Chapter 1

The fog had gradually invaded the Second Waterway. The hazy, chaotic mist floated like gauze near the ceiling of the sewer corridor, giving the impression that the deep, heavy roof had disappeared and the Second Waterway was being gradually swallowed by the "sky."

A short, old man wrapped in a worn coat was walking quickly through this strange and silent sewer corridor. Decades had eroded his body. For many years, he had been unable to move so swiftly. Yet, for some reason, today, at this moment, he felt his body lighten again, as if youth had returned to his shell, and the soreness in his joints and the weakness in his muscles had disappeared.

He walked faster and faster, and the large wrench in his hand no longer felt as heavy as it had at first. He quickly passed through the corridors and intersections he remembered, running resolutely towards a direction that he couldn't quite recall, but felt particularly familiar.

He had to catch up with the main force, because the assembly time was almost upon them.

Suddenly, a pile of collapsed rubble blocked Old Gui's path.

"No road... no road?" The old man stopped, staring blankly at the collapsed stones, muttering to himself. Chaotic memories reorganized haphazardly in his mind, trying to explain the existence of this collapsed area. He seemed to recall something...

Oh, right, the explosives. The guard detonated the explosives buried in the corridor after retreating through the connecting well, to block the rebel army from entering the sewer.

But that wasn't quite right, it wasn't the whole story. This collapsed area wasn't just to block the rebels. Many years ago, when that young soldier lit the fuse... the corridor collapsed, blocking something else...

Old Gui stood blankly in front of the blocked corridor, then bent down and used the large wrench in his hand to knock on the stones in front of him, mumbling incoherently.

This road should be open, it had to be open, otherwise he wouldn't be able to reach the assembly point. But it had collapsed. What should he do? A wrench can't fix collapsed stones...

A hazy mist suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Old Gui, who was knocking on the stones, looked up blankly and took a half step back subconsciously. He saw wisps of mist escaping from the cracks in the pile of rocks, slowly filling the entire corridor and his entire field of vision.

He heard distant murmurs and roars in the mist, and then a hoarse voice shouted, "Is this reasonable?!"

But no one appeared in the mist. As the mist drifted, Old Gui only saw the rubble blocking the road suddenly disappear.

The blocked corridor became a thoroughfare again. The gas lamps inlaid on the opposite wall emitted a dim light. In the chaotic depths of the corridor, he could vaguely see black mud that seemed to have been dry for decades, quietly sleeping in the equally dry drainage ditch.

"The road is open... it's good that the road is open..."

Old Gui's mind went blank for a moment, as if he wanted to think about why the collapsed stones had suddenly disappeared, but soon, this question disappeared in his jumbled memories. He stepped forward without hesitation, stepping into the dimly lit corridor.

Agatha suddenly raised her head. The guardians, priests, and nuns accompanying her also stopped immediately, everyone on edge, wary of any movement in the fog.

"Did you hear footsteps?" After two or three seconds, Agatha suddenly broke the silence. "Footsteps other than our own."

"Yes," the accompanying nun nodded lightly. "Just a moment ago, very faint, but very close, as if..."

This was already deep within the Boiling Gold Mine. Following the direction pointed out by that "Sergeant Blade," Agatha and the team she led arrived at this mine tunnel via the only passage in this direction. Even in such a deep place, the fog was still omnipresent.

The lighting system was still working normally, and the dim yellow light illuminated the supports in the mine tunnel and the track structure underfoot. But in the flickering light and shadows, there seemed to be some strange sights.

Agatha saw two identical support pillars on the opposite side wall - the two support pillars were like mirror images, from the surface texture to the location of the stains.

And in another direction, she saw several crisscrossing roof beams piled together, their intersections seemingly fused together.

The accompanying priest in the team raised a lantern and came to one of the strange support structures, observing it nervously before whispering, "Gatekeeper..."

"I see it," Agatha interrupted the priest. Her tone remained calm. "Obviously, the 'forgeries' are in a space that is overlapping with our reality."

"The space where the forgeries are located?" A guardian repeated subconsciously.

Agatha suddenly fell silent, seemingly feeling that annoying daze again. Then she raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. "That's right, all the forgeries should come from an abnormal space-time, and now all the evidence shows that this abnormal space-time is gradually approaching our reality, perhaps... perhaps we can call it a 'mirror')."

Cold, boundless cold, as if standing in an incomparably cold corridor, and the blood in one's veins had already lost its heat.

But the next second, this strange feeling disappeared, and the illusion of being in a cold, lonely corridor vanished. She was dazed for a moment, seeing her loyal subordinates still surrounding her, the light of the lanterns and gas lamps quickly dispelling the cold that remained in her consciousness.

"...Is it because there isn't enough time...or because it's too close..." Agatha muttered to herself subconsciously.

The nearby subordinates did not hear her mutterings.

A guardian warrior was raising a lantern to look around, when suddenly he seemed to discover something. "There's a person lying down over here!"

Agatha quickly regained her senses, her expression straightened, and she quickly came to the place the warrior had discovered.

A warrior wearing the equipment of the Citadel's elite guard was lying in the mine tunnel, seemingly dead for a long time.

A black combat coat, with a metal breastplate and steam-engine-driven power gauntlets on the outside, a steam backpack on his back, and a thick breathing mask on his face.

Agatha bent down and wiped the blood off the warrior's nameplate, staring silently at the name for a few seconds.

"It's Sergeant Blade," she broke the silence softly.

Agatha was silent for a moment.

The situation was as she had judged. A real Sergeant Blade had fallen in this mine tunnel, and his duplicate had appeared before the church troops exploring the lower levels under the influence of the thick fog - the forgery was fake, but the information was real.

"There are corpses here too!"

Soon, another guardian warrior exploring ahead raised his lantern high and called out from a distance.

More corpses appeared in the mine tunnel ahead.

Agatha quickly led the team forward, discovering more and more fallen warriors in the depths of the mine tunnel - all elite guards of the Citadel, trusted warriors of Governor Winston.

The causes of death varied: wounds torn by sharp blades, blunt force injuries caused by heavy blows, and even gunshot wounds.

Near these corpses, Agatha and her subordinates also found dried black mud, and if the mud were pieced together to form people, the number would probably far exceed the number of fallen guard soldiers.

"...A fierce battle that lasted for a long time. This force encountered enemies far outnumbering themselves in the mine tunnel, and they continued to advance for hundreds of meters during the battle... Most of the warriors had run out of bullets, and in the end, they fought with bayonets and steam gauntlets."

Agatha examined the most recent corpses, making judgments based on the traces left on the corpses and the situation at the scene. At the same time, an increasingly strong unease was emerging in her heart.

Many warriors had fallen, and the team led by Governor Winston was obviously in a bad situation. And this battle may have broken out several hours ago - so much time has passed, is the governor still alive?

As if to respond to the unease in her heart, a guardian warrior who was clearing the way at the front of the team suddenly stopped.

"Gatekeeper, there's no road ahead!"

"No road ahead?" Agatha was shocked and immediately got up and walked forward.

The team arrived at the end of the mine tunnel, but there was only a flat, solid wall in front of them. There was no road, but this was obviously not normal.

Agatha quickly looked back in the direction she had come from, seeing the fallen guard soldiers lying quietly in the darkness. But among these corpses, there was no sign of Governor Winston.

"There is only one road," Agatha immediately shook her head. "And based on the traces left at the scene, I don't think Governor Winston had the opportunity to find another way with the remaining guards."

The priest frowned. "But it's blocked here."

Agatha ignored him, but turned around and slowly walked towards the flat, solid wall.

After hesitating slightly, she reached out and tried to touch the wall.

Her fingers went straight into it.