He looks outside the window and sees a very green landscape. It looks very nice.

  There’s a large neon sign planted on one of the buildings.

  [ NEVERGREEN CELL ]

  There are many tall buildings. It looks quite a bit like the capital. Thankfully, only the grass is completely green. The buildings are building colored, though several are covered in moss and vines. Notably, there are several buildings with green symbols on them. This is similar to the Burning Spine, having symbols in a signature color, but different as the buildings themselves are normally colored.

  As they get out of the vehicle, a man quickly appears in front of them. It’s incredibly quickly, one second he’s not there, the next he is. He’s wearing a brown circular hat with a wide brim, a dark gray shirt, and light gray pants. He’s wearing a green bracelet. He speaks in a very unconfident manner, as if he’s unsure of what to do yet.

  “Hello! Welcome to the Nevergreen Cell! My name is Samuel Walker, and I’m your tour guide for today!”

  Suzanne stares at him. She doesn’t quite understand who this person is.

  “Where’s Lu?”

  Samuel Walker opens his eyes and takes a step back.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, they got eaten by the gigantic snake...“

  “I see.”

  Samuel Walker starts to walk away, though the movement of his legs doesn’t match the speed he’s walking.

  “Follow me! I am legally required to show you around the city!”

  Chex starts to follow, but is quite confused. He turns to Suzanne and asks his question.

  “Legally required?”

  “Ask him, there’s a reason the Nevergreen Cell ranks as the worst district to live in.”

  They continue to follow the peculiar tour guide until they reach a building with a plus sign on it. It’s green. Walker turns around and points up at the sign.

  “Don’t go in any buildings with this sign, okay?”

  Chex’s eyes widen a little.

  “Why not?”

  “Oh, uh, these buildings are owned by the Ascyll family, if you go into one of them without permission, you’ll be fed to their giant snake.”

  Chex turns to look at Suzanne.

  “Is this the same giant snake that ate all your previous employees?”

  “Yep! Same one that makes the continent rearrange itself, too!”

  Walker’s eyes are wide open.

  “The people who tried to take her down were your employees?!”

  “Absolutely! They’d have won, too, if she didn’t CHEAT!”

  “She cheated?”

  “Yeah! She used her stupid Hell to turn them all into postal workers, and then bit all of them! That’s not fair at all!”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Okay, we’re... slightly off track here. Back to the tour!”

  They continue to follow Samuel. Chex is a bit confused at the comment earlier.

  “The snake’s Hell in Red turns you into a postal worker?”

  “No, she adds you to her stupid SitCom world. Her in-universe version hates postal workers, and shoots them every time they come to deliver the mail. She always needs more.”

  “If I got stuck in there, what do you think she’d make me?”

  Suzanne stops to take a look at him. She’s mildly concerned.

  “Don’t get stuck in there, employee.”

  They continue to follow their tour guide, but he suddenly stops. He’s no longer there for a few seconds, and there’s suddenly a large amount of dust in the air.

  He’s back.

  Suzanne rolls her eyes, while Chex is confused. He decides to ask Samuel Walker a question.

  “What just happened?”

  “What?”

  “You were there, and then weren’t there, sir.”

  “Oh, you’re probably seeing things, haha.”

  The chuckle at the end was very unconvincing. Though, Sherman Chex believes it.

  They reach a building with a symbol resembling a green fire. They’ve passed several buildings with no symbols, likely housing units or similar.

  “Buildings with these symbols on them, they’re places you can eat! This one’s my favorite, they serve the greatest tomato soup!”

  Sherman Chex cannot eat or drink. Nobody has anything to say.

  “Alright, then, let’s go on!”

  They’re on their way to the next location, when suddenly they hear the sound of trumpets. All the people outside of buildings quickly rush inside, and Walker is nowhere to be seen.

  They are soon met with a group of four people, each with a green crown. They all wear very elegant clothing. There’s an old man, whose hair is almost entirely gray, an old woman, reasonably old, not as old as Verona, of course. Additionally, there is one girl, and a boy who looks nearly identical. They both have dark green hair, which nearly blends into the grass. Presumably, they are twins. They are all very unhappy.

  The boy speaks first.

  “Oh dear, these two miscreants appear to be outside during our walking time. Whatever should we do, mother?”

  The older woman speaks second.

  “Oh dear indeed, my son, I’ve never been met with such disrespect in my life!”

  Before anyone else can speak, Suzanne speaks up.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  They all gasp. The environment around them turns red. They see themselves inside glass spheres, and a woman with glasses, long gray hair, a dark gray sweater and pants, and lighter gray coat sits in a chair. She looks quite similar to Suzanne. She’s holding a clipboard, on which she writes a few words. She turns it to face them.

  [ OH, SHUT UP. ]

  The environment returns to normal, and they’ve decided to stop being so condescending. The twins run to hide behind their parents. The father speaks first, and he’s speaking quite quickly, in a panic.

  “What are you here for, Orange lady?”

  “I’m here to speak with the giant snake.”

  The mother speaks next.

  “What would you possibly have to speak with her about? The employees of yours she killed?”

  “Who cares about my employees! I always have more!”

  She points at Chex.

  “See? New employee. Even then, the reason is none of your business!”

  The father quickly chimes back in.

  “Yes, of course, we’ll take you to her immediately.”

  “No, not right now. Right now the tour guide has to show my new employee around the city.”

  “Of course, of course. We’ll leave you be, then.”

  They quickly scurry away, and as they leave, this exchange occurs between the girl and her brother.

  “That’s unfortunate, the giant snake would’ve really liked that boy.”

  “Of course she will, sister. She’ll want him the moment that lady brings him to her.”

  Once they’re gone, the trumpets sound again, and the people exit their homes once again. Walker’s back to where he used to be. He’s quite excited.

  “Wow! How’d you get those Ascyll fellows to shut up?”

  “I showed them Verona!”

  Walker is horrified.

  “What?”

  “Let’s continue the tour, Mr. Tour guide!”