Endless Debt Chapter 1385 - 1: Absurd Life_2

Other than these things, Palmer hadn’t brought anything else, which showed just how important they were to him deep down.

Bologue was sitting on the bench behind Palmer, with a small tote bag at his feet, stuffed full of the "souvenirs" left over from all the events he’d gone through over the years.

Just like Palmer, this was the only thing Bologue had brought out from home.

"What is this supposed to be?" Palmer stood up, then sat down beside Bologue with a helpless look. "Our home got requisitioned?"

"More or less."

Bologue rolled his neck and looked up toward the upper floors.

The Scholars had finished their tests. They draped a layer of black cloth over the slab, wrapping it up tightly, and a group of Logistics Department staff carefully bound it with cables and slowly hoisted it out with a crane.

Right now it was hanging midair, slowly descending toward the truck below. Everyone looked like they were on high alert, afraid anything might go wrong.

Nothing was going to happen.

With Bologue here, never mind the slab losing control and falling— even if the whole building suddenly collapsed, Bologue could still use that outstanding Commanding Power of his to forcibly bind the collapsing frame together.

"Ah..."

Palmer let out a hoarse, completely pointless groan, like a big goose with its neck being wrung.

Bologue frowned. Palmer was getting a bit too noisy; he should really find a way to shut him up.

"How does it feel, being promoted to Negative Power User?" Bologue tried to find something to talk about.

"It’s okay, I guess." Palmer didn’t sound excited. "The changes are just a bit more Ethereal Amount, slightly higher Ether intensity, and I can Command slightly more complicated air currents, that’s all."

"Like what?"

"Like, if you give me some time, I can whip up a localized storm." Palmer’s eyes were shining.

"Have you tried it?"

"I gave it a shot a few days ago when I went back to the Wind Source Highlands," Palmer said. "You know how it is there— those howling gales all year round, perfect training ground."

Bologue nodded lightly. After the Clarks had worked that land for hundreds of years, they were completely bound to it; you could say the Clarks were the invisible King of the Wind Source Highlands.

"What about you, Bologue?"

Palmer followed Bologue’s topic along. He needed something to distract himself, to forget the fact that he was currently homeless.

"After Raymond Gaudent was destroyed, the Decision Room must’ve issued their orders, right?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Defender," Palmer said bluntly. "Everyone’s guessing that after pulling off that feat, you’re going to be promoted to Defender. So? The Decision Room hasn’t sent down any notice?"

"No."

Bologue shook his head. Ever since he joined the Order Bureau, he’d been promoted roughly one rank per year. In other people’s eyes, that speed was terrifyingly fast, but Bologue himself didn’t really feel it.

That probably had a lot to do with his workload. After all, his figure showed up in every major incident. Never mind one rank a year— it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if he jumped straight to Seeker of Glory.

Now that his fifth year of work was almost over, and he’d played a critical role in the Raymond Gaudent incident, it was only natural that people would have that kind of guess.

"But my guess is, the notice is coming soon."

Bologue changed the subject mid-sentence, murmuring as he watched the slab being loaded into the truck.

The engine started, and after a roar, the truck carrying the slab disappeared at the end of the street, taking with it the Field Staff hidden in the shadows.

Even though Bologue had said over and over that this thing really was just an ordinary slab, and the Scholars had checked it countless times, everyone still acted like they were facing a mortal enemy, terrified of any mishap.

Once the main force left, only a few people remained to maintain order and clean up the scene, making the place look desolate.

"What do we do now?" Palmer asked. "You got anywhere to go?"

"Where else can we go? Geoffrey said the Logistics Department has already assigned us new dorms," Bologue rubbed his head, feeling exhausted. "Until the renovation at home is done, we’ll have to live inside the Order Bureau."

"Oh..." Palmer thought for a moment, then asked, "So how are we supposed to explain things to our landlord?"

This was a crucial and serious question.

You had to know, the apartment they co-rented wasn’t small, and the location was great. In Oubos, this godforsaken place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, the value of that apartment was far beyond what ordinary staff could imagine.

Bologue and Palmer didn’t really count as ordinary staff.

"No need to worry about that," Bologue said. "You know how efficient and professional the Logistics Department is... They bought our place. Just an hour ago."

"Huh?"

This time Palmer fell silent. By now most of the people had dispersed. A few pedestrians passed by, giving the two of them a once-over, then looking at the stuff they’d laid out on the ground.

Before one of the passersby could speak, Palmer jumped in first and snapped, "We’re not running a stall! Nothing’s for sale!"

The passerby muttered a few words, and seeing Palmer looking so fierce and murderous, dragged his friend away in a hurry.

Cursing under his breath, Palmer started packing up his collection, bundling things into big and small bags. Watching him scramble around like that, Bologue suddenly burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?"

"At how absurd this situation is," Bologue sighed. "This is the first time I’ve ended up like this."

Not long ago, Bologue had been slaughtering one bizarre abomination after another in the Abandoned Land, and afterward he’d been tormented by the mystery of his own existence. This morning he’d met the elderly Dennis, and thought he’d finally resolved his inner knot— only to come home to this scene.

From Hero who saved the city to a guy wandering the streets, Bologue couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of his life.

"Feels like we’re tenants getting kicked out by the landlord, doesn’t it?" Palmer said.

"And like drifters carrying all their worldly possessions, roaming the city on the fringes." Bologue added.

The two of them paused, then started laughing even louder.

People around them kept throwing glances their way. Seeing how down-and-out they looked, they figured reality had hit them so hard they’d gone crazy, and quickly put some distance between them.

They laughed for quite a while, then moved all the bags into the car. Fortunately, even if their home was gone for now, at least they still had the car.

Palmer got into the driver’s seat, Bologue slipped into the passenger seat, and Palmer muttered, "Bologue, you really should learn how to drive."

Bologue said, "I can drive."

"No, no, I mean you should actually go get a license." Palmer corrected him.

"I have a license."

"It expired decades ago!"

"All right, all right." Bologue pushed his seat back and stretched hard.

Palmer slid the key into the ignition, and the car rumbled to life. "Hey, since you’re an Undead, does that mean from now on you’ll have to retake the driving test every so often?"

"Who knows? Maybe the Order Bureau will issue me a permanent license." Bologue looked out the car window. The sky was getting darker, turning pitch black.

"True," Palmer gripped the steering wheel with both hands. "Maybe in the future cars won’t need drivers at all. Maybe they’ll even fly, like in the movies."

"When you think of it that way, being an Undead is kind of enviable," Palmer turned his head and said.

"How so?"

"You’ve got endless time, with countless movies and books waiting for you. You can live for hundreds, thousands of years, reach the future, see what the world is like then," Palmer murmured. "It’s just unimaginable what things will look like, the same way people a hundred years ago couldn’t imagine how we live now..."

Palmer said quietly, "By then, I’ll most likely already be dead."

Bologue straightened up and looked at Palmer’s dejected face. The atmosphere in the car started to build, thickening...

"Smack!"

Bologue raised his hand and gave Palmer a slap. Not too hard, not too light— just right.

"You awake now?" Bologue asked.

Palmer froze for a second, then said blankly, "Huh?"

"Drive. We still have to clean up the place."

Bologue said, pressing a hand to his head and sighing softly, "Life really is absurd."

As soon as he finished, there was a bang from the back of the car. Bologue and Palmer turned their heads at the same time, just in time to see a broken brick hit the rear window.

Palmer echoed Bologue’s words, "Truly absurd."