Without making a sound, she quietly walked into the dim corridor, then the girl could no longer hold back and ran without knowing the way.
Praying not to encounter anyone, the girl, who was only the size of a human infant, ran through the empty corridor and arrived, breathless, at a small ventilation shaft.
She crawled through the shaky grate, scurrying like a mouse through the narrow, tiny hole.
Then she saw light.
A dazzling shard of light, which could be described as fierce, something she had never seen before.
The girl felt her whole body warm up, and with the first feeling of being saved, she flew towards the outside world.
"—"
Then, she was betrayed.
The place she flew out to was neither a warm world nor a beautiful blue sky.
Instead, it was an underground city with no sky, covered by multiple layers of thick cells.
Indeed, the girl's world had become vast.
It had simply transformed from a tiny room into a massive hell.
"Over there! Catch her!"
The guards' shouts came, and sharp blades extended into the ventilation ducts, chasing her relentlessly from behind.
The girl sat blankly at the duct opening, giving up all struggle, thinking that she would probably become a Wastrel too.
Just then, a clear set of footsteps sounded in her ears.
Immediately after, a pair of dark yet incredibly deep eyes suddenly lowered and appeared before her, meeting her gaze.
Then, a gentle and pleasant voice, completely different from those "adults," sounded in her ear.
"This shitty place is really chaotic. I finally found you. Hmm, although you're a bit small, these eyes are definitely yours."
The girl opened her mouth.
At a moment when she should have felt fear, she instead felt an unprecedented warmth from this "adult" before her.
Subconsciously, she reached out her slender and dirty hands.
"Uh... is she treating me as her dad? I've never done this before, but... it's quite interesting."
With a hint of a smile, the other person, without any disdain, gently picked up the mud-covered girl and held her in his arms.
As the girl's small body leaned against his strong, warm chest, the tears that had long since dried unknowingly began to flow again, and a burning emotion she couldn't comprehend flooded her heart.
Soon, the ferocious-looking guards surrounded them.
Their greedy and cruel eyes were exactly the same as the eyes that had looked at the children taken out of the room before.
The girl subconsciously clutched his sleeve.
But when she saw the unchanging, relaxed smile at the corner of his mouth, her tense body involuntarily relaxed, and she even mimicked his expression, lightly curving her own lips upwards.
"It seems this [Parts Yard] has had a big impact on you."
Rhode held the frail girl and said softly, "However, it's ultimately because of them that you've lived until now. So, to show gratitude..."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"—I'll kill them all and turn them into Shadow Soldiers."
"Pride, have fun~"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pride's figure slowly emerged from the shadow behind Rhode.
She surveyed the astonished guards around them, a sadistic smile gracing her beautiful face, and in her eyes, which looked down on all living beings, was undisguised arrogance and disdain.
"Insects, you dare to wield weapons against your master?"
The next second, her figure vanished from its spot.
The lead guard captain's pupils constricted. He only felt a blur before his eyes, and a fair fist already occupied his entire vision.
Pfft—!!!
There was no crisp sound of bones breaking, nor any screams.
The guard captain's head, like a watermelon smashed by a heavy hammer, instantly exploded into a shower of flesh and bone fragments!
Crimson liquid, mixed with white brain matter, rained down like a grand fireworks display, drenching his companions behind him who had just reacted.
"A monster!"
The surviving guards shrieked, turning to flee.
Pride merely sneered, transforming her right palm into a claw and gently pressing it against the cold ground.
"Shatter."
The surviving guards looked down in horror, finding the flagstones beneath their feet cracking like a spiderweb.
Then, with a deafening crash, the surrounding dungeon instantly collapsed.
Miserable screams rose and fell.
Rhode, holding the petite girl in his arms, walked leisurely through the intricate corridors of the dungeon, as if strolling in his own backyard.
Almost every living creature in sight became a casualty of Pride's fists.
Later, even the impatient Enwei was released by Rhode, laughing maniacally as she joined the one-sided slaughter.
Even if there were skilled fighters in this hell, they were at most LV3 and had their abilities sealed.
Before the two Shadow Soldiers, they were no different from weeds that could be easily cut by the roadside.
Blood gathered into streams, flowing with the undulations of the terrain, eventually cascading from the uneven edges of the cells, forming a shocking crimson waterfall.
A Fairy Girl, scrambling for an escape route, suddenly stumbled out from a nearby corner.
The murderous Pride instinctively prepared to strike, her mountain-shattering fist already poised.
The Fairy Girl felt the destructive aura, her soul scattered in fear, and she desperately squeezed her eyes shut.
"Stop."
A calm syllable rang out.
Boom!!!
The destructive punch grazed the Fairy Girl's temple, explosively shattering the wall behind her, leaving a terrifying hole that pierced through more than a dozen walls.
Rubble and dust scattered everywhere.
"Your name," Rhode's voice was devoid of emotion.
The Fairy Girl seemed to still be reeling from her narrow escape from death; she slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the collapsed wall, her legs trembling like a sieve.
Pride snorted in displeasure, her disdainful gaze like that of someone looking at a bug that could be crushed at any moment.
"Don't you even know how to thank my Lord for his mercy?"
This sound finally brought the Fairy Girl back to her senses.
Her face pale, she turned to Rhode.
It was this seemingly young boy who had instigated the most vicious massacre in the history of the entire City of Sinners.
Just now, in less than twenty minutes, the two monstrous girls behind him had slaughtered at least a thousand people!
"...I, I thank you for sparing my life. My name is Liu Lu."
The girl in Rhode's arms had been silently observing everything from beginning to end.
Thank you... mercy... life... name...
The girl, who had not received a good education and lacked good conversational skills, constantly pricked up her ears, listening to the dialogue and turning these sounds into her nourishment.
First came language, then understanding, then vocalization and pronunciation.
The girl rapidly expanded her functions, gradually beginning to understand this world.
Rhode's gaze swept over the girl's clean clothes, realizing that she was the fairy who, in the original timeline, would save Laila and eventually send her out of this hell.
He looked at her deeply and spoke.
"Take me to your god behind you."
"Eh?"
Even facing the murderous "villain," the Fairy Girl hesitated at this moment.
Perhaps she didn't want her goddess to be harmed.
Rhode saw through her thoughts, a playful smile playing on his lips.
"Interesting. In this hell, which should be full of betrayal and exploitation, you've been nurtured into someone like this. You've been very well protected."
"...."
"Don't worry, I most likely won't harm her. But if you don't lead the way..."
Rhode's tone suddenly turned cold, devoid of any emotion.
"Next, in this indiscriminate slaughter, don't blame me if I casually 'clean up' her as well."
"!!!"
Finally, Liu Lu gritted her teeth and, with no other choice, led Rhode to a secluded, dark, small settlement.
"Liu Lu, why did you bring an outsider back?"
"Wait, have you betrayed us?!"
Facing the angry glares of the guard girls, Liu Lu's eyes were red, tears welling up, but she couldn't explain a single word.
Just as the angry girls were about to rush forward, a gentle and helpless sigh drifted from deep within the settlement.
"Step back."
A graceful goddess slowly emerged.
Her hair was half as white as snow and half as black as night, exuding a cool and somber aura.
"Oh, person shrouded in chaos, this dystopia is not your home."
Rhode surveyed the goddess before him.
"I am not the only one who doesn't belong in this place."
The goddess silently glanced at the girl who was quietly peeking out from Rhode's arms, curiously observing her surroundings. After a moment of silence, she sighed.
"My name is Hela. What is yours?"
"Rhode."
"...Rhode, let's go inside and talk."
Rhode had Pride and Enwei guard the door, and under the wary gazes of the girls, he calmly and naturally followed Hela into their stronghold.
The so-called reception room was merely a slightly larger basement.
Hela poured Rhode a glass of water.
"I apologize, since you arrived so suddenly, I have nothing to offer you."
"This is plain boiled water, which is considered clean in this place."
Rhode took the glass, took a large gulp indifferently, then casually wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and handed the cup to the girl in his arms.
The girl, mimicking him, held the cup with both hands and carefully took a sip.
Instantly, her eyes lit up, as if she had tasted the most delicious nectar in the world. She then gulped down the rest of the water, and finally, she also mimicked him by wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
Hela watched this scene with a gentle smile and pity.
Suddenly, the girl's gaze was drawn to something in the corner.
Rhode followed her gaze.
It was a small bookshelf, on which lay several well-worn books.
Rhode understood the longing in her eyes and turned to Hela: "Is it okay?"
"Yes," Hela nodded and said to Liu Lu beside her, "Liu Lu, please take this child to read for a while, and teach her to speak and read."
"...Y-yes!"
Although the girl was tempted, she still subconsciously looked up at Rhode, seeking his permission.
She remembered that the two very powerful women would also do this before taking action.
Rhode smiled and patted her head.
"Go on."
With permission, the girl happily jumped out of Rhode's arms and, under Liu Lu's careful guidance, walked to the bookshelf.
Soon, the sound of Liu Lu's soft teaching and the girl's babbling filled the basement.
Rhode toyed with the empty water glass, looking at the goddess before him.
"Although I am not a god, I can see that those children at the entrance are not native sinners of Bergen?"
Hela nodded gently, her gaze soft as she looked at the girl not far away, who could already speak complete short sentences.
"They are all like her, born in this hell."
Whether their parents were sinners is completely unclear, and whether they were united by love or purely by self-interest is also unknown.
The only certainty is that they were all born secretly, evading the guards, mostly in dirty, unsanitary places (toilets) that had nothing to do with hygiene.
Their parents had already died before raising, exploiting, or selling them, leaving nothing behind.
The girl's experience is by no means an isolated case, but a boring reality that occurs every moment in this city.
Crying infants, making piercing noises, were lucky enough to be discovered by her subordinates and brought back.
"If they're unlucky, they'll be sent to the [Parts Yard]."
To put it bluntly, it's organ trafficking.
Dismantling living human bodies like machines, breaking them down into individual "parts."
Selling them through illicit channels to countries, magicians, and sorcerers conducting human experiments and strange rituals.
This is a valuable source of income for Bergen, the City of Sinners, which is completely isolated from the outside world.
To utilize these sinners more effectively.
Even innocent infants, if they are in the City of Sinners, Bergen, cannot have human rights and dignity.
Rhode's brows furrowed slightly.
Hela tilted her head, asking curiously.
"Do you pity them?"
Rhode pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
"If the crimes they committed were indeed unforgivable, then I might even adopt such efficient methods of utilization."
His tone shifted abruptly, a chilling glint in his eyes.
"But... I do not condone including these ignorant children in this category."
Hela looked thoughtful.
"Do you think the parents' sins have nothing to do with the children?"
"No."
Rhode denied Hela's statement.
"To have these children inherit the sins of their elders to atone, at the very least, they should understand what sins they are inheriting, remember history, understand reason, and reflect."
He scoffed.
"In the current situation, it's not so much a matter of shared guilt as it is purely an excuse to satisfy personal desires, completely unrelated to atonement."
Hela fell silent for a long time after hearing this, finally sighing.
"You have a point... My current actions are nothing more than hypocrisy."
"However, for most of the gods here, as long as this place is a prison where no one can escape, and it can be transformed into a pleasant hell, anything is fine."
"We have all signed contracts with the gods scattered in the lower realm."
"It doesn't matter in the corners of the Lower Realm, it will definitely not cause trouble, and they even hope that we can create an 'Anti-Utopia'."
A hint of disgust flashed in Rhode's eyes.
"Isn't this the same as those kind-hearted lords in the human world who couldn't bear to see the poor suffer, so they directly drove all the poor out of the city and gathered them in one place?"
If they were heinous villains, they should be killed. If they were serving a fixed term, they should be re-educated before being released back into society to atone for their sins.
What kind of explanation is it to just throw everyone in here and leave them to die?
Hela gave a wry smile.
"In this place, you are the first person to speak to a god like that, but I can't refute it either…."
Then, she propped her chin, and a curious light flickered in her black and white eyes.
"You seem to have other ideas about this place?"
Rhode originally didn't intend to meddle. Even if it was due to his disgust for these evil gods playing with humans like chess pieces, at most he would only launch a great purge to directly wipe the entire City of Sinners from this world.
But…
"S-rank Wish has been issued."
"Content: Transform the City of Sinners."
"Reward: Special reward, and corresponding Wish Points based on the effect."
This was the first time he had seen an S-rank Wish again, besides the system critical hit!
This naturally made Rhode very tempted.
However, to completely transform this place, it would take a very long time.
He couldn't really stay here for ten years, so he had to find an agent.
This was also why Rhode asked Liu Lu to bring him to see the goddess behind the scenes.
Rhode snapped his fingers, and a subsidiary contract appeared in Hela's mind out of thin air.
Meeting her complex gaze, which held shock, excitement, and even ecstasy, Rhode said in a declarative tone, indifferently,
"Even sinners should not be playthings for gods to amuse themselves with. Maintaining basic order in the human world should be by the rule of law, never divine will. If it were Astrea, she would definitely say so."