Natasha's Care

Jing Yan felt a sense of warmth from Natasha's concern, even though most people in the Underworld were warm-hearted, save for the very few cynics who spent their days preaching about the "end of the world."

Most people remained relatively positive, or at least, they practiced a philosophy of life that found sweetness in the bitterness of their daily existence.

"Jing Yan, you went to the Overworld, so why did you bring these people down with you? These people are from the Overworld... wait, why have I never seen such trendy clothes before?"

Many people cast puzzled looks at Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle, but they soon realized something.

It seemed these three were the "outworlders" mentioned by the Overworld, and wanted criminals at that.

Of course, to the Overworld at this moment, these three were not just outworlders, but "invaders." According to Cocolia, these three had come to Belobog to seize power from the Architects, attempt to overthrow the government, and bring about destruction.

However, Sampo had already returned to the Underworld earlier and brought the news from above, so the people of the Underworld had already heard rumors about these outworlders.

Now, with the evidence before them, they were already starting to believe it.

Even so, this information remained useless to most ordinary Underworld citizens; only high-ranking leaders of the "Underworld Fire" organization, such as Seele, Oleg, and Natasha, took it very seriously.

The reason was that the Underworld Fire was, by nature, a resistance organization. In their eyes, the Supreme Guardian of the Overworld had isolated the Underworld, effectively abandoning them to their fate.

The people of the Underworld not only had to mine Geomarrow Ore to provide heat for the Overworld, but they also received virtually no aid from above.

When Oleg took Seele to the Overworld for an inspection, Seele had witnessed the people of the Overworld wasting exquisite food, while many in the Underworld were still going hungry.

They basically never wasted food.

Consequently, the gap between the Underworld and the Overworld only continued to widen.

The people of the Underworld no longer trusted the Supreme Guardian.

And this was an incredibly accurate judgment.

Because it was precisely the Supreme Guardian who had betrayed them, generation after generation, all the way down to the eighteenth.

In the process of colluding with the Stellaron, the Supreme Guardian had lost her faith in Qlipoth the Preservation, and under the bewitchment of the Stellaron, had turned toward the "Destruction" it represented.

The current Cocolia had essentially led the people toward the final generation, a fate of extinction. At this moment, her intention was to fully release the power of the Stellaron, let the Fragmentum consume all of Belobog, and transform everyone into Fragmentum Creatures.

Even if humanity ceased to exist, and all things withered away in the boundless blizzard, people would still exist in another form, retaining a portion of their memories from when they were alive.

Even if this was merely a beautiful "new world" and "rebirth" that the Stellaron had used to bewitch Cocolia, she had, in her heart, long been destined to walk this path.

After all, every Supreme Guardian was chosen from the common folk of Belobog by her predecessor.

They were sweet-faced and appeared to represent light and justice at first glance, but if they could not be bewitched by the Stellaron, their only end would be death.

And this was perhaps Bronya's future fate.

Or perhaps, because time was running out and destruction was imminent, there would simply be no next Supreme Guardian at all!

"Jing Yan, by the way, were you frozen or anything while you were up there for so long?" Natasha lowered her head and began to check Jing Yan's body, lifting his arms to inspect for injuries.

Jing Yan complied obediently, though a look of helplessness appeared on his face as he smiled and said, "I'm fine, Sister Natasha. Not a single problem."

"On the contrary, you've had more and more patients injured by Fragmentum Creatures lately. You must have been busy for a long time, shouldn't you go and get some rest?"

Jing Yan asked.

Natasha smiled upon hearing this. "What's there to be tired about? Seeing that everyone is safe is enough to keep me going."

Jing Yan said nothing more.

"By the way, have you figured anything out about that stone I gave you earlier?"

Jing Yan asked casually.

Because materials were relatively scarce, most research here was practical in nature.

If it had little effect on animals after ingestion, it would be given to humans; if it caused no issues for humans and could even treat illnesses, it meant it was useful.

Dan Heng had praised this approach after learning about it.

He noted that the medical practices here were quite similar to those on his Xianzhou.

The only difference was the direction of the treatment.

After all, because of the blessing of The Abundance, the people of the Xianzhou possessed theoretically endless lifespans, but they were prone to a condition called "Mara-Struck."

They became immortal monsters.

In such a state, although the person was still technically alive, they could no longer be called human.

"Are you talking about this?" Natasha took the "Emotion Stone" out from her pocket.

"I haven't studied it for long; the number of patients at the clinic has been increasing, so my research is still quite superficial." As Natasha spoke, there seemed to be a hint of apology on her face.

"It's fine," Jing Yan smiled.

"Just tell me whatever you've found."

Natasha blinked, looking at Jing Yan's expression with a hint of suspicion.

"Could it be that you know something about this object?" Natasha asked, puzzled.

"On this planet, I should know most of the medicinal herbs. Other unknown substances are basically materials from ancient ruins or things that are very rare outside the city. This colorful stone of yours, what exactly is it..."

Natasha continued to ask.

Clearly, she was very curious about the origins of the stone.

"My knowledge is somewhat limited, though perhaps a bit more extensive than Natasha's," Jing Yan replied.

"Is that so? Very well, then I shall share my findings first. I discovered that this stone can make people feel joyful. As long as they are near it, even a child who was just crying will stop, and before long, they will even be laughing."

"The power within this object is quite unique, yet it is likely not harmful. Unlike the power of a Fragmentum Creature, it carries no corrosive effect."

"It is truly quite extraordinary."

Natasha concluded, holding the Emotion Stone.

"Indeed." Jing Yan fully agreed with her findings.

Beyond acknowledging Natasha's research, Jing Yan couldn't help but admire her meticulous nature.

His power was, indeed, difficult to detect.