At this moment, shatter the dimensional barrier.

Chapter 29: First Encounter with a Monster
"It's terrifying. Just thinking about monsters lurking in the shadows, ready to devour you at any moment... I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight." Anriel hugged her shoulders, her body trembling slightly, her face filled with fear.

Eleanor comforted her, saying, "Don't be afraid, Sister Anriel. There can't be any monsters in the world. I come from the church, you know. God would never let demons harm good people."

Although she grew up in a church, she did not believe that God really existed; God was just a source of strong faith for her.

Anriel scoffed: "Tch, I don't believe that. It's the 21st century. Gods are all liars. Besides, I've met very few good people, and none of them are doing well. Especially you, Eleanor, you're the worst off. You don't even spend the money you earn on yourself."

"The kinder a person is, the more miserable they are. That's just how the world is. Even if you pity others, you have to keep it to yourself and think more about yourself."

"When you help others, you might only receive a thank you in return, but when you spend money on yourself, it's a real and tangible thing."

“Yes, I understand, Sister Anriel,” Irene said earnestly.

“I don’t think you understand.” Anriel looked incredulous, then her expression turned pitiful: “Oh, right, Eleanor, I’ve already spent all my salary from last month. How much do you have left? Lend me half, otherwise I won’t be able to pay the rent and the landlord will kick me out.”

Eleanor thought for a moment and honestly replied, "There are still over seven hundred pounds left. Is half enough?"

"Tch!" Anriel poked Irene's forehead with her finger: "You still say you remember? I just pretended to be pitiful and swindled your money away. It's a good thing it was me. If it were anyone else, believe me, they would have swindled your money away every month."

“Well, it’s because it was borrowed by Sister Anriel.” Irene’s eyes were full of sincerity: “I wouldn’t lend it to someone until I knew they were a good person.”

"Good person, good person, good person, you foolish girl, you'll be fooled by a good person sooner or later." Anriel rolled her eyes.

"Alright, it's almost time to get off work. You can go now. I'll close the shop. If anything goes wrong, Mrs. Sally will definitely deduct half of your salary. She's absolutely capable of doing that."

"Thank you, Sister Anriel. Um, the failed products that were left behind..." Irene looked at the black plastic bag placed to the side. The failed products were either dumped into the trash can or collected by the staff of the 'food bank'.

“Take it. They won’t give Mrs. Sally a penny if you give it to the food bank anyway,” Anriel said, then added with a hint of grumbling, “It’s really unfair sometimes. We employees do all the work at the cake shop, and Mrs. Sally might not even come to the shop once a week.”

"Just because I have a shop that I got from my divorce, it's a beach party and karaoke party every day."

“One day, I will earn enough pounds to buy a shop.”

"Sister Anriel, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow." Irene carried two black plastic bags filled with broken cakes.

See you tomorrow, Eleanor.

Eleanor walked out of the cake shop and looked at the students coming and going from Exeter University. They were all dressed very beautifully, just like the young ladies in the storybooks.

Her brown eyes held a hint of envy. She had only received free compulsory education; she must have learned so much at university.

Originally, they hoped to save some money to send Gavin and the others to college. Even if they didn't have enough money to continue until graduation, they could still learn a lot and maybe become car mechanics or electricians in the future, which would allow them to easily support themselves.

"If I go back now, will the priest... let me stay in the church?" Irene's eyes were full of confusion as she walked back along the familiar route.

We soon stopped in front of an old neighborhood. The neighborhood was very old, with buildings dating back decades.

The residents here are mostly elderly people who are already receiving pensions. The young people have long since moved to London. In this country, most families do not have a strong sense of family ties, and with various social welfare programs, the children of the elderly do not assume the obligation to support them.

Moreover, their children may not even be able to support themselves.

Don't assume that having a pension means you can enjoy your old age in peace; these pensions are far from enough to support the elderly.

As people get older, they inevitably develop some health problems. A month's pension isn't even enough for one hospital visit, so even when they're sick, they just endure it.

"Grandpa Ike, I've brought you a cake."

"Oh, Irene, thank you for your help again."

"Grandpa Brandon, I've brought you a cake."

Eleanor always leaves some of the cake crumbs she takes out of the shop for the elderly in the old neighborhood.

"Eleanor, can you sit for a while?" Brandon, his body hunched over, shakily opened the apartment door completely.

"Grandpa Brandon, am I going to boil some water for you?" Eleanor asked, puzzled.

“Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble.” Brandon nodded. Watching Eleanor enter the room, he walked shakily to the sofa, took out a document, which was covered by white paper, leaving only a blank space.

Every night before he went to sleep, he would place two documents on the sofa so that if he fell asleep one day and didn't see the sun rise the next day, the people who came to carry him would know what to do. One document was arranged by him for the people who came to carry him, and the other was his will, in which he wanted to give his only valuable apartment to Eleanor.

Brandon looked at the girl getting water in the kitchen as if she were his own granddaughter.

He was a veteran who never married.

He had thought that he would have a fulfilling second half of his life after being injured and discharged from the military.

Unexpectedly, all I received was a meager monthly compensation.

He was still able to make a living when he wasn't this old.

But as he grew older, various illnesses began to appear, and he spent all his savings.

In the end, he couldn't even afford normal meals. He could only cook expired noodles from the food bank into porridge, and he couldn't cook it too thick.

Because you can't get food from a 'food bank' every day.

He thought he would slowly starve to death in the house until he couldn't bear the hunger anymore, went outside, and collapsed to the ground.

The little girl, who was still in school, appeared in front of him.

She not only helps him collect food from the food bank every day, but also comes to clean his house every week.

What an angelic child.

“You’re an adult now.” Brandon looked at Eleanor, who had already started boiling water. Children in the church are required to leave the church and support themselves once they reach adulthood.

A child as kind as an angel like him is bound to be bullied; having served as a Royal Marine, he knows this country all too well.

“Eleanor, I don’t know how to write your name yet. Can you write it for me? Write it here, make it big.” Brandon looked at the girl who was walking over and pointed to the lower left corner of the document covered by a white paper.

“Okay, Grandpa Brandon, that’s how my name is spelled.”

……

the other side.

Gavin, having just finished school, was running towards the church.

Because the free school was two blocks away from the church, he ran back every day.

The route will also pass through a camp set up by homeless people.

"We must get back to the church quickly, otherwise Zoe's grandmother will definitely toast the bread early so that everyone can have dinner sooner."

"Grandma Zoe's health... we can't let her suffer like this!" Gavin recalled the scene he saw two days ago when he got up to pee at night and passed by Grandma Zoe's room. He gritted his teeth.

At that moment, a strange sound interrupted his recollection, and he stopped and looked over.

A narrow alleyway was left between two rows of houses next to the street.

A dark shadow was writhing on the ground, making cracking sounds like bones breaking, along with faint cries for help.

"It hurts so much... Help, help me... Everything, everything is just a shell... Cough cough cough, hehehe."

"Are you hurt?" Gavin slowly approached. Unlike his kind sister Eleanor, he knew that many people who seemed pitiful didn't actually deserve help.

Many of the homeless make a living by bullying others who are even more destitute.

"Are you hurt? Do you want me to call the community police?" Gavin slowed down. When he saw what it was, he froze, his expression terrified, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Weird, monster!"

　I'd like to recommend a new book by a top author; it's platinum quality and incredibly good.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)