School (1)

The return trip took slightly longer than the trip to the black market. As Arnold had to go through a different flight of stairs that brought Arnold to a totally different direction of his makeshift home. However, since he woke up early this morning, by the time he returned to his family's tent, his mother and brother had just woken up.

"Big Brother!" The boy screamed in happiness as he ran towards his elder brother, hugging him tightly. As Arnold was much taller than him, his brother only managed to hug his lower waistline.

"I'm back, Arthur." Arnold's eyes softened. He stared towards his younger brother's small head and said in a coaxing manner. Arnold wanted to ruffle Arthur's hair but both of his hands were holding food, so he could only wrap his arms around his brother as well.

Their mother, who also woke up, sat up from the bed, that simply consist of a thin sheet covering the ground and a makeship pillow made by an overused hoodie. She also greeted Arnold, "Good morning, son. Did you buy us breakfast?"

Arnold nodded. He asked Arthur to let him go for a minute and handed a nutrition bar to his mother. He was slightly pained by the fact that he was not able to bring any more palatable food for his family.

Arthur happily took a chocolate flavored nutrition bar from Arnold and wolfed it down immediately. Then, he chugged down a quarter of the large bottle of water that Arnold brought back. Arnold headed back in the tent to show his family the stuff he brought back for them.

"Mother, Arthur, look what I brought back this time." Arnold said softly. He grabbed the multiple clothes that he got from the laboratory and showed it to them. Arthur, who saw the well-sewn fabric in front of him, immeidately touched it to feel the smooth cotton that made the plain t-shirt.

"Is this for me?" Arthur stared upwards at his elder brother longingly, as if waiting for Arnold's permission to receive his gift.

"Yes." Arnold handed the t-shirt to Arthur. He knelt down to the same height as Arthur and ruffled his hair. "Of course, it's for you little boy."

"I'm not little anymore, I'm already 11 years old! I might get my gene activated next year!" Arthur pouted while protesting. He expanded his cheeks but putting air in his mouth to act like he was angry.

Mother looked at both his sons worriedly. "Arnold, isn't it better to sell this off? Don't we need money after you spent all of it on the gene medication?"

Arnold furrowed his brows. Even if he told his mother that he got the gene therapy medication for free, he was sure that he would not be able to convince her. Good things don't just drop out of the sky after all. Arnold made a smile and reassured his mother, "Don't worry, Mom, our team was able to get a large amount of zombie cores yesterday due to the zombie wave. See, even after selling 5 zombie cores, there was still 4 left! I plan to give this to Arthur in order for him to cultivate faster."

It was a white-faced lie, but Arnold had no choice but to say it.

Arthur's cute little eyes immediately glimmered. He immediately climed onto the makeshift bed and stared at the 4 Level 5 zombie cores hungrily.

Mother, however, was still slightly worried about their financial situation. "Isn't it better to sell them? We can get Arthur some delicious food instead. I-"

"Don't say anything anymore, Mom. If we run out of money, I can simply make an errand outside to get more. Besides, I still earn wages from Mr. Lao, so we would be able to sustain our current lifestyle without any problems." I replied.

"But-" Mother stressed.

"No buts. Mother, you are currently sick! It's bad for your health to worry about all these things. Let me worry about them instead. Here, take a nutrition tablet." Arnold sat down next to his mother and put a tablet onto her hand and enclosed it. Then, he took the bottle of water and helped his mother swallow the tablet down her throat.

Arnold's mother had myopia. As a result, she would not be able to see such a small tablet that was enclosed within the nutrition pack. This was also the reason that she could not really see the dramatic change in body shape that her son had when she came back yesterday night.

Arnold originally thought that it was a shame that he did not have enough money to buy his mother a pair of glasses, but now he thought that not being able to buy glasses might have been a blessing in disguise.

Arthur, on the other hand, see the world with the lens of a child. As he believe that everything was much larger than they seem, he did not seem to notice that Arnold was more buff and strong than before. Of course, he was still curious about how his brother's waist got so hard when he squeezed them with his hug. After a while, it was already in the back of his mind when he saw his new clothes and the 4 zombie cores.

Arthur immediately stripped and put on the new t-shirt and pants. He raised his hands up and took a 360 degree spin to let his brother see all of him. Then, he laughed cheerfully, saying, "I've never felt so clean in my entire life!"

Arnold smiled and replied. "Wait until the day when we could take a shower again, then you will be able to be clean every single day."

Arthur nodded. Although he was a child, he knew that his brother was only saying this as an encouragement. In reality, he also knew the deeply troubled financial states that his family is currently at.

Arnold then took out a few sweets and stuffed them into the pockets of Arthur's pants. Then, he whispered next to Arthur's ear, "Don't let Mom know about this!"

Arthur, who saw what his elder brother gave him, smiled brightly and nodded vehemently. "Is this my birthday?" He thought cheerfully inside his mind. "This is the first time I've ever gotten so many presents in one day!"

After Arnold made sure that his mother was sitting comfortably and was fine physically, he brought Arthur away for him to go to public school.

Although they were surface dwellers, they were still entitled to enter public school for free due to the fact that they were technically still citizens within the base. However, as there were no primary or secondary school on the surface level, students were granted a temporary pass to get down to the Level 1 subterranean level in order to get educated.

Arnold held Arthur's hand as they walked northwards towards an elevator. This elevator was a different one than the elevator that got Benjamin down to Level 4. The elevator was slightly small, and was mainly for pedestrians and incompatible with military vehicles, unlike the other elevator. However, as a result of being smaller, the line up for the elevator was especially long especially right before school starts.

Arnold lined up with Arthur and took a look at the people in front of him. Most people were middle-aged parents holding their children nervously, trying to get them to recite the materials that were taught in class. They knew that the results in school were the only chance to get their children from the surface level to the subterranean level, elevating their social status. However, the vast majority of children will never get the chance to go below the surface level for their entire lives (excluding the underground market).

Arnold, however, was much more relaxed with Arthur. He knew that if he was always nervous around his brother, it would only make Arthur nervous as well. In order to have a working and efficient brain capacity, one must be calm and clear-minded. He clearly stated to his brother, "Arthur, work hard in school. I will be able to get a new cultivation technique for you soon, so in the meantime, practice cultivating using the Standard Cultivation Method provided by the school."

Arthur's eyes brightened, "Really, Brother! How were you able to get a cultivation technique? They are heavily protected by each family, so the cost of buying them in the black market is sky high!"

Arnold ruffled his hair. "Just focus on your studies and let me focus on how to get a cultivation technique for you." He answered softly, avoiding the question.

Arthur, unlike Mom, was quite tolerant to Arnold, as he knew that there was a lot on his elder brother's shoulders. He also knew that his brother was much more mature than other people his age, so he would be able to handle himself accordingly, there was no need to worry too much. Arthur nodded and did not ask anymore.

The elevator arrived on the surface level and the children walked in one by one after being scanned on the neck by immigration officers. The officers used a small handheld machine and placed it lightly against their neck. If it flashes green, that means they were legal citizens. If it flashes red, that means they were aliens. All the children flashed green as they entered the elevator. Before the elevator door closed, Arthur waved at Arnold, smiling brightly. Arnold unconsciously gave a slight smile and waved back.