I continued to walk, and the crowd consciously split into two sides. Baidu search literature network, more good free reading. I took a chance, dodged into a dead end, and shot a hook at a hallway bar above. I rose into the shadows and waited.

It wasn't long before my tail walked into the alley. Her clothes were layered in several layers, unremarkably dressed as a very common upper-class Zaun, but she had a delicate whip around her waist, apparently from Picheng, or perhaps because she had a generous employer. I waited for her to walk into a spot of light, and the blinding light would make her eyes black. As soon as she got there, I landed behind her, the end of the blade digging neatly into the crevice of the pebbles in the ground.

"Did you drop something, little girl?" I asked softly, holding my voice.

Her hand couldn't help but touch the black leather handle of the whip. She was a little excited, but good luck luck luck with sanity.

"Looks like I've found it." The girl lifted her hands over her shoulders. "I brought a message."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It's your brother's, ma'am." She said.

Sooner or later, Stevan's trick will kill someone.

"Put it here."

The girl held one hand still up, and the other pulled a small note from her tightly wrapped sleeve. The wax seal bears Philos's family coat of arms and Stivan's own seal.

"If you move, I'll cut your throat." I say.

I opened the note, and anger welled up. Stewan actually treated me like a minion he had hired, reminding me not to get in the way of my mission with an "irresolvable sentimentality" in my heart during the investigation.

I told myself that he meant to do that, but after all these years, he still didn't seem to believe I could handle Hakim's affairs. He covered the thought with the woolen blanket on his lap, and didn't have the courage to say it in front of me before I left.

"For this insult I sent you, I should have killed you." I said, weighing her reaction. "Your name."

"Avoye." Her hands are as steady as her voice. She was so young that she hadn't even strengthened a finger.

"You took this task, you know very well the consequences of annoying me."

"Yes, my lady. Baidu search literature network, more good free reading. I hope to make you happy so that maybe I'll have a longer place in your home. ”

"I see."

I turned my back to her and walked out of the alley. If she really has an idea, this is a hands-on opportunity. I heard her breathe a sigh of relief, followed by the screech of the hoop striking as she straightened the whip. Her footsteps followed.

"Madame, our destination is"

"The church." I felt the rosary in my pocket and said, "Keep up." ”

The first episode of Glorious Evolution should still be in Piltover, but only on the fringes. From the other side of the border market, the stench of the city below overshadows the sweetness of the barbecue and cakes at the festival. The haze of Zaun rose like a tidal wave, spilling over people's knees and depositing on the soot-stained awnings, leaving puddles of cloud-like sludge.

I turned my head and said, "You stay here." ”

"I'm going to follow you, your brother," said Avoye.

"You stay here." I said it again, leaving no room for it. I'm starting to lose patience with my brother's tricks. "Believers in glorious evolution are very fanatical. They are not very friendly to the natives. ”

I stared at my new subordinate, forgiving her for not daring to speak up. Avoye shrank back slightly. She still craves a fight to prove herself, but she's not sure if it's a good time.

I smiled and said, "Little girl, after that we have time." ”

Entering through the entrance of the old house, there is a dimly lit gatehouse. An iron fence serves as a partition, and behind it is the main hall of the house. Clusters of orange warm lamps, through a diamond-shaped grid welded to metal, illuminated the crowd in the hall of about fifty or so people in a circle, whispering as if a magnificent machine was breathing under their feet. They were draped in dark flannel that covered the parts that were still there. Metal arms and reinforced legs and feet are exposed to the outside, reflecting a warm glow. Here, difficult augmentation surgeries are combined with more practical features. Whether the technology came from Picheng or Zuan, the Cultists of the Glorious Evolution didn't care at all, it was completely secondary to their pursuit. In the middle of the crowd was a young woman with an arm with mechanical joints and pointing at a man with a smooth metal chin.

"The body is nothingness, and flesh and blood are fragile." She said to the man.

"The machine leads us," the crowd responded, voices echoing through the air, "the future is evolution." ”

I'm not here to witness the ceremony. I skipped the enhanced believers and hid in the shadows to continue the search.

Before I could see Brother Zavel, I heard a soft gurgling sound, which was his throat filter. He hung his bald head down, and the breathing valve on his mouth even pressed against his sternum. He was lighting a votive lamp in the corner of the altar in the chapel.

On frosted glass, a solemn figure outlined by cold lead stared at him. The Gray Lady, the Holy Spirit of the Glorious Evolution Church. The blurry panes shone brightly, illuminated by the arc lights outside.

I approached the altar. There were jars of organs in the room, and there were eyeballs floating in them, like vinegar-pickled eggs. Bundles of tribute were wrapped in linen gauze, some neat, some shiny and unkempt. One of the bundles moved. Immediately afterwards, the nose of a plague mouse was peasculated under the gauze, and I did not dare to snatch its reward. It dragged its newfound treasure up to the heights, but a corner hooked the edge, and the whole bundle of gauze spread out, rolling out a dry finger. The rat jumped down in a panic, but Brother Zavel kicked it into the shadows.

"Camille, have you come here to meditate?" his voice was wrapped in the murmur of air, and the laughter could still be heard.

"For the news, monk." I took the rosary out of my pocket, and the glass beads and iron chains were mixed together.

Brother Zavel turned to look at me. A pair of lenses covered his eyes, magnifying them like jars. The difference is that his eyes are very flexible. I handed him the rosary.

"Where did you find that" he shook his head, examined it carefully, and flicked his tongue, "When I didn't say it, I knew it shouldn't have been asked." ”

He walked back and began fiddling with the votive lamps. "I met a guy a few weeks ago with this on him. He came here to light the lamp and begged her to help him on Progress Day. Brother Zavel nodded towards the carving on the window. The Grey Lady wore a cloak of pale purple glass, rusty gears, and blackened pistons. Whenever the craftsman was frustrated by his own failures or incompetence, he would call on her name. And her grace necessarily requires sacrifice.

"He's very dark-skinned, typical of a desert dweller. Compared with the ordinary foreign students who come here to earn a living, they look older. Brother Zavel continued.

"Do you know which one he's looking for?"

"He said he was staying in a hotel near Abino's house." The hum of the rally was gone. "Tonight's testimony is over. I've got something to do. ”

Brother Zavel patted my hands, straightened my black robes, and walked back to the main hall, leaving me alone to ponder.

Hakim is back, but there is no news yet. Although in our last conversation, we didn't understand how to connect with each other is the best way. I picked up my dry fingers from the ground and put them back in the pile. I was so angry that he was going to petition like an ordinary student worker, and that Hakim was really different from the craftsmen of Abino's house. Through the triangular and diamond-shaped lattices of the windows of the chapel, I saw Avoye standing under the street lamp. She's still obedient for the time being.

A scraping sound interrupted my boundless thoughts, which were lighter than the movement of a mouse. I felt the hex crystal in my chest vibrate vigilantly. I turned around, ready for danger.

"Are you her?" asked a thin voice.

Out of the dark corner near the metal bench stepped a little girl, no more than six or seven years old.

"Are you the Gray Lady," she asked again. As she approached, the Hex crystal softened, a gentle blue light illuminating her face. She held a bundle in one hand, wrapped in gauze, exactly like the piles of tribute behind me. She wore a black dress with one sleeve empty.

I was too tall over her when I was standing. I knelt down, eyes level with hers, and gently touched the bench. The crystal energy emitted from the fingertips hit the metal surface and caused an electric arc. The little girl stared at my legs, sparks fluttering from the smooth blades.

"Did you dedicate your leg to Evolution Day," she asked.

Followers of Glorious Evolution carry on the long tradition of Zuan and donate their things on Evolution Day in the hope that the next generation of products will be better. The origins of this custom can be traced all the way back to the city's long past. At that time, the people of Zaun had just experienced "that incident" and needed to rebuild their lives. The prosperity and wealth of Leather City today built on those scars is a direct testament to the validity of this tradition.

I looked at the little girl. A long time ago, on Evolution Day, I gave not my legs, but something more important.

"I chose it." I said, "Because they work better." ”

She nodded. The turquoise light faded, but black veins crawling like cobwebs could still be seen on her fingers clutching the tribute. In this part of the city, it is rare for such a young child to be infected with the disease. Glorious Evolution often takes in these patients, who see the removal of necrotic flesh as the key to changing lives and beliefs through technology.

"Brother Zavel says I'm getting better." She took the initiative to say.

"Indeed." I told her.

The physician who cared for her did not do her duty. Neither of her arms should have been left behind. I can imagine that the surgeon would have said that he had good intentions, but only to hide the timidity in his heart when holding the scalpel. Procrastination doesn't do the girl any good. If she didn't amputate her leg soon, those spider-like blood vessels would spread to her heart, eventually turning it into a piece of rotten meat. There is little chance that she will see the next day of evolution coming.

The little girl bit her lip, as if hesitating to continue asking. At this moment, through the huge frosted glass panels, my eyes saw that something was moving. A few dark shadows approached, and Avoye had company. WeChat, talk about life, find a confidant