Chapter 843: Visit


    A train hanging from the rockyer above the dome was speeding toward Hope Ind. The window of the second car was open, and the salty, damp sea breeze blew across Margaret''s hair covering her face, revealing her hideous scar.


    Margaret''s maid Gina was sitting next to her.


    Gina turned to look at her mistress and said, "Mistress, I really don''t understand. Why do you have to personally escort those mages of Elizarles Shores?"


    Margaret was looking out into the darkness, and she seemed to not have heard Gina''s words. It was only when Gina asked for the third time that she finally reacted and said, "Mind your own business. There are some matters you shouldn''t ask too much about."


    A hint of doubt appeared on Gina''s face. Today''s Margaret was a bit different from the usual Margaret. Even the scar across her face seemed to have softened just a bit.


    Margaret kept her eyes on the darkness outside, but the darkness was soon vanquished by the light, and the world outside started to brighten up.


    At first, there was only a dim red color on the horizon, but it eventually turned into a pale yellow hue, then a bright yellow, and finally, they saw rays of sunlight descending onto the canopy of Hope Ind.


    The diamond-shaped ind followed a vibrant green color scheme rather than the usual dark color scheme on the other inds, and it was all thanks to the crops nted all over the ind as well as the bright green grass on the roofs of the buildings.


    The green leaves of the trees seemed to glow as well beneath the powerful sunlight. Hope Ind was truly like a glowing jade in the darkness.Face after face crowded to the train window, gazing in fascination at the miracle of the Subterranean Sea. Many people had heard of Hope Ind, but upon seeing the ind in person, they realized just howcking and crude were the words that those rumors had used to describe Hope Ind.


    "It isn''t as big as Whereto, but it''s really bright here. I feel so much better seeing such a bright ce, and the temperature here is also a bit higher than in other ces. If only Whereto were like this…" Gina muttered enviously.


    Gina was transfixed on Hope Ind, staring at it in awe.


    Just then, Margaret reached out and closed the window before pulling down the ck curtain to block out the view.


    "Mistress, what was that?"


    "Sunlight is nice to look at, but don''t forget that it''s deadly. There has never been a shortage of fools killed by the sunlight upon getting ensnared by it."


    The windows on the train were pulled down, and the train continued on its journey, speeding like a colossal snake toward the elevator tower in the heart of Hope Ind.


    The squeaks and squeals in the interior of the elevator tower were generated by the friction between the chains and the pulleys as it carried Margaret and her group to the bottom floor.


    When the elevator doors opened, Bandages d in a suit appeared before Margaret and her group. Bandages wasn''t alone; he was apanied by a group of people as well.


    "Allies… wee... to... Hope Ind..."


    Margaret looked around and frowned slightly. "Is the visit of the Governor of Whereto not enough to warrant the Governor of Hope Ind''s presence?"


    "Something happened... it''s not convenient… for the captain… to show up…"


    Margaret snorted coldly and turned slightly. A hooded old man with a white beard stepped forward, and Margaret introduced him. "He''s the mage that you need from Elizarles Shores."


    The Patriarch of the Gunther family looked at the man wrapped in bandages with his cloudy eyes. "Where are those with altered memories? Let me take a look at them first. Wait, let me make something clear first.


    "I can give it a try, but I can''t guarantee my sess."


    One of the wardens of Hope Ind''s prison stepped forward and saluted. "This way, please."


    He then led the Patriarch of the Gunther family to the nearby car.


    Meanwhile, Bandages took out a few pieces of paper and handed them to Margaret. "This is how... to identify... symptoms of memory alteration... see if... your ind… has any of them..."


    Margaret''s gaze wasplex as she stared at the pieces of paper. Gina stepped forward and reached out with her hands to ept the pieces of paper.


    "So it''s true? Anna really left?" Margaret asked.


    Bandages nced at her before turning around and walking toward his own car.


    "The captain... is on the ship..."


    Soon, Margaret found herself walking down the streets of Hope Ind by herself.


    The streets and scenery of Hope Ind werepletely differentpared to Whereto. The buildings here were much taller than Whereto''s buildings, which varied between two stories or three stories.


    Hope Ind even had supertall buildings that reached the canopy up above.


    The buildings all over Hope Ind made the ind appear crowded, but the inders didn''t seem to mind it.


    Compared to the people on other inds, the skin of the inders on Hope Ind was noticeably darker. Margaret wasn''t sure whether it was an illusion or not, but for some reason, she felt that the inders on Hope Ind were much happierpared to the inders on her ind.


    Her maid Gina had told her that Hope Ind''s brightness was making her feel much better, but Margaret believed that the reason behind the inders'' happiness was that they hadn''t suffered beneath the death light at all.


    If Hope Ind had lost eighty to ny percent of its poption, Margaret believed that they would have found it hard to be happy, even though they were living in such a bright ce.


    Just then, Margaret walked past a restaurant and saw that the diners were staring at a so-called television.


    The tiny box somehow had people dancing inside of it, and Margaret couldn''t help but sigh at Hope Ind''s technology. Margaret reckoned that even the former Albion Isles could no longerpete with Hope Ind in that department.


    Margaret walked slowly down Second Street, making a beeline for the harbor district at a leisurely pace that allowed her to observe the sceneries of Hope Ind.


    Three hourster, Margaret finally found herself standing in front of the Narwhale.


    The ship of the Governor of Hope Ind was docked all alone inside a private dock of the Navy. There was no one standing guard outside, so the ship was truly by herself here.


    Margaret stomped and took to the air,nding on the gunwale in one swift motion. She had memorized the Narwhale''syout. After all, she had spent quite some time living in the Narwhale back when she got kidnapped.


    In no time, Margaret arrived in front of the Captain''s Quarters, which still looked familiar to her. She reached out to knock on the door but stopped just a few inches away from it.


    A hesitant look suffused her face as she stood quietly before the door.


    Just then, a creaking noise pervaded the corridor as the door to the Captain''s Quarters abruptly opened by itself. The lights inside were off, so it was pitch ck.


    "What is it?" Charles'' exhausted voice echoed from inside.


    Margaret bit her lower lip and charged straight in. She fumbled for the oilmp and lit it. The swaying candlelight illuminated the room and Charles, who was sprawled out on the bed and was drinking a bottle of liquor.


    Charles'' chin was unshaven, and his eyes were bloodshot.


    Margaret also saw paintings stacked haphazardly on the drawing board and strewn across the floor next to the bed.


    "Sorry, I can see in the dark, so I keep on assuming that others can see in the dark, too."


    Margaret walked over and squatted down. Then, she picked up the paintings on the floor. The paintings depicted many bizarre things, but the majority of them were portraits of Anna.


    "A woman''s departure is actually enough to reduce you to a decadent fool? You don''t seem like the Governor Charles that I''m familiar with," Margaret said, cing the thick stack of paintings on the table.


    The corners of Charles'' mouth curled up into a smile. "I don''t want to talk about my family affairs with outsiders. What brings you here? If you want to talk about anything concerning the ind, then go and look for Bandages."


    A tinge of hesitation flitted across Margaret''s eyes at Charles'' words, but she gnashed her teeth and roused a wave of determination from inside her. Then, she stood up straight and walked up to Charles.


    "Anna is gone, so you''re alone again. This time, I''m not going to let you run away, and I''m not going to wait anymore!" Margaret dered.