Thief Cries Thief

Echo Town, outside the police station in the immigrant settlement. 2489.8.28, 9:00 AM.

Leaving aside humanity's instinctive reverie about the blue sky, the pure orange-gray sky of Ma Sara possesses a unique, psychedelic beauty reminiscent of an alien world: deserts, red Thornwood, dust oceans, canyons, dried-up riverbeds piled with ginger-yellow sediments, lush fields between large irrigation machines and underground canals, and rugged towns nestled within them.

The architectural style of Echo Town is quite different from the limestone and marble buildings on the equally desolate planet Mainhof in Kemorian. He rarely sees a standard modular building in the town, and the bizarre and illegal buildings constantly remind Augustus of his lack of even the most basic understanding of the heights that human architectural art can reach.

Outside the low, two-story courtyard-style building of the immigration police station stands a crooked round tower, as if someone had randomly stacked a dozen or so discs together. Whenever the wind picks up, this oddly shaped tower makes a trembling sound as its steel frame vibrates, making one wonder when it might collapse.

The quaint little house with white walls and gray tiles is a post office for delivering paper letters and express mail, while several capsule hotels with chimney-like spires pierce the sky.

A few hundred yards from where Augustus was standing was a local bar that was bathed in a purple and pink glow even in daylight, looking like a cut-open starfish. Above the bar was a huge Holographic Projection of a seductive and sexy pink-haired woman wearing Confederacy X-Star style bra, with only a one-inch-wide silk rope binding her lower body.

As Augustus jumped down from his Vulture van, the men from the other Vulture behind him also got off and stood behind him. This time, Augustus no longer paraded through the city with dozens of the Revolutionary Army soldiers; he was followed only by Raynor, Tychus, Faraday, and Mira Khan, a new recruit from the Revolutionary Army Revolutionary Army recruit training camp who had just been transferred to the Guards Company.

Currently, Augustus has officers and political commissars managing the three mines in Ma Sara. The Revolutionary Army also has a think tank composed of staff officers and advisors to Umojan, as well as a group of officers of lieutenant rank. Therefore, he doesn't need to put so much pressure on himself and can stay in his office all day dealing with documents.

Pushing open the old-fashioned hinged composite wooden door of the Echo Town Police Department, Augustus immediately saw dozens of wanted posters nailed to the wall, some even marked with red ink crosses.

Unsurprisingly, the arrest warrants for Augustus and his father Angus were placed in the most prominent position, with police officers graffiti-like slogans calling them scum, traitors, and instigators of riots.

However, Augustus's wanted posters now depicted him in a completely different way, making it difficult for others to connect his image in the military camp with that of the now bearded middle-aged man.

Inside the police station, several officers were sitting behind their desks, all wearing khaki uniforms and hats that resembled cowboy hats, adorned with badges featuring eagles and five-pointed stars.

"If you want to report a crime, please follow the standard procedure. First, report it to our operator, and then let the AI handle it. If you're here to cause trouble, then we can kill you right now." A police officer with short, sandy-blonde hair walked towards Augustus, his face, scarred in several places, showing no smile.

This was Augustus's first day at work. Although the immigration police department must have been informed of Augustus's Augustus arrival and had obtained his photo, it seemed that the officer did not recognize the new sheriff.

However, Augustus certainly didn't seem to be there to take up his post. The man following him, Tychus, looked menacing and like a fugitive with several murders on his hands.

"I am the newly appointed Sheriff Caesar, and this is my police ID and badge." Augustus not going to get angry over such a thing; he simply took out his documents and handed them to the other person.

Augustus's circular police badge featured a gold-bronze five-pointed star in the center, with the neat English letters engraved around the edge: Confederacy Magistrate - Ma Sara.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, Magistrate. Sheriff McAllen is in the inner office," the blond-haired officer Augustus.

"What's your name, young man?" Augustus walked past him.

"Chris Chris Elder." The officer looked into Augustus' eyes without flinching.

"Your future holds limitless possibilities, Mr. Reese. As long as you work hard and are diligent, you will eventually get the chance to become a police officer." Augustus patted him on the shoulder, then looked at Raynor and the others behind him.

Augustus wasn't just putting on an act; in fact, he said this to almost every Revolutionary Army he could speak to—it had become a conditioned reflex.

"These are some of the new officers I've recruited. Time is of the essence; they started looking for replacements even before I officially took office. Some of them are my former subordinates from when I was a Magistrate."

Then, as Augustus led Raynor and the others past Officer Reese, they all greeted the officer who was standing ramrod straight.

"Is today your lucky day? You hairless little bastard." Tychus shoved the officer aside with his shoulder, sending him staggering backward. Apart from recruit Mira Han, everyone else had undergone facial modifications using nanomasks, their skin becoming darker, with more scars, and even their facial bone structure being altered.

But no matter how they were adjusted, their faces invariably became more ferocious.

"That guy's a jerk, just ignore him." Raynor smiled, beaming with pride.

Raynor has been in a pretty good mood these past few days. After meeting Liddy Elizabeth at the Jennin Bar, he first won her friendship with a free lemonade, and then casually mentioned some insignificant "little things" about his time in the Confederacy Army.

Even with the nano-mask disguise, Raynor's face is closer to his future self ten years from now, and any Mar-a- Sara girl of that age would likely like Raynor's humorous conversation and his resolute expression. Unsurprisingly, Liddy is attracted to Raynor —while Augustus and the others are worried about how to stop his father, who might burst in at any moment.

Predictably, Raynor will win Elizabeth's favor with just a little time. And based on Augustus's understanding of Raynor, he is probably a devoted man.

"You've angered Mar- Sara's big bad wolf, you're in big trouble." Mira Han wore a multi-pocketed vest, her pink hair was styled with sunglasses to shield her from Mar- Sara's glaring sunlight, and her beautiful eyes kept darting around.

"Our commander never bothers with such trivial matters." Faraday's expression was unusually serious. "The man who just walked past you is a great man who will usher in a new era. He is Giant thousands of feet tall, whose vision extends infinitely far beyond our reach. He wouldn't care about a pebble like you."

Officer Reese was bewildered, watching his newly arrived superior lead that strange group of subordinates into the police station's inner office. Even with his hair all messed up, he couldn't figure it out.

When Augustus entered the inner office, Sheriff McAllen was dozing, his cheek resting on his hand, the skin of his plump, ruddy face peeking out from between his fingers. Our esteemed sheriff must have been engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy in his dream; his brow was furrowed, and he was completely unaware of the commotion at the door.

"Cough cough." Augustus coughed, but Sheriff McAllen remained unconscious.

Seeing this, Tychus calmly lit a cheap cigar in his office, then walked up to McAllen and lit the burning cigarette butt on his forehead, which was covered with layers of fat.

"Aww!"

Sheriff McAllen immediately jumped up, his light blue eyes widening, his fierce gaze like that of an enraged lion.

"Who?" he roared, his voice no less powerful than that of a lion as large as his own. "You, you bastard born of a bitch mother, I'm going to lock you up in Indio Prison!"

"Give our sheriff a pep talk." Before Tychus could get angry, Augustus looked at Raynor beside him, who immediately pulled out his Colt revolver and pressed it against Sheriff McAllen's head.

"How did you scoundrels get in here! No matter how you threaten me, you won't get even a safe's combination from me." McAllen immediately realized his predicament. He finally came to his senses and began to identify Augustus's appearance, comparing him with the faces of the wanted criminals he knew by heart.

"Are you the new Magistrate?" The sheriff's attitude immediately changed 180 degrees. "I'm Sheriff McAllen."

"This was my oversight. Last night I received a report that robbers were going to attack the town's bank, so I kept watch there all night." His greasy face revealed his signature smile typical of officials.

"I misunderstood you." Augustus tossed the holster containing his two revolvers onto Sheriff McAllen's desk, without questioning whether it was true. "Sit."

Please sit down.

Sheriff McAllen is almost fifty years old and has six or seven years left before retirement. He is very senior, having joined the Confederacy police force around the same time as Hilo's oldest Magistrate. If nothing unexpected had happened, McAllen Augustus Eda, who had no other options, would have made the town's only sheriff take over as Magistrate.

"Please sit down." McAllen offered his seat. He was no weak and incompetent sheriff who swaggered around in a small town. Although the photo of him in his youth on the wall was hardly dashing, he still had a strong and capable physique.

However, obesity is quite common among police officers in the Terran Confederacy, especially among sheriffs like McAllen who are gradually retiring due to age.

"No, I have my own office." Augustus waved his hand. He had already learned about McAllen from Judge Eda. In his youth, McAllen was a tough guy who hated evil, but as he approached retirement age, the scars he had accumulated in his youth forced him to step down.

Sheriff McAllen, known for his aversion to criminals and foul language, eventually succumbed to the temptations of donuts, sodas, and other carbohydrates that rapidly altered his physique, becoming increasingly obese after relaxing.

"Of course," Sheriff McAllen said with a smile. "This is your territory now, and the former Magistrate's office is right next door."

"He's somewhat sensible." At that moment, Tychus whispered to Raynor in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Otherwise, I would have made him regret ever being born."

"You're right," Raynor agreed.

Only then did McAllen turn his attention to Raynor and the others behind Augustus. His eyes, though no longer as sharp as before, still discerned that Tychus and Raynor were no good people. Mira Han, who was idly chewing gum and blowing bubbles, was just a delinquent. As for Faraday—his attire and aura were too ordinary; he looked like an average, unremarkable young man.

"They are my newly recruited officers, and I'll need you to help them with their onboarding process."

"Further words are pointless. I just want to remind you that from now on, there is only one person in the Echo Town Police Department who keeps their word, and that is me." Augustus dusted himself off.

"I don't want a respected sheriff to have to retire early to preserve his reputation," Augustus sighed heavily, then changed the subject.

"This area needs to be rectified."

"Yes, the officers' professionalism definitely needs improvement." Sheriff McAllen realized that his subordinates might have also left a bad impression on the newly appointed Magistrate: "But they are all young, they can still learn."

"That's not what I meant," Augustus. "I think there are still too few police officers here."

"We need to hire more people," he concluded decisively.

"Hmm—there are still sixty-nine openings, and we're also short-staffed hangar managers." McAllen asked, "How many people do you plan to recruit?"

"Recruit two hundred people first," Augustus, making a startling statement.

"That's impossible." McAllen immediately realized this and reminded Augustus that he was dreaming, "We can't afford that many salaries."

"Besides, this isn't your first time in this line of work, a government employee, especially in a small place like Mar- Sara that's practically forgotten by Tarsonis. We all know the Confederacy is the biggest and most vicious vampire in the entire Terran Confederacy. They might be able to put me in jail for these words, but the government is just insanely stingy, beyond redemption."

"They don't usually delay paying salaries, but they always pay very little, and it's been getting less and less over the years."

"In Mar- Sara, only those blinded by a sense of justice become police officers, because the pay is less than that of a factory worker, yet they risk getting shot in the head."

"Even if we had that much money, we still couldn't recruit anyone." McAllen was telling the truth.

"You don't need to worry about that. How many sets of Power Armor are in the armory?" Augustus.

"Twenty-two CMC-200s," McAllen said. "And these are the junk that were discarded from the military and given to the local police."

"You don't need to worry about that." Augustus shook his head again. In a few days, he would be able to openly lead a company of the Revolutionary Army across the land of Mar- Sara.

"We don't need that many people. Echo Town is just a small town," McAllen said, puzzled.

"Rebels!" Augustus declared righteously. "Remote colonies like Mar- Sara are precisely where rebels are most likely to hide."

"To deal with these rebels, we must strengthen our local defenses."

"I also need to know if there are any tough nuts to crack around here, or if that's the lair of some local tyrant. The Pegasus Brotherhood without saying." Then, Augustus to remember something and asked.

"There is one," McAllen replied after a moment's thought.

"There is a desert canyon known as the forbidden zone of death, and it is also the only way for many people to travel between the capital region and the Hilo region. It is also the place with the most criminals. We call that canyon the Purgatory Corridor."

"According to people from other police stations, there is a special rare crystal mine underground there. The electrical pulses released by the crystal mine disrupt the magnetic field and electrical pulse signals, making it almost impossible to communicate with the outside world, and making it the best place for criminals to hide."

"Can we be sure that the source of the disturbance is definitely from the rare crystal mine?" Augustus only asked casually, but now he was completely focused.

"I don't know." Sheriff McAllen was stumped.

"What else could it be?"

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