Chapter 1 The Queen's Key?

Agatha's expression changed instantly as she stared into Councilor Winston's eyes.

However, the latter seemed even more surprised. Winston's eyes were filled with astonishment. "You don't know? Then how did you get in here?"

Agatha's expression grew serious. She realized the situation was not quite as she had imagined. When she had first sensed her ability to "enter" the stone wall, she had assumed Councilor Winston, who had arrived before her, was the same as her. But now it seemed the councilor had used other means.

He held more secrets than she had anticipated.

"I have my own ways," Agatha said slowly, her tone unintentionally laced with pressure. "You mentioned 'the Queen's key.' What exactly is that?"

Winston looked at the gatekeeper with suspicion, but after a moment's hesitation, he sighed in resignation and reached into his chest pocket.

"Well, we've come this far. There's no point in keeping secrets anymore."

He pulled out a small object: a brass key with ornate patterns. The key's handle resembled a sideways "8," or the infinity symbol in mathematics. Its head, however, lacked the usual jagged structure of a normal key and instead had a grooved cylinder.

Agatha examined the object in his hand with curiosity. Suddenly, it didn't seem like a key for opening a door, but rather... it resembled something used to wind up a doll or other clockwork mechanism.

"A wind-up key?" she blurted out subconsciously. "Are you saying this is something Queen Lei Nora left behind? Why is it in the hands of a councilor like you?"

"Passed down through the generations of councilors, this key is the Queen's gift to the rebels, and... a curse," Winston said, a bitter smile that hinted at fear twisting his lips. "From the moment the first councilor took the key, the shadow behind Frosty City has loomed over our heads, gatekeeper."

Agatha didn't interrupt the seemingly weak middle-aged man's rambling, almost delirious mutterings. She waited patiently for him to finish before asking calmly, "You know the truth about the Boiling Gold Mine, don't you?"

"If you're referring to the fact that the Boiling Gold Mine showed signs of depletion as early as the Queen's era... yes, I know," Winston sighed softly, admitting frankly. "I'm sorry. I knew from the start what that door you found was all about, but I thought there was still time to set things right before the situation worsened. That way, what you found would have just been an abandoned mine shaft, and Frosty City... would still be the prosperous Frosty City."

"I need an explanation, Councilor," Agatha said sternly, her tone somewhat cold. "The Boiling Gold Mine was already depleted in the Queen's era. What exactly have we been digging up and transporting out for the past few decades? And what is the connection between the city's anomalies today, the actions of those cultists, and the mine's depletion?"

"Boiling gold, still boiling gold, gatekeeper. What we dug up was boiling gold, and what we transported out was still boiling gold, truly, undeniably," Winston raised his head, his face wearing an expression that was neither crying nor laughing. "It's not contamination. We've tested it, and they tested it in the Queen's era. If something looks like boiling gold, works like boiling gold, and produces the same effects and byproducts as normal boiling gold – then without a doubt, it should be boiling gold."

"That really is boiling gold?!" Agatha's eyes widened. This answer was particularly unimaginable to her. "But the mine was depleted decades ago. The ore appearing in the mine shafts now..."

"That's what's most terrifying and bizarre, isn't it?" Winston said with a wry smile. "The veins are depleted, but new ore quickly fills some unattended corner, as if a false 'Frosty City,' parallel to the real world, is constantly injecting ore into the real world. Or perhaps... once the mines delve to a certain depth underground, we've been extracting minerals from a mirror world. And those phantom, illogical things... no matter how we test them after extracting them, they're all real."

Agatha listened to all of this with a grim face. These unbelievable truths assaulted her mind, which had often been muddled for some time. But in the end, she remained calm and said softly, "Mirror Frosty City... Councilor, you're right. There is indeed a mirror Frosty City. The fog engulfing the city now, and the counterfeit goods constantly appearing in the fog, are all running out of that mirror city. This mirror city is gradually eroding and replacing our real world."

Winston's expression changed slightly, then he was silent for a dozen seconds before finally letting out a long sigh. "Ah, so this is the price of that boiling gold."

"Price? You use that word too lightly – it's not just you and I who are paying the price now, but the people of the entire city. Most of them have no idea what's happening..."

"But most of them are benefiting from everything the boiling gold trade brings. In this extremely cold city, boiling gold allows everyone to have warm homes and plenty of food. It allows us to maintain a relatively affluent standard of living even after the sea cliffs collapsed, gatekeeper."

Winston paused for a few seconds, then waved his hand.

"You should know, I'm never extravagant. I don't acquire property, and I don't keep private wealth – I don't even have an heir. Madam, everything I've done is not for personal gain."

Agatha looked into the councilor's eyes, but deep within them, she saw only fatigue.

"They had no choice..."

She said softly, as if talking to herself.

"Everyone had no choice," Winston shook his head. "I know what you mean. Today's path, today's price, was not chosen by the citizens of the city – but it wasn't chosen by me either. No one had another way to go.

"The city is only so big. There is no second Frosty City on the boundless sea for us to settle. We need food, we need fuel, we need housing and clean fresh water. We need boiling gold – even if it comes from a strange shadow world. Without boiling gold, in just one winter, the city would lose a quarter of its population. The remaining people would gradually return to the dark ages of the city before the great industrial boom within a few years, and continue to lose a quarter or even more of the population...

"Gatekeeper, take a rest. You and I are both tired enough. Perhaps we should now accept a fact – the city is a steam locomotive heading for the abyss. Everyone is on the train. The only difference between the city's protectors and ordinary people is that ordinary people are eating, drinking, and living with their eyes closed, while we... have our eyes open."

Agatha ignored Winston's self-abandoning remarks. She stood silently in the darkness, feeling the unbearable cold coming from all around again, feeling the blood in her veins gradually cooling.

Then, she broke the silence, "Someone made a different choice."

"... Yes, there was one. The Frosty City people used to call her 'Queen,' and the history books call her 'Mad Queen,'" Winston laughed, but it was unclear whether he was mocking the Queen or himself. "A great mortal. She even wanted to fight against the sea, against the terror at the deepest part of the sea."

"The Abyss Diving Project..." Agatha said softly, the various clues she had gathered in the past finally converging in her mind, forming a clear thread. "So, the Abyss Diving Project is not just a simple exploration project as recorded in the data... the Queen wanted to uncover the secrets deep within the city?!"

"We don't know why she thought the boiling gold constantly appearing in the mines was related to the 'deep sea,' but she was clearly on the right track. The out-of-control Abyss Diving Project and the terrible fate she later faced precisely proved that she had touched the real source. The most ironic thing in our world is this," Winston changed his position by the stump. He looked up at the endless chaos and wriggling shadows above, and said unhurriedly, "The truth points to madness, and madness points to failure. Every step you take towards the goal is a step towards the abyss."

Winston sighed.

"She wanted to find out the truth about the Boiling Gold Mine, to solve the hidden dangers behind the city, and to use her wisdom and power to fight against the sea itself... This is very good, but the facts prove that she just consumed her fate in advance."

"So, you 'successors' decided not to follow her old path – you pretended to close your eyes like everyone else and rush to the abyss with this train, while the Queen, who once tried to hit the brakes or change the track, was eventually defined as a lunatic seduced by the subspace in the history books."

"Frosty City's ancient precept – the dead must make way for the living," Winston slowly turned his eyes and stared into Agatha's eyes. "If defining a once-great ruler can allow Frosty City to quickly return to stability after the turmoil, then she probably wouldn't mind."

Agatha wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

After a long time, she could only shake her head gently.

"How... did that key end up in the hands of the first councilor?"