"Please, you three, sit down first."
Inside the clinic, Natasha forced out a smile, though it looked somewhat strained. "Aside from Oleg who will be coming later, all the remaining members of Wildfire are here."
Stelle was taken aback for a moment. She looked towards the figures lying on the sickbeds inside the clinic, somewhat unable to believe it. "Them?"
"Hmm, that's right. After all, people are still flesh and blood. Using physical force to oppose the Automaton soldiers inevitably means having to pay some price." Natasha's expression turned gloomy. "This is also why, in the face of those vagrants' atrocities, there are always people who hesitate."
"Not everyone can resolve to use their lives to safeguard peace."
Stelle walked a circle between the sickbeds. Most people here had suffered rather serious injuries. She even saw Luka; this guy's mechanical arm was mostly destroyed, looking like he had been through a rather fierce battle.
Wait... Who is that?
Stelle walked forward two steps. She saw that on the sickbed by the window, a silver-haired youth wearing black stockings was sitting cross-legged. Except for the eyes not quite matching the impression in her mind, everything else was exactly like Bronya's appearance.
Why would she appear in the lower city? Does Cocolia know?
"Tch... Is there something on my face? Staring at people like that is very rude." Bronya said annoyedly.
Stelle: ... It gives off Seele's feeling.
"Apologies, I've previously met a lady with a very similar hairstyle to yours, so I took a few extra looks." Stelle smiled and said.
"A lady with a similar hairstyle...?" Bronya glanced at her own twin-drill hairstyle, waved her hand, "Must be a blonde beauty, with an icy-cold expression, right? That's my mom."
"But I still can't understand her aesthetic sense. Wouldn't a single ponytail be much better? Simple, neat, and doesn't require maintenance."
Bronya jumped off the bed and very familiarly patted Stelle's shoulder. "Heard Nat mention you guys yesterday. Thanks."
"Stelle, this is Bronya. Strictly speaking, she is not a resident of the lower city. She is friends with Seele. She has been staying in the lower city these days and has helped us a lot." Natasha introduced her to the three of them.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Stelle. This is." Stelle proactively extended her hand, just about to introduce her two companions to Bronya, when the latter waved her hand and said, "Know them. Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, right?"
"You recognize us?" This time it was Stelle's turn to be surprised.
"Of course. My mother made me a little gadget. You can think of it as a miniature military radio, allows for remote communication. Earlier today, I knew you were coming."
"Miniature military radio?" Stelle was stunned for a moment. "Are you talking about a mobile phone?"
"mobile... horn? What kind of animal is that?" Bronya was stunned for a moment and asked.
The Express trio: ...
Stelle silently covered her face. The contrast between this Bronya and the elegant, civilized young lady from her impression was simply too great, difficult to stomach.
But it can be understood. This version's Cocolia isn't playing the Guardian role, so there's no reason to set so many rules and restrictions for Bronya.
"It's the miniature military radio you mentioned." Stelle took out her own phone and handed it to Bronya. "Look, it can not only be used to make calls, but also play games, WeChat... cough cough text messaging, watch movies, and things like that."
Bronya stroked her chin, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed, fiddled with the phone for a good long while. She clicked on the "Camera" and accidentally pressed the shutter button—
Click.
The flash turned on. Bronya immediately lightly covered her red lips, said surprisedly, "Such a small screen can actually serve the function of a video camera!"
"This is just a basic function."
"So that means... this thing is very suitable for taking sneak photos of Seele... cough cough, very suitable for traveling."
Bronya returned the phone to Stelle, her attitude towards the latter quite improved. "This thing... is it the crystallization of wisdom of technology from beyond the sky?"
"Uh... you could understand it that way too."
"Such a valuable thing, you just handed it to me like that?"
"Uh... it's not really that valuable. After all, even children from beyond the sky have one each."
Bronya was silent for a while. She felt around the pockets on her person but couldn't find anything valuable. She could only helplessly sigh, "Ah, it's a pity I've used up all the money on me these past few days. Otherwise, I'd really want to ask you to bring a few back for me. My mother should also be interested in this thing."
"Don't worry. After your world is connected, these kinds of technologies will gradually flow into Belobog."
Creeak—
Right at this moment, the clinic's back door was suddenly carefully pushed open. A figure slowly walked in, nodding slightly towards Natasha. "Nat, I'm here."
"Hmm, everyone is here. Since that's the case, let us proceed to the main topic."
Natasha lightly clapped her hands, gathering everyone's attention on herself. "You three, I deeply regret that now only three people from Wildfire can still participate in discussions. But if you still have any methods that can save the lower city, we will spare no effort."
Stelle exchanged looks with March 7th and Dan Heng respectively, and said, "We truly want to help the lower city. But the problem is the current facts are far more complex than you imagine. This morning..."
Stelle detailed a series of news including "The Supreme Guardian was assassinated", "Upper city ministers committed suicide", and so on. Upon hearing this, the three people, Natasha and the others, all showed expressions of shock. "The Supreme Guardian was assassinated? Root has gone mad to this extent?"
"Interrupting for a moment, who is this Root?"
"The leader of the Vagrants."
"Pardon my bluntness, why are you convinced that the Supreme Guardian must have been assassinated by the Vagrants?" Dan Heng suddenly raised a question. "With their strength, can they accomplish this?"
"Hard to say." Oleg's expression was grave. "I have stood on the front lines against the Vagrants. The Automaton soldiers they control include not only the common Suicide Trooper and Traffic Light, but also the higher-level Gear Wolf and Grizzly, and even Svarog follows their commands."
"... Oh right, you probably don't know what Svarog is. It's the name of an ancient robot, possessing extremely strong combat capabilities, can be called the top tier by a large margin level of combat power in the entire lower city. As long as it is present, Wildfire absolutely has no chance of defeating the Vagrants head-on."
"But someone capable of becoming the Supreme Guardian shouldn't be an ordinary person either, right?" Dan Heng said. "I witnessed that Supreme Guardian yesterday. Although the process was a bit not very proper, he definitely isn't the type of civilian personnel who only buries his head in handling work."
"Then what is your view?"
"My viewpoint is not optimistic, but it is highly likely to be the fact." Dan Heng said. "Looking at our current situation, the six of us will probably have to face the true Supreme Guardian who secretly controls both the upper and lower cities simultaneously."
"Even if we still have potential allies, we still lack personnel."
"If we truly want to change something, we need to find a way to gather more people. For example... the captured Wildfire members."