A Little Embellishment on the Facts

The torrential rain washed over everything underground.

The once-thick blood was gradually cleansed by the downpour, leaving not a trace of scarlet behind.

Li Wei stood up from the ground, swaying unsteadily.

He had apparently laughed a bit too wildly just moments ago, choking on a few mouthfuls of rain, and was now coughing incessantly.

Feng Zi, however, assumed he had suffered some internal injury. With a look of anxiety, she limped over and began patting his back repeatedly.

"Stop patting! If you keep going, you'll pat my lungs right out of my body!"

Li Wei leaned on his knee with one hand and waved her off, at which point Feng Zi realized he was actually perfectly fine.

This made her heave a sigh of relief, though she also felt a bit angry that Li Wei had tricked her into showing her concern, and she felt the urge to kick him.

But before she could even lift her foot, the weakness and powerlessness from deep within her consciousness swept over her entire body, causing her to stumble and nearly collapse.

Li Wei reached out with a sturdy arm to steady her.

"Aren't you going to thank me? If you had actually fallen, you would've turned into a little mud doll."

Feng Zi didn't say thanks, nor did she scold him; she simply gripped his arm tightly, just as she had when he helped her escape from that experimental site. The two of them—one in rags, the other limping—prepared to leave this land of falsehoods.

"The Church is no longer an option. What do we do now?"

"Let's move first. The commotion was too loud; the police from other districts might arrive at any moment."

"What about them?"

Feng Zi tilted her head toward the prayer hall, which had been reduced to ruins.

Behind the broken walls and debris, Li Ming, the head of the Labor Union, was peering at them with a complex expression, looking cautious and hesitant.

Li Wei tore off his choir uniform, which was covered in mud and shredded into rags, and spoke casually.

"Kill them to silence them?"

Feng Zi pursed her lips, then finally shook her head.

"Forget it. Our identities within the Church will definitely be exposed anyway, and the fact that you possess scientific knowledge can't be hidden either. They don't know anything more than that."

Li Wei didn't care about this, of course. He was indifferent to the fate of the "NPCs" in this world, but he wasn't a wanton murderer either.

Just as the two were supporting each other and preparing to leave the Church, a hesitant voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

"...Please wait."

Li Wei raised an eyebrow. He turned his head to see Li Ming standing up from the ruins, looking at them with a hesitant expression.

"What? You want to turn us in to the Police Department for the bounty?"

Because of the Council's focus on Feng Zi, the two of them now had a sky-high bounty on their heads at the Police Department. Not to mention in Yuguang, even in Yaoguang, there were many who coveted the reward for Li Wei and Feng Zi.

Hearing his words, Li Ming shook his head hurriedly. He wiped the rainwater from his face, his weathered, farmer-like features revealing a sincere expression.

"I have no such intention, nor do I have such a duty. Just as Bishop Twilight said, the Sunlight Council has never considered the people of Yuguang as their subordinates. At best, I am merely a dog they keep, so I will not take the initiative to help them. I just wanted to say thank you to you both."

The three children he had been shielding had already fainted. Li Ming reached out with his trembling hands, took a card from the inner pocket of his coat, and held it out toward Li Wei.

"Although my status is low and I cannot be of much help, if you two ever have need, you can come to this place to find me at any time. As long as it is within my power, I will certainly do my best!"

Li Wei and Feng Zi exchanged a glance, and finally, Li Wei took the card from Li Ming's hand.

At the same time, as if remembering something, Li Wei took the two eyes he had gouged from the Bishop's face out of his pocket and handed them over solemnly.

"In that case, please do me a favor. Can you help me return these eyes to the boy named Wang Xiaole? I promised him when he died that I would help him get his eyes back."

Li Ming took the pair of eyes with both hands and promised earnestly.

"I will."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

Li Wei and Feng Zi did not linger any longer. Together, they disappeared into the vast, rainy night.

Li Ming sat slumped beside the three children, watching their retreating figures disappear. He then looked down at the two eyeballs in his palms, his inner turmoil beyond words.

He had served as the head of the Labor Union for nearly twenty years, always striving and agonizing over the social status and living conditions of the laborers.

From the beginning until now, he had been begging those high-and-mighty nobles, hoping they would grant even a shred of mercy to this lowly land of Yuguang. The appearance of a great figure like Bishop Twilight had filled him with ecstatic joy, believing that a visible future had finally arrived.

Yet, ironically, Bishop Twilight—the man who was revered and seen as the greatest hope by the laborers of Yuguang—was actually the most arrogant executioner of all, viewing laborers as nothing more than blades of grass.

And yet, Li Wei and Feng Zi, who were wanted by the Police Department, criticized by Yaoguang, and forced to hide in the shadows of Yuguang, had remembered a promise made to a lonely, dying child and had actually fulfilled such a near-impossible vow.

Li Ming did not know what had become of this world.

He sat blankly in the ruins until the police officers stationed at the Church arrived, horrified to discover the devastated scene.

The events of that night were quickly reported to Yaoguang and the Council. Tian Yuan, who had only left for a day and had managed to secure a final three-day grace period from the Council, returned to the Church the following morning.

By then, the area had been completely cordoned off, and even the surviving staff members, who knew nothing of what had transpired, were forbidden from entering.

Having learned all the information on his way there, and knowing that Li Wei and Feng Zi had been right under his nose only to slip away again with such ease, Tian Yuan stared at the Bishop's mangled corpse with a grim expression.

He turned his head to look at Li Ming, who was following behind him with a hunched back.

"Are you saying that Bishop Twilight was the mastermind behind the torture cases and the Empty Grave Case?"

Li Ming's mental state was currently abysmal; he nodded numbly.

"Yes, that is what I heard him admit with my own ears."

"And he also said that the bio-human has mastered natural science?"

This time, Tian Yuan's tone was even heavier than when he had been asking about the Bishop!

"Bishop Twilight was shouting that the bio-human had mastered physics," Li Ming said wearily.

The signs that the rules here had been altered and manipulated were impossible to hide, but although he did not understand the gravity of it, the Bishop's reaction had caused him to subconsciously omit the fact that Li Wei had later demonstrated a mastery of biological rules.

"A bio-human has been granted a key and has mastered natural science! Tian'en Company actually dares to violate the forbidden ordinances!"

Tian Yuan's face was grim; he looked somewhat terrified.

At this moment, a senior police officer cautiously approached.

"Director, there are reporters from the Yaoguang Morning Post requesting an interview. How should we announce this to the public?"

Tian Yuan pulled back his thoughts and glanced at Li Ming.

"What do you think?"

Li Ming shook his head; he knew that even if he offered an opinion, it would be of no use.

After asking the question offhandedly, Tian Yuan did not expect any real answer from Li Ming, so he said in a deep voice.

"We must not let this incident damage the Church's image among the laborers, otherwise it will inevitably affect production in the Barrier Field District! For the sake of the big picture, we must embellish the facts slightly."