Returning to this dungeon, Stelle couldn't help but feel a pang of sentimentality. What was that saying again? Oh, right, "A new generation replaces the old."
"March, Dan Heng, how did you two end up getting caught?" Stelle asked, her face full of frustration.
The two exchanged a glance. "Obviously, we were worried about you, so we pretended to get caught," they replied.
"But Stelle, how did you get caught?"
Stelle's mind flashed back to the scene of being swatted away by "Grizzly" with a single slap. She immediately declared with righteous conviction, "Of course, I heard you guys were captured and got worried, so I let myself get caught on purpose!"
"When that Root guy was talking just now, I was ready to make a move, but seeing you both were still under their control, I held back."
March 7th: "Actually, I was about to act too, but when I saw you were under control, I held back as well."
"Where's our teamwork?" Stelle said, a dark cloud hanging over her head.
Dan Heng: "Actually, I had already come up with five escape plans, and I could've ensured your safety under the enemy's noses."
Stelle blinked, puzzled. "Then why didn't you act?"
"I saw neither of you made a move, so I held back too."
Stelle: …
"Sigh, we're all too concerned about each other, and it's ended up tying our hands." Stelle scratched her head in frustration. "How about this: from now on, if you see me in danger, don't worry about it. I can definitely handle it."
"No way that's happening!" March 7th immediately retorted, staring straight into Stelle's eyes with a serious expression. "What if something really happens to you? If caring about our companions means being distracted or hesitant, then I'd rather fight with those 'flaws' in tow."
Stelle swallowed hard. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I'm saying I can definitely handle it. We're partners—don't you trust me?"
"Trusting you and worrying about you aren't mutually exclusive, are they?"
"Oh, uh, okay, I get it."
…
While Stelle's side was filled with a warm, heartfelt moment, the Minister's side was shrouded in gloom and despair.
"It's over, it's over! I'm going to be a sinner for the ages! I'll be written into Belobog's history books, and future generations will see me as the traitor who signed a grossly unfair treaty!"
The Minister's face was ashen as he muttered incessantly, "No one will understand my predicament. They'll only remember that the negotiation team agreed to cede land, and I was the leader of that team!"
"My wife will despise me, spit on me. She'll file for divorce, and under the judge's biased gaze, I'll lose half my assets—no, probably more than half."
The Minister clutched his head in agony. "My son will definitely look down on me too. He'll use any excuse to fleece me for credits… demanding money from me!"
"My career is finished too. Tomorrow, I'll probably be sacked just for stepping into Cripper Castle with my left foot first!"
"My life is over!"
"No… I might not even make it back alive to witness this, but thinking about it that way actually makes me feel a bit better."
Thud—
As the Minister was lost in his ramblings, a low, heavy impact suddenly came from the wall behind him. Then, a young, somewhat childish voice rang out: "Shut up! If you want to die, go do it somewhere else—don't disturb Big Sis Clara's rest!"
The Minister jumped in fright, leaping to his feet. "Who's there?"
The person on the other side didn't respond.
Stelle thought for a moment and said to the Minister, "Why don't you… keep muttering a bit more?"
The Minister glanced nervously at the neighboring cell, shaking his head vigorously.
That thud just now was terrifying—like a wild beast had slammed into the wall.
Stelle patted the Minister's shoulder and sighed. "Sigh, I don't even get what you're so scared of."
"When you're old and facing divorce, losing your job, having your retirement benefits stripped, and dealing with a rebellious kid, isn't that way scarier?"
The Minister took a step back. "S-Stop talking!"
"Oh, right, almost forgot. You'll also be recorded in history. Maybe they'll even make a statue of you for future generations to whip day and night."
"No, shut up!"
"People will never know it wasn't really your fault."
"No!!!" The Minister let out a anguished wail, his voice of grief and rage nearly piercing through the entire dungeon.
"Shut up!!"
Bang!
The person in the next cell roared, and everyone felt the wall tremble. Then… a glaring crack appeared on its surface.
A small, delicate hand punched through the wall. As the wall crumbled, a petite figure with white hair slowly emerged before everyone's eyes.
Stelle's mental journey: Let's see what's going on → stunned confusion → panic → sheer terror.
Who the hell is this? Don't tell me it's Clara. I know Clara, but this is definitely not her!
The white-haired loli had a bandage plastered on her doll-like face, her eyes radiating arrogance. She stood with one foot on the pile of shattered wall. If it weren't for her height, Stelle would've believed she was some queen-level mama!
"Didn't I tell you? No screaming around here. Who's the one asking for death? Huh?"
Stelle glanced at March 7th, only to find her unusually calm. She couldn't help but nudge her. "March, you're not shocked?"
"What's there to be shocked about? Once you've been with the Express long enough, you'll realize the universe is full of wonders," March 7th said.
Dan Heng nodded in agreement. "Actually, this kind of thing is pretty common in the Xianzhou."
Stelle thought about it, and Dan Heng wasn't wrong. With the Xianzhou's absurd growth mechanisms, people hundreds of years old still looking like kids wasn't uncommon.
But the problem was, she'd never seen anything like this before. Who could understand the psychological trauma this caused?
Stelle let out a sigh, then pointed at the Minister. "It was him. He's the one who was screeching."
Clara shot the Minister a glance. "Oh? So it's you, huh?"
She strode forward, grabbed the Minister by the collar, and growled fiercely, "From now on, in my territory, if you're a dragon, you coil up; if you're a tiger, you sit tight…"
Stelle watched the scene unfold, feeling it was both absurd and oddly reasonable.
In a place like the Underworld, where people's hearts were unpredictable, there were plenty of good people, but a naive little girl surviving alone until 11 years old was pretty unreasonable.
On the contrary, only by being this ruthless could a kid hope to survive.
"Big Sis Clara."
Just as the Minister was about to faint from fear, Stelle suddenly called out to her. "Where's your Svarog?"
Clara turned her head slightly. "Who are you? What's it to you?"
"I'm Stelle, a Nameless." Stelle brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. "Big Sis Clara, I don't mean anything by it. I've just long admired your name and wanted to ask…"
"Are you still taking lackeys?"