Late at night.
Ning Busan lay in bed, staring with his eyes wide as he thought.
Obviously, the resurrection of the people in the City of Steam was closely tied to that furnace.
But he couldn't just jump right in. After all, he couldn't use magic right now, and who knew if the blue flames inside the furnace would harm him?
Suddenly, Ning Busan heard a long, low rumble.
The clock struck midnight.
Ning Busan decided to go to sleep. However, just as he was about to drift off, he suddenly caught a whiff of a pungent odor.
It was a smell that mixed sulfur and chemicals, causing a visceral sense of discomfort.
Startled, Ning Busan immediately realized something was wrong. He quickly put on his metal mask, pushed open the door to Charles's room next door, and shouted, “Wake up, don't sleep—”
However, Ning Busan froze.
Charles's room was completely empty.
He was gone.
Ning Busan rushed to the window. Through the glass, he could see a green mist blanketing the streets.
Although Ning Busan didn't know what this green mist was, he was absolutely certain it was toxic.
What was even more bizarre was that the streets were currently packed with people.
None of them wore masks. With their eyes closed, they shuffled forward in a dull, crowded mass toward a single direction, as if controlled by something.
Ning Busan opened the window, jumped down, blended into the crowd, and walked forward with them.
He carefully observed the people around him and noticed their faces were extraordinarily pale.
To confirm whether they were actually alive, Ning Busan touched the hand of a man beside him. It was ice-cold.
He then checked for breath.
No breathing.
Confirmed. None of them were living.
Standing in the midst of a crowd of dead people, Ning Busan felt a chill run down his spine.
He had been in the City of Steam for over a month, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
Was tonight some special day?
These living dead were heading precisely in the direction of the temple, so Ning Busan followed them there.
As he passed the first basement floor, Michael spotted Ning Busan. Grabbing the cell bars, he shouted, “Don't go! Get me out of here!”
Ning Busan pretended not to hear.
Since everyone was here for the Crown of the Divine King, there was no need for him to release his competitor.
Michael said, “I know how to leave the City of Steam.”
Ning Busan had already walked some distance away, but upon hearing those words, he silently retraced his steps.
“I can let you out, but first, tell me what you know,” Ning Busan said. “Tell me everything about why you came to the City of Steam and what happened after you got here.”
Michael said, “I came to the desert because of an undead. That undead faked his death to escape, fooling Siphra. But God saw through his trickery and sent me to find his whereabouts.”
Ning Busan fell into thought.
So Leo was indeed in the City of Steam as well.
The Holy Fire hadn't burned him to death, yet he had run all the way here to seek his own demise.
Michael continued, “After I discovered this place, God gave me a mission to search for the whereabouts of the Crown of the Divine King.”
“Did you find it?”
Michael shook his head.
Ning Busan asked, “What exactly is the way to leave the City of Steam?”
Michael countered, “If I tell you everything, will you actually let me out?”
“Of course.”
“I don't believe you.”
Ning Busan: “...”
You're right not to believe me.
Michael said, “You've seen the sudden changes tonight. While the guards in the temple have all vanished, you can go straight to steal the keys and let me out.”
“No way,” Ning Busan rejected righteously. “I am a just person with a strong sense of morality. I never do things like stealing.”
Michael: ?
Ning Busan said, “So you'd better stay here quietly.”
Michael hadn't expected him to go back on his word. “You clearly promised just now that you would let me out!”
Ning Busan chuckled. “I was just teasing you.”
“Besides, when you said you knew how to leave the City of Steam, your voice was clearly lacking confidence. I suspect you were bluffing me.”
Michael was about to cough up blood from anger. “You are truly shameless!”
Ning Busan followed the living dead down to the second basement floor of the temple. He watched them jump into the furnace one by one, vanishing into the eerie blue flames.
Ning Busan watched for a long time but couldn't find any trace of magic on the furnace.
Actually, he was very curious about what secrets were hidden inside the furnace, but he valued his life.
How could he easily attempt something so dangerous?
Ning Busan: Aha, I have a plan!
Isn't there still a Michael in the prison?
After Ning Busan found the keys, he returned to Michael's cell and said with a smile, “I'm here to save you.”
Michael's gaze was filled with scrutiny. “Didn't you plan on not saving me?”
Ning Busan said calmly, “I was just joking with you. I actually went to find the keys. If we want to leave the City of Steam, I think it's better for the two of us to help each other.”
With that, he opened the cell door.
Michael felt a bit ashamed. “I misjudged you. You are a good person.”
“Let's go. We'll follow these living dead and see where they are actually going.” Ning Busan naturally led Michael to the furnace and said with a smile, “I want to know what secrets are hidden inside. Why don't you jump in and take a look?”
Michael hadn't expected him to harbor such intentions. He sneered, “Do you think I'm a fool?”
“Of course I know you're not a fool,” Ning Busan silently raised his gun. “If you jump, you might not die. But if you don't jump, I will definitely shoot. So, are you going to jump or not?”
If he could find the keys, how could he not find a gun?
The wound that Michael had just healed instantly began to throb with pain again.
It was precisely because he had underestimated this kind of weapon that he had been captured in the first place.
Michael gritted his teeth. “Didn't you say we were going to help each other?”
“This is helping each other!” Ning Busan spoke righteously despite being in the wrong. “I helped you by letting you out, and now it's your turn to help me.”
With a dark face, Michael said, “Fine, I'll jump!”
Rate on N.U.
