Pollution throughout the territory

"Why are you carrying a gun?"

Elliot asked as he came to his senses.

He was really shocked when he saw Xia Ren pull out a gun just now. Fortunately, she didn't shoot directly, but even if it was a smash, what if it went off?

Elliot knew the dangers of guns. Even in wealthy areas, shootings would occasionally occur. Maybe the neighbor who greeted you with a smile this morning would be killed in a shooting in the evening.

"Self-preservation."

Xia Ren said.

Elliot originally wanted to persuade Xia Ren to throw away the gun, but upon hearing this answer, he was immediately speechless.

Even she knows the dangers of guns, so how could Anna, who lives in a place where shootings are frequent, not know it? But even if she knows, what can she do? A weak woman whose husband had just died, and who walked such a long distance to get here alone, had to go through so many difficulties.

If there is no other way, no one is willing to take this risk for nothing.

If she doesn't have a gun, how can she protect herself?

Elliot asked himself, if he encountered the same situation, he might not even dare to go far away, and could only find someone to send a message to a wealthy area. Even if he had to go out, he would probably choose to carry a gun.

He had mixed emotions. He no longer had the initial fear, but he had some admiration and love for this strong woman in his heart.

It would be nice if... I could live outside.

Elliot is not an impulsive person, and he is not the kind of man who would even think about the name of the child between them when he sees a beautiful woman.

He takes his feelings extremely seriously, but at this moment he made a somewhat absurd decision in his heart.

Although he and Anna had not met for more than half an hour, Elliot wanted to take her away from the country of Myrican.

Xia Ren didn't know that the man next to him had already arranged their futures in a short period of time.

He was observing the room in front of him.

The room was swept clean, the floor was mopped to almost a spot, and all furniture surfaces were carefully wiped with towels, without a trace of stain visible.

The room is not large in size. The living room is only about 20 to 30 square meters. There is a carpet near the balcony. There is a green single sofa next to it. Next to the sofa is a small bookshelf against the wall, with some neatly placed on it. books.

Xia Ren walked over and opened two books and found that they were all ancient legends and various fairy tales and fables. In addition, on the lower bookshelf, there were several books about human anatomy and various historical biographies. An illustrated guide to scary creatures.

On the back of the sofa, Xia Ren also found an old book without a name.

He opened it and looked it up, and found that it also contained various historical legends, but unlike other legends, many of the contents were something Xia Ren had never heard of.

There was a bookmark sandwiched in the middle of the page. He turned to the bookmark and saw that it recorded a past event from an unknown period of time.

It is difficult to tell whether the story is true or not, and the time is not specified. We can only guess that it happened before the Supreme Alliance Government was established, that is, at least five hundred years ago.

It was an era of great chaos and darkness. Countless countries were at war with each other, and people were displaced and miserable.

The land is filled with wars and starvation. It coincides with constant natural disasters and frequent droughts and floods. Large areas of land are deserted. Groups of bandits are roaming everywhere. The surviving people can only gather in dirty and unbearable cities to survive.

It was under these circumstances that magic and alchemy were born.

People use alchemy to create magic potions to heal people's pain, use magic to summon wind and rain, purify rivers and water sources, moisten the land, and make crops grow.

But there are only a few people who can master magic and alchemy. They are called wizards.

With the help of wizards, people walked out of the city, drove away wild beasts, turned wasteland into cultivated land, formed villages and towns, and multiplied the population.

Human beings worshiped the power of wizards and were grateful for their kindness. The status of wizards gradually increased, and eventually even surpassed the imperial power and became a belief.

They formed a wizard's guild, and under the influence of the guild, tensions between countries began to ease, wars decreased, and humans were able to recuperate.

However, just a few years later, this relatively harmonious situation was suddenly broken. The evil Mechanicus brought steam and gunpowder, breaking the peace that the wizards had maintained for thousands of years.

On the land, war breaks out again.

Steam roared, smoke billowed, artillery and magic clashed, the sky was covered in dust and smoke, and chaos descended again.

This protracted war finally ended with the victory of the Mechanicum.

Under their bewitchment, people abandoned the gods who protected them and launched blasphemous wizard trials. Vast crowds took to the streets and sent the wizards and witches who once led people to the light to the stake.

The place where this action was first initiated was a city called Salem.

History has ended here, and there will be no follow-up.

Xia Ren turned to the next page and found an illustration.

It depicts a cruel scene: a witch is tied to an iron frame, and the hot red flames devour her body. The witch's hair is disheveled, her skin is peeling off, her expression is extremely ferocious, her mouth is wide open, and she is wailing in pain.

A group of people gathered around the execution ground, as if they were holding a celebration, with excited expressions on their faces, and some were even pumping their fists in cheers.

The witch's screams seemed to stimulate their nerves, and not a single one of them felt unbearable. They drank beer and danced, seeming to have completely forgotten that the witch who was suffering endless pain was also their kind and a member of the human race. member.

It was clearly just an illustration, but Xia Ren felt as if he was at the scene. Looking at this shocking scene, he seemed to be able to hear the witch's screams of pain and unwillingness, and the absurd laughter of the people around him.

He felt an inexplicable strong fear in his heart, and everything in front of him seemed incomprehensible.

He didn't come back to his senses until the book fell to the ground.

Elliot had just opened the door in the bedroom to see if there was anyone inside. When he heard the sound and turned around, he saw Xia Ren standing there with a pale face. He couldn't help but asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

"No, it's okay."

Xia Ren wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The witch's scream seemed to still echo in his ears, far and near.

He didn't know if this was an auditory hallucination or a sign that he was contaminated.

If the history recorded in this book is true, then the reason why magic and alchemy have been suppressed for a long time is the sudden rise of the Mechanicus.

But, if the Mechanicus finally won, then where are they now?

Why have I never heard a word about the Mechanicum?

Before the witch's auditory hallucination was resolved, countless thoughts emerged uncontrollably, confusing her brain and making it impossible to think calmly.

Xia Ren sat on the sofa, shook his head, and became more or less awake.

He looked towards the balcony, where there was an easel covered with white cloth, with a palette and paintbrushes placed in front of the easel.

Everything else in the room had been put away, except the easel.

Xia Ren stood up, walked over, and lifted the white cloth.

In the center of the huge drawing paper, only a wellhead made of dark green stones was scrawled.

"What's the meaning……"

Xia Ren frowned as he looked at this strange statement.