Chapter 1 The Deepest Part of the Branch Corridor

Leading a small squad of fully armed guardians, Agatha left the advance base established by the Church forces. They passed through several barriers temporarily constructed from simple fortifications and firing positions, then through an intersection illuminated by gas lamps, finally reaching the deepest part of a branch corridor.

The gas lamps embedded in the walls emitted a faint hissing sound. The ancient pipeline system provided an unstable supply of gas, making the light flicker and dim. In the not-so-bright light, a dark and heavy alloy door stood quietly at the end of the corridor.

The sound of a cane and heels tapping against the ground echoed hollowly in the corridor. Agatha arrived in front of the door. Perhaps because too much time had passed, the door's seal had failed. A narrow gap could be seen between the two gates, and the lead blocks originally sealed on the door seemed to have suffered an unknown impact, with obvious signs of stretching and tearing in the middle.

On a plaque on the side of the door, the steel stamp of the Frostwind City Hall could be seen.

This was the discovery made by the exploration team in the depths of the underground, the strange door located in the central area of the second waterway that she mentioned to Governor Winston.

The City Hall had sealed off this place, but the Governor himself knew nothing about the existence of this door. The information related to this door had been lost. It could perhaps be traced back to the chaotic years just after the end of the Queen's era, when the turbulent situation caused this door and the secrets behind it to disappear from everyone's memory.

Could this be the lair where those Annihilation Cultists were hiding? Or a mystery left to the world by Frostwind Queen, Lei Nora?

Agatha reached out and gently touched the rough, heavy alloy door panel. The sensation from her fingertips felt somewhat dull and numb for some reason, only the coldness was particularly clear.

"Should we open this door?" a black-clad guard asked, stepping forward. "The Governor's permission has been granted..."

"Mr. Winston has indeed given permission, but this kind of door, sealed in darkness for many years, cannot be opened rashly," Agatha shook her head gently. "It may be sealing something dangerous behind it. I'll go across and check the situation first."

The nearby guardians immediately understood their superior's intention and stepped back.

Agatha raised her head, looked at the crack between the two door panels, and then reached out.

Nothing happened. She frowned in confusion.

A black-clad guard looked over curiously: "Is there a problem?"

"...No, there's no problem." Agatha shook her head, then refocused her attention.

A gust of wind finally stirred on the open ground, and her figure transformed into a grayish-white mist in the wind. The gray wind swirled in front of the door for a moment, then entered the narrow gap.

"Remain on guard, wait for the Gatekeeper to return."

The captain of the black-clad guards confirmed that Agatha had passed through the door, breathed a sigh of relief, and began to instruct his team to set up guard positions in the corridor.

On the other side, the grayish-white whirlwind passed through the door gap and entered a dim space. The wind swirled for a moment, and Agatha's figure condensed from it.

The Gatekeeper turned back, glanced at the door she had come through, and then looked down to check her own condition, frowning subconsciously.

Why... did the divine art she was usually accustomed to using feel somewhat stiff today? Even her body's reaction speed seemed a bit slower?

After a moment of confusion, Agatha shook her head and temporarily turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

She looked around, the lantern at her waist emitting a dim yellow light, dispelling the darkness that permeated the area. Many restless things seemed to lurk in the shadows all around, but when she focused her attention, those dark places became quiet again.

A damp, dark tunnel. Exposed soil and metallic-shining rocks could be seen everywhere. In the lantern's dim light, one could also see the beams and supports used to support the tunnel, as well as some debris scattered near the piles of rocks.

Agatha frowned. She judged that the scene here did not seem to be part of the second waterway. Normal sewer corridors did not have this structure. The space behind this door... seemed more like

A long-abandoned mine tunnel.

A mine tunnel?

Agatha raised her head, looking thoughtfully at the damp, dark rocky ceiling above, as if her gaze penetrated the thick rocks and soil, reaching upward, all the way to the layers of tunnels, shafts, machinery, and ramps.

The Boiling Gold Mine.

This section of the second waterway was located in the center of the city-state, and its underground branches crisscrossed around the Boiling Gold Mine. A considerable portion of the sewers were originally part of the Queen's era mine drainage system, and the closest points in these tunnels to the mine tunnels... could indeed be only a door apart.

She walked slowly forward along the mine tunnel, while increasingly more doubts arose in her mind.

This was just a mine tunnel, and it didn't even seem to have been completely swallowed and twisted by the darkness, because boiling gold was a metal with sanctity. The trace amounts of boiling gold contained in the rocks and soil were enough to resist erosion like lamplight and steam. Why would such a mine tunnel be solemnly sealed off by such a large door?

It was sealed underground, and even the current Governor did not know of its existence. If it was indeed the first generation of City Hall after the end of the Queen's era that issued the sealing order, then what was so special about this place that made them so nervous?

Moreover, this mine tunnel had obviously been abandoned... why was that? It was not polluted, there were no monsters, no illusions, and no... boiling gold.

Agatha suddenly stopped, her gaze sweeping across the mining layers below the slopes on both sides of the mine tunnel. She finally gradually realized the source of the sense of incongruity she had been feeling all along.

There was no boiling gold here.

In the City Hall, the uppermost level of the former Queen's Palace, in the domed office, Governor Winston, a portly man wearing a blue coat, slowly fiddled with an exquisite machine in his hands.

The brass-made mechanical model made a slight clicking sound in his hands. The gears and connecting rods rotated, each mesh and rotation carrying a precise and cold beauty.

Creations of wisdom, the crystallization of engineering, the achievements of civilization—rotating gears, the badges and sashes of mortal civilization.

Winston placed the mechanical model in front of him, carelessly wiping a patch of oil near the base of the model with the decorative sash on his coat. After wiping it clean, he nodded gently, his face filled with the satisfied admiration of an art connoisseur.

"Boiling gold is the blood of Frostwind, and mining machinery is the heart that pumps the blood..."

As if talking to himself, or perhaps speaking to the exquisite little machine in front of him, Winston murmured softly as he fiddled with the tiny brass gears with his fingers.

"Fifty years... truly like a dream bubble..."

He slowly got up and strolled to the windowsill.

Outside the wide glass window was a thick fog that permeated the entire city. In the rising and swirling mist, all the buildings and roads blurred their outlines and boundaries, as if they were about to melt into this city-state. Even the towering cathedral across the square had become a hazy shadow in the mist, and the towering spires and pinnacles seemed to be suffocating and dying giants in the mist.

Winston watched the fog outside the window with a calm expression. He could hear the alarm bells coming from across the square, and he could also hear the sounds of the City Hall Guard and the Sheriff's Department gathering and deploying in the square.

Such a large and strange fog would naturally arouse the City Hall's vigilance. Even without his order as Governor, the city's defense forces would act according to the established procedures. However, maintaining order in the thick fog might just be the easiest part of what was to come.

Winston stood by the window for a while, then turned to a spot not far away.

A small round table stood near the windowsill, and wisps of mist seeped through the window seams, floating around the round table. In the smoky mist, he saw two things placed on the table.

One was a stack of yellowed, brittle documents, and the other was a beautifully crafted revolver.

The documents were written and produced in a classical format, with exquisite and intricate floral borders visible on the edges of the high-quality paper, carrying the unique elegant atmosphere of the Queen's era.

*Boiling Gold Mine Depletion Warning*, *Investigation Report on Anomalous Mine Tunnels*, *Analysis of Examination Results of Out-of-Shaft Samples*...

The signed dates of most of the documents were between 1840 and 1845.

The signatory was Lei Nora.

The revolver was part of Governor Winston's personal collection, a classic model from twelve years ago. Even now, it was still sturdy and reliable. The well-maintained handle and gun body were oily and shiny, looking as if they could still serve for another twelve years—or longer.

Winston's gaze swept over the documents, finally settling on the revolver.

He reached out and picked up the heavy steel, feeling its cold touch. He opened it to check the gun's cylinder, then snapped the cylinder back into place.

His right hand slowly rose, and the barrel, once carefully maintained by its owner, was pressed against his temple.

A few seconds later, the gun was lowered.

"This pose is good, I'll use this pose later," Winston said softly, then checked the gun's safety and carefully placed the revolver in the holster on his waist.

Urgent footsteps came from the corridor.

"Governor, the fog in the city is getting worse..."

"I know, I'm coming."
作者：远瞳
Yuan Tong