A Journey arranged; is the official lying?

The older girl who had been with Song opened the door and rushed down the stairs.

"Paige, where did they go?"

The boy who had been playing with the cat replied,

"Don't worry about them, they just left to play outside as usual."

The girl nodded and sighed and returned to the room, shaking her head.

 It seemed like this was a fairly common occurrence though it never occurred to Xiao Ji just how dangerous it was for system children to be roaming the streets freely however, he figured with Song nearby, they would be fine as long as their systems weren't detected.

The origami girl took Anya to the room that the invisible boy had left all the stuff in and they came out with a mouthwatering load of bakery. Anya brought extra and tip-toed to the nest and dropped a smaller bit for Xiao Ji.

Even though he was a chicken, human delicacies once in a while still tasted very delicious and this was no exception. The cornbread flavors burst in his mouth and it was quite refreshing after all the running.

 Anya had poured some water into a smaller container for both birds and Xiao Ji drank it up fast, leaving little for the other bird who tried smacking him with his wing. 

After finally rehydrating, Xiao Ji could think clearly. The upgrade interface popped though only he could see it. 

Xiao Ji(鸡蛋)

 Age: 12

Societal Classification: Farmer/Fugitive/Wanted

 System: Rocket Chicken

[+]Barrel Endurance

[+]Terminal Velocity

[+]Rocket Strength

[+]Tracking Efficiency

[+]Heat Efficiency

[+]Reload Efficiency

[+]Repair Efficiency

[+]Hip-fire Accuracy

[+]Blast Radius

[+]Agility

You have: 530 points to spend. 

You will evolve after 4 aspects have at least 100 points each.

Tip: System User #42765069 discovered that by investing 1000 consecutive points into Terminal Velocity, his rockets nearly accelerated to Mach 1!

Seeing now that he had 530 points to use, he immediately divided them among rocket strength, terminal velocity and tracking efficiency and with 230 points left, he spent it all on agility.

While it seemed stupid at first, he was longing to achieve even a small percentage of the agility that his human body had once possessed. Even though he was a small chicken, if he could move around with ease, that meant enjoying the experiences that this adventure brought.

After the upgrade, Xiao Ji instantly felt much more capable. It seemed as if he was moving smoothly through water now, rather than stumbling around helplessly. 

Song and his friend had gotten up and Xiao Ji could hear him sighing as he washed his face.

"Xiao Ji! You missed a warm bath last night haha! Don't worry. We have a busy day ahead of us; You can have one tonight if you aren't feeling it right now."

He heard the other girl giggle.

In all honesty, as a chicken, Xiao Ji had little to no need for a shower or bath, in fact, he felt content with his current state of hygiene and the round green bird who he had shared a nest with chirped again. Strangely, he understood what the bird was saying,

"So you're Xiao Ji? Nice to meet you! I'm Pahara. I'm 11 years old actually, from the countryside. Are the Guardians after you too?"

"Oh… hey Pahara. I- Yeah, the Guardians are after me,"

"Don't worry about it anymore! You're here and Song has a system negator. You know, after Song got captured, we've been forced to stay indoors for the most as this is the only safe zone he was able to create! Now that he's back, we can finally go explore!"

"That's nice I guess…"

"Hey, don't be such a put-down! I'll carry you and we'll fly over the city. Come on, don't be afraid, even the fiery twins are out and they're usually the scaredy cats!"

The door slammed open again and the fierce looking boys ran back in, filling their mouths with food and nearly choking, then ran over to the nest, grabbing Pahara and Xiao Ji and running back out the door. 

The older of the two boys with a dazzling smile and vibrantly red-tipped hair smiled and looked Xiao Ji over while Pahara struggled in the hands of the other boy.

"So, this is the small chicken we've been waiting for huh? Wow! Rocket-launchers? We're going to need that now!"

Pahara begana chirping loudly,

"Firecrack! Where do you think you are going? You already got grounded, remember?"

The boy groaned but kept running. His brother was visibly excited by something though he was lagging behind, busy sniffing Xiao Ji for some odd reason.

They came to a stop at an alleyway and the two boys peered in. There was loud chattering on the other side and a crowd had gathered around a large board, on which large posters had been pinned down. It was Song, Xiao Ji's human form and Anya; drawn accurately down to the very hair. 

Below their faces were letters painted in different languages though all in red. 

"Covenant Order: Death Penalty"

The crowd in front of the board was divided.

"Oh calm down, they're just children. They're scared and had to defend themselves, now you want to put them on the death penalty?"

"Who do you think you are? Those are criminals out there. Do you know what unlawful system users did to my family?"

" Just because one or two hooligans messed with your bloodline does not mean we put children to death! The whole rule does not make sense!"

Pahara looked at the two boys and then at Xiao Ji. At that moment, it had fully hit them that they were harboring fugitives wanted for the death penalty and if they were caught, that meant even harsher punishments down the road for all of them.

The boy holding Pahara spat on the ground,

"Damn, I hate that guy! Who does he think he is?"

Pahara chirped at Xiao Ji,

"Don't worry, it doesn't matter. We're still protecting you and your friend. This isn't the first time a kid wanted for the death penalty showed up here."

The boy carrying Xiao Ji whispered,

"Firecrack, let's follow that guy, give him a little burn hehehe!"

Pahara wanted to object though she sighed, in the moment, she felt the same way the boys did.

The man who had been advocating for the kid's deaths had broken from the crowd, muttering to himself and Firecrack took the lead. Together, they crossed through a few back alleys and empty streets while making sure that the man was still in view. He stopped in front of a larger building and sighed. 

"Blast!"

Xiao Ji didn't have nearly as much time to process what had happened. The boy, Firecrack, had raised his fingers and launched two large firecrackers at the man just as he turned to look at whoever had shouted. 

"Alright! Let's run!"

The boys dashed back, dodging through alleyways, back in the direction of their own house. They had at least a 30 feet head start and they stopped halfway to catch their breath. Even though Xiao Ji had not actively participated in the crime, he still shook with adrenaline; thus, he nearly screamed when the man turned a corner and ran directly towards them. 

"Aah you little- Give me your firecrackers! You ought to be whipped!"

The boy holding Xiao Ji nearly dropped him and began stuttering uncontrollably while Firecrack aimed his finger at the man. It seemed that he was willing to kill if it meant another day of hiding without trouble from the Guardians though the man's expression suddenly softened.

"Would you look at that… System Children! What are you doing playing out on the streets like this, come come, you ought to know that you'd be caught and sentenced harshly! Where did you come from?"

Firecrack's eyes widened and he looked at the rest of them. The man wasted no time and looked around, then pulled Firecrack into a shadowy corner and began whispering frantically.

"Listen, I'm not here to turn you in. I swear. Do you know where the Oak Kingdom is?"

Firecrack shook his head,

"Ok, well it's not safe for you all to be here! I'm a retired official from King Oak's Loyalist Command and there are plenty of system children like you there. Tell me, when did you arrive here?"

"We-"

At that moment, Song and his friend ran around the corner and Song pinned the man to the wall, a knife at his neck.

"Hey, haha, so, what are you doing huh?"

The man struggled against Song's grasp but managed to speak,

"I-I'm from the Oak Kingdom-"

Song gasped in surprise,

"The Oak Kingdom? Who are you?!"

"Gah, let go of me you! I'm a veteran official, King Oak's loyalists- I- here!"

The man ripped a small piece of paper out of his pocket and threw it at Firecrack. When it unfolded, the man smiled longingly. On the paper was the man's face, though he was obviously much younger than he was now and a translucent tree was stamped across his face. 

The script of an unknown language was printed all over the paper but upon seeing it, Song nodded and turned to the older girl, then back at the man. 

"Listen, I need you to get us out of here. It isn't saf-"

"I know, that's what I've been trying to tell you. Give my official document to King Oak and I will try to arrange for you to be intercepted but listen, there's a civil conflict occurring, you will have to be escorted by the Loyalists"

Song turned to the girl,

"Liu Xing, I will take Xiao Ji and his friend over there first. If it's clear, I will send you a note and you bring the rest."

The girl nodded, like this had happened a million times before but remained silent. Song turned back to the man,

"How can we trust you?"

"I- I- I will, sir, if you wish, I can take residence in your house just for tonight. You can keep your eye on me the whole time, I swear to the Most Merciful Lord that I'm not with the Guardians! If you follow me, I will alert one of my acquaintances. He will take you across the strait and once you reach the island, loyalists will be waiting for you."

Song let go of the man and Firecrack tossed the document to him. Song carefully placed it in his robe and together they took a few shortcuts back to their apartment. Firecrack was breathing heavily and Xiao Ji's heart was still beating rapidly. 

"Liu Xing, I will take him to his friend. Keep an eye over them while I'm away."

Liu Xing nodded but she didn't have to say a word. The boys ran first, back into the apartment, once again, slamming the door open harshly, and bolting up the steps. On their way, they threw Xiao Ji and Pahara back into the nest. 

Anya ran over and looked at Liu Xing but she received her answer before she asked,

"Little Anya, don't be scared. A nice man is helping Song arrange for your departure to the Oak Kingdom tomorrow where there are more children like you and Xiao Ji. Don't mind the boys, they are just being rowdy. Come, I will teach you how to make some snacks; we can all share once you're done!"

Anya nodded but looked over at Xiao Ji with concern. He stared back with determination though in the back of his mind, he got the feeling that the troubles wouldn't be over even once they arrived.