Gunther lived in Brumnot for twenty-seven years, and ended up being nicknamed "Buttons" in addition to making hundreds of identical buttons for belts and shirts produced by an astrologer's family business. .
Of course, compared to the many ordinary people who immigrated to the floating island and returned to the land in poverty because they could not find a job, he was lucky enough. In any case, no one now thinks that Gunther is in the same place as those homeless people. but it is not the truth. Gunther remembered his hometown, a small city in the southern country of Peniaio. That small country has long since disappeared from the map, and so has my hometown. Fortunately, Gunther won't feel heartache about this. His only impression of there is hunger, fatal hunger.
A purple leaf fell from the cedar tree and hit him on the head.
Gunther raised his head and found nothing unusual, so he threw aside the smelly leaf that slapped him. The leaves floated to the ground, and he kicked them again, but his toes hit the base of the glass wall. This thing was made of stone, and he immediately ouched.
"Gunther!" The vibration of the glass caused Qiong Li to roar, "Don't compete with the leaves at work!"
Before Gunther could say anything, his stomach rumbled loudly, answering for him. Qiong Li glanced at the wall clock and threw him a box of pies. "It's not lunch time yet," he warned. "You won't have a break from noon to afternoon."
"Thank you." He didn't fail to recognize Qiong Li's kindness, and he quickly lowered his head and bit into the dough sprinkled with cinnamon and raisins. If Gunther's greatest luck was finding a job in a factory, then when he met Qiong Li, it was undoubtedly the goddess of luck who came to his door. Jonley Temple was a quarter of the nobility, but unfortunately the title of his grandmother's family was only Lord. That was enough to get him a break-even position at Brumnot, but Jonli was always short of money.
Gunther knew what he was spending his money on, even if he never asked. Cigarettes, wine, fish and meat, Qiong Li would scold them as waste while smashing these rare luxuries on the foreheads of his workers. The amount that each person received was one-tenth of his own, but without Qiong Li, they would not even get one-tenth. Gunther doubted he would have stayed without Jonli Temple's help. He swallowed another mouthful of hot pie and sucked the oil stars from his fingers.
The aristocratic class of Brumnot still follows the old system of the city-state kingdom: the superiors are managers, the common people are the managed, and the slaves are slaves. Gunther is convinced that he is not a slave and never will be. As he licked the last finger, he looked out at the street outside the glass, where a sullen man sat in the restaurant. Perhaps he would become a slave to some noble, Gunther had seen him at Jonli's doorstep. "Mr. Temple." Gunther grabbed the overseer as he walked by. "Is that your friend? He is waiting for you?"
Qiong Li looked back and immediately took off his gloves and mask. "If this idiot comes to me to borrow money again." The commoner with aristocratic blood whispered, "then he will not be the same soon." He walked out of the workshop.
Gunther didn't care whether the man could continue to get Qiong Li's help. In fact, he was happy to see the man excluded from the foreman's circle of friends. "Button" tried to focus on the creaking mold in front of him to hide the true direction of his attention.
The distance erased the sound of the two talking, and Gunther only saw the angry look on Qiong Li's face. He guessed that the man was indeed here to borrow money. Sure enough, the two broke up on bad terms. The supervisor's friend slammed the door and left, and the wind chimes in the restaurant rang. Qiong Li returned to the workshop and Gululu drank a large glass of water.
"That idiot will be sent back to the ground by the Sheriff's Department sooner or later." Gunther heard him mutter while wiping his mouth. "Not even his brother-in-law who works in the tower could save him."
The Tower's Affairs Bureau is responsible for supervising all affairs, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Bureau supervise and maintain order. The nobles on the floating island have no king to loyal to. The ancestors of these people were the first batch of apprentices eliminated from the tower, so their descendants all obey Chloe's orders. Eastman does not have this kind of close relationship inherited from the bloodline with the tower, which is destined to make it difficult for it to become part of the Sky Tower.
In Brumnot and all the Sky Kingdoms, the members of Chloe have a status no less than that of nobles. Gunther didn't know how Qiong Li got involved with the members of the tower, but it didn't matter, someone would always know. he asked his co-worker "Pocket" Fink in a low voice. The sorrow on Fink's face was like the stitches on the soles of his shoes, sewing his eyes and nostrils shut. But he is just a torn bag full of gossip, and he only has ears to catch wind and shadows, and a mouth to tell stories.
Gunther knew that the reason for his pain also came from the blurring of dialogue. "Who is he?" These words may be able to relieve Fink's itching.
"Why do you care?" Fink ignored him.
News pockets can be tightened, which is why Fink stays at Brumnot. Gunther's inquiries were fruitless, so he turned away angrily and opened his mouth to take a bite of the pie. A hand reached out and took the pie away. "Pocket" Fink chewed the raisins with his rotten teeth, the paste mixed with saliva on his tongue. Finally he spat out a half-cooked bean and dropped it on the edge of Gunther's sleeve.
He watched as his lunch disappeared into the back of his coworker's throat. "Who is that person?"
"Hobson, brother-in-law of maintenance manager Andrew Furner, his biggest trouble." Fink chuckled, as if seeing the big shot in trouble made him happy. "Man, the worst business in the world is gambling," he said earnestly. "An astrologer knows how much money he will lose in the future, and maybe an apprentice can too. I guess Hobson must have thought so."
Gunther didn't care what the pocket thought, nor what Hobson thought. He was not interested in gossip, but was concerned about Qiong Li's attitude. "What about him and Mr. Temple?"
A button formed under the mold, and Fink picked it up and threw it into the wooden box. "It's a big secret." His eyes rolled like buttons. "Few people know...the reason why Jonley Temple was reduced to working in a civilian factory is because he was also a frequent visitor to the casino. Otherwise, Temple is also a nobleman, and those people will not give up hanging in the casino even if they starve to death." The one with the name on his lips.”
"Are they gambling buddies?"
"Still the kind who loses every day. Temple didn't have a good brother-in-law, but he was not as crazy as Hobson. He finally came to his senses and found a job in a factory to make a living. It seems that he is determined not to go near a casino again. One step."
Gunther understood that Hobson came to his old friend to borrow money. Qiong Li didn't give it to him. This made him feel vaguely relieved... At least this guy won't steal half of my pie, and Mr. Qiongli won't help him.
However, things always backfire. Hobson turned back on the street and headed in the direction of the workshop. He focused on the path next to the wall, and Gunther only noticed a shadow slowly creeping closer to the glass. Fink quickly jumped back to the left, pretending that nothing happened.
The next second, the overseer behind him called him to come to the door. "Gunther."
"Button" had no choice but to put down the mold and walk towards Jonley Temple. He changed out of his work clothes, and the strange look in his eyes was hard to fathom. Fink didn't look up, as if immersed in the texture of the floor. Gunther walked towards him, feeling nervous and disappointed. But the overseer didn't mean to reprimand them for talking to each other. His eyes were fixed on Gunther, making him feel uncomfortable all over. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a swollen, fat face appearing outside the window, about the same size as the pie Qiong Li had just given him. Gunther was startled, and then felt a little nauseous. He turned his head stiffly, trying to make a smile that would not easily reveal his disgust.
Gambler Hobson smiled grimly in return. His skin was green and purple, there were many freckles next to his nose, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. It's really hard to make people feel kind when a face like this smiles.
"Follow me." Qiong Li stepped out, his movements hesitant. It's just that Gunther isn't much better than him. As soon as they walked out of the door, more leaves fell, accompanied by the sound of birds flapping their wings.
The two people stopped at the door without knowing anything. Qiong Li was very angry. "You know him?"
Temple wasn't Funk, and Gunther couldn't fool him. "I've met him a few times." Of course he knew about this famous gambler, but Fink wouldn't have told him about the relationship between Hobson and Jongli without pretending to be ignorant. “In Foggy City San Carlos.”
"Have you ever left Blumnot?"
"From there I came to the Port of Light."
The overseer's nails scraped against the veins of a leaf. "You are the remnant of Motog." He crumbled the leaves distractedly. "Hell, a poor fool, a lice-ridden refugee, he managed to come to Brumnot and stay. I think Fog City is just a mess of immigrants."
"That's right." Gunther said, "As soon as the Raven War ended, the tower accepted a large number of civilians from White Gorge City according to the agreement." In fact, many nobles also wanted to take refuge on the Sky Island, but the Affairs Department rejected them. During that time the tower was the safest place in all of Knox, people were flooding in and the astrologers were forced to expand the city. He still remembers the smoky Fog City, which is not an exaggerated modifier. Black and gray mist floated in the city, and someone assured him that even the morning dew among the flowers and plants was black. San Carlos is one of the cities whose towers expanded after the end of the Raven War. It is located in the northwest of the continent and does not see the sun almost every April.
"Why is he looking for you?" Qiong Li looked at him suspiciously, as if he was trying to determine whether Gunther was also a hidden gambler. Gunther heard him ask the same question as before.
"Hobson is from Motogg, too," 'Button' replied.
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