Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 720 New Energy Hub

"Run back?" Betty blinked, taking a moment to understand what he meant, then stammered, "You, you mean you ran back to the North again? To fight?"

"Yes, my people are still suffering, how could I stand by and do nothing? Besides, Gwen was in the North at that time, so I secretly boarded a train and went all the way to the North."

Betty was at a loss for words. She turned her head and looked the boy up and down as if he were a monster.

Having lived in the slums for a long time, she knew how difficult it was for refugees. To be honest, if she had come to Bloodharbor or Castells, she would never have had the courage to return to the Northern battlefield.

Betty suddenly understood why the boy had received the medal; he absolutely deserved the honor.

Several expeditionary soldiers followed behind, looking around and sighing softly.

"Wow, where is this again?"

"I remember this is near your house, isn't it?"

My home? This way?

"Hmm, look at that coastline over there, surely the sea won't run away?"

"It's hard to say." Bettis glanced over and said leisurely, "Blood Harbor did a land reclamation project before, and the current dock area is no longer in the same place as before. By the way, don't you have anyone to pick you up at the station?"

The group was a little embarrassed. They had actually been picked up by someone from the station, but they had relied on their local status to go by themselves. Little did they know that they would get lost after returning to their hometown.

"The changes are too great, too enormous!"

"Wow, look at that! Is that a diesel locomotive? It's supposedly the newest type of machine; I've only ever seen it in the Holy Scriptures!"

"No, that's a steam locomotive. Diesel locomotives are more common in the air."

"what?"

Bettis shrugged: "This thing is quite difficult to pilot. It's only been widely deployed in Castel, while Bloodharbor is only conducting small-scale pilot tests."

Grisha ate his fried fish while looking around somewhat blankly.

He hadn't seen Bloodharbor much before, and hadn't read many scriptures, so both Bloodharbor and Castells were completely new to him.

"Grisha, this will be your home from now on," he said to himself.

That's what he said, but what filled his heart more was confusion.

Grisha was young, but his limited memories were almost entirely of blood-soaked battlefields and the desolation and harshness of the North.

Castells was good, Bloodharbor was good, but he had a sense of alienation.

He did not shed blood here, but his hands and feet, his friends and comrades, were buried in the ice and snow of the North.

Grisha sighed softly.

"Don't you like sweet jam?" The sudden voice startled Grisha, who turned around to see Betty looking at him with some concern. "I heard you sigh."

It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I'm not used to it.

"It will get better with time. You have a long life ahead of you, and you can eat lots of sweet jam," Betty comforted her in a somewhat old-fashioned way, patting Grisha's shoulder on tiptoe.

But after saying that, she herself became a little depressed: "I wonder if Little Gwen and the others will be able to eat."

Grisha hesitated for a moment. He didn't know who Little Gwen was, and he figured she couldn't be Gwen's boss. He wasn't good at comforting people, so after thinking for a moment, he picked out a fried fish from the food box and handed it over.

Betty burst out laughing: "Are you sure you want to feed the fish and chips stand owner fried fish? I'm sick of it!"

Grisha laughed along, pointing to the side: "What's that?" Blood Harbor has many tall buildings, but this one was excessively tall among them.

It's more like a mountain standing on the earth.

A mountain of steel.

The massive base is circular, gradually tapering upwards, and then branching out into several smaller branches. Above each branch, there are structures under construction, but they are currently enclosed by barriers, obscuring the full view.

Grisha saw it the moment he arrived at Blood Harbor, but he never had a chance to ask about it. Now that they were there, they could see many people busy around it.

"This is supposedly Bloodharbor's future energy hub. The name hasn't been announced yet, but it'll be here in the next few days. The ignition ceremony will be held tomorrow. Do you want to come and watch?"

Grisha hesitated for a moment. He didn't think there was anything interesting about lighting the fire. The building in front of him was indeed magnificent, but what did it have to do with him?

No, you can't think so.

Grisha shook his head. Ever since the war ended, he seemed to have been in a daze, feeling empty inside, as if a part of him had been buried in the snow and wind of the North.

It wasn't just a fleeting impression; his prosthetic limbs trod on the stone pavement, and the hands holding the food box weren't made of flesh and blood. A part of him had indeed remained in the North.

Perhaps his heart is buried in the North.

The memories were too heavy for him; sometimes he would even hallucinate, as if he were back on the battlefield, reaching out to grab a weapon to fight desperately, only to realize that it was all a dream.

Betty looked at the boy beside her and felt that his smile was somewhat empty. He was clearly not even as old as her, but he always seemed to be lost in thought, staring blankly into his memories.

She bit her lip, her gaze sweeping over the building in front of her, when suddenly her eyes lit up: "Do you know Count Bazel?"

Grisha whirled around, his eyes sharpening instantly. Bazel, the Winter Wolf Guard, pistol cavalry, the gallows, and the headless corpses.

His eyes were red as he stared at Betty.

Seeing the girl instinctively back away, Grisha finally came to his senses. He quickly lowered his head, stuffed a few pieces of fried fish into his mouth, chewed them fiercely, and his breathing gradually calmed down.

"I know, the resistance forces and Bazel's men have fought many battles."

Bettis placed her hand on her chest; she had just been startled by the boy's reaction.

It was strange. He was clearly just a boy, using a cane and struggling to walk, and he was also quite thin, but when he raised his head, Betty was so frightened that she couldn't speak.

In those calm eyes, a cold rage seemed to flow, like a sharp dagger, reminding her of a winter stream, icy and biting.

The boy stopped talking and lowered his head to eat the fried fish.

"Bazaar will be here tomorrow for the ignition."

"Bazaar? What's he doing here?" The boy stopped stuffing fried fish into his mouth.

"It's said he'll be the new fuel for Blood Harbor—the fire to be lit tomorrow will be to burn him."

“Burn. Bazel.” Grisha murmured to himself, his eyes gradually brightening.

"What time tomorrow? Right here?"

"Yes."

The boy turned around and looked at the towering energy hub behind him.

He seemed to have higher expectations for this city.

(End of this chapter)