Alice in the Land of Steam

Did Chapter 387 really bring light to the city?
From here you can already see the giant shadows of the Twin Peaks.

The two towering peaks stood facing each other like two wrestling giants. The terrain below halfway up the mountain was relatively flat, but from halfway up the mountain it gradually became steeper and leaned closer to each other. At the highest point there was only a crack less than half a meter wide, so that people could easily cross over and jump from the peak of one mountain to the peak of another.

It is said that a long time ago in the Harbor of Sad Rain, when law and order were still in chaos, those daring gangsters were keen on such thrilling games to prove who was the bravest among their accomplices. In addition, some ancient laws passed down from generation to generation in some families also mentioned that those traitors who "betrayed the interests of the family" should be thrown off the top of the Twin Peaks. If the gods are willing to forgive their sins, they will be allowed to survive. If they cannot be forgiven, the fish and shrimp at the bottom of the Bishis River will become their final destination.

The Bisis River is a large river that surges under the wide canyon between the Twin Mountains. It is also the largest river in the Śikilia Peninsula. It originates from the South Śikilia Mountains, flows through important areas or cities such as the Andrih Plain, High Harbor City, Malton Port, Papamir Hills, and Rainy Harbor, and finally flows into the Inland Sea at the "Cold Lantern City" Martial. It has nurtured 70% of the natural environment and human civilization on the peninsula, so it is also called the "mother of all peninsula people."

The Port of Desolate Rain is located between the Twin Peaks and the Bixisi River, two major landmarks. Its geographical location is unique, and its urban planning is even more novel and breathtaking. Because this city is neither built on a fertile plain washed by a river, nor on a fertile foothill covered by the shadow of a mountain, but on a steep and precipitous cliff, vertically distributed.

Yes, this is a city built on a cliff.

The aardvark pulled a simple cart and gradually approached. The lush orchards, sparse houses and farmers working hard on both sides were left behind. The whole picture of the city slowly appeared in the eyes of the outsiders, making them dazed for a moment.

Compared with other cities that expand in a two-dimensional manner, Qiyu Port appears to be more three-dimensional. If divided by up and down, it can be divided into three areas: upper, middle and lower; if divided by direction, it can be divided into two urban areas, east and west.

All the buildings in this city are built along the cliff face. It seems that a scaffolding was first built with steel bars, iron pipes and metal railings, and then the suspended houses were built on it. In fact, this is the result of the city's replanning and renovation after the invention of steam engines and modern construction technology. As for how the ancestors who did not have the help of steam engines built houses on the cliffs in the beginning, no one has been able to answer this question so far, just like no one can answer why they had to build houses on the cliffs.

Obviously, there are other better options nearby, such as fertile plains washed by rivers, or lush and prosperous areas at the foot of the mountains.

The three areas of Sad Rain Port from bottom to top are the port and industrial area built on the river bank, the commercial and residential area in the middle level, and the administrative and public building area on the top level. It is said that there is also a base for the combined airship forces of the cult on the top level, but no one can confirm whether it is true or not, and no one dares to confirm it.

This is not a nuisance, because some roads are built on the roofs, made of wood, iron sheets and even ropes. For the residents of this city, ladders are the only tools that every household needs, even more than bowls and spoons for eating.

Outsiders may never find a way out after diving in, but locals can rely on some amazing talent or intuition to make turns in countless seemingly correct passages, and even though they seem to be going in the opposite direction, they can always reach the destination in the end, just like blood flowing in their own veins, and there is no possibility of getting lost. Moreover, if all else fails, they still have the last resort: bring out a ladder, climb up to the roof, and walk directly over the roof.

This choice forced the city to extend vertically along the canyon, so the various buildings in the city took on strange appearances. For example, houses would be stacked upwards as much as possible to seek more space in the vertical direction, but they could not protrude too much, otherwise they would encroach on the roads. For example, the length of the streets could be endless, and sometimes even a street could allow a carriage or a steam train to run at full speed, directly from the entrance of the canyon to the other end of the city, but its width was very limited, and the spaciousest place could not accommodate two carriages passing side by side, so traffic jams often occurred.

Places with a large difference in height between the upper, middle and lower floors are connected by large elevators driven by steam engines. Linger had only seen such large elevators in mines and mining shafts before, and he did not expect that they would become civilian tools here; as for places on the same floor with a smaller difference in height, they are connected by facilities such as stairs, rope ladders, iron escalators or overpasses - this is definitely the city with the most steps Linger has ever seen, and it is dazzling at a glance.

What is even more amazing is that even if the streets are jam-packed with vehicles, pedestrians will never be caught in a dilemma, because the suspended houses are connected to each other by suspended stairs and wooden bridges, forming a three-dimensional, intricate network of alleys and roads. Their existence is simply a mockery of architecture as a specialized subject: sometimes a road that you think is unobstructed will lose its direction because the escalator has been dismantled by humans, and sometimes a dark alley that you think is a dead end must be walked to the end to find that there is a rope ladder hanging here that descends downwards.

In the two urban areas facing each other on the east and west cliffs, steel bridges that are large enough to span the entire canyon were built at specific locations for pedestrians to walk through, and tracks were left in the middle for steam locomotives to pass through. There are nine bridges in total, which are also driven by steam engines and can be folded and retracted freely. It is said that this is to take into account the control needs of special periods, and also to allow floating machines such as airships to pass through the canyon without hindrance and land in the city.

Houses built of steel plates and iron sheets, huge elevators that roared up and down, old trains that passed through the canyon along the city's outer ring streets, the faint roar of machines coming from the belly of the mountain, the densely embedded urban pipeline system like a millipede, the drainage and sewage devices hanging under the houses like beehives, the countless exhaust holes and ventilation holes under the street fences spewing hot and misty steam, and the citizens coming and going on every flight of stairs, suddenly disappearing and suddenly appearing...

At this moment, they were not approaching the Harbor of Rain, but that unique city was approaching them, showing all the magnificent elements of fantasy, steam and huge machinery without reservation. "Wow!"

Alice looked up at the suspended city above the canyon and couldn't help but sigh in ambiguous exclamation: "This, this is too cool!"

It perfectly fits the golden maid's impression of steampunk, even more so than the magical machinery of the cult.

Lingge was equally shocked, but felt a little strange because the city was... too bright.

The bright light illuminated every corner of the streets and alleys, even the smoke and dust flying in the air were clearly visible, not to mention the rust marks on the steel and rails, or the sewer pipes hidden under the dim street lights. It even gave people an illusion that they could count how many stairs, overpasses or dark alleys there were in the city with this light, but in fact it was impossible to do so.

The Harbor of Rain itself is a city built under a canyon. The twin peaks pressing against each other above should block all the light. The half-meter-wide crack is simply unable to allow extra light to enter the city. If so, where do these bright lights come from?
As the cart gradually approached the downtown area of ​​the city, Lingge knew the answer - or rather he saw it, because the source of the dazzling light was now hanging on a majestic building on the top floor of the city. Overlooking the city from the magnificent dome, it was like the sun shining on the world.

The building looked like a church, but unlike traditional wooden and stone churches, it was built with the city's unique style, made of steel, decorated with metal pipes, brass gears, and huge steam engines, and perhaps also served other purposes. The boiling power furnace, the iron rotary valves, the towering black iron spire... The cold steel exuded an awe-inspiring and inviolable temperament, making it look more like a disciplined barracks or a prison for judging evil.

The only thing that could be seen as religious was the believers in black monk robes who were coming in and out of the side door of the church. There were also a few special beings among them, such as the fully armed magic knights who were patrolling with magic guns, and the law enforcement officers in silver-white uniforms who were in a hurry and had a capable temperament - they were the arbitrators and judges of the Scale of Order, who had returned to report after completing their mission.

Then, the name of this building naturally comes to mind.

"It's the headquarters of the Holy See, the Cathedral of Judgment."

When mentioning this sacred place, Mr. Gwilly's tone couldn't help but carry a bit of awe, and Lingge could tell that this awe was genuine, not awe for a certain power, but awe for a certain concept, just like when he first met Rochelle.

"My grandfather's grandfather told me that the former Rainy Harbor was not only chaotic, but also very dark. The sun could only be seen for a few hours a day. Later, the people of the Inquisition brought that device, which allowed the people in the city to have normal day and night. It is said that the device consumes the energy of a hundred steam engines in one day of operation, but the people of the Inquisition have never collected fees from the citizens of the city, not even once."

The last sentence was emphasized, as if to emphasize something.

It turned out to be the case.

The so-called "bringing light to the city" is not a metaphor but a fact?
Lingge recalled what Mr. Gwilly had said before and seemed to have realized something.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)