Alena waited in the city-state for three days, but De Silva never returned. Anxious, she set out to find him alone. An hour before her brother was to be executed, she finally found the prison, but he was nowhere in sight. At that moment, De Silva was being escorted by two men, a black hood over his head. He knew his life was about to end. The moment the noose was placed around his neck, he lost all hope. He thought of Amandine, "Father, how ironic that we both should be hanged." He took a deep breath. The wooden plank beneath his feet snapped away, and his feet were left dangling. The entire weight of his body pressed down on his neck, making it incredibly difficult to breathe. He struggled desperately, trying to scream, but no sound came out. His consciousness began to fade.
Alice, lost in the throes of new love, was coming home later and later. Vega hadn't eaten all day, and her milk was insufficient. The baby cried incessantly. She placed her daughter on the bed and went out to find Alice. When she arrived at the restaurant where Alice worked, the owner said she hadn't shown up for two days. "Where on earth is my aunt? Could something have happened to her?"
Fifty years of suppressed emotions had been unleashed in Alice like a raging flood, and she had completely forgotten about her niece. She lay in the arms of a man, wearing a lace slip, a faint smile on her face. The man wasn't the student, but another, more mature man in his forties. "Alice, move in with me," the man said.
"Alright, but I have a niece and her baby at home. Can they come too?" The man hesitated. "Well... this place is a bit small. Will we all fit?"
Alice pouted playfully, "Can't you just buy a bigger house? You said you were rich."
"Alright, if it makes you happy, tell them to move in." The two embraced again, and the room was instantly filled with the bloom of spring.
Defeated, Vega returned home. As she walked in the door, she was shocked to find the baby missing from the bed. She whirled around and ran back outside. "Ma Yi, have you seen my daughter?" The woman shook her head. "No, what's wrong?"
"Did you see anyone go to my apartment?"
"I was in the back room just now, I only came out a moment ago. I didn't see anything."
"What's happened?" Ma Yi asked again, but Vega was already gone, her question unheard. "Could Daechir have found us?" she wondered, standing in the street. A moment later, she dismissed the thought. "Impossible, she couldn't have escaped."
The search continued until midnight, fruitless. She thought of calling the police. They simply took a report and told her to go home and wait for news.
It wasn't until the third day that Alice finally returned home. Looking at the empty bed, she asked, "Where's Zoe?"
Resentment festering in her heart, Vega remained silent. "What's wrong?" Alice pressed.
"You finally decided to come back? I thought you'd disappeared."
When Alice learned what had happened, she wanted to go out and search, but Vega stopped her. "Don't bother. I've been looking for three days. There's no sign of her."
"I'm sorry, I was gone for too long."
"Aunt, where have you been? I went to your restaurant, but you weren't there."
Ashamed, Alice lowered her head, silent. She had come back today to ask Vega to move with her, but now, how could she possibly bring it up? "Why aren't you saying anything? Have you forgotten our goal? To earn money and go back home."
"Vega, maybe we should just live here. We can keep looking for Zoe."
"But you were the one who wanted to go back to Mexico."
"Things are different now," Alice whispered.
Vega sighed and said no more. The next day, when Alice woke up, she found a note on the table. It read: "Aunt, I'm sorry, I'm gone. Maybe we were wrong from the start. We never should have come back to this time, and we shouldn't have ignored Daechir's warning. Now it's too late. I will continue to search for Zoe. If I find her, I will take her back to the Shire. Let us part ways here. I wish you happiness."
After reading the letter, Alice's heart was in turmoil for a long time. After a quarter of an hour, she calmed down slightly and walked out of the room. Freed from the burden of Vega, Alice indulged herself even more, moving directly into the man's home. They spent their nights in revelry and their days in celebration.
Ares, cast out of the city-state, now lived the life of a wanderer. Fortunately, with his two robots, Number Two and Number Three, life was manageable. One day, he set his eyes on a convertible. When he asked the price, he was told it was over twenty thousand shillings. "How much money do we have?" he asked Number Two.
"Sir, we have one thousand three hundred shillings."
"That's it?"
"If you want it, I'll just snatch it," Number Two offered.
"Forget it. We're not robbers. Stealing is better."
"So who's going to steal it?" Ares pointed at Hill. "Let her do it."
"I'm not doing it. You go if you want to," Hill immediately refused. Beyondbear volunteered, but with a condition: after stealing the car, they had to go rescue Daechir.
Ares laughed. "You big lug, you're quite the romantic, still thinking about that woman."
"So, is it a deal or not?" Beyondbear pressed.
"Don't you know? De Silva already failed and was hanged. You want me to end up like that too?"
"You're a Buddha, how could you die?"
Ares was speechless for a moment, thinking, "Is he really this dumb, or is he faking it?" He decided to forget the car, and the group continued on their way. This time they came to Yike Town, only fifteen kilometers from the Eagle's Nest. He wondered if he should go back for a visit. A remark from Number Two made up his mind. "Sir, there's a lot of gold in the Eagle's Nest. I can take you to get it. Then you'll have money to buy a car."
"Are you serious?" Ares asked, overjoyed.
"Yes, you can ask Number Three, he knows too."
They flagged down a car and headed straight for the Eagle's Nest. As they got close, the car stopped, and they walked the rest of the way to the entrance of Tunnel Five. The tunnel had since been reopened. Finding the entrance, they went inside with Number Two leading the way. They hadn't gone far when a swarm of spiders surrounded them. Terrified, Hill backed away several steps. The spiders didn't attack. Ares chuckled, "Good thing I'm riding on Dopey. These things disgust me every time I see them!"
When they reached the main hall where all the tunnels converged, Number Two led them towards Tunnel Nine. After walking for two kilometers, a large stone door appeared before them, inscribed with the words: "Trespassers Will Die." Hill quickly grabbed Ares. "We shouldn't go in."
"Then you wait here."
"You don't go either." Hill held onto his hand, refusing to let go.
"Will it be dangerous inside?" Ares asked Number Two.
Number Two smiled, turned right, and continued walking. The others had no choice but to follow. After another two hundred steps, she stopped.