I've died 47 times in this game, so I've decided to sell it.

"I'm off."

The next second, he leaped into the air, transforming into a golden streak of light, and shot straight up to the ceiling.

boom!

Stone fragments fell like rain.

A cold wind blew in through the huge hole in the ceiling, scattering documents all over the table.

Cocolia looked up at the large hole from which stone dust was still falling, her mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

A layer of fine stone dust settled on Bronya's silver-gray curly hair.

But she didn't have time to pay attention; at that moment, she was staring in disbelief at the huge hole in the ceiling.

Jepard stood directly below the hole, looking up at the snow-covered sky with a blank expression.

His face clearly said, "I've never seen anything like this in my more than ten years in the military."

Xing looked up at the hole, remained silent for two seconds, then turned to look at Qi Ye:

"Has Uncle Yang forgotten about us?"

Qiye was silent for two seconds:

"...It seems so."

"Does he think we can keep up?"

"We can't catch up."

"Then he should know we can't catch up."

"He may have forgotten."

"Has he forgotten us?"

The two looked at each other, then simultaneously turned to look at the large, drafty hole above them.

On March 7th, she finally came to her senses. Pointing to the hole, she raised her voice by half a tone:

"Uncle Yang just left like that?! He smashed a hole in the roof of Cripper Castle and then flew away?!"

"Has Uncle Yang...has he...has he really lost his mind from eating fish?!"

"You made that fish."

Qiye reminded her.

"I hope it's true now!!"

Bronya finally snapped out of her shock.

She turned to look at Cocolia, her tone carrying an unprecedented uncertainty:

"Mother...that hole..."

"Find someone to replace it."

Cocolia dusted off her hands.

"...Where is Mr. Yang Chaoyue?"

Cocolia walked to the window, gazing at the rapidly shrinking dot of light in the night sky, her expression complex.

"It seems the master really doesn't need to prepare!"

Before Cocolia could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps could be heard outside the meeting room.

A guard rushed in without knocking, his armor still covered in snow, his face deathly pale!

"Report! Great Guardian! Something terrible has happened!"

Cocolia turned her head, her brows furrowed:

"What serious incident? Did the master hit someone when he flew away?"

"No, no! It's much more serious than that!"

Iron Guard was panting heavily.

"The lower district, the lower district is in rebellion!"

Chapter 44 Seele's Speech

Cocolia's expression finally switched back to the fierce look befitting a Great Guardian.

She walked quickly to the guard and immediately asked:

"Who organized this? Who's in charge?"

The guard, intimidated by her imposing presence, took a half-step back and stammered:

"Yes, it was a woman, not very old, with a red scarf tied around her right hand."

According to the scouts, she is currently giving a speech on a high platform.

The entire lower section was packed with people listening; it was a sea of ​​people!

Cocolia's expression changed.

Meanwhile, in the lower area.

In the central square of Panyan Town, on a high platform, a girl with a red scarf tied around her right hand is standing under the spotlight.

The light shone on her, highlighting the distinct features of her radiant face.

The crowd below the stage was a sea of ​​black, including miners and homeless people.

There were also a few veterans wearing old uniforms from the Earth Fire.

Everyone craned their necks to listen to her speak.

She glanced at the faces below the stage, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

"People of the lower tiers!"

Are you cold?

Someone in the audience shouted, "It's cold!"

Are you hungry?

"Hungry!"

Are you tired?

"tired!"

Seele took a step forward, her voice suddenly rising:

"But do you know what?"

The people in the upper-class area are not cold, and they are not tired.

They sat in their warm room, drinking hot soup, watching the snow fall outside the window, and said, "This winter is truly beautiful."

She clenched her fists.

"And we, we mine in the snow and wind at tens of degrees below zero."

They slept in drafty tin shacks and rummaged through garbage dumps for burnable scraps.

Every piece of ore we dug out was used by them for heating!

But what about us?

What did we gain?

We only received some food rations and a few resources to barely survive.

A suppressed commotion arose from the audience.

They told us to be patient, and that tomorrow would be better.

They told us to stay united and not to fall into internal strife.

They told us that the High Guardian was trying to find a solution, and that we should trust her.

Seele's voice suddenly turned somber.

"But what day is tomorrow? Has any of you ever seen tomorrow?"

No one answered.

"I've never seen it either."

Seele raised her head, her gaze sweeping over every face in the audience.

The sound suddenly softened, no longer the raging fire it had been just moments before.

"But I have seen a light."

She raised her hand and touched the knot of the red scarf on her right arm with her fingers.

It felt like touching a memory from long ago.

Many years ago, when I was very young and didn't even have a name.

Someone found me in a garbage dump.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

It's the kind of expression someone would have when recalling a precious memory.

He adopted me back then.

Although he himself was a homeless man, he sometimes ate even less than I did.

But he always manages to find the best things for me in the trash.

Half a moldy loaf of bread, a can of food that hasn't expired yet, and another time.

He picked up a red scarf from somewhere.

"They said the color is too bright and won't hide well in the lower areas. You should wear it; at least it'll keep you warm."

As she said this, the tiny smile on her lips suddenly froze for a moment, then faded away.

Her voice became softer, as if she were telling a story she still couldn't let go of.

"Until one day, he walked a long way on an empty stomach in order to find me more food."

When he came back, he was still holding half a cookie in his hand.

But he didn't even have the strength to walk up to me.

He leaned against the wall, shoved the half-eaten cookie into my hand, and then closed his eyes and said...

"You eat first, I'm going to sleep for a while."

The audience was so quiet that you could hear the dripping of water from the distant mine tunnels.

"He almost died in front of me back then."

Seele's fingers tightened suddenly, and her voice began to tremble, but she enunciated each word with extreme force.

“I stayed by his side all night; I had nothing at the time.”

She didn't even dare to cry loudly.

I held him in my arms and held him until he woke up.

And the first thing he said after waking up was

"Why haven't you eaten yet?"

At that time, I was overjoyed, thinking that he was finally cured!

But the next day, he left, saying he was going to the place up there, where there might be better trash cans.

And he never came back!

She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.

But the corners of her mouth turned up again, more firmly than ever before.