Soon, Bologue’s arrival caught the attention of the guard—not really a guard, just someone standing watch in front of the iron fence. He saw someone walking out from the Great Rift and was full of alert.

"Who are you?" he asked loudly.

"Hello, I’m from the Geological Institute," Bologue said, pointing to the rift behind him and the city faintly visible on the horizon, "from Oubos."

"Geological Institute?"

The guard didn’t relax his vigilance and continued to ask, "What is the Geological Institute doing here?"

"As you can see, I’m here to prospect. I heard there’s a small town at the end of this rift, so I came to see it."

Faced with the guard’s question, Bologue replied fluently.

Before the action began, the Decision Room had already given Bologue the necessary false identity. According to the setup, he was now an explorer from the Geological Institute. Next, the town hall would conduct a series of renovations on the Gray Stone Rift, sending him to prospect and incidentally check out Gray Stone Town at the end.

The guard called an officer, confirmed Bologue’s identification, and then let him in.

"Sorry," the guard said to Bologue, "I was a bit too alert."

"It’s nothing," Bologue didn’t mind, "anyone who encounters someone walking out from the Great Rift would be alert, but... why are you so alert?"

Gray Stone Town was overly cautious about visitors from within the Great Rift, not only arranging guards but also setting up an iron fence, as if there were monsters hidden within...indeed, there are monsters in the Abandoned Land.

The guard’s eyes dimmed slightly, and he spoke softly, "Because there’s an evil force inside the Great Rift."

"Evil force?"

Bologue looked directly at the guard, "What evil force? I’ve walked all the way from the Great Rift and haven’t felt anything."

The guard became hesitant, and Bologue quickly continued, "It’s okay, tell me. Handling this town’s troubles is my job."

Bologue said, showing his identification again. Sometimes, documents are much more effective than words.

"This isn’t a secret in Gray Stone Town." The guard finally spoke.

He looked back at the sky growing darker and then towards the murky shadows at the end of the rift. His heart inexplicably throbbed.

"Since the earthquake six months ago, Gray Stone Town collapsed into this rift. After a period of reconstruction, we thought we could return to normal life, but since then, more and more townsfolk started having nightmares. In the dark, when everyone looked towards the direction of the Great Rift, there was a strange feeling, as if something inside was watching us."

As the guard spoke, Bologue’s gaze gradually sharpened. He tried to sense the umbilical cord but couldn’t establish any connection.

"Go on."

"After that, everyone feared the rift, and even set up an iron fence. But fortunately, there was the Priest. Under the Priest’s preaching, everyone felt much better about the darkness, and the number of people having nightmares decreased. Now, the iron fence seems more symbolic."

Mentioning the so-called Priest, the guard’s eyes were full of respect, appearing to be someone trustworthy and admirable.

"The Priest’s preaching?" Bologue murmured.

"Yes, I almost forgot, there’s a sermon by the Priest today," the guard suddenly remembered, "Do you have anything else? If not, I need to attend the sermon."

Saying this, the guard revealed his cross, as if showing it off.

Bologue didn’t stop the guard. After a brief greeting, Bologue left, and the guard quickly walked away, heading towards the town center square.

"Is there a problem here?" Aimou asked quietly beside him.

"Yes, a big problem."

Bologue looked down at his abdomen, where a faint umbilical cord gradually appeared, but after extending a few meters, it dissipated again.

There’s a demonic force hidden in this town, but it’s concealed extremely well, and Bologue couldn’t temporarily establish a clear connection to find its location.

Faced with this sudden change, Bologue’s expression was somber for a moment, followed by a peculiar smile.

"A pleasant surprise."

Bologue was someone who couldn’t sit still. These days of rest had made him quite weary.

"Let’s go, check out what that Priest is like."

Bologue pulled Aimou along, mentioning the Priest invoked a rather unpleasant memory in Bologue’s mind, "I once met a Priest before."

"How was it?"

Aimou was very curious about Bologue’s past experiences; specifically, she was curious about everything about Bologue, eager to learn more about him. But Aimou didn’t realize that the two already connected through Heart Overlapping Shadow, had already achieved spiritual resonance.

"That was not a good memory," Bologue said carelessly, "That Priest was a Demon. I killed him and burned his church as well."

"Oh..."

Aimou thought it would be a soul-saving plot, but it ended up being a fight...then again, this was Bologue’s style, a situation he often encountered.

"Makes sense," said Bologue, "The path to the Great Rift is open; if the enemies could hold back, then something would be wrong."

He couldn’t help but tighten his grip on the case, inside which his Sword Axe was hidden. Bologue began to anticipate what he might encounter in this town.