As Orion approached, he paused, his gaze fixed on the figures ahead.
It was indeed Seele.
She was surrounded by three or four people in crisp uniforms.
They held weapons, wore cold helmets, and spoke with the arrogance typical of the Upper District.
The Silvermane Guards, symbols of order in the Lower District, though their symbolic meaning outweighed their practical use, their appearance always meant trouble.
Why were they here?
And why were they surrounding Seele?
Orion hid behind a pile of trash, pricking up his ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.
A Guard, holding a piece of paper, handed it to Seele, a hint of disgust in his tone, and pointed at the portrait on it:
"We're talking about these three kids, do you know them?"
Through a gap in the trash pile, Orion strained to see the paper in the Guard's hand.
On it were three blurry faces, but he recognized the outlines—it was Hu Zi and his gang!
Seele lowered her head, her voice very small: "I know them… we've met."
Another Guard chimed in: "Heh, then do you know that all three of them are dead?"
"Dead?" Seele looked surprised, "I didn't know… but people dying is normal, it happens every day in the Lower District…"
"Alright, stop wasting time." The leading Guard clearly didn't want to waste time, "Do you know who did that to them? Or, did you see anyone suspicious?"
Orion heard this and remained unhurried.
Although the Silvermane Guards had discovered the deaths of the three, it seemed they couldn't even be bothered to ask their names, merely holding up portraits and asking questions perfunctorily, as a routine matter.
Sure enough, no one cared if a vagrant died.
"I don't know anything… I haven't seen those guys in days."
Seele's voice trembled slightly, but she looked very composed.
The Guard scrutinized her: "Are you sure? I heard you weren't on good terms with those kids? Didn't they steal your things and beat you up before?"
Orion's heart sank.
The Silvermane Guards actually knew about Seele and Hu Zi's past conflict?
Seele was silent for a few seconds before she said softly:
"Yes… they stole my things and beat me. But that was all in the past."
"This time, I really don't know anything."
Orion breathed a sigh of relief.
Seele truly hadn't betrayed him.
She clearly saw it, yet she claimed ignorance.
"Don't know anything? Fine then… but to strike with such force, it definitely isn't something a little kid like you could do."
The Guard glanced at Seele's slender frame, speaking contemptuously.
"Forget it, asking her is useless." The leading Guard waved his hand, saying perfunctorily, "Just a few vagrants, dead is dead. Report it later, and let the cleaners handle it."
Orion hid in the shadows, his heart unperturbed.
This was the Lower District.
Lives as cheap as roadside weeds; when you died, no one cared who you were.
"Alright, disperse, disperse."
"This place is filthy, let's go quickly."
"Go, go, go."
Orion listened as the sound of their boots on the ground gradually faded away.
He waited patiently.
Until the scrap collection point returned to dead silence, with only the wind rustling the trash.
After confirming it was safe, Orion finally emerged.
Seele was still standing in place, her body somewhat stiff.
"Seele."
Hearing Orion's voice, Seele abruptly turned her head, a trace of fear still lingering in her eyes.
When she saw it was Orion, her entire body seemed to lose all strength, her shoulders slumping instantly.
"Orion…"
Orion walked up to Seele, looking at her pale little face, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
He only then realized how scared she had been.
"You… heard everything just now?" Seele asked softly.
Orion nodded.
Seele lowered her eyes, kicking at the small stones at her feet.
"They asked me if I saw who it was… I didn't say."
She didn't seek credit, merely stating it calmly.
"Thank you."
Orion looked at her, speaking seriously.
Seele looked up at him, her eyes complex, and said nothing.
The smell of garbage and refuse in the alley mingled, making it very unpleasant to breathe.
Orion remembered the items in his arms.
Warm food.
He pulled out the remaining Belobog sausage and grilled skewers from his embrace, offering them to Seele.
"Seele, here."
Seele froze.
She looked at the warm, enticingly meaty food in Orion's hand, then at him, her eyes full of confusion.
"Where did you get these?"
"Warm… and meat! Did you buy them?!"
In this dreadful place, getting warm, intact meat was simply a fantasy.
Orion casually explained: "Oh, I ran into that snack stall owner just now, he took pity on me and gave them to me."
Seele's confusion deepened.
She knew the owner's character; he was fiercer than a wild dog, how could he be so kind?
Seele eyed Orion suspiciously, even wanting to ask him why the Silvermane Guards said those three guys were all dead?
Clearly, one of them had only been unconscious before.
But the words caught in her throat, and she swallowed them back.
Orion sensed her suspicion but didn't explain further, simply stuffing the food into her hands:
"Don't worry about it, just eat, you must be starving."
Seele took the food; it felt warm in her hands.
She didn't press further; she was indeed starving.
She found a relatively clean spot to sit down and began nibbling in small bites, her eyes still occasionally glancing at Orion.
Orion also sat down, watching Seele eat.
"In Rivet Town, the Fragmentum monsters are increasing." Seele chatted idly while eating, "You can't go outside the town at all, and there's less and less junk to find inside."
"Yes."
Orion responded.
"I always feel like we can't keep living like this…"
Seele's voice dropped, "Living like cockroaches every day, not knowing when we'll die."
Orion looked at Seele, deeply empathizing.
In his previous life, he was an ordinary office worker; in this life, he transmigrated, almost starved to death, and then was forced to kill.
He didn't want to live this kind of trashy life for another day.
Before, he just wanted to fill his stomach.
But now he had the system and the Word Devouring.
He didn't just want to live; he wanted to climb out, to the Upper District, to a wider world.
After finishing his food, he looked at Seele with determined eyes:
"Seele, I've decided, I'm going to the Upper District."
Seele heard this, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
She abruptly looked up, her eyes wide, forgetting to chew the sausage in her hand.
"What did you say? Go to the Upper District?!"
She looked at Orion like he was crazy, "Are you kidding! How could people like us possibly go to a place like that?!"
The Upper District, that was another world.
Clean streets, ample food, warm houses, and those well-dressed, high-and-mighty people.
It was difficult for people from the Lower District to even catch a glimpse of the Upper District, let alone cross over.
Orion remained unshaken, saying calmly:
"There will always be a way… I don't want to rot here my whole life. I want to earn money, then find a way to go to the Upper District."
He began to mentally calculate his entries; Rampage was too dangerous, one outburst would leave him exhausted for at least a full day, so he couldn't use it casually.
Word Devouring required killing people or monsters to have a chance to trigger, and a six-year-old child like him couldn't possibly kill Fragmentum creatures, while killing people was easy to expose, and he couldn't beat adults.
It seemed he could only rely on Eloquent Speech as an auxiliary, to find a way to earn some money in the Lower District first, and accumulate resources.
Seele looked at Orion's serious expression; although she found it incredible, she still saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before—a kind of hope she dared not touch.
She fell silent, lowering her head to continue gnawing on the sausage.
She didn't know why Orion had suddenly become like this.
Nor did she know what kind of seed Orion's words had already planted in her heart.
After Seele finished the last bit of food, Orion stood up.
"I'm leaving now."
Seele also stood up. She looked at Orion, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only nodded gently.
"Mm."
Orion said no more, turning and walking towards the town.
Seele stood in place, watching Orion's back disappear between the buildings.
She looked down at her empty hands again, as if she could still feel the lingering warmth of the food.
Go to the Upper District?
That place… could one really go there?
A voice in her heart asked.