I, on the Starry Sky Railway, change everything

Miss Galaxy Batman was unaware of the truth of last night. When she saw that Bronya and the others had gotten up earlier than her, she immediately widened her eyes in disbelief.

They are so powerful!

No, could it be that I'm actually too weak?

A profound shock was brewing in Xing's heart. The girl had personally experienced Hua Yi's terrifying nature many times, yet Bronya and Sylva seemed to be able to handle it with ease...

Does [Storage Protection] provide a bonus for that kind of thing?

Otherwise, even if they fought side by side, there shouldn't have been such a huge disparity between them.

Galaxy Batman's shock was evident on his face. March 7th was confused, but Bronya and Shiloh, who were directly involved, could easily guess what she was thinking.

Yesterday, Xing practically pushed the two of them into Hua Yi's room!

If it weren't for their kind intentions in easing the awkwardness and their lack of malicious intent in playing a prank, they would have wanted to disappear into the ground. Whether they would be able to maintain a normal attitude towards Hua Yi in the future is another matter entirely.

Witnessing the culprit's expressive face, Hiluva gritted her teeth, feeling utterly helpless.

Should we accuse Xing of disrupting the rhythm of the nighttime conversation?

With March 7th still present, it's not appropriate to casually mention what happened last night. Besides, in terms of the outcome, Galaxy Baseball Man did a good deed by avoiding the possibility of him and Bronya accidentally bumping into each other and giving up on investigating Hua Yi's attitude towards Cocolia.

In that case, I would inevitably be troubled by all sorts of chaotic thoughts, and my dear friend's fate would also be shrouded in uncertainty.

Thinking about it carefully, there doesn't seem to be any reason to blame Xing; in fact, we should thank him.

Bronya wholeheartedly agreed, her gaze towards the gray-haired girl filled with gratitude.

As for the awkwardness of being forcibly pushed into Hua Yi's room—it was just awkwardness, not dissatisfaction or anger.

"Now that everyone is here, it's time to properly explore Rocky Town."

"Yay, time to eat something delicious!"

"We're in the lower district now, so the bills might not reach Cripple Castle, preventing the High Warden from paying?"

"It's alright, I've brought the Winter City Shield."

Bronya, the Silvermane Guard commander and Cocolia's adopted daughter, offered to pay for the meal. As she felt obligated to host the extraterrestrial guests on behalf of Beloberg.

Even after reaching the lower level.

Rather, it is precisely because the underground organization, Earthfire, showed such a close attitude towards Hua Yi that its behind-the-scenes manager, Natasha, showed concern for Hua Yi yesterday, which made Bronya even more determined to represent Cripperburg in the competition.

I'm sorry, Natasha. Although I was a child in your orphanage when I was young, I now stand on the side of the city builders.

The only problem is that resources are scarce in the lower districts, prices may be high, and I don't know how long my Winter City shield will last.

Strangely enough, Bronya, whom Seele regarded as a young lady, silently prayed that things in Rocky Town wouldn't be too expensive.

Then she was shocked by the town's terrible cuisine.

"This mixed vegetable soup..."

At the food stall, the sticky, gooey soup looked rather unappetizing, and even the enterprising March 7th looked hesitant, while only Xing was eager to try it.

Having compiled information on Belleberg and gained some understanding of the food in the lower districts, Hua Yi decided to set an example by asking the stall owner for a bowl of thick soup.

"They call them miscellaneous vegetables, but they are actually moss from the cave. The lower levels are dark and lack sunlight, so the types of vegetables that can be grown are limited, and even the supply of moss is not very stable."

Since the description concerns the situation in the lower-level areas, it's natural to avoid mentioning vendors and passersby to prevent attracting attention.

Hua Yi didn't forget this point, so he controlled his voice and adjusted his position.

"The food stalls are fine, but I saw on the menu of the Goethe Hotel that the mixed vegetable soup is served irregularly, not all the time."

Has life become so difficult for people in the lower classes...?

Bronya's eyes dimmed.

She was her mother's adopted daughter, the number one person under the Great Guardian, and the most likely person in the entire Belloberg to persuade Cocolia to change her mind, yet she failed to accurately judge the drawbacks of the blockade order, which was a serious dereliction of duty.

"I want to try it."

Heartbroken, Bronya resolutely snatched the vegetable soup from Hua Yi's hands, determined to personally experience the suffering of the lower classes.

In a moment of impulse, the girl forgot that Hua Yi had already taken a sip with the soup spoon, and picked up the bowl to gulp down the soup...

Immediately afterwards, her dim eyes brightened.

"The texture is quite good, and the taste is also good."

Who cares about the taste of the mixed vegetable soup now? March 7th and Hilva looked at Bronya with strange expressions, who was sharing a bowl of soup with Hua Yi without caring about anything else.

Isn't this an indirect kiss?

Although Hua Yi used a spoon to drink the vegetable soup and didn't put the spoon back when the bowl was taken away, which wasn't strictly speaking too intimate, judging from Bronya's resolute attitude, she still wouldn't mind if Hua Yi drank directly from the bowl.

In that case, if the mouth is closer to the edge of the soup bowl, it will look like an intimate interaction between lovers.

Bronya was unaware of the problem, but Hua Yi had already discovered it.

Seeing that if he didn't do something soon, the girl would inevitably blush with embarrassment once she realized what was happening, he simply picked up where Bronya left off.

"The moss was stewed until it was soft enough to absorb the sweet and sour flavor of the broth, which was thick but not heavy, and very appetizing. The ingenuity of the people of Belloberg in satisfying taste preferences with limited ingredients should not be underestimated."

"Ok!"

"I want a bowl too!"

Xing, unwilling to stand idly by, went to the stall owner and got a second bowl of mixed vegetable soup.

Honestly, she was thinking of taking the spoon after Hua Yi finished tasting it, or even letting him feed her a bite to taste, but Bronya acted so quickly.

As for indirect kissing or something—

Is there a problem? There's absolutely no problem with 2.5.

Since they had already raided Hua Yi's place at night, an indirect kiss was just an ordinary interaction.

Xing, who hadn't yet realized that Bronya and Sylva were just having a private chat with Hua Yi and hadn't done anything too intimate, inadvertently helped Bronya a great deal.

When she, March 7th, and Hiluva each had a small bowl of mixed vegetable soup, and they were halfway through, Bronya finally remembered that her act of snatching food from Hua Yi's hand was both willful and ambiguous.

The girl's face flushed slightly. Fortunately, the matter had been dropped, and she was spared the strange looks from her companions as she drank soup to warm her stomach.

Bronya stole a glance at Hua Yi out of the corner of her eye, then quickly looked away. This simple gesture made her cheeks feel even hotter.

I can't look at him.

Chapter 176 Bronya's Strong Proof

A wonderful experience.

Bronya had vanquished countless monsters from the rift in the snowfields, and had tried to reason with her mother, who had become cold and unapproachable. Now, however, she faced Hua Yi...

He was incredibly powerful, and his methods of suppressing the rifts far exceeded the city builders' imagination, yet he did not appear condescending or unapproachable at all.

That's clearly how it is.

Feeling the complex emotions welling up in her chest, Bronya lowered her eyes until Hua Yi handed her a skewer of grilled mushrooms. Only then did the girl come back to her senses and whisper a thank you.

"Why thank me? You're treating now."

"Oh……"

Yes!

Bronya hurriedly took out the Winter City Shield, the common currency of both upper and lower levels of Belloberg, and handed it to the stall owner, who was beaming with joy because she had welcomed several big customers. Then she returned to her companions and began to eat whatever Hua Yi offered her.

While the lower levels were indeed lacking in resources, this did not lead to expensive food to fill one's stomach. Instead, it made some vegetables and fruits that could only be grown in the upper levels and had a very short shelf life a luxury.

Those things won't appear at food stall number 26.

Represented by mixed vegetable soup, the people of the underground world try to find readily available ingredients and rely on their intellect and culinary skills to enrich their diet.

Fried rock crab and roasted cave salamander are also available.

The crab meat was extremely delicious, but the shell was a bit hard after frying. The girls gnawed at it for a long time. Xing, out of a strange sense of competitiveness, crunched the crab shell and won the crab-eating contest.

Although the meal left a mess.

As for roasted cave salamander, the trick to enjoying this snack, which can greatly replenish protein, is to avoid seeing it as it was before it was born.

But both Silva and Bronya were from Beloberg and knew what an axolotl looked like. When Xing curiously wanted to buy one to try, they hesitated and told her not to eat it.

Galaxy Baseball Man fears nothing!

Besides, I don't see anything wrong with the shape of the rock-roasted cave salamander; it looks like a roasted chicken.

Xing, whose knowledge was not extensive, was about to confidently make such a statement when Hua Yi searched the recently built Belberg database on the terminal and showed her pictures of the cave salamander.

Then the fearless Galaxy Batman shut his mouth and never dared to underestimate Bronya and Shiloh's opinions again.

Locals really know about bizarre cuisine.

If the snacks in Rocky Town were made from all sorts of strange ingredients, the Silver Mane Iron Guard Commander and the former Iron Guard researcher would inevitably suspect whether the only open supply exchange route between the upper and lower levels was reliable, and whether the relevant personnel were lining their own pockets.

They recalled that the fruits and vegetables in the upper section were not a regular item for exchange mainly because of preservation issues; otherwise, they would have spoiled long before they were delivered to the lower section after completing the transportation and inspection process.

There should also be processed foods that can be stored for a long time!

Bronya and Silva searched the town with a purpose, and when they spotted a deli, they both spoke up at the same time.

"Let's go take a look over there!"

Following their gazes, Hua Yi, who had access to information about Belloberg, knew exactly what the stall sold, but pretended to know nothing.

"Looks like a sausage?"

“There’s a slight difference; that’s Belloberg sausage.”

Bronya's expression brightened, and her tone became lighter.

"It's been over a hundred years since the Belloberg meat processing plant introduced its first red sausage, a favorite food of all Belloberg residents. The meat processing plant is in the upper level, so the fact that red sausage is available in the lower level shows that the trade route is indeed functioning—let's go check out the price on the sign!"

The girl excitedly pulled Hua Yi towards the stall, and Xing, not to be outdone, immediately took her lover's other hand.

Hmm, am I lacking the magnanimity of a senior, failing to learn from Estella?

Galaxy Batman was conflicted, and tentatively asked Shilva with his eyes whether she wanted this chance to stick together.

Not only did she give him a look, she also raised Hua Yi's hand and waved it to signal him.

Now Hilva understood and quickly shook her head, afraid that if she was even a second too slow, the other party would take the initiative and give her an easy win.

Although my behavior toward Hua Yi was indeed intimate on the cable car, there was a reason for it!

Right now, no matter how you look at it, it's not right for Bronya and him to be holding hands on either side of each other.

"It's twice as expensive as mixed vegetable soup and fried rock crab. These things aren't available in the upper district, so they can't be used as a reference... They're also selling black bread, soda, and ice cream at the stall? Great, finally I can compare them—this price is several times higher than in the upper district, but considering transportation costs, it's within a reasonable range."

Prices can reflect the market to some extent.

The normal price of Belloberg sausages indicates that essential goods from the upper levels are being continuously supplied to the lower levels.

The builders responsible for switching lines were fulfilling their duties, and Mother did not intend to destroy the entire lower district.

Bronya pursed her lips, unconsciously tightening her grip on Hua Yi's hand.

"The scarcity of supplies in the lower district is not because Mother reduced the supply, or because the person in charge of the exchange line embezzled resources by abusing his position. The rift is the root cause."

"It seems you've found quite a few 480s."

"Before the lockdown order was issued, the rift erosion had not yet spread to the lower areas, so the resource transportation plan formulated by Kripper Castle based on the material needs under the stable situation did not take into account the threat of monsters."

Hua Yi and Bronya looked at each other, and Hua Yi could clearly see the complex light in her silver-gray eyes.

"Then the appearance of the monsters forced the lower classes to abandon Rivet Town, and the fall of their homes triggered a vicious cycle, right?"

"Yes! Mother's issuance of the lockdown order was undoubtedly a grave mistake, but she was unaware of what happened in the lower districts afterward. Please believe me!"

Having a profound understanding of the suffering endured by the people in the lower classes, Bronya could not deceive herself.

She knew that Cocolia was not such a wise ruler, not wise and powerful enough, and had become a tyrant and a fool in the eyes of the lower classes.

Whether they are incompetent or self-righteous, it doesn't matter.

But I've always known that my mother never used her power to amass wealth, never indulged in personal pleasures. She hasn't had a proper rest in a very long time, she has no leisure or entertainment, and she doesn't smile anymore.

The High Warden issued the lockdown order, making a grave mistake, but she absolutely did not intend for the Lower Districts to become what they are now.

Bronya tried her best to prove only one thing: that her mother wasn't a completely evil person.