Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 266: Riot

"Bread! Bread! Bread! Bread!"

"Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk!"

While Kevin and the others were preoccupied with planning Mei's birthday, thousands of kilometers away, the city of Rhine plunged into turmoil once again.

It was impossible to determine which district started it first, nor could anyone pinpoint the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Regardless, by the time the riot police, directly under the City Hall's command, arrived at the West District—rumored to be the origin of the unrest—the people there were already chanting slogans, raising blood-scrawled banners high. Like crazed sheep breaking through a fence, they overwhelmed the blockade set up by the local guards. Forming a bloated, lengthy dragon, they rapidly surged onto the main road leading towards the suburbs.

The hundred or so soldiers tasked with suppressing the riot, even combined with the local guard forces, barely numbered over a thousand. Expecting these few to stop a mass riot involving tens of thousands was utterly preposterous.

What was more troubling was that within the next hour, as if coordinated, countless starving people—hair and beards long and unkempt, bodies emaciated, barely clothed—emerged one by one from the underground air-raid shelters where they had taken refuge in other parts of Rhine.

Their lips moved, emitting low, guttural sounds and cries incomprehensible to ordinary people. The sounds resembled neither dialect nor ancient tongue; if anything, they were closer to the indistinct prayers during mass... Or perhaps, these individuals had simply lost the ability to speak after prolonged confinement underground.

But if one listened closely, considering their current plight, it was obvious what they ceaselessly shouted, what they needed and desired most: "Milk and bread."

The shortest time any of them had spent underground was over three years, without seeing sunlight. Many were instantly blinded by the afternoon sun, but they still had ears—

A man in a trench coat casually climbed onto a pile of rubble, a common sight in the city nowadays. He looked completely different from the starving masses—his face was dark, tanned, hidden behind sunglasses. Several long, thin scars marked his cheekbones.

He walked with a noticeable limp, needing both hands to push himself up the rubble pile. This comical posture almost caused him to tumble down halfway.

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But once he reached the top, he didn't deliver any rousing speech. It wasn't that he had nothing to say; he had much he wanted to, much he could say, but most of it no longer held meaning—neither for "him" nor for him. Ultimately, even his name was no longer important. What did past experiences matter?

"Let's go!" His voice echoed in the mind of every starving person. "I will take you to a place... with bread, with milk, with beef."

---||---

"What do we do, Your Honor the Municipal Governor!"

"You're asking me? Who should I ask..." Bucky grumbled under his breath, stroking his beard in response to his subordinate's question.

"Um... Should we notify the Fire Moth European Branch?"

"Idiot!" Bucky reacted as if he'd heard something utterly terrifying. He spun around and started whacking his assistant's head repeatedly with the folder in his hand. "Pierre, are you stupid! Are you stupid! Are you stupid!"

Hitting wasn't enough; still furious, he kicked Pierre twice before yanking him close, lowering his voice to explain urgently, "Report it to Fire Moth? How do we report it? They come over, take one look, and say, 'Well now, where did all these starving rioters come from?'"

Fighting the Honkai meant prioritizing resources for the military, yes, but it didn't mean completely disregarding the lives of ordinary people.

After all, setting aside humanitarian concerns, even from a purely rational standpoint, if the majority of the population lived below the subsistence level, the resulting frequent riots and lack of cooperation would significantly reduce the efficiency of resource integration.

Both the previous United Government and Mei understood that fighting the Honkai was a long-term endeavor.

Therefore, regardless of the actual facts on the ground, the system itself dictated that the United Government had long implemented a global resource rationing system. Even a penniless wanderer with no job and no identification (common due to numerous Honkai disasters and incompatible regional database networks) could register with the local city hall, receive residency status, and obtain Grade D survival supplies distributed three times a week.

Grade D supplies cost only a third of Grade A, but the cost difference was mainly in vegetables, fruits, and some medicines. In terms of pure caloric energy, Grade D was sufficient to meet an adult's basic needs. Hmm, basically junk food.

But that was only in theory. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Under the strict rationing system, registering for residency meant being sent to various factories for semi-forced, extremely high-intensity labor. Even children over twelve weren't spared.

And the goods they produced ranged from Soulium and various special metals, even weapons, down to the very tin cans used to store the supplies. Perhaps the packaging of the rations they received was made by their own hands!

But the labor intensity was brutal; twelve hours a day was considered standard working time. Consequently, many people preferred not to register, instead surviving by hiding in ruins and air-raid shelters, constantly scavenging for pre-disaster supplies. It offered more freedom—this was one reason for the sharp decline in the global population. Large numbers weren't killed by disasters but simply dropped off the United Government's grid. Their births weren't recorded electronically, and neither were their deaths.

However, regulations stipulated that a primary duty of any city hall was to eliminate these hidden populations created by disasters, even though it was an impossible task.

Pierre certainly understood this, but he still asked hesitantly, "But, this situation with hidden populations exists worldwide, it's practically an open secret, right... That Dr. Mei, surely she wouldn't pursue such a minor issue?" It's not that we aren't trying, it's that it's impossible! Unless you, Mei, make those factories strictly adhere to an eight-hour workday, weekends off, plus holidays! Otherwise, with this current concentration camp-style management, why would anyone want to register?

"Of course, that part isn't the problem!" Bucky was about to lose it. He regretted listening to his wife and appointing his idiot brother-in-law as his assistant. He should have hired an understanding female college student!

"Then... is it because those people in the city don't have to work... But, isn't that also an open secret? She probably won't investigate that either, right?"

Although there was no free lunch, even in the apocalypse, those who could live without working were certainly not few. Rhine was a world-renowned industrial zone. Initially, when the hidden population wasn't so large, to ensure sufficient labor for production, the City Hall promised local Rhine residents normal holidays and Grade C supplies if they worked in the factories. Furthermore, anyone who paid the City Hall the monetary equivalent of two Grade C rations per day could avoid work altogether and even gain permission to purchase supplies below Grade A.

Yes, similar to ancient corvée labor and exemption fees.

Everything followed naturally—the wealthy bought up large quantities of supplies. Soon, disasters intensified, currency depreciated until it was worth less than toilet paper, and their hoarded supplies became the hard currency. But these were desperate measures taken during the early stages of the disaster... if you didn't count the kickbacks the City Hall received.

"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Bucky was incandescent with rage. Ignoring the stares of others, he viciously kicked his brother-in-law to the ground. But then, remembering something, he quickly helped him up, pretending to be courteous, whispering urgently in his ear, "Where do you think those supplies being sold came from?

All supplies are rationed! If someone hoards, someone else must go without, don't you understand?

Where do you think your sister got those two large chests of jewelry? Mass embezzlement of survival supplies, that's the capital offense! Fire Moth must absolutely not find out!"

Although everyone knew you couldn't wrap fire in paper, wishful thinking always made people feel that delaying discovery, even by 0.1 seconds, was better than being caught now. Besides... there might still be a chance to fix things.

"As long as we resolve this before the situation escalates to the point where the Fire Moth European Branch notices and intervenes, there's enough leeway to modify the reports about suppressing the unrest..."

Bucky narrowed his already small eyes, nearly hidden by folds of fat. A sharp glint suddenly appeared within them. "Immediately analyze the rioters' direction. This is definitely an organized, premeditated riot."

How could a riot of this scale lack organizers? Since there were organizers, there must be a "purpose." By analyzing their routes, determining their destination and assembly point, they could mobilize the riot police and guards in time to quell the disturbance.

Bucky gradually calmed himself. After all, similar riots had occurred many times over the past two years, just never on this scale. He quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. On the display screen before him, a 3D model of the city rapidly constructed itself, marking the routes of the rioting crowds. Countless tiny red dots and lines emerged from the city's ruins and shelters, converging like grains of sand onto the main roads.

Through the convergence of these paths, their ultimate goal became terrifyingly clear—

"According to AI analysis, the probability of them heading towards the Ruhr district exceeds 99.9999... er..."

"Alright, I don't need you to tell me!" The cold sweat Bucky had just wiped away instantly returned.

More than fear, his first feeling was confusion—Why are these people going to the Ruhr district? That area is full of military factories! There's even a Soulium production facility there!

Fear followed about 0.2 seconds later, coinciding with the sweat. He understood perfectly well: there was only one reason for this crowd to head towards military factories – to seize weapons and rebel!

But... but it didn't make sense... The factories were guarded by security forces originally belonging to the United Government, now transferred to Fire Moth command. They were equipped with weaponry far superior to the local riot police and guards. Why would a mob of unarmed, starving people charge towards certain death?

And that was precisely what plunged him into an icy abyss, made him feel like he was teetering on the edge of a deep chasm—not the fear of bloodshed, but the fact that since these guards belonged to Fire Moth, any conflict would immediately trigger Fire Moth's intervention.

Whether these starving people were seeking death or had colluded with workers inside the factories to riot together, he couldn't care less.

"Stop them! We must stop them! We must stop them before they reach the Ruhr district!"

Under Bucky's orders, the four locally available armed helicopters immediately took off. Supplemented by hundreds of cargo helicopters and private choppers, they managed to airlift an entire battalion of soldiers to intercept the crowds on all main roads leading to the Ruhr district.

One battalion couldn't stop all the starving people, of course. Their goal was to use negotiation and force to slow the rioters' advance, buying time for follow-up forces to arrive, completely surround everyone, and forcibly repatriate them.

But it might already be too late. The fastest-moving group of rioters was less than fifteen kilometers from the nearest factory in the Ruhr district. At this distance, even gunfire might be detected, let alone the rockets likely needed to halt the mob. Not to mention they needed to set up defenses in depth.

Once intense fighting broke out, the factory guards would almost certainly notice, ultimately leading to the dreaded early intervention by Fire Moth.

But Bucky wasn't thinking about that anymore; he was powerless to change it. He slumped back in his mink-fur-lined chair, his mind racing, solely focused on how to write his report to... not completely deceive Mei—he'd heard the girl was highly intelligent; completely fooling her would be difficult. But she also had to fight the Honkai, lacking the energy to micromanage everything.

So, he needed to leave some flaws as bait, to cover up the fundamental problems. If the report showed absolutely no issues, wouldn't that be too suspicious?

But which open secrets should he expose, and which fundamental issues must remain hidden? That required careful consideration, putting himself in Mei's shoes based on his understanding of her.

As for the rioters? From start to finish, his only concern was that their commotion would attract Fire Moth's attention.

But was it possible they could break through his blockade? In his eyes, they were just a mob of unarmed, starving people. Their value in this world was perhaps less than the bullets used to kill them. Faced with a network of steel and fire, how could they possibly break through?

---||---

On the main road connecting the city center to the Ruhr district, the wind picked up, swirling yellowish dust everywhere. Visibility dropped sharply. People coughed continuously as they marched, the crowd unconsciously tightening, becoming so dense that shoulders literally rubbed against shoulders.

If one person fell now, everything would collapse. But the dense formation had an advantage—occasionally someone stumbled, but the people surrounding them acted like four walls, preventing them from falling. And because there was no external pressure, the kind of crush-related suffocation common in large crowds was unlikely.

Those walking on the edges of the crowd occasionally glimpsed huge, dark shapes moving alongside them, like massive Honkai Beasts surrounding them. Although they didn't hear the teeth-grinding sounds associated with Honkai Beasts, and besides, beasts would have attacked long ago, people couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild.

Fortunately... fortunately... While fear lingered, the crowd remained relatively orderly. When the wind gradually died down and the dust settled, a collective sigh of relief went through the masses—

The dark shapes lining the road every few or dozen steps weren't living creatures, but rows upon rows of abandoned cars. Many driver-side doors hung open, seatbelts unretracted, dangling outside, suggesting the owners had fled in a great hurry.

The man with the scarred cheekbones suddenly stopped. As if cloned, the starving people behind him instantly halted without any command. Such discipline, stopping and starting without orders, was beyond most soldiers.

Only those with years of shared experience or those using cheating methods—like hidden communicators or mental networks—could achieve this, unseen by outside observers. This crowd of tens of thousands clearly belonged to the latter category.

"They're here..." the man muttered to himself.

The roar of helicopter engines seemed to appear suddenly, yet also approached slowly from a great distance, finally registering inescapably in their ears.

When the powerful downdraft and giant dark shadows arrived overhead, people numbly looked up. Armed helicopters circled above them, while transport helicopters flew further ahead, stopping several hundred meters away. Long ropes snaked down, and small black dots slid down them.

The scarred man looked up at the familiar armed helicopter, his expression flickering slightly. He climbed onto the roof of a car, striking a pose as if about to deliver a rousing speech—in reality, he said nothing, because he didn't know what to say. But as he raised his clenched right fist high, everyone behind him mirrored the action, then began shouting themselves hoarse.

He quickly drew the attention of the riot police. With a dull, thunder-like gunshot, a bullet entered the back of his head and exited precisely through the scar on his cheekbone. He tumbled from the car roof, falling before the crowd of starving people, blood pooling around him, forming a river.

The shouts of the hungry masses died abruptly. But silence doesn't always mean retreat. Sometimes, silence is just gathering strength for the next eruption—

A young boy squeezed out from the crowd, boldly stepping forward to stand before the man's corpse. He looked up, staring silently, impassively, at the helicopter overhead with empty eyes.

"What's he doing? Think he can stare them down?" The helicopter pilot sneered, tilting the aircraft mockingly towards the boy below. Who can kill with a look, besides Superman with his underwear on the outside?

At such a young age, he shouldn't be breastfeeding, nor should he be capable of unleashing a Getsuga Tenshou.

They ignored the simmering heat radiating through the surrounding air, until flickering flames began to dance at the edges of their vision.