"You really came back just to see the mayor, even after missing your bus stop? You just happened to encounter the Prisoners’ Gang trying to assassinate the mayor?" In the small, cramped room, a man dressed in a military uniform twisted the bright desk lamp in front of him, illuminating the face of the somewhat uneasy young man on the opposite side. Facing the officer’s indifferent gaze, the young man nodded gently, trying to remain calm as he said, "I was on the same bus as Mr. Mayor earlier. I simply planned to visit and see if I could have a chance to speak with the mayor. I hadn’t expected things to escalate to this extent..." "Choate, an employee at the mechanical factory under the Yiwis Space System Consortium, as an ordinary citizen," The officer in front glanced down at the tablet in his hands and continued in a cold voice, "after encountering such a major incident as the mayor’s assassination, your first reaction was not to run, but to hide and carefully observe the situation. Don’t you think you were too calm?" "I really just wanted to see..." The young man known as Choate hesitated for a moment and spoke in a softer voice. "Just wanted to see what was happening?!" Seemingly hearing the hesitation in the young man’s voice, the officer’s tone became even colder, his gaze sharp as it fixed on the young man. The young man shivered, then slowly said, "I thought maybe I could help Mr. Mayor, if necessary..." "Help Mr. Mayor? Amid a bunch of armed gang members and powerful Transcendent creatures?" The officer looked at the young man with a cold gaze, his tone calm and deep. "People who grew up in the Southern District know a bit about firearms," Facing the officer’s gaze, the young man slowly began, "My brother serves in the North City Defense Forces, and he also taught me some basic combat skills..." Then he paused for a moment, his tone turning slightly awkward as he added, "Aren’t the TV shows always ? An ordinary street kid meets a gravely injured important figure and thus begins a legendary adventure..." The whole interrogation room fell into brief silence. After a long while, the interrogating officer coughed lightly and spoke in a low voice, "You have a vivid imagination." Then he looked down and flipped through the tablet in his hands, then raising his head to look again at the young man, "Okay, no more questions for now. Keep your communication open; we will verify your information. Thank you for your support of Mayor Lin En. I hope this inquiry doesn’t affect your trust in Mr. Lin En." The young man blinked, then nodded slightly, a bit awkwardly getting to his feet, "Okay, thank you." The officer adjusted the tablet screen and pressed a button on a nearby intercom, speaking swiftly. It was then that the young man, originally preparing to stand, glanced at the officer who was beginning to sift through the next person’s information, hesitated for a moment, and asked softly, "From your tone, it sounds like you also support Mr. Lin En?" "Not about supporting or not supporting," Hearing the young man’s question, the officer looked up at him and casually replied, "As soldiers, we prioritize following orders, but personally, we all admire him—a mayor who possesses both strategy and courage, and is more beloved than an employee care clause in a Consortium’s staff welfare plan." Then he lowered his head and continued flipping through the documents, "If you really want to find Mr. Lin En, turn right when you exit, follow the direction of the crowd, and you should be able to find him. Mr. Lin En is doing a free clinic over there. Remember to collect your bracelet and personal belongings at the exit." The young man blinked slightly and then nodded, "Thank you." Then he pushed open the door and walked a few steps along the corridor outside until he reached a brightly lit junction with several wooden tables. The soldier guarding the door looked at him and pointed to a nearby table, "That’s yours. Check to see if anything is missing. Once you leave, don’t come back to us if you find something is gone." "Okay, okay, thank you." The young man quickly nodded and then walked over to the table, where he found his bracelet and some personal items that had been taken away for inspection in a small plastic bowl. After briefly checking and finding no items were missing, he picked up his personal belongings and his bracelet, activating the interface on the bracelet. Suddenly, a dense list of missed calls filled his field of view. And all these missed calls were from the same person. He immediately put the bracelet on his hand, attached the Bluetooth earpiece, and called back. The call was picked up almost instantly, but the other side didn’t speak right away. The youth opened his mouth, carefully probing as he asked. "Um, good, you’re still alive," The voice on the other end of the phone let out a light sigh, "Tell me, what happened? Were you noticed by the mayor and then had a secret conversation for half the day, and he promised you high rank and great wealth? Or did you witness the mayor being assassinated, got yourself involved, and lost half your life, and now you finally have a chance to deliver your last words to me?" "The mayor was indeed assassinated." The youth spoke slowly. In the moment he uttered these words, silence fell on the other side instantly, followed by the sound of hurriedly packing things and a slightly urgent query, "Where are you?" "Bro, I’m okay, I’m okay." The youth quickly said, "The mayor was indeed assassinated, but he handled it himself. I was just discovered nearby by the City Defense Army, so they detained and questioned me, seeing if I was part of the assassins." "Damn, can’t you finish your sentence?" A sound of plopping back onto the bed came from the other side of the phone, "I thought you had rushed into a battle to save the mayor. But yeah, with your lackluster skills, if you really had charged in, you wouldn’t have had the chance to call me," "But if you really died in there, I couldn’t afford to buy you a burial plot. I would only be able to see if I could find your body before the Scavenger does, and perhaps cremate and scatter it back in our hometown." Hearing his older brother’s words, the youth coughed awkwardly as he looked ahead. A sparse crowd was slowly moving along the decrepit street; some faces showed anticipation, others skepticism. The earlier sporadic and intense gunfire in the surroundings had quieted completely, only soldiers armed and vigilant at key street intersections still faintly left an impression of the harshness and somberness remaining from the intense battle. The wind under the moonlight brushed against the youth’s cheeks. His gaze followed the movement of the crowd toward the depths of the night. At the far end of the street, a faintly luminous brilliance shone. Then he lowered his head and followed the crowd’s pace, continuing to speak into the phone, "Bro, I heard Mr. Lin En is conducting a free clinic nearby." "A free clinic? The mayor is conducting a free clinic?" The voice on the other end sounded slightly surprised, then hesitated and calmly asked, "You want to go? What, are you sick?" The youth slightly opened his mouth. "Alright, I get it, you’re sick in the head. Go if you want to," The person on the other end sighed, "Before doing anything in the future, remember to send me your location so I can come and collect your body." The youth spoke as he moved forward, "When the mayor was assassinated, I was right there. I saw most of the process. He seemed different from what I imagined." "What’s different? Didn’t these differences change your mind?" The person on the phone paused, querying with a hint of confusion. "I can’t quite explain it, just a feeling..." The youth looked ahead at the tent surrounded by soldiers, brightly lit, observing the rows of busy medical staff and the venerable yet compassionate old man treating a child at the center of the tent. His tone slowed, revealing bit by bit, "He seemed more real, more trustworthy." Then he scratched his head, recalling for a moment, and continued, "Previously, watching the mayor’s speeches, I could feel his charisma and courage, the fervent emotions, but he always seemed very distant, and what he spoke about seemed elusive. "Sometimes I felt that Mr. Mayor truly had that goal, but lacked the capability and resolve, unable to fulfill everything he promised. "But after seeing him today, I felt like I was seeing a different person, powerful, confident, composed, tough, and decisive. For instance, the North City Defense Forces are now absolutely violently sweeping the influence of the Prisoners’ Gang," His gaze swept over the crowd lining up at night, flanked by flickering firelit outdoor stoves that stood like streetlights. Clearly, many people were unaccustomed to these stoves. They stood close to the heaters, warming themselves while quietly discussing. The youth lowered his head, joined the queue, and continued into the phone, "For decades, no mayor has cared about the Southern District, nor would any gentlemen from Saint Yilan come here even to glance at us, even just once. "Without order, nor the involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, gunshots, chaos, murder, always uncertain when death might arrive—that was our childhood, our parents’ lives, and perhaps our future lives too. "The chaos of the Southern District has its benefits; it has the cheapest labor in Yilan City, always no shortage of people willing to betray their health for a little medicine, nor lacking those driven by high-interest loans from gangs willing to do any dangerous work. The youth’s voice paused briefly, "Mr. Lin En is the only one willing to come here, and if we don’t want our children, our children’s children, to live the life we’ve lived, we can’t just watch him being attacked by the consortium and do nothing." The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment, seemingly lighting a cigarette, and finally, the person on the other end asked softly, "Do you want to follow him?" The young man nodded slightly. "What if he doesn’t want you?" The voice on the other end of the phone inquired. The young man’s expression froze, and he awkwardly said, "I’ve got to try." "I should never have sent you to high school," The person on the other end seemed to take a deep drag of the cigarette and sighed softly, "But you’re an adult now, you can make your own decisions in life, whether you succeed or not, just take care of yourself." The young man nodded and continued to walk deeper into the crowd. Deeper within, those responsible for security and order were not just soldiers; there were also some employees apparently in Mayor’s Guard uniforms, and very few police officers from the City Police Station. As they neared the medical clinic, the pace of the line slowed. There was a security checkpoint where everyone who wanted to pass had to surrender their guns or knives to the side. A middle-aged man in a police uniform with a sharp gaze was in charge of the security check. Not everyone was willing to give up their weapons. While Choate waited in line, he saw several arguments and even some people pulling out guns in threat. Then armed soldiers would come out and politely ’invite’ those not cooperating to leave the line. Sometimes, they would even carry them out of the line. However, the person guarding the checkpoint was very methodical with his actions; he isolated the troublemakers first, dealt with the situation quickly, and then continued with the security checks. Thus, each disturbance was quickly quelled, and the progress of the line was not greatly affected. When nearing the checkpoint, the young man looked up at the buildings on either side, recalling the knowledge his older brother had taught him. Several positions in those buildings provided an excellent field of view, obviously, there were snipers stationed there. A gentle male voice came from beside him. The young man turned his head and saw the middle-aged police officer guarding the checkpoint. Clearly, the middle-aged officer had noticed him observing the sniper points. The young man nodded honestly. "If you have any weapons, put them in the basket to the side," The middle-aged officer did not continue the conversation, but glanced at the young man and activated the security device. With the device displaying a green glow, he waved his hand, "Go ahead." The young man nodded and followed the crowd in. The medical area had many temporary doctors, and the elderly man with graying hair was sitting in the middle, still wearing the suit from his daytime speech, only with a lab coat draped over it. The line in front of this elderly man was the longest, with nurses continuously coming to divert people in line to other doctors. The young man naturally walked to the front of the elderly man’s line. The elderly man was not always diagnosing; occasionally, he would rise and walk into the tent behind him, seemingly dealing with something as the sky gradually changed. As the moon set and the stars dimmed, with a faint glow appearing at the horizon’s end near dawn, the young man finally reached the front. At that moment, the elderly man also appeared to be occupied and entered the tent. "What’s troubling you?" At this time, a nurse in a white shirt came over, holding a tablet, and looked at the young man. This seemed to be a pre-consultation to improve the efficiency of the diagnosis. The young man looked at the nurse in front of him, knowing that at this moment, he ought to fabricate a sickness to secure a chance to meet the elderly man. He had already stood in line for most of the night. However, eventually, he slowly spoke, "I’m not ill, I just want to meet Mister Lin En." The nurse slightly furrowed her brow and then looked at the young man, speaking coldly, "This is a free clinic, and what you are doing will delay the opportunity for other patients to be seen. If you are not sick, please leave." The young man slightly opened his mouth. People in line both in front and behind him started to look over. A gentle and kind voice sounded in their ears. Hearing this voice, the young man was slightly startled, then immediately raised his head to look toward where the voice was coming from. At that moment, the elderly man in a white coat was standing in front of him. "Mister Lin En, this man isn’t sick, he just came to stand in line," the nurse quickly explained, looking at He Ao. "No, I just wanted to meet you," the young man hurriedly explained. He Ao smiled, looking at the young man, "Were you hidden behind the billboard then?" The young man was slightly stunned, his eyes widening as he stared at the elderly man before him. He had thought that he had not exposed himself at all, that the gangsters hadn’t seen him. It was only during the subsequent carpet search by the City Defense Army that he had been found. "You shouldn’t be so close next time," He Ao said with a smile, observing the young man’s astonished expression, "This time was not a great risk, but if things had gotten out of control, I might not have been able to keep you safe. Alright, we have met and spoken, go back now." The young man’s eyes slightly widened. He had started to realize the implications behind Mister Lin En’s words. That snake-headed monster must have noticed him too, but the creature was quickly killed by Mister Lin En before anything further ensued. Had Mister Lin En not defeated the snake-headed monster, given the monster’s penchant for devouring humans, suddenly, a fine sweat broke out on the young man’s back. He had originally thought he was just blending in outside, covertly observing, which seemed safe. Instead, he had been dancing next to the Grim Reaper. However, his thoughts were swiftly refocused; he watched as the elderly man turned to leave and quickly spoke, "Mister Lin En, I want to follow you!" But the elderly man did not stop turning. The young man opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, slowly lowering his head and walking out of the line. And just then, he saw the elderly man, now walking towards the consultation desk, slightly raise his hand and point backwards, "City Police Station Director Tucker is recruiting over there. You might want to take a look, but be prepared, the job is very dangerous." The young man’s brow lifted joyfully, and he immediately straightened up. Then he followed the direction the elderly man was pointing, and saw right then the middle-aged police officer responsible for security. The officer looked at him, shrugged slightly, and pointed to a recruitment poster for the City Police Station next to him, and a member of the Mayor’s Guard below it signing up recruits. At this moment, there were already quite a few people lining up under that poster. The young man gave an embarrassed chuckle, scratching his head. Then he quickly ran over. Behind him, at the end of the dilapidated building, the light of dawn slowly rose from the horizon, piercing the dim sky.