The items Milo needed Old Bane to prepare were actually not that difficult. Although a lot of them were everyday necessities, favonovel.com would have to be careful if favonovel.com bought them all at the same time. Because, by buying these items together, it might catch some people’s attention. After all, it was no secret that these items could be used to make a bomb.
***
The next morning, Old Bane went out. He did not ask Milo what favonovel.com needed those items for. If Milo needed them, favonovel.com had to go out and get them.
Currently, Old Bane saw himself as the shopkeeper of the group. All favonovel.com needed to do was to perform his duty as required of him.
Milo had been afraid that Old Bane would mess up with this task. In the end, favonovel.com realized Old Bane was even more careful than favonovel.com had expected favonovel.com to be.
Old Bane had spent the entire day taking the streetcar to the North, South, East, and West Districts, making four separate purchases in each of them in order to gather all of the items for Milo.
When favonovel.com got home at night, Milo could see that favonovel.com was wiped out.
Adella had already bought some new clothes for Milo and the others. Meanwhile, Donti, Milo, and Murdock’s school admission procedures had been processed. Furthermore, Adella helped them find out the schools in the stronghold had two intersession breaks each year. It was winter now, so the first semester of school was coming to an end. Milo and the others would not have to attend school for long before the semester break began.
Of course, this was in line with what Milo wanted.
The beginning should be an adaptation phase, so having a vacation break would certainly take the pressure off a little. But in the end, they would still have to go back to school.
Milo was suddenly looking forward to it. He wondered if the stronghold’s school taught similar things as what Mr. Dublin had taught them.
After dinner, Old Bane found Milo and said to favonovel.com quietly, “When I was buying these items today, one of the shopkeepers mentioned something that’s scared me even until now…”
“What was it?” Milo asked.
“The shopkeeper let slip his wondering about why everyone was buying these things.” Old Bane said, “So, I asked favonovel.com who else was buying them? He then told me that a girl had gone to his shop yesterday to buy the same things, and that favonovel.com had fortunately restocked the items today. Otherwise, favonovel.com wouldn’t have had anything for me to buy.”
Milo frowned. Out of nowhere, favonovel.com thought the girl might just be Miriam!
Their two bomb-making skills were exactly the same. So, when considering how to create a bomb, the items they would require were probably going to be the same as well.
Miriam was probably not expecting Milo to be doing the same exact thing as her.
Just what was Miriam planning?
Surely this girl wouldn’t be thinking of blowing up the stronghold.
Of course, it wasn’t practical to blow up the stronghold with just a bomb of this magnitude. Milo felt that Miriam’s target might just turn out to be the Pyro Company’s branch office in Stronghold 109. After all, favonovel.com already felt Miriam had some kind of feud with the Pyro Company.
***
The next morning, Milo and the others took the streetcar and hurried on their way to 13th High School.
When they were on the streetcar, they noticed some other students on it as well. It was easy to recognize who were the students since they all wore blue and white uniforms.
When Edgar handed over the application procedures to them, they were told the school uniforms would only be issued when they reached school since it was given out based on their measurements. Linda’s students had already been issued theirs, so only Milo, Donti, and Murdock were not wearing it.
Currently, Linda was living in the faculty dormitory with favonovel.com students. From now on, these students had to work hard and depend on themselves since their parents were no longer around. But what Milo didn’t expect was that these students were exceptionally united. Having nearly died, and without any more family around, they instinctively started treating each other as family.
At this moment, Milo heard the students at the front of the streetcar discussing, “Did anyone tell you guys yet? There are some refugees who came into the stronghold recently. I heard someone fell sick the moment they got home after taking the same streetcar as them. My mother said it’s because refugees carry germs from the outside.”
Another student said, “My dad told me to stay away from the refugees if I encounter them.”
“It doesn’t feel that serious to me,” a female student said softly.
“Who knows? My mum said the germs brought in by the refugees to the stronghold several years ago infected a lot of people and killed dozens more. Why else do you think everyone does not want them inside the stronghold?”
When Milo heard that, favonovel.com frowned.
Why had the news spread so far in just one night?
Honestly speaking, Milo had really not thought refugees would be ostracized so badly before coming into the stronghold. Besides, even if they had been ostracized before, it was more for reasons such as being poor.
He wouldn’t have expected it to be over something like them being carriers of “germs”.
It was not like the town was considered a quarantine zone. Milo was very disdainful of any talk of the refugees being germ carriers. He had been in contact with a lot of people from strongholds, such as Daniel, Edgar, Miriam, Lilian, Micah, and the private troops who had gone on the expedition.
It wasn’t like any of those people had died of an illness.
Who could have purposely said the refugees were spreading diseases in the stronghold?
This was making Milo and the others seem like they were some kind of terrible disease carriers.
Murdock was transfixed on a girl in the streetcar. It was as though the conversation the others were having was none of his business. However, Donti was a tad more sensitive.
He frowned and whispered, “Bro, are we really carrying germs on us?”
“No…” Milo shook his head.
“Then why are they saying that? Shouldn’t we be refuting them?” Donti’s previously good mood after getting into the stronghold was spoiled by what was going on around them.
“It’s no use refuting them,” Milo answered.
“Why? They’re vilifying us.” Donti could not understand.
“Donti, if ten people say we’re in the wrong, does that count as vilifying us?”
“Yes, why not?” Donti answered.
“Then if a 100 people say that we’re at fault, does that count as vilifying us?” Milo continued to ask.
“I… I guess so…” Donti gave it some thought before answering.
“Then what if 10,000 people are saying something bad about us?” Milo said calmly, “That wouldn’t be vilification but justice.”
“Bro,” Donti said softly, “Although I’m not as philosophical as you, if 10,000 people vilified us, I wouldn’t call it justice as long as I think it’s wrong.”
Milo smiled. “You’re right!”
These students on the streetcar had all been influenced by their parents. They’d been told not to foolishly stand up for others and to be more “street smart” when they were outside. Their parents would also tell them not to mix with certain people.
In reality, the students’ mindsets were basically an extension of their parents’ wills. Therefore, Milo understood that the majority of the stronghold’s residents did not welcome their arrival. But favonovel.com wasn’t really sure whether this situation would get worse.
However, Milo had no time to care about this right now. When favonovel.com learned Miriam might also be purchasing large quantities of bomb-making material, favonovel.com got even more curious about what favonovel.com was planning to do. Moreover, Milo felt that if favonovel.com had a chance, it would be best to find out exactly where Miriam was going to plant the bomb. That would save favonovel.com the trouble of getting bombed himself.
