Mid-Hive In the marginal family area, the hour hand on the wall clock points to three o'clock in the afternoon.
Ronan took his adjutant Levin and walked up the corridor.
They both crawled out of the Lower Hive smelly ditch together. The family area is located opposite each other, so they went home together this time.
Levin is not here to monitor him, but to go home with him and ensure safety on the road.
When I opened the door, I heard the crisp sound of cans colliding.
"Dad!"
The younger one saw him first and rushed over to hug his legs.
Ronan bent down, picked him up, and took out two cans of meat from behind with his other hand.
"Look, what is this?"
The two children's eyes instantly lit up.
The wife turned around and was stunned when she saw boxes of vacuum-sealed canned meat, compressed biscuits, candy bars, and canned fruits stacked on the table.
"Why do you bring so many..."
"Issued by the Governor." Ronan put down the things, took out a bank card from his arms, and put it into his wife's hand.
The wife was stunned.
"This is my military pay card, and the password is your birthday." Ronan lowered his voice, "Keep it. If I can't come back, take it to the company and my brothers, they will help you."
The wife's hand shook.
She raised her head and looked into Ronan's eyes.
She wanted to ask, wanted to ask what happened, wanted to ask why she said such things.
But she didn't ask.
Because she knew that they could crawl out of the smelly ditch of Lower Hive and live in Mid-Hive... even if it was just a marginal neighborhood, which was something they would never dare to think about in this life.
Children can go to Governor's College, study for free, and eat for free.
If you get good grades, you can keep reading.
Even if you are not good at reading, Governor's Office will arrange a stable job.
She has seen Lower Hive children starve to death on the roadside, and she has seen women sell themselves for half a loaf of bread.
She never wanted to go back to those days.
"Our ability to climb out of Lower Hive all depends on the Governor." His wife raised her hand and straightened his collar, her voice steady.
"If the governor bows his head to the nobles, everything we have now will be gone overnight."
"Don't worry, I'm at home and we'll wait for you to come back."
Ronan nodded and hugged his wife heavily.
The younger son held the canned fruit and raised his head and asked, "Dad, when will you come back and take us to the amusement park?"
Ronan rubbed his head and said with a smile, "Soon."
The moment he turned around, the smile in his eyes disappeared.
Before leaving, he took off his officer nameplate and put it into his wife's hand.
"If I don't come back, take this to Governor's Office, and the Governor will take care of you for the rest of your life."
The wife held the piece of cold metal and watched her husband's back disappear outside the door.
Levin's muffled voice came from the opposite door.
He gave all the pension and rewards to his old mother who was paralyzed in bed, and repeatedly asked the neighbors to help take care of her.
When he went out, he stood at the door and looked back. His old mother had closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, not wanting him to see her tears.
The two men who climbed out of Lower Hive looked at each other at the door and saw determination in each other's eyes.
They have no choice, and they don't want to choose.
The only way to survive is to follow the governor.
Lower Hive.
Kaim Carrying half a bag of things, he stepped through the alleyway with sewage flowing across it, and pushed open the metal door that was about to fall apart.
A strong musty smell hit my face.
The room was very dark, with only one dim lamp.
Lying on the bed was a skinny mother, covering her mouth and coughing heartbrokenly.
The three younger brothers and sisters were huddled in the corner, looking at him eagerly.
"Brother!"
The youngest sister rushed over, Kaim touched her head and opened the bag.
White bread, canned meat, and a big can of condensed milk.
The three children's eyes instantly lit up.
Kaim walked to the bedside and handed a piece of bread to his mother's mouth.
"Mom, eat something."
His mother struggled to sit up and looked at him, her eyes full of worry.
"Where did you come from..."
"It was sent by the Governor." Kaim paused, "Mom, I may have to go on a mission tonight."
"If the mission goes well, we can move to Mid-Hive. You can go to the hospital for treatment, and your younger brothers and sisters can go to school without going hungry."
His voice was calm, as if he was talking about what to eat today.
"If I don't come back, go find my big brother Hawk who is on the same team. He knows what to do."
These are all promises given by the Governor.
His mother's skinny hands grasped his wrist, her eyes full of reluctance, but she didn't say a word to stop him.
She is a Lower Hive woman, married to a Lower Hive man, and the man is dead. She drags four children with her and collects scraps in exchange for half a loaf of bread every day.
She knew very well that her son was the family's only hope. This was the only chance for their family to get out of the Lower Hive quagmire.
If they missed it, their whole family would just die in this poisonous fog-filled tube building.
But looking at Kaim, who was only twenty years old, her eyes were full of reluctance.
"You... you must be careful."
His mother's voice was hoarse and her hand holding him was shaking.
Kaim hugged his mother, touched the heads of his younger brothers and sisters, turned around and walked out of the Tongzilou.
When he opened the door, a black hover car rushed over from the alley and almost hit him.
Kaim took a step to the side and was splashed with sewage.
The car window rolled down, revealing a smooth-haired and pink-faced face, wearing the kind of satin clothes that only Mid-Hive nobles could afford.
"Lower Hive's untouchables walk without eyes?"
The man cursed, rolled up the window, and walked away.
Kaim stood in the sewage, staring at the taillights of the car.
He remembered the face and the coat of arms on the car.
That is the emblem of the Valerius Commodore family.
"This guy will definitely be there at the dinner party."
In the resting cabin of the gang members in the military camp, the air was stuffy and oppressive.
More than twenty soldiers were sitting or lying down, some were cleaning their guns, and some were in a daze.
In the corner, a recruit was carefully wiping Autogun, with two crooked characters engraved on the gun.
"Sister."
A veteran with a scar on his face glanced at him and asked, "Are you afraid?"
The recruit raised his head, thought for a moment, and shook his head.
"What are you afraid of? The governor said that after this battle, my family will be able to receive affordable housing. It will be worth it."
The veteran was silent for a few seconds, patted his shoulder, and continued to clean the gun.
A little further away, the gray-haired veteran Hawk took out a crumpled photo from his arms.
In the photo is a newborn baby.
Someone came over and said, "Your grandson?"
Hawk nodded, carefully took the photo back, and stuffed it into the closest pocket on his chest.
He is fifty-four this year. He has been mining in Lower Hive all his life. When he is old, he can't even get enough money for his grandson's milk powder. It was Fu Haoran that gave him his first clean military pay and gave his family hope to survive.
He lightly rubbed the photo with his fingertips, stuffed the photo into the closest pocket on the inside of his combat uniform, and loaded the gun.
His life was picked up, and now he should use it to give his grandson a future where he can see the sun.
"I used to be in Lower Hive, and my life was worse than garbage."
"It was the governor who gave me the first piece of clean bread. Now it's my turn to keep it."
No one answered.
But everyone understands.
At sunset, everyone returned to the team and no one was late.
The hands of the clock on the wall are beating one by one.
In Lower Hive, the mother looked at the photo again and again, finally stuffed it under the pillow and closed her eyes.
In front of the window of Mid-Hive, my wife clutched the cold officer nameplate and stared at the night outside the window, having no sleep all night.
In the military camp, the soldiers who jumped into the gang have been fully equipped, and the three-meter-tall steel giants lined up quietly.
The soldiers who jumped from the gang have been fully equipped, while another group of elite soldiers who have changed into plain clothes have already taken an inconspicuous civilian truck and quietly headed to Upper Hive.