Border Purgatory roared.
Amid the echoing loud explosions, the colossal facility operated. Across the endless steel plain, massive machines towering like mountains rumbled into motion.
Rivers of molten steel flowed without cease, while the sounds of hammering and forging rang endlessly. Countless mechanical tools moved through it all, tireless as an ant colony.
As the temperature gradually rose, the pungent air had become saturated with every kind of toxin. The noise never ceased, and the vibrations never stopped.
The entire outermost layer of Border Purgatory had completely become a hopeless place unfit for ordinary people to live in.
Yet within the paradise at the deepest part of Border Purgatory—
Within a dream inside a dream, sunlight shone warmly, and the years were peaceful.
People came and went in the plaza outside. After the great battle, with rewards being distributed and limited skins and equipment up for grabs, no one knew how many people had changed into new gear and appearances, coming to the public space to show them off, barking twice now and then in sheer delight.
A small window divided the public space from the private room.
The lively clamor from outside drifted faintly in under the guidance, keeping the quiet little room from feeling too lonely or stifling.
The flowers in the vase looked as though they had just been picked, giving off a faint fragrance amid their delicate beauty. Flower after flower reflected the sunlight, casting faint rainbows across the walls.
"Big brother, big brother, flowers, flowers, pretty."
Amid the bouquets, inside a box padded with soft velvet, a childish face smiled foolishly and repeated again and again, "Flowers, flowers, flowers."
"Yes, they're pretty."
Yan Fei nodded, his voice unbelievably gentle.
He lightly pinched the cheek, carefully, as though touching a phantom. Then he turned another page