72: Chapter 63 Changkong City

(This chapter contains the main storyline, which is different from the IF-line plot. Please distinguish between them, thank you.)

Kaiwen was woken up by the chirping of birds.

An intermittent chirping of birds drifted over from the other side of the ruins.

She opened her eyes.

A gray ceiling, peeling plaster on the walls, and a layer of plastic sheeting taped over the window; sunlight squeezed through the gaps, drawing several thin lines on the floor.

Kiana slept by her side, curled into a ball, her white hair scattered across the pillow.

The blanket was mostly kicked off, with only a single corner still draped over her calf.

Kaiwen sat up quietly, bent over to pull the blanket up, and covered her again.

Kaiwen watched her for a moment, then got out of bed, pushed open the slightly warped wooden door, and walked out.

Early morning in Changkong City was very quiet.

So quiet that it didn't feel like a city.

It had already been dark when they arrived last night, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Now, with the help of the morning light, Kaiwen could finally see the full picture of this place.

It was a very warm and cozy camp.

A small, cleared open space surrounded by a ring of dilapidated single-story houses that had been damaged by the Honkai and barely patched up.

In the middle of the open space, a simple stove had been built with stones, with an iron pot resting on top, and faint smoke still rising from the firewood ashes beneath.

There were many people walking around in the camp.

Most of them were children.

Kaiwen counted them; there were about twenty of them.

The youngest looked to be seven or eight years old, while the oldest was only of high school age.

Their clothes were dirty, and many of them had scrapes on their faces that hadn't fully healed yet.

[They...]

"They're all children."

[Indeed, the person who created this camp is very great.]

"Yeah, after all, she is Teacher Baishi, our homeroom teacher."

Although the camp was filled with the injured, it was still permeated with a warm atmosphere.

This was vastly different from what Kallen had experienced in the Remembrance space; there, aside from Kallen offering a little help, basically no one else would provide any assistance to the children.

This was also why Kallen was so deeply loved.

"Morning, Kaiwen."

A voice interrupted Kallen's conversation.

Teacher Baishi walked out of a single-story house behind Kaiwen, holding a bowl of hot soup. She walked up to Kaiwen and handed it over.

"Have some hot soup."

Kaiwen took the bowl with both hands. She didn't know what the soup was made of, but its color was very light.

Teacher Baishi stood beside her and also picked up a bowl.

The excitement from their meeting last night had already passed.

Today, Teacher Baishi had become very quiet, quite different from the lazy teacher in Kaiwen's memory.

A month of surviving in the ruins had changed a person a lot.

"Did you sleep well?" Teacher Baishi asked.

"Yes."

"The bed is too narrow, so I had to trouble you two to squeeze together. Supplies are limited, and we can't spare any extra."

"It's already very good," Kaiwen said.

Those were her heartfelt words.

When she and Kiana got off the shuttle last night, they had nothing on them.

Changkong City was a dead city. They had originally only planned to use this place as a transit station to shake off Schicksal's pursuit, staying for just a few days before leaving.

They hadn't expected to run into Teacher Baishi.

Teacher Baishi took a sip of the soup and didn't look at Kaiwen, her tone very flat.

"You've changed quite a bit. Your hair, and your face."

"Yes."

"You must have gone through a lot."

"...Yes."

Teacher Baishi nodded and didn't press further.

She looked into the distance with her bowl, and only spoke again after a moment.

"Stay here for now. Although it's simple and crude, it's at least safe. There are still plenty of canned goods and bottled water in a few uncollapsed warehouses over in the suburbs, enough to last us a while."

Kaiwen held the bowl and nodded.

The steam from the hot soup drifted before her, and the outlines of the distant ruins showed gray-white silhouettes in the morning light.

It was very quiet.

So quiet that it almost made one forget that millions of people used to live in this city.

About half an hour later, a sound of footsteps came from behind Kaiwen.

Kiana walked out of the single-story house.

Her gaze swept across the camp, finally resting on Kaiwen.

Then she walked straight over to Kaiwen's side, pressing against Kaiwen's shoulder.

Teacher Baishi glanced at them, smiled slightly, and walked away with her empty bowl.

Kiana stared at the bowl in Kaiwen's hand.

"Is there any more?"

Kaiwen handed over her half-finished soup.

Kiana looked at her, then took it and had a sip.

After finishing it, she didn't return the bowl, but held it and continued to stand beside Kaiwen.

After a brief silence, her gaze fell upon the children in the camp.

A little girl was helping another older child bandage a wound.

Kiana watched for a few seconds, then lowered her head to drink the last sip of soup from the bowl.

"...They're all kids."

Kiana stood there holding the empty bowl, watching the little girl clumsily wrap the bandage.

The little girl wrapped it crookedly, but the older child didn't complain about the pain, just sitting quietly and letting her wrap it.

"Did you also grow up in a place like this?" Teacher Baishi walked over again at some point, holding a plastic bag filled with canned food.

She was asking Kiana.

Kiana looked back at Teacher Baishi but didn't answer.

Teacher Baishi didn't press for an answer either.

She placed the plastic bag next to the stove, bent down, and began adding water to the pot.

"Teacher Baishi," Kaiwen spoke up, "these supplies..."

"There are still quite a few things left in those warehouses in the suburbs," Teacher Baishi said without raising her head. "Every few days, I take a few of the older kids out to bring some back. It's enough to eat, but I don't know how much longer it will last."

Kiana stood beside Kaiwen, remaining silent the whole time.

Teacher Baishi stood up straight, wiped her hands, and looked at Kaiwen and Kiana.

"By the way, how long do you two plan to stay here?"

Kaiwen thought for a moment. "Not decided yet. Maybe a few days."

Teacher Baishi nodded and didn't ask further.

She was People who don't ask for reasons， It used to be because I was lazy.， Now it's probably because I've seen so many different kinds of people.， I've learned not to ask questions I shouldn't ask..

"You can stay as long as you want. Two more people means two more pairs of hands." Teacher Baishi clapped the dust off her hands and shouted toward the camp, "Wash your bowls when you're done eating! Don't make me say it twice!"

Hearing Teacher Baishi's words, several children hurriedly ran to the side in a flurry to wash their bowls.

Watching the children running back and forth, Kiana finally spoke up.

"I can help carry supplies."

Teacher Baishi turned her head to look at her.

"Do you know what the situation is like outside? Although the suburban area is basically safe, the road into the city to move things is hard to say."

"I know," Kiana's tone was flat. "I can handle it."

Teacher Baishi looked into Kiana's eyes and didn't try to persuade her otherwise.

"Alright, I'll call you when we go to move supplies in a bit."

Kiana nodded.

Kaiwen stood nearby, watching Kiana speak with Teacher Baishi.

Kiana didn't say much, but every word was very practical. This was her usual style, no different from when she was at Saint Freya.

But Kaiwen noticed a very small detail.

When Kiana said she could help carry supplies, she used "I".

Not "we".

Kaiwen was not included.

It was as if in her heart, Kaiwen should stay in a safe place.

After Teacher Baishi went off to get busy, quiet returned to the camp.

Having finished breakfast, the children began to do their own things; some were tidying up tents, some were helping chop firewood, and some just squatted on the ground, staring blankly.

Kiana kept standing beside Kaiwen.

Not too close, and not too far.

It was as if just standing within Kaiwen's line of sight was enough.