The wild grass was over half a person tall; from a distance, all that could be seen was a swath of withered yellow.

They ascended the slope, and the people outside the yard had already broken in.

Gregory Lawrence didn’t hesitate to put down the large white goose he held in his hands.

He then took the rope that Hannah had been holding and tied it around the neck of the large white goose.

Next, he led Hannah up the slope.

The large white goose left behind fluttered a few times.

Black: "..."

Woof woof woof???

The large white goose ran up, flapping its wings, pulling the yet-to-react Black along, following in Gregory’s footsteps.

It seemed they had done many such things before.

Hannah and Black were both led along for the whole run.

Not until they entered the dense forest and were certain of their safety did Gregory release Hannah’s hand and lean against a tree to catch his breath.

Only then did Hannah get a clear look at Gregory.

He was a rather green youth, with somewhat long hair that, when he bent his head, the stray hairs just covered his eyes and brows. He wore a bright yellow jacket on his upper body and a pair of jeans with many holes on the lower, with several chains hanging from the pockets.

The "clink clink clang" sound when they were running must have been from the chains colliding.

"Hey, are you okay?" The youth’s speech was both tough and ruffian-like.

Hannah shook her head, "Are those guys your enemies?"

Gregory sat down against the tree, running his hands through his hair, "Not really enemies."

Indeed, they couldn’t be considered enemies.

He had just found a few mercenaries picking on the weak disagreeable, so he played some tricks when they came to exchange information.

This season was just when the altered bees across in Darkwood Forest were breeding and storing up food.

Altered bees, as the name implies, were a strain of bees that went crazy and even ate humans.

But that wasn’t his fault.

They never asked him about the altered bees; he had simply pointed them to a shortcut no one dared to take. It just so happened that this shortcut had a few altered bee nests along the way.

Hannah wanted to sit down too, but the forest floor was dirty, as if it hadn’t been visited for a long time, with leaves piled on the ground emitting a scent of decay.

Gregory didn’t mind, casually sitting down on the ground, unconcerned that his pants got dirty.

So, he took off his jacket and threw it aside, "Sit, sit. If it weren’t for me dragging you into this, you wouldn’t have to flee with me."

Hannah spread the clothes neatly before sitting down and said thank you.

Gregory leaned against the tree trunk, turning his head to look at Hannah’s face.

It was just a profile, but it was still beautiful.

Delicately pale, not at all like someone from District Nine.

"Where are you from?" Gregory asked curiously, "Are you from the Empire?"

Hannah said, "No."

Gregory became even more curious.

Just when he wanted to ask more, the large white goose had already led Black over.

Black, a small black dog, had now turned into a small grey dog, with a dried leaf stuck on its head, looking as if it had escaped from somewhere.

In contrast, the large white goose’s feathers were very clean, and it had an air of nobility and pride as it held its head high and chest out.

It shook its head, flinging off Black’s leash, and then strutted over to one side to sit down.

Black lay on the ground, panting.

By this time, the sun had already set.

There was no light in the dense forest, and it quickly became pitch black.

Gregory found some dry branches to start a fire and also brought back some wild fruits for Hannah, "We might have to hide out here for a few days."

The fruits were greenish-yellow, looking unripe, but when bitten into, the juice was very sweet.

Hannah ate one, then handed the rest back to Gregory.