Catastrophe Card King

Chapter 708: Chapter 232 Vera Williams_3

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Leonard Churchill said indifferently, “Just call me… Sunny.”

After all, he was still a fugitive, and without the clown mask, it was better to be cautious.

The curious child didn’t mind at all and asked, “Mr. Sunny, are you a card master?”

Leonard gave no direct answer, but chuckled and asked in return, “How did you figure that out?”

“I guessed.”

The child blinked with a twinkle in his eyes, adding, “I feel like you’re different from others.”

“…”

Leonard just laughed without saying anything.

Being of an inquisitive age, the child, taking Leonard’s silence as an affirmation, blinked again and asked, “Are you strong?”

Leonard thought for a moment and replied, “Somewhat strong, I guess.”

Upon hearing this, the child’s interest piqued, and he pressed, “How strong is ‘somewhat’? As strong as Uncle Lester in our town? Oh, I forgot to mention, Uncle Lester is a formal card master. Dad says he’s a ‘Fighter’ and a very strong hunter too!”

Leonard offered no detailed explanation: “Hmm… more or less.”

The child wanted to say more, but at that moment, the camp outside became bustling.

Leonard hadn’t figured out what was going on, but the child’s face showed expectation. He turned and eagerly asked, “Sir, can you still walk? If you can, we can go together to the town to get bread. Today is another bread distribution day by the Rose Chamber of Commerce. Oh, and if we’re lucky, we might even see that very beautiful lady.”

It seemed urgent indeed, as the boy rattled off quite a long speech in one breath.

Now interested, Leonard said, “Hmm, I should be able to walk.”

He needed some food and had to find out where he had been transported.

…

Leonard stepped out of the tent into the buzz outside.

There were thousands of tents from which a large group of refugees emerged.

Although the child could have run ahead on their own, seeing the frail Leonard, he paused to help him, urging, “Sir, we need to hurry. Otherwise, if we’re too late, we might not get any.”

“Mm.”

Leonard was weak, but walking was not a problem.

The two hurriedly wove through the tents.

Even though the light was dim here, Leonard’s night vision was excellent, and he could see the surroundings clearly at a glance.

Leonard looked up at the sky and thought, “The space in this underground cave is much higher than in Sinless City…”

The tent area was just outside the town, and following the flow of people, it didn’t take long for them to reach the town.

The air was thick with the smell of coal smoke.

There were many red-roofed stone houses piled up here.

From afar, Leonard noticed with surprise, “Huh… Is this, Machinery City?”

Before, he had seen some illuminated towers behind the town and thought they were some structures.

But he hadn’t expected them to be a Mechanical Fortress assembled from countless giant rivets and rust-streaked iron plates.

Above the fortress were chimneys constantly emitting white smoke.

On the city’s edge, there were exaggerated cannons, with unbelievably large steel treads at the base.

“This is really extravagant…”

Leonard had only seen photos of “Machinery City” in newspapers before.

This was one of the miracles of this world, apart from the Transcendental Cards: an incredibly exaggerated, giant Mechanical Fortress.

This Underground world heavily relied on the Mining Industry, so many of the Federation’s remote Mining Cities were these types of moveable, Multi-functional Mechanical Castles.

They themselves possess the abilities to drill into the earth, mine, and process minerals.

They can also accommodate tens of thousands of people.

These are real industrial towns.

When a place’s ore was depleted, the Mechanical Fortress would shift to another location, and the city’s residents would relocate with it.

It was pure black technology.

Leonard hadn’t expected to actually see the real thing now.

He had seen some small-scale Mechanical Warfare Fortresses in the Old Continent before, but they were much smaller.

This was the first time he had seen one like the one in front of him.

Fascinated, Leonard took a few extra glances.

He and the child squeezed into the town and lined up at the end of the queue.

…

“Wow… there’s even meat porridge today!”

“Oh, that lady from the Rose Chamber of Commerce truly is a kind and charitable angel. May she live a long and healthy life…”

“Yes. Other Commerce Guilds seem to want to strip every last copper from our pockets, selling expensive and shoddy goods. Only the Rose Chamber of Commerce sells products affordable for us poor folk…”

“Have you heard? Not only do they give out food, but the Rose Chamber of Commerce’s new factory has also opened, and they’re looking for workers. I heard the wages can be two hundred a month…”

“Really?! Oh my, I only make five hundred a year working at the plantation owner’s sugarcane fields!”

“…”

Leonard listened in the crowd, but wasn’t the wage level far too low?

Even the lowest wages in Sinless City were two or three thousand, and here two hundred was considered a high salary?

Leonard felt something was off.

Looking at the attire, the Commoners were mostly wearing very coarse, handmade hemp clothing.

Yet even Sinless City, a place for banished criminals, generally outfitted its population with Machinery-spun clothes.

What was this situation? Was the textile industry behind, or what?

It wasn’t long before the line moved forward.

Leonard didn’t see any particularly dangerous presence.

Such remote towns did not even display the arrest warrants.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

…

As Leonard was queuing for bread in the town, within Machinery City…

In the Rose Chamber of Commerce apartment,

a young girl in a pale blue princess dress was busy writing a letter.

It was not clear what she was thinking, but a faint blush tinted her pretty face.

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