Tianyang's magnetic car "Blue Light" was driving on the highway in the upper city. They were now going to the home of the first soldier who died in the battle. Han Shu, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had not said a word since getting in the car. The silent captain made the young man feel a little strange.
Han Shu suddenly spoke in an emotional, slightly suppressed voice: "Tingshan, 19 years old, born into a commoner family. In fact, his family used to be upper class, but after some misfortunes, their contribution to the fortress declined, so their status was downgraded."
"This guy is very strong and often does strength training in the training ground. He once came into contact with the Star Marrow Pillar in the Reverse Realm, but unfortunately he did not awaken it."
"He has a younger sister, and they have a very good relationship. Before he left, he told me that after returning from this mission, he would have enough contribution points to allow his sister to study medicine."
"With the pension and our subsidy, his sister can go to medical school, and the family can have no worries about food and clothing in the next ten years. But that kid..."
Having said this, Han Shu stopped.
Tianyang looked at the captain with some surprise. He had no impression of the soldier named Tingshan. To be exact, he had no impression of any soldier. But Han Shu not only knew the other party's name, but was also familiar with the soldier's family.
But in his memory, Han Shu didn't seem to be the kind of person who often mingled with the soldiers. Or was it that he just didn't know the captain well enough
Keep silent and keep driving.
Soon, they came to the civilian area in the upper city, where the "civilians" in the fortress lived. The civilians in the fortress could live in the upper city. They usually mastered one or two special skills, such as mechanical maintenance, commodity sales, simple care, etc.
An important feature that distinguishes civilians from the lower classes is education. Basically, every fortress provides free basic education to civilians to cultivate basic talents in various fields in order to maintain the operation and development of the fortress.
As for the common people, they are the lowest level of labor force. They are the largest and the cornerstone at the bottom of the fortress pyramid.
The civilians of the fortress also lived in apartment buildings. In fact, their apartment buildings were larger than those where officers and ascenders like Tianyang lived.
Just being big doesn't mean being good.
On the contrary, in terms of living environment and per capita living area, it is far worse than Tianyang.
Just like the one Tianyang is looking at now, it is eight stories high, without an elevator, and there are eight households on each floor. In an apartment like Tianyang's, there are only three or four households on each floor.
The corridors were narrow and filled with miscellaneous items. Children ran around in groups, and many clothes and beddings were hung on the corridor fences. There was some household garbage thrown randomly on the ground, and the trash cans on each floor were almost full.
In front of a room on the 7th floor, Tianyang knocked hard on the thin door. He didn't want to be so rude, but there was too much noise in the corridor. If he didn't do this, the people in the room might not hear the knock.
"coming."
A young girl answered from inside, and soon the door opened. A young girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old poked her head out from behind the door and looked at Tianyang and the other person: "Who are you?"
Han Shu stepped forward and said, "Excuse me, is this Tingshan's home? I am the captain of the Night Walkers, Han Shu."
The girl's eyes lit up, and she took a step back with joy and opened the door completely: "So you are the captain my brother mentioned, please come in."
She called out again in the direction of the kitchen, "Mom, my brother's captain is here."
A middle-aged woman came out of the kitchen. She was not very old, but her long hair was already
Her face was pale and sallow, a sign of malnutrition. Her skin was very rough, and the hardships of life had left deep marks on her.
She wiped her hands with a faded towel and warmly invited Tianyang and the others to come in. After closing the door, Tianyang had time to observe the room.
There is no entrance hall, just the living room. The living room is also very small, not even as big as Tianyang's bedroom.
There were many sundries in the small hall, books, clothes, handicrafts... all kinds of things were piled together, occupying most of the space in the living room, so that there was not even a place for guests to sit.
"Um, where's Tingshan?" The middle-aged woman glanced towards the door from time to time, with a bit of expectation, and seemed to have thought of something, and asked anxiously, "Is he injured? Is he in the hospital?"
Tianyang's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Han Shu and suddenly felt the pressure on the captain.
Han Shu exhaled slightly, and suddenly stood up straight, his voice low and firm: "Night Walker Raven Squadron, soldier Tingshan, number 10483. Now officially inform you that this soldier fought bravely in this mission and died heroically. With his blood and life, he laid an irreplaceable foundation for the growth and development of the fortress."
"I, Han Shu, the captain of the Raven Squad, would like to express my gratitude to you on behalf of the Fortress."
"Thank you for training such an excellent warrior. I am reporting your efforts. Later, the pension of the fortress and the administrative subsidy of the Night Walker will be sent to your account."
"During this period, if you have any difficulties, you can contact me at any time!"
"I'm very sorry that I didn't bring your son back. Please accept my condolences."
After saying this, Han Shu bowed deeply.
The cabin was silent.
Tingshan's mother and sister were stunned. They opened their eyes wide, thinking they had heard wrongly, but tears were already flowing silently down their faces.
"Tianyang..."
Hearing the captain's voice, the boy understood, opened the iron box, took out the corresponding nameplate and handed it to Han Shu.
Han Shu held the nameplate in his hand and handed it to the mother: "This is Tingshan's nameplate, please accept it."
"No, it's impossible..."
The young girl stepped back, then suddenly sat down on the ground, covering her mouth and crying: "My brother promised me that he would take me to buy books when he comes back this time! He won't break his promise, he always does what he promised me!"
"This is not true, this is fake, this is fake, right!"
The middle-aged woman took the nameplate with shaking hands. She suddenly screamed, grabbed and hit Han Shu, and bit Han Shu's shoulder: "Why didn't my son come back! Why can you live well! Why don't you bring him back!"
“He’s only 19!”
Han Shu didn't say anything, didn't resist, and didn't even blink.
Only after the middle-aged woman vented her anger did he say "sorry" again and took Tianyang away. When the two came out of the door, they heard the mother and daughter crying loudly inside. The crying made Tianyang want to escape.
Han Shu raised his head, his eyes determined: "Go to the next house."
Tianyang's heart trembled slightly. There were still six nameplates in the iron box that had not been sent back...
This time, they headed to the lower town.
"Haichang, 25 years old, from a lower class family. This kid is always silent and doesn't talk much. His eyes are always tired. One time I asked him if he didn't sleep. He said that he slept, but couldn't sleep. He was worried all day long, which was not what he should be like at his age. On the contrary,
Looks like a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties..."
Han Shu looked at a nameplate in his hand, stroking its surface with his rough fingers. "His father died in a factory accident ten years ago, and his mother died of illness three years ago. He now has a 17-year-old brother and two sisters, aged 13 and 10 respectively."
Not long after, they arrived at the Lower City District. Tianyang, who grew up here, was very familiar with the Lower City District. Although the address provided by Han Shu was very remote, it did not pose a problem for Tianyang.
After parking the car on a nearby road, the two got out and walked towards an alley not far away.
When the blue light car stopped, many figures nearby cast malicious glances at it, but when they saw that the two people who got off were both wearing Night Walker uniforms, these figures quickly dispersed.
They know very well who they can mess with and who they cannot.
Before they entered the alley, they heard a shout. Standing at the entrance of the alley, they saw three teenagers fighting inside, two of them holding down a stubborn teenager.
Han Shu narrowed his eyes slightly: "That's Haichang's younger brother."
He was referring to the one who was beaten.
Han Shu was about to step forward to separate the young men, but was stopped by Tianyang.
"It's okay, Captain. The people in the Lower City are not that fragile. Besides, your intervention will not stop the situation. On the contrary, it will only cause more trouble for Haichang's brother."
Born in the downtown area, he knows the 'rules of the game' here very well.
So the two of them left the alley again. After Han Shu finished smoking a cigarette, the two teenagers limped away. A cold snort was heard in the alley. It was obvious that Haichang's brother had solved the problem.
The boy picked up a basket from the ground, which contained meat and vegetables. He carried the basket to the two little girls in the corner and said, "Go back, it's okay."
"Brother, the corners of your mouth are cracked, and you still say it's okay." A little girl said with a slight complaint but actually with concern.
The young man laughed, then let out a soft cry, as if his wound was agitated.
Watching three figures enter a shed, Han Shucai threw his cigarette butt to the ground and said in a low voice: "Let's go..."
It was Tianyang who knocked on the door again.
The person who opened the door was a little girl of about twelve or thirteen. She looked at Tianyang warily and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Excuse me, is this Haichang's home?"
Before Tian Yang finished speaking, the stubborn young man's voice rang out: "Are you looking for Big Brother?"
The door opened completely, and Han Shu took a step forward: "I am the captain of the Night Walker Squad..."
It was the same words, just with a different name, but to the ears of these two half-grown children, it was like a bolt from the blue.
The youngest girl tugged at her sister's sleeve: "Second sister, what is sacrifice?"
The clear child's voice was like a knife, cutting deeply into Tianyang's heart.
Then the sound of suppressed crying rang in my ears.
After taking the nameplate from his elder brother, the stubborn boy pointed at the door with red eyes and squeezed out only one word: "Get lost!"
"Feel sorry."
When Han Shu pulled Tian Yang out of the shed, the door was slammed shut, and then he heard the boy yelling, "You stupid boss, don't you always say that the Reverse Realm is too dangerous and the monsters are too scary? If that's the case, why don't you retire, why don't you come back..."
"You are such a coward, why can't you just be a worker? Why do you have to be a soldier..."
"Why... "