Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 316 Gwen and her "friends"
"Master Josh?"

"Uh, High Priest?"

Josh snapped out of his reverie and realized that he had been spacing out for quite some time.

Standing before him was a little girl with white hair—she and a group of homeless children had somehow found their way here, and after drinking a bowl of holy water, she was looking at him with bright eyes.

Gwen stood in front of Josh and pointed to the homeless children beside her:

"Hello, High Priest, I am Gwen, this is White, this is Booker, this is Hall, this is Ellie," the street children stood obediently in a row, and Gwen introduced them one by one.

"We hope to join the Secret Order. We can do odd jobs, we don't eat much, and we can also help you gather information in Blood Harbor. People don't talk behind the backs of children."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Josh with anticipation, while the other homeless children also looked obedient.

These homeless children ranged in age from eleven or twelve to only seven or eight. It's a mystery how they survived in this bloodbath infested with cultists.

Children are the most suitable sacrifices, and countless children's bones are buried on the altars desecrated by cultists.

Josh hesitated for a moment.

They are not truly cultists with supernatural powers; they can barely protect themselves in Bloodharbor, and adding a group of children would obviously make things even more difficult.

But if they are simply driven out, these homeless children may not be able to survive in Blood Harbor for long.

He closed his eyes and finally sighed.

Just cook a few more bowls of porridge.

“You need to pass some tests. I will provide you with some houses to live in, and there will also be work for you to do.”

"Then us"

"From now on, you can also participate in prayers and receive holy water."

The white-haired little girl swallowed hard and smiled happily. The homeless children behind her cheered—they had fallen for the piping hot and delicious rice porridge after just one taste.

As for the task the high priest mentioned, the street children are quite capable of surviving in Bloodharbor, and gathering information is one of their specialties.

"High Priest, what do you require of us?"

Josh hesitated for a moment, then took out a few portraits from his pocket: "Keep an eye on these people's movements. If anything seems amiss, report it to me. Try not to get caught. If you are caught, just say you work for me. You shouldn't be mistreated."

Gwen looked at the portrait and suddenly asked, "Are they Castel people?"

Josh was somewhat surprised: "You know them?"

"Of course I know them—their arrival has attracted a lot of attention; many people are keeping an eye on them."

Josh looked Gwen up and down; these homeless children might be more useful than he had imagined.

After receiving their assignment from Josh, the street children arrived at the rooms assigned to them.

This is a slightly dilapidated house, very close to the hideout of the Steam and Deep Sea Hermitage, on their territory.

Blood Harbor is now filled with empty houses. The once bustling port has gradually declined. In order to prepare for the war with the empire, the prince has increased taxes, making life increasingly difficult for the people living there.

Even without cultists, Blood Harbor would never be the same again.

The group of homeless children surrounded Gwen, their faces filled with excitement and admiration: "Gwen, you're amazing! You actually convinced them!"

"Yes, their rice porridge is so delicious!"

"What rice porridge? That's holy water!" "Why are you calling porridge holy water too?"

"Holy water can save lives."

Gwen looked at the noisy children and couldn't help but smile.

She now has some real friends, real, tangible friends, not the friends she imagined.

When she was lying in bed in the basement waiting to die, she thought her end would be to die alone.

But the voices that suddenly appeared in her mind, those friends who only existed in the link, helped her and allowed her to survive.

Wild vegetables don't taste good. Even if you stuff yourself full, you'll feel a burning pain in your stomach, as your body repeatedly tells you that these are not foods you should eat.

But at least this saved her life.

Food was almost nowhere to be found in the village. It had been ravaged by war and soldiers countless times, leaving only ruins.

Gwen stood at the village entrance, looking at the village where she had grown up but now hardly recognized it, and then turned and left.

She was too young to remember the name of this place, nor her parents' names, and even their faces were somewhat blurry in her memory. She had been away from her parents for far too long.

She left the village, wearing her favorite yellow dress.

Now she has no parents, no hometown, no place to go back to, and no one waiting for her.

She had no choice but to move forward.

But Gwen wasn't sad. She still had many friends, imaginary friends. She always loved to fantasize, and her imaginary friends had helped her through many difficult years.

Of course, there are also the friends in those occasional online connections.

The ever-reliable Scepter Sister, the talkative Fries Brother, the quiet Captain, and oh, the recently joined writer—they are all Gwen's friends, irreplaceable friends, her anchors.

Thinking of this, Gwen couldn't help but smile.

These friends couldn't be with her day and night, but they always came up with some strange and wonderful solutions when she needed help.

She really liked these friends; she liked every single one of them.

She didn't know when the connection would be restored. She hadn't chatted with these friends for a long time and wanted to tell them that she had met many new people in real life, enjoyed delicious porridge, and encountered many interesting things.

She has been to many cities, traveled many roads, and seen many wonders.

Now she has arrived at Blood Harbor and witnessed the strange cult.

This is the first time I've ever heard of the Steam and Deep Sea Hermitage. Hmm, that's a really long name.

Gwen smacked her lips. The rice porridge was still warm in her stomach. If she could drink porridge every day, staying in Blood Harbor didn't seem so bad.

Stop—this was the first time Gwen had ever thought of stopping. She had wandered all the way from the North to here without ever considering stopping.

Blood Harbor is a good place. Although it's a bit chaotic, there are many good people and warm porridge.

"Never mind, I shouldn't think about it too much. Since I've already drunk the porridge from High Priest Josh, I might as well do something for him." Gwen muttered to herself, then stood up and said with a smile:
"My friends, come out, I need your help again!"

There were glittering points of light in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)