"Mr. Grave, we will meet again, perhaps in the not-too-distant future."

Laris left only this sentence before retreating into the crowd.

His figure quickly blended in with the people, becoming untraceable. Grave clutched his chest tightly, finding his breath short after locking eyes with Laris, as if witnessing something wearing human skin, leaving a lingering effect.

Grave knew he had to meet with Mary immediately.

He was startled to discover another threat faced by this "bloodless" revolution, which he had overlooked.

Never had Grave imagined that the real threat came from within their ranks rather than Mayor Hafeez and his remnants.

So he had to rush to the Upper City overnight.

Mary, having just returned home, hadn't even warmed her seat when she was called out again in a hurry by a city hall employee.

No!

Will you guys ever stop?

Where does so much work come from every single day!

Mary groggily followed the young employee for a long distance before realizing she had taken the coffee pot from the hotel with her.

She knew that meanwhile, Senzi was enjoying leisurely strolls in Oasis City, possibly even visiting the Eternal Theater for some entertainment, while she worked in city hall from dawn till dusk. Upon returning to the hotel without even lying down, she was called out again.

The golden retriever above her head was giving her warning signals.

She recalled Ethan's previous persuasion—this was a mayoral campaign.

Mary suspected that Senzi had set her up. She had never been a mayor before and had no idea the role would be so busy, even causing her to feel a tiny bit of admiration for the imprisoned Mayor Hakimi.

She couldn't help but ask the young employee guiding her, "Did your mayor, that Hakimi, work until this time every day too?"

What a sharp question.

Especially for a young guy who had just entered the workforce. Because if answering solely from a time perspective, Mayor Hakimi did indeed "work" until this time every day, even later, but the main part of his work involved enjoying dramas at the Eternal Theater and attending grand evening parties.

Mayor Hakimi cleverly gave leisure and dining a grand-sounding label—socializing.

He claimed socializing was an important part of a mayor's duties, and he needed to make connections in upper-class social settings to gather funding for the city hall.

According to Mayor Hakimi's theory, even if city hall was piled high with unapproved documents, he was actually busy till late every night, dedicating himself to Oasis City.

However, the young employee didn't think so, "I don't consider eating, drinking, and watching dramas to be work."

"Who says it is?"

"Mayor Hakimi."

Huh?

The young employee blurted out without realizing, pausing for quite a while, realizing his usage of the former mayor's title had been influenced by Lady Mary. Yet another serious question shadowed behind.

The former mayor of Oasis City...

What was his name?

Darn, lately it feels like something's invaded his brain!

The young employee failed to notice a heterochromatic-eyed black cat quietly observing them from the rooftop beside him. She leapt gracefully from the roof, vanishing into the dark.

At the same time, Ethan and Lindong were lying in ambush outside the Oasis City prison. He held a homemade ice cream crafted with ice elements, casually passing it to the ragdoll cat on his shoulder, whose little mouth was already smeared with ice cream remnants.

Just half an hour ago, the officials from Oasis City, over whom arrest warrants were issued, had been gradually checking in at the prison. Ethan guessed they might be gathering in the cafeteria now, clutching hard bread, joyfully sharing their bright outlook on life.

The forthcoming trial would provide them with many humane choices.

They could freely choose between the guillotine, stake, gallows, electric chair, just like an ad says, there's always one that suits you.

The only issue might be the "posthumous housing shortage."

The main reason being the head of the Oasis City Tomb Management Bureau had joined them inside, while the new acting director was among the young bunch led by Leon, making it hard for them to get along and difficult to manage any outside arrangements.

"Dong'Er, I bet they wouldn't want to mingle with the deceased Lower City commoners."

After all, Oasis City once had anti-scientific reports claiming "Commoners' deaths pollute the soil," and in these times, a good number of the elite truly believed deep down that they were a different species from the commoners.

Ethan said while handing the freshly made cone ice cream to the white ragdoll cat on his shoulder.

This time, the ragdoll cat finally raised a paw, blocking the cone with its soft, pink paw pad.

"What do you want to do!"

Lindong was a cold person, not caring about the future housing and pension issues of the officials. She only cared about how Ethan had given her over a dozen cones of ice cream in more than an hour spent outside the prison. Initially, it tasted nice, but now, as an ice-type Elemental Shaper, she felt like her teeth would freeze.

"This one's lemon-flavored."

Ethan explained the difference between the new cone and the previous one.

"You eat it yourself!"

The ragdoll cat opened her mouth fiercely at him, quite uncommonly hissing at Ethan.