"But—" The young man slightly opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

"But why would I oppose your actions? Oppose you following ’Christos’ and following ’K’?" He Ao turned his head and looked at the young man beside him, slowly continuing.

"Yes." The young man gazed at the elderly in front of him, paused slightly, then nodded gently.

"Child, whether or not you’ve conducted thorough research, the path you’ve chosen is a path full of danger and thorns," He Ao calmly lifted his head, gazing at the distant sunlight, the gentle breeze, "For you, you’re seeking hope for millions,"

He turned his head to look at the young man beside him, "But for me, you’re my only child, heading towards danger and death."

Upon hearing this, the young man slightly raised his head, looking at He Ao, opened his mouth, but for a moment did not know what to say.

He Ao merely retracted his gaze calmly, "Many parents let their children take risks because they have no choice, but I have a choice, although this world is terrible, although the Federation’s system is suffocating and oppressive, yet I can still protect you, let you live a peaceful and stable life."

"But if the whole city is buried, who can really be at peace?" The young man lifted his head, his face slightly flushed, "You can protect me for a while, but can you protect me for a lifetime? Can you really protect me from everything?"

Upon saying this, he seemed to realize something was wrong, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "Sorry, I got a bit emotional."

"It’s okay," He Ao shook his head slightly, "When I was young, I argued with your grandfather like this too."

The young man slightly raised his head.

"You know I met your mother in the wilderness, but she never told you why I went to the wilderness," a slight cool breeze lifted He Ao’s hair, he spoke calmly, "When I was young, your grandfather hoped I could go into politics and had already paved the way for me, but I didn’t want to walk the path he arranged, so I just left home and ventured into the wilderness."

Saying this, he slightly lowered his head, as if not knowing what to say, or perhaps he had already said everything that needed to be said.

The bleak silence blew between them, just like the empty wind on this street, brushing against the silent hearts.

"Do you still think I’m rebellious now?" After some time, the young man slightly opened his mouth, asking softly.

"I don’t like what you’re doing," He Ao paused, said calmly, "and I don’t want you to do these things,"

He lifted his head, gazing at the almost finished sorting garbage truck, "But from an objective point of view, you’ve done what a hero should do."

He turned around, facing the young man’s somewhat surprised gaze, "You haven’t embarrassed me, nor have you embarrassed your mother."

He paused, his palm lightly tapped on the young man’s shoulder, "You’ve done well, kid!"

"It’s hard to get a compliment from you." The young man smiled, slightly twitching his nose.

He didn’t brush away He Ao’s hand resting on his shoulder, just lowered his head, asking softly, "How’s the situation outside?"

"It’s good," He Ao said calmly, "though there are some bumps, everything is moving in a positive direction."

The young man lifted his head, looking at He Ao.

Those youthful eyes just stared into He Ao’s eyes, seemingly confirming, yet also worried.

In the end, he lowered his head, speaking softly, "That’s good."

Saying this, he lifted his head, looking at the cleaned-up garbage truck leaving, and the sanitation workers waving goodbye to the driver.

The towering buildings gradually blurred in the background of the crowd, the sunlit street also turning cold bit by bit.

"Dad, do you think a world full of flowers really exists?" The young man’s low voice echoed in this blank world.

"I’ve never seen it," He Ao gazed calmly at the gradually fading illusory city, "but perhaps one day, someone will."

His palm felt slightly light, the young man he once held on the shoulder had now vanished, leaving only the pervasive light.

The overlapping and majestic old city, at this moment, also completely dissolved into scattered light.

The powers of the Netherworld fortified the obsessions of the deceased, forming this ’phenomenon.’

At the end of the radiance ahead, faintly, a small door shimmering with light was emerging.

He Ao quietly looked at that small door, standing in this emptiness.

Time seemed to freeze around him, the whole world becoming astonishingly quiet.

After an unknown period, he finally raised his footsteps slightly, moving towards that small door.

——

Limen City

The quiet tavern was now deserted, leaving only a lonely and thin woman sitting at the bar, slowly drinking.

Inside the bar, the boss sitting on a chair, eyes closed, seemed to be in a state of tranquil slumber.

Boom——

The heavy footsteps came from outside the bar’s door.

A tall middle-aged man walked in, sitting beside the thin woman.

"Are you Miss Nasha?" He lowered his head, quickly asking.

The thin woman drinking raised her head, glanced at the middle-aged man, "I don’t know you, what do you want?"

"My captain asked me to find you and convey a message," the middle-aged man said calmly, "The Church of the Grim Reaper is constructing a massive array, encompassing Ains and surrounding cities, with Limen City being a crucial point."

"What’s that got to do with me?" Nasha took a sip of her drink, speaking lowly.

"Don’t you want to save the friends you know?" The middle-aged man slightly lifted his gaze, then continued, "Would the Witch Church allow the Grim Reaper’s scheme to succeed easily? Does your Divine Being permit you to act like this?"

At that moment, Nasha’s eyes suddenly opened wide, a faint purple light flashed through her eyes, she seemed to transform into a different person in an instant, and some invisible power suddenly acted on the middle-aged man, clasping his neck, lifting him up directly.

"Who told you to say such things?" She looked coldly at the middle-aged man.

"The captain said, cough," the middle-aged man choked, his face flushed and hoarse, "You said you’d never been in Morolin’s room, yet you know the decor inside perfectly, Morolin shouldn’t return near Limen City, it’s too close to the Church of the Grim Reaper unless someone deliberately lured her here."

Bang——

The force that choked the middle-aged man’s throat and lifted him up suddenly disappeared, and he fell directly to the ground from the air, shattering a table and chairs.

"Cough——" The middle-aged man coughed up a mouthful of blood, raised his head, and looked at Nasha, "The Captain also said, as Morolin’s lover, don’t you want to avenge her?"

"Hmm?" Nasha raised her hand, and the surrounding tables and chairs were instantly shattered, then she paused slightly, looked at the middle-aged man, "Where does your Captain want me to go?"

"The Captain said," the middle-aged man gazed at her, rasping, "you should know where the people of the Church of the Grim Reaper will be."

Upon hearing this, Nasha withdrew her hand and turned to leave the tavern.

——

Ains

The thick fog covered the old streets, and the once bustling city was eerily quiet at this moment.

A black luxury car slowly passed through the fog, driving along the street towards the layered buildings in the mist.

The rugged man held the steering wheel a bit nervously, cautiously controlling the vehicle to move forward slowly.

The night ahead was extraordinarily still, thick fog laying like a viscous liquid on the ground, even with fog lights on, nothing could be seen ahead.

He turned his gaze and glanced at the rearview mirror, observing the man resting with eyes closed, and whispered, "Uncle Mete, how much longer do we have to go?"

"Are you afraid?" Mete, sitting in the back seat, opened his eyes and glanced at the rugged man driving.

"No, no," the rugged man swallowed a mouthful of saliva, raised his head, and stared at the thick fog tightly holding the leather steering wheel. Within that heavy mist, faint shadows seemed to be twisting and writhing.

The old car continued moving forward slowly, the rugged man hesitated, finally rasping, "Do we really have to come out at this time? It’s dangerous everywhere outside..."

"Don’t worry, we won’t be harmed." A hint of disdain flashed in Mete’s eyes, he raised his hand and opened his palm, revealing a small green sprout.

Concealed by the surrounding thick fog, this tiny sprout emitted a faint glow at this moment, filling the entire interior of the car and even spilling over to the edges of the vehicle.

This glow was like an invisible barrier, under its illumination, not a trace of fog seeped in from outside.

"The power of this green sprout is enough to support us until we return." Mete retracted the sprout and calmly said.

"So where exactly are we going?" The rugged man grasped the steering wheel, gazing at the surrounding fog, nervously repeating the question.

Under the extreme pressure of life and death, he was no longer as submissive as before.

"Near the Parliament Building," Mete did not conceal it, directly stated, "this is an order from Gray Stone Palace."

"Gray Stone Palace?" The rugged man’s eyes widened instantly.

Mete seemed satisfied with the rugged man’s reaction, nodding lightly, "According to the intelligence bureau’s information, Mr. Boris from the City Defense Army might have disappeared near there."

"Mr. Boris?" The rugged man hesitantly asked, "Who is that?"

"He is the Angel of the City Defense Army, you can consider him the most powerful person in Ains City at the moment." Mete calmly replied.

"The most powerful person in Ains?" The rugged man’s eyes widened slightly, then after a brief hesitation, he softly spoke, "If such a powerful person has disappeared, wouldn’t it be... dangerous for us to go there?"

"What?" Mete slightly raised an eyebrow, sneering, "Do you think we’re going to rescue Mr. Boris?"

"Ah?" The rugged man was taken aback momentarily.

"Look in the mirror, do you think we can do such a thing?" Mete coldly laughed under his breath, "We’re just going near there to confirm whether Mr. Boris has disappeared and give the President an accurate report. The President needs to allocate personnel and forces based on Mr. Boris’s situation."

"With so many people in Ains, why did the President choose us?" The rugged man nervously gripped the steering wheel, softly inquired.

"When they let you perform a dangerous task, it usually means you’ve entered their field of view and are about to be promoted," Mete calmly stated, "Bart, you voluntarily came with me, I thought you were brave enough, but it seems before making the decision, you didn’t think clearly about what you’d have to face,"

As he said this, his tone slightly paused, his voice deepened, "If you don’t want to, I can give you another opportunity. You can drive back now, and I can switch to someone else."

Hearing this, the rugged man immediately lowered his head, hurriedly spoke, "I didn’t mean that, Uncle Mete, I’m definitely willing to work with you. My previous words were just out of concern for your safety."

While speaking, he even slightly pressed the accelerator deeper, driving the vehicle along the street to speed up.

"That’s good," Mete watched the street outside retreat rapidly, a subtle smile forming at the corner of his mouth, "Don’t worry, when the President recognizes contributions, I’ll include your name, then you’ll also earn merit."

"It’s all thanks to Uncle Mete’s arrangements," the rugged man quickly said, "I’m just driving for Uncle Mete, it’s all your credit."

"You really know how to talk," Mete lifted his gaze, glancing at the rugged man’s profile, "you’re smarter than your brother and sister, work diligently, and you won’t lack prospects."

"Yes, yes." The rugged man nodded repeatedly, firmly gripping the steering wheel, flooring the accelerator.

The black luxury car sped swiftly, cutting through the fog, traversing the silent streets, and quickly emerged between a cluster of somewhat ancient buildings.

"Alright, slow down a bit, we’re arriving at the city center." Mete rasped from the back seat.

The rugged man relaxed the accelerator, reducing the car’s speed. He also raised his head, observing the hazy outlines of buildings in the dense fog around.

"I think I see the bar in the city center," the rugged man glanced at a building nearby the street still flashing neon lights and quickly said, "we should be nearing the Parliament Building."

"Hmm," Mete’s gaze rapidly swept over the surrounding buildings, he lowered his head, glanced at the information on his wristband, and rasped, "Turn left."

"Alright." Hearing his word, the rugged man immediately nodded, then raised his hand, turning the steering wheel and steering the vehicle in the other direction.

Soon, they entered a secluded street where the fog grew denser and more oppressive, seeming to congeal into substance.

Some scattered fog even pressed into the car’s windows, only to be repelled by the glow within.

"Uncle Mete," the rugged man gulped, rasping, "this place seems more and more dangerous."

"That means we’re on the right path," Mete tightly grasped the green sprout in his hand, taking a slight breath as he surveyed the surrounding fog, "Stop the car, let’s get out."