Chapter 22: Part (5): Almsgiving

The crowd was on the verge of losing control.

“Please let me touch the Saintess’ hand!”

“Saintess, my child is sick!”

“Please, save us!”

Shouts erupted from all directions, merging into a wave of sound that felt like a tsunami.

Those who were usually bowed down by the weight of life now had a light blazing in their eyes like never before.

The soldiers’ defensive line began to waver, and a few young soldiers involuntarily stepped back.

“Hold your ground!” an old soldier shouted, raising his arms to brace those behind him. “Give me the effort you put into eating every day! Use your shields to hold them back!”

Hearing the commotion, Mi Li shook slightly as she stepped to the edge of the barricade, secretly observing the scene, her face pale.

She had never imagined that a few of her words could provoke such a reaction…

“Wh-what should we do?” she said, turning to Kaya, her voice hoarse.

“Why panic?” the woman responded, oddly excited, her amber eyes sparkling with amusement:

“This means you succeeded!”

“—Look at their eyes. That’s true faith!”

“But… they’re too excited…”

“Excitement is a good thing!” Kaya walked over and patted her shoulder. “Better than a lifeless, indifferent crowd.”

“However…” she clicked her tongue, her tone shifting, her face tilting slightly as her eyes rolled playfully:

“We do need to find a way to calm them down…”

At that moment, a child’s crying could be heard faintly from the crowd—the little girl who had been held by her father earlier.

She had been scared in the crush and began to cry.

Mi Li stiffened at the sound.

“I have to go over there,” she said suddenly.

“What?” Kaya was stunned. “It’s too dangerous to go now!”

“The child is crying.”

“I must get them to stop.”

Before Kaya could react, Mi Li grabbed a water bottle and moved toward the crowd.

“Hey! Little Saintess! Come back!” the woman tried to stop her, but it was too late. “Ahhh—what’s going on here—!”

Mi Li nearly stumbled on the steps, but quickly regained her balance and hurried behind the lectern, taking the microphone:

“Everyone…”

Her voice amplified through the speakers, temporarily overpowering the surrounding noise. She also raised her water bottle and waved it.

“Please listen to me—”

The crowd quieted slightly.

“I know everyone is very excited, and I am truly touched…”

“But like this… large gatherings with such crowding are very dangerous! People can get trampled and even die!”

“And now a little child has already been frightened to tears. Can everyone… please start to move back slowly? There’s plenty of time and plenty of supplies…”

Her words worked immediately.

People in the front rows began looking backward one by one, searching for the crying child.

The middle-aged man holding the girl blushed, trying to comfort his daughter.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” he kept apologizing.

“It’s alright,” Mi Li replied gently. “Please pay attention to safety.”

“Can everyone… move back just a little? Give some space?”

The crowd began to step back voluntarily.

Though slowly, just a small step at a time, the effect was immediate.

The little girl’s crying gradually subsided.

“Thank you, everyone,” Mi Li said softly.

Seeing the crowd settle, Evelyn finally exhaled in relief.

She quickly walked to the edge of the stage and whispered into her communicator: “Start distributing supplies. Follow the original plan.”

The soldiers freed from guarding duties immediately moved, beginning to hand out the prepared food and daily necessities in an orderly fashion.

The crowd’s attention shifted, and order slowly returned.

But everyone’s eyes still occasionally glanced at the white-clad girl on the stage.

As multiple lines formed, distribution began.

But Mi Li did not remain on the high platform to oversee things. She went down to the distribution point and personally helped hand out supplies.

This, however, led to one long, seemingly endless line in her group—a bit of a headache…

Whenever someone came forward, she, despite a slightly wandering gaze, would make an effort to look them in the eye, quietly asking, “How’s your family?” or “How are the children?”

This close, personal attention surprised and warmed the people.

“Saintess, my child is sick…” a thin woman timidly said.

“Is it serious?” Mi Li asked with concern.

“He keeps coughing… non-stop…”

“You must take him to the clinic,” Mi Li said, handing her a bag of grain. “Health is more important than anything.”

The woman took the food, tears welling in her eyes. “Thank you, Saintess… thank you…”

The girl patiently answered countless questions about the families’ small troubles.

Though nervous, facing these simple, honest people gradually calmed her own emotions.

These people really needed help…

“Saintess, did you really grow this grain yourself?” a young father asked, carrying a child as he wandered.

“Uh… I guess—sort of?” Mi Li hesitated, nodding vaguely. “I just did a little… insignificant work…”

“Insignificant?” the father widened his eyes. “This is life-saving grain!”

The people around him nodded in agreement.

“Yes, Saintess, you’re too modest!”

“Thanks to this food, we don’t have to worry about our children going hungry!”

“The Saintess is our savior!”

The girl blushed at the praise, too shy to speak, keeping her head down as she continued distributing supplies.

Kaya leaned against the barricade, watching, a playful smile on her lips.

“Interesting…” she murmured. “This little girl really has some talent.”

As the supply distribution at the square neared its end, a sudden commotion arose in the crowd.

“Make way! —Make way!”

A man in tattered military uniform roughly pushed people aside, limping toward Mi Li.

His left arm was stiffly attached under his clothes, clearly a prosthetic, and a gruesome scar ran from his forehead down to his chin…

The soldiers were already alert, raising their weapons and aiming at him.

“Stop!” Evelyn shouted at the man.

But he did not halt, continuing toward her.

“I just want to see the Saintess!” he shouted. “I have something to say!”

The crowd, intimidated by his fierce appearance, instinctively stepped aside.

Mi Li was also startled, sitting dumbfounded behind the distribution table, sweat trickling down her face.

Though over a dozen guns were aimed at him, the scarred man didn’t flinch, only staring straight at her.

The adjutant immediately raised a gun toward him:

“This is your last warning!”

“Step forward again and we will open fire!”

Finally, the man stopped.

He was still several meters away from Mi Li.

The soldiers maintained their encirclement, while guiding Mi Li’s group and other people to continue collecting supplies in an orderly manner.

“You… you have something to say…?” she whispered, her voice pitifully small, but the microphone carried it to him.

Hearing her respond, the man looked at the tiny girl, his eyes full of complex emotions.

“Saintess…” his voice choked. “My son…”

“—He died in the last monster attack…”

“He was only eight years old!”

The man’s eyes were red; his prosthetic hung limply by his side.

“I ran with him across several streets, and the blood wouldn’t stop…”

“He asked me, just before dying, why those monsters bit him…”

“I didn’t know how to answer him!”

The crowd went silent.

Even those still receiving supplies stopped their actions, their eyes shifting between the girl and the uniformed man.

“I just want to ask you—”

“Can you really make this world better?”

“Can you really protect our children?”

“…” Mi Li was speechless for a moment.

Everyone waited for her reply.