The sky grew dark earlier than usual that evening, and the lead-gray clouds seemed to press directly down on the rooftops of Yorikof Town.
Yu Xing returned to Windbell Avenue and headed for the bakery called Grandma Pearl's Sweet Hearth.
An unusual stillness hung over Yorikof Town, but apart from the patrolling guards, a few hurried pedestrians had appeared on the streets again.
Most wore the cheap clothes of butlers and servants. After two days of chaotic downpours that kept them indoors, followed by nearly two days of inspections and cleanup, many were running short on food.
Under the Harvest Mother Goddess's protection, the people of Yorikof Town had gone without many things, but it had been a long time since they had experienced a food shortage. People in the slums went hungry because they were poor and couldn't afford food, not because food was unavailable.
The church had, of course, arranged food aid during the disaster. But for many people, a day or two of assistance made little difference. The wealthy had to feed all the servants in their households, and they demanded fine, presentable fare. How could emergency rations possibly suffice?
As for the people in the slums, they had been glad to receive relief food from the church at first, but fear had soon followed.
They couldn't go on living like this.
If they did, the factories would go bankrupt and shut down. They would lose the jobs that barely kept them from starving. What would they do then?
If the masters and mistresses stopped giving them dirty laundry to wash, how would they make a living?
So even knowing the streets were still dangerous, some people could no longer hold out. No matter what, they had to go out and find out what was happening.
The