The black sun hangs high

Chapter 188 Malena

If Herbert, the second-in-command of the Black Sun Society, were to see the current state of Seren, he might very well applaud with delight.

Because in Herbert's theory, the nature of human society and that of living beings are infinitely similar.

Just as he had told Hugh at the Black Sun Society meeting, he believed that civilizations and societies composed of humans and other intelligent beings must find a way out through continuous internal and external competition.

Correspondingly, the individuals that make up these civilizations and societies naturally need to undergo round after round of cleansing in the process of competition.

In his view, the winners should rightfully acquire resources, while the losers are naturally plundered. The passing and death of the losers will naturally contribute to the success of the winners. In this process, those competitors who are at a disadvantage must rely on their own abilities to change their own situation and status, thus their abilities will grow and their value in the world will be enhanced.

This theory is summarized with great precision and conciseness in the original world of Hugh.

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest."

And this incredibly cruel law of nature is now being repeated time and time again in the city of Seren.

It is not only the dangerous offspring of the Dark Abyss that are shrinking the living space of the survivors, but also humanity itself.

Food, water, warm clothing, and weapons...

In the city of Seren, where social structure and rules have completely collapsed, people have to rack their brains for these things. For those who are already vulnerable in the city, winning these means of survival requires taking greater risks and even paying a huge price.

As for those who refused to take risks, most of them have now become "food".

Food in all senses.

The mages of the Legal Council are now mostly confined to their branches, while the former members of the independent government of Seren have joined forces with a portion of the Iris Guard who remained in Seren. They operate from the former Delan Embassy, ​​and both sides are barely maintaining their rule in this dilapidated and chaotic city by relying on their own military strength and resources.

While it might seem a bit ridiculous to talk about "rule" in this context, they still retain considerable control and allocation over many of the resources within Seren.

Unlike those who can protect themselves with weapons, magic, and rituals, the survivors in the city of Seren, who fight their own battles, must accept a different way of life.

In order to find useful supplies, they would often go out during the day to places where important supplies might be stored. These were mostly commercial areas filled with shops and warehouses, or some offices that used to belong to the independent government of Seren City. As for places like the police station, they were looted within a week of the Seren City upheaval.

As the offspring of the Dark Abyss grow up and the city's resources dwindle, the struggles between people become more frequent and intense.

For vulnerable individuals who lack sufficient means of self-defense and are highly susceptible to becoming prey for others, the ability to replenish their necessities in a timely manner necessitates choosing to go out at delicate times.

For example, in the early morning or evening.

Generally speaking, evening is more dangerous than dawn, because the Dark Abyss Spawns become more active as night approaches, and going out at this time is tantamount to gambling with one's life.

Therefore, the moment before sunrise is when many struggling survivors grit their teeth and go out to earn the means to survive.

At this moment, flames were burning fiercely inside a dark shop.

Fifteen-year-old Malena huddled in a corner of the store. She was having a lucky day; in less than half an hour after leaving home, she had successfully found a pile of canned goods in the small warehouse behind the grocery store. Malena was so happy when she found the cans that she almost cried.

These canned goods are all "Fan Hua" brand fruit canned goods produced in Delan Kingdom. They are well preserved and come in a wide variety, from plain blueberries to flower sea peaches, and even Delan Kingdom's "Crown Apples".

When she saw those beautiful labels and packaging, Malena almost drooled.

After all, she hadn't eaten these kinds of things much in the past.

In fact, she shouldn't have been the one to come out and look for supplies today.

But in the past few days, the person who had been trying to take care of them fell ill, the supplies in their hideout were running out, and the emergency medicine was completely exhausted. Under these circumstances, Malena, as the "older sister" of the children, resolutely took the huge backpack and went out.

Although they were unable to find a cure, these canned fruits that effectively replenish the body's energy are already a huge gain.

What's even more remarkable is that the shop wasn't too far from their hiding place, so Malena immediately packed a large amount of canned goods into her backpack and prepared to leave.

But it was at this moment that the poor girl discovered that behind the collapsed shelves in the store, there was a huge crack.

After the devastating earthquake, these cracks became extremely common in the city of Seren, and a black crack connecting to the ground often represented death and misfortune.

Perhaps it noticed the noise Malena made while searching for items in the store's warehouse, or perhaps it was simply a habit to return underground through the gap in the store; in any case, as Malena was about to leave, she bumped into a clump of "thick silt" slowly crawling in from the store's entrance.

In this mass of sludge, Malena could even see the undigested remains of a survivor, whose head, detached from the body, floated in the dark pus, its empty eye sockets staring in her direction as if making a desperate cry to her.

Faced with the Dark Abyss offspring about to pounce on her, the girl immediately threw out the alchemical bomb she was carrying. The blazing flames created a sea of ​​fire, blocking the black sludge that was trying to advance, but at the same time, it also blocked the girl's escape route.

The flames scorched the ever-moving black shadow, emanating a foul odor. After being roasted by the fire, this abyssal offspring, which had devoured countless people and absorbed countless human memories, suddenly grew many mouths and began to shout and mock its prey in the shop.

It knew that this little prey could not escape the house.

As a solitary Dark Abyss offspring, it is most enthusiastic about prey of this size because it does not need to spend too much time to fully understand their memories and knowledge, and digests them extremely smoothly, which allows it to get into the next hunt more quickly.

This was just an ordinary general store with very limited interior space. It was probably because someone had tried to turn it into a shelter, so they boarded up the windows with thick wooden planks, which prevented Malena from escaping.

"Crack!"

Amidst the billowing smoke, Malena threw another alchemical bomb, causing the flames, imbued with a faint magical power, to blaze even brighter once more. But this action was ultimately just a delaying tactic.

The offspring of the Dark Abyss are not ordinary beasts. Although they fear the scorching flames, they will not retreat because of it. After all, there is still a lot of time before the sun fully rises, and they can wait.

A significant amount of thick smoke was blown into the store by the cold wind, causing Malena to cough violently. Stimulated by the smoke and influenced by fear, tears began to flow uncontrollably. Driven by the will to survive, she found a sturdy iron pipe under the collapsed shelves and used it to pry open the wooden planks sealing the window.

However, the wooden plank was nailed too tightly, and the severely malnourished Malena was unable to pry it open. After several attempts, she began to gasp for breath. The Dark Abyss Spawns outside could obviously sense and understand what was happening inside the shop, and their newly grown mouths immediately burst into happy laughter.

Through its previous devouring, it had successfully learned and understood the concept of "breakfast" from human memories, and now, it seemed, it was time to eat...

Faced with the incredibly chaotic and frenzied laughter of the predators, Malena was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

But at that moment, the sound emanating from the "mud" suddenly changed. The laughter turned into a scream filled with terror in the blink of an eye. And in just a few seconds, the scream was abruptly cut off, replaced by a faint, unfamiliar sound that was equally chilling.

The next instant, a cold blue magical light bloomed at the entrance of the shop, and a magical sphere, the color of an ice sculpture, appeared out of thin air above the flames. The cold mist flowing from it continuously fell down on the burning fire below, and in just a few seconds, all the flickering flames were completely extinguished.

Immediately afterwards, a mage's hand suddenly appeared beside the still-shaken girl. The palm revealed a deep, dark green color. With its touch, the thick wooden plank that had been firmly nailed to the window was easily removed. The next second, a magical breeze created by a simple trick blew through the shop, and the airflow immediately cleared away the thick smoke inside.

On the street outside the shop, Hugh glanced at the Dark Abyss Spawn, who had been completely reduced to useless pus in the mist of the Mirror Messenger, and then said to the shop entrance, "Alright, come out... I know you're in there!"

A moment later, a small, thin figure appeared timidly at the door.

On her face, which was covered in soot, there were still traces of tears from before.

Hughes saw that on the girl's back was a heavy backpack that looked to be full of things, and in her hand was an alchemical bomb that had not yet been thrown.

Seeing this, Hugh shook his head slightly, his tone softening involuntarily: "Are you the only one here? You came out by yourself... looking for something?"

The girl looked at the young mage in front of her with some fear, then nodded slightly.

Seeing that the girl seemed willing to communicate with him, Hugh squatted down and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid... I'm just an ordinary mage who came here on a trip, but I got trapped in the north of the city. The guide I hired also died, and I finally escaped from there today."

Hugh's words clearly surprised the girl. Seeing that Hugh remained very friendly, she cautiously asked, "The north? There are a lot of monsters there..."

"There are many, but I know how to deal with them."

Hughes smiled and pointed to the black pus on the ground: "You see, they are actually quite fragile. A magic spell can kill them in an instant."

The girl's eyes gleamed, but almost all the residents of Vanen held the identity of a mage in great awe, so her lips trembled slightly, but she did not say anything more.

"Don't worry, I'm not quite like those legendary mages. If you have any requests, you can tell me... However, I'm also looking for a new guide."

Hughes subtly hinted in his words, "If you have a suitable candidate, you can take me to see him as a way of repaying me for saving you, how about that?"

Hearing this, the girl's eyes shone even brighter. After a brief hesitation, she nodded vigorously: "Master, I know someone who knows the city of Seren best. He can definitely be your guide! However, he's currently ill and can only lie in bed..."

Hughes didn't show excessive enthusiasm; he knew that trust between people wasn't so easy to establish in such a disastrous environment.

So he narrowed his eyes hesitantly: "Perhaps you can take me to see him. I'm not a doctor, but I might be able to help... But if the person you know can't help me, then I'll have to charge some money, understand?"

Hearing these words, the girl became calmer and nodded vigorously: "I...we also know many places where food and weapons are hidden, but those places are too far away and too dangerous. But if it's you, it will definitely not be a problem...we are willing to tell you these places for free!"

Clearly, she misunderstood Hughes's meaning.

But for now, the two sides have established a foundation of communication and trust, so Hughes raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

The next instant, a giant rat with three long tails appeared in the street. To the girl's horror, the furry rat yawned somewhat disgruntled, then lowered its head and lay down on the ground.

It has already developed the awareness of being a mount.

(End of this chapter)