Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

Sagarejo is located about forty kilometers east of Tbilisi. In Malin’s memory, it was nothing more than a small city, and in the memory bank of Sostak No.3, it was merely a destination for the wealthy to travel to—a sparsely populated place without any towering buildings except for a five-star hotel, surrounded mostly by small residential houses.

After all, Tbilisi, the largest city in the Caucasus region, had absorbed over half of the Caucasus population during that era.

So when they followed the road to the outskirts of Sagarejo, Malin could only glimpse through the trees at a dilapidated hotel, its exterior walls reminiscent of the nursing home previously managed by Mrs. Katerina. This piqued Malin’s curiosity—was this a triumph of minimalism or a lazy reuse of architectural designs?

"We’re here." Quetos said as she led Malin to the outskirts of Sagarejo. The zombie guards outside the town clearly recognized Quetos and noticed the three people with her: "Wanda’s daughter, who are these people you’ve brought?"

"Friends of my father, envoys of the Thanan returning eastward. My father said Chief Miryan would undoubtedly be delighted to meet Mr. Malin."

"...Wanda’s reputation allows them passage. But Wanda’s daughter, watch those tender skins closely—if something goes wrong, someone’s head is bound to roll." Sostak No.3 and Jason’s appearances were perfectly crafted to deceive. The guard sensed no threats from Malin’s group and stepped aside to open the gate.

Following Quetos through the gate, Malin saw a Sagarejo resembling a medieval camp. Zombies wrapped themselves in animal skins, appearing like primitive people. They had markets, patrol teams, and citizens along with adventurers who seemed to have some abilities, though children were the most prominent presence.

Chaotic as it seemed, the streets remained clean, with no unspeakable acts happening openly. When the zombies saw Quetos leading Malin’s group, most displayed no strong reactions, though the zombie children ran over, curiously examining the unfamiliar tender-skinned individuals. Their eyes were full of wonder until distant commands from their parents forced them to leave.

Most of them had slight hunches but did their best to stand tall—a result, perhaps, of Chief Miryan’s efforts. Like Chief Wanda, he wanted his kind to look more human.

No, they shouldn’t be called zombies anymore. They should be called bio-engineered beings. They were earnestly striving to live in this world, pursuing an evolution completely divergent from their feral counterparts who only sought to destroy the world.

At this moment, they were no longer the delusional destroyers from Malin’s memory. Instead, they were beings with dreams of their own.

"That building—is that where the Skinless live?" Meng Quyi’s curiosity about the decrepit structure had been sparked since outside the town, and now that they’d entered, she could no longer hold it back.