Chapter Nine: Is the World Going to End?

In a long-abandoned detention room within the base, there were six Rhine people temporarily held captive: the young Rant, the young Mari, and Uncle Simon, who was still unconscious. Despite the long period without use, the room remained spotless.

For Rant, who had grown up in the lower districts, everything here seemed unbelievable and impossibly clean. The pristine floor could even reflect shadows, making him hesitant to sit on it. However, young Mari, the noble son, appeared much more relaxed, being the first to sit directly on the ground.

It was only when everyone tried to sit down that Uncle Simon, who had fainted from fear, finally groaned and woke up.

"Uncle Simon, you're finally awake!" Rant exclaimed in delight.

“You always talk so tough, claiming to be an experienced hand in the Old Days Mountains, but you fainted first. What a sight,” Mari muttered discontentedly, likely the first and last time he would refer to Simon as 'Uncle.'

“Are we... still alive?” Simon asked as he turned to look around. Seeing everyone else alive, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Where are we? Why is it so beautiful here?” He then noticed the surroundings and felt nervous again.

“Uncle Simon, we've been captured by the mechanical demons,” Rant hurriedly said.

“What? Captured? They didn’t just kill us? Oh no, they must be planning to use us as sacrifices!” Simon’s eyes widened in terror as he realized something.

“Sacrifices? What sacrifices?” Rant asked, confused.

“Look at how many mechanical demons have gathered, like they’re on a pilgrimage. What do you think it means?” Simon said with a wry smile.

“What does it mean?” Rant inquired.

Mari and the others turned their heads in curiosity, sensing Simon might know something.

“Do you think I’m afraid for no reason? This situation only has one possible explanation: the Old Ones have returned,” Simon sighed.

“What? The Old Ones have returned? What do we do? Is the world really going to end?” Rant stared wide-eyed in fear.

Not long before this mission, he thought the legends about the Old Ones were just tales for children. Now, having witnessed the separation of the mountains and the surge of mechanical demons, Rant had come to believe those stories again. He was genuinely worried about what would happen if the world was indeed ending. He didn’t want to die; he was afraid of dying.

“Ha! The return of the Old Ones should be good news for poor folk like you. Why are you afraid?” Mari laughed mockingly.

“Mari, I know you look down on us poor people, but we don’t want the world to end either. How can you say it’s good news?” Uncle Simon retorted angrily.

Though Mari was supposedly a sinner's son, he was not someone a commoner like Simon could afford to offend. Simon usually tolerated Mari's aristocratic demeanor, but today’s remarks genuinely angered him. He had a wife and children, and every attempt to delve into the Old Days Mountains was for the sake of a better life for his family. The end of the world meant death for them all, yet Mari continued to mock him.

“Hahaha, commoners really are clueless. Do you really think the return of the Old Ones will destroy the world? Let me tell you, that's just a lie cooked up by generations of nobles to fool you poor folks!” Mari spoke loudly, with a hint of breaking the pot to scrape the bottom.

“A lie? What do you mean?” Uncle Simon stared at Mari in confusion.

“The only ones the Old Ones will destroy are the nobles. You commoners will actually gain a new life. So, you don’t need to fear the return of the Old Ones. It’s the nobles who should be afraid. The Old Ones are here to shatter your shackles,” Mari spoke with a sense of exhilaration.

As a noble's son who had been exiled and could only associate with commoners, Mari found joy in thinking about the fate of the nobles after the return of the Old Ones. Even if the Old Ones would not spare him, he no longer cared.

“Only the nobles will be destroyed? Will the Old Ones spare the commoners? Don’t the Old Ones need commoners to do their work?” Rant could only understand it this way.

Then Rant began to worry, “Will I still be able to eat a meal of sawdust bread?”

Mari scoffed, too lazy to explain.

Looking at Rant, he felt somewhat like a summer insect trying to discuss ice. As a noble’s son, he knew many secrets that commoners did not. He understood what the true history from a thousand years ago was like, rather than the fabricated stories told to the commoners.

But Mari’s sense of superiority was soon interrupted by a voice.

“No, when that time comes, you won’t need to eat sawdust bread anymore. You can eat white bread, and you’ll have three meals a day.”

Reynard, who had been silent, finally spoke. He was older than Mari and Rant, considered a young adult. He usually had a gentle smile but rarely spoke. It was unexpected for him to interject now.

“How do you know?” Mari frowned.

“I not only know this; I also know that in the time when the Old Ones ruled, everyone worked equally. They worked five hours a day, four days a week, had three meals a day, each meal included meat, vegetables, and fruits. Everyone had free healthcare, and children could attend school for free.”

As Reynard spoke, Rant, Simon, and the other two began to imagine what such a life would be like, yet they couldn’t picture it at all. They had never eaten meat or fruit and couldn’t imagine what life without the oppression of noble lords would be like. It must be paradise.

“Really?” Rant stared wide-eyed at Reynard. “Of course,” Reynard replied with a warm and radiant smile.

Just then, a robot approached from outside the detention room. It pushed a cart with six trays, bringing meals for the six Rhine people, complete with meat, vegetables, and fruits—an abundance Rant had never seen before.

Just as Reynard had said.