Xingtie, started with a guitar, and made a living by singing

The monsters' offensive was not curbed by this, but instead stimulated to speed up the spread and ruminate monsters.

Not only have people's lives not improved, they are even far worse than in the past when conservative policies were adopted.

If the large amount of resources wasted here were to go to more suitable places, would it bring more opportunities for improvement?

Is such an extreme approach really the right thing to do?

The doubts she had about her mother's actions took root in her heart and were difficult to shake off.

Wendy also reminded me, "Although the view from the sky is great, it's almost time for us to land."

His words startled Bronya, and she looked at Wendy with a more complicated look.

Having witnessed this desperate situation firsthand, could he still describe it all as beautiful?

It was obvious that just by seeing these things, she couldn't help but feel negative emotions such as despair and confusion.

But no matter what, Bronya is very sure that the upcoming journey will change her past cognition!

Chapter 24: Finally Arriving at the Lower Level

All I could see was a wasteland.

The town was gloomy, its streets emitting a lingering, sour stench like vomit. Passersby had blank eyes and numb expressions, like the walking dead, carrying their mining drafts unprotected as they walked towards the large mining area.

Not far away, a group of thin children were playing together. Their short noses were red from the cold and had long snot hanging from them. Their old cotton clothes could only provide the most basic warmth.

Many old people with haggard faces sat on the doorsteps of their houses, their hands trembling on their crutches, and their cloudy eyes lacking the desire to live.

They left all the food to the young and strong men and children in the family. When they were thirsty, they drank simply filtered snow water. When they were hungry, they tied the belts around their stomachs tightly. When they were really hungry, they punched their opponents twice until they gasped in pain.

In the building farther away, there was the annoying cry of a baby and the voices of men and women swearing at each other. Then, with the sound of breaking glass, everything returned to calm, leaving only the mournful crying.

It seemed as if a figure in the twilight fell from the rooftop, accompanied by a sound like a garbage bag falling to the ground, and red and white liquid flowed out of the alley, making passers-by frown and spit as they walked away.

Just by setting foot here, Bronya's heart suffered continuous shock.

...Why is it like this here?

Shouldn’t the lower area be a more stable and secure rear area?

The underworld she knew from her mother was definitely not like this hell on earth.

Like a lost child, Bronya murmured softly.

"Why is it like this?"

Wendy, who was walking beside her, also responded with a hint of meaning when she heard this.

"You must have some answers in your heart, but what I want to tell you is that it is only a corner of reality."

This made Bronya look up, a little surprised.

"When I first saw this scenery, I was wondering why it had become like this, but—"

As he spoke, Wendy quickened his pace and took the initiative to greet the children who came to pick him up. As if by magic, he took out many snacks from his hands and distributed them to them.

This caused cheers and laughter, and the more sensible children would give it to the elderly in the family, who would force a smile on their old faces and nod at him.

Then he pushed the food back to the child, mumbling, "...I'm not hungry, you eat..."

As they watched this sad scene at each other, Wendy turned her head and whispered to her.

"If you want to survive here, you must first learn not to think about such things."

"I can't think about it..."

"Because those who live here never have the opportunity to choose."

When Wendy mentioned this, a hint of melancholy appeared in her eyes.

"Whether it's a difficult situation or an uncertain tomorrow, too many unexpected events and changes may occur here.

If you dwell on things you won't have, you'll only end up feeling resentful and anxious about the unfairness of your circumstances."

"..."

Bronya fell into silence, and the guilt and self-blame she felt took a long time to subside.

"Alright. This is just the first stop, let's keep going—"

After waving goodbye to the children, Wendy brought Bronya to Natasha's clinic.

During this period, the kind-hearted young lady also wanted to give the children some things like Wendy did, but this trip was in a hurry and it was impossible for her to carry a lot of food with her. She wanted to use the Winter City Shield but was stopped by Wendy.

That is not care for them, but charity from a superior position.

Similarly, the weak children cannot keep the Winter City Shields, which will not only make them more likely to encounter danger, but also develop bad "habits".

Even Wendy didn't always give them snacks for free. Occasionally, she would ask them to do some small errands.

This is also one of the reasons why he can get along well with children. Being blindly nice to children will only make them form wrong views and lack the concept of equal interaction.

The equality here refers to equality in interpersonal relationships, which aims to make them understand that they should not only take but also give in interpersonal interactions.

However, while Wendy was still teaching by words and deeds, three little kids came running over from the other side of the street. They were members of the Mole Gang.

The leader among them was Hook. Her expression was a little panicked, but it quickly turned into trust and urgency after seeing Wendy.

"Oh no, Honorary Team Member Wendy! Something's wrong with Sister Natasha!"

"What happened to Natasha?"

Wendy asked quickly.

"Oh, it's not Sister Natasha who's in trouble, it's that a lot of Earth Fire members have been sent over there, and they all have injuries, and they look seriously injured!"

Alina, the little girl traveling with Hook, quickly added.

"That's right. I even saw Hook's father being called to quickly prepare to dig out the collapsed mine tunnel!"

Julian was also filled with worry.

"Could it be a mining accident..."

While Wendy was thinking, Hook pushed him to Natasha's clinic quickly, and Bronya was naturally taken along as a laborer.

After arriving at Natasha's clinic, Hook and the other two were persuaded to go home. After all, the scene there was really "not suitable for children."

The beds in the clinic were filled with members of the Underworld Fire, their faces looking painful, their sheets soaked with a mixture of sweat and blood. Among them was Oleg, whom Wendy knew well.

His injuries were particularly serious, and he was almost dying. Natasha was doing emergency treatment at the time. When she saw Wendy coming in from the corner of her eye, she called him to come over and help push Oleg into the operating room.

Bronya stood at the door with a confused and helpless look on her face until a cold female voice sounded from behind her, and she came to her senses.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before. Which street are you from?"

Seeing the stunned woman in front of her still in a daze, Xier's tone became a little more impatient.

"If it's just a minor illness, go sit over there and wait. They're busy right now, don't stand at the exit blocking people."

“…Okay, sorry.”

Bronya immediately stepped aside wisely, and the other party walked in from outside. It was not until then that she discovered that the other party was also injured on his right arm.

It was only bandaged briefly, with blood spots spreading out on the bandage like blood butterflies.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, Xier frowned, faced her with a more alert attitude, and said coldly.

"What, you're not convinced?"

"I didn't mean that. You misunderstood."

For some reason, when facing this girl, Bronya always felt as if she was born weaker.

Probably after confirming her "harmlessness", Xier resumed her standing posture leaning against the wall and spoke casually.

"If you don't want to be misunderstood, then control your eyes and don't stare at others all the time."

She simply made a gesture of opening her pocket.

"You know, only pickpockets and those spineless looters would do that."

"...pickpockets, looters..."

Watching her whispering, Xier felt even more strongly the feeling coming from her that was inconsistent with the temperament of someone from the lower class.

"Hey, I say. You haven't answered my question yet. Where did you come from—"

When Xier was about to investigate his origins, the operating room light, which was originally bright red, turned green, and Natasha and Wendy, who looked tired, walked out together.

The former's medical gloves were already stained with scarlet blood, while the latter's expression was not as relaxed as before, although he still looked spotless.

"Huh? How did you, a singing fellow, follow him in? How's the boss now?"

When Bronya was about to say something, the fierce girl next to her took the initiative to approach her. The friendly tone that didn't seem fake made her feel a little embarrassed for a moment.

Why don’t you just talk nicely? Why are you always being mean to yourself?

"It's Xier. Mr. Oleg's life was hanging by a thread just now. Fortunately, I was quick-witted and pulled off my guitar strings to sew up his wound—"

Just as Wendy was about to continue talking nonsense to ease the tense atmosphere, she was interrupted by Xier's deep voice.

"Seriously."

At this moment, she stared with bloodshot eyes, and the emotions concentrated in them made Wendy feel unbearable. He lowered his hat and let Natasha explain.

Chapter 25: Sisters (doubtful) quarrel

"...As much as I hate to say this as a doctor, Oleg's condition is not optimistic."

Natasha pinched her sore brows tiredly and looked back at the man who was still lying on the operating table.

He had a dark complexion and was about fifty years old. His muscles were as hard and clear as a sculpture, but now they were covered with scars and bloodstains, the most serious of which was the puncture wound on his lower abdomen.

Natasha could only bandage his wounds to stop him from losing any more blood, but he had to endure the rest on his own.

If Wendy had not secretly used some of her power to help Oleg dispel the crystal elements attached to his bones and then provided him with treatment, he would probably have been plagued by a hidden disease even if he had not died.

Now that he is out of danger and falling asleep is the best outcome.

Although Natasha had some guesses about this, she hadn't yet fully grasped the idea and just said in a low voice.

"More importantly, after this incident, the clinic's medicine supply is severely insufficient. If it's not replenished in time, I'm afraid most of them will become disabled."

While Bronya was still digesting the meaning of her words, Seele beside her clenched her fists, with hatred in her eyes, and growled.

"Damn it! If those guys hadn't refused to listen and insisted on violent mining, the tunnel wouldn't have collapsed and the world wouldn't have been torn apart by monsters."

"Those guys?"

Wendy, who wanted to find medicine for Natasha, asked subconsciously after hearing this.

He originally thought that a member of the Dihuo team had encountered a mining accident, but he didn't expect that there would be infighting involved?

"Who else could it be but those scumbags who have no balls and only attack their own people!"

Xier was in a very bad mood, so her words were vulgar and mixed with some slang peculiar to the lower classes.

"Where did they get such a large amount of explosives?"

"I don't know. But those homemade earth bombs were very unstable. Not only did they blow up a lot of their own people, but they also almost buried the leader and his men who came to negotiate under the mine."

She scratched the ends of her hair anxiously, as if she was resentful that she was not there at the time.

"I was lucky enough to be outside, so I wasn't affected. However, the monsters attracted by the explosion happened to run into me one by one, and the result is what you see now."

Xier finished her explanation quickly. Although it lacked specific details, it was enough for the people present to roughly understand the situation.

"...Is that so? What a terrible day."

Even Wendy couldn't help but sigh.

"No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I have to go find them again."

As Xier spoke, she became more and more angry. She picked up her sickle and wanted to rush to the raider camp and chop them all down.

"Xier, wait!"