Kafka

After returning from the Upper District, Chu Mu's life settled back into its old peaceful routine.

Every day, he continued reading from early morning, then went out for a stroll with Natasha in the evening.

His eyesight deteriorated even further.

Over the following days, people came to the Orphanage one after another to ask about Chu Mu, expressing interest in adopting him.

His extraordinary act of gouging out his own right eye had changed many people's opinion of him in the Underworld.

Even though he had lost an eye, even though he was already past the ideal age for adoption, there were still families willing to take him in.

Unfortunately, when the Old Director told them that Chu Mu would soon go blind, they all fell silent.

Families in the Underworld were far from well-off. People might be willing to adopt a one-eyed little hero, but no one wanted to support a blind burden.

Being blind meant never being able to do manual labor, and having to depend on his family for the rest of his life!

Even if these people were willing to support him themselves, they had to consider the rest of their families. Were they supposed to leave this burden to their children and grandchildren after they died?

And so, Chu Mu's hopes of being adopted were dashed.

Chu Mu was happy with that outcome, too. In fact, he would never leave the Orphanage before Xiao Bu was adopted.

If I got adopted first, who would protect that silly girl?

What Chu Mu did not know was that, at that very moment, a turning point in his fate had quietly arrived in the Upper District.

"Hey, Silver Wolf. Can you hear me?"

On a street in Belobog's Administrative District, a beautiful, slender woman in Professional Attire idly toyed with the purple hair beside her ear.

A Micro Earpiece sat in her right ear.

"I can hear you, Kafka." A slightly distorted voice came through the Headset, then cleared after a few bursts of static. "This planet's weather is so chaotic that it's interfering with communications. I've adjusted for it now."

The voice of the person on the other end, Silver Wolf, carried a hint of childishness.

She paused, then asked curiously:

"Anyway, Kafka, can you tell me now? Why did we suddenly change course and land on Jarilo-VI? Another 'script' from Elio?"

"Clever little Silver Wolf." The gorgeous woman named Kafka smiled faintly. "That's right. In the future Elio saw, I adopt a child here."

"What?" Silver Wolf's voice was full of disbelief. "Adopt a child? You?"

"Is there a problem?" Kafka surveyed the pedestrians through her sunglasses and chuckled softly. "Elio has really done me dirty this time. I'm still so young, and now I'm going to have a child. You know how hard it is for a single, unmarried woman with a child to find a partner in the Sea of Stars these days. Oh, I'm such a poor thing. Don't you agree, Silver Wolf?"

"Heh." Silver Wolf gave a cold laugh. "I think that child is much worse off than you."

Kafka raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Isn't having you for a mother reason enough to pity him?" Silver Wolf sighed. "Let's pray for this kid. I have a feeling you'll be the death of him."

"Aren't children there to be taken advan- ahem." Kafka coughed a few times. "Silver Wolf, that's hardly fair. I've taken pretty good care of you lately, haven't I? Clearly, I'm capable of being a competent mother."

"By 'pretty good care,' you mean exploiting child labor. You're down there having the time of your life while I'm stuck up here watching the ship," Silver Wolf said coldly.

"Well, the capable always have more to do." Kafka laughed cheerfully. "Silver Wolf, is my fake identity ready?"

"See? You can't even be bothered to humor me for another few sentences before you start hurrying me along with my work." Silver Wolf sounded rather indignant.

Still, she answered seriously:

"It's all ready. Your current identity is a female official in charge of internal affairs at Kliperburg. Only the Supreme Guardian and those close to her know who the Internal Affairs Officer is. Outsiders don't. So, as long as you don't go looking for trouble at Kliperburg, this identity will get you past the station blockade and safely into the Underworld."

"That's my Silver Wolf! Always so reliable," Kafka praised her.

"I might be happy if someone else praised me, but when you do it, it just puts me on guard. Makes me wonder what you're plotting this time," Silver Wolf grumbled.

Suddenly, she seemed to discover something. Her voice rose as she exclaimed in surprise:

"Kafka, the instruments just picked up a Stellaron on this planet! If I get my hands on it, I can complete my beginner mission, right?"

Silver Wolf's voice brimmed with excitement. Once she completed her beginner mission, she could become a full-fledged member of the Stellaron Hunters, stand on equal footing with Kafka, and escape her days of being exploited by that wicked woman!

But Kafka's next words threw cold water on her excitement:

"Forget it, Silver Wolf. Elio didn't mention this Stellaron, which means it has another purpose. We don't need to collect it. At least, not now."

Hearing that, Silver Wolf protested reluctantly:

"Couldn't Elio have overlooked it?"

"Elio doesn't overlook things," Kafka said calmly. "You have to trust that the future he chose is the best one."

"Fine," Silver Wolf said dejectedly. "If we miss this one, who knows when we'll find another?"

"Don't worry. Once we're finished here, Blade and I will take you to find a Stellaron and complete your beginner mission," Kafka reassured her.

"Mm." Silver Wolf's voice was subdued. "By the way, there's something I wanted to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Never mind. We'll talk when you get back."

"So you've learned to leave things half-said and keep people hanging, too?" Kafka laughed.

"Think whatever you want. Just hurry back. Adopting a kid shouldn't take long. With your abilities, you'll get them to do exactly as you say." Silver Wolf ended the call.

Kafka remained where she was, deep in thought.

Did Silver Wolf say that because something happened aboard the ship?

Silver Wolf and Blade are the only ones aboard right now. Whatever happened probably has something to do with Blade.

She took an identification booklet from her bag. A forged document had already appeared inside it.

Kafka picked up the document and headed toward the underground station.

Suddenly, she stopped.

She pushed up her sunglasses and gazed admiringly at the clothes in a shop window.

Seeing this, the shop assistant hurried outside and greeted her with an eager smile:

"Ma'am, are you interested in our coats? To tell you the truth, our shop has been open for over seven hundred years. We've been here since the beginning of the Architect Era. They say the Architects wore our coats when they built Belobog!"

But Kafka merely took several blue cards out of her bag and said calmly:

"Wrap them up."

"Credits!" the shop assistant exclaimed in disbelief.

"Is there a problem?" Kafka asked with a frown. "Don't you accept Credits here?"

The Credits issued by the Interastral Peace Corporation were hard currency throughout the Sea of Stars.

"N-no, not at all!" The shop assistant hastily accepted the cards. Holding those blue cards, she felt as though they were burning her fingers.

Jarilo-VI had been sealed off for over seven hundred years, but the Corporation's currency could still circulate on the planet and remained officially recognized.

However, most residents here had no Credits to their names. All they had were Winter City Shields.

Only a handful of people could produce Credits dating back hundreds of years, especially in such large amounts-

Those people were the Architects and their descendants!

The shop assistant looked at Kafka with such reverence that Kafka was left rather bewildered.

I only asked Silver Wolf to forge an identity, not tamper with anyone's brain!