Chapter 577: The Commoner Hero
The "Pegasus Hour" had come to an end.
The entire city visibly fell silent.
Though the black lines drifting everywhere in the sky hadn't killed everyone here, they were enough to make them quiet.
Aside from the fresh corpses spraying blood in the streets, those who had managed to survive were hiding in corners, gasping for breath in the foul air of the "Land of the End." They looked even more silent than the dead.
Countless "Echoers" awakened on the brink of death, carrying their memories as they miserably faced their fates.
The entire "Land of the End" looked as if it had endured a monumental war—not only were rivers of blood spilled, but a large number of buildings had been destroyed as well.
Unfortunately, this place had already been in ruins. It was like tossing a crumpled tissue into a garbage dump—no change could be felt at all.
Everyone needed a moment to catch their breath, but the "Land of the End" itself needed no such respite.
To it, the "Pegasus Hour" that had devastated its people was merely a small episode in its long history, forgotten once noon had passed.
A heavy, exhausted panting, weak from fatigue, came softly from inside a derelict building.
"Are you okay?" a little boy asked quietly, looking at the young woman before him.
"I'm fine..." The woman panted and gave a bitter smile, then reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Little buddy, why did you save me?"
The little boy didn't answer. Instead, he pulled a bottle of water from the small backpack behind him and handed it to the woman. "Do you want some?"
The woman took the bottled water, feeling that this child was a bit strange. "My name is Tiantian. You can call me Sister Tiantian. What's yours?"
"I... I am a hero."
The little boy reached up and straightened the crown made of folded newspaper on his head. It sounded like an introduction, or maybe an answer to her question. "The reason I saved you is because I'm a hero."
"A hero...?" Tiantian smiled faintly, then nodded. She glanced behind Zheng Yingxiong at the old bicycle leaning against the wall not far away. "You're such a strange kid. Why were you running around on a bicycle during the 'Pegasus Hour'?"
Zheng Yingxiong pulled his cape from behind him and wiped the sweat from his neck with a serious expression. "Commoner, you worked hard too. If you hadn't helped me pedal during the second half, I probably wouldn't have made it either."
"Commoner...?" Tiantian was amused and handed the water bottle back. "What kind of title is that... Little hero, do you want some water?"
"A hero... a hero doesn't get thirsty." Zheng Yingxiong licked his lips. Though his eyes were full of longing, he shook his head.
"Pfft..." Tiantian couldn't help but laugh at the child in front of her. "A hero doesn't get thirsty? Aren't heroes human too?"
"Are heroes... human...?" Zheng Yingxiong was slightly stunned, then shook his head. "No, no... commoner, heroes and ordinary people are fundamentally different. I wear a cape and a crown, and with my sword in hand, I rescue all my subjects from disaster..."
"Huh?" Tiantian scratched her hair and thought for a moment, then said, "I see... In that case..."
She bent down, half-kneeling, and raised the water bottle with both hands, lowering her head with a smile. "Hero, this bottle of water is a tribute from me, your commoner sister. Please do me the honor of drinking it~"
"Ah..." Zheng Yingxiong was clearly startled and quickly reached out to help Tiantian up. "Sis... commoner, you don't have to do that... I-I'll drink."
"Good boy."
Seeing Zheng Yingxiong take the bottle, Tiantian smiled and pinched his cheek. The gloom that had always been on her face eased a little at that moment.
Zheng Yingxiong was obviously very thirsty. He downed the remaining half bottle of water in one go.
Before meeting Tiantian on the street, he had been pedaling that old bicycle with his young body. Although he had ridden from his own city to this place a few days ago, that had taken an entire day.
Continuously cycling and dodging through a city full of black lines for over an hour was really too much for a child in his early teens.
Just when he was about to give up, he happened to see Tiantian, who had been running until she reached her limit.
After a brief exchange, Tiantian let Zheng Yingxiong sit on the back seat. She then started pedaling the bicycle herself. Only now had they finally shaken off all those black lines.
After confirming that all the black lines had stopped moving, the two pushed the nearly broken bicycle into this building.
The buildings in this area were very strange. As far as the eye could see, almost all of them seemed damaged, except this one, which still stood shakily.
"You said you weren't thirsty, silly child." Tiantian reached out and patted Zheng Yingxiong's head. "If a hero doesn't drink water, why are you carrying a backpack and water to escape?"
"Those 'cats' prepared it..." Zheng Yingxiong said. "They're also a group of capable commoners... each of them has a pleasant scent."
"Cats with a pleasant scent?" Tiantian furrowed her brows helplessly. It seemed no matter what came out of this child's mouth, it was a bit hard to understand.
"Mm." Zheng Yingxiong nodded. "Commoner, you're a good person. You need to be careful of that group."
"Group?" Tiantian thought for a moment. "So you're saying those 'cats' are a group?"
"That's right." Zheng Yingxiong said very seriously. "You need to be especially careful of one person. He carries a strong stench... his smell is very..."
Before he could finish, blood slowly started trickling from Zheng Yingxiong's nose. His face turned a few shades paler.
Tiantian was startled and quickly pressed her palm against his nose.
"Kid, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine... it's an old problem..." Zheng Yingxiong pushed Tiantian's hand away. "I'm okay..."
"Be good!" Tiantian ignored his protests and pulled him close, forcing his head back. His crown fell to the ground. "You can't be a 'hero' right now. You're hurt. I'll let you be a hero again once your nose stops bleeding."
Zheng Yingxiong was flustered for a moment. He wanted to resist, but Tiantian's movements were very gentle. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said slowly:
"But... but someone told me that if you tilt your head back, the nosebleed will flow into your stomach and cause..."
"I don't care about that!" Tiantian pretended to be angry. "I'm not educated, I can't care about that much. All I know is that this is the fastest way to stop your bleeding. When I was little and had nosebleeds, my parents made me do this."
Zheng Yingxiong blinked. Surprisingly, he obediently kept his head tilted back and didn't move.
"Now that's a good boy!" Tiantian said with a smile. "When you're better, I'll play the hero game with you again."