Chapter 341: Why Does This Candy Look So Familiar?
A leisurely day slipped by in the blink of an eye.
For once, Talulah and Alina slept peacefully under Steven's roof.
Compared to the Infected camp—filthy, chaotic, and loud—the Minecrafter little wooden cabin might as well have been a luxury villa.
Clean beds, plenty of food, and, most importantly, Steven himself—With him nearby, they felt a sense of safety they could never find anywhere else.
So it was no surprise that, for the first time in a long while, both girls slept soundly until the sun was already high in the sky the next day.
Steven, surprisingly, hadn't pushed them at all.
No wild nighttime "double flights of fancy" or anything like that.
One look at the pair and it was obvious—they were exhausted. And while Steven could be a beast, he wasn't the type to torment them when they were on the verge of collapse.
Instead, before falling asleep, Talulah had spent a long while discussing plans with him: the future direction of the Reunion Movement, her friend's suggestion of heading south into Ursus to find land where the Infected could survive, and most importantly—the need to seize a mobile city.
Because in this world, plagued by Catastrophes, survival without a mobile city was nothing but a dream. Without one, the Infected could only leave their fates to the whims of the disasters. To speak of growth or stability under those conditions was laughable.
Steven hadn't commented much. What could he say? It all sounded straightforward enough, but in truth it was one of the hardest things imaginable.
Taking a mobile city would be the same as openly raising the banner of rebellion. From then on, their enemies wouldn't just be the Infected patrol squads. They would be facing the true might of the Ursus government.
And frankly, he didn't have much faith in the Infected on their own. If the guerrillas joined them, maybe there was a sliver of possibility.
Talulah understood that as well. Which was why her next step—beyond formally establishing Reunion—was to persuade Patriot and his guerrillas to join forces with her.
That was something he couldn't help with. She was to be Reunion's leader; if others were to follow, it would be because of her charisma, not his influence. And convincing Patriot was hardly going to be easy.
So when Steven escorted them back to the Infected camp, Talulah immediately disappeared into the crowd, no doubt heading straight for that towering Wendigo.
Alina, on the other hand, slipped back into her usual rhythm. She cleared out a space in the camp and began receiving the children brought by their parents for lessons.
Many had no parents left at all—orphans, casualties of this merciless land—making them all the more reluctant to waste the rare chance to study.
But compared to before, Alina's humble little classroom had changed.
The difference lay in the presence of a strange "big brother" at her side—and in the fact that the cramped, rickety desks and stools were gone, replaced entirely with brand-new ones.
Even the precious books Alina had once guarded so carefully were now laid out on the desks for the children to flip through at will.
Steven had no intention of denying her this joy. Unlike Talulah's grand ambitions of rebellion, Alina's dream of teaching was something pure, something he felt compelled to support.
If he didn't lend a hand here, he'd truly feel guilty.
So he quietly prepared a proper classroom space for her and the children. And once everything was in place, he simply sat off to the side, watching as Alina began her modest little lesson.
There wasn't anything resembling a professional education. Alina was simply teaching the children how to read and write—lessons no more advanced than those of a small primary school, or even a kindergarten.
But even so, she taught with care and detail, and the children, in turn, were astonishingly earnest.
Perhaps it was because these things were so rare, so difficult to obtain, that they treasured them all the more.
Steven thought back to his own childhood and came to a conclusion.
There was no way he could have been as focused or determined as these children.
Of course, that didn't mean they weren't mischievous.
While class was in session, they were the picture of diligence. But the moment Alina told them to go play, they instantly reverted to what they truly were—children, lively and bursting with energy.
"Big brother… are you Teacher Alina's boyfriend?"
The question came in a tiny voice.
A little Ursus girl with round, fluffy bear ears tugged on the Minecrafter sleeve, mustering her courage to peek up at him as she asked.
Alina, after all, wasn't without admirers among the Infected. She was beautiful, yes, but more than that, her gentle, kind nature made her easy to love. It wasn't uncommon for boys around her age to hover nearby, watching her lessons with an infatuated gaze.
But she always dealt with them gently, asking them to leave so as not to disturb the children.
Steven, however, was the exception. Not only was he allowed to stay, but Alina even greeted him with soft smiles several times.
The children might not understand adult subtleties, but they weren't blind.
This mysterious "big brother" was clearly special.
Steven chuckled, crouching down so his eyes were level with the girl's.
He reached out and pinched her pale cheek—far too thin and sallow for a child her age, a cruel mark of malnutrition. Then he patted her head and replied softly:
"Mm, little one, don't worry yourself about questions like that. Put those thoughts into your studies instead, alright?"
But perhaps feeling that such a dry reminder was too plain, Steven reached into his pack and pulled out several pieces of candy. Waving them in the air, he beckoned to the children who had been stealing curious glances at him all this time.
The effect was immediate. After all, candy was irresistible to children.
Those who had been holding back in fear or shyness instantly surged toward him, though not in a chaotic rush. One by one, they lined up, tiny hands stretched out obediently, waiting for him to place a sweet into each palm.
Steven blinked, surprised.
He had half-expected a chaotic scramble, the candy to be snatched from his hands in seconds. Instead, he could only sigh, a wry smile tugging at his lips as he silently passed out the treats.
These children were far more sensible than he had imagined.
And that sensibility was not a blessing—it was a mark of the cruelty of this world.
If they had been allowed to be spoiled, to be willful, perhaps they wouldn't have survived long enough to stand here now.
With a quiet sigh, Steven handed out the last of the candies. Just like that, the distance between him and the children melted away.
There was nothing quite as effective as candy when it came to winning the hearts of Infected children. As they savored the sweetness, their wariness faded, replaced by warm, trusting smiles.
"This candy… it tastes just like the ones FrostNova gave us before!"
The innocent remark slipped from somewhere in the group—and Steven's face froze.
Alina had heard it too. But instead of asking questions, she only smiled softly, casting him a knowing glance before redirecting the children back toward their books.
"I'll… go take a walk. I'll pick you up this evening."
Steven forced a strained smile, making an excuse to escape.
He hadn't expected Yelena to have already shared the sweets with these kids. Which meant his little gift to her had been exposed.
Not that it was shameful—but with Alina hearing it, things could get… awkward.
Better to slip away than to sit through a kindergarten lecture while feeling cornered.
Alina simply nodded gently, her smile unchanged, and watched him go until he was out of sight.
. . .
The Infected camp, truthfully, had nothing enjoyable to offer. Dirt, chaos, despair—that was all. The place was suffused with the sounds of suffering, the groans of people weighed down by pain and hopelessness.
It reminded Steven of a hospital ward full of terminal patients. The air itself grew heavy just from listening.
And he wasn't the kind of pervert who enjoyed basking in human misery. There was no way he could find "fun" in a place like this.
But seeing the Infected like this—truly seeing their wretched conditions, their struggle just to keep living—he finally understood why Rhodes Island, why Talulah, were so desperate to act on their behalf.
He quickened his pace, slipping out of the camp entirely. The atmosphere was suffocating, a weight of despair no sane person would willingly linger in.
Only once he reached the guerrilla camp did things feel lighter. Compared to those lost Infected with no future in sight, the guerrillas carried themselves differently.
They had a purpose. They had direction. Soldiers didn't need to know the grand plan—only to follow their beacon, Patriot, and strike at their oppressors. Simple, perhaps, but clarity itself was its own strength.
And that, Steven realized, was the true reason Talulah dreamed of creating her so-called Reunion Movement.
To live with a purpose—to fight for a goal—was a life utterly unlike waiting in despair for death to arrive.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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