Chapter 288: Alert Star: Current Situation

A dim interior.

In a star system that has lost its sun, cold wind forces its way through the cracks of the main gate.

A few scattered candle flames keep the underground from being completely dark.

Following that candlelight, the narrow, crowded corridor is filled with refugees crouching on both sides.

At this moment they all stare with curious eyes, carefully sizing up little Xisi.

Xisi looks around and sees that the vast majority of these refugees are women and children, while adult men are pitifully few.

Moreover, even the few adult men present are mostly severely disabled.

The corridor is cramped and the crowd dense, yet the air is not as warm as one might imagine.

The cold wind that squeezes through the door cracks whistles faintly in the corridor, bringing endless icy chill underground.

The only heating device in the whole space is a small iron pot holding a weak Phosphorus flame.

It's not even a large iron barrel—just this iron pot.

Xisi watches the tiny iron sheet set above the pot's flame, and the refugees' collective gaze as a little girl silently brings a bowl of starchy hot porridge to him.

Xisi even doubts that if they hadn't been thinking about preparing something for him, they might not even have this small flame.

And even if there is such a flame, its warming effect is only enough for the extremely cold to catch a distant glance, offering a little comfort in their hearts.

"Saint, eat~"

The little girl lifts the porridge a bit higher; her childish voice interrupts Xisi's scan. Hearing it, Xisi quickly averts his gaze and only then realizes that he has been standing still for far too long since entering the underground corridor.

The steam above the porridge in front of him has dwindled to just a few wisps.

The surrounding refugees' eyes flicker between Xisi and the hot porridge, without even the desire to swallow saliva, silently watching.

Seeing this, Xisi remains silent for a moment, takes the hot porridge, and as he moves, the dense crowd's gaze in the corridor shifts with him.

Then Xisi places the porridge in his palm; a faint golden light appears, enveloping the porridge and causing it to emit more steam.

Under the more devout gaze of Danika and the other Battle Nuns, Xisi hands the hot porridge to Danika:

"Distribute it as much as possible, to the children who need it most."

Xisi does not eat it; he intends for Danika to give it to the densely gathered children before him.

Danika and the other Battle Nuns are somewhat stunned; they are not questioning Xisi's kindness, but are surprised that Xisi would calmly give a bowl of hot porridge imbued with the First Saint's Blessing to civilians of relatively little value.

And even to the physically weakest young children.

By contrast, Sakan, who has been silently following Xisi, looks over with great surprise upon hearing Xisi's words.

However, Xisi's reaction to Danika's and Sakan's differing gazes is still somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing the dense crowd in the corridor and the tiny bowl of porridge before him, Xisi truly cannot imagine how Danika could further divide it!

After a moment of hesitation, Danika respectfully carries out the task given by the First Saint.

Soon, amid the refugees' finally lively gazes, the bowl emitting a faint golden glow is devoutly delivered into the crowd by Danika and several Battle Nuns.

Then, under the tearful, devout eyes of mothers, each starving child on the brink of death in their arms takes a tiny sip.

Although this small sip cannot fundamentally solve the problem, at least as it goes down, the children's lives are pulled back.

At the same time, as Danika distributes the porridge, many men who followed Xisi in repelling the Dead Spirits' attack finally shoulder their guns and step into the crowd.

Under Xisi's watch, the crowd first embraces in joyous tears, repeatedly praising the First Saint.

Then, after the few survivors reunite with their families, more yearning refugees look at the empty corridor behind Xisi, their gazes instantly sinking.

There is no wailing over lost relatives, only a faint, powerless sobbing born of extreme hunger.

Then countless prayers from the heart surge toward Xisi like a tide.

This is the Alert Star, Xisi's holy ground.

Even the vast majority of its residents are here because of Xisi, having migrated from all corners of the galaxy.

Thus one can say without reservation that the people of the Alert Star are truly all intricately connected to Xisi.

Although there is no genetic link like that of Astat, emotionally almost everyone regards Xisi as their reborn parent.

Now, these mortal offspring of Xisi, following their tradition, pray for Xisi, hoping he can protect their fallen family members.

Listening to these heartfelt prayers, hearing the endless names pouring like a waterfall, all Xisi can give at this moment is silence.

Because of the spirit‑driving death zone, Xisi truly cannot connect to Subspace right now.

But faced with these prayers, although Xisi cannot fulfill their wish for protection of their families, he can do other things.

No longer standing in place, after the already scarce hot porridge is finished, under the sorrowful gaze of the surrounding crowd who cannot obtain the Blessing hot porridge, Xisi slowly walks to the iron pot whose flame is about to go out.

Then he looks at the worthless iron pot at his feet, and the limitless hope it brings to the surrounding refugees.

Xisi remains silent for a moment, then squats down before the crowd.

He then extends his hand, gently applying force to his armguard, and pries off a small piece of Gilded Silver Armor.

He places this armor piece into the pot, and Xisi again extends his hand, wielding divine power to completely cover the armor, the iron pot, and the nearly extinguished flame.

Soon, amid everyone's widening astonishment, a blazing pale‑gold flame appears—a holy relic, the 'Eternal Warm Flame Pot', which not only provides boundless warmth to the body but also nourishes the soul, emerging in the corridor.

This time, the cramped space finally serves a purpose.

The warm pale‑gold flame begins to flow along the corridor, with the flame as its center, and the faces of the surrounding refugees visibly regain some rosy color.

Seeing this, Xisi feels a little better inside; Danika and the other Battle Nuns, along with the surrounding State Church Priests, look at the holy iron pot with utmost devotion.

Only Xisi rises; while Danika and the priests are busy protecting the iron pot, Sakan silently gives Xisi a glance, and then, whether intentional or not, walks to the end of the corridor and pushes open another door.

Behind the door is an endless rustling of shifting sands.

The slight relief that had just risen in Xisi's eyes freezes completely as the scene beyond the door unfolds...

Because behind the door lies the underground shelter, the true mass of refugees.

At this moment, the holy flame's light faintly pierces the darkness beyond, accompanied by scattered candles, and tens of thousands of women and children look at Xisi.

Casting silent gazes!