SWNOVELXO Chapter 117 The Cold Church
After completing the journey in Sun Burning City, it was time to conclude the sampling in Northern Second District.
In the last few days, Tilan and her companions overlooked the scenery from the highest barrier of Sun Burning City, while she sat on the edge of the rooftop, her legs and the Jade Skirt swaying lightly in midair, a breeze at sunset brushing the young cheek.
"When it quiets down here, the view is quite nice," they remarked as they gazed at the distant land reddened by the setting sun and the purple-red clouds fiery like flames.
The wind in May was very comfortable, with neither the cold of winter nor the heat of summer. The breeze that filled their sleeves soothed their tired bodies, gentle and boundless.
Through their lengthy sampling expedition, the once noisy and chaotic Northern Second District had gradually settled down. The major gangs were mostly dealt with, and the smaller wandering elements, having lost their environment to fish in troubled waters, were gradually controlled by the local forces and had to become well-behaved.
"Although economic conditions cannot change overnight, as long as public security is good, people will gradually settle down and have the mind to work and strive for what they want," Tilan shared her simple and unadorned thoughts.
"Chaos doesn't give birth to civilization, nor can it change and progress. If change is to accomplish something, then aimless chaos and slaughter achieve nothing."
"Certainly, some will hate us and dislike our actions, but if we shrink back in fear of such things, then all dreams are just empty talk. The world doesn't operate on reason; even when doing the right thing, one can be questioned and slandered."
"True fairness and justice don't change with the volume of voices. Many people's silence doesn't mean they don't exist. Those ignored voices are also sounds that need to be recognized and seen." Some of her words were for her companions, and some for herself—to reinforce her own determination rather than be easily shaken.
Two days later, a grey flight craft landed in the wilderness outside Sun Burning City. Tilan and her group boarded it. Finally, she looked back at this quiet world from the steps and then walked inside the craft.
Once seated, the bottom of the craft emitted a blue, fiery stream of air, then slowly rose, accelerating more and more until it entered supersonic flight status.
"Next, we're heading to Northern Ninth District, right? But there aren't many sampling points there. I estimate it'll be over in less than a month," compared to the abandoned Northern Second District, Northern Ninth District was still under federal control, and some sampling points were maintained by personnel, not all requiring sampling.
"Yes, the journey ahead is likely to be much more stable and straightforward," Tilan replied softly, looking out the window at the drifting clouds and the earth.
"Speaking of which, Valke, isn't your hometown in Northern Ninth District? Could you tell us about it?" Guluo leaned back in his seat, twisting to find a comfortable position, his mouth holding a chocolate bar. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire
"The situation in Northern Ninth District..." Valke sank into memories as he began to recount some past events.
In general terms, Northern Ninth District was quite barren, with many towns abandoned and only a few places inhabited, quite dispersed, with very few major cities.
"Although Northern Second District is desolate and declined, after all, it was once the capital of the Jade Skirt with some foundation and industry. But Northern Ninth District, apart from some mineral resources, has nothing else and has never flourished," Valke had come a long way from his naive beginnings at school. With half a year of study, coupled with his own diligent research, he had gradually come to understand the past of his hometown.
"I visited Valke's hometown before the year. Indeed, it was very quiet, with only a few hundred families in a town," Kinsenke also joined in the conversation.
"But I encountered some interesting things," he said with a grin that seemed joyous.
"Probably had a good time picking on people," Ruby joked. In this time, everyone had become familiar with each other. Given Kinsenke's personality, he was probably quite happy to have unleashed some pent-up energy in a fight.
"Ahaha, they started it first, and I even deliberately took the time to let them call for backup," Kinsenke retorted.
"As for what happened, I just had a simple mecha airdropped by my subordinates, and then I beat those guys into a total mess," he said, drawing his companions' gazes.
"I'm the hero here, okay? There were clearly more of them than me. Don't look at me with that kind of gaze, hey."
...
"Alright, we won't tease you anymore, it's all in good fun I suppose, hoping those bad guys learned their lesson to behave. Otherwise, when we visit this time, we'll have to teach them another lesson,"
Time passed for several hours, and the high-speed shuttle flew across several regions, beginning to descend slowly, approaching that equally desolate land, with pale green grasslands filling the view and gray roads clear and sparse like circuits, extending in all directions.
Disembarking the flight craft, the group walked toward a nearby small town. They didn't drive this time, as they didn't need to travel far, and also wanted to thoroughly enjoy the surrounding scenery.
The roaring engines started up again, and soon the flight craft took off, while they gradually saw the highest church of the town, with its stained-glass windows reflecting specks of Flash in the morning's Sunshine, and the weather vane on the tower turning, its rusty parts occasionally making noise.
"Baa Baa Baa~"
The pens in the outskirts of the small town opened, and flocks of white sheep passed through the streets towards the distant grasslands, with a few sheepdogs running around the flock and occasionally a couple of Autonomous Units flying low in circles overhead.