Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1055: Isn’t that a problem anymore?

This city can accommodate at least 5 million people. The moment this thought came to him, even Linger himself felt it was absurd. As far as he knew, no city in the world today could be this large. It was said that there was an ancient empire called Yah on the continent across the sea. Its king was majestic and magnificent. The city was surrounded by circles, the streets were stacked one layer after another, and the houses were next to each other. Even so, it was only a place for 2.52 million people to live. A big city with 5 million people, do you know what that means? But when he thought that the prototype of the city in front of him actually came from a civilization with brilliant scientific and technological achievements, the young man felt relieved. Perhaps 5 million is still a conservative number.

However, Lingge did not consider the huge beauty of the alien city. He was worried about the whereabouts of his companions. When they traveled in this city before, they had a clear goal and a straight route, so they only had a quick glance at other scenery and did not leave a deep impression. It was not until this moment that the young man realized that it was really a fantasy to find the seven girls scattered in the vast buildings and ancient forests without any reference points. In addition, his sister and Sister Livia and others were scattered in the vast buildings and ancient forests.

The meal prepared by the proprietress was indeed not that delicious.

The only good news was that after he walked along a shabby street full of rubble and building debris for about fifteen minutes, he got some good news.

He saw Sister Livia walking towards him - to be precise, in the woods where there was no light but only sparse starlight, the first thing he saw was her bright golden hair that fluttered gently, each strand seemed to be tracing the trajectory of the wind, and glittered like the strings of a guitar. That was the most distinctive feature of the sea-blue golden people. On the entire Cloud Whale Sky Island, only the nun with the blood of the Mostadian Highlanders flowing in her body had this hair color.

The next thing was the slightly worried and confused face of the nun. When she saw Lingge, her eyes lit up and she asked before the young man asked, "Have you seen Metien, Mr. Lingge?"

Linger shook his head: "No."

Then he asked, "Are you still looking for her?"

"Yes." Sister Livia nodded gently: "But, I can't find her anywhere. I think she may have returned to Tianxin Church. I was thinking of going back to Yunjingkong Island to confirm, but it seems that this is not the case. Mr. Lingge, where do you think Metien might be?"

"I don't know." Linger answered honestly. Seeing the surprise on the nun's face, he added, "In fact, I don't think there is any need to worry about Metien's condition. She will be fine. After all, this is the goddess's holy land, where no evil or filth can enter."

"I know, but what I'm worried about is not Metien's safety, but..." The nun hesitated.

Ling Ge understood what she meant, and replied calmly: "As for other things, it's useless for you to worry about them."

This was a very true statement, which made Sister Livia at a loss for a moment. She certainly understood this truth, but understanding it did not mean that she could do it, especially under the premise that the goddess had fallen and the young girl's kingdom was internally divided. Even she, a half-converted believer of the goddess, felt terrified, let alone such a devout Metien? In comparison, Ling'er's reaction was too calm, so calm that people could not help but doubt whether he was really a believer of the goddess?
"Don't think too much, Miss Livia." Linger glanced at her and said, "It's already late. The proprietress has prepared a sumptuous dinner at the Fairy Sleep Inn. She thinks that no matter what happened today, everyone still needs to fill their stomachs, and so do you. So why not go back and rest for a while and prepare to welcome today's meal with everyone else - if you are in the mood, you can also say a prayer before the meal."

"other people?"

"Yes, for complicated reasons, I accepted a difficult commission and now I am going to bring back those runaway children. It sounds like I have never done such a thing even when I was a pastor." Ling paused, then emphasized: "Including Metien."

Sister Livia's expression suddenly relaxed, and she smiled with relief: "It sounds like something you would do - or rather, it's something only you can do, Mr. Ling."

"But I haven't found even one person yet. This city is too big and too empty."

"If that's the case," Sister Livia thought for a moment and said, "I met Miss Lorena in the mall where I came from, and asked her about Metien's whereabouts, but unfortunately she didn't know."

Mall? Rorona did seem to have said that she was very interested in creations from another world and wanted to study them. So that wasn't an excuse.

Anyway, Linger finally got a clue. Linger thanked Sister Livia, and the sister entrusted the task of finding Metien to this qualified brother, and then returned to Yunjingkong Island alone. Looking at her back as she left, Linger thought: First, can we find everyone before dinner time?

He suddenly felt like he was playing a game.

Just like Alice said, boring errands.

The young man withdrew his gaze, sighed imperceptibly, and continued walking along the street. The sparse starlight sprinkled through the gaps between the branches and leaves above his head, casting twinkling spots of light on the road behind him.

……

The mall is located in a circular square. There is no forest nearby to block the view. The starlight and moonlight are spread out without reservation, forming traces of flowing water on the cracked striped stone. The glass windows that appear transparent and smooth during the day become misty at night, as if covered by a dark blue curtain. Through the window, Ling Ge saw a figure on the first floor of the mall strolling leisurely between the shelves, occasionally picking up a product and looking at it in front of her eyes, and then putting it back in place after a while. She walked without making any sound, as light as a ghost. This scene easily reminds people of some strange legends circulating in the dark alleys of the city.

"Lorena?"

The young man shouted through the glass window.

It seems that the sound insulation effect of these glass windows is not very good, or maybe the pair of pointed ears that help the mirror elf to capture the movements near the sea even in the deep sea have played a role. The figure between the shelves looked up and saw Lingge outside the window at a glance, so he raised his hand and waved and greeted him, but the young man could not hear it so clearly, so he was sure that it was not a problem with the sound insulation, but a problem with the ears.

Perhaps Rolena knew this, so when the young man walked into the mall, she said in a cheerful tone: "Good evening, Lingge, I didn't expect you to come to me first, I'm really surprised."

"How do you know?" Ling Ge couldn't help asking, "I want to come to you? How do I know you are the first one?"

"This is it."

Her eyes, like those of the distant sea, turned for a moment, revealing a hint of cunning and pride: "Of course I have a way, you just need to tell me if it's right."

"I guess so." The young man thought. He was indeed the first one, if Sister Livia was not counted - but Sister Livia was originally going back to Yunjingkong Island. If she was not found by Lingge, it naturally did not count.

"That's good." Rolena nodded, as if she was completely relieved. At first, Lingge didn't know where this competitive spirit came from, but he got the answer in the next sentence: "I still remember when I was very young, I often played this game with my sister, and I won every time - there is no reason for you to be an exception, Lingge."

She has two older sisters, but the older sister mentioned here must be Princess Galene who is far away in the chaotic sea.

"You win." Ling Ge didn't want to argue over such an insignificant matter, so he said perfunctorily and then turned to the main topic: "Since you knew I would come to you, you must have known my purpose. Although you have always had an irregular diet and like to study alchemy more than gourmet food, at least don't let down the boss lady's kindness at this time - she is looking forward to dinner tonight."

"Now that you've said that," Rorona blinked, "I don't think I have the room to refuse. What a pity! I wanted to stay here a little longer. The creations in the other world are very interesting. Although I can't read the text, if I'm given a little more time, I will definitely be able to figure out their principles and how to use them."

She looked back at the various products on the nearby shelves and sighed regretfully: "Do you think I will have much time to study them, Lingge?"

The young man replied dryly: "It's not up to me, so you shouldn't ask me."

How long they would stay here depended entirely on the decision of the Girls' Kingdom. In fact, Rorona herself was also a member of the Girls' Kingdom. Why didn't she show any hesitation or thinking? Or had she already made the decision but didn't show it?

Linger looked at her suspiciously. The mirror elf girl put her hands behind her back and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Although I don't hate this kind of direct gaze, it doesn't match your personality very well, Mr. Linger."

"nothing."

This reaction really shows that she is unwilling to speak. Ling Ge shook his head gently, and did not force her. Instead, he stepped aside to make way for her: "Since you have made up your mind, let's go back to Yunjingkong Island first. I still need to find other people - do you know where the others are?"

"You asked the right person."

Rorona pointed upwards, "Yeta is on the rooftop of this mall. She said she wanted to find a higher place to get some fresh air, but the wind is very strong at night and she is so dazed that she might be blown down at any moment. If you move quickly, you might still be able to be a flower protector in time, just like what is depicted in the drama, where you stand up to the heroine in distress, hold her in your arms, and then the two of you look at each other affectionately, and when you can't help but feel emotional, you naturally exchange some saliva..."

"That last sentence is superfluous."

"Only the last sentence?"

Well, Ling had to admit that he had made a slip of the tongue. He corrected his mistake with a straight face: "I mean, the whole description is redundant."

"Alas." Rorona sighed pretentiously, "What a boy who says one thing and means another."

Lingge felt that he should not be called a boy at his age, but before he could make a suggestion, Rorona waved goodbye to him and turned to walk towards the mall door: "It's nice to chat with you, Mr. Lingge - although you are not very good at joking, but this is what makes me happy. Next, I will go back to enjoy my dinner. I hope you can find the rest of the people as soon as possible. Remember to tell them that if they don't come back soon, I will eat up all the pies and desserts on the table."

"Oh, right." She stopped at the door and didn't look back, but said to herself: "In fact, I have also thought seriously about Tiantis's question. Sometimes I feel that what she said is not unreasonable, and sometimes I wonder if my past efforts are really meaningful? Magic pollutes not only the ocean, sky, earth, and our living space, but also people's hearts. The former can be purified, but how can the desires polluted by magic be purified? Even the most magical alchemy can't do it, right?"

Lingge stood there, staring deeply at the back.

He suddenly remembered something: in the last file record, Rorona seemed to have cast a vote against the resolution on whether to give humans magic power.

Is she regretting not persisting at that time, or...

Rorona seemed not to notice his gaze, and continued to speak, or to herself: "But then I figured it out. There is no pure thing in the world. Even without the magic pollution brought by the Witch Society and the industrial pollution brought by humans, there are all kinds of pollution in the ocean - dead fish, rotting whale carcasses, rampant red algae, and so on. But the ocean itself will purify these pollutions to ensure that everything is at the threshold of balance. That's right, balance, not complete purification. After all, if the sea water is too clean, it will not be suitable for life to survive."

"It's the same with environmental pollution and human pollution. Pursuing pure good or absolute evil is not advisable. The so-called purification should be to remove those that are beyond the limit, retain those that are within a reasonable range, and then let them choose, compete, and form a great cycle. This is true for nature, human hearts, emotions, and destiny. I think that is the world that Mother wants to see."

She also has two mothers, but the one she is talking about here must be the one from a long time ago.

"In short, I've figured it out. You don't need to worry about me anymore." Her tone rose slightly: "Well, I've always been a relief to you, right? If you're touched, don't just say it verbally. Remember to 'reward' me well next time, okay?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "reward", then walked out of the mall with a giggle without waiting for Ling'er's answer. From her laughter, it could be heard that she seemed to be in a good mood.

But Lingge knew that what happened today was not something that could be explained by words. She was still affected, but it was not so obvious. Although she liked to joke with Lingge before, they were all subtle hints or ambiguous looks, not such a direct way.

But let's be honest.

Lingge thought: At least I didn’t cause any trouble to myself, which is pretty good.

The sad thing is that the verbal teasing seems to be something the young man is used to and it doesn’t really bother him anymore.

Give me some meow