Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

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"The Harvest Festival doesn’t seem all that lively anymore, dear Ms. Bonnie." Pushing open the door of the National Publishing House, young editor Durte noticed Ms. Bonnie standing by the window. As the secretary to the president of the publishing house, she seemed to be observing the situation on the street opposite.

Having just come from there, he naturally knew what the situation on the street was—Mr. Malin’s corporation had shut down all its factories for seven days, leaving the workers unpaid, while other employers from the merchants’ association were exploiting the situation. They had lowered the weekly wages and extended the contract terms, attempting to divide Mr. Malin’s workforce.

But surprisingly, these workers were not crushed by life’s burdens; they gathered on the streets, protesting every day, wishing to regain their jobs.

Regrettably, however, all of Mr. Malin’s factories had been closed.

Police, private detectives, and those crazed merchants were eager to discover the secret of the missing people—rumor had it that at least fifty individuals had vanished, neither alive to be seen nor dead to be found. Allegedly, newspapers loyal to the merchants’ association were mourning daily as if they had lost their own parents, yet they never considered that, before Mr. Malin’s group came along, that many people would die every week in the Western District.

"There’s going to be trouble," Ms. Bonnie said with a frown.

"Anyone with a brain can see that, but what else can these country bumpkins do? Many members of the merchants’ association are Transcendents; I don’t think these commoners stand a chance against them," Durte shook his head. He somewhat disdained Ms. Bonnie’s pessimistic view.