The next morning, Aiden got up very early, or he didn't sleep at all last night.
The former Aiden may be able to bear the strong hunger, but the new Aiden cannot, because he is a player in a super technological world, living a rich and luxurious life, not the wild child who grew up in the slums.
For the former Aiden, enduring hunger was a normal thing, but for the real Aiden, this sin was not something humans should suffer at all.
It was dark outside, and Aiden walked out shivering in his only jacket. He was going to the temple to collect relief rations.
There was a light snowfall last night, and it was not yet dawn, so the streets were so cold that people shivered.
Aiden rubbed his hands. The jacket he was wearing was the only thing he had to keep out the cold.
As for cotton-padded clothes, that is not what an orphan living in a slum can imagine. Even if he really has it, he would not dare to wear it openly. He can guarantee that if he dares to wear a cotton-padded coat that can keep out the cold today, he may die in the evening.
In your own room.
The person who kills him will not be a killer, but a homeless man who also has no cotton clothes to wear and may or may not be able to survive this winter.
The homeless man is the most terrifying existence in Aiden's memory.
They are madmen, poor homeless people, unemployed mercenaries, bankrupt traders, or anonymous thugs.
Aiden dislikes dealing with them the most. Their bottom line is often lower than that of the followers of the evil god. On the surface, they pretend to be lonely, but in their hearts they may be darker than the nobles.
Half-grown children like him are the favorite targets of homeless people.
Fortunately, he grew up in a slum and was very familiar with these people's tricks. Besides, he had nothing to offer, so no one would attack him unless forced to do so.
"Aiden, you look very bad today. Are you sick?"
While walking towards the Temple of Wisdom, Aiden saw two twin brothers about the same age as him, who were also heading towards the Temple of Wisdom.
Brother Jack, this is the name of the twins.
They are Aiden's neighbors in the slums, but unlike him, the Jack brothers are not orphans. They have an alcoholic father and a mother who is a prostitute.
It's just that such a family obviously can't support two and a half young people, so since the Temple of Wisdom started distributing relief food in the slums, they have become regular visitors here like Aiden.
"I..."
As soon as Aiden was about to reply, a line of red text appeared on the player panel: "Please do not reveal your player identity easily, especially when you are not sure whether the other party is a player or a native. Protect your true identity. You are the right person of the game."
Your only advice."
Seeing this line of red letters, Aiden's face changed slightly.
Red system prompts are rare. Aiden has played virtual reality games for so many years and knows that only major risk projects will have red fonts.
Obviously, revealing one's player identity is one of the major risks.
Although Aiden didn't know what the risks would be in doing so, his many years of gaming career made him understand that it was best not to try this kind of thing.
"I have a bit of a cold, not feeling well." Aiden didn't know if Brother Jack was a player. He could only try to recall his relationship with the two brothers and gave a vague answer.
"Cold? This is not a small problem. You'd better pray that you are safe and sound. Otherwise, 60 to 70% of the corpses taken out of the slums every winter died of illness and worsening of the condition. If you die, we will
It will be sad.”
Brother Jack's tone was full of ridicule, and combined with the haze in their eyes, Aiden knew that the two of them were definitely not caring about him.
This is also true. Just like mice, people living at the bottom of the slums do not believe in things like friendship, love, and family affection.
That is the extravagant wish of the rich, and the trouble of filling their stomachs.
The rats in the slums only care about whether they have food today and what they can eat tomorrow.
They won't think about the day after tomorrow. After all, today was too difficult, and maybe tomorrow will be even more difficult.
When your mind is filled with hunger, everything looks like food, and you subconsciously think about whether you can eat it, you will find that no friendship in the world is worth a piece of bread.
Aiden understands this very well, and this is the basis for his survival.
He forced himself to look healthier and stronger, and he didn't dare to show any weakness, because he knew very well that as long as he looked good at knocking down, Brother Jack, who was still chatting and laughing with him now, would definitely not mind when it gets dark.
Have a cabin that belongs to both of them.
This is a well-known fact. The Jack brothers have long been fed up with their drunken father and their mother who works as a prostitute and requires them to look after the house. They want to have their own nest all day long and move out to live alone.
And he is an orphan, weak and weak.
Once the two brothers feel that he is seriously ill and trying to protect themselves, it is hard to say what they will do.
"Don't worry, it's just a small problem. If I had something to do, I wouldn't be standing here chatting with you."
Aiden rubbed his nose as if he had a slight cold and a runny nose.
Seeing this action, Brother Jack was disappointed, but he still added: "If you are willing, our brothers can team up with you. Three people are better than one. We can take care of each other."
"Thank you for your kindness. I will come to you if necessary."
Aiden smiled and excused himself, and while talking and laughing, he arrived in front of the Temple of Wisdom in Nancheng District.
The Temple of Wisdom is said to be a place dedicated to the God of Wisdom. This is a new temple that has not been heard of before and has only appeared in recent years.
But compared with some small temples owned by ordinary gods, the Temple of Wisdom has developed very quickly in recent years.
Especially after the implementation of the food relief plan, the Temple of Wisdom spread rapidly among the poor. Today, it is said that there are hundreds of temples, large and small, covering most cities in the Wealth Federation.
Here, as long as you are under eighteen years old and willing to believe in the God of Wisdom, you can receive a ration here.
Of course, it is definitely not enough to say that you are full, or even far from enough.
The Temple of Wisdom distributes relief food twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time, a half-palm-sized piece of bread can be eaten by an adult in three or four mouthfuls.
Relying on relief food alone is impossible to fill our stomachs, and it is difficult to barely make ends meet.
Otherwise, Aiden really wants to do nothing and eat relief food until the end of the world.
"Wow, what day is it today? There is actually a whole piece of bread. I remember today is not a day of prayer, right?"
"It's very strange. Whole loaves of bread are only given out on prayer days, but the prayer day is the day after tomorrow, and today is not a holiday. Did the people in the temple get the day wrong?"
When we arrived at the entrance of the Temple of Wisdom, the priest distributing relief food was already waiting here.
Different from the past, today's breakfast is actually a piece of bread the size of a palm. In the past, such a large piece of bread was distributed twice in the morning and evening.
Aiden looked at the bread that was handed out and swallowed his saliva. He didn't know why the rules that had been circulated for several years were changed today.
But he didn't care about that. His empty stomach only cared about whether he had anything to eat today. If he had such a big piece of bread in the morning and the same piece in the evening, he wouldn't have to worry about being hungry all day long.
"Aiden, this is yours."
The priest who distributed the relief food was an old man. He could skillfully write down the names of thousands of children in the slums who relied on relief food to survive.
People like Aiden like to call him Papa Balke to show their closeness. It is said that Papa Balke was a regional bishop from the Temple of Wealth in the early years. Later, for some unknown reason, he changed his faith and became the bishop of the Temple of Wisdom.
.
Of course, no one cares about this issue. They only know that the so-called free lunch plan was recommended by this old man. For this reason, nearly 100,000 hungry children in the entire Wealth Federation are saved from death every year.
"May honor be given to the God of Wisdom!"
Taking the food, Aiden admired it sincerely, not noticing at all that when he endured the sour taste of the black bread, resisted nausea and ate the black bread with a disgusted expression, Father Balk seemed to have something to say.