บท 29: Looking for the Wildfire
March 7th looked curiously at Sampo, who was walking ahead, and asked, "So, what exactly does 'Wildfire' usually do?"
Sampo glanced at Kevin beside him, and seeing no reaction, he explained to March 7th, "They do everything—maintaining order, enforcing justice, fighting for resources, distributing supplies..."
Speaking of supplies, Dan Heng rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "That small amount of rations I got earlier came from them, didn't it?"
"Miss Natasha said you're a smuggler. So, up there, you were...?" Dan Heng asked.
"I find supplies and sell them to Wildfire..." Sampo didn't bother hiding it anymore since it wasn't really a secret. Dan Heng got the hint and didn't press further.
Sampo led the group to a fork in the path, then stopped, looking around as if searching for someone. "Hmm, Joshua's not here..."
Sampo crossed his arms, thinking. Joshua was usually in this area—what could have held him up?
March 7th pointed to a glowing rock in a nearby box and asked, "What are those glowing stones?"
Following her finger, Sampo quickly explained, "Oh, that's 'Geomarrow,' a type of mineral used for heating. You've probably seen those heaters outside the buildings in the Upperworld, right? They run on these stones."
"But isn't the connection between Upperworld and Underworld completely sealed off? Right now, only the transportation routes for Geomarrow are still operational. The Underworld sends up the minerals, and the Upperworld sends down supplies."
"Most of the Underworld people are miners. They live day by day by digging up these stones. Without Geomarrow to burn, people in this world would have frozen to death long ago."
Since the person they were looking for wasn't there, Sampo led them further along the path. After walking for a while, they came upon a massive building in the distance. Sampo stopped again, scratching his head in confusion.
"Hmm… Old man Oleg isn't here either. Where could everyone have gone?"
"You're not leading us in circles, are you?" March 7th asked, frowning.
"I wouldn't dare! No way!" Sampo quickly waved his hands, casting a glance at Kevin. "Don't worry, we'll find them soon!"
March 7th didn't care if Sampo found Wildfire or not; she gestured toward the building ahead and asked, "What's that?"
"That's the support pillar connecting the upper and lower world—the 'Furnace Core.' People used to travel back and forth using that column, but then..." Sampo pressed his lips together and said, "You know how it is—the connection between the two districts was cut off years ago. There's been no contact for more than a decade."
"Except for you," Kevin said coldly.
"Yes, except for me." Sampo didn't bother hiding it, admitting it outright, but he continued to lead them to another location.
"At this time, Seele is usually patrolling this area. What's Wildfire up to? Could they be avoiding me?" Sampo muttered to himself.
As they climbed a staircase, they saw a group of vagrants gathered around someone in the distance. March 7 immediately recognized the figure and excitedly turned to the group. "Hey, look! Guess who that is!"
Stelle followed her finger and focused her gaze. "Is that… Bronya? What's she doing down here?"
"It looks like she's in some kind of trouble..." Sampo suddenly recalled Natasha's warning and quickly turned to the others. "Hey, guys, please don't just stand by! We can't let this get out of hand!"
March 7th crossed her arms, looking mischievous. "Now that you mention it, I kind of want to see you in trouble."
Dan Heng, rubbing his chin, weighed the situation. "We should avoid drawing too much attention, but we can't just leave that girl to fend for herself."
Stelle nodded in agreement, looking over at March 7th. "March is right. We should head back."
March 7th threw up her hands in exasperation. "Ugh, I shouldn't have said anything."
Sampo, trying to flatter, added, "Exactly! We can't let an innocent girl get bullied!"
"Well said! You're so understanding!" March 7th grinned, placing her hands on her hips.
Just as March 7th was about to step forward, Kevin reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder and pulling her back. He gestured for her to look in another direction. March 7th and the others followed his gaze and noticed a figure in the distance, holding a long scythe and calmly watching the scene unfold.
Realizing someone else was about to intervene, the group stayed back, waiting to see the "hero save the day."
The vagrants surrounding Bronya were growing more aggressive, and whatever Bronya had said seemed to have enraged them. To everyone's surprise, one of the vagrants pulled out a gun and aimed it at Bronya.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed, the bullet flying toward Bronya. She instinctively stepped back, but it was no use. Just as the bullet was about to hit her, several beams of light slashed through the air, cutting the bullet into dust. A girl descended from the sky, landing in front of Bronya, wielding a massive scythe. She pointed it at the surrounding vagrants.
"Dare to pull something like this on our turf? Want to try me?"
The vagrants recognized the girl immediately and scattered in fear. "Crap, it's her! Run!"
Watching them flee, the girl scoffed and sheathed her weapon. "Cowards."
"Miss Seele! Phew, you saved us just in time! Much appreciated!" Sampo greeted her with a smile.
"Those vagrants sure have some nerve, pulling a stunt like that on Wildfire territory—"
"Shut it, Sampo," Seele snapped, clearly irritated. "You're not off the hook either. Wildfire already has enough problems without you stirring up more trouble."
Sampo awkwardly nodded and kept quiet.
Ignoring him, Seele turned to Bronya. "I heard a Silvermane Guard came down here. That's you, right?"
Bronya nodded, still catching her breath. "Thank you for saving me. I'm Bronya, leader of the Silvermane Guards."
Seele looked at her with disdain. "Oh, so you're in charge? No need to thank me. But let me ask you—are you comfortable up there? Have you ever considered the lives of the people down here?"
Bronya clutched her chest, arguing back, "The Silvermane Guards don't just sit comfortably above. We've been fighting enemies, protecting Belobog from monsters—protecting everyone, both above and below."
Seele frowned, clearly unimpressed by Bronya's words. "Yeah, sure. And what exactly have you done to protect the Underworld? You sealed off the connection, pulled all your troops Upperworld. Let's be real—it was all to protect those so-called 'builders,' wasn't it?"
Bronya remained silent, unsure how to respond. In the past, she would have confidently said that the Guardians had their reasons. But after everything that had happened, she began to doubt.
"Can't argue, can you?" Seele smirked, as if she had won the argument. "Anyway, you're coming with me. Oleg wants to meet you. He's got a lot of questions."
"Great timing, Miss Seele! We also need to meet with your leader! How about we go together?" Sampo chimed in.
"Who asked you to tag along?" Seele shot back before turning to Kevin and the others. "Who are these people?"
"They're with me. If you want me to meet your leader, they're coming too," Bronya said firmly.
"They're with you?" Seele looked surprised. "Looks like you were telling the truth—Sampo didn't just bring back one person."
"We're here looking for something called a 'Stellaron.' It's the cause of all the disasters. As long as we can find—"
Before March 7th could finish, Stelle covered her mouth. "She probably doesn't understand any of that."
Seele nodded. "You're right, I don't get it. But if you want to see the boss, come with me to the mines. Wildfire ran into some trouble there, and Oleg's handling it."
The group nodded in agreement.
"Let's go." Seele turned and began walking, motioning for them to follow. Judging by her urgency, the situation was serious.
...
As they walked, Bronya seemed hesitant, wanting to say something but holding back. Kevin glanced at her. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Bronya nodded and began, "The day Jepard took you to meet the Guardian... he told me you were travelers from beyond the sky, like those in the ancient legends, carrying the will of the Aeons, journeying through the stars."
"Jepard said you wanted to help us, to stop the cold wave and the Fragmentum from destroying this planet. But that same night, the Guardian summoned me and ordered me to arrest you."
"What happened? The Guardian didn't explain, and Jepard was sent to the frontlines. I don't understand..."
Kevin, understanding her confusion, explained, "It was her choice—or rather, the Stellaron's choice. From the moment she sent you to capture us, we were on opposite sides. So if you come with us..."
"Then you'll be hostile against your mother!" Stelle jumped in, interrupt and said something.
Bronya lowered her head and hesitated for a long time, then nodded solemnly.
"If mother is really controlled by that Stellaron as you say, and if sealing the Stellaron can really solve the disaster of Beloberg, I will join you!"
Kevin didn't say anything. March 7th and Dan Heng were still thinking. Feeling the awkwardness of the atmosphere, Stelle started a group chat.
Stelle, March 7tg, Danheng, Kevin... (4)
Stelle: Let's say something!
March 7th: Pom-Pom is confused.JPG
Kevin: I have no objection, instant noodle stall.JPG
Dan Heng: Plus one.
Stelle:...
Stelle put away her phone and walked forward, holding Bronya hand.
"Welcome to the Stellaron sealing team."
Bronya was suddenly held by her hand and was a little confused. What happened? These people agreed to join her before they even spoke?
Except Dan Heng said "plus one".
Seele, who was leading the way, also listened to a lot of people's conversations along the way and got to know them a little bit, so she relaxed a little bit of vigilance.
"The mining area we are going to is relatively intact and the environment is relatively clean. A group of Vagrant whose hometown was swallowed up by the rift have gone to find a new home. In fact, some of this group of people are quite honest..."
"But when there are more people, it's inevitable that some miscellaneous people who like to cause trouble will get mixed in. The result is: the Vagrant fight with the mines every day, and often steal the supplies of the miners - this is still a small fight."
"This time the situation is different... In the past two days, a large-scale conflict suddenly broke out between the mines and the Vagrant. The scene was quite ugly."
"In order to calm the situation, Leader Oleg brought "Wildfire" into the mining area. Now the situation inside is tight, we have to go faster..."
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