"Yvette, why are you unwilling to go to Silvermoon City?" Asna withdrew her lifeless gaze, turning to look at me. In her beautiful eyes, there was a deep sense of confusion. "We heard what you said to Edmund. There's a signal device on the life pod from Silvermoon City, and they will definitely come back for you..."
I released my clenched fists and chuckled, "And then face interrogation, hm? They don't trust me."
"Because you are a stranger to them." Asna continued to speak up for Silvermoon City. Although, I now somewhat understood Edmond's distrust, in a world where the strong prey on the weak, who can be trusted?
"To people on the ground, being brought back to Silvermoon City for questioning is better than staying on the ground..." Asna looked around, a desolate landscape with no future or hope.
"I don't think they will take me to Silvermoon City; they suspect me. Regardless, Edmond threw me down from high altitude. It's a fact."
"If they really wanted to get rid of you, they wouldn't have given you a life pod." Asna's expression became serious, and she seemed to be explaining on behalf of Edmond.
"But you saved me! You didn't doubt me or interrogate me!" I became excited. "I'm a stranger to you too!"
Asna hesitated for a moment, her gaze dropping, and her expression turned silent. Could it be...
"How is it possible not to doubt?" Suddenly, an old yet powerful voice came from behind us. Asna and I turned together, seeing Elder Arufa holding a wooden staff under the moonlight. His white hair turned silver in the moonlight, making him look more like a wise old mage.
His face was calm, and he walked calmly in front of me. "I'm sorry, Yvette. We also doubted you."
"Don't you doubt that I'm from Eclipse City?" Whether it was due to Edmond's previous blow, being rescued by Noah City, or Elder Arufa's calm apology at this moment, I wasn't bothered that Elder Arufa said they initially doubted me. I felt rather calm.
"Hahaha." Elder Arufa laughed heartily. "People from Eclipse City are not as clean as you."
"..." I remembered Edmond also mentioning that he believed I wasn't from Eclipse City because I didn't have a foul odor; I was clean.
"It's in here." Arufa pointed to his own eyes, avoiding Elder Arufa's laughter. He lowered his hand, smiling at me. "And, I believe in Ominic's judgment. If he thinks you're okay, then you must be okay!"I widened my eyes, "Uncle Ominic? He really doesn't look reliable at all!" Although I appreciated Uncle Ominic's trust in me, I couldn't help but doubt whether his judgment could be accurate based on his appearance.
"Yvette, don't judge Uncle Ominic by his appearance. He is very capable; you'll know in the future." Asna also laughed, but my skepticism still lingered as I looked at her smiling face.
Uncle Ominic?Very capable?Really?
Although Asna and Sister Celeste arranged a room for me, I still stayed in Edmund's warehouse with Second Sister. The pile of coils was warm, and now it was September. Because this is the Ninth Zone, Silvermoon City would reach the Ninth Zone in September.
Second Sister also liked this pile of coils. I leaned against her soft chest, looking at my school uniform. What should I do next to survive? I couldn't let the people of Noah City take care of me indefinitely, providing me with food and shelter for free.
Asna, who is the same age as me, is also working hard to protect this city. She is confident and poised in front of the people from Silvermoon City, demonstrating excellent leadership.
Bernice, Amanda, and others wear battle gear, clearly the protectors of the city, ready to fight to defend it.
Then there's Emery, who seems the least reliable, with his slick tongue. He leads his reconnaissance team, responsible for exploring usable resources outside the city.
Edmund, breaking through technology for the city, multitasking between improving plant yield and analyzing the technology of Silvermoon City.
Every person around my age has significant responsibilities, independence, strength, and a sense of duty. In my world, girls of this age should still be spoiled by their parents, and what about boys? Apart from studying, they might just be showing off.
This reminds me of an old saying, "The times create heroes." People of the same age doing completely different things, things far greater than us.What about me? What can I do?
I looked at my hands. What could these hands do for the city? What could they do for the kind people who took me in?I could only throw a few knives. In a world full of people with abilities, my skill was insignificant.
Oh yes, I could also cook, but unfortunately, there are no ingredients here. It's truly a useless talent in this world of abilities.I put my hands behind my head, closed my eyes, and, in this unfamiliar and terrifying post-apocalyptic world, I slept peacefully for the first time.The people of Noah City rose early, each seemingly having their own tasks to attend to. Despite being an underground city with limited resources, their early morning hustle was a mystery to me.
Edmund arrived early, resuming his research on the life pods from Silvermoon City.
"Shajah said, once you want to connect to the Silvermoon City's mainframe, they will know where you are," I reminded Edmund.
Edmund lowered his face, still a bit embarrassed to look at me. "I know. Right now, I just want to extract the Blue Crystal Energy."
"Then go ahead and extract it." I sat in the coil circle, watching him while taking out my bag containing a set of toiletries.
Edmund's gaze involuntarily went to my bag. Without looking at him, I said, "There's no food in my bag."
He blinked, his face slightly reddening as he withdrew his gaze. "Princess brought your watermelon last night."
"She didn't eat it?!" I was somewhat surprised that Asna left the watermelon, "It's seedless, no seeds. It'll go bad if not eaten."
Edmund looked regretful. "Yes, but the princess hopes I can preserve them well. When conditions are right, I can extract the genes, and then I can clone them."
I stared at him in shock. "Those things can be cloned?! Will it be a whole watermelon or just the flesh?"
Edmund's gray-blue eyes scrutinized me. "Yvette, I've noticed that you know a lot."
I continued to be dumbfounded. Do I really know that much? I'm just a middle school student.
"After the apocalypse, many scientific technologies suffered severe damage." Edmund's tone was full of regret. "Also, due to radiation zones isolating surviving humans, in some places, there's even a regression in technology. Emery mentioned once that he found a tribe using stones to build houses, completely devoid of technology, and most of the people there were illiterate. It's truly pitiful... Fortunately, Princess Asna's grandfather was a scientist, preserving some technological resources." Edmund shook his head repeatedly, lamenting the backwardness of technology and civilization in some places.
Though I was just a middle school student, I understood that without communication and learning, technology would regress. Similar to tribes in our world, unwilling to communicate with the outside, still leading lives akin to primitive societies.
"So, quickly extract the Blue Crystal Energy. Asna said with it, we can explore farther places!"