protection. Even the equipment of the Lightseekers might not necessarily be able to protect them. But Kostov was still alive and healthy until now. When his colleagues had long entered the incinerator and turned into steam power, he was still at this post, pulling those heavy wrenches and valves. His body was surprisingly strong.
"What do you see?" Vivian also came over. She glanced through the glass window and said casually.
Hao Ren nodded slightly. "He doesn't seem to be a pure-blooded human. I think his mental power is very strong."
"Weak werewolf bloodline. There were many werewolves in the Northern European region. Some werewolves and their human slaves gave birth to mixed-race offspring. The proud otherworldlings did not recognize this kind of mixed-race offspring, so the mixed-race offspring would be thrown into the human race. In the myths, those powerful and brave 'illegitimate children' who were always disliked by the gods were probably like this. The bloodline of this mixed-blood is very thin. His ancestor might be a legendary hero in Norse mythology, or Beowulf, or someone else … But now, he is just a little stronger than a normal human, a little longer, and a little more resistant to magic. "
"There is a feeling that the Mythological Era is still continuing."
"Yes, the Mythological Era is still continuing in this land," Vivian said in a low voice. "The people on earth have thrown the myths into the library, but the people in this land are still telling the stories of the past. But to be honest, I don't want that era to continue in this form at all. It makes me feel very depressed."
At this time, the dragon queen Galazur also came over. She did not talk about the city, but suddenly said something that made no sense. "You have a good work attitude."
"Work attitude?" Hao Ren was stunned. "Why do you suddenly talk about work attitude?"
"Some novice inspectors always make impulsive mistakes. Power can make people forget their duties," Galazur looked sideways at the scenery outside the window. "Rushing straight to the goal, they often miss a lot of things outside the goal, and these things are often quite valuable. You don't seem to be like that. You will be curious about everything on the journey. Without affecting the ultimate goal, you are willing to participate in the life of every civilization, observe them, and understand them. This is very precious. An inspector is an observer, observing and giving feedback. Those who rush straight to the goal will not be able to see the scenery along the way, and your mentality is just right. "
Hao Ren was embarrassed by the dragon queen's words and a little confused. "Is there such a high evaluation?"
"Of course, because this is why the gods need us," the dragon queen smiled. "They ask us to help deal with the affairs of the human world because we belong to the human world, and we can also integrate into the human world."
"Oh," Hao Ren said with a thoughtful look.
Galazur looked at him with a smile and did not continue to say anything. Some things were more profound when you thought about it yourself than when you were told.
The steam locomotive roared, and the steel monster dragged a spectacular white column of air over Twilight Capital. Dense and strange buildings passed under and on both sides of the locomotive. The windows of some high-rise buildings were pushed open, and curious children leaned on the windowsill to watch the speeding locomotive. This was their happiest moment of the day, and the adults of these children would not stop this slightly dangerous behavior.
The steam locomotive, the roaring noise monster, had an extraordinary significance in the city. It symbolized the operation of the city, the surging power of the big boiler, and the fresh blood still surging within the barrier. Every citizen born in Twilight Capital knew the sacred meaning of the whistle. When the column of air gushed out of the boiler, a kind of pride and peace of mind would fill them. This psychological guidance was even a part of education. Young children must learn to feel courage and pride from the sound of the steam.
Because in this city with only a thin layer of barrier protection, there was nothing that could give people a sense of security.
"The city is divided into three parts," Wendell said as the steam locomotive crossed a huge mechanical bridge. "What we saw before belongs to the outer zone, which is the area connected to the dark wilderness. Go up this ramp and you will reach the upper city. Most of the craftsmen and the Steam Assembly live in the upper city. Below, you can look down at the dark and gloomy depths of the city. That is the lower city, the oldest part of Twilight Capital."
Hao Ren followed Wendell's finger and looked down through the window. His eyes passed through the steel beams and layers of roofs and saw the deepest part of the city. Twilight Capital was like a weird ant nest piled up in the air, with newer buildings pressing on the older ones. Relying on some clever construction law, this seemingly precarious structure had survived to this day. Between the gaps of the city was deep darkness. The city of hundreds or even thousands of years ago lay quietly under the dark abyss, lacking change and luster as if forgotten by time.
But there was still life there. Today, a large number of people lived in the lower city. The oldest cornerstone of the city: the large steam furnace and part of the pressure pipe were also buried in the abyss. Huge and rusty gears rumbled in the darkness, and the first-generation boiler called the Heart of Surtr was said to still be running. The people responsible for maintaining these equipment had lived among the gears and pipes for generations, and even generations had not left the labyrinthine mechanical cabin.
They were almost about to evolve into another species, a new species that lived on heat and oil, and lived in symbiosis with pipes and steam valves. Some scholars even believed that the people who had been maintaining the big boilers for generations had been transformed during the long-term contact with the Spirit of Steam, and they were about to become a creature called 'De Waal'.
A cloud of steam emerged from the dark abyss of the city, blocking the peeping view from above. Hao Ren looked away and saw the locomotive slowly approaching the station in the upper city.
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