Chapter 1 The Social Structure of Twilight Capital

Hao Ren was very curious about the social structure within Twilight Capital.

Having worked as an inspector for three years—though that bit of experience was nothing compared to old hands like Garazhol and Anthony—Hao Ren had cultivated a certain level of professional competence. The biggest change was that he now had a keen curiosity about civilizations and worldviews of all kinds, and he could observe them with a relatively objective and professional eye rather than just watching the spectacle. He wondered how Twilight Capital maintained order, how the Steam Council controlled the city, what the relationship was between the Steam Council and the Seekers' Order, and even more so, how a city that had been operating in complete isolation for two thousand years and had continued to develop would face a group of foreigners from beyond the barrier.

When a fully functional society had been confined to a city (albeit a huge one) for two thousand years and had constantly fought against the deadly environment outside, many things could no longer be deduced by common sense.

Wendell and Borken talked animatedly about some things, exchanging information about this trip of the Seekers and recent changes in the city. Finally, Borken arranged for everyone a train that would go directly to the Upper City.

"There's a locomotive leaving in a quarter of an hour," Borken said as he quickly wrote a note, "An honest and reliable old driver will take you to the Upper City. I can't get away right now, but Wendell, you should have a way."

He sealed the written note in a delicate little cylinder and stuffed it into a copper tube next to his desk—there were a dozen of these copper tubes neatly arranged beside his desk. With a slight whoosh of air, the cylinder was sent far away through the tube. Borken then picked up a long-handled microphone with a cord and plugged the plug into a socket next to the copper tube: "Kostov, receive an emergency pass and add it to your schedule before you leave."

A quarter of an hour later, Hao Ren and his group boarded the steam locomotive to the Upper City.

As special guests personally arranged (or rather, squeezed in) by Administrator Borken, they certainly didn't have to huddle with the ore in the carriages. The group was arranged in a clean compartment at the front of the train, which was originally a rest area for the driver and apprentices. However, the locomotive only ran at full capacity when traveling in the Dark Wilderness. When returning to the Upper City, less than half of the control personnel were needed, so this rest area was conveniently available.

Given the massive size of this locomotive, the lounge was quite spacious, and it didn't feel cramped at all for Hao Ren and his group to stay inside. Lily happily lay on the window looking at the city landscape speeding by outside, and she would cheerfully shout at whatever she saw. Elizabeth also joined her, but the little imp's focus was clearly more on the locomotive itself. Closest to these two energetic girls was Nangong Wuyue. The siren girl was much calmer. Gentle and docile, she said that her heart was without fluctuations, and she even wanted to spit bubbles...

Wuyue had been holding a bellyful of detergent until now, and she hadn't digested it yet.

Hao Ren left his seat and came to the gate at the end of the lounge, sticking his head inside to look. Through a dirty glass window, he could see the situation in the opposite driver's cab. He saw that the driver's cab was full of complicated pipes, valves, pressure gauges, and control levers. Two strong apprentices were adding fuel to the fuel hopper, while an old man with white hair was busy between those levers and valves, carefully controlling the locomotive. That old man was the "Kostov" in Borken's words. It was said that he had been driving this locomotive for forty years, shuttling back and forth between the Dark Wilderness and Twilight Capital countless times, and was still healthy: This was a remarkable achievement for the locomotive's staff.

You had to know that although the drivers and apprentices did not have to work in the Dark Wilderness for as long as the miners, the time they were exposed to the mana environment was only the stretch of road the locomotive traveled outside the barrier, and the steam boiler also had a very thick protective shell and rune-filled pipes. However, they were working in the night after all, and the omnipresent mana radiation could always bypass the most rigorous protection. Even the Seekers' equipment might not be able to protect people completely, but this Kostov had lived healthily to this day. While his colleagues had long since entered the incinerator and turned into steam power, he was still at this post, moving those heavy levers and valves, his body surprisingly sturdy.

"See anything?" Vivian also came over, glanced through the glass window, and said something seemingly casually.

Hao Ren nodded slightly: "It doesn't seem to be pure human blood, I think his mental power is very strong."

"Weak werewolf bloodline. There were many werewolves in the Nordic region back then. Some werewolves and their human slaves produced mixed-blood offspring. The proud demihumans back then did not recognize this mixed-blood offspring, so the mixed-bloods would be thrown into humans—those myths about the infinitely powerful, brave, and unmatched 'bastards' who were always not favored by the gods are roughly the same. This mixed-blood's bloodline is already quite thin. His ancestor may be a legendary hero in Norse mythology, perhaps Beowulf, or perhaps someone else… But now he is only stronger than ordinary humans, lives a little longer, and is more resistant to mana."

"It always feels like the mythical era is still continuing."

"That's right, the mythical era is indeed continuing on this land," Vivian said in a low voice. "The Earthlings have thrown mythology into the library, but the people on this land are still telling stories of the past. But to be honest, I don't want that era to continue in this form: It makes me feel very depressed."

At this time, Dragon Queen Garazhol also came over. She did not talk about the city, but suddenly said something a little out of the blue: "Good work ethic."

"Work ethic?" Hao Ren was stunned. "Why are you suddenly talking about work ethic?"

"Some novice inspectors always make some impulsive and rash mistakes. Power makes people forget their responsibilities," Garazhol turned her head and looked at the scenery outside the window. "Rushing headlong, straight to the goal, so they often miss many things outside the goal, and these things are often quite valuable. You don't seem to: You will be curious about everything on the journey. Without affecting the ultimate goal, you are happy to participate in the life of every civilization, observe them, and understand them. This is precious. Inspectors are observers, observation and feedback—those who rush straight to the goal can't see the scenery along the way, and your mentality is just right."

Hao Ren was quite embarrassed by the Dragon Queen's words, and he was also a little dizzy: "Such a high evaluation?"

"Of course, because this is exactly why the gods need us," the Dragon Queen smiled. "They let us help deal with things in the human world because we belong to the human world and can integrate into the human world."

Hao Ren said "oh" and showed a thoughtful expression.

Garazhol looked at him with a smile and did not continue to say anything. Some truths are more profound when you figure them out yourself than when you are told by others.

The steam locomotive roared, and the steel monster dragged a spectacular white plume of gas and sped through the Twilight Capital. Dense and strange building complexes sped past quickly from below and on both sides of the locomotive. Some of the windows of the high-rise buildings were pushed open, and curious children lay on the windowsills watching the speeding locomotives. This was the happiest moment of their day, and the adults of these children would not stop this somewhat dangerous act.

The steam locomotive, this rumbling noise monster, had extraordinary significance in the city. It symbolized the operation of the city, the surging power of the large boiler, and the fresh blood still flowing within the barrier. Every citizen born in the Twilight Capital knew the sacred meaning of the steam whistle. When the plume of gas spewed out of the boiler, a sense of pride and security would fill them. This psychological guidance was even a part of education—young children must learn to feel courage and pride from the steam whistle.

Because in this city protected by only a thin barrier, there was nothing else that could give people a sense of security.

"The city is divided into three parts," Wendell said as the steam locomotive crossed a huge mechanical bridge. "What we saw before belongs to the outer rim area, which is the area connected to the Dark Wilderness. Following this slope up is the Upper City, where most of the craftsmen and the Steam Council live. And below this, you can look down, the dark and gloomy depths of the city, that is the Lower City, the oldest part of Twilight Capital."

Hao Ren followed Wendell's instructions and lay on the window looking down. His sight passed through those steel beams and layers of roofs, and he saw the deepest part of the city. Twilight Capital was like a bizarre anthill piled up in the air. Newer buildings pressed on older buildings. Relying on some ingenious construction rules, this seemingly precarious structure had been steadily supported to this day. In the gaps between the city was a deep darkness. The districts that were hundreds or even thousands of years old were quietly dormant under that dark abyss, lacking change, lacking brilliance, as if forgotten by time.

But there was actually still life there. Even today, a large number of people still lived in the Lower City, the oldest cornerstone of this city: Part of the large steam furnace and pressure pipes were also buried in that abyss. Huge and rusty gears rumbled in the darkness. The first-generation large boiler, called the "Heart of Surtur," was said to be still running. The people responsible for maintaining these devices lived between those gears and pipes for generations, and had not even left those labyrinthine mechanical compartments for several generations.

They were almost evolving into another species, a new species that lurked in the darkness, lived on heat and oil, and coexisted with pipes and steam valves. Some scholars even believed that these people who maintained the large boiler for generations had undergone a transformation in the long-term process of contacting the "Spirit of Steam," and were about to become a creature called "Dvergar."

A cloud of steam came out of the dark city abyss, blocking the view from above. Hao Ren retracted his gaze, and he saw that the locomotive was slowly approaching the station in the Upper City.