Once they passed through the dense forest, they could reach a small town in the south of District Nine.

That was where both the Mercenary Guild and Hunter Guild were located.

In one evening, Golden Lotus had also made friends with the big white goose.

It turned out the big white goose was an artificial intelligence too.

Just like Golden Lotus, it had taken on a physical form.

"Your feathers are so white, so beautiful." Woof, woof, woof!

"Yours aren’t bad either, naturally curly, makes you look fluffy." Gag, gag, gah!

This was a friendly exchange that transcended species and language.

Hannah and Gregory Lawrence walked ahead.

The deeper they walked into the dense forest, the more fallen leaves piled up on the ground.

Sometimes a footstep would leave a deep imprint.

Gregory Lawrence felt right at home, chatting as he walked, "Are you planning to go to the Royal Wasteland next?"

Hannah looked down at the path to avoid a small puddle before replying, "Mhm." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Gregory Lawrence turned around, walking backward, "Just to have a look at Tree Star?"

"Something like that."

"I’d think it over if I were you. The Royal Wasteland hasn’t been peaceful these last few years."

Hannah looked up, "Why?"

Gregory Lawrence turned around, slowed his pace, and walked beside Hannah to explain.

The Royal Wasteland was originally called that because many people would get lost inside, unable to find their way.

The place was always quite mysterious.

Initially, a caravan of more than a hundred people entered it.

Later, only two came out— one mad, claiming there were demons inside, and one sane, claiming he saw nothing unusual, just a normal place.

Later, a team formed for another expedition went in.

Seventeen people, and yet again, only two came back.

But this time, both were insane, ranting about man-eating demons inside that loved to suck the marrow from human brains.

Long nails, just poking into a person’s head, then slurping it up.

Gregory Lawrence described it vividly, so much so that he almost drooled, "But these are legends from hundreds of years ago. Later, the imperial royal family turned that place into a dumping ground, throwing everything inside, and other forces followed suit."

The Royal Wasteland was always a lawless area.

Apart from the rumors of man-eating demons, there was also a bottomless abyss, as if it could never be filled.

So those in charge simply turned it into a dump.

Disposing of trash wasn’t too bad, but then they started dumping failed biochemical experiments.

Six-legged dire wolves, two-headed sawtooth sharks, and even man-eating bees as big as human heads.

All kinds of monsters were dumped there, all still alive.

The Royal Wasteland used to be surrounded by fields of unknown wildflowers, with grassy areas joining them together. Although it was said to be a land of demons, at least there was scenery.

Now, all that remained was a mess with a mysterious black smoke constantly looming over the Royal Wasteland.

"Anyway, it’s very dangerous. You’d better not go," Gregory Lawrence said, feeling a bit scared himself, "Tree Star was dumped by the royal house into the Royal Wasteland. After a hundred years, there’s probably nothing left."

"That’s not true," Hannah said. "Tree Star is a top-tier mecha, it can’t just be gone."

She believed it was still waiting for her.

Gregory Lawrence sighed.

The reasoning was clear, but was it really that important?

Such a lovely young girl, yet so stubborn.

On the rest of the journey, Gregory Lawrence simply started inundating Hannah with various dangerous information about the Royal Wasteland.