"Not bad, boy, good job." Nick patted him on the back, coughed to himself, and spat a mouthful of gray phlegm on the glass floor. Nick wiped his mouth, and Wen couldn't help but notice the saliva left in his palm.

"Needless to say."

Nick was amused by his composure. "It's worth it, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful." Kates said.

Wen thinks so too. From afar, Zaun stretched out like a dark green cloth of light and shadow on the rocky floor of the canyon. The Workshop Forest is shrouded in steam, and rainbows connect it. The glittering smoke from the furnace swirled upwards and danced in the wind. From here, the gutter pool sways like an emerald mirage. The fire in the shadows is like a fine star—a rare sight to be seen in the House of Hope.

Tears stung Wen's eyes, and he reassured himself that it was too windy. Far above, towers of ivory, brass, copper and gold glitter and trap Piltover in a halo. It's really beautiful, but Zuan's beauty comes from life. The streets and alleys are full of life and bustling, and people are rubbing shoulders and full of life. Wen loves Zuan. Although the city has its problems, and there are many more, its prosperity and boundless possibilities are wonderful things that you can rarely see in Phi City.

Through the glass beneath his feet, Wen saw dozens of people staring up at him. Screaming passengers, while they're not surprised by hitchhikers, doesn't mean they like it. Some of the passengers were Zaun, but most of them were swaggering Leather Townspeople. They've had enough of the gas-lit Bourse mall, or the glass-roofed eateries, or the heavy concert halls of Zaun, and they're about to go back.

"Damn Leather Guys." "I feel like I'm excited to run down there and have fun, but I still have to sneak back to Picheng at night," said Jane. ”

"If it weren't for that, Zu An would have made a lot less money." Cates replied. "Picheng makes money from Zuan, and we have to rely on them for food. And don't we have a lot of good days in Phi City? Remember the fireworks that were set off at the Gate of the Sun on Evolution Day last year? Remember that Picheng chick you fell in love with? What are you talking about, Janeke, it's clear that you're the one who likes to pull us up the most. ”

They all laughed, but Janeko blushed.

"I'll give them something good!" Fein laughed. The scrawny brat quickly removed the straps of his bib pants, took off his pants, sat on the spot, and printed his ass on the glass. "Hey, Picheng, isn't the moon round tonight?!"

Like a dog rubbing its back on the ground, Finn slid down the glass, and the two petals of his butt pressed the flowers, opening the eyes of the people below.

The children laughed, but the passengers in the elevator were all dusty. The adults blocked their children's eyes and angrily shook their fists at the little rascal of Zu'an.

"We don't go straight to the top." Nick finally took a breath and wiped the tears from his laughing eyes and said, "Babeta is in the middle. ”

"Who knows if Mother Elody will be there." Janeko said.

"She must be there." Wen said, "I saw the program on her desk. It depicts her singing on stage. It's like a dark haze will come as soon as the sky is dark. But we've got to hurry, she's going to play when the bell strikes eight, and it's six now! ”

Mother Elety is the director of the House of Hope. The orphanage came from the fact that the disaster that tore apart Zuan left many children without parents overnight. The orphanage started with more than 200 children and was financed by a number of families who moved to Phi City, which later became a family group. But more than a hundred years after the orphanage was established, the money on the account became less and less, because there was no money flowing down from the new city above. Those wealthy, upper-class families finally feel that they have paid enough money to make up for their guilt, and that's all.

Eletty's mother was the only employee left after the orphanage ran out of money. She had a dark complexion, and she said that she was actually an Ionian princess. Wen suspects that it is nothing more than a beautiful story to attract donations from the alchemy barons. But he liked the story because she said that she didn't want to spend a boring life in the palace and that she wanted to see the outside world. Wen couldn't imagine anyone giving up such a prosperous life, but he had never seen any other Ionian, even if he used to help the seafarers on the docks.

Every kid at the House of Hope has heard the song that Mother Eloti sang while she was cooking and doing laundry. Her voice was incomparably beautiful, and Wen had been held in her arms more than once as a child, asleep to her lullabies. That day, when Wen went to deliver herbal tea to Eletty's mother, she happened to see a stack of curled letterhead stuffed with a folded list of programs from the Babeette Theater. He had only time to glance at it hurriedly, but he dared to bet with a box of gold gears depicting Mother Eletty, in her finest gown, singing in the center of the stage surrounded by footlights. Seeing his expression, she called him out and screamed at him for not meddleling. Wen had no choice but to cover his ears.

He told the other children about it, and within an hour they had already made plans to sneak out to see her sing.

"Look!" Wen nudged Nick and yelled.

Nick looked down and nodded. In the elevator, a uniformed operator is yelling at a talking hose.

"He's telling the people above to be careful of the hitchhikers." "But that's okay, we're not going to sit on top anyway," Nick said. ”

"So where do we get down?" Finn got up and put on his pants with great compassion.

"There's an old winch under the platform. The chimney cap is in a good position, flat and wide, with an unsealed sewer pipe next to it. Nick said, pointing to it.

"Shall we jump again?" Wen asked his brother.

Nick smiled and winked at him.

"yes, but what's wrong with a veteran like you, huh?"

He exhaled with a shudder. His palms were covered in blood as he grabbed the rusty chimney cap on the winch. The second time he jumped into the gale, it scared him out of his stomach, but at least this time he knew he could. The scream continued upward, and Wen watched with relief as it drifted away.

But at least it will be easier when you go back. The steep mountain walls with hewn stone steps, or the spiral staircase hanging from the bottom of the cliff complex, plunges headlong into the ground, just to keep your head dizzy.

Next to the winch's chimney cap was an open sewer pipe, just like Nick had said. The pipes were full of the stench left behind by toxic sewage, but fortunately they were mostly dry. What's even more rare is that the space inside is enough for people to stand up, indicating that there is a lot of muddy and stinky water arranged by this pipe to the ancestors.