Half-step Purgatory

For a long time, Malin always felt that Fate had been quite generous to him. Although he had to face that life-threatening job every day, as long as he had the lovely Leopard Girl cooking delicious food for him daily, and as long as there was meat to eat and cats to stroke, life wasn't too unbearable. Working a bit harder and facing some difficulties on the job weren't really an issue for a man.
Moreover, being able to live two lives meant one shouldn't have too high demands, right, Mr. Different-Kind?
Having said that, and without waiting for an answer, the young man snapped his fingers, and the white flame on his fingertip lit the tobacco in his other hand, then he flicked it towards the non-human entity on the stake.
Welcome to Abield, to witness the last splendor of the steampunk era.
And the madness.

Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

"Dorothy, what are our little friends watching?" Number 87 asked as he walked down the corridor. A virtual humanoid appeared beside him, a little girl with long hair, smiling as she gave her answer to her master, "War movies." At the same time, a screen appeared in front of Number 87. The camera angle was from behind Malin, perfectly capturing the image on the television of both sides firing laser weapons at each other.


"Poor child, how could he possibly understand such wars?" Although Malin's face couldn't be seen, Number 87 could still hear what he said.


"What are these lights, and how can there be light slower than bullets?"


Listening to the child's curious remark, Number 87 chuckled to himself, thinking it best not to disturb a young child's thoughts, lest he suspect they were watching him.


Section 404: Mechanical Mind (Part 4)