Edge of the Apocalypse
Chapter 1204: In Mill Town

Before six o'clock in the morning, the morning light from the east had already illuminated Mill Town, a small town in the Gate of Freedom control area. The bell towers and churches in the town were all flagged with the flag of the Gate of Freedom, representing the town's ownership. There was a twenty-man guard of the Gate of Freedom in the town, who was responsible for maintaining order in Mill Town.

Regardless of the outside opinion, at least in Mill Town, the guards and residents of Freedom Gate were safe and sound. The town regularly pays taxes to the guards every month, and taxes are acceptable, even three points lower than they were when they were under federal jurisdiction. Lower taxes were a means for the Gate of Freedom to smoothly take over the towns on the surface, and they were repeatedly tried and tested. As long as the federal forces in the area were eliminated, the people on the surface actually did not care who was in charge of them. Because whoever takes over will have to pay taxes. Freedom Gate lowered taxes, minimizing hostility to them. This was denounced as shameless by Babylonian critics, but who cared?

At the very least, the people on the surface will not. They only care about how they are doing today.

So was Jesse, who worked for a butcher in town. Every day, cattle and sheep are slaughtered, fresh meat is sorted and sold. Jessie spent every day so busy that she was still in her early thirties and still unmarried. Jesse was once tired of this kind of life and wanted to escape from it all. However, recently, he did not have such thoughts. Because recently, he met a girl.

It was not appropriate to say that she knew him. After all, this girl was only one of the customers of the butcher's shop. When Jesse saw her for the first time, he felt that he had fallen in love with her. Although the girl comes to the butcher's only once a day, chooses fresh steaks and leaves in less than five minutes. However, those few minutes had become Jesse's happiest time of the day. A single glance from a girl, two or three sentences, could make him remember for a long time.

That was why everyone who knew Jesse these past few days had noticed the change in this man's body. People used to call him "the sad Jesse", but two days ago someone called him "the smiling Jesse".

Jesse was already busy when the morning light rose. He was using a sharp knife to deal with the newly thawed steak. He needed to separate the bones from the meat, and he had done it very skillfully. He could even look at the intersection outside the shop like he was now, but he didn't need to stop moving at all. In his expectation, when people began to walk down the street, the figure he had expected finally appeared at the corner of the street opposite the butcher's shop.

The girl came again, and Jesse had even prepared what the girl wanted, because every time she chose a steak, it was almost the same amount, every day. Jesse packed up the food for her in advance, so that she could chat more with the girl in the time she saved. It was good for him to hear her say a few more words.

When the girl entered the shop, she still wore a thick cloak and wrapped herself tightly, revealing only half of her face. She had a very peculiar redness of skin, although Jesse's boss reminded him that it was unusual. If not for her illness, the girl might not be human. But Jesse ignored all of this. This was the old saying that love would turn the wisest person into a fool.

"Good morning." Jesse wiped his bloodstained hands and tried to squeeze out a smile.

"I need some steak, Mr. Jesse," the girl said in a slightly hoarse voice from inside the cloak.

Jesse's face seemed to shine, and he was even a little excited. The girl was the only person in the town who would address him as Mr. He thought it was a sign that the girl had a good impression of him. He swiftly took out the packed food and placed it on the counter. "It's still the same," he said. "But I guarantee that the meat is very fresh today."

"Thank you." The girl paid for the food and turned to leave.

Jesse mustered up his courage and said, "I'll take you back. These things weren't light."

"How can that be? I'll disturb your work."

Jessie ran over and said, "Don't say that. You're our customer. It's only right to serve you. There's nothing to be delayed."

The girl smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm leaving soon. I can't patronize your business anymore."

"What?" Jesse cried out, "You're leaving? Why, haven't you just moved to town? Why are you leaving so soon?"

"Well, of course I have my own reasons. It's not convenient for me to explain them to you. So today should be the last time. Please take care, Mr. Jesse." The girl picked up the food, walked across the street and disappeared into the corner.

Jesse felt as if he had lost something. He walked into the shop dejectedly. Then he picked up the broadsword for chopping meat. Jesse only felt that the broadsword was so heavy. Suddenly on his shoulder, Jesse turned around and Butcher Henry smoked his cigarette. "You can have half a day off in the morning."

"What did you say, boss?"

"Idiot, don't tell me no girl likes you." Henry took the knife in Jesse's hand and pushed him, "She's leaving. Since you like her, hurry up and tell her. There might be a chance."

"Really … Really?" Jesse hesitated, "But what's the use? She's leaving."

"I'm so annoyed." The butcher kicked him, "Go and tell that girl you want her to stay. Understood, idiot. You may have a chance if you go, but if you don't, you'll never have a chance."

Jesse's eyes lit up and he nodded, "I see, boss."

"What an ignorant fellow. I say, you should at least change your clothes first." Seeing Jesse running on the street, Henry shouted, but Jesse had no intention of stopping. In the end, the butcher could only shake his head and laugh, "What a shy guy."

Sunlight poured down from above, and Jesse walked quickly. Mill Town wasn't big. For Jesse, who was born in this small town, he could go anywhere he wanted with his eyes closed. He had delivered food to the girl once before, so he knew that the girl lived in that area of Old Geely Street. It was the most remote place in town, and the low bungalows were characteristic of the old streets. The houses are cheap and the poor people in town usually rent on the street.

Jesse could not imagine how a good girl like her could live here. When he walked through the old street, the gaze of an idle man lying in the houses, windows and under the eaves was unbearable, let alone a girl. Suddenly Jesse was inexplicably angry. He even thought that if the girl was willing to stay for him, he would rent a house on Andrei Street in the best environment.

In his wild imagination, Jesse stopped in front of a small two-story building. Here on the old street, a two-story building could already be considered luxurious. He walked up the stairs and stood in front of the door. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but he hesitated. Suddenly, the door opened itself, and the girl was standing inside. The two of them looked at each other. Jessie blushed with embarrassment, and the girl said generously, "Mr. Jessie, what's the matter?"

When the girl returned home, she took off her cloak and Jesse noticed that she was exceptionally tall. The long black hair hanging down to his buttocks was like black silk, and his exquisite features were as beautiful as sculptures. Although she was standing in front of him, Jesse suddenly felt that the girl was so far away from him that she could not reach her.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

At this moment, a man's voice sounded upstairs, "Laura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Only then did Jesse know that the girl was called Laura, and the young man's voice upstairs made his heart tremble slightly. He asked hopefully, "Is that your brother?"

"No, it's my husband." The girl blinked, her eyes shining with happiness.

Jesse staggered down the stairs like he was struck by a sledgehammer and accidentally twisted himself and fell to the ground. He quickly got up again, and the girl walked out the door and asked, "Mr. Jesse, are you alright?"

"Nothing much, I'm sorry to bother you, but I want to tell you to have a good trip …" Jesse forced a smile and left in a bit of a sorry state. He looked upstairs and saw a young man standing at the window on the second floor. He had eye-catching short silver hair, no expression on his face, but his facial features were impeccable. Jesse smiled bitterly, completely dead to the girl.

Alan pulled up half the curtains and walked back to the hall. In the hall Adele hid herself on a patched sofa, flipping through a yellowed book of poetry, lazy as a winter cat. Laura pushed the door open and smiled, "That's the butcher. He's here to say goodbye to me."

"I didn't say I was leaving tomorrow. It was just Mirren's wishful thinking."

Adele stroked her forehead and put down her collection of poems. "Alan, it's been a week. We've been out of Iron Hell for a week, and I think we have to leave, whether we hear anything or not, if you don't want to cause Beskard any more trouble."

'"I'm not going anywhere until I hear from Grandpa!" Alan said resolutely.

'"Mr. Horn will be fine. With Fendi and that baffling fellow, I'm sure they won't be able to do anything to Mr. Horn! You should think about yourself and think about the people around you!" Said Adele with a rare solemnity.

Alan looked at her and sighed a moment later, "Sorry, I know that staying here will cause trouble for you and General Mirren. But I'm worried about Grandpa. I'm not worried at all if there's a Fendi, but there's still that guy. He's the one who killed Tangelio."

'"But don't forget, the reason why he succeeded was because Tangerio and the Sword Lord fought fiercely and he took advantage of the sneak attack to succeed. But the situation is different this time. Mr. Horn definitely won't give him a chance to succeed." Adele insisted.

"I hope so, but you said it too. A week has passed, Adele, and Grandpa should have contacted me no matter what. But now we haven't heard anything."