"Wen, hurry up!" Janeko yelled, "The scream is coming soon!" ”

"I know!" He also yelled: "I don't need to say it! ”

Wen was climbing up a ventilation pipe. The greased iron frame made a tooth-aching sound. The Hex's pressure conveyor was getting closer, and the ventilation pipe vibrate.

His back was pressed against the chamfered iron frame, and his cramped legs were pressed against the opposite side. Looking up, the vent pipe outlet casts a boxy bright light, which seems out of reach. A head poked out from above, and it was his older brother Nick.

"It's almost there, boy." Nick held out a hand to him. "Do you want me to come down?"

Wen shook his head and continued to climb with all his might. His back was straight, and the muscles in his legs were on fire. Inch by inch, he moved up and down until he finally reached his brother's hand.

Nick grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the ventilation duct with all his might. Wen's feet went limp, and he fell face down on his stomach. This is a hole in the cliff face, and Zaun's child does not know it. There wasn't much space in the hollow, barely enough for them to stand up, and the edge was an extremely steep cliff. Outside the recess, about ten yards away, stood three pillars of lifts, each two yards in diameter, cast of wrought iron.

Fein stood at the very edge of the cliff and looked down, with a madman's smile on his face. The wind swept wildly, ruffling up his patched clothes and messy hair. Nick stood beside Ketts. She was excited, and her cheeks were red. Janeko slapped nervously on her thighs, staring at Wen angrily.

"You almost caused us to miss it."

"The screaming hasn't come yet. We won't miss it. Wen said through gritted teeth.

Janeco glared at Wen, but because Nick was there, he didn't dare to make a mistake. When they were orphans in the "House of Hope", Janeko was an overlord. But the Overlord often becomes a thorn in the side of the villains under the Alchemy Baron, and is severely repaired.

Kates tried to pull him to his feet, but Winn smiled and took her outstretched hand.

"Thank you."

"No, you don't." She leaned in so that the noise wouldn't drown out her words.

Wen smelled a hint of caustic soap, like the sour smell of lemon juice, which she was supposed to use for her morning wash. Thinking about where the hike was going, Kates also put some thought into what he was wearing. She pulled out an old dress from the suitcase. These clothes are all obsolete for older children, or left behind after leaving the orphanage when they are old. Although Wen had already cleaned the dust and grease from his body, as he stood beside Katz, a sharp feeling of self-esteem suddenly surged in his heart.

"I've never screamed," she said, still clutching his hand, "what about you?" ”

The shrill roar grew louder and louder. A loud click poured into the cavern and slammed into the wet moss-green walls with a deafening echo. Finn looked back at him, and the face of Janeco next to him was also full of sinister smiles. When you're afraid that you'll be looked down upon, lying makes perfect sense.

"Me? Too many to count! As soon as he said that, he realized that he had made a mistake. Wen turned around and saw that the others had gathered on the edge, one by one tensed their legs and standing in the wind.

He leaned close to Ketts' ear.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that. Actually, I haven't done it, not once. Don't tell them, I'm talking nonsense. ”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. I don't want to be alone. ”

Screaming is one of the many rituals that the children of Zaun need to go through. Other rituals include climbing to the top of the Old Hunger Clock Tower on all fours, cutting a purse with a baron's men, teasing a ditch scavenger on stilts, and more. These rituals are endless and sinister, but only then can you prove that you are a street kid you can't mess with.

But to muster up the courage to jump out of the edge of the cave, Wen felt that this test was definitely the craziest. The screams of the elevators grew louder, and the cavern was filled with the thud of metal scraping and gear clattering.

Nick stood up and leaned out to look down. He smiled wickedly and gave a thumbs up. Then he bent his knee and threw himself off the cliff. He waved his hands and feet and disappeared from the sight of the others. Jian Ke didn't want to be robbed of the limelight, so he also stood up and jumped out with a roar. Finn followed, laughing like a madman.

"Are you ready?" Wen's voice was completely drowned out by the scream.

Cates nodded. She couldn't have heard what he said, but she didn't need to hear either. She still didn't let go of his hand. He laughed, and the two of them rushed to the cliff together. Wen's heart was pounding in his throat, as if a pneumatic hammer was constantly pounding on his ribs. He hesitated at his feet, but it was too late. He stepped onto the edge of the hole, roared boldly, and jumped into the wind in one step.

The ground on which it landed was gone. A few hundred yards below was Zaun's lower level, with nothing but air left between him and him. Burning fear suddenly grabbed Wen's heart, squeezing his lungs like a blacksmith's vice. He found himself tumbling and falling to the ground, his limbs fluttering like windmills, as if he could learn to fly like a shrike bird on a cliff. He looked down. Screaming, the ovoid cockpit of glass and steel was rushing up.

Nick, Janko, and Finn are already on it. They hold the baroque grille on the cockpit roof or hold it against the stand. Wen slapped himself on the thick glass, then rolled aside. He slid out along the curved window, scratching his hands and feet desperately, trying to grasp something. His sweaty palms kept slipping, and his feet were kicking wildly. Whatever it is, as long as you can hold him back.

But nothing.

"Don't, don't......" he gasped as he rolled from the top of the arc to the edge. Cana is on top! ”

A strong wind swelled and blew him upside down, just in time for him to see a copper hook propped up on the side of the lift. He wriggled as hard as he could, and the wind behind him seemed to push him, no more, no less. His fingers hung on the copper hook desperately, and finally saved his life before the ghost gate closed.

Soon, Wen pulled a long ray in the air, and finally turned into an abrupt endpoint. He finds his place to stay and eagerly searches for Ketts's whereabouts. He saw her on a high place, laughing hysterically, glad he had survived. Wen couldn't help but laugh as he crawled towards the flatter top of the scream, grinning like a neurotic.

When Nick saw him, he let out a cheer and punched Janeko.

"See? Said he was fine! ”

Wen crawled up to his brother, and he felt his legs as soft as bones, as if he had just experienced a night of drunkenness. He breathed heavily, and the air was fresh. In the gutter, there is something in the air. But at such a high place, the air was as clear as a knife, which made him feel a little dizzy.