Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 519 This is Castel

If Castel doesn't welcome them, then they can leave. Grisha is already a warrior; he's not a weak child. The resistance will never give up.

The little hands opened the cardboard box, and Grisha's eyes suddenly widened.

It was a box of yellow strips and diamond-shaped cubes. Grisha didn't know what they were, but his nose gave him the answer.

"smell good"

Grisha pinched a piece with his fingertips and examined it closely. It was golden yellow with a slightly charred tip. The aroma of fried food mixed with oil instantly filled his nostrils, and Grisha swallowed.

He glanced hesitantly at the expeditionary force in front of him. No one was paying attention to him. He gritted his teeth, stuffed the long strip into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

A moment later, his hands began to tremble, and two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks.

The crispy fries were crunchy on the outside, but inside was soft mashed potatoes. The aroma of fried food instantly filled his mouth and went straight to his mind.

The North doesn't produce oil, and Grisha's family were just poor hunters; many of them had never eaten fried food in their lives.

This was a delicacy he had never even dreamed of.

Grisha turned the box over; a line of text was printed on it in exaggerated font, along with a drawing of a girl's smiling face.

Grisha was illiterate, but he remembered the girl's appearance vividly.

"Grisha? What's wrong? Is someone bullying you outside? Don't be afraid, Uncle Wood will help you beat them up!"

"Yes, Grisha, why are you crying? Boys shouldn't cry!"

Grisha hurriedly wiped his eyes, only to find that everyone in the carriage was looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine, everything's fine outside, Castel is fine."

Uncle Wood breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he seemed to be alright, and then his loud voice rang out again: "Grisha, what's it like outside?"

He suddenly became cautious halfway through his sentence. Grisha looked up and found that this usually carefree man was actually somewhat timid.

He didn't even flinch when the bullet was ripped from his leg, but when it came to the outside of the train car, he became extremely cautious.

Grisha looked up and found that everyone around him was doing the same thing: some avoided eye contact, some tried to remain calm, and some turned their heads but listened intently.

Castel was the shared dream of the resistance, the only glimmer of starlight in every agonizing night, and the distant fire and light ahead.

Gwen had told them about Castel many times, and they had told them about Castel many times. Who hadn't dreamt of that wonderful country, the second home of the Northmen?

But it was so beautiful, and now that it's actually here, I'm afraid it's just a fragile dream, like a soap bubble in the sunlight, and when I open my eyes I find myself in another hell.

Faced with the intense gazes of the people before him, Grisha suddenly stammered. He stretched out his hands to try to describe what he was seeing, but he didn't know where to begin.

He was just a child, and after thinking about it, he decided to solve the problem in a child's way.

He reached into the box, took out fries and fried fish, and carefully distributed them to everyone.

"Hey, don't feed the wounded these fried foods, they're hard to digest." A young expeditionary soldier at the door opened his eyes wide, about to say something, when his comrade patted him on the shoulder and pulled him outside.

Grisha limped as he distributed the contents of the box to everyone, and the resistance fighters looked at what they had in their hands with some surprise.

There was no doubt that it was food; their noses didn't lie, and they had also caught a glimpse of what Grisha had just eaten.

People stuffed their fries and fried fish into their mouths, and then the carriage fell silent. Grisha, with a stern face, solemnly addressed the resistance fighters:

"This is Castel."

No one questioned or objected. The people in the carriage accepted Grisha's unusual "introduction." They simply savored the delicious food in their mouths, and before they knew it, their expressions relaxed and smiles began to appear on their faces.

They couldn't explain what happened, but they felt inexplicably much more at ease.

This is indeed the home they have been searching for, the sacred place they have been longing for.

Unfortunately, they didn't have time to savor the moment for long before the doctors and nurses who were there to pick them up arrived. They were either helped or carried out of the train car, and many of them shed tears as they looked at the towering concrete jungle outside.

They chanted Castells' name, refusing to change their tune no matter what others said about this being a blood harbor.

Grisha was helped off the train. He looked at the people waving to him, at the bright sunshine, and took a deep breath of the sea breeze.

Warm and humid, the biting cold of the North is gone.

He smiled as well.

A carefree smile that only children have.

Hughes looked at the jubilant platform and a sense of relief appeared on his face.

Their efforts over the past six months have not been in vain. Successfully rescuing these resistance fighters means that half of the mission of this expedition to the North has been accomplished.

As for the other half, of course, it was to bring Bazel back to Castells for trial.

Hughes was not worried about this. The North was indeed large, but as long as the train passed through, there was nowhere he couldn't go.

"How is the situation in the North?"

“There’s a lot of good news, sir.” Behind him was Hodge, who was standing respectfully to the side. Occasionally, he would glance out the window at the resistance soldiers getting off the vehicle, his eyes filled with emotion.

He was originally from the Rhine, but by some twist of fate he was exiled to Castel. He originally only planned to stay here temporarily and return to the Rhine in the future, but he ended up staying here for a long time.

He understands all too well how those people outside feel.

He felt the same way when he first arrived in Castel, worried and fearful that it was a desolate wasteland that would ruin his life.

But when he saw the tall factory buildings and the clean and tidy assembly lines, many things changed silently.

These unfortunate people from the North will also fall in love with this land, a magical land that holds the world's most precious treasure—hope.

Hodge would use all the finest words to describe Castells' greatness, and would even shed his last drop of blood for him.

He was originally a slave laborer who traded his life for money, barely better than coal thrown into a boiler, but Castells gave meaning to his life, which was as insignificant as a weed.

He couldn't even dream of having enough to eat, let alone imagine that someone as insignificant as himself could have hope.

Looking at the people outside, Hodge couldn't help but smile.

These refugees will also have hope.

(End of this chapter)