"Oh, wait, my brain's gone dumb—why'd I ask such a stupid question?
You upper-district folks don't care what happens down here, let alone the lives of the lower-district people.
Hmph, as long as your own lives are comfy, right?"
Bronya: "Miss Seele, the Silvermane Guards aren't just lounging comfortably up there!"
"So it's Seele. Huh, the two from the Evernight duo skipped the small fry and went straight to a showdown?"
March 7th: "I think I heard Bronya's voice. Sounds like she's arguing with someone."
Leon heard it loud and clear.
"Let's go check it out."
Climbing the stairs, they found two girls—one purple, one white—facing off two meters apart.
Bronya: "The Guards have been fighting Fragmentum monsters, defending Belobog, protecting everyone above and below ground."
"Protecting the underground?"
Seele let out a scornful laugh.
"Sounds prettier than a song. You pulled all the Guards out and sealed the passage between above and below for over a decade!
That's your so-called protecting everyone underground? I think it's protecting those high-and-mighty Architects, isn't it?"
Bronya clenched her fists.
"The Supreme Guardian must have her reasons…"
At that, anger flashed across Seele's face.
"Don't mention that sorry excuse for a Supreme Guardian. What has she protected all these years?
For ten years, the underground has sent requests to the surface every day, begging you Guards to come down and hold the line.
And the result? No response at all. You didn't even give the underground people a chance to seek refuge up there.
Slowly, we stopped pinning our hopes on the surface. We relied on ourselves.
Oleg told me that the duty of every Supreme Guardian is to protect civilization, to protect every citizen of Belobog.
What has the current Supreme Guardian done? Ruthlessly sealed off the underground passage, indifferent to the lives of the people below."
Hearing this, Bronya felt a pang in her heart.
After waking up and learning she was in the lower district, she'd hurriedly gone out to look around.
But the state of things here chilled her to the core.
The people were destitute, many gaunt and sallow, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.
She couldn't help but wonder: was her mother's decision back then really right?
Seele didn't care what Bronya was thinking, sneering with mockery.
"Supreme Guardian? Pfft, she wouldn't even look in a puddle to see if she's worthy. A Supreme Guardian like that could die in a ditch, and no one would care."
"My goodness, Seele in the public release is so sharp-tongued, leaving no room for mercy."
"Wait, she doesn't know Bronya's Cocolia's daughter yet."
After that barrage of cursing her mother, a surge of anger flared in Bronya's heart.
"You're not allowed to insult the Supreme Guardian!"
"What, a couple of words is an insult? You high-and-mighty officials are all cut from the same cloth."
Seeing Bronya's raised brows, Seele felt a rare sense of satisfaction.
The camera suddenly cut to the Express crew.
The little gray-hair and pink-hair didn't react much, but Leon's behavior made countless players' mouths twitch.
He was holding a slice of melon, eating it with relish.
Really eating—each bite took a chunk, and the melon had a model.
Bright red, guaranteed ripe.
March 7th's expression stiffened: "…When did you start eating melon?"
① "They might start fighting—get ready to break it up."
② "Got any more melon? Give me a slice too."
"Kinda hilarious, but I love it."
Pick two.
March 7th couldn't help but put her hands on her hips, whispering: "You two! Is this really the time to eat melon?"
Leon: "Calm down, little March. Some things can't be rushed."
"Huh?" March 7th's big eyes blinked, radiating pure innocence.
"That purple-black-haired girl's words are dripping with years of pent-up resentment toward the upper district."
Leon took another bite of melon, explaining patiently.
"Now that she's finally got someone to vent at, if we step in as meddling outsiders, she'll definitely curse us out too.
Relax, they won't fight. Let them finish arguing, then we'll drop our invisible status."
March 7th nodded repeatedly: "Makes sense… I was too hasty. By the way, any more melon?"
"No luck—just this piece left."
① "Shame."
② "Oh, March, you wanna eat melon too and still call us out?"
March 7th choked: "If you don't talk, no one thinks you're mute."
"Hahaha, no, no—Stelle not talking would actually make people think she's mute!"
"The twin siblings next door—how many times have they been teased for being mute?"
"Why isn't there an option to eat the same melon slice as Leon?"
Ah Xian sighed, looking regretful.
"God knows how much I want to chomp down on the melon my hubby ate, then feed him mouth-to-mouth~~"
[You're at it again?]
[Wake up—that kind of option's probably only in otome or adult games.]
[Friendly reminder: For those with dead phone batteries, charge up in Ah Xian's stream.]
[I don't get it?]
[What's not to get? The electricity Ah Xian's generating today could power a small town for a night, right?]
[Lol.]
Bronya: "I don't want to argue with you right now."
Seele: "Hmph, don't wanna argue? Then come with me. Wildfire's boss definitely has a lot of questions for you."
Hearing this, March 7th caught the key phrase.
"Wildfire? You're with Wildfire?!"
Seele turned her head, noticing three unfamiliar faces.
Their clothes and demeanor didn't scream lower district, so she didn't give them much of a warm look.
"Who are you?"
① "Nameless gold-star salesperson."
② "Suspects Bronya wants to arrest."
③ "We're Wildfire's honored guests."
"Y'all know I'm picking two."
Seele paused, then let out a faint smile.
"Suspects? So, her enemies, huh?
I don't have any love for you surface folks, but if you made her eat dirt, I'm inclined to side with you."
Bronya: "…"
March 7th scratched her head, unsure how to respond.
Stelle: "To business—we're not from this world."
Seele frowned: "What's that mean?"
Stelle: "Exactly what it sounds like. Because of the Fragmentum disaster, we're trapped here.
Heard of a Stellaron? That's the source of the Fragmentum.
Only by resolving it can we leave this world.
So, we need the locals' help and cooperation to find the Stellaron."
Seele thought for a moment, still harboring some suspicion.
But considering this was the underground, she didn't see why they'd need to lie.
The lower district could barely feed itself—what profit was there to gain?
"I don't know what a Stellaron is. If you want to meet the boss, come with this missy to the mining area entrance to find me.
But let me be clear—Wildfire's got its own problems to deal with.
If you guys start fighting, I won't even glance your way. I'm out."
With that, Seele hefted her scythe and left.