Chapter 1193: 180. The Proxy

"Don’t worry. From now on, you’ll have a home!"

The middle-aged man vigorously patted Muen on the shoulder as though he were talking about something deeply moving. Two hot tears even squeezed from the corners of his eyes.

The others beside him were the same. Every one of them was big and burly, with faces that would make criminals tremble in fear, yet at this moment they all nodded in relief one after another, as though they had just completed some wonderful deed...

Like finding a place to belong for some poor homeless person.

But where was the poor person here?

Even if there was one...

It should not be him.

"You’ve misunderstood. I’m not homeless."

The scene before him was so absurdly comical, yet Muen could not laugh at all. He could only rub his face and simply put away even that affected, wicked smile.

"Huh? You’re not homeless?"

The middle-aged man looked shocked.

"Then why did you rob someone else’s café?"

"..."

Why else?

He had been deliberately looking for trouble!

Muen really wanted to slap the words, "I’m a fucking bad guy! Bad guys don’t need reasons for what they do!" right into the man’s face, but when the words reached his lips, he suddenly did not know how to answer.

Or rather, he did not know how to answer people who were excessively innocent like these.

He and these people fundamentally lived in two different worlds.

There was no scheming against one another, no violence, no resentment. These people lived here as though they truly lived in a "carefree place," where evil and filth had nothing to do with them.

This place was extremely clean.

So clean that not even a speck of dust could be found.

—Muen once again clearly felt this.

And he, the outsider, was instead like a stain that had fallen upon a sheet of pure white paper.

"Are you all right, little brother?"

Seeing Muen remain silent for so long, the middle-aged man instead came closer in concern, as though afraid something had happened to him.

"I’m fine." Muen shook his head. "I just accidentally used the wrong method, so I’m feeling a little annoyed right now."

"Used the wrong method?" The middle-aged man looked completely confused.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Muen suddenly changed the subject.

"Questions? Of course!"

The middle-aged man gave him a thumbs-up.

"Isn’t our Guard Team here to serve the people of New Tars?"

"The Guard Team... huh? Sounds pretty good."

It seemed their duties did not merely consist of maintaining public order...

That made sense. The public order in this city was probably already so good that there was hardly any need to maintain it.

"Then I’ll ask. Who is the administrator... or leader of this city?" Muen asked directly.

"Administrator... leader?"

The middle-aged man blinked.

"Do you mean the Proxy?"

"The Proxy?"

"Huh? Little brother, you don’t even know something like that?" The middle-aged man frowned. Then a sharp light flashed through his eyes, as though he had suddenly understood something. "I see. No wonder you did something so strange. Little brother, you’re... sick, aren’t you?"

"..."

Even at a time like this, he only thought Muen was sick.

How fucking gentle...

"And it’s a brain illness! How pitiful. I’ll take you to see a doctor right away!"

The middle-aged man acted with great urgency and immediately tried to pull Muen toward another place.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Muen hurriedly steadied him.

"We can talk about whether there’s something wrong with my brain later. Answer my question first. This Proxy you mentioned... who exactly is he?"

"The Proxy... is the Proxy."

The middle-aged man said,

"This city was built by the heroes, but the heroes were cursed by the evil dragon and have been unable to directly interact with us for a long time. So the Proxy helps them manage the city. It’s that simple."

"The evil dragon’s curse..."

The corner of Muen’s mouth twitched again.

What evil dragon’s curse?

They were clearly talking about Pollution...

Those people truly knew how to throw dirty water on someone else.

However, judging from the fact that those people did not directly participate in management, nor directly interact with the residents of New Tars...

Did they truly want to keep this place clean and prevent it from being eroded by Pollution?

It sounded noble and selfless...

Yet when Miss Dragon descended, those people despicably hid among the crowd.

What exactly were they trying to do?

Were they truly just playing hide-and-seek with Miss Dragon?

The more he thought about it...

The more he felt it was not that simple.

Those people seemed to still be brewing some kind of conspiracy.

"Can you take me to meet this Proxy of yours?" Muen, unable to figure it out for the moment, tried asking.

"You want to meet the Proxy right now?"

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in great surprise...

"Of course you can! Isn’t the Proxy someone anyone can meet whenever they want? Why are you specifically asking me?"

"..."

Heh...

Why had he specifically asked such a foolish question in the eyes of a local?

Probably because he had never imagined that the "special nature" of this society had already reached such an extent, so he had originally planned to cause some trouble and slowly follow the trail upward little by little.

Who would have thought there was no need for anything so troublesome?

He only needed to casually ask a passerby on the street, and that passerby would naturally and enthusiastically take him to the highest administrator here.

There was not even any threshold.

No matter who it was, if they wanted to meet the Proxy, they could.

It was completely different from the complicated world outside.

He had been trapped by habitual thinking.

Muen secretly glanced around, feeling fortunate that Miss Dragon was not beside him right now.

Otherwise, she would have called him an idiot again...

...

...

Led by the members of the Guard Team, Muen soon arrived outside the residence where the Proxy stayed.

When he saw the residence, Muen was slightly surprised again. As the highest administrative institution in this city, the building was simply...

Far too ordinary.

It was merely an extremely ordinary two-story building, basically no different from the buildings around it. If not for the Guard Team’s guidance and the few rather antique-looking plaques at the entrance, Muen himself might have had great difficulty finding this place.

"Go ahead."

The middle-aged man directly sent Muen into the building, completely unconcerned that he was a criminal who had just committed robbery. The several people guarding the entrance stood perfectly straight and looked highly professional...

Yet they did not even conduct the most basic questioning.

The middle-aged man said something to one of the guards. The guard hurried inside and returned not long afterward.

"You’re really lucky. Today is the theatrical performance day, so everyone went to watch the play. As a result, the Proxy isn’t very busy here. There’s no need to make an appointment or wait in line. Just go inside."

After speaking with the guard for a few moments, the middle-aged man turned back and smiled.

"Thank you."

Muen walked inside alone.

Just like the outside, the interior of the building was also extremely plain and had no luxurious decorations.

Muen passed through a corridor that was not particularly long. Following the middle-aged man’s earlier instructions, he reached the end, then pushed open the equally ordinary door.

Inside the room, a magic stone emitted a gentle light, making the place bright without being dazzling.

While displaying prosperity, there were no overly lavish decorations or furnishings. Behind an ordinary desk sat a gray-haired man who also looked very ordinary, writing and drawing something.

"I heard you just did something bad?"

The Proxy’s voice was filled with gentleness. He raised his head and looked at Muen with a smile.

"Then you must have encountered some kind of difficulty. Would you be willing to talk to me about it?"