Chapter Thirty-Four: The Community May Still Be Salvageable

Yu Lian took the coffee without ceremony and downed it in one gulp. Just as he caught his breath, he noticed a young girl standing nearby with a bright, sunny smile.

Yes, he confirmed once again—it was a face he still did not recognize.

She appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old, quite beautiful, and possessed a poised and generous air. She wore simple yet neat and practical travel gear, with violet eyes and long, deep purple hair that was almost black. Naturally, just by looking at her eye and hair color, one could tell she was not from Earth.

This scene felt strangely familiar, Yu Lian thought.

"I apologize; you had to witness such an embarrassing scene."

"I should be the one apologizing, Officer. If you hadn't arrived in time, it’s frightening to think what might have happened to everyone. Thank you again." The girl nodded at Yu Lian and extended a hand. "My name is Frederica—Frederica Wilbert..."

"This is Penny, and this is George," the young girl added, introducing the two little tag-alongs beside her. One was another girl, a year or two younger than herself, and the other was a boy of about seven or eight. They were typical, ordinary Earth children, but quite cute nonetheless.

"The sandwich was made by Penny; she really wanted to hear your opinion on the taste," said Miss Frederica, who was likely from the Alliance.

Miss Penny blushed and nodded to Yu Lian in greeting. Beside her, the little boy stared with longing at the power armor and rifle Yu Lian had set aside.

"It’s delicious. All my exhaustion has vanished," Yu Lian said.

Although the ham and dried vegetables were clearly straight from a tin—hardly a display of culinary skill—even with Yu Lian’s emotional intelligence, he knew exactly what needed to be said.

"That's wonderful." The purple-haired girl thanked him on behalf of her friend, but showed no intention of leaving.

"I heard that the Councilman was hoping you would escort us into the city. Is that true?"

Yu Lian took a serious look at the girl, who appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen. He had expected other representatives to come and gauge his intentions, but he truly hadn't expected the first to be a young girl.

Dr. Banks had warned him earlier that the other Alliance citizen in the caravan was a very sharp girl, but this was more than just sharp—it was precocious to the point of being uncanny.

He looked at the beautiful girl, confirming he truly did not know her and had never heard the name "Frederica Wilbert" in his future memories. "Those were just initial thoughts. I'll have to discuss things with everyone before I know for sure. By the way, Miss Wilbert..."

"Just call me Fre." She was remarkably familiar for someone he’d just met; he’d never heard of Alliance young ladies acting this way. Moreover, her style didn't suggest someone flippant, shallow, or carefree.

"Alright, Miss Frederica. What about the adults in your family? Surely you didn't come here to travel alone?"

"Doesn't Earth have a saying: 'It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books'? Just consider me here to gather material for a thesis." The girl smiled. Seeing Yu Lian’s subtle expression, she added with a touch of the pride and self-regard typical of youth, "I am a student at the Alliance Ocean University."

...Calling her a straight-A student was an understatement. Or perhaps she was one of those "legal lolis"?

"Besides, my family has some assets, and we are indeed considering investing in New Yumen. I just decided to come and scout the situation myself."

***

According to the somewhat overly familiar Miss Frederica, she was certainly not a "legal loli," but rather a super-genius who had entered university at twelve and was nearing graduation at fourteen. But that wasn't the point.

This genius girl was indeed in New Yumen for an inspection. Her family were board members of the renowned Purple Letter Flower Group. It was a massive food conglomerate that originated on the Alliance homeworld but had since become an intergalactic behemoth. Its portfolio included food import/export, snacks, canned and convenience foods, fast-food chains, bars and cafes, and high-end restaurants—a very famous name throughout the galaxy.

While scouting plantations and ranches in New Yumen, she had met Mr. Pierce—Penny and George’s father—who was also there to scout locations for a food processing plant.

"Dad is such a dimwit. He kept saying the scenery in New Yumen was beautiful, with its 'lonely smoke in the desert and the setting sun over the river,' and talked about galloping horses and endless grasslands, so he brought the whole family along for a trip. This time, we really paid the price! If the officer hadn't arrived, we would have been in mortal danger." Penny had strong opinions about her father, but she didn't show much panic, even taking the initiative to make sandwiches for the soldiers. What a good girl.

Yes, she was truly a good girl. One couldn't blame her for only remembering to make sandwiches for the soldiers instead of sharing the surplus food with the refugees who were starving; even adults failed to think of that, so why expect it of a child?

Frederica added, "You are the officer, and in this situation, you are the professional. Everything should be decided by your judgment... Please let us know if there is anything we can help with."

Penny nodded. She might not have been a genius like her friend, but she was a mature little adult.

"Then, Penny, let's take these over to the other soldiers," Frederica said.

"Penny, can I stay and watch?" George asked suddenly, his eyes fixed on the rifle and power armor leaning against the wall.

Penny hesitated and looked at Yu Lian.

"What's the harm? Young men need their own space, too," Yu Lian laughed.

The girls smiled, left a parting reminder not to cause any trouble for the officer, and walked away. Each carried a basket of sandwiches, and one held a tray with a dozen cups of coffee, delivering them one by one.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, is that an AS40?"

"Oh? You’ve got a sharp eye." Yu Lian looked at the spirited little boy with interest, his bright eyes full of the excitement of finally seeing the real thing.

"Of course! I’ve been reading *Ship Knowledge* and *Youth Science and Defense Pictorial* since I was three," the boy boasted proudly.

Indeed, military enthusiasm truly had to start from childhood.

"That's a C10, right? This is my first time seeing a real C10." The boy was excited for half a minute, but he was clearly a well-bred child; after hesitating for a long time, he didn't reach out to touch it. He then looked disappointed. "But it's not a Dragoon. Big Brother, you aren't Orbital Paratroopers or Marines, are you?"

"...We are the Colonial Guard."

"Guard cannon fodder?"

How did this brat speak?

Yu Lian smiled. "George, your sister has been smart since she was little, hasn't she?"

***

"Yeah, I think she’s too smart. She’s serious all day, even more uptight than the school disciplinary committee. She reads those boring books all the time. She’s definitely going to grow up to be an old maid who can’t get married. But I didn't expect Big Sister Frederica to be even smarter. It’s the first time I’ve seen Penny admire someone so much."

"Is that so... George, do you want to head into the city now?"

"Of course! Dad wants to, too. After all, if we get to the city, we won't have to sleep in the vehicles. But Mom and Penny both say Dad is a big dimwit, so Big Brother doesn't have to listen to him."

Mr. Pierce’s status in the family was truly tragic.

"But you must have had a hard time traveling with the caravan. Didn't you run into any danger?"

"We did, we did!" The little boy’s eyes began to glow. It wasn't so much lingering fear as it was excitement. He spoke with the tone of a child discussing how Ultraman defeated a monster yesterday: "Right when we started, we ran into a giant sand crocodile, oh, and a Sand-Dak monstrosity, and a pack of wild raptors."

Yu Lian was stunned, thinking that they had indeed been through quite a lot. The only thing to be thankful for was that they hadn't run into any Gravel Dragons or the Swarm. At the thought of the Swarm, he couldn't help but shiver, feeling cold sweat on his back and his hands and feet turning icy despite the desert heat of New Yumen. Tears... wait, the sun had set, and the desert was naturally cold at night.

Regardless, the area around Tulong had become a meat grinder for the two million-strong armies. If nothing went wrong, warships should be approaching in orbit. The Swarm, which should still be hiding and evolving, shouldn't dare to show itself. Probably...

While Yu Lian was lost in thought, the little boy’s bragging continued.

"It was a good thing Big Brother Ash was there. He seems to be the Councilman's bodyguard. Dad hired some mercenaries, and Big Sister Frederica brought some bodyguards, but none of them are as strong as Big Brother Ash. Yes, even those cowboy uncles put together aren't as strong as him! Also..." The boy stopped, his expression carrying a heaviness and tension that didn't belong to his age.

"The day before yesterday, a vehicle was pushed over by a sand crocodile. It was Big Brother Ash who saved everyone inside. Otherwise, Xiao Tao, Jimmy, and Aaron would have died. Mr. Lowe from the mine was making a huge scene, saying we couldn't keep carrying Xiao Tao and the others, and it was Big Brother Ash who beat Mr. Lowe up and nearly threw him to the sand crocodile to solve the problem."

The familiar name made Yu Lian feel a bit dazed, but what comforted him was that the owner of that name was no different from the one in his memories.

George looked up at the silent Yu Lian and said cautiously, "Big Brother, I heard... I heard people say that Xiao Tao and their parents are actually a burden. If we hadn't brought them, we would have reached Tulong a long time ago... Big Brother, you... since you're here, you won't leave them behind, will you?"

At that moment, the gaze of a seven-year-old boy put more pressure on Yu Lian than the Gravel Dragon or the oversized bomb in the ruins.

If all the children of the Commonwealth were like this, then this broken world wasn't completely hopeless after all. Thinking of this, Yu Lian gently patted the boy’s head. "Commonwealth soldiers are all students of Marshal Li. When have you ever seen us leave civilians behind?"

The founding father, Marshal Li, had been dead for thirty years. Thirty years was enough for a long-dormant nation to be reborn from the ashes, but it was also enough for a thriving group to degenerate to the point where they didn't even recognize their own mother. It all depended on the choice.

Fortunately, the reputation Marshal Li left behind was still intimidating enough—at least enough to intimidate a child.

George seemed to sense Yu Lian’s determination; he nodded heavily, his heart set at ease, and finally revealed a smile—a pure, joyful smile that was perfectly suited to his age.