"Go to Refuge Fortress 112?" Jason Carter was stunned for a moment and frowned. "And we have to go through Jing Mountain?"

"Do you think they'll come looking for you? Everyone in the town knows you're familiar with the outside," Brian Cooper blinked and said. "I heard they're a band and singers from Refuge Fortress 113, invited to perform at Refuge Fortress 112. I've never seen a singer before."

"I'm not going," Jason Carter shook his head. "Anyone who wants to go to Jing Mountain can go. You stay away from them—there's something strange about that group."

At this moment, Jason Carter felt a bit conflicted. What kind of world was this, that there were still people who sang for a living, and even bands? What was it really like inside the refuge fortresses?

Jason Carter suddenly felt a bit of longing.

Chapter 3: A Palace

Jason Carter fell asleep. He had spent so long out in the wilderness just to catch a single sparrow. Although he spent most of the time lying motionless on the ground, anyone with experience knew that staying perfectly still and alert was actually the most exhausting.

Before sleeping, he reminded Brian Cooper again: "If you see those people, stay far away. They can't not know there's danger at Jing Mountain. Most people would avoid it, but they insist on passing through. My gut tells me this isn't simple."

"Okay," Brian Cooper nodded obediently. "Got it."

Actually, Jason Carter and Brian Cooper made a rather odd pair. A few years ago, they didn't even know each other. Later, Jason Carter decided to protect the still-young Brian Cooper, partly because he had accidentally learned Brian Cooper's secret, and partly because his own headaches had troubled him for so long that he needed someone to keep watch at night.

Back then, Jason Carter had made it clear to Brian Cooper that they were just using each other, but after all these years, it was hard to say whether it was about feelings or just utility.

Brian Cooper was always clever and resourceful outside, but only with Jason Carter did he act like an obedient child.

Sometimes Brian Cooper would say that his life was exchanged for by Jason Carter's own, but Jason Carter never admitted to that.

Now, Jason Carter wanted to figure out what exactly had changed in his mind. Tonight, he had deliberately waited a long time to see if the "illness" that used to trouble him would return. As it turned out, that patch of chaos really didn't appear again.

It was as if that palace had always been hidden in the chaotic depths of his mind, and now the black, chaotic mist had finally dissipated.

Jason Carter wanted to see what was inside that palace.

Brian Cooper glanced at the sleeping Jason Carter beside him, quietly picked up the bone knife, and sat at the entrance of the shack. The shack only had a thick curtain hanging as a door, and now that autumn had arrived, it was a bit cold.

At that moment, the rain stopped.

Footsteps sounded outside the curtain, boots pressing into the muddy road after the rain with a unique slippery sensation.

Someone lifted a corner of the curtain, but before the person outside could fully lift it, Brian Cooper's bone knife was already pressed against their neck.

It was a beautiful face; outside the door stood a beautiful woman.

Brian Cooper frowned. The visitor wasn't a stranger—she usually lived not far away.

The woman smiled. "Liuyuan, you're still up? Where's Jason? I heard someone say Jason is back."

"Sister Xiaoyu, he's already asleep," Brian Cooper smiled. "If you have something to say, you can tell me."

Emily's expression was a bit unnatural. "He didn't get hurt this time out, did he?"

"His hand got pecked by a sparrow, but Sister Emily, you don't need to worry so much about my brother. You're eight years older than him, you know." Now that Jason Carter was asleep, Brian Cooper showed a maturity beyond his years when facing outsiders. No matter who he met or what they said, the bone knife in his hand never left Emily's neck.

Emily took a cigarette and a lighter from her bag. The cigarette was a rolled one—something only industries like coal mines and power plants, which belonged to the refuge fortresses, would distribute.

Many strong laborers worked not just for money and food, but also for that one cigarette. Work a whole day, get one cigarette.

So at night, when work ended, it was common to see a big group of people puffing away together. Jason Carter had told Brian Cooper that those cigarettes probably contained something even more addictive.

And now, the cigarette Emily was smoking clearly wasn't something she got from working.

Emily lit the cigarette and took a couple of puffs, seeming to be lost in thought. "Precocious kid, I just see you two as little brothers."

"Oh," Brian Cooper suddenly asked, "Do you have a cold?"

Emily was taken aback. "Yeah, is my voice a bit hoarse?"

"No," Brian Cooper shook his head and smiled. "I just noticed that when you smoke, one of your nostrils doesn't let out smoke..."

Emily: "..."

For some reason, Emily always felt that Brian Cooper didn't really like her.

"I'll head back then," Emily said. "If your brother wakes up, let him know I stopped by."

"Okay," Brian Cooper said with a beaming smile. "I'll tell him."

Emily left, and suddenly Jason Carter's voice sounded behind Brian Cooper: "Don't always bully your Sister Emily. It's not easy for her either."