Kevin, but he is a male mother in Xingtie with little Ai Li

"Yes!"

Chapter 17 Xier: Let’s go quickly, don’t hold me back!

Lower area.

"We're here. This is our destination, Rivet Town."

Only after bringing Kevin to the outskirts of a large town did Xier finally slow down her pace.

The Rift had created a perfect camouflage on its outermost part. From their perspective, the town in front of them was full of tall buildings, and every household had earth lamps on. Even the huge mechanical engineering inside was filled with smoke all the time.

From any angle, this is an extremely prosperous commercial town, if you ignore the fact that... strangely, no sound is coming from it.

"Since this town has been eroded by the rift, where did its original residents go?" Kevin looked up and asked, feeling the contrast between the inside and outside of the space.

Obviously, the living space of the entire lower zone is very limited. If such a large area is damaged out of thin air, how can the remaining residents be properly resettled?

"Ha, that's an interesting question."

As if mocking Kevin, Xi'er still told him the answer: "When the Rift Corrosion came, most people were still immersed in dreams and died without knowing it."

"By the time our Earth Fire arrived, the monsters in the Rift had already begun to charge outward. A small number of the elderly, weak, women and children were rescued and taken to Panyan Town, while the remaining young and strong people set up a camp near the shaft with the big robot... What, do you really care about these things?"

Xier never believed in any savior, let alone believed that there would be a guy who had nothing to do with the lower district who would sincerely want to help this place... unless he had extraordinary abilities that allowed him to transcend the mundane world and not need to care about any rules or constraints.

Forget about the childish fantasies. She didn't even believe in them since she was a child.

Seeing Xier's attitude, Kevin didn't explain too much, but just closed his eyes and said softly: "No, just a casual question."

"Tsk, that's it. I don't even dare to say that I can take care of that much. But as long as you can help me get the potion, I will of course be very grateful to you. I can help you with anything you want."

Therefore, there is no need to come up with any nonsense. Those in the lower classes who would believe in such things would have already had grass several feet high on their graves.

"Okay, let's go quickly. Remember to keep your voice down, otherwise those monsters will be easily attracted here."

After making a silent gesture to Kevin, Xier turned and walked towards the path she remembered. Since there was only one regular clinic in the entire Panyan Town, Natasha was often short of medical supplies.

Almost every time, Xier would choose to venture into the Rift alone to search for these supplies... Of course, after returning with injuries, she would always be taught a lesson.

However, this path, which she has verified many times, is definitely safe enough.

After arriving at a relatively quiet alley, Xier first grabbed Kevin's arm to prevent the two from being separated by space faults before going in. However, the scenery in the rift seemed to be different from the scene she was most familiar with.

"What's going on? Why has the environment of the Rift Realm changed so drastically this time?"

Normally, every time she entered the Rift, the environment inside was actually not much different from what she saw from the outside. It was just that the roadside facilities and streets were obviously old and messy, but the whole town was still brightly lit.

But this time, not only did the bright underground lamps in the streets and houses completely go blind, but all kinds of buildings and facilities were also obviously aging. To describe it in a slightly more abstract way, it seems that the entire Rivet Town has been eroded even more seriously by the Rift?

However, the night in the traditional sense still has a faint moonlight to serve as a guide, but there is no such thing as a moon in the lower areas deep underground.

At this moment, the only thing that could illuminate the entire field of vision was the few dim street lamps on the roadside that were barely flickering.

"..."

Unlike Xier's confusion and doubt, Kevin understood very clearly that the changes in the rift were still caused by him.

To put it simply, the existence of the Rift World pulled Rivet Town, which originally belonged to this world, into another fantastic dimension. Kevin was like a high-quality weight, and the moment he stepped into the Rift World, he pressed Rivet Town into a deeper dimension.

Or you can also understand that it was Kevin's existence that stimulated the "creature" of the Rift, forcing it to transform to a deeper level.

Stepping into the rift again, Kevin successfully verified one of his previous conjectures - his body was indeed absorbing imaginary energy autonomously, but compared to the monster in the rift that was wantonly waving imaginary energy, his way of absorbing imaginary energy was more like plunder.

These imaginary energies not only perfectly replaced the effects of the Honkai energy in his original body, but also continuously transformed his body like the [Power of the End], and did not bring him a huge burden like the latter.

Even after entering the Rift, Kevin's body absorbed imaginary energy even faster. This can be simply understood as - compared to the real world, the Rift is actually a dimension closer to the imaginary space.

Kevin didn't really care about these things, but...the increase in strength did not come when it was most needed, but instead happened after everything was over.

How can this not make people sigh?

"Damn it, now that I'm here, I can't leave empty-handed..."

Because the surrounding environment was too dark, Xier did not notice the slight change in Kevin's expression, but gritted her teeth and chose to move forward. After all, she could wait, but the children and patients in the clinic could not wait at all.

Trying to use the dim light to signal Kevin behind her, and then lowering the sound of her footsteps to almost inaudible, Xier walked out of the alley step by step.

Under the stubborn dim light of the marrow lamp in the distance, the entire Rivet Town was as silent as hell. But when Xier gradually looked out of the alley with a nervous mood, the scene that came into her eyes made her heart suddenly tremble, and she completely froze in place.

Dozens of Rift-World creatures of various shapes were seen crawling in various corners of the street, but their 'eyes' surrounded by faint light were all staring at the two people who came out of the alley.

It feels like you are walking through a dark forest with fear in your heart, and suddenly you are stared at by a group of red eyes.

"What a joke, with this amount of monsters, even if all the people of the Earth Fire were here, they might not be able to stop them..."

After all, Xi'er is just an ordinary person. When the brain clearly recognizes that there is something it cannot handle right in front of it, fear will infinitely magnify the senses of the whole body. This is not the body asking you to fight to the death, but just urging you to run for your life.

"Hey, you're called Kevin, right?"

Perhaps in order to correct the fear in her heart, Xier deliberately made her voice very loud, but unfortunately Kevin was still able to accurately capture the trembling part of her voice.

"Even though I dragged you into danger, don't expect me to apologize more sincerely."

"Hurry and return the way you came. Don't stay here and hold me back. Now!"

boom--!

The sickle that had been on his shoulder was smashed to the ground, and the sharp blade seemed to snatch away the faint light.

The cruel and realistic war always comes so suddenly.

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

Chapter 18 Isn’t this just a child?

As Xier held the sickle high in the air, a faint light inexplicably flickered around her.

Kevin felt that he saw it very clearly. This girl's body was absolutely no different from that of an ordinary person, but she was able to attract the imaginary energy that existed in another dimension... Is this some kind of mechanism that exists in this world?

Driven by inexplicable rules, the originally pure imaginary energy around Xier was transformed into a form closer to the quantum sea, so that her body began to appear erratic in the space under the blessing of this energy.

Even though it was unclear what the real source of this special blessing was, it was clear that Xi'er was not using this power for the first time. Her elusive figure appeared above a certain world-breaking creature in a flash, and then the sickle in her hand was swung down suddenly.

boom--!

The sharp sickle and the crystal-like surface of the Rift Creature made a clanging sound of steel collision, but this time the weapon in Xier's hand was more powerful and successfully cut most of the body of the Rift Creature in one blow.

But there are dozens of monsters around that are even larger than this Rift Creature.

"What are you still standing there for? Do you think you're not dying fast enough?"

If there were only two or three of them, Xi'er could have managed to handle it by herself. But with this kind of scene before her, how could she be confident?

"Since I have already promised to help, how can I stop just because of a little difficulty?"

In sharp contrast to Xier's anxious face, Kevin, who stepped out of the alley, first moved his wrists a few times, and then calmly raised the baseball bat in his hand.

"You guy...what's wrong with you?!"

Even though the lack of intelligence was a bit exaggerated, Xier was not really a fool after all. Soon she discovered that the surrounding Rift Creatures had actually stopped moving and were staring at Kevin's every move.

But, regardless of this, shouldn't these world-shattering monsters be completely incapable of thinking?!

The next second, all the creatures in the Rift rushed towards the harmless man who was just holding a baseball bat. Even the monster that was less than half a meter away from Xi'er gave up its original target.

Bang-bang-bang-!

As the cheek of the first Rift Creature came into close contact with the baseball bat in Kevin's hand, a series of critical hits began to ring out in the dim street, each one deafening.

The body of the Rift Creature, which was as hard as steel, was like paper when it collided with the baseball bat. It was unable to stop the momentum of its swing at all and exploded into indivisible pieces of ice in mid-air.

In just less than thirty seconds, the monsters that had filled the streets a moment ago disappeared completely, leaving only half of the body that Xier had just cut off at her feet.

"Are you kidding me?"

Is this really the destructive power that a normal human can display? Even if the robot that has been watching the core were to do it, it might not be able to perform so cleanly, right?

"It's all settled."

Kevin calmly stretched out his hand to wipe away the ice on the baseball bat and asked, "Where is the orphanage you mentioned?"

"...The largest mansion in the west was once the orphanage."

"Okay, let's go."

Without any extra words, Kevin turned around and walked towards the direction Xi'er pointed. It was actually a big house that was easy to recognize. Because it was located at a high altitude, it was easy to see even from the entrance of the town. After all, Kevin's vision would not be affected by the darkness.

Surprisingly, they didn't encounter any creatures along the way, and Kevin remained as aloof as before. Only Xi'er was confused, thinking about what to say but didn't know how to start.

Her radical attitude all along was obviously not right, but who could have imagined that the guy that Sambo brought from the upper area actually had such terrifying strength... She had never thought before that someone could actually achieve this level.

Even after she inexplicably acquired the special abilities of acceleration and temporary invisibility, her physical abilities did not actually change much. She had never heard of anyone else possessing similar superpowers that clearly exceeded common sense.

If she also possessed this kind of power to cross the rift, then changing the current situation in the lower area would not seem to be completely impossible.

Just when Xier was still confused, Kevin, who was standing in front of her, suddenly stopped and her head hit him directly on the shoulder.

Snapped--

"Here we are."

Kevin turned his head and glanced at the girl behind him, and finally took the initiative to ask: "How did this orphanage survive before?"

Such a luxurious mansion doesn't seem like something that can be supported by any welfare institution.

Moreover, considering that Beloberg had issued a blockade order for the lower district more than a decade ago, they would most likely not do something as unnecessary as building an orphanage.

"Hmm... I remember that the orphanage used to be an old house donated by a wealthy man. As for the daily expenses, it was basically scraped together by Nata while practicing medicine and living frugally."

"At that time, even the dolls for the children were sewn by Nata. But that has always been the privilege of good children, and has nothing to do with bad kids like me... No, why am I talking about this?"

Xier slapped her forehead, thinking that she had suddenly gone crazy. But the sudden memory also successfully pulled her out of her chaotic thoughts and refocused on the current situation.

"Extra medical supplies are usually stored by Nata in the basement over there. In order to prevent danger during the evacuation, there is no need for too much, just enough to deal with the current trouble."

"After all, these things won't go bad if they're left here."

Under Xi'er's guidance, the two quickly found the necessary supplies in the basement. Kevin did not choose to show off, but simply picked up two boxes of materials and held them in his arms, then followed Xi'er from the other side of the path to the exit of the rift.

For some reason, the journey out was extremely smooth, and there were no blind creatures from the rift world jumping out to seek trouble. Instead, the two of them walked out of the rift world easily.

"Thanks to you this time... Thank you."

Just after arriving at a safe location, Xier, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and said thank you seriously. But before Kevin could reply, she immediately started walking again.

"Hurry up, let's talk about other things later. The patients in the clinic can't stand procrastination."

"Sigh..." Kevin, who was standing at the back, couldn't help but sigh.

No matter from which angle you look at it, he is still just a child.

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

Chapter 19 But, my trash can...

After about a few dozen minutes, the two people with medical supplies arrived at the Rock Town mentioned by Xier. They did not encounter any troubles along the way, and there were even many people who robbed the supplies. But when they got closer and saw Xier, the backbone of the Earth Fire Organization, they gave up at the same time.

This is not because of the deterrent power of the "Earth Fire" organization, but because of the reputation Xier has earned.

In the underworld where there are no clear laws, fists are the best weapon to protect yourself.

If there had not been an organization like 'Underground Fire' that stood up and assumed the responsibility of maintaining basic order after the Silver Mane Iron Guards withdrew from the Lower Area, the Lower Area might not have survived the erosion of the Rift or the depletion of resources, and would have become a living hell long ago due to the complete collapse of order.

However, no matter how good the management ability of a spontaneous civil association is, it can never be compared with a government unit with perfect rules. Even if they have proven their fairness time and again, there will still be many people who condemn and boycott from their own perspectives.

Even the former Fire Moths, when they gradually took over the ruling power of the traditional government in the later stages of the disaster, still suffered countless rejections.

Even in this town of Panyan, which is the base of the "Underground Fire" and is protected and orderly, its image is definitely not what those who have been staying in the upper area of ​​​​Beloberg can imagine.

Messy, crowded, backward...this was Kevin's first impression when he saw the town.

It's not that the streets of Panyan Town are crowded with people. On the contrary, the streets are well organized under the care of the underground fire. But...it's also true that this town can't accommodate so many people.

Not only are all kinds of newly built temporary residences stacked around the town, but many of the buildings inside the town are also clearly inhabited by far more residents than normal, and all kinds of daily necessities have almost taken up all the external available space on these floors.

Of course, it was still good to have a normal residence, and some dark and narrow alleys were inevitably used as a "resting place". Everyone wanted to change this state of resource scarcity, but...how could they change it?