Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

Chapter 63 Upper Zone? I come from beyond the heavens!

Jiang Ning felt a slight softening in his heart as he watched her feign strength and suppress her discomfort.

Clara is a gentle and kind girl who protects the cold machines and treats everything at the bottom with kindness, yet she lives cautiously and doesn't even dare to bother others when she gets hurt.

He didn't expose her bravado; instead, he squatted down and spoke with exceptional gentleness and patience.

"Let me see, okay?"

If you leave a sprain untreated, the swelling will get worse, and it will be very painful to walk afterward.

Clara blinked her wet eyes, looked at Jiang Ning's sincere and gentle gaze, hesitated for a long time, and then nodded gently, carefully sticking out her left foot that was hidden behind her back.

Her ankles, which were originally fair and pink, were now faintly bluish-purple and slightly swollen, making them look particularly distressing.

Jiang Ning touched it lightly with his fingertips, but Clara still couldn't resist.

Her small body trembled slightly, and she gasped for breath, but still bit her lip and didn't cry out in pain.

"Still saying it doesn't hurt?"

Jiang Ning chuckled helplessly, straightened up to look at her, his tone leaving no room for refusal yet full of tenderness.

"I can't walk anymore, the more I walk, the worse the injury will get. The lower ruins are cold and damp, and the wound will become infected, which will be a big problem."

Clara clutched the hem of her clothes and said in a low, hesitant voice, "But... I can walk slowly by myself, there's no need to trouble you..."

"It's no trouble at all."

Jiang Ning turned around directly, his back straight and broad, and leaned slightly towards the little girl, assuming a steady carrying posture.

"Get on, I'll carry you."

Clara froze, staring blankly at his broad back, momentarily at a loss for what to do, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Ah? No, no, that won't do! I'm heavy, it will tire you out, big brother!"

"Don't worry, I'm very strong."

Jiang Ning turned around and smiled, his tone relaxed and confident.

"Those thugs couldn't even withstand one punch from me, and I can carry a little girl on my back with ease."

Izzy chimed in gently from the side:

"Miss Clara, please rest assured. The president's physical attributes far exceed those of ordinary humans, so he will not feel any burden."

Prompt treatment of injuries is essential to prevent them from worsening.

Seeing their sincere and gentle demeanor, Clara's initial awkwardness and unease gradually dissipated.

Hesitantly, she stretched out her small arms, gently wrapped them around Jiang Ning's neck, and carefully leaned down onto him.

Its small body is very light and frail, making one's heart ache.

Jiang Ning stood up steadily, her movements gentle, trying to avoid shaking or aggravating her wound.

"Iz, confirm the route."

"Understood, President."

Iz's eyes gleamed as she quickly searched the lower-level map and the local intelligence stored in "Zea," then reported in a low voice:

"The only legitimate medical facility in the lower district is Natasha Clinic in Panyan Town, which is conveniently located and accessible by safe route."

Jiang Ning nodded slightly and walked steadily toward Panyan Town.

In the dilapidated and dark ruins, the wind howled and the low hum of machinery echoed faintly.

The boy carried the frail little girl on his back, with a delicate and gentle AI secretary following closely by his side.

The normally cold and cruel wasteland was now radiating a rare warmth.

Lying on Jiang Ning's broad back, Clara completely let down her guard and fear.

The sound of steady footsteps filled my ears, and a sense of comfort and warmth enveloped me. There were no more vicious homeless people, no more loitering threats.

She murmured softly, her voice gentle and tender:

"Big brother, sister Iz...you are so kind..."

"If you have the chance, please come visit Clara's house! Mr. Schwarz will be so happy to know you saved me!"

Jiang Ning sighed softly, thinking to himself how naive the little girl was.

"You dare to let us into your house without even knowing who we are?"

What if we're the bad guys? Aren't you just inviting trouble?

Upon hearing this, Clara hurriedly shook her head like a rattle-drum.

"No, Clara's intuition is very accurate."

Having spent a long time in the lower districts, Clara could tell at a glance who was a good person and who was a bad person.

Brother Jiang Ning and Sister Iz seem like good people.

"As for his identity... since Brother Jiang Ning isn't going to say, Clara won't ask."

"Hey, you little rascal."

Being too kind can be a disadvantage in the outside world.

Jiang Ning felt a warmth in his heart.

Given such a repressive environment, it's clear that Schwarzro really protected Clara well, allowing her to maintain such a pure and kind personality.

He stopped joking and walked steadily forward, passing through layers of ruins and broken walls.

The further you go, the less barren permafrost there is, and the more scattered, simple wooden houses and hurried residents from the lower classes gradually appear.

The cold wind was still biting, but finally there was the warmth of human life.

We've arrived at Panyan Town.

Unlike the desolate ruins on the outskirts, this is one of the few safe havens in the lower district.

Those coming and going were all refugees, thinly dressed and weathered.

Some people hurried along carrying their meager food supplies, while others whispered about the distressing issues of the rift invasion and the struggle for mineral veins.

Everyone struggles to survive, yet they grit their teeth and live on in this perpetually winter wasteland.

This is the real lower part of the Belleberg.

There are no magnificent, eternally warm cities in the upper tiers, only ordinary people struggling to survive and huddling together for warmth in this fertile land.

"We have arrived at the medical area of Panyan Town."

Izzy reported in a low voice at the right time, providing accurate and rigorous information that matched the local data analyzed by "Zea".

"Target location: Natasha Clinic."

Jiang Ning nodded and steadily stepped into the town.

Several unfamiliar glances were cast at the homeless people on the street.

Jiang Ning was dressed neatly and did not have the coarse demeanor of someone from the lower classes.

Izzy was exquisitely beautiful and well-mannered; the two could tell at a glance that she was not an indigenous person from the lower district.

The lower-level areas have always been sensitive, wary, and alienated towards outsiders.

But no one went up to provoke them.

It might be because Jiang Ning looked intimidating, or it might be because of Clara on his back.

After all, the name of the president of "Hiden" did not make a name for himself, but the name of "Big Boss" Schwarzro was still quite effective in the lower districts.

Except for those few reckless thugs.

Soon, the wooden clinic, whose lights were always on, came into view.

Pushing open the door, a wave of warm, dry air hits you, briefly isolating you from the cold winds of the frozen earth outside.

Several wounded refugees sat quietly waiting, without any commotion or fighting—in Natasha's clinic, there were rules that everyone tacitly agreed upon.

Behind the counter, Natasha was tending to a patient's frostbite with practiced ease and efficiency.

Her eyes were gentle, but she was not weak; her gaze held a calm and sharpness born from years of experience in the lower classes and witnessing hardship.

Hearing the door open, Natasha looked up.

His gaze first swept over the unfamiliar Jiangning and Iz, then paused slightly, his brows furrowing.

A new face? From the upper echelons?

That was her first reaction.

Clara, who landed on Jiang Ning's back, suddenly narrowed her eyes.

She knew the child all too well.

Everyone in Rock Rock knows that Clara always runs around the ruined mines alone.

They followed Schwarzrod's mechanical swarm, guarding the mine without fighting or grabbing, as kind as a blank sheet of paper.

"Clara?"

Natasha put down the medicine bowl, walked quickly closer, and spoke in a calm tone with familiar concern:

" Went to the outer ruins again?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Natasha..."

Clara hung her little head in shame.

"I sneaked out to see the mechs, but I was stopped by the wanderers."

Jiang Ning slowly bent down, his movements steady and gentle, and gently placed Clara on the edge of the examination bed:

"I sprained my ankle while trying to dodge the homeless people who surrounded me in the surrounding ruins."

There were no external injuries, but the bruising was very heavy.

Natasha immediately bent down to check, skillfully rolling up her trouser leg.

The bluish-purple, swollen ankle was clearly visible.

With a light touch of her fingertips, she made a precise and immediate assessment of the injury:

"A typical sprain caused by cold and dampness in frozen soil. The lower layers of the ground are cold and damp, and this kind of injury should not be delayed. If the cold accumulates for a long time, it will easily become an old injury, and the pain will recur every time there is a cold wave."

As she spoke, without asking any further questions, she turned around to get the medicine, apply a hot compress, promote blood circulation, and bandage the wound.

In Panyan Town, she had witnessed countless instances of unwarranted bullying and undeserved injuries, and had long since become accustomed to the reality that kind people are the most vulnerable to being hurt.

After her wounds were treated, Natasha spoke softly, looking at Jiang Ning:

"Judging by your clothes, you're from up there, right? What's your purpose?"

His tone was filled with undisguised scrutiny and vigilance.

It seems that the sharp conflict between the upper and lower levels cannot be resolved with just a few words.

"Sister Natasha!"

Sensing that something was wrong, Clara quickly grabbed Natasha's arm.

"Jiang Ning and the others saved me; they're definitely not bad people!"

Natasha turned around and gently patted Clara's head.

"I know, I just wanted to confirm their purpose, I didn't mean to drive them away."

Jiang Ning waved his hand, looking relaxed and content.

"It's okay, I understand."

However… the truth may be a little different from what you suspect, Ms. Natasha.”