Chapter 26 Chapter 26: Why Is There a Little Girl Not Wearing Shoes?
Chapter 26: Why Is There a Little Girl Not Wearing Shoes?
"The mining area we're heading to now is one of the few places that remains relatively intact and has a somewhat clean environment. Many of the refugees who escaped from Rivet Town have settled new homes around there."
"Although most of these people are fairly honest, with so many gathered, it's inevitable that some troublemaking scum will mix in. The result is: refugees and miners frequently get into fights, and they often steal the miners' supplies—and that's still considered minor skirmishes."
On their way to the mining area, Seele briefly explained the current situation to Kevin and also shared her speculation: "This conflict has suddenly escalated so much. I think it's probably because of a relatively large ore vein, to the point that those thugs who only think about their own interests can't sit still anymore."
Of course, in a large forest, you'll find all kinds of birds. Although these refugees who have lost their homes are pitiable, how can you guarantee that some of them weren't idle scoundrels even before losing their homes?
Holding such speculation, Kevin and Seele quickly arrived at the outskirts of the mining area. The young man who initially delivered the message couldn't keep up with their speed and had long been left far behind.
As soon as they stepped into this mining area with its complex network of steel frames and roads, they could see from a distance a dense crowd of over a hundred people gathered in one spot, requiring no effort at all to locate.
"What do you all want? This road is blocked, no one is allowed in, stay back!"
"Such a big incident has happened in the mining area, why are you still blocking the way and not letting people in?!"
"We have nothing to do with those thugs and scoundrels; who knows what you want to do coming here!"
"Then at least let the injured out first!"
"Stop pushing! Stop pushing! If you keep approaching with ill intentions like this, we really will take action!"
"I've told Mine Boss Antonova before, we shouldn't have let these refugees mine with us—if it weren't for these troublemakers, things wouldn't have escalated to this point!"
According to what Seele said earlier, refugees who escaped from the Fragmentum settled new homes on the outskirts of the mining area. With such a major conflict erupting inside the mining area, entering would inevitably mean passing through these refugees' territory.
With hundreds of people crowded together outside the mining area, it's indeed unavoidable that there would be some sneaky individuals who aren't there to help the injured inside or check on their families at all.
Forget about the situation inside the mining area; even with the current conflict on the outskirts, Wildfire members are struggling to manage it all, with new injured people appearing from time to time.
"Miss Seele, Miss Seele! You've finally arrived!"
The moment he saw Seele, a Wildfire member immediately ran over. Without even asking who Kevin was, he hurriedly explained: "It's said that Mining Team One discovered an astonishingly rich ore vein. They originally wanted to keep it secret, but it was discovered by the refugees. Then some thugs came to cause trouble, demanding hush money."
"The result was that things escalated until the two groups directly engaged in armed conflict. Right now, Doctor Natasha is still treating the injured in a temporarily built shelter over there. Leader Oleg took some people into the mining area to stop them, and there's been no news from him since."
Clearly, it's trouble stirred up by unscrupulous thugs and scoundrels, yet most of the consequences have to be borne by these miners and refugees who got injured in the conflict for no reason. Just hearing about it is infuriating.
In the extremely harsh social environment of the Underworld, getting injured means a high probability of losing your job. And once you lose your job and have no source of income, the troubles that follow are far more than just a drop in living standards.
Everyone's living standards are already at rock bottom; if things get any worse... wouldn't that mean there's simply no way to survive?
Just like Uncle Watt they met earlier—if their luck were slightly worse, they might be hearing bad news in a few days.
"What? There was no news at all before; how did the situation become so urgent all of a sudden?!"
"No good... I need to get to Leader Oleg as soon as possible."
In this situation, the conflict could escalate at any moment. Seele didn't even have time to explain more to Kevin. She directly activated her ability and leaped onto a high steel frame, completely disappearing from their sight within a few seconds.
"Wh-when did Miss Seele become so powerful?!"
Witnessing this fantastical scene before his eyes, this Wildfire member was almost stunned. In his impression, even robots would need special modified models to do something like this. How could a human jump onto a steel frame seven or eight meters high in one go?
Did he wake up too abruptly today? Should he go back to sleep for a bit?
A moment later, he remembered that Seele seemed to have brought someone with her. But when he turned to look, the other person's response and actions made him feel even more bewildered.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her."
"Huh??"
While this Wildfire member was still shocked by this rather abnormal statement, Kevin had already started walking towards another path leading into the mine interior—hundreds of miners and their families were still blocked outside by the defense line set up by the refugees, with no way through at all.
But just as he was wondering what Kevin planned to do, in the blink of an eye, the person who had been walking in front of him completely vanished.
At least Miss Seele jumped away, but this...?
"Did I... see a ghost today?!"
Almost in the next instant, Kevin, who had just disappeared from that Wildfire member's sight, was already standing on a rock wall deep within the mining area, silently gazing down at two groups of people armed and confronting each other at the bottom of the mine shaft.
From the insignias on their arms, it was easy to tell which side belonged to Wildfire. However, it seems no matter when or where, humans' tendency for infighting simply can't be changed.
Back in the early days of The MOTHs, weren't those targeting Mei also going to any lengths?
Although such black sheep have always been only a small minority, they can indeed make one feel thoroughly disgusted.
After letting his thoughts wander briefly, Kevin quickly refocused his attention on the two groups below. He estimated Seele would probably find this place soon. He was actually quite curious to see how that kid would choose in such a situation.
But the moment he looked down, Kevin suddenly realized that a little girl in red had climbed onto a rock wall slightly below him at some point. She was also quietly peering down at the crowd below.
But this child... why isn't she wearing shoes?
There are illustrations here; they can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
There are illustrations here; they can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
There are illustrations here; they can be viewed after updating to the latest version.
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!