After confirming his plan, Zhou Mingrui immediately felt he had 
a mental crutch. His fear and unease were all swept away into a 
corner of his mind. 


Only then did he have the mood to carefully study Klein’s 
memory fragments. 


Zhou Mingrui habitually stood up before turning off the pipe’s 
valve. He watched the wall lamp gradually dim until its flame 
extinguished before sitting back down. As he subconsciously 
fiddled with the revolver’s brass cylinder, he pressed the side of 
his head. He slowly recalled his memories in the crimson-dyed 
darkness as though he was the most attentive viewer in a movie 
theater. 


Perhaps as a result of having a bullet pass through his head, 
Klein’s memories were like shattered glass. Not only were the 
memories not contiguous, there were many spots which were 
clearly missing. For example, memories pertaining to how the 
exquisite revolver appeared in his possession, whether he had 
committed suicide, or was killed, as well as the meaning of the 
words ‘Everyone will die, including me’ on the notebook, or 
whether he had participated in anything odd two days before the 
incident. 


Not only had these particular memories become fragmented, 
there were also missing pieces. It was the same even for 
knowledge he ought to know. In light of the present situation, 
Zhou Mingrui believed that if Klein were to return to university, 
it was unlikely he could graduate. This was despite him having 
left campus just days ago without relaxing one bit. 


He needs to participate in the Tingen University’s History 
department interview two daus later... 


The university graduates of Loen Kingdom do not have the 
tradition of staying at their alma mater... His mentor had given 
him a recommendation letter for Tingen University and Backlund 
Universitu... 


Through the window, Zhou Mingrui silently observed the red 
moon setting in the west. The gradual sinking of the moon 
continued until faint light glowed from the east, dyeing the 
horizon golden. 


At that moment, there was a commotion inside the apartment. 
Soon, the sound of footsteps approached his door. 


“Melissa is awake... She’s really as punctual as always.” Zhou 
Mingrui smiled. Due to Klein’s memories, seeing Melissa made 
him feel as though she was really his younger sister. 


However, I do not have a younger sister... He immediately 
contradicted himself. 


Melissa was different from Benson and Klein. Her rudimentary 
education was not completed at the Sunday school classes 
offered by the Church of Evernight. When she reached schooling 
age, the Loen Kingdom had enacted the ‘Basic Education Law.’ A 
Primary and Secondary Education Committee was established 
and was specially provided with funding, increasing the 
kingdom’s investment into education. 


In less than three years, under the premise that numerous 
church schools would be incorporated, many public primary 
schools were established to strictly maintain the principle of 
religious neutrality. This was to prevent education from 
involving itself in the conflicts between the Lord of Storms, 
Evernight Goddess, and the God of Steam and Machinery. 


Compared to Sunday school that only cost a copper penny a 
week, a public primary school’s cost of three pence a week 
appeared rather expensive. However, the former only provided 
education every Sunday, whereas the latter provided six days of 
classes a week. In conclusion, the price was so low that it was 
almost free. 


Melissa was different from most girls. From a young age, she 
enjoyed things like gears, springs, and bearings. Her ambition 
was to be a steam mechanic. 


Having suffered from a lack of culture, Benson, who knew the 
importance of education, supported his sister’s dreams just like 
how he supported Klein’s university education. After all, Tingen 
Technical School was only considered secondary education. 
There was no need for her to attend language school or a public 
school for more knowledge. 


In July last year, fifteen-year-old Melissa passed her entrance 
examinations and fulfilled her dreams of becoming a student at 
the Tingen Technical School’s Steam and Machinery department. 
As such, her weekly school fees raised to nine pence. 


Meanwhile, Benson’s company was affected by the situation in 
the Southern Continent. There was a drastic drop both in profit 
and business transactions. More than a third of the employees 
were retrenched. In order to keep his job and maintain their 
livelihood, Benson could only accept more arduous tasks. He had 
to work overtime more frequently or head to places with harsh 
environments. That was what he was occupied with the past few 


days. 


It was not that Klein did not think of helping share his elder 
brother’s burden but being born a commoner and having been 
admitted into an average language school, he felt a strong sense 
of inadequacy when he enrolled into university. For example, as 
the origin of all languages in the Northern Continent, the 
ancient language of Feysac was something all the children of 
nobles and of the wealthy class would learn from a young age. In 
contrast, he only made first contact with it in university. 


He faced many similar aspects during his schooling career. Klein 
nearly gave his all and often stayed up late into the night and 
woke up early before barely managing to catch up to the others, 
eventually allowing him to graduate with average results. 


Memories regarding his elder brother and younger sister 
remained active in Zhou Mingrui’s mind until he turned the 
doorknob open. Only then did he jolt awake and remember that 
he held a revolver in his hand. 


This was a semi-regulated item! 


It will scare children! 


Also, there’s still the wound on my head! 


With Melissa arriving at any moment, Zhou Mingrui pressed 
onto his temple and hurriedly pulled open a desk drawer and 
threw the revolver in before slamming it close. 


“What happened?” Melissa looked over curiously when she heard 
the commotion. 


She was still in the prime of her youth. Even though she didn’t 
have much nutritious food to eat, making her face thin and 
slightly pale, her skin remained lustrous as it exuded the vibes of 
a young girl. 


When Zhou Mingrui saw his sister’s brown eyes look over, he 
forcibly composed himself and picked up an item beside his 
hand before calmly closing the drawer to conceal the existence 
of the revolver. He placed his other hand on his temple, the 
texture confirming that his wound had already healed! 


He took out a silver vine-leaf pocket watch and pressed the top 
gently, causing its cover to flip open. 


It was a picture of the siblings’ father. It was the most valuable 
item the Imperial Army sergeant left behind, but being a second- 
hand item, it would often malfunction from time to time in 
recent years even though he had gotten a watchsmith to fix it. It 
had embarrassed Benson who enjoyed bringing it with him to 
elevate his status many a time, so it was thrown away back at 
home in the end. 


It had to be said that perhaps Melissa did have talent in 
machinery. After grasping the principles behind the watch, she 
borrowed the tools from her Technical School to fiddle with the 
pocket watch. Recently, she even claimed to have fixed it! 


Zhou Mingrui looked at the watch’s open cover and saw that the 
second hand was not moving. Subconsciously, he twisted the top 
dial to wind the pocket watch. 


However, despite winding it a few times, he did not hear the 
sound of taut springs. The second hand remained motionless. 


“It looks like it’s broken again.” He looked at his sister while 


trying to find a topic of conversation. 


Melissa shot him an expressionless glance and briskly walked 
over to take the pocket watch away. 


She stood in her spot and pulled up the button sitting atop the 
pocket watch. With a few simple turns, the tick-tocking of the 
second hand sounded. 


Isn’t pulling the button up usually meant to adjust the time... 
Zhou Mingrui’s expression immediately turned blank. 


At that moment, a bell chimed from a faraway cathedral. It 
chimed six times, sounding distant and ethereal. 


Melissa tilted her head to listen to it and pulled the button up 
once again. Following that, she turned it to synchronize the 
time. 


“Its okay now,” she said simply without emotion. She then 
pressed the top button back and handed the pocket watch back 
to Zhou Mingrui. 


Zhou Mingrui returned a smile politely in embarrassment. 


Melissa gave her elder brother a piercing stare before turning to 
walk to the cupboard. She took her toiletries and towel before 
opening the door to leave. She headed for the public bathroom. 


Why did her expression have a look of disparagement and 
resignation? 


Is it a look of love and concern for a retarded brother? 


Zhou Mingrui lowered his head and chuckled. He closed the 
pocket watch’s cover with a click before opening it again. 


He repeated this action as his idle thoughts focused on a 
question. 


Klein committed suicide without a silencer. Well, I’ll consider it as 
suicide for now. His suicide should have caused quite a 
commotion; yet, Melissa, who was just a wall away, did not notice 
it at all. 


Was she sleeping too soundly? Or is Klein’s suicide shrouded in 
mystery to begin with? 


Click! The pocket watch opened. Clack! The pocket watch closed... 
Melissa returned from washing up and saw her brother’s 
subconscious act of constantly opening and closing the pocket 
watch. 


Her gaze was once again glazed with exasperation as she said 
with a sweet voice, “Klein, take out all the remaining bread. 
Remember to buy fresh ones today. There’s meat and peas too. 
Your interview is soon. I'll make you mutton stewed with peas.” 


As she spoke, she moved a stove out from a corner. With some 
charcoal, she boiled a pot of hot water. 


Before the water boiled, she opened the cupboard’s lowest drawer 
and took out what seemed like a treasure—a can of inferior tea 
leaves. She threw about ten leaves into the pot and pretended 
that it was real tea. 


Melissa poured two big cups of tea as she shared two pieces of 
rye bread with Zhou Mingrui over tea. 


There is no sawdust or excessive gluten mixed in, but it is 
unappetizing... Zhou Mingrui still felt weak and was starving. He 
forced himself to swallow the bread with the tea while 
complaining inwardly. 


Melissa finished eating a few minutes later. After she adjusted 
her black hair that reached down to her vest, she looked at Zhou 
Mingrui and said, “Remember to buy fresh bread. All we need is 
eight pounds. The weather is hot, so the bread will easily spoil. 
Also, buy the mutton and peas. Remember to buy them!” 


Indeed, she was showing concern for her dull brother. She even 
had to repeat to emphasize it another time... Zhou Mingrui 
nodded with a smile. 


“alright.” 


Regarding the Loen Kingdom’s pound, Zhou Mingrui matched 
Klein’s muscle memory with his. He believed it was close to half 
a kilogram of what he was accustomed to. 


Melissa did not say anything further. She stood up and tidied the 
area. After packing away the last bit of bread for lunch, she put 
on a tattered veil cap that their mother left behind, picked up a 
self-sewn bag used to carry her books and stationery, and 
prepared to leave. 


It was not Sunday, so she had an entire day of classes to attend. 


Walking from their apartment to Tingen Technical School took 


about fifty minutes. There were public horse carriages that cost a 
penny a kilometer with a limit of four pence in the city and six 
pence in the city outskirts. In order to save money, Melissa 
would leave ahead of time and walk to school. 


Moments after she opened the main door, she paused in her 
footsteps and turned her body halfway, saying, “Klein, don’t buy 
too much mutton or peas. Benson might come back on Sunday. 
Oh, and remember we only need eight pounds of bread.” 


“Alright. Sure thing,” answered Zhou Mingrui exasperatedly. 


Simultaneously, he repeated the word ‘Sunday’ a few times in 
his head. 


In the Northern Continent, a year was similarly split into twelve 
months. Every year, there were 365 or 366 days. A week was 
similarly split into seven days. 


The splitting of months was a result of astronomical 
observations. It made Zhou Mingrui suspect whether he was in a 
parallel world. As for the splitting of days, it was a result of 
religion. This was because the Northern Continent had seven 
orthodox gods—the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, the 
God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Evernight Goddess, Earth 
Mother, the God of Combat, and the God of Steam and 
Machinery. 


Watching his sister close the door and leave, Zhou Mingrui 
suddenly sighed. Soon, his thoughts focused on the luck 
enhancement ritual. 


Sorry, I really wish to return home...