Collapse, survive

……

……

For some reason, Fang Jie felt that something was off.

It's not about Natasha's trust or distrust, or her indifference; that's normal: when people carry too much, it's hard for them to make choices easily.

So take action, or there might be another way:

"If I don't wear this garment, how will the world know that I have severed my ties to the mortal world and that the golden sea has dried up?"

Topa is the latter, while most trains are the former.

And he...

"where are you going?"

Xi'er, like a butterfly in the dark night, descended from the sky and landed in front of Fang Jie, her face sour.

"Ahead lies a rift, teeming with monsters."

She really looks like her.

Not like Hei Xi and Bai Xi, whom Fang Jie hadn't met yet, but like... that person who went to the end of [nothingness], whom he hadn't met yet.

"The Rift is exactly where I need to go."

Fang Jie continued walking, passing Xi'er.

To be honest, the pioneering team was somewhat inefficient... If they had just performed a deus ex machina, Cocolia would probably have been more inclined to believe them.

But Danheng probably wasn't in that mood. He knew too much, carried too much on his shoulders, and was being chased by Brother Diandao, constantly wandering the Milky Way. He looked utterly miserable and exhausted...

They didn't treat him like a criminal, but they also didn't treat him like a human being.

Therefore, Cocolia cannot be trusted.

They were all incredibly free, including the seemingly composed Dan Heng, whose demeanor screamed that of an old prisoner or a long-time wanted criminal.

But this is pioneering, and it has its reasons. There is no reason in the world for the strong to have to adapt to the weak.

"court death."

Seele, who was overpowered, caught up with him: "If you need any medicine, you might not be able to find it even in the Rift."

However, she did not persuade Fang Jie to go back, as there were always many people who went to the Rift Realm to seek death.

"Come with me, if you're looking for something, go to Rivet Town."

A beautiful dribble, and Seele is... facing away from everyone.

Looking at her back, Fang Jie tried not to be drawn to the strange things, pointing to her back—such a beautiful back missing a stigmata.

He didn't care which rift he went to, it was all the same. So they continued on their journey, seeing more and more numb miners and mindless wanderers along the way. Under the pressure of survival, they had lost the freedom to live. He already knew this, and seeing it with his own eyes wouldn't be surprising.

With Seele around, he hasn't seen anything more malicious, and few dare to get close.

She is like a guardian of darkness; wherever she goes, everything comes to a standstill.

Violence.

Therefore, there are probably even more people who are afraid of her.

Feeling inexplicably strange along the way, Fang Jie simply asked his companion, "Xi'er, did you hear any strange off-screen noises?"

Seele looked completely bewildered: "What nonsense are you talking about? Look, we're here. Rivet Town is just ahead. There are tons of weird things in there. What are you looking for?"

Rivet Town has been largely eroded by the Rift, a phenomenon that requires a professional and comprehensive academic assessment from the Doctors' Society, something that Seele, a country girl from the countryside, could not possibly know.

But she knew it was a haunted place, where ghostly things always seemed to come out.

Those monsters have an instinct to chase and kill living creatures; most people would die if they encountered them, even the fully armed Silvermane Iron Guards...

Ah, there are no Silvermane Iron Guards left in the lower districts, only militia.

She usually goes to the Rift alone to search for resources that the Rift monsters have little interest in destroying. This is also the scavenging choice of many people in the lower areas, risking their lives to scavenge.

In this era, tomorrow will always be worse than today.

"I'm warning you, I'm very busy and have to leave soon. I don't have time to waste with you. If you linger too long, don't expect me to bail you out."

Seele was indeed very busy. It was only because the wanderers were attracted by the unexpected distribution of supplies in the upper district today that she was unable to leave the large mining area.

"Seele is beautiful inside and out."

Fang Jie smiled and said things that made the other person's face turn pale.

Seele slung a scythe over her shoulder with a gleaming blade and pointed it at us: "I think you want to get beaten up."

Fang Jie didn't want to look at the rift creature rushing towards him. Before Xi'er could disappear in her phantom form, a bolt of lightning appeared out of thin air as a slash.

"I still have some ability to protect myself."

These are exactly what he's looking for.

"Tsk."

Seele was a little annoyed. Why did you just watch before? You wasted her time.

Fate Walkers are very rare, and there are only a few of them in the entire Lower District. Seele had previously guessed that the good-looking outsiders were probably Fate Walkers, but when she found out that it was true, she was still annoyed.

She hates situations that make her feel inferior and will fight back fiercely, without holding back her emotions!

Just like a caterpillar.

Fang Jie wouldn't let her go, and invited Xi'er to come along: "Let's go, I want to go deep into the Rift and kill all the monsters while I'm at it."

"You're really arrogant. How many can you kill?"

Seele did not refuse. No matter how many, she would kill one, even if it was futile.

It's not entirely useless.

What she didn't know, but Fang Jie did, was that the Rift was created by the Star Core, transforming the things and spaces it came into contact with into special Rift Creations. This erosion phenomenon wouldn't disappear into thin air even if the Star Core was sealed; even a space station could only choose to seal it.

Yes, not to mention Belloberg, even the space stations under the Black Tower find it troublesome.

Within these rifts, rift creatures generally exist in the form of erosion, seemingly retaining the memories and habits of their original forms, but their outward appearances are quite different, often expressing strong exclusivity.

Without a doubt, barring any 'accidents', objects corrupted by the rift and their original counterparts should be considered as two completely unrelated entities, and any illusions held about them will lead to serious consequences.

In addition to erosion, rifts also record the etheric information of things that come into contact with them, which is then mixed with the data stored in the rift itself to produce a grafted rift creation.

In every world eroded by the Cancer of All Realms, countless artifacts, monsters from different realms, and even mysteriously separated alternate dimensions are born in every corner.

When Natasha gave Fang Jie free rein to do whatever he wanted to help her, Fang Jie thought for a while and decided to target the Rift.

Survival is the primary concern; regardless of whether it's the upper or lower zone, boundary erosion poses a significant threat.

As for the shortage of resources, the root of this problem lies in the fact that the earth's essence is about to be exhausted, and the energy supply to Belloborg will be depleted. It should be noted that although Belloborg's technology has been disrupted, technologies such as artificial starch synthesis still exist, and at least the machines are still there and durable.

They make a 'sun pancake' that's deadly sweet.

But all of this is based on consuming precious energy. Belloberg's largest energy expenditure is not heating or producing materials, but producing weapons to arm the Silvermane Iron Guards to fight against the Rift Monsters.

And the Rift Monster...

For Belloberg, it's a never-ending source of income.

Without drawing his sword, Fang Jie led Xi'er deeper into Rivet Town. Facing the charging, indifferent monsters of the Rift Realm, who were only there to fight, he would often simply extend his right hand, seemingly aiming at:

"When you see me, you should do so—sever your four souls."

Then, amidst the flashes of lightning, without questioning or clinging, the inanimate objects that could move suddenly melted, like molten steel being forged at high temperatures.

Before the viscous molten steel could be poured onto the ground, it immediately expanded and exploded, then surged around in a wave-like pattern like a tsunami, but in the end, it didn't splash anything, just vanished into thin air.

This destruction is thorough, even destroying part of existence at the information level, leading to structural collapse and eventual annihilation.

Seele stopped her sprint again, her expression unreadable.

What the hell?

Whenever a monster appears in her field of vision, a bolt of lightning strikes, and that's it. This is much more efficient than her having to actually rush over and kill it.

She couldn't understand it, after all, she hadn't read many books.

As for being a wanderer of destiny, she just needs to walk her own path; she doesn't need to think about it too much.

"You're... pretty good at fighting."

This is praise. In the lower districts, no, in Beloborg, strength is praiseworthy, because that strength is destined to be used against monsters.

"On the contrary, Seele, I am very weak."

Fang Jie gazed with some regret within the rift:

“Originally, I had the idea of ​​cutting off this space, but it won’t work. It’s like trying to cut water with a knife. Its energy is inexhaustible. If the core supply is not cut off, this space will only keep regenerating. I can only erase the monster’s information structure to prevent the repeated production of the Rift Recycling.”

The root cause cannot be eradicated; only the symptoms can be eliminated. Even if these incomplete symptoms are patched together, they can still be used. This kind of 'seal' is not what he wants.

unless……

Xi'er pouted, too lazy to reply; she didn't understand.

"So you're not here for medicine, but for that Star Core? You, all of you, and even a Silvermane Iron Guard have come all the way to the lower levels for that... Is it really that important?"

“I’m not interested in the Star Core, and it’s not just one Silvermane Iron Guard; there’s also Bronya, whom you haven’t met yet.”

"Who? Judging from the name, she sounds like a young lady from up there."

"You could say that for now, but she comes from the lower districts, while Ms. Natasha comes from the upper districts."

"Shut up! Natasha is different. Natasha isn't like those people on the surface! They live comfortably on the surface and don't care what's happening underground. They don't care about the lives of the people below!"

Indeed, the underground has long been abandoned, the Silvermane Iron Guards are being abandoned, and in the end, everyone will be abandoned.

This is unjust; it's just a way to prolong one's life.

There's no need for Fang Jie to embellish this injustice, especially since it comes from the mouth of the 'abandoned'.

They had ventured deep into Rivettown, a place also steeped in the Lower District style, with rock walls everywhere, no clear zoning, only scattered mining areas and towns, much like the outskirts of Beloborg.

And even here, the huge pillar that can still be seen is called the "hearth." The passage connecting the ground and underground has long been sealed off. Not only is the upper level sealed off, but Schwarz also occupies the hearth, driving away humans and isolating the upper and lower levels.

Xi'er was already used to all that, and she was happy to follow Fang Jie with ease, all the way until...

"We actually got here, and not a single monster caused any trouble. Not bad."

She can speak politely, so Fang Jie accepted it with a smile.

He also noticed the sudden gentleness in Seele's tone and asked directly, "Where is this?"

"It's nothing, just an orphanage."

That being said, Seele spends more time here than when searching for supplies in other places, and she has become more articulate.

She was in a good mood. She didn't have to lift a finger to break through the rift, and the feeling of reaping the benefits without lifting a finger was actually quite nice.

Fang Jie stared at the orphanage, somewhat dazed, as if checking his memory: the orphanage in front of him had once been a haven for homeless children from the lower districts. After the threat of the rift approached, Natasha, the guardian of the orphanage, led the children away from their former home, and the joyful sounds of laughter and chasing never came from the courtyard of the old house again.

"It's here."

He took a good look at the orphanage from the monotonous style of Rivet Town.

This place is full of talented people. Not only Cocolia, but Bronya and Seele also came from the orphanage. Natasha was also the director before the evacuation.

It can be said that this orphanage is among the most prestigious in the entire Belleburg.

After all, the lower-class areas used to have a very high status.

Belloborg needs the Earth Core. This post-apocalyptic winter city's demand for energy has never diminished, but the cold wave has blocked the possibility of outward expansion, leaving humanity with no choice but to develop downwards.

At the call of the city builders, people ventured underground to excavate veins and establish mining areas. At least until the upper and lower levels were sealed off, living underground was an honor.

It means that an individual voluntarily chooses a difficult task so that the entire civilization can survive.

These past experiences, about dedication, about sacrifice...

It's more worth seeing than the Yongdong Stele Inscription; it touches his heart, even if no one will bring their children here for education anymore.

This makes one wonder, in the post-apocalyptic winter city of Belleburg, how do people find the value of life?

Fighting and labor undoubtedly occupy a large part of society, and people find the value of life in them, not for wealth, but for the survival of civilization.

At least that's how it was at first.

Unfortunately, even good intentions need to face reality... and some people will have their fates reversed, crying and laughing to the world that all of this is worthless...