Gun of Ashes

[Meaningless, your existence is meaningless.]

A vague voice arose, and the person spoke somewhat angrily.

Past times were brought up again, and in the trance, molten iron surged, the machinery’s roar interwoven, another voice then sounded again.

[Everything you do is in vain, ridiculous fellow.]

Countless sneers followed, engulfing him like the sea. He stretched out his hand forcefully but caught nothing, only to sink and fall to the deepest depths.

Until he fell heavily to the ground and slowly awakened, opened his eyes, and was met with the familiar gray-green ceiling, which might have once been vibrant, but with the age and decline of the owner, it too withered and faded, becoming a lifeless appearance.

Hig rubbed his eyes and after a long pause, pulled back the curtains beside the bed, allowing the not-so-bright morning light to slightly illuminate the room.

This was the room he had lived in for many years, this was his home, even though it was just a rental room.

As he had repeated many times in his routine, he took the pillow and placed it behind his back, leaning back to sit up, then reached out and took the newspaper beside him that he hadn’t finished reading the day before.

Hig was not a person adept at communication, and he did not have many friends. The entire world struggled to intersect with him, so to avoid being abandoned by the world, he liked to read the newspaper in the morning to care about the world as much as possible.

Sometimes this behavior was like Lorenzo sitting idly by the roadside; Lorenzo felt that watching the passing pedestrians made him feel integrated into the world, even if it was just self-deception. For Hig, reading the paper was also such behavior.

The news was still the same, like another explosion occurred in a district due to aging steam pipes.

This kind of news happened basically every week. Old Dunling was built on massive steam engines, and with many steam pipes in use for a long time, and due to the vast number, the authorities could only maintain important lines daily. The pipes on the outskirts, because of long-term lack of maintenance, often burst.

In fact, not only Hig, the residents of Old Dunling had long been accustomed to these. Initially, everyone would scream at the sight of exploded manhole covers and overflowing high-temperature steam; now it has become as normal as any other life phenomenon, hardly surprising anymore.

His gaze moved downward to some news about recent diplomatic visits.

A few days ago, the mission from the Viking nations also arrived, and those envoys seemed like people from centuries ago, wearing animal skins and leather, with long beards, carrying mottled hand axes at their waist, unlike the modern Ingwig, they bore a wild primal strength.

The black-and-white accompanying image showed their imposing arrival, looking more like an invasion of this land than a visit.

Up to this point, most of the missions had arrived in Old Dunling. They were discussing interests and politics with Queen Victoria, though those would not yet appear in the newspaper.

Then a delicate noise sounded, and the faint sound of someone’s yawning could be heard.

Hig raised his head and looked at the wall on the other end of the room; behind that was Lorenzo’s room.

Despite being roommates with Lorenzo for so long, Hig had never told Lorenzo that the room’s soundproofing was poor; Hig could always hear some strange sounds from his own room.

For instance, strange conversations about the Dukes, about the Lower City District, about those eerie shadows, of course, Hig could only hear vague content, no clearer details, and occasionally the sound of a gun being cocked or a sword being drawn.

Early on, Hig’s fear was not just because Lorenzo always came back covered in blood, but Hig was worried about what if Lorenzo ran away one day and a bunch of thugs broke in looking for him for retribution. After all, he was just a Mechanician, the only offensive thing he had was a wrench under his bed.

The sound from the room next door quieted down again; who knows what Lorenzo was up to. Hig’s gaze returned to the newspaper, continuing to read.

The factory under Duke Salicardo’s name once again erupted in worker protests, though this only occupied a corner of the newspaper, with more coverage on Duke Salicardo promoting his own industries, having officially entered the civilian airship industry, with several civilian airships nearing completion.

According to what was written in the newspaper, civilian airships would also be incorporated into the Midcourt Serpent system, and initial routes for the airships were determined. It would be the first long-distance airship departing from Ingwig, traveling southward, crossing the White Tide Strait, and reaching the Beiser Kingdom north of the Holy Spirit Evangelical Pope Kingdom.

That would be the trade node between Ingwig and the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom, and the first deep-level exchange between the two nations.

This was probably all the content from the newspaper, though after finishing reading, Hig’s eyes could not help but return to the news about the worker protests.

A familiar name appeared in the black-and-white newspaper; Hig was initially lost in thought, and then tossed the newspaper aside.

That was the factory where Hig had previously worked; after completing his studies, he had worked there until he was dismissed due to hallucinogens, and didn’t expect to see such things again after so long.

Getting up from bed, he repeated actions performed countless times, brushing his teeth and washing his face, then trying to make a friendly smile at the mirror to slightly relax his stiff face.