"The scenery in Belobog's Underworld isn't bad, either—especially those kids. They're just too cute." Just then, March 7th and Stelle came walking over from a distance.
A group of children surrounded them.
At the head of the group was a child Jing Yan had rescued before: the leader of The Moles, "Pitch-Dark Hook the Great."
Hook's big felt hat and the golden hair beneath it stood out even from far away.
Hook and the other kids from The Moles strode this way with swaggering, self-important postures.
They were all shorter than March 7th's waist, but with their little hands on their hips and their short legs marching forward, they were so amusing that anyone who saw them would have to laugh.
"J-Jing Yan?" Hook spotted him and her eyes lit up.
She froze for a moment, looking a little awkward, then suddenly rushed over in high spirits. She hugged Jing Yan's leg and looked up at him, speaking innocently. "Jing Yan! I heard you were the one who saved me. Is that true? Seele told Hook. She said you're really amazing!"
Hook was usually so full of herself, always acting like a grown-up even around adults. Seeing her cling to him like this left Jing Yan feeling a little out of his depth.
He smiled. "Little Hook, I had no idea you were this cute. Haha!"
Hook suddenly realized that she'd been acting a little too much like a child. She was going to lose her leaderly dignity—the aura of "Pitch-Dark Hook the Great"—in front of the other kids.
So she let go and struck her signature cute pose, standing with her arms held out at her sides.
[Hook's affection increased by 5%. Current affection: 75%]
Jing Yan hadn't expected Hook's affection for him to rise so high just because he'd saved her life.
But on second thought, it seemed reasonable.
After all, her father was an old miner named Fersman. He worked especially hard in the mines to support his wife and daughter, which meant he often suffered injuries.
He frequently visited Natasha's little clinic.
Jing Yan had once told him some fairy tales from his previous life, suggesting he share them with Hook to cheer her up.
Come to think of it, Hook had probably already known about him and felt grateful because her father had received treatment from him.
But Hook might not have wanted to bother him. Or perhaps she was capable enough that even when she went on adventures, she rarely got hurt. Maybe she'd simply been too busy playing to remember.
Either way, she hadn't had a chance to let Jing Yan treat her.
Now that she knew he'd saved her life, she was deeply grateful to him.
"Little Hook, what were you doing just now? Were you playing hide-and-seek with the new big sisters?" Jing Yan bent down, patted Hook on the head, and asked with a smile.
"Mm-hm." Hook nodded emphatically.
"These two big sisters are really good. The Moles have never been found by an adult during hide-and-seek before!"
Hook spoke earnestly.
She seemed a little unwilling to admit defeat.
Jing Yan was at a loss for words.
He couldn't exactly tell her that the adults hadn't found them because they either didn't want to waste their time or had pretended not to find them so the kids would be happy.
In any case, looking at the adorable children, Jing Yan couldn't bring himself to shatter their innocent fantasy. He only smiled.
"Then take The Moles along to play some more, Little Hook!"
Jing Yan stood up and smiled at her.
"Mm-hm! You should do your best too, Jing Yan!"
"Try your best to win over Big Sister Natasha!" Hook added, suddenly remembering something.
Jing Yan froze, not knowing what to say.
He felt like those words didn't sound like something a child her age would say.
"Hey, you..." Jing Yan said, pretending to scold her.
"Who taught you to say that?" he asked.
"Hehe, did Jing Yan figure it out? Hook's dad told me!" Hook said proudly.
March 7th and Stelle came over too.
They were both smiling brightly.
March 7th's smile was especially sweet, while Stelle's was friendly but a little awkward.
"I didn't expect you to be so popular with kids, Mr. Jing Yan!" March 7th said with a smile.
[March 7th's affection increased by 5%. Current affection: 68%]
"It's nothing. I haven't really done anything," Jing Yan said, shrugging.
"By the way, I'm planning to head to the Robot Settlement. Do you want to come along? And where's Dan Heng?" Jing Yan asked.
"The Robot Settlement?" Stelle repeated, furrowing her brow as she thought about the name.
"Never heard of it."
Jing Yan: "..." He didn't pay her much mind.
He knew that Stelle was just like that, a little slow on the uptake. Maybe it was because she was an Artificial Body for the Stellaron.
"Jing Yan, you mean Dan Heng?"
"Dan Heng's always wandering off everywhere." March 7th's lips pursed as she thought of him.
She crossed her arms over her chest, looking a little annoyed.
"He's nowhere near as dependable as you, Mr. Jing Yan," March 7th added.
Jing Yan: "..."
He didn't take it too seriously.
March 7th only said that because she'd just seen him interacting closely with the children and thought he seemed trustworthy. Dan Heng, on the other hand, was usually rather aloof.
When it came to socializing, Dan Heng was all about efficiency. Unless it was necessary, he generally had no desire to interact with a random passerby.
Another thing was that if he found something to investigate, he might go off to handle it on his own. That was why March 7th and Stelle had no idea where he was.
Even so, March 7th pulled out her phone to message Dan Heng.
She thought for a moment, then looked up at Jing Yan. "By the way, we were freezing ever since we arrived on Yarilo-VI. We have you to thank for guiding us here, so I'd like to give you this as a thank-you!"
March 7th handed him something.
Jing Yan accepted it at once when he saw what it was.
It was the legendary "smartphone."
He'd seen plenty of them in his previous life, but Belobog, the last bastion on Yarilo-VI, didn't have any at all.
"Oh, and one for Big Sister Natasha, too. I want to thank her for taking care of me. What was that called again... treatment? Yeah, that's right!"
March 7th added.
"And the cream soup Big Sister Natasha treated me to was delicious, too!" March 7th added.
As an outsider, everything in the Underworld seemed novel and interesting to her.
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