The next day, Emerich entrusted Chris to Alvin and went out to work alone.
According to him, he was going to transport corpses at a tavern today. He could do this kind of work once a week in exchange for one Energy Bar.
An Energy Bar could barely keep the siblings from starving to death, but it would never fill them up.
At nightfall, Emerich limped back from the corner of the alley with two Energy Bars in his arms. Though he had been badly beaten, a happy smile still appeared on his face.
The boy timidly held out one of the Energy Bars. "Mr. Alvin, if you don't mind, you can have some of this."
Seeing the boy's bruised and swollen face, Alvin fell silent for a moment. Despite being filthy, Emerich had deliberately washed his hands before gripping the cheap Energy Bar. Alvin took it. "Thank you."
Seeing him accept the Energy Bar, Emerich smiled happily.
"How old are you and your sister this year?" Alvin asked, breaking the silence after taking a bite of the Energy Bar.
"I'm twelve, and my sister is eight."
Emerich broke the Energy Bar into one long piece and one short piece, then handed the longer piece to his sister and ruffled her hair. "Eat up, Chris."
Chris obediently accepted the Energy Bar and, as usual, said nothing, swallowing it in great gulps.
"She can't speak?" Alvin asked curiously. During the day, Chris had curled up in a corner and occasionally stolen glances at him, but she had not answered no matter what he asked.
"Yeah. Chris couldn't speak when I found her." Emerich touched his withered yellow hair as he spoke.
"Found her? You aren't biological siblings?"
This time, it was Alvin's turn to be shocked.
"Hehe, actually, we aren't, Mr. Alvin."
Emerich shyly rubbed his nose and gazed fondly at Chris as he softly told him the story.
In fact, Emerich and Chris were not related by blood at all.
In the winter of the year Emerich turned eight, a gang war broke out in the Underhive. Scavengers became the most sought-after "commodities," being sent by the cartload to the warring gangs.
As for what corpses could be used for, Emerich had seen it long ago.
At the time, Emerich had gone eight whole days without food and finally could not endure it any longer. He had to go out in search of food.
Otherwise, the bitter winter, combined with hunger, would have been enough to kill him.
Emerich risked going to the industrial district, hoping to rummage up some valuable trash and exchange it for enough supplies to fill his stomach.
If his luck was good, it would be even better if he could find a couple of pieces of clothing.
The clothes on eight-year-old Emerich had been rags he found long ago. After all these years, they were almost completely worn out and could not block the cold air of winter at all.
"I remember it very clearly. That day, I searched for a long time, from daylight until night." Emerich lowered his head and stroked his adorable sister in his arms. A warm smile appeared on his face. "Suddenly, I heard a baby crying. That was where I found Chris."
"She was so tiny, curled up in a snowdrift, her entire face blue from the cold."
"Many people froze to death that year. In theory, a baby shouldn't have survived, but Chris was incredibly tough. She survived."
"I believe it was a miracle bestowed by the Emperor!"
Emerich gently embraced Chris, his face beaming with a bright smile. Scratching his head, he said, "Mr. Alvin, am I talking too much? Sorry. I just suddenly felt like telling someone about it."
"No. You're amazing, Emerich."
After hearing the story of the siblings, Alvin felt genuine admiration.
An eight-year-old child had brought his unrelated little sister and struggled through eight years in the Underhive. How many hardships had they endured during that time?
"Hehe, it really wasn't anything, Mr. Alvin." Emerich, embarrassed by the praise, rubbed his nose. "I just feel that Chris surviving must have been a blessing from His Majesty the Emperor, a gift He gave me."
That night, Emerich told Alvin many things about himself and his sister.
It was easy to tell that he truly loved his sister and always kept the Emperor on his lips.
Late into the night, Emerich held his sister in the corner of the alley and curled up beneath several sheets of cardboard, falling into a deep sleep.
The sleeping siblings leaned against each other, the corners of their lips slightly raised. They seemed to be having a beautiful dream.
Curled up against the wall, Alvin felt as if he had overlooked something, but he could not remember what it was.
Forget it. It probably isn't important.
He soon drifted into a hazy sleep.
In a trance, he seemed to see that pale and icy sun again.
"8!"
A number reverberated in his heart.
On the third day, it was time to leave.
Although they had spent only a short time together, Alvin sympathized deeply with the siblings.
But he knew very well that he had no way to take them to the Mid-hive. Even if he used the remaining gold bars to buy them places, he would have to wait at least another three days.
The problem was that the cult would not give him that much time. Alvin had to reach the Mid-hive as soon as possible and seek out the power needed to break the deadlock.
"I'm leaving."
Alvin stretched his stiff body and turned to look at the siblings in the corner.
"Thank you, Mr. Alvin."
Emerich solemnly led his sister and bowed deeply to him. "We'll definitely repay your kindness someday."
"As a parting gift, I hope you can protect yourselves." After hesitating again and again, Alvin handed them the old-fashioned Laser gun and instructed them, "This gun has an aiming problem, so you have to use it at close range. For the time being, try not to go anywhere crowded. Understand?"
This was all Alvin could do for the two poor siblings.
The rest would have to depend on them.
Alvin put his black robe back on, said goodbye to the siblings, and walked straight out of the alley.
"May the Emperor bless you, Mr. Alvin!"
Behind him came Emerich's childish yet utterly sincere blessing.
The Emperor bless me?
Alvin could not help smiling when he heard it.
If the Emperor Lord ever woke up, the first thing he would probably do was tear down the Ecclesiarchy.
But he also sent the siblings a blessing in his heart: May the Emperor bless you.
"The situation seems to have grown even tenser."
The moment Alvin entered the Black Market, he sensed a tense atmosphere permeating the air.
Even when there were few people in the Black Market before, it had never been this deserted. Looking around, he saw almost no stalls and only a few scattered figures.
The cult seemed to be developing faster than he had imagined. Alvin took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
He knocked on the Iron Door. It was still the bald man from last time, who gestured for him to go to the second floor.
Tucker had his legs propped up on the table, a cheap cigarette dangling from his mouth. He glanced at Alvin as he came upstairs. "Too slow."
"I was delayed a little on the way."
Alvin removed his hood. After hesitating briefly, he still asked, "When I came here, I noticed there were very few people in the Black Market. What happened?"
"Heh, what else could it be?"
Tucker lowered his eyes and sneered. "Those bastards from the Iron Hammer Gang are supposedly going to war with the other districts."
Sure enough, his guess had been proven right.
Alvin sighed inwardly. The cult had put on the skin of a gang and begun expanding at an astonishing pace.
In other words, he did not have much time left!
"I got what you wanted."
Tucker lowered his legs and hauled out a large bag from beneath the table.
Thud!
From the sound alone, it was obvious that the contents were extremely heavy. The table groaned from the impact.
Tucker immediately pulled open the zipper and laid out the items inside one by one. He stopped only after the entire table was covered.
"A Bolter, standard Astra Militarum model. It's a little old, but believe me, it's worth owning!"
"Two Frag Grenades. These are good stuff I managed to scrounge up. They have a kill radius of ten meters!"
"Three high-concentration compressed Energy Batteries. These are the cheapest and easiest to obtain of everything here."
"Ten Nutrient Solutions and twenty Energy Bars!"
"Of course, most importantly, a standard Carapace Armor. It's missing its ballistic plates and has some bullet marks on it, but it can definitely stop ordinary bullets!"
Alvin stared at the items on the table, so shocked that he could not speak.
These were things an Underhiver could get?!
What did you call a surprise? This was a surprise!
Before you continue