"Mm!" Siegfried thoroughly enjoyed the triumphant welcome.
"It must be tough for you guys, patrolling the city gate every day!" Siegfried laughed heartily, patting the city defense captain who stood ramrod straight before him. This time, he was smart enough to use his uninjured hand.
"Not at all! It is our duty!" the captain boomed back, his voice full of vigor.
But seeing Siegfried's broad smile, a sense of unease crept into the captain's heart.
The city defense team was indeed at the gate every day, but they worked in rotating shifts. Besides, it wasn't him who patrolled, but his subordinates. He had only come to the gate today on a whim to check on his men.
He never expected to run into Siegfried. For a moment, the captain wasn't sure if he was lucky or unlucky.
But no matter how guilty he felt, the captain dared not show it in front of Siegfried. Listening to Siegfried's cheerful laughter and feeling the genuine force of the pats on his shoulder, the captain only grew more uncomfortable.
It was as if something was constantly scratching at him from the inside, making his whole body itch.
"Keep up the good work!" After a few more pats, Siegfried withdrew his hand, gave the captain a "I've got my eye on you" look and a thumbs-up, then called out to the group behind him and led the way into the city.
Seeing Siegfried finally leave, the captain was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a line of people appeared before him.
"Thank you for your hard work," Akman said with a slight bow, then followed Siegfried, bowing to every passing city defense team member.
The group of sand bandits lined up to bow and offer their regards to the captain, forcefully bringing back the guilt that had just started to subside.
Finally, after the sand bandits had escorted the large truck through the gate, the city defense captain stood at the entrance, momentarily lost in a daze.
"Captain?" A young-looking city defense member, seeing the blowing sand about to bury the captain's feet, boldly stepped forward to remind him.
The veteran members behind him tried to stop the young man, but it was too late. All they could do was stand at attention, not daring to look.
Was it youthful ignorance or the recklessness of a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger? Didn't this young man know their captain was notoriously volatile?!
For those two words, the boy would probably have two months' salary docked! He might even get a couple of slaps...
"Hm?" The captain snapped back to reality with a casual grunt. But that single, flat sound made several of the veterans flinch, and the rookie sensed something was amiss.
"What are you standing here for?" The captain's brow furrowed, and his eyes, accustomed to both glaring and fawning, shot out a menacing look.
The rookie shuddered, a wave of regret washing over him, just as the captain's next words came.
"Let's go! Patrol with me." The captain waved a hand impatiently, pulling his feet from the sand and heading toward the patrol route.
The defense team did not follow immediately.
The captain took two steps, saw that no one was following, and turned back with a string of curses.
"What are you all doing? You think you can get paid for standing around daydreaming?! I think you'd rather eat sand!" He kicked some sand at the stunned team members, pointing his finger and about to unleash a torrent of Middle Eastern profanity.
The city defense team members snapped out of their daze as if waking from a dream and quickly fell in behind their captain.
The captain looked at the men who had quickly formed ranks before him, opened his mouth, and let the Middle Eastern curses brew for a few moments before swallowing them back down.
"Don't let it happen again!" he snorted, his face grim, and turned to leave.
The team members following behind him couldn't resist starting to whisper after a few steps.
"What do you think that skinflint Batur is up to? Usually, he just makes us patrol while he hides in his air-conditioned room," one of the veterans said.
"Could it be that he's had a change of heart?" the rookie who had spoken up earlier asked cautiously.
"Impossible!"
"Bullshit!"
"I'd sooner believe I'm Ramesses II than believe he's had a change of heart!"
A chorus of rebuttals immediately rang out, as if their very foundations had been challenged.
The young man shrank his neck and dared not make a sound, only muttering under his breath.
"Batur's not that bad of a person, is he..."
The group fell silent, then simultaneously shot the young man a look of silent ridicule.
What the chatting team members didn't notice was that after the young man's mutter, their captain, Batur, had faltered in his step for a fraction of a second.
---||---
The walls of the City of Sighs were called the Wailing Wall because of their insane thickness. Apart from the main gate, which had been intentionally made very large, the other sides only had a few-meter-high openings.
After walking for what felt like ten minutes through a tunnel-like passage, the group finally arrived at the entrance.
As the light from within the city shone through, Bianka shielded her eyes slightly.
A cityscape unlike any she had ever seen before appeared before her.
The buildings here were a riot of exaggerated shapes. Here, you could see the most bizarre thoughts of designers and the miraculous craftsmanship of engineers.
A pillar, only as thick as two adults could wrap their arms around, supported a massive architectural flower, which was said to be a famous hotel.
Several rings of different sizes slid along a cylindrical skyscraper, constantly pulling out rooms and reinserting them in different places like building blocks.
There were also buildings twisted into the shape of DNA, and two humanoid skyscrapers of different genders, both with model-like figures...
The air was thick with the scent of money. Colorful neon lights flashed, turning the streets into a carnival-like rave.
Wait, isn't it daytime?
Bianka looked up at the massive dome that covered the entire city. It was dark, creating an artificial night.
Once you're here, you can forget about seeing the sun...
Speaking of which, this was the first time Bianka had entered a fully established shelter other than the Fire MOTHs.
It was also the first time she had truly entered a mature city.
Curiosity bubbled up inside her, but all she could do was stick close to Siegfried, terrified that if she moved too far away, she would lose control of the violence within her.