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

If you want to get in at that time, you must first show enough "usefulness" to be accepted by Swarovski, and the positions of the upper and lower districts will be reversed at this moment.

These are all very cold-blooded plans that only benefit the lower districts, or even only benefit Swarlow's "preservation" mission.

But beneath this cold rationality, Swarovski also has his emotional side, and the family he wants to protect is in the lower class.

Protecting Clara's safety and satisfying her needs as much as possible are the top priorities for Swarlow, almost equivalent to the concept of "protection" engraved in his heart.

Then, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion.

As long as these two conditions of Swarovski are met, the mechanical settlement has the possibility of cooperation (although this is actually very difficult).

And Wendy has revealed such possibilities. One is the power to change the environment; the other is to launch a more suitable great guardian.

The combination of these two is enough to shake the originally unbreakable data calculation defense line, forcing him to make appropriate choices again.

……

After finally arriving at the mechanical settlement, Bronya also looked around this place known as the home of gold diggers.

Her initial impression gave her the feeling of being back on the front lines of the Iron Guard, with damaged automated robots everywhere and the air filled with a mixed smell of motor oil and burning circuit boards.

There were people in groups of three or four, but the one that caught her attention the most was a petite girl in a red winter coat. She was cute.

Of course, this was not the main reason that attracted her. What really impressed her was that beneath his young appearance, he had very mature and experienced experience as a mechanic.

The girl continued to repair the automatons with remarkable efficiency and skill. Even Bronya admitted that she would never be able to match her skillful repair techniques.

You should know that the conditions for becoming a Great Guardian are very strict. It is not enough to just be good at studying or being good at fighting. These are just the basic entry threshold.

Even Kokolia, who is now regarded as a "tyrant", was praised as having the most intelligent brain in Beloberg during his school days.

Although it seems a bit ironic now, it is not difficult to infer what kind of strict and extensive schoolwork Bronya, as the heir, will have to accept.

These are designed to allow her to develop well-roundedly, and at least master a few areas of training that will allow her to excel among her peers, and even be better than her older predecessors.

But in such an environment without good educational conditions and where people have to worry about survival every day, a girl younger than her actually showed such superb mechanical skills. How could Bronya not pay attention to it?

The more she observed, the more surprised she was.

She is not only good at basic repair and maintenance, but also at burnt hardware with black smoke coming out of the entire core. If she were to show it to the front-line mechanics in the upper area, they would ask you to go out, turn right and throw the broken objects into the trash can. She can successfully rescue them.

This was no longer just genius, but a master level that she also needed to admire.

Bronya couldn't let go of such a talent, so she quickly walked forward.

However, before she could get close to Clara, a beetle-shaped automatic soldier stopped her first.

The red and green electronic eyes flickered slowly, and a synthesized electronic voice announced: "Beep—identifying biometric information. Search failed. No corresponding record in the database."

After confirming that Bronya was an outsider, the automated robots that had been surrounding Clara, either lying or standing, instantly started to move in unison to protect Clara.

There were also several automatic robots whose green lights had completely disappeared, leaving only red lights and had begun to emit shrill alarms.

"Warning. Warning. Detected mobile personnel information not recorded in the lower area. Activating active defense mode—"

Almost before Bronya could react, the automatic robots were ready for battle, which caught her off guard.

Fortunately, when Clara heard the commotion here, she reacted quickly, quickly squeezed through the encirclement, and called everyone to stop.

Wendy didn't continue to watch the show, but stood in front of Bronya. Although he was not as tall as her, the boy's back was unexpectedly reliable, making people want to rely on him.

"Oh, don't do it. She's my friend. She came here just to see the world and get some information."

"Ah, it's Sister Wendy!" Clara smiled as warmly as the sun when she saw him. "You're finally back. When I finished repairing and everyone was leaving, Mr. Swarlow said you'd left."

"Sister Wendy?" When Bronya's face suddenly froze, Wendy explained softly, "Because I happened to have something to do earlier, I asked Master Swarovski to say goodbye and goodnight on my behalf. I think Clara will forgive me, right?"

"Yeah. Sister Wendy didn't do anything wrong. Rather, everyone in the settlement should be grateful to you. If it weren't for the gift Sister Wendy left behind, everyone would definitely still be worrying about energy issues."

Clara's words aroused Bronya's curiosity, and she was also surprised by the way the two of them got along like "family".

As she moved forward with the two of them, she also saw the true outline of the mechanical settlement.

Unlike the previous desolate and dilapidated atmosphere in the periphery, the core area of ​​the mechanical settlement is very warm, and the suitable temperature is even better than the most luxurious heating equipment in the upper area.

Since the air heated by the earth's marrow is usually stuffy and heavy, the quality of the heating equipment can be intuitively perceived through physical sensation.

But the air she felt here was moist and natural, just like the moist climate that this planet once had as recorded in ancient books.

However, before she could find the source of the problem, Bronya caught a glimpse of a vast expanse of lush green land that shouldn't be there. Her brain, which had been able to think calmly even in the midst of a fierce battle, suddenly shut down.

Is this also... something that the earth marrow heater can do?

She'd seen greenhouses before, but this one lacked any insulation and the production line was completely exposed. It was essentially like scattering seeds and then leaving them there, only to have them sprout in the field.

Is she really not dreaming?

Chapter 32: The Preface to the Great Music of Flowing Wind

This change naturally comes from Wendy's power, or more precisely, from the application of the concepts of "turning point" and "hope" in the power of the demon.

In the past, Barbatos split the mountains and stopped the north wind, turning Mondstadt from a cold and barren land into a fertile land flowing with wine and honey.

From the use of this great power, it is clear that Wendy's demonic authority actually has some power to make the land "fertile".

Although he is unable to play the grand melody of the thousand-year-old wind now, if it is just a small mechanical settlement, it is not a difficult task for him to apply some meteorological knowledge from his previous life.

The only balance is that maintaining such a flowing melody will consume energy all the time.

Although the area is relatively small now and the consumption is basically nothing for him, if the coverage reaches the entire area or even the entire planet in the future, it will definitely not be able to keep up with the energy consumption.

In the past, the reason why Barbatos fell into a deep sleep was not only to solve the disasters, but also to participate in the losses of the war of annihilation.

Just these words wouldn't have put a First Seven Consul like him into a deep sleep. Otherwise, given the old man next door's death from overwork, he'd probably have died suddenly before his own death.

The real source of Barbatos's power consumption lies in the great melody of flowing wind that has been maintained throughout the entire Mondstadt area for thousands of years.

Otherwise, considering that Mond's geographical environment was similar to that of Yalilo today, it would be considered good if they could grow some food. How could they expect to have enough to make wine?

This means that if Wendy wants to help others to the end and not fall into a deep sleep and lose her freedom, she must obtain the star core.

Only by getting the star core can he be sure of how far he can go, and then proceed with his next journey without any worries.

As for why the Flowing Wind Movement is not carried out in the entire lower area, the main reason is that there is a serious lack of sunlight here and the soil is also not suitable for growing crops.

The radiation left over from past minerals and the acidic substances in the soil itself can cause the food grown there to carry some special diseases.

For humans, even a few bites of it is dangerous if they eat it for a long time. It would be even more torturous if they cannot eat it after growing it.

Therefore, Wendy only used some of her authority just enough to make Boss Swarovski believe that he did have the power to change, without being too hasty.

They have only temporarily announced to the outside world that they have unearthed some ancient technology and are now trying to plant it in experimental fields.

Because of this "miracle", the current mechanical settlement is very different from the depressing and heavy atmosphere when Wendy came here before.

The people coming and going all have some kind of faith, and their love for green vitality is a common expression among almost everyone.

Coupled with the grizzly bear-shaped automatic machine soldier lying on the ground, with a little fresh soil on its body and a small flower on its head, Bronya felt a sense of tranquility after the end of the war.

In the upper areas, the only way to see these emerald greens is in the heavily guarded, large greenhouses with extremely strict access restrictions.

Although they don't need to worry about food shortages for the time being thanks to the technology left over from the past, but——

These devices all require burning earth marrow, or in other words, no matter where Beloberg is, as long as the equipment requires energy to operate, it is basically highly dependent on earth marrow for energy supply.

If the marrow mines are in short supply one day, the entire city’s population will probably die before the monsters from the rift can attack. The low temperature brought by the cold wave alone will be enough to take away many lives.

By then, let alone maintaining the will to fight, even Bronya doesn't think she can avoid despair in a future where energy is exhausted and the entire city is plunged into darkness.

Therefore, when Bronya learned that all this was thanks to Wendy, she kept thinking about what she could use in exchange for such special technology.

Anyone who can bring a turning point and hope to desperate situations deserves any promise and reward!

Perhaps because of this thought, she moved closer to Wendy, and at the same time she could smell the faint but pleasant floral scent of some unknown white wildflowers on his head.

After feeling the warm breath coming from her side, Wendy subconsciously turned her head to look at her, and then revealed a sly and playful smile.

He whispered, "You must have been very curious just now. Why did little Clara call me Sister Wendy?"

Although I was interrupted, it is true that...

Just as Bronya was thinking about it, Wendy told her the answer directly.

“That child had always longed for a family to be with her, and I used to perform here quite often, and because my appearance was a little deceptive, I was mistaken for a girl.

When I wanted to explain, I thought about how shy she was. If I explained it clearly, she would probably be embarrassed for a long time, so I just let the misunderstanding go.

At this point, he also blinked and said softly.

"Just as if you wouldn't spoil a child's beautiful fantasy, you'll help me keep this secret, right? Right? Right?"

"No problem at all--"

This unexpected yet reasonable tenderness made Bronya smile slightly.

"Hey~"

As if to compete with anyone else in terms of smile brightness, he also revealed a bright smile that was quite personal.

"Hmm—Sister Wendy and this…unknown sister you seem to be getting along really well. Is it because you're family too?"

Clara, who was walking in front, happened to look back and see this scene. She asked curiously.

Even though she knew that the "family" they were talking about was not what she imagined, Bronya still felt inexplicably embarrassed.

I wanted to wave it off, but I hesitated to deny the relationship so decisively. After all, the other person had tried so hard to help me.

If I really do this, what will I do if I am regarded as a heartless and heartless woman?

While Bronya was still worried, Wendy just joked, "To me, my friends are like family. Of course, little Clara deserves to be liked a little more."

Such a panacea answer naturally pleased Clara, and she replied with a sweet smile.

"Hehe! I'm so happy. Clara also thinks Sister Wendy is the best family member!"

Seeing the two of them chatting happily together again, Bronya temporarily suppressed her shame and tried not to think about that problem.

It wasn't until she arrived at the core of the mechanical settlement and saw the true appearance of the man known as Boss Svaro that she was somewhat surprised.

Ever since I came to the lower area, I always feel like I’ve encountered many things that I’ve never seen before. It seems that no matter how much mental preparation I make, it’s not enough.

"I'm back, Mr. Swarovski. And Sister Wendy is back too!"

As soon as she saw him, Clara, who was chatting with Wendy, ran to him happily, like a child seeing her father.

The expression that only comes from true trust and closeness to each other made Bronya's eyes soften when she looked at her.

In fact, from Wendy's brief explanation, she could roughly understand that Clara's background was not good, and there were too many children like her who were both lucky and unfortunate in the entire lower class area.

"I see that many of the settlement's automated systems are back online. Thank you, Clara."

Swarovski nodded in thanks, then raised his rose-red eye slightly and looked at Wendy and Bronya, with a stream of light containing hidden data flashing by.

"You have fulfilled your promise, poet."

"Of course, I'm Wendy! It's totally fine if you praise me a little more!"

As if asking for a reward, Wendy put her hands on her hips, looking very proud.

However, Swarovski naturally ignored the arrogant Wendy and turned to look at Bronya.

"Greetings. Miss Bronya Rand, the heir to the Grand Guardian from the Upper District."

"—!"

Just when Bronya became subconsciously alert, she remembered that Wendy was here and he would never lie to her, so she relaxed her guard a little.

"Excuse me, how did Mr. Swarlow know my identity?"

She asked tentatively, why did the other party recognize her all of a sudden when the automatic robots outside hadn't discovered her true identity before.

"I'm able to connect to the upper zone's internal network of automated robots, so it's not surprising that I know your origins. But didn't the poet mention it to you?"

Swarovski looked at Wendy, who was no longer as arrogant as before, but instead looked embarrassed. There was no fluctuation in the synthesized steady male voice.

"Mention?"