But Wayne Lane couldn’t.

"I’ve still got things to do, hanging up now."

After saying that, Wayne Lane cut off the communication directly.

Sheffield Benedict just shook his head with a smile.

In fact, they all knew that with Hannah’s temper, the three of them could never return to the way things were before.

Childhood sweethearts, devoted hearts, were all just wishful thinking.

When emotions were missed, they were missed.

The remaining unwillingness had to be suppressed within oneself.

*

Leaving the empire’s most bustling city, Hannah stopped in the Ninth District.

The Ninth District was a region of the empire closest to the border.

Located in a remote area, it was a mixed bag of everything.

It was a boundary that even the law couldn’t reach.

Here, the most common sight was hunters and mercenaries who lived by taking on tasks.

A bit further out was the border.

But during this time, control was very strict, and only the empire’s mech troops could go to the border.

The only way for others to leave was to forge documents.

At this time, the streets were still quite lively.

On the roadside, there were makeshift stalls made of wooden boards or fabric selling various items: herbs, weapons, meteorites, and even the bones of mutated beasts.

Anything you could think of was for sale in the Ninth District.

But here, people preferred bartering over coin transactions.

Hannah came out of a clothing store, now dressed in simple combat attire, her hair neatly tied in a ponytail at the back of her head.

As soon as she stepped out, she was met with gazes.

Mostly sizing her up.

They looked briefly and then withdrew their gazes.

In the Ninth District, no one wanted to stir up trouble purposefully.

Hannah led Gold Lotus into a nearby alley.

The alley was narrow, and when the wind blew, the stone walls piled up on both sides would drop bits of gravel dust, looking like they could collapse at any moment.

Gold Lotus tiptoed, following step by step behind her master, "Master, this place is so backward."

Hannah said, "In the Ninth District, people only think about how to survive; nothing else matters."

Gold Lotus didn’t quite understand.

They walked down the alley, turned left twice, turned right once, and then an old house appeared in front of them.

The house’s wooden door was half intact, and one could clearly see inside the yard just by stepping on the stairs.

A wooden table and a chair missing one leg were all there was in the yard.

If anything else were to be counted, it would probably be the rudimentary goose nest piled in the corner.

Apart from a bunch of weeds, there was nothing else.

The goose nested on top of the weeds was the most expensive item in the entire yard.

According to the market price, it should be worth ten gold coins.

Enough to buy a small house in the most bustling city.

Gold Lotus felt depressed.

What a mix of poverty and wealth.

There were five or six people lining up at the door, all dressed like nearby mercenaries.

Hannah stood in line with Gold Lotus at the very end.

While waiting idly, she fiddled with the watch on her wrist.

Calling it a watch was actually Hannah’s personal light computer.

Similar to a smartphone.

Only now this "smartphone" had no network.

To avoid being tracked by the royal family, Hannah had turned off all communication devices on her.

After a while, someone came out.

It was a two-meter-tall man, sturdy as a bear, cursing as he walked out.

"Damn, doesn’t take anything, no gold, no crystals, what the hell, you want me to find you a wife or something? It’s just making a document, why the arrogance!"