Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

In Red Rain Fortress, underground, at the center of the loop, Fortress Lord Eller stood nervously at the entrance, his eyes fixed on the little mouse on the ground not far away, the messenger of the Rat God.

"What do we do now?"

As Kong Jiu walked along the azure path, gazing at the large pile of dull gems before him, he asked the other two questions in his mind.

This is the psionic circuit array, the core that maintains the existence of the entire subspace node, and also the largest source of psionic power for this node.

The spiritual energy source powers the Iron Curtain's subspace concept, supporting the existence of the sky above the lower city.

But at this moment, the source of spiritual energy was completely empty.

If we rule out the possibility that the concept of the Iron Curtain is stored here, it is almost equivalent to ruling out the possibility that this node is storing the concept of the Iron Curtain.

This trip seems to have lost its meaning.

"No, this shouldn't be the case... Hills City is only so big; three large subspace nodes should be the limit..."

Squiche's unwilling murmur echoed in Kong Jiu's heart.

Large nodes exert gravitational pull on each other in the subspace starry sea.

They cannot be too close together, otherwise they will attract each other with gravity, leading to frequent accidents.

Hills City has a limited area, and the nodes created by Farah's research institute's time control have already occupied the entire lower city.

Meanwhile, a node created by a reality warper in the Eastern District has occupied the Central District, which Squich had already visited and investigated.

In theory, the only hidden place that could conceal the "Iron Curtain" is Red Rain Fortress, a node in the upper city.

However, the magic array at the point where the spiritual energy was most concentrated showed no trace of the "Iron Curtain".

What did that concept, the Iron Curtain, become in the subspace, and what powered it?

Although Squich did not confidently declare "the Iron Curtain is definitely here" beforehand to avoid putting too much pressure on Congo, it was quite certain that it had brought in Neos to help.

Squich took a deep sniff of the Red Rain Fortress through the ring.

"The Iron Curtain is here, it must be here."

A firm and unquestionable voice resounded in Kong Jiu's mind.

"Oppression, exploitation, repression... I can smell the shackles emanating from the Iron Curtain! It's hidden within this fortress!"

"It hid itself, disguised itself as something!"

Squich firmly believes that a quarter of the Iron Curtain's foundation lies hidden here.

"I believe you, Arthur." Kongjiu looked at the magic circle before him, not doubting Squich's judgment. "But how do we find that thing?"

Squich smelled the rusty odor emanating from the decaying shackles and remained silent for a long time.

The Iron Curtain is disguised and hidden for its infiltration; its oppressive aura can only be detected faintly within this place.

But what exactly did it become, that it can still draw upon spiritual energy?

Kong Jiu was also pondering the possibility of the "Iron Curtain" being here, as if he were asking the other two.

"Let Eller show us around," Neos said first.

Kong Jiu nodded and transmitted his voice to Ailer.

The latter understood immediately and bent down to let the divine messenger leap onto his shoulder.

A man and a rat walked out of the blue-glowing secret chamber, and the stone door behind them closed heavily.

In the dark underground corridors of Red Rain Fortress, Lord Eller strolled leisurely with Kong Jiu.

As they walked, they came to a clean place filled with needles and IV drips.

"This is the human breeding farm, the place where all the raw materials of Red Rain Fortress are produced."

Eller pointed to the place that resembled a blood donation center and said to the mouse on his shoulder.

"There are many abandoned babies in Hills City, in front of the small clinic in the early morning, in the toilets of some 'universities', and especially in the garbage dumps behind the major bars."

He pointed to some pale-skinned people with tubes inserted into their bodies.

"I don't really understand why Amerigo Vespucci didn't like their offspring, yet still had them. But as someone who's half-blooded, I quite enjoy raising children, maybe because the old man has nothing better to do, haha."

Eller walked past rows of people lying down to have their blood drawn, waving to them.

"Because abortion is prohibited in Hills, this blue state..." Kong Jiu sighed inwardly.

The humans whose blood was being drawn showed no hatred or resentment in their eyes. Instead, they greeted Eller warmly, revealing their admiration and respect for him.

That expression wasn't feigned; it was genuine, like the admiration a child has for their father.

"Abandoned babies I picked up, if they wish to inherit my bloodline and become a member of the Stuart family, must undergo dietary conditioning and have their blood drawn regularly from the age of 16 to extract adrenaline, providing raw materials for the family."

If they are unwilling, I can only raise them until they are 16 years old, and then cruelly send them out of Red Rain Fortress to return to the human world to make their own way.

At this point, a trace of worry flashed across Eller's slightly red eyes: "More than a hundred years have passed. I wonder how those children who went out to make their way in the world are doing... I really hope they can come back and see me."

"No one has come back to see you?" Kong Jiu transmitted.

"No," Eller sighed softly. "I don't blame them. I understand human values... They must hate me, hate me, the bloodline adoptive father who raised human offspring."

Kong Jiu stared at those pale faces—they had no sharp teeth, normal pupils, and not pointed ears, but their skin was as pale as Ailer's.

This is clearly a result of living in subspace since childhood and never being exposed to sunlight.

"My children are healthy, right? It wasn't like this before. They could only eat fish and eggs every day. It wasn't until recently that I learned that if humans don't get enough sunlight, they'll lack something called vitamin D..."

Eller spoke eloquently, clearly demonstrating that he had indeed taken on the responsibility of caring for these pale people wholeheartedly.

Kong Jiu was quite surprised.

He had prepared himself to face a scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a dark and bloody slaughterhouse like a gangster's slave farm or Farah's "Between of Sins".

But is that not the case right now?

This bloodline has allowed a group of children who should not have been born into this world to survive.

He took on the responsibilities of a father, becoming the patriarch of countless abandoned children, and caring for these unblessed children better than some irresponsible parents.

Is it possible that the methods by which a bloodline exploits humans are far inferior to those of humans themselves?

"Are you really a descendant of the bloodline?" Kong Jiu asked doubtfully.

"Oh, I'm half-blood, God knows how my father took a liking to my mother."

Eller made no attempt to hide his mixed-race heritage, even though he was aware of the Amerigo people's prejudice against mixed-race individuals.

"Perhaps it's the kindness of human mothers that made me this way. Of course, the scary stories my grandfather told probably also played a big role."

At this point, Ailer looked earnestly into Kong Jiu's beady black eyes:

"Messenger of the Rat God, I have seen your god punish the mortal world, and therefore I understand that when the name of Squich is sung among the people again, a great calamity will surely follow."

"What exactly does your god intend to do this time?"

What is intended?

Kong Jiu stood on Eller's shoulder, deep in thought.

Should we tell him directly about destroying the Iron Curtain?

"Tell him?" Kong Jiu asked the two figures in his mind.

"It wouldn't hurt to tell him, but what's the point?" the aged rustling voice replied. "Does he even know the Iron Curtain exists?"

After thinking for a moment, Kong Jiu transmitted his thoughts.

"Eller, when you took over this castle, did the people of Hills City entrust you with anything that doesn't exist in reality?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Eller's eyes. He raised his hand to stroke his chin, lost in thought.

After a moment, he spoke: "You're here to find the concept of the Iron Curtain in this subspace, right?"

The peacock twitched its whiskers slightly.

Was my question too blunt?