Endless Silver Machine

Since the imperial capital of the Bis Empire was planned and rebuilt, it has been divided into four areas on the map.

With the rapid development of Magic Technology, the two northwest districts have merged to form the Magic Technology Development Zone, and many companies related to Magic Technology have set up their headquarters here.

The South District is an ordinary residential area, while the East District has become the best place for leisure and entertainment because of its proximity to the sea and beautiful environment.

The main feature of the East District is that there are many shops, and a wide variety of products fully satisfy the consumer psychology of travelers. Of course, some nobles also have their own mansions here.

You can see cubic magic machines installed in hidden places on the streets everywhere, emitting a faint fluorescent light. It is precisely through this magic machine that the air in the East District is purified around the clock, and the quality of tourists is getting higher and higher, so that this area with the largest flow of people in the imperial capital will not be dirty and messy.

The energy supplied to the four districts of the Imperial City comes from the large-scale perpetual motion magic installed underground by the Imperial Academy of Sciences located at the junction of the northwest district and the east district. By connecting to the vast sea of ​​​​forests that were once ancient battlefields, and constantly absorbing the magic power remaining in the air, the energy source of the entire imperial capital was ensured without destroying the natural ecology.

Under the effective use of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the vast forest surrounding the three districts has become a free energy station. Eighty percent of the energy needed for development in the Northwest District comes from there, while the remaining 20 percent and the residents' daily energy needs are met by electricity.

The magic squandered during the war transformed this forest sea into the most dangerous ecological zone, where third-level and above magical beasts used it as their habitat. It is basically impossible for humans to walk through the forest.

In addition to civilian airships, the magic trains running from the imperial capital in three directions, northwest and east, have become the only way for ordinary people to enter the imperial capital. The vast forest sea has become a natural barrier for the imperial capital.

Therefore, the magic train bound for the imperial capital and the maintenance of its tracks have long been completed, ensuring the lifeline of the people.

Despite heavy maintenance, if an accident occurs while the magic train is still running, excluding natural factors, the only possibility is that someone interfered with it.

…………

On the guide rail in front of the train, with a certain point as the center, the sudden expansion of magic power spread rapidly to all directions.

The train's buffer equipment was destroyed in an instant, and the high temperature melted the unmanned locomotive. Fortunately, the magic driving devices were laid on the entire train and controlled by different units, so the magic train did not derail.

The emergency braking system ignored inertia and forced the car to a stop. The core of magic technology, the molecular power circuit, converted all the power into a magical barrier against high temperature and impact.

Although these protective measures were all put in place within a second, the impact of the magic burst did not weaken. The high-temperature energy swept the magic train into it, and the steel body was melted into molten iron by the high temperature of thousands of degrees. None of the passengers on the train survived...

——This tragedy did not happen.

…………

It was five minutes before the Imperial City Defense Bureau team arrived at the scene of the accident. The location of the accident was only a few kilometers away from the Imperial Capital. Fortunately, it had left the dangerous Linhai area, so the Imperial Capital Defense Bureau was able to intervene in time.

What unfolded before their eyes was a scene different from what they had imagined. The ground in a large area collapsed, and the magic train, which looked like a giant steel snake, overturned on its side and lay in the center of the huge pothole.

The passengers on the train left their respective carriages safely under the guidance of the Imperial City Defense Bureau team.

The reason why they didn't flee the scene of the accident in droves after the accident was not because there was something wrong with the car door that couldn't be opened. It was because after the accident, someone immediately blocked all the car doors and could not open them until the Imperial City Defense Bureau team arrived at the scene.

All passengers were asked not to leave the scene for the time being, and several teenagers and girls among them attracted everyone's attention.

"I heard that you protected the train during this magical explosion and sealed all the doors?"

The captain-looking uncle looked down at the little one in front of him with suspicion.

The white-haired girl, whose head was less than his chest, just lowered her head and whispered as if she was answering the uncle's question. The passengers around her were noisy, and the stubble-faced uncle certainly couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Ah, I'm sorry, can you be louder? I need to record the incident. The passengers here pointed out that you were the first to bear the brunt of this incident, so we want to hear your opinion... Oh, by the way, call me Marceau. Just uncle."

Although Marceau even squatted down like coaxing a child in order not to give the little girl a scary impression, and asked her in the gentlest tone possible.

But doing so had the opposite effect. Marceau suddenly approached the white-haired girl, making her turn around and throw herself into the arms of the boy behind her.

The blond girl next to him finally couldn't bear it and spoke.

"Uncle, you should take us out of here first, right? Besides, we are considered victims. There is no reason to be questioned, right?"

"Sister Ling, that uncle shouldn't be interrogating..."

The blue-haired girl beside her complained softly to her.

"That...Uncle Marceau?"

It seemed that it was the dark-haired boy in the center of the girls who called out the uncle's name.

"Um?"

Marceau stood up. The amiable image that the white-haired girl showed before completely disappeared, and she returned to her original serious captain demeanor. The black-haired boy resisted the pressure of his gaze and kept a smile on his face as he finished speaking.

"Should we find a suitable place first, and then..."

…………

According to the reservation, everyone should have found a hotel in the Imperial Capital and settled down.

This is how it should be...

"I never thought that we would be associated with a place like this when we first arrived here..."

Aika never imagined that the first place he visited after entering the Imperial Capital would be the headquarters building of the Imperial Capital Defense Bureau.

Now the four confused people were following Marceau, walking deeper into the corridor.

They had just been checked for magic fluctuations along with other passengers. Although you can leave here after the inspection, Aika promised Marceau that he would assist in the investigation, and now it would be rude to break the promise and leave, so Aika decided to listen to Marceau's arrangements for the time being.

Ling was the main force in evacuating people when the accident occurred, and it took a lot of energy to suppress so many passengers. Now she had to be dispatched by the Imperial City Defense Bureau, which made her feel a little unhappy.

It was one thing to be unhappy, but Aika had tried so hard to comfort her on the way here, which made her embarrassed to throw cold water on Aika, so she could only follow her with puffed up cheeks.

Luo Luo and Wei Xi didn't particularly mind, they just followed behind and kept whispering.

"I just went to give a brief report on the situation at the scene. You were also mentioned in the report. Our captain seems to be very interested in you, so now I will take you to her office. Do you understand?"

The headquarters building of the Imperial City Defense Bureau does not give people a sense of tension and oppression. Different from what Aika had imagined before, the atmosphere here was actually very relaxed. From time to time, strangers would greet Marceau, Aika and the others with a smile.

"I probably know what you are thinking. People who have never been to the Imperial City Defense Bureau will have this misunderstanding." Marceau, who was walking in front, suddenly talked to them, "Our captain is a very casual person. I was also The lack of discipline here is a bit unpleasant. But under her leadership, the efficiency of the Imperial City Defense Bureau has indeed improved a lot, so there is nothing wrong with it being as it is now."

The room at the end of the corridor should be the office of the "casual" captain Marceau said. The appearance of the office door is no different from the others, except that there is a small animal-shaped door plate hanging on the door.

"What's this……"

Except for Marceau, who has long been used to it, no one else knows the meaning of this house plate.

The four delicate words "Psychological Counseling" were written in whiteboard pen on the small door plate decorated with flower-shaped patterns. Aika thought that only girls could write such delicate fonts.

It turns out that the captain of the Imperial City Defense Bureau also works part-time as a psychological counselor? Naturally, everyone has this kind of speculation in their minds.

Ling just wanted to ask Marceau if she had gone the wrong way, but Marceau knocked on the door carelessly before she could speak.

"Please come in."

A mature female voice came from it.

Luoluo and Wei Xi no longer whispered, and both showed serious looks. Along the way just now, they probably just chatted to relieve the tension in their hearts.

"Don't be so nervous."

Marceau glanced at them and then opened the door for them.

Should it be said that it deserves to be called a psychological consultation room? File folders piled on the desk, direct-connected screens covering the entire wall, and a solemn atmosphere—these things that often appear in office spaces are absent.

This office is just like any reception room you can find everywhere.

A woman with long light green hair reaching her waist was tinkering with something on a small counter placed against the wall. The aroma similar to black tea filled the entire room.

"Captain, I have brought all four of them here, what next?"

Marceau briefly reported to the woman. She stopped what she was doing and turned around.

"so beautiful……"

Ling pinched Aika's back hard as he blurted out. Although he didn't know why, he held it back.

"Thank you for your hard work." The captain put down the teapot in his hand and showed a mature and beautiful smile that was different from that of a girl. "Can you please be responsible for checking other passengers? It's too busy for Klein alone. Please Got it!"

"That's fine," Marceau scratched his head with a reluctant look, "but does it count as overtime?"

Can the work of the Imperial City Defense Bureau still be negotiated like this? Is this really the core institution of the Bis Empire?

"Come over and have a cup of tea when you have time."

"Extremely happy!"

This exchange condition actually made Marceau seem very satisfied to take over the job! Aika probably knows what's going on with those who need "psychological counseling."

After Marceau left the room, only Aika and his party were left in the room.

"Everyone, please sit here." The woman placed the tray on the small round table that did not match the office room. She skillfully poured black tea into five teacups and took out three more chairs from the locker. "Usually this place is They are only for two people at most, so I’m sorry that I asked you to come here suddenly and I haven’t prepared them in advance.”

"Nowhere, not at all..."

This kind of all-round treatment is the most meticulous Aika has ever experienced so far.

After all four people were seated, the woman whom Marceau called "captain" began to introduce herself.

"My name is Ruth, how should I say...I am the captain here. You must have heard this from Marceau, right?"

Ruth covered her mouth and laughed softly, and her every move revealed a unique charm.

Then, she, who was leading the conversation, looked at Wei Xi, who was sandwiched between Aika and Luoluo.

"Are you Wei Xi?"

It was no surprise that Ruth had their information.

Wei Xi had been tensing her nerves, but when Ruth suddenly called her by name, her pretentious expression immediately collapsed. She just nodded slightly, but did not respond vocally.

Ruth turned her attention back to Aika, the only boy here.

"Currently, all we know is where you are from and where you are going, that's all. Luoluo is your sister, and there is nothing special about your backgrounds. Ling and Wei Xi are the two of you who met on the way. And both of them were wanted by the Holy See some time ago, right?"

Aika became nervous when she heard this. Although the people related to the Holy See and the Bis Empire were at odds behind the scenes, at least on the surface they still had a relatively harmonious relationship, so now the Imperial City Defense Bureau had reason to detain Ling and Wei Xi here.

Ling and Wei Xi may have thought of the same thing. The air in the office suddenly became dull, and not even the slowly spreading aroma of black tea could cover it up.

However, this dull atmosphere was immediately blown away by Ruth's next words.

"Now the Holy See has canceled the wanted order, so you don't have any restrictions in the imperial capital now."

The wanted order is issued directly by the Holy See, and if it is revoked by them on their own initiative, it will lose its effectiveness.

In the moment of nervousness, everyone actually forgot such a simple question.

"So, can you please assist our accident investigation as ordinary citizens and tell me the details of the accident?" Ruth shook her finger with satisfaction, and did not forget to add, "Assist in the investigation." There are rewards!”

…………