A Little Embellishment of the Facts

Torrential rain swept over everything underground.

The once-thick blood was gradually washed away by the downpour, leaving no trace of red.

Li Wei staggered to his feet.

He'd apparently laughed a little too wildly just now and had choked on a few mouthfuls of rainwater. He kept coughing.

Feng Zi, however, thought he'd suffered some kind of internal injury. Looking anxious, she limped over and patted his back again and again.

"Stop patting me! Keep this up and you'll pound my lungs right out!"

Bracing one hand on his knee, Li Wei waved her off. Only then did Feng Zi realize he was perfectly fine.

Relieved, she also felt a little annoyed that Li Wei had tricked her into worrying about him. She wanted to kick him a couple of times.

But before she could even raise her foot, the weakness and helplessness deep in her consciousness swept through her again. She staggered, and just as she was about to fall,

Li Wei caught her with his sturdy arm.

"You should be thanking me. If you really fell, you'd turn into a little mud figurine."

Feng Zi didn't thank him or curse him. She simply grabbed his arm tightly, just as she had when he helped her escape that laboratory. One was dressed in rags, the other limping, and together they prepared to leave this false land.

"We can't count on the Church. What do we do now?"

"Let's go first. That was a lot of noise. The police from somewhere else might show up soon."

"What about them?"

Feng Zi tilted her head toward the Prayer Hall, now reduced to ruins.

Beyond the rubble, Labor Union chairman Li Ming watched them with a complicated expression, cautious and hesitant.

"Kill him to keep him quiet?"

Feng Zi pursed her lips, then shook her head.

"Let's not. They'll find out who we are in the Church sooner or later, and there's no way to hide that you know science. They don't know anything else, anyway."

Li Wei didn't mind either way. He didn't care whether the "NPCs" in this world lived or died, but that didn't mean he was a wanton killer.

As the two supported each other and prepared to leave the Church, a hesitant voice suddenly rang out behind them.

"...Please wait."

Li Wei raised an eyebrow and turned around. Li Ming had climbed to his feet amid the ruins, looking at them with an uncertain expression.

"What? Are you going to turn us in to the Police Department for the reward?"

Because of the Council's interest in Feng Zi, the two of them now had astronomical bounties on their heads. Plenty of people coveted the rewards for Li Wei and Feng Zi—not just in Yuguang, but even in Yaoguang.

Hearing that, Li Ming quickly shook his head. He wiped the rain from his face, his weathered features, as rough as a farmer's, taking on a sincere expression.

"That's not what I mean, and it's not my duty. Like Bishop Twilight said, the Sunlight Council has never treated the people of Yuguang as their subordinates. At best, I'm one of the dogs they keep, so I won't go out of my way to help them. I only wanted to thank you."

The three children he'd been protecting had passed out. With a hand that still trembled, Li Ming reached into the inner pocket of his clothes and pulled out a card, offering it to Li Wei.

"I may be insignificant and unable to help much, but if either of you needs anything, you can come find me here anytime. If it's within my power, I'll do everything I can!"

Li Wei and Feng Zi exchanged a glance, then he took the card from Li Ming.

As if remembering something, Li Wei also reached into his pocket and pulled out the two eyeballs he had pried from the Bishop's face. He handed them to Li Ming with solemn care.

"Then could you do me a favor? Can you return these eyes to the boy named Wang Xiaole? I promised him when he died that I'd find them for him."

Li Ming took the pair of eyes in both hands and solemnly agreed.

"I will."

"Thanks. Goodbye."

Li Wei and Feng Zi didn't linger. Together, they disappeared into the vast rainy night.

Li Ming sank down beside the three children and watched them vanish. Then he lowered his eyes to the two eyeballs in his palms, unable to put his complicated feelings into words.

For nearly twenty years, he had been the Labor Union chairman, tirelessly striving to improve workers' social standing and living conditions.

From the beginning until now, he had kept pleading with the nobles high above, hoping they would show even a little compassion for this lowly land of Yuguang. When a great man like Bishop Twilight appeared, he had been overjoyed, believing at last that a future he could see was within reach.

Yet the ridiculous truth was that Bishop Twilight, revered by Yuguang's workers as their greatest hope, was the one standing highest above them, a butcher who treated workers like weeds.

Meanwhile, Li Wei and Feng Zi, hunted by the Police Department, condemned by Yaoguang, and forced to hide across Yuguang, had still remembered a promise to a child who had died alone—and truly fulfilled that nearly impossible vow.

Li Ming didn't know what had become of the world.

He sat there dazed among the ruins until the officers who had remained at the Church arrived and stared in horror at the devastation.

Word of that night's events was quickly reported to Yaoguang and the Council. Tian Yuan, who had left only a day earlier after securing a final three-day extension from the Council, returned to the Church the following morning.

By then, the place had been completely sealed off. Even the surviving Church personnel, who had no idea what had happened, were barred from entering.

He had learned everything on the way there. He also knew that Li Wei and Feng Zi had been right under his nose before slipping away so calmly once more. Tian Yuan stared at the Bishop's twisted corpse, his expression grim.

He turned to Li Ming, who was following behind him with his back bent.

"You're saying Bishop Twilight was responsible for the murder case and the Empty Grave Case?"

Li Ming was in a terrible state of mind. He nodded numbly.

"Yes. I heard him admit it himself."

"He also said that the biological human had mastered natural science?"

This time, Tian Yuan's voice was even more emphatic than when he had asked about the Bishop!

"Bishop Twilight shouted that the biological human had mastered physics," Li Ming said wearily.

There was no hiding the signs that the rules here had been changed and manipulated. But although Li Ming didn't understand the implications, the Bishop's reaction had instinctively stopped him from mentioning that Li Wei had later shown mastery of the rules of biology as well.

"The biological human was given the key and mastered natural science! Tian'en Company actually dared to violate the prohibition!"

Tian Yuan's face darkened. He looked somewhat frightened.

Just then, a senior officer cautiously approached.

"Director, a reporter from the Yaoguang Morning Post wants an interview. How should we announce this to the public?"

Tian Yuan came back to himself and glanced at Li Ming.

"What do you think?"

Li Ming shook his head. He knew that even if he offered an opinion, it wouldn't make any difference.

Tian Yuan had only asked casually and hadn't expected Li Ming to have an answer. He said in a low voice,

"We absolutely cannot let this damage the Church's image among the workers. Otherwise, production in the Barrier Field District will inevitably suffer! For the greater good, we need to embellish the facts a little."