The night of Old Dunling was always like that, with countless factories towering over the land, smoke rising from the chimneys and turning into gray silhouettes in the dim light, and the Iron Whale, as usual, roamed the gray sea, occasionally moving its gaze to the ground, and then the light spilled down.

Joey leaned against the window, it was late at night, and the world outside the window was silent, except for the faint noise of machines in the distance, where the stove never went out, and the machinery never stopped.

As if a day's work had been a bit too tiring, Joey looked exhausted, and there was a ticking sound in the room behind him, where a large Geiger counter was erected, working around the clock.

The rest of the people had already left work, the room was empty, Joey also rubbed his eyes, finally he was not on duty tonight, and he should have gone to bed early, and then someone pushed the door open, and the kestrel walked in.

"You're on duty today?"

Joey was a little surprised, although he lived in the stronghold, he was just an ordinary person, and he couldn't be vigilant twenty-four hours a day, so someone would come to keep vigil for him, but he didn't expect it to be a kestrel.

"Or else?"

Kestrel said with an unhappy expression.

"I'm just a worker, and I don't want to, but the schedule is like that, and I can't pick up a knife to cut Arthur, can I? ”

Kestrel leaned against the window as she spoke, as if to see where Joey was looking, her eyes sweeping back and forth over the night scene.

Joey didn't speak, just stared blankly outside, and after a long time, laughed inexplicably.

"What's wrong?"

Kestrel asked curiously, Joey was acting strangely.

"You know? The doctors at the Black Mountain Hospital often tell me that people can become negative and ...... at night. It was sad, so he advised me to sleep well at night and not to think too much. ”

"So you're cranky now?"

"Probably. ”

"And what are you thinking?"

It's time to say that it's really worthy of an old colleague, and as soon as you say something to me, we chatted inexplicably.

The two of them stood in the empty room, and as the night breeze poured in, paper with handwriting fluttered up. Kestrel also forgot that he was on duty, and Joey also forgot that he wanted to go back to the house to sleep after the handover.

"Lorenzo once told me that he is a person who is prone to overthinking, letting his thoughts diverge and constantly thinking, maybe he is influenced by him, and sometimes I do ...... like this"

"For example?"

"Like I saw those ...... at the end of the horizon"

Joey stretched out his hand as he spoke, pointing to the factories that were clustered like dense forests, their gray silhouettes, and the chimneys that stretched out like twisted branches and leaves.

"When I see those factories, I will inexplicably think of the news of the Duke of Salikado, you should remember, in the case of 'Study of the Blood Letter', because of the oppression of the remnants that led to the attack on the Duke of Salicado. ”

Hearing Joey say this, Kestrel also remembered that, that incident was their first contact with Provost Lawrence.

"Is that event over? Actually, no, the questions about the remnants have not been resolved, the status quo has not changed, and Salicado has begun to develop civilian airships, and the factory has been working around the clock to speed up the pace. ”

Joey babbled.

"As a result, there were several riots in the industrial area the other day, and it was the remnants of the people, as well as the people of Invig. ”

"You're starting to care about that?" the kestrel frowned slightly.

"No, it's just an association from overthinking, I know it's useless to think about it, but people are empathetic, it's a flaw, it allows us to understand the grief of others, even if they're not from Invig, or even if they're not human...... Even those of us who fight against demons will have this kind of heart.

When you see a poor puppy, you feel pity and feel like you're suffering the same as it......"

Joy paused, then said.

"Actually, I don't know what I'm talking about, I just say what comes to mind casually, but sometimes I feel that the world is a little too desperate, and I know that we people should have long been used to this, but getting used to it doesn't mean that we are not afraid, even if a soldier who is familiar with war will feel fear when he grips his weapon.

There are many more such factories, and the whole world is a huge factory, and we seem to be free, but we are only under a much larger cage.

Everyone is like this, being forced into the machine, becoming a small gear, maybe this size is not the right size, but I will also be worn into the right shape in the long run...... In fact, sometimes I almost forget what I'm living for, and I don't mean that kind of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, but something more advanced...... Something more worth pursuing. ”

Kestrel looked at Joey a little sluggishly, he knew that Joey was a guy with a higher level of thought than himself, but he didn't think he could...... So much to associate with.

"I feel like you're a philosopher. Kestrel said.

In Kestrel eyes, Joey does have the temperament of a philosopher and scholar, born in a famous family, rigorous and etiquette, unlike Kestrel who crawled out of the lower city, and Joey is always so approachable, like a strange obsessive-compulsive disorder and cleanliness, he is always so neat.

Sometimes Kestrel even sees him after a fight, and the first thing he does is change into clean clothes.

"It's just a little sentimental. Joey replied.

"Don't be modest, I'm not praising you. ”

Kestrel continued, looking at Joey from top to bottom.

"You give me the impression that you are a depressed philosopher, and people like you usually can't help jumping off the stairs after being caught up in the horns of their minds. ”

The kestrel gestured as he spoke, his palms erected like a leaping bird, flying to a high place, and then falling to his death, making a ridiculous onomatopoeia for the sake of realism.

Joey wasn't amused, but he thought about it seriously when he heard this.

"Suicide? It's unlikely. ”

Considering many factors, Joey pessimistically found that even if he was looking for death, he had a lot of constraints and concerns.

"Why do you need a serious answer?"

Kestrel felt that he couldn't keep up with this slightly sad fellow.

"Wait, Joey, you won't ......"

Kestrel thought of something and asked with some concern.

"No, it's been a long time since I've touched hallucinogens, and if I did, I wouldn't have been so sober to talk to you. ”

Joey replied decisively as if he knew what the kestrel was worried about.

"That'...... Did you use hallucinogens before because of this problem?"

Kestrel only knew that Joey had used hallucinogens and had spent some time in the Black Mountain Hospital, but he didn't know the details in more detail.

But this is also normal, after all, the customers who work are demons, and these knights who clean up the mechanism will inevitably have some strange diseases, and sometimes you don't have any symptoms but are special.

"Hmm...... Not really, I had just joined the purification agency at that time, and I was dealing with these evil things all day long, and I needed a period of psychological counseling after each action, and then ...... Then I ran into hallucinogens, and I tried to escape those nightmares, but I fell into a bigger nightmare. ”

Joey conceived his thoughts, and then spoke them out bit by bit.

"People should not just live for what food, clothing, shelter and transportation, there should be something more noble, of course, everyone's definition of nobility is different, for Lorenzo to cut demons is noble, for you food, clothing, shelter and transportation should be noble. ”

As he spoke, he looked at the kestrel, who never seemed to be sorrowful, at least not as sorrowful as Joey, who seemed to be an easily satisfied person.

"Almost, in fact, this also has to be combined with personal experience, if our identities are reversed, maybe I will be as sad as you, but unfortunately we are not. ”

As if to enlighten this nocturnal friend, Kestrel said.

"You should know that I was just a gangster in the lower city before I joined the Purification Agency, and I was hanging out with a friend of mine, robbing and fighting, and if I hadn't met the shrike, I might have died on some dark street corner.

So I've always been glad that every minute I've spent now is a gift of life, and although this job is a bit strange and risky than in the lower city, at least it can ensure food and clothing, and not only that, but it can also make a small contribution to all mankind, which is perfect. ”

The kestrel said and became inexplicably proud.

"The more I think about it, the more painful it becomes, and I really envy a single-celled creature like you. Joey was envious and laughed at his colleagues.

“？”

Kestrel looked puzzled, this guy who had never gone to school in the lower city area had obviously suffered a loss of education at this time.

"I'm just a little lost, Kestrels, we're constantly fighting demons, day in and day out, and I know it's for more people, but sometimes I always wonder what I want.

People should have some higher pursuits.

But then I thought of the remnants, the people who toiled day and night in the factories, who were just trying to make ends meet for their shaky income...... In fact, they should have something to want, just like me, but they are trapped in the cage of reality. ”

The kestrel said, "Do you have compassion on the world?"

Joey looked like a sad statue of the Virgin in his eyes, and maybe in the next second Joey would hug him and forgive the kestrel for his sins.

"No, I just know the pain between everyone, but I'm helpless, everyone has worked hard to live, but the iron curtain is still falling down......"

He shook his head and said his strange feelings.

"I can't help anyone, I can't even help myself, I can only watch it fall until it crushes everyone to the point of flesh and blood. ”

Joey paused, then spoke again.

"Not to mention those who have jumped back, such as the former remnants, who were expected to get a regular identity...... At least a regular job position, but ruined by fellow survivors, even us Invig, as long as we make sure we live well. ”

"Of course, it's just my cranky thoughts, people are always in a low mood at night, right?"

Kestrel nodded.

"It's really all you can think of, if it were me, I probably wouldn't think about it so much. ”

"What will you do?"

The kestrel thought for a moment, then pulled out the weapon it was wearing.

"Shout, 'Dog, you've betrayed the working class!' and give his head a breath, that's it. ”

Joey was still expressionless, it seemed that the joke told by the kestrel was difficult to save this colleague's sinking mood, he put down the weapon in his hand, and then said helplessly.

"Yes, in fact, I sometimes get low, for example, Arthur assigned me some deadly actions, and I have to write a good will before each action, writing and writing but finding that I don't have much property, and I don't have many relatives, wow, you make me depressed too!"

"But what can I do, at most, it's okay to be weird with Arthur. ”

Kestrel said as she remembered something, and continued to enlighten Joey.

"Remember Nikolai? Perpetual Pump, I actually think his point is quite interesting. ”

"What?"

"Pointless. ”

Kestrel said.

"Everything is meaningless, we still have them, Invig and the world, all this is meaningless.

We will die, buildings will fall, kingdoms will perish, even knowledge will pass in the torrent of time, and everything will be meaningless.

Our conquests, our monuments, and the enemies, the demons, the shadows that are all over the world, the monsters, and even the Duke of Salicado, what is the use of even more wealth? It can't buy eternal life, it can't buy eternity, it's meaningless, wealth is determined by people, and when we all die, it's just a golden metal.

Everything we do is in vain, like a meteor in the night sky, fleeting and brilliant, and nothing can even remember it forever.

Our pain, our sorrow, our anger, our guilt, all of this is meaningless. ”

Kestrel lowered his head as he spoke, he didn't know why there was so much today, it could be the reason for being infected by Lorenzo, that rotten man was like that, he would always say something inexplicable. He pulled Lajoy and told him to stay away from the window.

"yes, pointless. ”

He shouted loudly.

"Everybody dies, and what bothers us dissipates when we die. ”

Everything that is confusing and greedy, no matter how much money and glory there is, will only be empty after death, and even if anyone remembers, it will be consumed in the course of time.

Kestrel reached out and placed it on Joey's shoulder.

"So don't think about that, Joey, I brought a supper, do you want to come along?"