Chapter 1208: The Farm of Justice (Part 7)

Between the lush, dense mountain forests and rocks, the West Coast wind swept across the railroad tracks. The reefs along the coastline had been eroded by the waves for years, leaving behind rough, porous holes. The intersection of the two brought forth a distant, desolate echo.

A train emerged from a tunnel, flowing like a winding stream at the junction of the coast and the mountains. The sea breeze from one side blew through the gaps in the windows, causing the window panes to tap against the frames with a light *da-da* sound.

A hand was placed on the window latch, pushing forward with force. With a *click*, the window was locked tight, and the slightly annoying rattling finally vanished. Retracting his hand and putting down his newspaper, Shiler looked from above his glasses at Lucifer, who was sitting opposite him in the train compartment, and said:

"Your travel plan is truly classically astonishing. I never imagined that for a creature with its own wings, the first choice of transportation when heading to another location would be a train."

Lucifer was using a knife and fork to divide a French puff pastry on his plate. He ate his breakfast intently and said, "This is the meaning of travel. People could clearly use the fastest method to reach a location, yet they insist on traveling slowly to sightsee. If you hadn't complained about being too tired, we could have walked."

"Spare me." Shiler rolled his eyes slightly and let out a sigh. Lucifer clicked his tongue and said, "The luxury compartment of a travel train simply cannot represent the flavor of a West Coast trip. If you ask me, we should have gone on a spontaneous road trip, hitchhiking by the roadside—that is also an important part of travel."

Shiler gently closed the newspaper, looked into Lucifer's eyes, and said, "And then, when a robber pulled out a gun, you would 'whoosh' and reveal your wings, scaring them out of their wits... That is what you are aiming for."

"I hate psychologists." Lucifer lowered his head again and began to cut the food on his plate.

Shiler gently flicked the bell fixed to the door. After a while, a waiter wearing a black vest walked over, opened the door, and asked, "Sir, is there anything you need?"

"Do you have any breakfast recommendations?"

"Oh, sir, you have truly asked the right person. This train offers many seafood delicacies, including lobster and king crab."

"However, I don't think that is suitable for breakfast. If you like seafood, you must have a bowl of steaming hot cream clam chowder, followed by a serving of smoked salmon with mashed potatoes. If you want some vegetables, we have Seattle-style pickled cucumbers and sweet peppers."

"Thank you for the recommendation. We'll have those."

"No problem, sir. Coffee or wine? The coffee on this train is also quite famous; the traditional Italian coffee sells over 20,000 cups a year."

"Then give me a cup of Italian coffee, thank you."

After the waiter left, Lucifer put the last piece of puff pastry into his mouth. Shiler looked at the sparse food on his plate and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, saying, "What surprises me even more is that an angel would actually be allergic to seafood... Were you beaten by a fish in Heaven? Aside from that, I can't think of any other explanation."

"How could I be that stupid?" Lucifer immediately retorted, "When I was still living in the Garden of Eden, I was an expert at fishing. Getting beaten by a fish is something only the foolish Michael would do."

"Then why don't you eat seafood?"

"Come on, I've lived in Los Angeles for so long that I'm sick of seafood. Only you East Coast old-timers, as soon as you get here, only know how to eat lobster and king crab," Lucifer said with considerable dissatisfaction.

"So, your way of getting rid of this dietary habit is to move from one city on the West Coast to another, and an even more highly developed fishing city at that—Cat Getan?"

"I really don't know when my Pope will ever do his homework properly." Lucifer put down his knife and fork, took the newspaper Shiler had placed on the edge of the table, and said while reading, "An angel's earthly kingdom has its boundaries. The East Coast is Gabriel's territory. I hate that stupid bird that sheds feathers all over the world, so I don't want to hang around there."

"Whether you don't want to hang around in other angels' territories, or because you can't win an argument against them and feel embarrassed, only you know." Shiler leaned back slightly, letting the waiter place the soup on the table.

"When have I ever failed to win an argument against them?!" Lucifer immediately raised his voice to ask.

"Last night, don't think I didn't hear. While I was packing my luggage, you were on the phone in the next room arguing with them about that small defensive battle that happened near the Holy Spring tens of thousands of years ago during the War of the Fall. You were so thoroughly interrupted by Michael that you couldn't even get a word in."

"Shiler!" Lucifer slammed the table in anger and said, "Please mind your phrasing. You are my Pope, after all. Whose side are you on?"

"I am on God's side," Shiler said, taking a sip of soup.

Lucifer snorted coldly and said, "If it weren't for my fall, would it have been Michael's turn to be the Archangel? Gabriel was originally just my little sidekick, but now, he actually follows behind Michael's butt..."

"When I prayed to God yesterday, he said that you two have been discussing a single Fall war for tens of thousands of years. You aren't tired of talking about it, but he is tired of listening," Shiler said.

"You actually complained to God again?!" Lucifer was furious.

"He praised you."

"Oh, really?... I mean, don't try to lie to me!"

Shiler cut a piece of fish, ignored Lucifer's shifting gaze, and directly changed the subject: "When I was packing my luggage last night, I gave Hali Lake a call. When the train arrives at the station later, he will come to pick us up."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow, folded the newspaper in his hand, and said, "But you clearly said last night that you didn't approve of this decision of mine."

"As a qualified Pope, I am very worried that my God will be unable to pay the rent because business is bad and end up homeless on the street." Shiler shook his head gently and said, "I am really curious: how on earth did you manage to lose over 100,000 dollars opening a bar in the best location in Los Angeles, with the strongest entertainment atmosphere and the highest foot traffic?"

Lucifer spread his hands and said, "My bar doesn't just have humans. The human realm, the spirit realm, Heaven, Hell—everyone wants to come and show their support. However, I'm sure you can imagine that some races that don't quite get along might have a little... minor friction."

"How many times has your bar been rebuilt?"

"About 6,000 times, I suppose."

"You really are a business genius."

Lucifer sighed and said, "This time going to Cat Getan, I'm going to change my business strategy. Apart from humans, no other race is allowed inside."

Shiler put down his knife and fork, rang the bell to have the waiter come and take away the plates, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then said, "In fact, Hali Lake and I have a joint business venture. I think it will be beneficial for you opening a bar. When he arrives, we can talk about it together."

"It's definitely not anything good," Lucifer pouted and said.

Soon, the train arrived at the station. No matter how slow this relatively primitive mode of transportation was, it was still much faster than unreliable hitchhiking. When Shiler and Lucifer got off the train, the sky was not yet completely dark.

As the two just walked out of the platform, a man wearing a brown pilot's jacket walked over. He first hugged Shiler and then shook hands with Lucifer. Shiler handed him the brown suitcase he was carrying. With a flash of green light, the suitcase disappeared.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow and said, "Green Lantern?"

"That's right, I am Hali Lake, the Green Lantern of the sector where Earth is located. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lucifer." Hali nodded and led the two toward the exit. Shiler looked at his dusty appearance and asked with some confusion, "Did you just get back too?"

"Yes, I heard you were coming, so I rushed back. Oliver ran into some trouble, and Arthur and I both went to help him."

Shiler shook his head and said, "What kind of trouble could make both of you go to help? Isn't one person enough?"

Hali frowned and said, "It's complicated. Oliver doesn't let us tell others, but if there is anything you need help with, I will tell you."

Shiler nodded and didn't say anything. The situation in Mexico was indeed very complicated and couldn't be explained in a few words. The Green Arrow's actions there were smooth, but the smoother they were, the more trouble he faced. He estimated that what he encountered this time must be a physical threat; otherwise, he wouldn't have called both Aquaman and the Green Lantern over.

Hali drove over in an old pickup truck. Lucifer saw a pile of messy fishing nets in the truck bed, so he asked while boarding the vehicle, "Are you a fisherman?"

"No, I'm a test pilot. However, many families in Cat Getan are engaged in the fishing industry, and my family is the same. My uncle has several boats, and family members basically go out to sea to fish with him. Some also work on cruise ships, and we don't see each other a few times a year."

Lucifer was somewhat interested and said, "I haven't done deep-sea fishing yet. I heard that you go out to sea during the tuna season. Is the biggest tuna caught the 'Fish King' at the auction?"

Hali nodded while driving and said, "It's been a long time since an American caught the Fish King. The Canadians are blessed by heaven."

The three chatted casually about deep-sea fishing. The car soon drove to Hali's house. What made Shiler and Lucifer feel somewhat confused was that this was a fishery, and it looked like it had already been abandoned.

"Everyone who comes to my house for the first time feels strange, but in fact, this is very normal in Cat Getan." Hali sighed and led the two forward: "In my grandfather's generation, marine resources were very rich. One net down, there were so many cod that the net couldn't hold them."

"But as you know, with the continuous destruction of the marine ecology and the unrestrained, large-scale fishing by humans, fishery resources are facing depletion, the seabed ecology has become worse, and the output of the fishery has also become worse."

"By my father's generation, the coral and seabed ecology possessed by the fishery had already suffered devastating blows, and it was impossible to raise fish at all. Even if fish fry were scattered, it would only lose money, so they could only choose to change professions."

"The less it is maintained, the worse the condition of the fishery becomes. Such a fishery cannot be sold at all and can only apply for bankruptcy to become other land. The government of Cat Getan is helpless in the face of such a situation and can only allow fishermen to continue living there. Therefore, in Cat Getan, many families live in such abandoned fisheries."

As the group went deeper, the scenery in front of them suddenly opened up. On the right hand side was a beach full of pebbles, and the clear seawater washed over the reefs with white spray. On the high points of the reefs, groups of seagulls were constantly circling in the air, landing on the cliffs in the distance.

On the left hand side was a lush forest. The forest spread out to the left, forming a high cliff. Below the cliff, the waves crashed against the shore, and above the cliff, a lighthouse shone brightly.

Hali pointed to the coastline and said, "Haven't you noticed? The water here is clearer than elsewhere. To tourists, this is a rare tourist attraction, but to fishermen, this is a manifestation of the depletion of fishery resources."

"The government allows us to continue living here, actually, to have us maintain the sanitary environment here to attract tourists. For this reason, property taxes have been exempted, and part of the inheritance tax has also been reduced. Any resource-based city will eventually have to transform, and Cat Getan is doing quite well."

Lucifer and Shiler both nodded. This natural scenery was enough to attract people's attention without any embellishment. Just looking at it, one could imagine the leisure and comfort of camping here.

Following the small path along the beach, the group arrived in front of two stone huts hidden in the forest. After Hali knocked on the door, an old man with gray curly hair appeared when the door opened.

"This is my father, Martin Jordan... Don't be surprised, I am the second son in the family, 12 years younger than my brother, so my parents are older."