The essence of the 'Eternal Illuminator' contains the ability to heal and regenerate, which is also the underlying law of the various abilities of the 'Glorious' class.
Having recovered all the essence of the 'Eternal Illuminator', Tianyang can of course regenerate his broken limbs.
But I don't know whether the cripple doesn't believe it or doesn't want to regenerate his limbs. He hesitated for a moment and shook his head and said, "Forget it. If this leg is healed, what will I be called in the future?"
"I have long forgotten my original name."
Tianyang did not force him. Everyone has his own choice. If the cripple did not want to recover, that was up to him.
The lame man stood up and waved his hand: "Come and help me."
Tianyang gave him a questioning look.
"Help me carry some stuff."
A moment later, Tianyang followed the lame man, carrying a large box of items.
He looked at the items that were almost as high as a mountain and felt a little confused. There were daily medicines, clothes, food, etc.
"Who is this for?"
Tianyang glanced at the lame man leading the way in front.
The lame man walked and said, "Child."
"Child?" Tian Yang blurted out, "Are you married?"
The lame man coughed repeatedly.
"I'm getting married? Don't be ridiculous. I'm already quite old. Besides, I'm a cripple. What woman would be blind to fall in love with me?"
The lame man waved his hand.
Tianyang doesn't think so. The lame man is a doctor and has great prestige in the downtown area.
There are plenty of women willing to be with him if he wants.
"Besides, marriage is so troublesome."
The cripple continued: "If I need a woman, I would rather use contribution points to solve it."
Tian Yang asked curiously: "Who is the child you are talking about?"
"When the Black Tide broke out, many men went to the front lines."
The cripple gestured and led Tianyang into an alley: "Men died, and women took their place. When the Black Tide finally ended, fewer people came back."
“Those people may have elderly people and children at home.”
"Although these people's fortresses receive pensions, they have no labor force and no backbone, so many families have collapsed."
"The elderly had no one to take care of them, so it was a relief for them to get sick and die."
"The worst are the children. They are still alive, but after their pensions run out, they have nothing to eat or wear. They have no choice but to become thieves, but even then they still can't get enough to eat or wear."
Tianyang remembered the little pickpocket he met when he came here before.
I couldn't help feeling sad.
When they walked out of the alley, the crowd suddenly grew larger and the noise was overwhelming.
At a glance, there are vendors everywhere selling all kinds of things.
From barbecue and bread to fruits and drinks.
There are also people selling clothes and weapons.
People on the road were also in a hurry, and Tianyang saw many children among them.
There were more of them than when he had stepped into the downtown area before. Some of these children were lying in the corners of the alleys, occasionally shooing away flies with their hands to prove that they were still alive; some were begging with bowls in their hands, but few people stopped, let alone gave them something to eat.
Tian Yang was puzzled and asked, "Doesn't the fortress take care of this kind of thing?"
"Why not?"
The cripple said, "But now that the Black Tide has ended, the fortress is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt. There are many things that require our attention."
"If you were the city lord, would you notice the bottom floor of the fortress and how the rats live in the underground sewers?"
"Every month, the fortress sends a batch of daily necessities to the lower city, but these children have lost their parents, so who will provide them with the supplies?"
"So these supplies were taken over by some adults."
"Why should I participate in the negotiations? Why should I be a middleman for Big Bear? Because Big Bear will slip some supplies to me every month."
"I can only use it for these little things, but even so, my role is very limited."
"Some people advised me not to waste my energy, but I thought, I'm sitting in a grocery store anyway, so I might as well walk around when I have time."
"Even if I can't help a few people, it's better than not helping anyone."
Tianyang listened silently.
After a while, they arrived in front of a small building.
Although it is called a small building, it actually only has two floors.
Outside the first-floor gate, several children aged five or six were playing games with gravel on the ground. Their clothes were full of patches and looked a little thin.
The lame man said, "There are more than a dozen children living in this small building. The older ones find their own way to get food every day."
"These young ones have no means of making a living, so they can only stay to look after the house and help with housework."
After saying that, the lame man raised his voice: "Xiao Wen, Xiao Hu, get into the house for me."
"I've told you many times that the ground is very dirty. Don't play on it."
A few children looked up and cheered when they saw the lame man. They ran up and pulled the lame man into the house.
Tianyang carried his things into the house and found that the house was not big.
There is no living room or bedroom division.
There is a large single room as you enter the house.
There are bunk beds on both sides, each of which can sleep two to three people.
There are tables and cupboards, but they are very old.
One of the legs of the table was obviously newly replaced. Not only was the color different, but it was also uneven, so a stone had to be placed under one of the legs.
The cupboards are filled with both clothes and tableware, and there doesn't seem to be a clear distinction between them. It may be that the children don't understand, or it may be that the conditions are limited.
There was a stove next to the door, with some wood and a small amount of coal next to it. These were the tools the children used to cook.
The only tool.
On a bed inside, Tianyang saw a child about two years old.
He was sitting on the bed, playing with a small ball he had carved out of wood.
This child was having a lot of fun playing with the "toy" that Xitong would not even look at.
"Where are Datou and Xiaoxi?"
The lame man sat down next to the two-year-old child and played with the child for a while.
"Brother Big Head and Sister Xiaoxi went to work and haven't come back yet." The child named Xiaowen sensibly brought a cup to the lame man, a cup with a corner missing.
The lame man took the cup, took a sip, and touched the youngest child.
Suddenly he said "Hui", put down the cup, picked up the child, put his forehead against his, and said, "Hu Zi has a fever."
He said to Tianyang, "Quick, bring me the thermometer inside."
Tianyang came over and said, "Let me take a look."
He placed his hand on the child's forehead and indeed felt the heat. He then lit up his palm with light and pressed it on the child's forehead.
After a few seconds, Tianyang smiled and said, "Okay."
The lame man touched the child's head and found that it was no longer hot and had returned to normal temperature.
He laughed out loud: "You are still the best."
At this moment, a burst of messy footsteps sounded, followed by several small figures rushing in.
The one running in front was a little girl. As soon as she came in, she shouted, "Xiao Wen, where is my piggy bank?"
"Xiao Xi, what's wrong?" The lame man stood up.
Tianyang looked over and recognized the little girl as the pickpocket who had reached into his pocket before.
"Cripple Grandpa!"
When Xiaoxi saw the cripple, she shouted with joy and continued, "Big Head was detained by Fat Cat. They asked us to pay money to redeem him. I have to leave immediately."
"I'll talk to you later. I'm a little busy right now."
The little girl said this as she ran up to the second floor.
Tianyang glanced at the lame man.
The lame man sat down and said, "The 'Fat Cat' they are talking about is also a big kid. He is considered the leader of the kids in this area and often competes with Big Head and his friends for territory."
"Yes, there are rules for picking money bags, and you have to fight for it yourself."
Tianyang glanced upstairs and said, "Don't we need help?"
The lame man shook his head and said, "Let the children solve their own problems."
"We helped the big guys, but what about the 'fat cats'? Do they have to live?"
"And we can only help once or twice, we can't protect them forever."
"If they want to survive, they must rely on themselves and adapt to this kind of life as quickly as possible so that they can have a brighter future."
Tianyang was silent again.
Dengdengdeng.
The girl named Xiaoxi had already run down from the second floor, holding a piggy bank, and ran out like the wind.
Not long after, the children came back.
Inside, there was a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old, with thin arms and a big head, cursing all the way.
The lame man smiled and said, "That's Big Head. He's the elder brother of these little creatures and their 'guardian angel'."
Looking at this 'guardian angel' who was only in his teens, Tianyang sighed silently.
"Cripple Grandpa."
But the older child, when he saw the cripple, cheered and ran in.
He had a swelling on his forehead and a wound of moderate length on his arm, and there were even more scars from bumps and bruises on other parts of his body.
The lame man snorted and said, "How miserable! He was beaten into a pig's head."
The older kid snorted and said, "If that damn fat cat hadn't been lying in ambush, I wouldn't have been caught so easily."
The cripple looked at him deeply and said, "Just take this as a lesson. Don't underestimate the enemy next time."
"I see."
Next, the lame man cleaned his wound and bandaged it.
Originally, Tianyang could have made him recover all at once, but the lame man said that this was not a good idea. If the injury healed too easily, it would be easy to forget the lesson.
So Tianyang did not intervene and just watched the whole process.
Finally, the lame man left those things to the children and left with Tianyang.
On the way back, Tianyang said with emotion: "The Black Tide has changed the lives of many people."
The lame man in front said slowly, "That's right, but whose life will never change?"
“We are always changing.”
“Life is all about losing and surviving at the same time.”
Tianyang's expression changed slightly: "Yes, we all survive while losing."
"There is no such thing as having the best of both worlds in this world."
He looked at each person passing by.
"Each of us is incomplete and imperfect."
The lame man paused, leisurely lit a cigarette and said, "Because we are incomplete and imperfect."
“That’s why humans are social creatures.”
“Because only by embracing each other can we support each other and this world in this storm.”
"Stay alive!"