"Who are you...?"
The haze inside the filter station hadn't completely dissipated yet, and the old woman couldn't open her eyes, not recognizing Li Lin's voice.
"I'm Li Lin, a craftsman from the Kiramman Family." Li Lin quickly introduced himself.
"Cough... So it's you, child." The old woman took a breath of haze and couldn't help but cough lightly.
The name shouted in the hall of the filter station just now was his.
Even if she hadn't heard much about Li Lin, she roughly knew what kind of person he was from just now.
However, a hint of desolation appeared on the old woman's face. "I am indeed a follower of Janna."
She showed Li Lin a wooden pendant she wore inside her worn-out coat.
It was a purely handmade bluebird pendant with a lifelike appearance.
The quality of the wood used for carving was not good, and there were many mottled impurities on the pendant, and the color was rather dim.
However, Li Lin could see that the old woman cherished this bluebird pendant very much.
Even with her poor living conditions and environment, she never let it get dirty.
Li Lin stared at the pendant for a moment. "You must have been praying to Janna all this time?"
When it came to matters of faith, the old woman suddenly became spirited. "Yes, child, since this disaster began, I have been praying to the Goddess of the Wind..."
She paused for two seconds, then sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, the Goddess did not respond to me."
"Have you ever seen Janna?" Li Lin was afraid the old woman might misunderstand something, so he hastily explained, "Please don't misunderstand. I don't mean to offend your faith. I just want to understand the Wind Goddess."
"Of course, no problem!" Upon hearing this, the old woman suddenly brightened up. "These days, there aren't many young people willing to understand the Wind Goddess..."
Li Lin nodded. What the old woman said was true.
During the time when the Shuriman Empire still existed, the worship of "false gods" was prohibited, and all statues of Janna were knocked down.
But the Divine Warrior could not protect sailors from the influence of storms.
When there's a will, there's a way.
Janna's followers did not change their faith because of this. Instead, they began to wear bluebird talismans and continue to pray to her for protection.
The real crisis of faith for Janna's followers occurred before and after the people of Zaun excavated the Zaun Gorge into the Canal Strait.
People began to gradually reduce their reliance on the Goddess of Storms and focus on their own mechanical designs.
Except for the "Great Collapse" event caused by the failed excavation of the canal, which brought a batch of believers to Janna like a "resurgence," she consumed most of her power.
As time passed, the Sun Gates in the Sea were successfully built, and people began to focus on technology again.
Janna's power not only did not recover but became weaker, to the point where she could hardly even manifest, almost dissipating completely.
This was what Li Lin had learned about the Wind Goddess based on his own knowledge and some legendary records from previous books.
However, devout followers like her might know some folk stories that were not recorded.
Li Lin considered for a moment.
Now that the source of the disaster had been controlled by the mechanical soldiers, and the engineering corps with rescue supplies from the academy would arrive soon.
Not to mention the assistance from Silco and Vander, and the message received from Heimerdinger and Cassandra would mobilize the academy and other families for rescue.
In other words, he didn't need to be busy with other things right now.
Of course, Li Lin didn't hold out much hope for those people other than the Kiramman, Medarda, and Ferros families.
Because of his push, the Kiramman family has always supported the construction of Zaun.
Medarda and Ferros had charity funds to assist the poor in Zaun.
Although the relief funds invested each year compared to their profits were just a drop in the bucket, at least they did it.
As for the other families, except for building some heavily polluting factories in Zaun and hiring Zaun laborers at very low prices, almost no one contributed to Zaun.
"Start from the beginning, now I have time." Li Lin said in a pleading tone.
Then, the old woman began to tell stories about the Wind Goddess Janna.
In ancient times, people began to attempt to conquer the ocean.
But at that time, shipbuilding and navigation technology were almost nonexistent, and no one could escape the ocean storms.
Gradually, people began to pray to the wind.
Not only the sailors needing to set sail but also those oppressed by tyranny, yearning for change.
Therefore, Janna's title, "Storm's Fury," signifies not just the power of the storm but also the winds of change sweeping away the cruel reign of tyrants.
This meaning was often used ironically to mock Shurima's empire for banning faith in Janna.
As people prayed, they were surprised to find that sometimes the wind would answer them.
Sometimes it might be a bright blue bird perched on the bow, followed by a strong wind filling the sails.
Sometimes, before a storm arrived, sailors preparing to set sail would hear a clear, melodious whistle as a warning.
In that era when mortals and gods lived together, these peculiar events were passed down by word of mouth, and the frequency of the appearance of the blue bird became more frequent.
Later, some even claimed to have seen it transform into a maiden with long, pointed ears, silver-white hair flowing like a gentle breeze, standing at the bow of a ship sailing smoothly with the wind, disappearing with a blink.
Gradually, people began to call her Jan'ahrem, the original name of the Wind Goddess Janna.
In ancient Shuriman, it means "guardian."
An elderly woman smiled devoutly, clutching a blue bird pendant tightly in her hand, as if she was praying and narrating the birth of Janna at the same time.
Her story wasn't much different from what Li Lin remembered.
But what the old woman said next surprised him: "I've seen Janna, but it was when I was 17, about forty or fifty years ago."
"Can you tell me more?" Li Lin asked anxiously.
As he originally thought, if he could see Janna, combined with today's events, it would be a win-win situation.
The old woman sighed deeply, "Rather than say I saw her face to face, it's more like she intentionally appeared to inspire me..."
She paused for a few seconds, as if contemplating her words, "At that time, my life wasn't going well. My father, who raised me, died in a mining accident, and the mine boss bullied me because I was young, not even giving me the pension my father left behind.
"Later, because I couldn't afford to renew my rent, my landlord kicked me out, not even allowing me to collect my belongings... even though they were just some old clothes.
"I wandered in the lower city under the mid-layer plaza, fighting with fierce plague rats for moldy sandwiches in the garbage heap, sleeping at night with only a few damp cardboard pieces to keep warm, and even once ended up sleeping on the streets by the ditch.
"Just when I lost hope of surviving and was about to give myself up to the embrace of death, the only thing my father left me, this pendant he carved in his spare time, made me change my mind."
"I began to pray to Janna like my father once did, every day, and it became the motivation that sustained me."
As she spoke, a look of nostalgia appeared on the old woman's face, "Later, I encountered a group of thugs who forbade me from scavenging garbage in the area where I had been wandering for months, saying it was their territory, which was the routine for wanderers and orphans.
"I didn't listen to them, and when they caught me the second time, the leader of the thugs wanted to teach me a lesson.
"I prayed to the wind once again, and luckily, this time the wind answered me... she was like the beautiful goddess in the legend, but only I could see her!
"She waved her hand casually, and a fierce wind blew the dumbfounded thugs, making them fall heavily into the foul ditch and flee in panic.
"She kissed my cheek, 'Everything will be fine,' 'I will always be by your side,' she said to me, words that I still remember vividly to this day."
As she spoke these last two sentences, the old woman's voice choked up, tears streaming down her face, tracing the wrinkles carved by time.
Her story not only captivated Li Lin but also silenced the refugees around who could hear her experiences, many of whom shed tears along with her.
Li Lin took a deep breath, feeling uneasy.
"I'm sorry, child, I'm a bit emotional," the old woman said, wiping her face with her dirty sleeve.
"I believe today's events are not because Janna is unwilling to appear, but because she is truly powerless... now, not only do people not believe in Janna, but fewer and fewer people even know about her.
"If she still had divine power, this kind of haze would be no problem for her.
"Perhaps the reason she didn't respond to my request was that she was using her power to help those who needed it more than me."
Li Lin nodded, "You're right."
The old woman seemed surprised by his reaction, "You actually..."
"I actually believe what you said?" Li Lin smiled, expressing what she wanted to convey.
The old woman was silent for a moment, "Forgive my rudeness, I thought young people nowadays no longer believe in gods."
"Gods... I've seen them too, in Shurima, they call themselves the Ascended warriors."
Li Lin stared at the old woman earnestly, "I witnessed the revival and rise of the Emperor of the Sands, the desert city rising from the 'Golden Sea.'"
Not only the old woman but also everyone around who heard Li Lin's words had a look of astonishment.
The rumors of the God Emperor Azir and the City of the Sun hadn't even spread across the continent of Shurima.
Let alone the poor people of Zaun who couldn't afford to buy newspapers and were busy with their livelihoods on ordinary days, they had no source of information and wouldn't pay attention to such elusive legends.
"I can see your blue bird pendant?" Li Lin noticed the old woman's slight hesitation, "Don't worry, I promise not to damage it... of course, if you don't want to, it doesn't matter."
The haze inside the station had been filtered out by more than half, reaching a level they could accept.
The old woman opened her eyes and saw Li Lin, who was wearing armor, and her face showed a hint of surprise again.
Being able to see the half-god of Shurima must also be favored by the gods...
After a moment's thought, she still reached out her thin, calloused hand and handed the pendant to Li Lin.
"Thank you."
Li Lin thanked her and then activated the "Data Mind" to check the pendant's properties.
It seemed that this devout follower of the Wind Goddess, [Janna], had once received her blessing.
Li Lin took a deep breath and, mimicking the old woman's gesture, held the bluebird pendant in his hands and silently prayed in his heart:
"Janna, if you can hear my voice, please respond. I can help you regain your followers."
Facing the mixed emotions in the eyes of the old woman and the surrounding crowd, he repeated this phrase multiple times.
Unfortunately, no miracle occurred.
Even the most devout followers could no longer receive [Janna]'s grace. How could someone like Li Lin, who had no faith, possibly summon her?
What am I even doing...
He smiled wryly at himself and returned the bluebird pendant to the old woman.
"Having faith is always a good thing, Lord Li Lin," a middle-aged man, who seemed to be another follower of [Janna], consoled him.
Beside the man stood a frail, malnourished girl of about seven or eight years old, likely his daughter.
"After all, with something to believe in, we find the strength to keep going."
"Thank you."
Li Lin nodded at him, then turned to contemplate the creation of a large air purifier to cleanse the toxic air of Zaun.
But before he could activate his plasma thruster, the old woman suddenly called out to him, "Child, the Wind Goddess... I feel her presence!"
At that moment, despite wearing his battle armor, Li Lin felt a gentle, cool breeze.
Then, a faint, ethereal voice echoed deep in his mind, "What is your condition?"
(End of chapter)