They learned about Sunridge in the noon news, and now people from Sunridge were at the company in the afternoon?

Sylvia, Eric, and Andy descended the stairs.

At the entrance, security guards blocked two disheveled beggars. Despite their condition, the guards treated them with surprising kindness, offering each a bottle of mineral water.

Seeing Sylvia and the others approaching, a security guard stepped forward.

"Ms. Williams, they claim to be from Sunridge and were employed by Whitlocks Construction a year ago," the security guard explained. "They say they walked here from Sunridge!"

The group was stunned. Sunridge was over 1,000 kilometers away from Salt City. It was hard to believe that these people had walked such a distance.

When Eric looked at them, he noticed their torn clothes, weathered faces, and, most tragically, the completely worn-out soles of their shoes. The shoe fabric had fused with the flesh on the soles of their feet. Though obscured by dirt, the sight was too h