Northwest of Neverwinter City, deep within the Misty Forest.

Sheya felt that the past month and a half since joining the railway construction team had been the most incredible time of his life.

No... he thought, using "most" might not be entirely accurate, because every so often, he would see something unbelievable—as if he had never truly known Neverwinter City.

Sheya finally understood why the workers who came here had to sign a confidentiality agreement.

The agreement required them not to spread the word about the strange phenomena they witnessed, whether orally or in writing, as it was a crime against the kingdom's laws, punishable by fines and confiscation of proceeds, or even assignment to the North Slope mines for forced labor. The agreement also emphasized that those unwilling to comply could leave the construction team, but should not harbor any illusions, as the Kingdom Security Bureau was responsible for inspections, and no one could escape the omnipresent law.

Sheya had once dismissed this, thinking that written records could be caught, but how could oral accounts be caught without exception? If every report led to an arrest, the project would be impossible to implement. But now, he had a completely different view. The secrets hidden within Neverwinter City under His Majesty's rule might far exceed his imagination, and in places unseen by most, there might be surging, astonishing power.

What impressed him the most were the witches.

Bai Zhi was also a witch, but in his eyes, she had always been someone to be protected. When the church preached that witches were evil beings who had inherited the power of devils, he didn't take it to heart. If they were so powerful, why were they hunted by the church everywhere, and why didn't they dare to show their faces usually?

But this idea was shattered by a witch named Yezi.

Sheya had never imagined that someone could control an entire forest with their own power.

The area the construction team entered didn't seem like the Misty Forest, but the belly of a savage beast—this was especially evident when laying the railway. Vines formed continuous ropes on the roadbed, and each steel rail was wrapped and dragged forward, before being lowered to the ground at the designated location, like fruit produced by vines. Wherever the railway was built, the trees on both sides would automatically separate, saving the effort of felling them. At the same time, the surrounding canopy would grow particularly dense, completely遮蔽 the sky, so as not to attract the attention of devils.

In addition, the forest could actively attack the beasts that approached the construction team. If one day they were given a bowl of fresh meat soup, it must be because some oblivious beast had trespassed into Yezi's territory.

Sheya had been fortunate enough to see her once, but he couldn't be sure if Yezi was still human. Her whole body had an unusual green color, looking like a gemstone from afar. And her movements seemed to lack substance, allowing her to move freely among the branches.

If it had been him in the past, he would have screamed in fright—such ghostly movements and bizarre appearance, it's no wonder people slandered them as devil's claws. At the time, his only thought was: it's good that Bai Zhi isn't like this.

But Sheya didn't hate her at all, and even felt sincere respect. Because His Majesty had said at the award ceremony that the reason he could ensure everyone in Neverwinter City had enough to eat was thanks to the help of the witch Yezi. Everyone who had been freed from hunger and hardship was a beneficiary of her abilities, and based on this achievement alone, Yezi should be remembered forever.

Sheya was naturally one of the beneficiaries.

Aside from the witches, another discovery was probably his personal secret.

It happened after the First Army entered the Misty Forest.

Ever since Neverwinter City was attacked by devils, calls for a counterattack had grown louder and louder. Even in the wilderness, the workers were discussing this issue, and he wasn't surprised by the arrival of this day.

Large numbers of soldiers were heading to the front lines every day, and it was clear that His Majesty the King was serious. Unlike the knights' departures he had seen before, most of the soldiers going on the expedition were familiar faces from the neighborhood—either familiar with this person or that person, so whenever an army passed by, the workers would line the streets to welcome them, creating a lively scene. He had originally thought that building the railway far from the border would be a cold and dangerous chore, but it turned out to be completely different.

And Sheya didn't have much of a social circle in this regard, so instead of squeezing in to join the fun, he preferred to go alone to look at the train, and even climb up to touch it when it stopped.

But his encounter two weeks ago was truly terrifying.

It was a locomotive pulling six carriages, parked on the section he was involved in building, which was also the latest section of the railway to be completed. The open flatcars were stacked with two large objects, one of which was over twenty meters long, covered with a layer of tarpaulin, making it impossible to see what they were.

This was originally normal. If the cargo being transported was not related to the construction team, then it must be military supplies, and he had no intention of finding out. But that day, Sheya happened to have a stomachache, and when he ran out of the tent in the middle of the night to find a place to relieve himself, he was shocked to see the tarpaulin wriggling!

After several warriors, dressed distinctly differently from the First Army soldiers, untied the ropes securing the tarpaulin, a stout, soft monster crawled out from inside! But what was even more shocking was that the monster actually spoke, and its voice was quite pleasant! The first sentence was, "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

In that instant, Sheya felt a chill down his spine, and he almost imagined the warriors' cold reply: "Ah, yes. This entire camp of workers is food, feel free to eat."

But that didn't happen. The warriors embraced it affectionately, and then moved out ham, vegetables, and bread from the last carriage... all packed in wooden barrels as tall as a person. The two worms devoured the food, and then disappeared into the depths of the forest with the warriors.

Sheya didn't dare to breathe, hiding behind a tree until the footsteps faded away. By the time he confirmed that they had left, his pants were soaked...

Not two days later, a strange station appeared next to the tracks—a building made of cement and brick, formed into an arched gate, inside which was a bottomless cave. Although workers were going in and out, no one knew where it led. Several steam engines were also set up on both sides of the cave, constantly blowing air into it, giving off a strange feeling no matter how you looked at it.

He kept this matter firmly in his heart as well.

Sheya originally thought that he would be afraid and want to quit the railway construction team, but he recovered his mindset faster than he imagined—this is what you call an exciting life! This is the true face of Neverwinter City!

During the period of saying goodbye to his partners and first arriving in the forest, he always felt like a rootless duckweed, especially when his workmates received letters from their families and excitedly shared them with him. But gradually, he was attracted to various new events, such as the perfectly connected smooth tracks, the wonderful singing of the forest, the elusive giant sand wolves that were not attacked by Yezi, and the man who always came to this place on specific days to talk to himself, etc...

This made him feel that he was gradually approaching the unknown side of Neverwinter City, and gradually integrating into the city.

Sheya wanted to remember all of this in his heart, waiting for the day when he could tell his friends—there was no better evidence to prove that he was an old city resident than understanding a city, even if he didn't have so many familiar neighbors, no one could deny this point.

The confidentiality agreement only lasts for five years.

He looked forward to that day.