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The city twisted in the light, like a rotten liquid flowing out of a bright and beautiful outer packaging. The originally clean city was covered with dust, as if it had experienced a thousand years in an instant.

The neat bricks were shaking and were in danger of falling from the sky at any time. After taking off the crystal accessories, the subject woke up from the sweet trance.

Ham's face slightly changed when he saw this, but he finally said, "Give the crystal back to me. I know the secret of this city and how to get out of here."

"【The king is worthy of respect. He will lead the knights to protect you. Master Ham is the king's envoy. You can ask him any questions.】"

The boy's eyes reflected a faint light, like a bonfire burning in the middle of the night. Mason reached out and took the brooch from his companion and shook it at Ham.

"That's what the rules say, but it doesn't say you have to answer."

The hotel rules show that this is not the first time the waiter has gone crazy, and the square rules show that there will be travelers without crystals at night. This means that there are dangers in this city, so there is a protector like the king.

The rules are generally to help the audience. Ham is most likely an outsider like Mason, and all intelligence must be obtained from him. [Any questions can be asked to him] proves that Ham knows the truth here, and the difficulty lies in how to pry open the other party's mouth.

Ham frowned. "I thought you were wondering what it was. I'm willing to answer all your questions. Is that all right?"

"Really?"

The boy tilted his head and said lightly, "The rules are correct. The problem lies in the honorific here. If I'm not mistaken, only Ham who is recognized as a citizen of the city is the "Master Ham". So as long as we don't return the brooch to you, you are still prey. The one in trouble now is not us, but you."

A cold breath spread in the air. As they talked, the whole city was constantly changing. The originally friendly residents showed their blue-gray faces and stared at the outsiders.

The holy chanting turned into a sharp roar. The king standing in front of the door raised his head slightly, and a frightening cold light flashed in his eyes. He wore an exquisite and luxurious crown, and underneath it was a rotten head. The knights behind him were covered in wounds and murderous.

The knights raised the broken spears in their hands and the pistols at their waists. As they moved, all the souls in the square roared in unison, and the strong cold air invaded the souls, almost freezing their bodies.

Ham hurriedly said, "Give me the crystal quickly. If I die, you will never know these things again!"

"Really? Rule 4 of the Square says, "If anything happens in the city, don't worry, everything will be fine after daybreak."

The boy played with the crystal brooch slowly, and smiled with his sharp fangs: "Even if you die today, we will still meet tomorrow, right?"

“.....”

Ham's expression changed. The boy got the answer from his silence and raised his eyebrows in a rather amused way. Oreius also smiled and said, "Since I can deal with the waiter, I can also deal with these things. At least we will definitely die after you."

The two men sang the same tune, which made Ham's face turn livid. He had no doubt that the other party would do this, just as he said, this city would never have to worry about deaths that happened at night.

After a while, the middle-aged man said, "As long as you return the crystal to me, I will answer all your questions and take you into the palace. The way out is inside the palace. Is that all right?"

"You'd better keep your word."

The red-haired young man snorted, his tone threatening. Ham glared at him fiercely and took the brooch from Mason.

Mason stopped while he was ahead and put the pendant back on. As he put on the pendant, the scenery in front of him suddenly returned to normal. The vengeful spirits withdrew their hands stiffly, and stood still one by one. Their grayish-grey skin returned to its original transparency, and they began to listen to the king's preaching again.

Rather than becoming an enemy after taking off the crystal, it is more like seeing the reality of the night after taking off the crystal. Mason thought thoughtfully about his encounter with the old knight. The residents of Nail Town in the black fog are normal during the day, but they turn into monsters at night, very similar to the citizens in the Lost Kingdom.

The difference is that the [Lost Kingdom] has crystals. This thing curbed the rampage of the citizens. Mason took a quick glance and the king and the knights also returned to normal.

Ham returned to the king's side and whispered to him after the prayer. The king looked at Mason and the other two and said, "It turns out that new warriors have come to my country. Please forgive my negligence. I would like to invite you to my palace later. We have prepared a sumptuous dinner and are just waiting for your arrival."

The boy bowed and said, "Thank you for your tolerance. This is our honor."

The king was obviously very satisfied with his answer. He personally led them through the gate. Passing through the gate was like passing through a layer of water waves. Mason glanced with his peripheral vision and vaguely saw that the knights stayed where they were.

Something was struggling and moving in the darkness in the distance, and the residents gathered in the center of the square to avoid the invisible danger. In response, the knights rushed out of the square and started a fierce and silent fight with the enemy.

Mason only had time to see this before he had to follow the king's footsteps and walked along the wide tree-lined road to the front of the palace.

"This is a favor granted by His Majesty the King. The palace will be hidden in the square during the day and will appear again at night."

The light grey palace is simple yet majestic, with unadorned and rough decoration without being exaggerated. The precisely cut stones and machines are perfectly combined to form an architectural style with great power and aesthetics.

Seeing the monarch return, the servants guarding the palace gate immediately came to greet him. The king whispered a few words and then smiled at Mason and the others.

"Welcome to my palace. Sorry, it's wartime and everything is kept simple, but I hope it will be enough to serve you a good meal."

Servant went down to carry out the monarch's order. Crystal chandeliers were lit in the palace, delicious food was served like water, and the king and Ham were in the company.

The meal went smoothly. After a good meal, the king invited them to stay overnight. Mason reluctantly agreed and was led to the guest room by the servant.

Considering their relationship, the king arranged a guest room for them. After they lay on the bed for a while, they heard a light knock on the window.

The red-haired young man sat up, walked to the other bed and whispered to wake the boy. The latter seemed to wake up with sleepy eyes, yawned and followed his brother's footsteps.

Ham stood outside the window and curled his lips when he saw them like this. He turned around and led them deeper into the palace.

"Come with me. The way out only appears at night. If you miss today, you will have to wait until tomorrow to get out and come back in again."

Mason finally gets a chance to ask, "What's going on in this city?"

"If you keep asking this question, you won't be able to finish it until dawn."

Ham was a little impatient, but he continued to tell the story from the beginning.

"This country has been ruined for a long time. Back then, the black fog spread and blocked the entire country. People initially thought that other countries had perished, so they built a train to explore. This is the origin of the Black Fog Train. However, no matter how hard people tried, they could not get rid of the black fog, and later they lived here."

"But the influence of the black fog is subtle. As time goes by, the black fog catalyzes the evil in people's hearts. The people in the city lose their minds and kill each other until the last person falls and the whole country is doomed. At that time, the only area left is here. The thoughts of all the dead people condense into the will of the country, which resents the black fog and is unwilling to die. So the new will is based on the wishes of the residents, and it keeps circulating for hundreds of years."

"It's not that everything will be restored. It's that time in this city never passes, and it only revolves around the last day of destruction."

"Other outsiders have come here over the centuries. A little boy asks for directions, takes them to money changers and hotels. At night they are attacked by waiters, or wear crystals to pray, or don't wear crystals and become food for monsters in the dark."

The footsteps of the three people echoed on the deserted road, with only the soft light of the crystal street lamps on the roadside. Ham's voice was quiet and distant, carrying an indescribable sense of sadness and fatigue.

"Every night, the king holds a prayer, and the knights go out to eliminate the monsters in the dark. When they return, all the residents return home. When they open their eyes, it is a new day. The little boy will still go to the station, waiting for the outsiders to arrive one day. I have lived this life for hundreds of years."

"Remember that not everything is necessarily good. What I can do is to research a device that can absorb the black mist, do my best to remove the pollution it leaves behind, and pray that one day the cycle of reincarnation will be broken and I can find peace."

The red-haired young man looked at him and asked, "Why can you retain your will, but they can't?"

"I guess it's because I'm from Mecha City."

Ham pointed to his head.

"The origin of the Mechanical City was originally a technology enthusiast. He was a senior researcher at the Mechanical City during the Magic Age (the era before the Black Mist). He believed that the human brain was too fragile to bear high-precision calculations. Desire would destroy the researchers' faith, so he advocated brain surgery. On the one hand, the researchers' brains were transformed through mechanical technology and magic to eliminate their emotions; on the other hand, the machines were combined with the human brain to improve computing power."

"Some unnecessary tissues were removed from my brain, and a processed mechanical chip was installed. It can store a large amount of information for me. Even if this city is constantly reincarnating, it only targets the people living here. The finished mechanical products are not affected. After each reincarnation, I will immediately retrieve the information from the mechanical chip and rely on this ability to complete the memory stacking."

The linen-haired boy naturally interjected: "Where are the people who came here in the past?"

"Some died, some became part of this city, and some found a way to leave, just like you. The exit is right up ahead."

The road ahead gradually became narrower, and the crystal street lights disappeared one by one, until only a few were left, barely holding on.

At the end of the endless darkness, a ray of light suddenly flashed, like Pandora's box, shining with an intoxicating light.

Ham stopped and said, "Okay, I've said enough. That's the exit. It's very dangerous in there. I can't go in with you."

A beautiful rainbow light shone not far away, attracting everyone's attention. It was an exit that was constantly twisting, from which a faint breath of the outside world flowed.

"One last question."

Mason said.

"When can we see the real Ham?"