Re-entering

Gilan had been arranged by Randolph to hide in the warehouse on the left. It was not actually very large, only about fifty or sixty square meters.

It was walled in on all sides, with a row of sealed glass windows high up and only the iron door behind him serving as an entrance or exit.

Daylight streamed through the windows like pillars of light, and dust motes could vaguely be seen floating in the air.

Everywhere he looked was piled with clutter. Books, paintings, sculptures, vinyl records, tapes, gramophones, and other artworks covered in white cloth lay along the walls, in the corners, and even across the warehouse floor.

Only then did an important memory pop into Gilan's mind.

Starting ten years ago, the Bremen Empire had not only enacted harsh criminal laws like Prohibition, but also successively issued the Art Decree and the Blasphemy Decree. The Art Decree classified all artworks as contraband, to be confiscated and burned by the authorities. Creators and those caught privately hoarding them would both be purged—the former sentenced to death, the latter imprisoned for over a hundred years. It was extremely severe.

As for the Blasphemy Decree, within the Empire, apart from orthodox beliefs and doctrines, all other teachings and religious activities were forbidden. Even printing related books and pamphlets carried a sentence of more than fifty years in prison. In serious cases, it was also punishable by death.

Gilan frowned as he looked at the warehouse full of "contraband."

The Oak Gang did not merely deal in bootleg liquor. They had stockpiled so much contraband as well, and their motives were highly suspicious.

Perhaps the more forbidden something was, the greater the profits it could bring.

Gilan shook his head, feeling that the Oak Gang would be finished sooner or later.

He stepped forward, pulled off a white sheet, and moved out the projector he had spotted at first glance.

The projector seemed to have been left unused for quite some time. A thick layer of dust covered its surface, and a few cobwebs clung to it.

Gilan directly used the white sheet as a rag and wiped down the projector.

He then searched the warehouse again and found several reels of film, along with two soap-sized square "batteries."

Gilan first examined the "battery" in his hand. Its ends were metallic, with a recessed socket on top. A ring around its middle had been painted blue, bearing the words "Macmillan Energy Company—A1 Model Whale Oil Battery."

From the original owner's memories, this sort of battery was a new product that had only appeared in recent years. It was said to be a technological creation developed by the Machinery Union in Muse City, the Empire's capital. Not only could it power most daily necessities and electrical appliances, its battery life was astonishing.

It was not exactly affordable, though. One Whale Oil Battery cost 12 Pfennig and 5 Melang, equivalent to more than half a month's food expenses for a working-class family.

Is this some kind of black technology?

Gilan marveled in surprise. Even Earth in his previous life had never had anything like it.

He plugged the projector's power connector into the Whale Oil Battery, fiddled with it for a while, and successfully started it. Then he loaded in one of the reels he had found, a film titled A Midsummer Night's Dream, and began playing it.

Because the light was too bright and the wall was white, the image projected onto it was unclear.

Gilan watched casually for a moment. The film's plot was very similar to the story he remembered, likewise a wondrous comedy about several pairs of lovers who, through the intervention of the Spirit King Oberon, finally found happiness together.

However, the film had a low frame rate, blurry picture quality, stiff acting, and crude costumes and Set Design. Having grown used to blockbuster films of the new era, Gilan found it jarringly hard to watch.

Click.

He stopped the projector and removed the reel.

It seems this is just an ordinary film reel. Only the Mysterious Film seized from the police station can let me enter it.

This test confirmed it for Gilan.

He took a deep breath and raised his hand.

A flash of iridescent color passed through his eyes, and the black film reel titled Moon-Scorched Village appeared in his hand out of thin air, wrapped in color.

Gilan loaded it into the projector, but this time it could not play normally.

The projector's shuttle turned once, then stopped working.

Hm?

Gilan frowned.

He immediately thought of something, opened his handbag, and took out the Silver Cube.

I remember that epidemic prevention officer stuffing this thing beneath the projector.

Gilan thought to himself.

He tried unplugging the projector's power connector and inserting it into the Silver Cube instead.

Click.

This time, the projector finally began operating normally.

It works!

Gilan's brows rose.

After taking a deep breath, he sat down on the floor and fixed his eyes on the wall.

A train was slowly entering a forest.

That muddled sensation came over Gilan again, and his vision blurred.

He closed his eyes. The next moment, a cool breeze hit his face, his body trembled, and the clattering of wheels filled his ears.

When he opened his eyes, a high-class first-class carriage came into view.

I'm in.

Gilan thought.

He looked ahead, then his expression suddenly froze.

Eleven men and women in different outfits were seated on the leather benches lining both sides of the carriage.

There were seven men and four women. They were all occupied with their own affairs—reading, eating, fiddling with cameras, staring blankly into space, or gazing listlessly at the scenery outside the windows.

After observing them for a while, Gilan formed a guess.

These eleven people should be the original characters in the film. When they first entered, the eleven death-row prisoners replaced them, allowing the film to continue unfolding.

Whooo—

The train suddenly sounded its whistle.

Hearing it, Gilan thought to himself, It's begun.

The train gradually slowed until it abruptly stopped in the forest.

Thick fog enveloped the train, limiting visibility.

"Hmm? What's going on?" An old man with white hair, dressed in a black suit and a black upturned-brim hat, frowned as he leaned on a sandalwood cane. "Why did the train suddenly stop?"

"I'll go ask the conductor up front."

Another woman, a redhead who looked like a student, rose to her feet and strode toward the front carriage.

Most of the other passengers looked confused as they peered outside.

"Hello, sir. May I sit here?"

At that moment, a sweet voice sounded beside Gilan's ear, drawing his attention.

Gilan turned and saw a black-haired girl with twin ponytails standing beside his bench. She was petite, around 1.6 meters tall, and wore a long white dress. In her arms was a thick book, whose cover read monster Anatomy and Ancient Shiru Folklore.

"Of course. Please, have a seat."

Gilan was somewhat surprised, but he nodded to indicate his consent.

"Thank you." The girl smiled sweetly and politely lifted her skirt in a curtsy before sitting down beside Gilan with the book in her arms. She gave him a curious look, then said, "Sir, you're rather strange."

"Hmm?"

Gilan looked at the girl, puzzled.

The black-haired, twin-tailed girl smiled and raised an index finger, pointing at the others in the carriage before pointing at Gilan.

"No matter how the other passengers try to hide it, they all show confusion, nervousness, and unease in their expressions or body language. But you don't, sir. On the contrary, you make me feel as though you're quite relaxed... even looking forward to this."

Her brown eyes stared straight at Gilan, the corners of her lips curling upward.

"As though you know what's happening, so you aren't worried at all."

Hearing the girl's analysis, Gilan felt a chill run through his heart.

Of course he knew how the story would unfold, which was why he had acted so nonchalantly. But he had not expected the characters in this film to be so real, even capable of analyzing the details of his expressions.

"Maive Matilier, a folklorist from the south. I'm planning to study in Peel City."

The girl extended her hand and introduced herself.