Its four legs quickly took root in the soil below, and two or three new Tasteless Fruit began to grow little by little inside its belly.
A series of footsteps approached from afar, and a smile appeared on [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ]'s lips.
"Big brother."
A boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old crawled into his tattered tent, and [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] handed him another Tasteless Fruit.
Come to think of it, I've finally made it big—people even call me "Big Brother" now!
Unfortunately, there was only one person...
To be honest, although he only stayed around the capital for a week, [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] already had a basic understanding of the fierce local customs.
On his very first night here, someone wanted to kill Bruce to have some fun, but fortunately, he was considered a minor expert among the Low Tier, and dealing with a few ordinary refugees was no problem for him.
After knocking everyone down, [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] used his fierce gaze to scare away the last boy who was just watching from the sidelines.
The next day, the beaten-up guys gathered more vagrants to prepare for another night raid, trying to turn Bruce into a pot of dog meat.
But this time, it was the same young man who had been scared off before who secretly informed [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ].
Upon receiving the message, the Soul Returner adjusted the game time for that day and ultimately gave a severe beating to more than a dozen starving and destitute refugees at midnight.
From then on, the messenger boy began to address [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] as "Big Brother".
Thanks to certain literary and artistic works they read in their childhood, those Soul Returner readily accept this title.
Over time, the two became acquainted. The boy's A Luo, which was not a nickname, but simply how it was pronounced.
As for the name [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ], it was too difficult to pronounce, so after the boy memorized it, he stopped saying it and continued to call him "Big Brother".
Because of the need for game updates and offline events, the Soul Returner place great importance on sleep safety, and recruiting a follower or henchman can significantly improve sleep safety.
Moreover, since the Soul Returner possesses the trump card of immortality, he is not actually worried about anything.
His ability to recruit followers has further boosted his video views, and now people are even giving him tips and urging him to update!
Overjoyed, A Luo received the fruit and said with a grin:
"Thank you, brother."
He then stuffed it directly into his mouth without even wiping it, and it was wishful thinking to expect him to spit out the pit.
"Big brother..."
The boy's somewhat dry throat was blocked by large chunks of fruit, making it difficult for him to speak for a moment.
"Did you see the notice posted over there?"
"Which one? The one where the Minister of the Imperial Seal recruits auxiliary soldiers?"
The Soul Returner raised an eyebrow.
"That's right, it's that minister... Brother, you're amazing, I don't even know that word."
The boy tried to pronounce the words "Minister in Charge of the Imperial Seals," but it was a bit awkward and he couldn't pronounce it successfully.
The Soul Returner's lips twitched slightly, thinking to himself that this really had nothing to do with how powerful he was...
He encountered his first Imperial person two days after entering the Empire. Perhaps because he collected language samples from the locals, his player system automatically updated to the Imperial language patch.
Since then, communication has no longer been a problem for him.
Just like the Kingdom's language, the Imperial language still cannot translate some words from another world or the Second Holy See, so sometimes they still communicate by piecing together new words from the void.
However, most of the time, the existing vocabulary is sufficient.
"It's nothing, you'll learn it in the future..."
The Soul Returner said something rather guiltily, then changed the subject and asked:
" A Luo, what are your plans for the future?"
The boy looked at his newly acquainted older brother with a puzzled expression.
I plan to join the auxiliary troops.
The Soul Returner swallowed the last bite of fruit and spoke rather calmly.
He seemed to have completely immersed himself in the role of a refugee outside the imperial capital, and his tone now carried a hint of resoluteness:
"There are hundreds of thousands of refugees just outside the capital. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to seize every opportunity."
"I think this might be the opportunity I've been waiting for."
A Luo opened his mouth wide in astonishment, and a piece of fruit that he had chewed a few times fell out, which he immediately put back into his mouth.
"Brother... it looks like war is about to break out. You might die..."
[ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] solemnly uttered the nonsense learned in another world:
"Everyone dies eventually."
However, his tone quickly softened:
"Actually, it's okay. No one will kill support soldiers on the battlefield. If you get captured, just help the enemy carry things. Someone has to carry things."
"Besides, it's not certain that war will break out. It's just that I'm not very familiar with the Imperial military system and don't know if auxiliary troops are permanent or temporarily recruited before a war. Otherwise, I would definitely be able to find more clues."
Several more words I've never heard before...
A Luo thought to himself that his adopted older brother was indeed no ordinary person; after only a few days of getting to know each other, he had already heard many words he had never heard before from the other man.
Moreover, judging from his calm and composed demeanor, those words were probably not made up on the spot to appease him, since he spoke them so fluently.
Knowing that his cheap older brother was no ordinary person A Luo was somewhat astonished by the other's vision.
Although he couldn't understand much of what was said afterward, at least he understood the part about wanting to join the army.
While pondering, [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] had already finished the other half of the Tasteless Fruit.
He reached out and patted A Luo's head:
" A Luo, thank you for taking care of me these past few days. I plan to register at the city gate in a bit. If I'm selected..."
He looked around and realized he couldn't even scrape together a complete piece of rag, so he could only awkwardly say:
"You can do whatever you want with these junk pieces of mine."
"Ah!"
The boy suddenly realized, then looked shocked:
"Big brother, aren't you taking me with you?"
The Soul Returner sized up the boy. He certainly wouldn't believe the boy was a fool. From his initial assessment of the situation to his later bowing down, [ Soaring Clouds 3773 ] knew that the kid in front of him was definitely not stupid.
So why did he ask that question?
A Luo himself has already provided an explanation:
"You're my older brother, so I should go wherever you go, right?"
So that's what you were thinking? Or did this kid sense some kind of "domineering aura" about me and want to curry favor with me?
The Soul Returner returned to its resting place in a brief silence.
He reached out and patted the somewhat thin boy's shoulder:
"Someone like you probably wouldn't pass the test... Besides, how old are you? There's a high chance you'd die on the battlefield!"