Chapter 10: A Foreign Land

—It had been 2 hours and 34 minutes since Venti left the Mechanical Settlement and arrived in the upper districts.

It was now evening, and the lingering glow of dusk was slowly fading from this city of Preservation, stripping it of its former brilliance.

One by one, dark shadows rose from the corners of the walls, gradually enveloping the city’s edges, making it look like a desolate wasteland from afar.

This was only natural. The outskirts of Belobog had long been eroded by the Fragmentum, forcing its residents to migrate to safer inner areas.

The first wave of these people had been forced into the lower districts, and due to the lockdown order, they were permanently separated from their families.

Among them were people like Natasha, who had chosen to stay in the lower districts out of kindness to help others, only to be trapped there as well, unable to return.

Though Natasha didn’t regret her decision, who could heartlessly abandon their family without a second thought?

Natasha’s adoptive parents were old—so old that news of their passing could come at any moment.

As their adoptive daughter, she couldn’t be by their side or even exchange words of comfort. This weighed heavily on her conscience.

It wasn’t until Venti arrived in the lower districts and became acquainted with her that she occasionally asked him to deliver letters for her.

Not just Natasha—others in the lower districts also entrusted Venti with tasks, most of which could be easily accomplished in the upper districts.

After completing these tasks, they would excitedly thank him, some even moved to tears upon receiving replies from their families…

For Venti, this was a bittersweet experience and one of the driving forces behind his plan.

As for the outcome of his conversation with Svarog, let’s keep that under wraps for now. After all, compared to a lengthy, dry discussion, the upcoming actions in the upper districts are the real highlight.

Currently, Venti’s "hero" team has two members: Seele and, of course, Clara.

The latter would undoubtedly bring in Svarog as a powerful ally. Additionally, due to Seele’s role as a member of Wildfire, Venti could also influence the decisions of Natasha (the behind-the-scenes leader of Wildfire) and Oleg (the current leader of Wildfire).

This effectively united the two most significant forces in the lower districts, ensuring they wouldn’t work at cross-purposes or undermine each other.

The next step was to naturally develop this alliance and leverage some "external forces" to help establish a foothold in the upper districts.

Unfortunately, Venti’s influence was limited. While he could draw a crowd with his music, if he tried to give a speech in a tavern about how a loaf of bread in the lower districts cost 500,000 Winter Sovereigns, people would just think he’d had too much to drink and tell him to go home and rest.

After all, a popular joke in the upper districts was: "People in the lower districts are so hungry they have to eat rock crabs for every meal."

Rock crabs were a species originally found along the coast, known for laying eggs in rocks before returning to the sea to grow.

However, due to the ice age, large numbers of rock crabs migrated to the warmer underground areas of Belobog, where they reproduced rapidly. Their migration caused numerous tunnel collapses, earning them the nickname "tunnel crabs" at the time.

When the main population reached the underground areas of Belobog, their sheer numbers and destructive behavior became a headache for the city’s architects.

Unexpectedly, they were eventually discovered as a delicacy, their tender meat making them a popular dish.

In fact, records from past underground exploration teams noted that the once-overpopulated rock crabs had drastically declined in number, nearly to the point of extinction, for reasons unknown.

So, while anyone with a shred of common sense would doubt the claim that "every household in the lower districts eats crab meat," it highlighted how the upper districts’ understanding of the lower districts was stuck a decade in the past—a time when the two districts were interconnected, and life, while not perfect, was at least stable.

If the true state of the lower districts were widely publicized, it would undoubtedly cause a significant social reaction.

Of course, this wasn’t something that could be achieved by simply spreading sob stories or calling for sympathy.

Not only would this alert those already watching him, potentially derailing his plans, but more importantly, even if people believed and established charitable organizations, the help would be a drop in the ocean for the lower districts.

The people of the lower districts didn’t need to sell their misery to earn the pity of the upper districts. They were resilient and tenacious. What they needed was a "channel" to make their voices heard and the "power" to defend their legitimate rights.

Otherwise, in the upper districts, where information had been cut off for so long, too many people had nearly forgotten that in the dark underground, there were still those fighting against the Fragmentum, struggling for every bite of food.

Only by creating widespread social consensus could they force Cocolia to compromise, truly changing the lower districts’ situation.

Even just opening trade channels would give most lower district residents a lifeline.

Only then could they avoid the severe miner’s disease in their old age, not shiver in flimsy tents during ice storms, and rest on beds instead of sharp, radiation-filled ore floors.

This journey was still long and arduous.

…

As Venti walked through Belobog’s streets and alleys, he saw cars powered by ore energy chugging along. The people on the streets weren’t in a hurry, leisurely choosing their dinner destinations.

Amid the bustling crowds and dazzling lights, a sense of loneliness crept over him.

The sensitive bard found himself homesick at this moment.

But luckily—

"You’re finally here, busy man."

A literary girl stood before him, grumbling slightly, carefully holding a moderately thick novel.

She wasn’t tall—even shorter than Venti, who had a standard pretty-boy build—making her appear petite and cute.

She wore a flat beret, her raven-purple hair framing a pair of large, round eyes hidden under thick bangs. Her soft, rounded face and owl-shaped glasses gave her a quiet, scholarly air.

"Ehe? Good evening, Pela!"

Venti quickly adjusted his demeanor, playfully blinking to try and smooth things over.