Before he could finish, Natalie cut him off again, clearly annoyed. "Get to the point!" The man gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I ramble when I talk." Natalie turned around and was about to leave. That man hurriedly gets to the important part. "My brother-in-law really is the deputy mayor." As he spoke, he pulled a wallet from his pocket and opened it for them to see. Inside were two photos and a small heart-shaped card folded from a hundred-dollar bill. One photo and the heart-shaped dollar were very old. They were yellowed, the edges curled. They looked so fragile that they might fall apart if touched. The other photo was a family picture. It was newer but still looked seven or eight years old. The man pointed at the family photo. It showed an elderly couple sitting down, with two middle-aged couples standing behind them. "The ones sitting are my father-in-law and mother-in-law," he said. "The couple on the right is me and my wife." He lifted his chin proudly. "My wife's beautiful, right?" Natalie studied the people in the photo. The man on the right was clearly him. But his skin was lighter back then, and his clothes were neat and clean. His facial features were the same, but his whole vibe was different. Now, he looked like a homeless man. In the photo, he looked steady and normal. As for the other two men in the picture, they really did look like people in high places. That calm confidence in their eyes was not something you could fake. No matter how similar the shirt or jacket, most people could never copy that presence.The man kept talking on his own. "This photo doesn't really show how pretty she was. Look at this one. This looks more like her." He pushed the older, wrinkled photo toward Natalie. "Well? Pretty, right? You've got a bit of looks yourself, but you can't compare to my wife when she was young." The photo showed the same couple from the right side of the family picture, but much younger. They stood by a lake, hands tightly clasped, like tourists on a trip. They looked to be in their early twenties. The man in the photo was full of life and confidence. He looked nothing like the dirty, worn-down man standing here now. The woman wore a simple, stylish trench coat. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders. The photo was old and blurry, but you could still tell she was elegant and beautiful. Still, compared to Natalie's almost unreal, flawless face, the difference was obvious. Cassian glanced at the man and thought to himself that love really did blind people. Where did this guy get the confidence to say his wife was prettier than Natalie? Of course, the man had no idea what Cassian was thinking. He kept showing off happily. "This love-shaped dollar was folded by my wife when she was young. I've kept it all these years. Her hands were so skillful." While he rambled on about his wife, he carefully put the two photos and the heart-shaped dollar back into his wallet, as if they were priceless treasures. Natalie waved her hand helplessly. "I'm not interested in your love story with your wife." The man blinked, then remembered he was supposed to be talking about his brother-in-law."Right, right," he said quickly. "So, my wife's younger brother really is the deputy mayor of Yloria." He paused, then stressed it, "He's the guy standing on the left in that family photo just now. I'm his real brother-in-law!" As if he knew his current look wasn't very convincing, he explained awkwardly. "Don't judge me by how I look now. I didn't used to be like this. You could tell from that photo earlier!" Worried that one photo still wasn't enough proof, he scratched his head and kept talking. "You're not from Yloria. If you were, you'd recognize his face right away. He's a good official who really works for the people. Most locals know him." Natalie didn't follow his lead. Instead, she asked calmly, "If you love your wife so much, why did you come this far away from home?" The man's smile faded at once. It was like he'd been hit by a painful memory. His voice dropped. "She passed away six years ago. Lung cancer." Then he rambled softly, "I was devastated back then. One day she was there. The next she was gone. But now, I'm kind of glad. At least she didn't have to live through this messed-up apocalypse." He sighed. "You know it too. These past three years haven't been fit for humans. Disaster after disaster, one after another, no end in sight. It's insane. Especially this Frostfall—" Natalie's impatience was starting to show. Cassian frowned and interrupted, "Sir, you're off topic again." The man laughed sheepishly and scratched his head. "Sorry about that. I'm bad at staying on point." Then he finally answered Natalie's question. "After my wife died, I was really down. I couldn't stand staying alone at home anymore, so I started walking. Just kept walking."