Chapter 25 Chapter 25: But All of This Is Helpless
Chapter 25: But All of This Is Helpless
The next day, on a small path outside Rivet Town.
Swoosh—!
Accompanied by the sound of a scythe violently slicing through the air, the tall figure of the Fragmentum creature—half-mechanical, half-crystalline—finally crashed to the ground, shattering into a pile of debris.
To be honest, the bodies of these Fragmentum creatures don't completely dissipate like Honkai Beasts do after death; instead, they leave behind some physical remnants. Unfortunately, after paying the price with many lives, people discovered that these leftover Fragmentum constructs are just as corrosive as the Fragmentum itself and cannot be exposed to for too long.
And just as this Fragmentum construct completely lost its movement, a somewhat ragged man who had been hiding behind a rock immediately ran up to Seele.
"Thank you, Miss Seele, thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have definitely been split in two by that monster. If something like that really happened, I wouldn't know what to do... Little Limi, she... she's still waiting for me at home. It's all my fault as a father for being useless, not even able to keep my own job..."
The man's words were somewhat incoherent, but looking at his expression still filled with lingering fear, you'd realize this was actually a relatively good state.
"It's alright, it's alright. Uncle Watt, the mine shutdown isn't your fault. The Wildfire will definitely find a way to get you all back to work as soon as possible."
Seeing this nearly middle-aged man about to kneel before her, Seele quickly reached out to help him up, softly comforting him: "Take these things and hurry home. You mustn't go near such a dangerous place like the Fragmentum again."
"I understand, thank you Miss Seele, thank you..."
A body worn down by decades of labor in the mines inevitably becomes hunched. After persistently repeating his thanks to Seele several times, this not-very-tall figure gradually disappeared around the corner of the road.
"That's the eighth person today, right?" Kevin, who had been standing beside Seele with his arms crossed watching all this, suddenly asked rhetorically.
Although he originally had some intention of training this kid while clearing out some Fragmentum creatures, he never said anything about specifically coming to the Fragmentum to act as a firefighter?
Knowing full well that the monsters in the Fragmentum are threats they absolutely cannot handle, yet they still recklessly risk their lives to venture inside?
"Do you think he'll listen to your advice?"
Without waiting for Seele's answer, Kevin suddenly asked another question.
"I don't know, but this really is something that can't be stopped... There used to be many mining areas underground, but in recent years, due to the spread of Fragmentum erosion, many mines have been affected and can no longer be mined."
"Uncle Watt has been a miner for half his life. He doesn't know how to do anything else. Losing his job all of a sudden is like having his lifeline cut off."
"I know that little girl named Limi. She often goes to Natasha's clinic. Natasha often praises her for being smarter than other kids. If she could go to school, she'd definitely become an excellent student."
When facing vicious monsters or unreasonable scum, Seele naturally uses her scythe to show them whose fist is bigger here. But once she has to deal with these honest folks who've never made a mistake in their entire lives, she's at a loss.
After all, he actually hasn't done anything wrong from start to finish. The Fragmentum erosion, the mine shutdown—these aren't things he can decide. But he truly has never hurt anyone.
Maybe... if he didn't have a daughter and was all alone, he might resort to stealing or robbing and wouldn't risk coming into the Fragmentum at all.
But as a father, he can't exactly become a negative example that would cause his daughter pain for a lifetime, can he?
"But if he really dies here, then everything is still meaningless."
Kevin's tone remained icy cold, as if he were merely an uninvolved bystander who wouldn't feel any sympathy and would only strike at the painful points in the other's life.
"But he simply can't change anything. This is already his only way out. How can you criticize from such an angle..."
Under Kevin's relentless pressure, Seele's tone gradually grew irritable too, as if she might raise her scythe and point it at his nose the next moment.
What she didn't know was that Kevin was waiting for her to say exactly this.
"That's right. He can't change anything. But you can."
Kevin suddenly turned around, his seemingly all-seeing eyes staring directly at Seele's face.
"I want you to be clear about what you truly desire in your heart? Powerful strength? A beautiful world? Or simply wanting everyone's lives not to be as miserable as what you see?"
This is a mistake most young people make. They have no idea what the answer in their heart truly is; they just rely on some vague concept. That's why once they face setbacks, they start frantically doubting themselves.
Just like Kosma when he first joined The MOTHs. Just like... himself in the past.
When the most real question was placed before her, Seele subconsciously lowered her head. Very much like a student being reprimanded by an instructor? Or perhaps a daughter listening to her old father imparting grand principles?
Even though things had reached this point, Kevin suddenly closed his mouth, letting the atmosphere around them gradually solidify until an abrupt shout interrupted it.
"Miss Seele! Miss Seele!"
A young man with the Wildfire emblem on his arm ran over from the distance. While gasping for air with all his might, he shouted loudly: "The mine! Something happened at the mine! Those vagrants and the miners got into a fight! The leader and the others have all gone over already! They told me to come notify you right away!"
"What?!"
Seele instinctively wanted to follow him to the mining area to help. But she had only taken one step when her head, under the strange gaze of that Wildfire member, involuntarily turned towards Kevin.
"The mining area is the lifeline of the underground. We must ensure the supply of Geomarrow so we can get supplies allocated from above through the transport lines. So... it's very important there."
Although it's said there are allocated supplies, the value of those things clearly can't truly equal the Geomarrow they deliver daily. But compared to the Overworld, there are too many resources underground that are difficult to produce locally and must be obtained from above.
After all, from beginning to end, the Underworld has been positioned as one big mining area; it simply doesn't have a complete production chain.
"No problem. Then let's end today's training here."
Kevin nodded his head, approving Seele's suggestion: "It just so happens I'd like to see for myself who this leader of the Wildfire organization is."
There is an illustration here. It can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
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