Chapter 654 The Untouchables
What Xiaobu held in his arms was a pile of metal parts.
There was a gear with some missing teeth, a rusty law bar, several bent connecting rods, and some parts that were in better condition but had no apparent use. It looked difficult to use no matter how you looked at it.
But Xiaobu held them carefully, his eyes full of love.
This was a little hobby of hers. One time, when she was going from the ground floor to the entrance of the lower area, she secretly looked out and happened to see a mechanical doll.
The doll was already tattered, but it could still move. It clapped its hands and staggered on its one leg.
Perhaps on impulse, Xiaobu rushed out of the cave and left the bottom floor to get the doll.
Untouchables were not allowed to leave the ground floor, and she was besieged by the lower-class residents.
Frey's eyes fell on Xiaobu's right arm, which was pieced together with scrap iron. He paused for a moment before moving away.
"Lord Frey, what's the situation outside now?"
"Everyone is happy, living and working in peace and harmony." Frey sneered and stepped forward. "Let's talk while we walk."
The group of untouchables followed him forward.
Frey moved around underground with familiarity.
It was a coincidence that when he first arrived in the Rhine, he just wanted to understand the situation here and see if he could help Castel's delegation.
But after just a slight contact, he discovered the abnormality of the lower area. As a result, he met this group of underground residents by accident.
Although it was dark underground, there were occasional lighting fixtures hanging on the cave walls, so it wasn't impossible to see. Frey glanced casually at the wall and saw glowing fungi, lit candles, and lanterns with half of their shells missing.
No two are alike along the way.
The Untouchables surrounded Frey and brought him to a settlement.
It is called a settlement, but it looks more like a garbage dump, with all kinds of foul-smelling debris piled together and disgusting green sewage oozing from the ground.
Suddenly, a shadow fell. Frey raised his head and saw a tall machine above him - all kinds of discarded steel, even wood, any barely usable things were pieced together to form a huge body.
At its center is a huge incinerator, and its crooked arms provide both support and are used to grab the surrounding garbage and fill it into the furnace.
Before Frey could speak, the untouchables nearby started shouting.
"Move the big guy away! Stay away from Lord Frey!"
"Yes, don't let it bring a curse!"
There were a few responses from the machine, and soon it dragged its heavy steps away.
"Alas, these technical guys just like to tinker with these things. Didn't they scare you, Lord Frey?" The person next to him said with a flattering look, a little timidly.
Frey took a deep breath and slowly shook his head.
To be honest, he was really scared when he saw this big guy for the first time. After all, there was no such large machine in White Stone Castle. Even Castel's steam locomotive looked a little small in front of this "big guy".
But
Looking at the huge machine in front of him, Frey frowned and asked, "You obviously have such powerful machines, why do you still live underground?"
The untouchables nearby were surprised: "If we don't live underground, where else can we live?"
"Of course, we have to go to the ground, to the Rhine, to the so-called city of miracles!"
The surroundings were suddenly quiet. After a while, Xiaobu said tremblingly, "Shall we go to the ground?"
This sentence was like boiling water falling into hot oil, causing the underground to explode instantly:
"How can we get to the earth?"
“Those are the residences of the great men!”
"Yeah, we can't even become believers in the church. We are cursed!"
"We're just underground now, and the people up there have allowed us to build ventilation holes. We're already very satisfied!"
Frey looked at the noisy people around him. In the past, he would just nod quietly and not express his opinion. After all, he was just there to inquire about the news and try to fit in.
But this time, he didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a nameless anger rising in his heart, and he couldn't suppress it no matter what.
"Curse? Everyone, can you tell me what the curse is?" he asked loudly.
The people around him immediately quieted down, as if they had sensed the anger in his tone. These untouchables hesitated and dared not speak.
Finally, it was Xiao Bu who spoke hesitantly: "Brother Frey, we are untouchables. If you get too close to us, you will be cursed and rejected by the candlelight. You will never be able to become a follower of the Church again."
"Then why do you have to become a believer of the Holy See?"
Xiaobu was stunned and couldn't say anything.
Frey shook his head, looking at the people around him who were hesitant to speak, and said loudly, "Of course I know what you're thinking—becoming a Candlelight Society member means you can step into the Rhine, receive relief food from the church, and never go hungry again. Do you think this is the best of everything?"
The untouchables around did not speak. They looked at Frey with some fear, afraid of making him angry.
But Frey knew that these people really thought so in their hearts.
They had never left this underground place, and the only world they could see was the Rhine, apart from this cave.
Their fondest fantasy is to become a resident of the Rhine - the Lower Rhine.
They didn't even know the Upper Rhine existed.
As for the Empire, the Queen, the Mechanical Templar, the Principality of Tis, and Castel, these are even more illusory concepts.
Frey's eyes dimmed slightly, a hint of fatigue appeared. "In that case, let me tell you about the earth. I'll let you know what the surface you long for is like."
"Rhine"
Frey's thoughts gradually wandered back to the day he first entered the city.
At that time, he revealed his identity to the priest of the Candlelight Society and quickly entered the city.
When he entered the city gate, he looked back and saw that the machine that was constantly rotating and whipping the believers was still working. The priest seemed to feel something was wrong. He forced a smile and turned his body to block his view.
But the priest blocked the machine but did not block the eyes of the believers.
The believers were kneeling on the ground, some covered in wounds, some still queuing up to chant prayers. They lowered their heads, but raised their eyes to look at Frey.
There was contempt, disgust, and numbness in those eyes, but no envy.
As if being whipped is an honor worth boasting about.
The city gate closed behind him, and the sound of the whip breaking through the air and hitting flesh was blocked out.
Frey wrapped his dirty robe tightly around him, turned around and stepped into the Rhine.
(End of this chapter)
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