Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

However, the final result was that Wei Yanwu, who was known as an excellent politician who was good at arguing, could not win against Jiu, who was trying to give Chen Sir credit with good intentions, and could not win against Wen Yue, who was the most important wife in the world, and was caught in the middle and became a punching bag.

Oh, to use Mr. Wei Yanwu's words, he shouldn't be called a doormat, but rather "a mature man with composure and refinement, who can bend and stretch."

"Madam, Huijie will be fine, please stop talking."

Wei Yanwu straightened his chest, wanting to restore the valor of the men of Longmen, and said righteously,

"Chen joined the investigation team voluntarily. I promised not to interfere with the normal work of the Guard Bureau, so there is no reason to transfer Chen away."

"Then... can't you make up a reason?" Madam Wenyue pursed her lips, and seeing that being firm wouldn't work, her tone softened and became tearful.

Make up an excuse?

Where am I supposed to come up with a reason?

There's nothing the Guard Bureau needs to handle lately. If I transfer Huijie back but don't give her a proper job, she'll come causing trouble here again.

But looking at Lady Wenyue's appearance, Wei Yanwu swallowed hard, ultimately unable to utter a word of refusal. He could only nod helplessly, pick up his pipe, take a puff, and sigh.

Let me think about it some more.

What can we get Huijie to do?

"Dong dong."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Wei Yanwu glanced at Madam Wenyue, who gave a slight curtsy and retreated to the inner room.

She didn't care what Wei Yanwu did to her in private, but in public, she would always show her husband the utmost respect. This was a habit she had developed from childhood as a princess of the Eastern Kingdom.

"Come in. Victorian? What brings you here?"

Looking at the man in front of him, dressed in a suit and wearing the prominent Victorian coat of arms, Wei Yanwu asked in confusion.

"Commander Wei, I salute you."

Diplomat Felin bowed, then raised his head and introduced himself:

“I come from Londinium, on the orders of His Highness the Prince of Wales of the Royal Family of Aslan of the Victorian Empire, to deliver the agreed-upon birthday gift to Miss Chen of your household. I wish Miss Chen a happy birthday.”

"Furthermore, on behalf of Victoria, I am submitting a visit application to Lungmen. His Highness the Prince of Wales plans to visit Lungmen soon. May I ask your opinion..."

"Let me think about it and I'll get back to you in a few days."

Wei Yanwu nodded and accepted the gift from the Victoria envoy. The gift box was heavy, and its contents were not discernible from the outside. However, Wei Yanwu's focus had long since shifted elsewhere.

Victoria Aslan, Prince of Wales?

Why would he suddenly want to come to Longmen?

Chapter Two: The Taste of Happiness

Why did the Prince of Wales want to come to Lungmen?

The answer to this question is actually quite simple: it's on the way.

This wasn't Wayne's first time visiting the ruins of Kazdel. Here, he was lucky enough to find Miss Mudrock, who also brought back Granny Surtr. This place was his "lucky spot." In fact, after Wayne first located Kazdel by comparing the Terra map in Victoria's collection with the map of Kazdel's location in the game in his mind, he already realized that Kazdel was very close to Lungmen.

How close is it? Wayne asked Kal'tsit, and even without using a flying vehicle, the time it takes to travel from Kazdel to Lungmen by land is only a day or two.

On his previous two trips to Kazdel, Wayne had been unable to make a stop in Lungmen due to important business. This time, however, things were perfect. After meeting with Bozokasti, Theresa had nothing else to do. He had also made a promise with Vina to take her out for a walk, a family outing. With everything in place, it would be a real shame not to take advantage of the opportunity to visit Lungmen.

After enthusiastically recommending Lungmen to Theresa the whole way, the Demon Lord finally agreed to the suggestion that "if everything goes smoothly after meeting Bozokaste, we'll head to Lungmen on the way." In truth, she was also quite curious about Lungmen's environment. A trading city that had risen at a phenomenal pace, Lungmen must have something Kazdel could learn from in developing mobile cities.

Then Wayne will call Vina and tell her about this little surprise.

After all, given Vina's status, taking her out would inevitably cause some trouble, unless they went to a no-man's-land. Since it would definitely cause trouble anyway, it would be better to go to Lungmen, which is the place Wayne is most familiar with, where there are the most storylines and acquaintances in the game. That way, they wouldn't be completely clueless.

However, all of this is contingent on the trip to meet the patriot going smoothly enough.

The vehicle slowly drove into the ruins of Kazdel, the devastation of the millennium-long demonic war vividly displayed on this land. Countless tall buildings stood here, yet not a single one remained intact. Numerous fields lay scattered with the thorns of swords and spears. Vast expanses of crumbling walls and makeshift shelters made of tattered cloths provided respite from the howling wind. Through these barely sparse curtains, and through the fluttering fabric, pairs of clouded eyes peered at Vain's convoy in the distance.

"Please stop." "Stop."

Wayne and Theresa spoke almost simultaneously. They were both taken aback for a moment, then exchanged a knowing smile.

They knew that they probably all wanted to do the same thing at that moment.

Wayne got out of the car, walked around it, opened the other door, and helped the Demon King out of the car, taking Theresa's hand. Perhaps Theresa's appearance was too surprising, for whispers came from the seemingly empty ruins. Then, like Viet Cong, Sarkaz, perfectly hidden, poured out of the ruins and surrounded Wayne's convoy, only to be stopped by heavily armed mounted police and the Royal Guard.

Wayne glanced briefly at the crowd around him and was startled to find that the convoy was surrounded by hundreds of Sarkaz. And this might not even be all of them; besides those who had emerged from the ruins, there were likely more Sarkaz hidden within.

Without exception, they all had Originium crystals of varying sizes unevenly distributed on their bodies; in other words, they were all Originium patients.

Their thin physiques and weak strength made them unsuitable for joining the regular army under the Military Commission, and even the mercenary squads of the Scar Market wouldn't take these patients who had become a burden. Among them were many elderly people and children, some of whom didn't even have basic clothing, barely able to move around wrapped in a dirty, fuzzy blanket.

They were all people who failed to board the mobile city "Kazdel" and leave this place; they were all people abandoned by Theresis.

"Is this Princess Theresa?"

Finally, someone couldn't help but shout out. All eyes in the crowd immediately focused on Theresa.

"it's me."

Theresa nodded.

A cheer erupted from the crowd, catching the security soldiers somewhat off guard. They looked at the excited Sarkaz people, who were jumping and embracing each other, seemingly bewildered as to why this was happening.

Theresa did nothing; she simply appeared and stood there. These infected, who were so numb that the soldiers saw them as potential dangers at any moment, became excited, as if they had received some kind of blessing.

They don't understand, but Wayne does.

He had witnessed the same scene in the northern border of Victoria. He himself was the protagonist that time. When he entered Princeton County as a member of the Aslan royal family, the son of the King of the North, the expressions on the faces of the welcoming citizens, the overjoyed soldiers, and the nobles who flocked to him were no different from those on the faces of the Sarkaz before him.

This is a symbol. It symbolizes that a person's prestige within a group has reached an unparalleled level; he doesn't need to do anything, his mere presence is enough to make people feel at ease.

This is Theresia. Even though Theresis and the Military Council have seized control of most of Kazdel's military power, she is never afraid. She has the support of the people, so even in a civil war, she can win the support of half of the Sarkaz tribes, thus standing against the Military Council and Theresis.

"Fellow countrymen, Kazdel is now in the West."

As Theresa spoke, the crowd immediately fell silent.

"Our homeland is in the West, within the territory of Victoria."

"But we can't get into Victoria."

A Sarkaz cried out weakly.

Theresa turned her head to look at Wayne. Wayne nodded.

He had long anticipated that on their journey to the old site of Kazdel, they might encounter the suffering Sarkaz.

Given Theresa's personality, she wouldn't hesitate to do even the smallest act of kindness, so Wayne had made preparations well in advance.

Wayne nodded to the guard beside him. The guard saluted, turned and jogged to the cars at the back of the convoy, knocked on the driver's window, said a few words, and then the driver opened the car door.

These vehicles were not carrying people; they were carrying large quantities of Saver-type Oripathy inhibitors, which the Victorian government had acquired from Rhine Life.

"Queue in an orderly fashion, do not cut in line. Those receiving the supplies must register. After receiving your supplies, board the vehicle in an orderly manner. His Majesty the Prince of Wales and his wife will take you to Kazdale, where you will be given a job, a good salary, and a continuous supply of Oripathy inhibitors. Those who wish to receive their supplies should do so in an orderly fashion."

For the Sarkaz, the fact that someone was willing to provide them with Oripathy inhibitors for free was nothing short of a miracle. But Wayne and Theresa both knew that miracles and magic were never free.

Victoria wouldn't do something that wouldn't benefit her. These Sarkaz people, while unable to fight, could still work in the mines, or at the very least, contribute their labor in agriculture, land reclamation, or even manual labor. Victoria would provide them with jobs, offering wages certainly below market value but far exceeding the monetary value of the term "slave," along with rations of Oripathy inhibitors. This money and medicine would be enough for them to support their elderly parents and children, and even allow them to live a relatively comfortable life.

As for orphans or elderly people living alone, Wayne and Theresa will join forces to demand that Theresis and the Military Council take care of them! It's their responsibility! Young and middle-aged men are conscripted into the battlefield and become soldiers, while the elderly and children are abandoned. If Theresis really dares to do such a thing, Wayne wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson.

This is certainly not a perfect solution, but it's the best Wayne can do.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Bruce."

Theresa said seriously.

She wondered why Wayne would travel so ostentatiously with a whole convoy of over a dozen mid-sized cars, but Wayne said it was necessary.

Now she understands these necessities, and exactly where those necessities lie.

Theresa felt a warmth in her heart.

Silent help and unspoken understanding are more heartwarming than any words.

Originium Arts told her that this warm feeling was the taste of happiness.

written request for leave

The admission letter arrived. Sichuan International Studies University. Located in Chongqing.

I went out to eat with my family, and it was really outrageous. Relatives I don't even keep in touch with by phone suddenly flocked to the dinner party as soon as they heard it was happening. If it weren't for the current pandemic restrictions preventing inter-provincial travel, I bet people from all over the country would have come. After dinner, they kept trying to chat with me, and I had no choice but to put up with it for ages.

Relatives, relatives, it's like having distant relatives even when you're rich in the mountains.

I'm so tired today, mainly mentally. I need to rest for a day and will update tomorrow.

Let's go out for a barbecue and celebrate with ourselves.

Hooray to my upcoming university life!

Chapter Three: We will become the writers of the Book of Destiny!

The former site of Kazdel, deep within the Scar Market.

Wayne finally arrived at the Absolutioner's stronghold hidden deep in the market. By then, his convoy consisted only of him and Theresa in the main car and two auxiliary cars. Compared to the grand and imposing convoy that had just left Londinium, it was a world of difference.

However, although the scale was much smaller, the journey saved quite a few Sarkaz. Aside from a few who had already decided to settle in the wilderness, or a few who still distrusted or even harbored hostility towards Victoria, the majority of the Sarkaz accepted the invitation from Wayne and Theresa and went to Victoria.

Among them are many with exceptional talent in Originium Arts—the Sarkaz are naturally gifted in Originium Arts, and those who don't are few and far between. With proper training, they would be formidable combatants. Just recruiting these people to Victoria and Kazdel would have made this trip worthwhile for Wayne and Theresa.

"Your Highness Theresa, Your Highness Wayne."

The absolution master, who was standing guard at the entrance of the stronghold, solemnly bowed to Theresa and Wayne, turned around, and inserted the withered branch greatsword at his waist into the sect gate in front of him. Like a key, he turned it once, and the stone gate opened slowly with a loud bang.

"It looks like the way treasure caves are opened in fantasy novels, right?"

Theresa smiled slightly at Wayne. Wayne scratched his head and nodded in agreement.

"Yes."

Actually, what he was thinking about was the scene from the TV series "Journey to the West" where the White Dragon opens the gates of the Dragon Palace. Before that was the part with Benbo'erba and Babo'erben.

It's okay, that's fantasy too, Eastern fantasy, it's pretty much the same...

"Gentlemen, Bozokasti is waiting for you inside."

The pardoner bowed again and stood by the door, clearly having no intention of going in. Theresa and Wayne exchanged a glance, shrugged, and went inside.