The Goddess has been gone for a long time.

Hafeez looked at the bright red fruit beside his pillow, which pulsated like a heart, constantly tempting him.

If only he swallowed it, he would no longer need to fear those "natives" outside. He might even escape Oasis City amidst the chaos and live freely.

Hafeez had considered this day, so he deposited a large sum of money with the Lofic Consortium, enough for him to flee to a small country and live a life of indulgence. He had heard that Ginny from the Sub-human Chamber of Commerce was in the Far West, and as long as he paid the sub-humans a fortune to get on their ship, he could escape this place.

But!

Would the evil Goddess be so kind?

Every time Hafeez reached for the fruit, reason held him back.

He had witnessed the ominous magic power surrounding the Goddess, bathing in a crimson glow, making Her resemble an Evil God.

Hafeez knew the tricks of an Evil God.

The Goddess indeed promised him that swallowing the fruit would grant him the power to escape, yet She never assured him if he would retain his self-awareness or even his humanity by then.

A few days ago, it was he who personally ordered the lockdown of the Lower City because it was said that monsters had appeared there.

They were once human.

They were commoners afflicted with stone lung cough at death's door, yet overnight they recovered and transformed.

Their teeth became sharp, their temper aggressive, appearing very hostile. A monster attacked several patrolling Security Office officers in the Lower City. The four of them couldn't subdue the frenzied commoner and ultimately had to shoot him dead. The officer attacked was severely injured and sent to the hospital, and even the Priest from the Church Court couldn't heal his wounds.

The people at the Security Office called it "fang disease," and Hafeez ordered that until the disease could be clarified, no low-class citizens from the Lower City were allowed to approach their area.

He urgently sent a letter to the Holy City, detailing the rare epidemic in Oasis City, yet to this day, Pope Carlo had not replied.

Hafeez calmed down, another shadowy question lingering in his mind.

He recalled the words the Goddess spoke before leaving, a massive doubt enveloping his heart.

—Who is Laris?

...

Mary, at City Hall, asked the same question, "What's the background on this Laris?"

Mary didn't understand.

Someone from the Lower City forced her to return to City Hall to work late at night.

Worse still, Senzi was missing.

If her reliable advisor were present, they might have provided some insightful ideas.

"An orphan, a drifter from the Lower City, surviving on meals from taverns, gradually gathering a group of people in similar situations around him."

This is all Grave and the Lower City residents knew about Laris.

In fact, before the "appearance" of the Goddess of Life, Laris was a minor figure in the Lower City. To many, Laris and his cronies were no different from gang members.

This clearly puzzled Mary.

She felt Bazarian favored Laris, yet she hadn't noticed anything distinct about this Lower City gang member.

"Not long ago, I asked him a question."

Grave propped himself up with his cane, breathing heavily at the memory, "I asked him, what exactly had the Upper City officials done?"

He considered this question vital.

The hatred Grave knew was mostly directed; only when law and rules couldn't provide an outlet would their hatred turn monstrous. With Mary's arrival and the impending first public judgment, the Lower City commoners had found a new path.

They focused on diligently writing complaint letters, awaiting the day those who hurt them would be publicly judged.

But Laris was different.

"He told me, the people in the Upper City had done nothing to him."

This was the most terrifying answer for Grave, as he suddenly realized that Laris never intended to revenge on a specific target but to destroy everything in the Upper City. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

This meant that regardless of how Mary or the future of Oasis City changed, Laris's aim would not.

"Are you suggesting Laris is a madman?"

Mary was extremely puzzled.

In recent days, she had reviewed numerous complaint letters from the Lower City, exposing the atrocious crimes of City Hall officials and the harm they caused. These grudges were understandable, and Mary desired nothing more than to hang those officials guilty of countless wrongs.

But the issue they faced now was the sheer number of people, even hanging would require a queue.

"That's not the case."

Grave shook his head; it was only after he re-examined Laris's background that he understood the problem, "The taverns in the Lower City are the most information-rich places. Many drink there to oblivion, especially after facing injustice, Laris... grew up in such an environment."

Although the Upper City officials had never directly harmed Laris, Laris knew every time they treated Lower City residents unjustly.