Chapter 21: Part 10: Eisenburg

“Anyone else with special circumstances?”

Seraphina’s expression remained calm as she scanned the surrounding crowd.

No one dared to respond.

The soldiers carried away the unconscious man along with the emergency ration.

Soon, the gathered onlookers were dispersed by other soldiers, each hurriedly retreating back into their tin shacks, afraid to even glance back.

Silence returned to the area, leaving only the two women standing there.

The woman’s face showed no flicker of emotion, as if she was long accustomed to such scenes.

“Will he… die?” Mili asked quietly, her voice filled with unease.

“No, it’s just a lesson.”

“Let’s go.” Seraphina took the girl’s hand and continued walking deeper into the refugee district. “You wanted to see, right? Then see it thoroughly.”

Mili’s feelings were complicated as she followed Seraphina away from the scene.

The earlier scene lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.

Seraphina dispensed mercy and punishment at the same time—discipline and relief existing side by side, like her unpredictable emotions, yet seeming utterly natural…

Is this her method of rule?

“You don’t agree with me?” Seraphina stopped, noticing the girl’s silence.

“I…”

“If you steal, you must be punished.”

“But… he was just trying to save his wife…” Mili quietly objected.

“Who doesn’t want to save someone?” The woman’s tone grew colder.

“No rules, no order.”

“If I let him go today, tomorrow there will be a second, a third, all stealing for the same excuse!”

“If everyone could break the order for their own reasons, then—”

“The whole system will collapse.”

“More people will starve to death.”

Mili lowered her head, slightly nodding.

“Breaking the rules means facing the consequences. That’s the bottom line.” Seraphina continued walking with her. “It’s not punishment for the sake of punishment, but to set an example, to protect the many.”

They walked along the dilapidated street.

The deeper they went, the more crowded it became.

The air was thick with the sharp smell of mildew, rust, and poorly burned fuel…

But gradually, Mili noticed—

Even in this poorest area, there were simple clinics and schools.

—Several shipping containers converted into classrooms.

Through jagged windows, she could even see the worn desks and blackboards inside…

“A school?” The girl paused. “Is it… compulsory education?”

“No, basic education.” Seraphina explained following her gaze. “Literacy, arithmetic, basic skills training, and so on.”

“Children who pass the tests can enter the outer city for further studies.”

Mili bit her lip. “What about their families…”

“A person’s origin doesn’t determine their child’s future.” Seraphina interrupted. “Eisenberg’s classes are not fixed.”

“Whether by study or joining the army, there are chances to rise.”

“Even if someone comes from the center city, if their offspring are lazy or criminals wasting resources, I’ll kick them out.”

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

She had expected a rigid, hereditary society, but—

“People from outside can go not only to the outer city… but even deeper?”

“Of course,” Seraphina’s tone was calm. “It’s normal to work inside the central tower.”

“Meritocracy, not nepotism.”

Suddenly Mili thought of something.

“Is there a selection standard?”

“Like… a quota?”

“Like… only the top few percent every year?”

The woman glanced at her, her heterochromatic eyes flashing with amusement.

“Quota?” she chuckled lightly. “You think a lot.”

“But it’s not quota-based, it’s ability-based.”

“As long as you meet the standard, you get promoted—skipping grades isn’t impossible.”

Mili asked further, “What if you don’t meet it…?”

“Even if you rank first, it’s useless.” Seraphina shrugged without mercy.

“Quota systems were only used in the old civilization—when population was huge and labor surplus was massive, setting artificial barriers made sense.”

Her tone teasing, she looked Mili over.

“I didn’t expect you to know so much… about the pre-catastrophe system?”

“…”

Of course she knew—

But right now, she was nothing.

A little girl in a wasteland world, lacking even the most basic survival skills.

Even worse, that question probably revealed how much she knew about the “old civilization”…

Compared to Seraphina, who knew the systems of both eras inside and out, and wielded them deftly—

She really was like a primitive person standing before a modern one.

Exposed again…

“Why so quiet?” Seraphina noticed Mili’s silence and squinted, scrutinizing her. “That question was interesting. Aren’t you going to say more?”

Caught, Mili lowered her head guiltily.

“Nothing… just thought… it seemed… practical?”

This world still recognized the value of labor…

Unlike some places that only cared about birth and connections…

Seraphina looked at her for a few seconds, then stopped pressing.

Nearby, many children kicked a roughly sewn cloth soccer ball on a patch of open ground, their laughter strikingly bright in this gray zone.

“This world isn’t simply black and white, Mili.” She stopped and turned to face her.

“Do you think I’d trap them in this mud for life?”

“What benefit would that be for me?”

“A manual laborer who just moves cargo, and a technician who learns mechanical repair through study— which is more valuable to Eisenberg?”

“…”

Mili opened her mouth but found no words.

The answer was obvious.

“I need useful people, not obedient slaves.”

“Giving them a path upward is so they can better serve Eisenberg.”

“Those who don’t try, no matter how high their birth, are useless.”

Not far away, a slightly larger brick building had a sign with a red cross hanging outside—that had to be the clinic Seraphina mentioned.

“Let’s go inside.” The woman pushed open the door.

Inside the clinic, conditions were much like the streets outside, but at least it was barely kept clean.

A few beds patched together;

Basic medical instruments;

Hand-drawn anatomical charts stuck on the walls…

That was the entirety of the clinic.

A doctor in a white coat was setting a dislocated arm for a child.

Nearby, several malnourished, pale children were queuing to receive supplements.

Elderly and sick patients lay on beds—some with fevers, some with injuries…

Seeing Seraphina, everyone stopped and bowed respectfully.

“Keep working.” The woman waved her hand, signaling the doctor to continue.

“What about their medical expenses…?” Mili asked quietly.

“Basic care is free; complex surgery requires payment with work points.” Seraphina answered, slightly bowing her head.

“But if it’s a work injury, it’s free.”

Then, like a magic trick, she pulled a small metal box from behind her and handed it to Mili.

The box was plain, seemingly made from a repurposed tin can.

But the surface was polished smooth, no rough edges.

“What’s this?” The girl hesitated before taking it.

“Open it and see.”

Mili gently shook it; the box rattled softly.

She carefully lifted the lid.

Inside lay a full box of colorful candies, quietly emitting a sweet, cloying scent…

The sugar coating shimmered enticingly under the dim clinic light, like a spilled painter’s palette—clashing with the bleak surroundings.

Seraphina pointed to the small patients on the beds and gently nudged Mili from behind.

“Go on.”

“They’ll like it.”