Night Watcher branch.
By the time Klaus hurried back, the entrance to the branch was already packed with people—residents of Bronze City.
Several thousand people clogged the branch's gates and the open spaces on either side, forming a vast, dark mass that stretched from the entrance all the way to the bend in the street.
Most of them had been gathered in from every direction across the Outer City.
Klaus had previously ordered the residents to gather around the branch. They had gathered, but with so many people crammed together—hungry, frightened, freezing, and trapped in the White Mist—the scene had descended into complete chaos.
The crowd was filled with crying, children's noise, and adults' hushed whispers.
Some trembled uncontrollably. Some crouched on the ground with hollow eyes, clearly unable to accept the sight of their own people dying before them.
Some clutched weapons handed out by the branch, but most still held iron rods, kitchen knives, and similar makeshift weapons.
Klaus emerged from the White Mist, with Blue Knight and Lu Yuan following behind him.
When the crowd saw him, the noise dipped slightly, only to rise again almost immediately. Some shouted his name, while others asked what they should do. Their voices piled atop one another until nothing could be heard clearly.
Klaus did not stop. He passed through the crowd, strode up the steps before the branch's main entrance, and turned around.
Blue Knight stood to one side of the steps, her expression calm.
Lu Yuan stood on the other side, staring at the dense mass of people before him. It felt as though something had lodged in his chest.
He recognized some faces.
There was the owner of that bakery. Lu Yuan had bought bread from him a few times before. It had not tasted particularly good,