Chapter 244 Chapter 244: Artius part 1
Outside the storm, the remnants of a slightly reddish breeze swept across the wilderness. The slightest touch on the skin brought an immediate sensation of scorching heat and stinging pain, prompting many of the villagers of Kano Village behind Renji to try and wrap their tattered clothes tighter around themselves.
The villagers' faces were filled with a sense of gratitude for having escaped death. They all looked towards the distant natural disaster with eyes full of fear and trepidation, alongside Renji.
Kano Village was obviously within the range of the natural disaster. If it weren't for the young man's early warning, leading them to abandon the village and flee, the thought of being in the terrifying blood-red tornado made the villagers shudder.
Natural disasters, it seemed, were an old friend of Renji in the game "Fallen Chronicles"
Many times, places like Kano Village had withstood the Miasma monsters and repelled the marauding scavengers, only for a merciless natural disaster to mock their futile efforts in the end. Players could only watch helplessly as their painstakingly built bases and nurtured contractors were destroyed in the disaster, obliterated in an instant, leaving behind only a "GAME OVER" icon to the furious players outside the screen.
It's no wonder that "Fallen Chronicles" quickly flopped after its release. Such a setting that torments both the players and the nurtured characters is enough to deter most normal people.
It was only thanks to veteran players like Renji who persisted and eventually figured out some patterns and signs of the disasters, writing guidebooks, that they were able to avoid similar tragedies to 'some extent'. However, there were still a small portion of disasters that were unpredictable, appearing suddenly at any time and place, leaving players who encountered them to lament their bad luck and curse the game developers at most.
Renji shook his head, shifting his gaze away from the direction of the blood-red tornado.
Fortunately, there was a warning for this disaster. From the abnormal movement of the ant beasts, Renji had a premonition, otherwise, his Dream Zero journey this time might have ended prematurely.
This was why Renji did not bother with those fleeing scavengers. If they had the sense not to come back, it would be their luck. If they brought people back to Kano Village, they would have only themselves to blame.
Continuing on his journey, Renji's goal was clear: to head towards the final boss of this region, one of the five great Miasma Masters, the "Witch."
Even though Renji was off to challenge the Witch, the villagers of Kano Village insisted on following him, regardless of his persuasion.
After the "natural disaster" incident, the villagers' belief in Renji as the 'prophet' deepened, as only a "savior" could avoid natural disasters with such precision.
Besides, some villagers were also motivated by self-interest, following the prophet. Once Renji truly became the savior, they, as the first group, could at least gain some fame and live a life without worries about food and clothing.
As the troop advanced, perhaps due to the natural disaster, there seemed to be fewer Miasma monsters in the wilderness. Apart from a few encounters with solitary beasts, which Renji dealt with directly, they did not encounter any more groups.
Finally, when they reached the outer perimeter of the red circle marked "Witch" on the map, Renji was forced to stop again, but this time not because of monsters.
Instead, he saw a little girl blocking the road ahead.
Previously, the villagers had relied on Renji to deal with the Miasma monsters. This time, when they saw someone blocking the road, dressed in tattered clothes like theirs and clearly another refugee, the villagers volunteered eagerly, rushing forward to help Renji resolve the situation.
"Hey, move aside! Do you know what we're doing? Don't delay our savior!"
Some villagers showed a fierce expression to the little girl, continuously waving their hands to shoo her away. After all, they had seen many like her, most likely those who had lost their settlements and could only beg and act pitiful to passersby in the wilderness.
But this time, they seemed to have made a mistake.
"I'm… sorry! I just... just wanted to ask if you have seen my parents?" The little girl, scolded by the villagers, clutched her skirt in fear, but still mustered the courage to ask.
Then the girl quickly gestured the characteristics and physique of her parents under the impatient gaze of the villagers.
The villagers were about to refuse, but the girl's next sentence made them choke back their words.
Because
"We were attacked, and my parents left everything to me, telling me to go first, saying they would catch up soon. But I've been waiting here for a long time, why haven't they come yet?"
The girl was just narrating the incident, but the villagers focused on the "things."
Some villagers immediately said to let the girl take out what her parents had left behind to show them. Perhaps by looking at these things, they could better help the girl find her parents.
Hearing that the villagers were willing to help her, the little girl was very excited and grateful. She quickly took out a small package from her bosom, opened it in front of the villagers, and found it to be a stack of thick tickets with angel wing-like patterns printed on them.
"These are... the Salvation Society's food tickets!"
"With these, you can exchange food with the Salvation Society's people!"
"What kind of people are this girl's parents to have saved up so many food tickets? This is enough for us to eat for several days."
"She's lost from her parents and holding such valuable items alone is too dangerous. We should keep them for her."
"Right, right! We'll keep them for her first and let her follow us. When we find her parents, we'll exchange them back."
"No, I think it's better to leave her here, right? The place we're going to is very dangerous. We'll find her parents on the way and then bring them back to her."
"That makes sense, let's do that."
After a few whispered discussions among the villagers, they seemed to have made a decision for the little girl. They told her to hand over the food tickets to them, and they would take these as compensation and a token. When they really found the girl's parents, they would immediately return them to her.
Facing the villagers who were casting "fiery" eyes at her, or more precisely, at the food tickets in her hands, the little girl trustingly handed over the package left by her parents to the villagers, continuously thanking them for being willing to risk finding her parents.
"Then I... I'll stay here. Please take care of my parents for me, thank you. I'm really grateful. My parents were right, there are many good people in this world, everyone is good."
The little girl blocking the way made room for the villagers. As for the villagers, they were somewhat evasive in the face of the girl's sincere and hopeful eyes. Just as they were about to leave quickly and report the resolved issue to Renji...
The villagers turned around and were startled, especially those who had divided up the girl's food tickets, dropping the packages in their hands in fright.
Because their prophet, their savior, had unknowingly arrived at the scene, and from the looks of it, he had been there for a while, watching them.
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