The next day, Gawain entrusted Via to Merlin and went to work alone.
According to him, he was going to a tavern today to carry corpses, a job he did once a week in exchange for an energy bar.
The energy bar was barely enough to keep the siblings from starving, but they would never be full.
At dusk, Gawain limped back from the alley corner, two energy bars in his arms, and despite being badly beaten, a happy smile still showed on his face.
The boy timidly handed over one of the energy bars: "Merlin, if you don't mind, you can have some of this."
Seeing the boy's bruised face, and despite his dirty clothes, he had specifically washed his hands and held the cheap energy bar. Merlin was silent for a moment before taking the energy bar: "Thank you."
Seeing him accept the energy bar, Gawain smiled happily.
"How old are you and your sister this year?" Merlin took a bite of the energy bar, breaking the silence and asking.
"I'm twelve, and my sister is eight."
Gawain broke the energy bar, one section long, one short, then handed the longer section to his sister, ruffling her hair: "Eat quickly, Via."
Via obediently took the energy bar, still silent, swallowing it in large gulps.
"She doesn't speak?" Merlin was a little curious. During the day, Via would curl up in the corner, occasionally stealing glances at him, but she never answered anything he asked.
"Hmm, Via couldn't speak when I picked her up," Gawain said, stroking her dry, yellow hair.
"Picked her up? You're not biological siblings?"
This time, it was Merlin' turn to be shocked.
"Hehe, actually no, Mr. Merlin."
Gawain shyly touched his nose, looking at Via with doting eyes, and softly recounted the story.
In fact, Gawain and Via had no blood relation.
In the winter of Gawain's eighth year, gang wars broke out in the lower hive, and scavengers became the most sought-after 'commodity,' sent in truckloads to the warring gangs.
As for what corpses could be used for, Gawain had seen it long ago.
At that time, Gawain, who had been hungry for eight days, finally couldn't bear it anymore; he had to go out and find food.
Otherwise, the severe winter, coupled with hunger, would be enough to kill him.
Gawain ventured to the industrial zone, hoping to rummage for some valuable trash to exchange for enough supplies to fill his stomach.
If he was lucky, finding two pieces of clothing would be even better.
The clothes on eight-year-old Gawain were rags he had picked up long ago, and after so many years, they were almost rotted away, completely unable to block the cold air of winter.
"I remember very clearly, that day I searched for a long time, from day to night." Gawain lowered his head, stroking his cute sister in his arms, a warm smile on his face: "Suddenly, a baby's cry sounded, and I found Via there."
"She was so small, curled up in a snowdrift, her whole face frozen blue."
"Many people froze to death that year, and logically, a baby couldn't have survived, but Via was really tenacious; she lived."
"I believe this is a miracle bestowed by the Emperor!"
Gawain gently hugged Via, a bright smile on his face, and scratched his head: "Merlin, am I talking too much? Sorry, I just suddenly felt like confiding."
"No, you are great, Gawain."
After hearing the siblings' story, Merlin felt genuine admiration.
An eight-year-old child, with a non-biological sister, had struggled through eight years in the lower hive. How many difficulties must he have encountered?
"Hehe, not really, Merlin." Gawain, praised, shyly touched his nose: "I just feel that Via being able to survive must be a gift from the God-Emperor, a gift he bestowed upon me."
That night, Gawain talked a lot about his and his sister's story.
One could tell that he truly loved his sister and always had the Emperor on his lips.
Late at night, Gawain hugged his sister, curled up in the alley corner, covered with a few pieces of cardboard, and fell into a deep sleep.
The siblings, nestled together in their dreams, had a slight smile on their lips, seemingly having a sweet dream.
Merlin, curled up in the corner, always felt as if he had overlooked something, but he couldn't recall what it was.
Never mind, it shouldn't be anything important.
He drifted off to sleep.
In the depths of his mind, he seemed to see that pale and cold Sun again.
"8!"
A number resonated in his heart.
It was the third day; it was time to leave.
Although their time together was short, Merlin felt great sympathy for the siblings.
But he knew very well that he was not capable of taking them to the middle-hive, and even if he used the remaining gold to buy a spot, he would still need to wait at least three more days.
The problem was that the cult would not give him that much time. Merlin had to go to the middle-hive as soon as possible to seek the power to break the situation.
"I'm leaving."
Merlin stretched his stiff body and turned to look at the siblings in the corner.
"Thank you, Merlin."
Gawain solemnly led his sister and bowed deeply to him: "In the future, we will definitely repay your kindness."
"A parting gift, I hope you two can protect yourselves well." After much hesitation, Merlin handed them the old-fashioned laser gun and instructed: "This gun has aiming issues, so it must be used at close range. For a while, try not to go to crowded places, understand?"
This was all he could do for the poor siblings.
The rest was up to them.
Merlin put on his black robe again and, after bidding farewell to the siblings, left the alley directly.
"May the Emperor bless you, Merlin!"
From behind, Gawain's tender and sincere blessing could be heard.
Emperor bless?
Merlin couldn't help but smile at the thought.
If the Emperor were to awaken, his first action would probably be to overthrow the Ecclesiarchy.
But he also sent a blessing to the siblings in his heart: May the Emperor bless you.
"The situation seems to be even more tense."
As soon as he stepped into the black market, Merlin noticed a tense atmosphere in the air.
In the past, even if there were few people in the black market, it was never this deserted. Looking around, there were hardly any stalls, only a few scattered figures.
The cult's development seemed faster than imagined. Merlin took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
He knocked on the iron door, and it was still the same bald man as last time, who gestured for him to go upstairs.
Jackal had his legs propped on the table, a cheap cigarette dangling from his mouth, and glanced at Merlin who had just come up: "Too slow."
"I was slightly delayed on the way."
Merlin removed his hood, hesitated for a moment, then asked: "When I came, I noticed there were very few people in the black market. What happened?"
"Heh, what else could it be?"
Jackal lowered his gaze and sneered: "Those scumbags from the Iron Crows gang are supposedly going to war with other districts."
Indeed, his suspicions were confirmed.
Emrys sighed inwardly; the cult, disguised as a gang, had begun to rapidly expand.
In other words, he didn't have much time left!
"I got you what you wanted."
Jackal put his legs down and pulled out a large bag from underneath.
Thump!
From the sound, it was clear that the contents were not light, making the table groan.
Then, Jackal unzipped it and laid out the items one by one until they filled the entire table, then he stopped.
"A boltgun, Astra Militarum standard issue. It's a bit old, but trust me, it's worth owning!"
"Two frag grenades, good stuff I scrounged up, with a ten-meter kill radius!"
"Three high-concentration compressed power cells. These are, among these things, the cheapest and easiest to get."
"Ten nutrient paste tubes, twenty energy bars!"
"And of course, the most important thing: a standard carapace armor. Although it lacks ballistic plates and has some bullet marks, it's absolutely no problem for stopping ordinary bullets!"
Merlin stared at the items on the table, dumbfounded and speechless with shock.
These were things a lower hive could get?!
What's a surprise? This is a surprise!