I, holding a long sword in my hand, only know one move

But the further he walked, the more frightened Cheng Rang became.

Exposed rusty steel bars and broken metal hooks, broken glass covered in mud and water on the ground, sharp stones... were everywhere.

For me, these are roads that I can easily jump on with just a tap of my toes, but the child in my arms needs to use both feet to traverse them all.

And on her feet... let alone shoes, she didn't even have decent socks!

The tender soles of her feet, which were covered with mud and water, were already rotten. Cheng Rang gently dragged the soles of her feet with his hands, and the tip of his nose suddenly became sore.

She ran here chasing the path she left...

And the reason why she was so desperate to catch up with her was immediately answered after Cheng Rang took Lina back to the previously dark sewer.

The girl who was wary of him before, the girl whom Lina called "Snow", the girl who desperately stood between him and Lina to drive him away - now she was lying motionless on the cold and wet ground. , and the dried blood hanging from the corner of her mouth and on the ground covered the ground around her, dyeing her disheveled gray hair a dazzling brown red.

And the stomach she had been holding was not because of hunger as she understood it, but because of a gunshot wound that appeared in her abdomen!

Everything became clear in an instant, why Xue was so hostile to herself, why she kept expelling herself, and why she had nothing to say to herself...

She was hurt like this by human hands!

But Lina who was with her knew this, but still treated herself gently.

Why? Because she believed that not everyone treated them with the worst possible ill will.

How tragically kind is this?

The scene in front of him almost made Cheng Rang feel suffocated, and then uncontrollable rage began to ignite in his chest, and then everything disappeared, turning into deep self-blame.

What the hell did I do...what stupid thing did I do! ?

He shouldn't have left at all, even if he was a little more shameless like before, if he stayed here, even if he was hated by them...

It's all my fault, I blame myself for knowing all this too late.

I blame myself for still foolishly believing that there will be hope in this world.

Cheng Rang swooped down and knelt beside Xue, but Lina in his arms still held him tightly, so he could only hold her tightly and kneel on the ground.

Stretching out his hand to explore Xue's neck, Cheng Rang even wanted to retract his hand the moment it came into contact with her cold skin.

"What...what...even if it's reached this level, are my hands still trembling?"

Putting aside all thoughts in his mind, Cheng Rang suppressed his trembling hands.

Testing Snow's pulse.

...one second...two seconds...three seconds...

A slight beating came from between his fingers, which made Cheng Rang excited.

"Not dead yet, not dead yet!" The corner of Cheng Rang's mouth that he just wanted to raise was knocked into the abyss by the system prompt in the next second.

【Healing】

【not available! Target camp: Children of the Curse (hostile)]

".....What?"

Cheng Rang unbelievingly shook a lot of life potions and advanced life potions in his backpack on the ground, suddenly grabbed a bottle, and knocked the cork off the bottle on the ground——

【not available! Target camp: Children of the Curse (hostile)]

".....Why?"

[Players cannot use recovery consumables and skills on hostile targets. 】

The high-level life potion in Cheng Rang's hand was crushed with great force, and he squeezed out words through clenched teeth:

"What I'm asking is... why their camp... is hostile!"

[Because more than 50% of the "human" camp in this world is hostile to the "Child of the Curse" camp - the system divides it into a hostile camp. 】

"That means...if I kill them with my own hands - will I even complete the mission target of killing the gastrea organisms?"

【correct】

Cheng Rang finally knew why the mission was named [Cold-Blooded Slaughterer].

boom!

The hard concrete floor was smashed by Cheng Rang's punch, and his breathing became uncontrollably heavy.

"What...what a joke!"

"Aren't they your last hope!?"

Even if you still want to take a step towards the light... the human soul will not declare...

Cheng Rang's clenched right fist loosened as if it had lost its strength, and he slowly pulled it out from the shattered cement floor.

He almost forgot everything that had ever happened here.

[In the year 2021, human beings were defeated in the war between the viral parasites "Gastrula". 】

Although the Cursed Children were born only after this, Cheng Rang did not believe that the appearance of the Cursed Children could help humans defeat the gastrea.

because--

"You actually buried hope in front of your eyes with your own hands...?"

This is really a ridiculous world!

Cheng Rang slowly put his palm on Xue's forehead.

"But I will never let you die in front of me."

If there is no light in this dark world, then let yourself be the torch and the only light.

Even if it cannot illuminate all the darkness, it must illuminate as much as possible the souls who want to step out towards the light.

Bright golden light flickered from Cheng Rang's chest, and a golden-patterned sword emerged from the ripples accompanied by Cheng Rang's whisper.

"—Avalon."

[The independent ideal land (Avalon) special equipment, effect: the holder of this treasure will not age, can heal all injuries, even curses can be cured. 】

The majestic vitality, accompanied by a gentle golden light, filled the open space in the center of the entire underground waterway, and then hid in the bodies of the two girls who were covered in bruises.

As for why it was a double copy, it was because he also owned a Nyarlathotep gift that could transform all things.

Although the power and effect will be weakened, it is obviously just right for Lina, whose injuries are less severe and she is just exhausted.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Xue felt as if she could smell the aroma of food swirling on the tip of her nose. My whole body felt warm and comfortable like never before.

Pain, hunger, and cold all left him all at once, and his body felt light and airy as if he had endless strength.

"Am I-dead?"

She couldn't even help but talk to herself. The anticipation and nostalgia for this wonderful feeling even made her afraid to open her eyes. She was afraid that when she opened her eyes, she would still see the dark and cruel world in front of her. I'm afraid that when I open my eyes, I still have to face the sun that rises every day, but I can't feel the warmth...

She was afraid——

"Snow!"

But immediately, an excited voice hit her ears, and Xue could feel herself being held tightly by a small embrace.

is her.

"Lina..."

It turns out I'm not dead...

Xue slowly opened her eyes and looked at the girl with pear blossoms and rain in front of her. She smiled bitterly and raised her hand to wipe the tears on her cheeks.

"What a crybaby. What are you going to do without me..."

"Xue, you finally woke up... I was really scared to death!" Lina shook off Xue's hand and suddenly buried her head in her chest.

Xue patted her trembling back gently and said softly: "Yes, it seems that I was worried about you, Lina, and I escaped from the hands of death again."

Unexpectedly, after Lina heard this, she immediately shook her head vigorously, then got up from herself and pointed to the figure sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"This time, it was Lina who brought her big brother back and saved Snow! Isn't Lina... very powerful - eh~"

Cheng Rang watched quietly as Xue pulled Lina behind him again and stared at him warily, with only bitterness and pity in his eyes.

He took out a big chicken leg, took a small bite first, chewed slowly under her gaze, swallowed, opened his mouth to show that he had really swallowed it——

Then he raised it and handed it to the gray-haired girl, and said to her in the softest voice:

"Are you hungry? Can you eat something that's not poisonous?"

He leaned forward again.

".....eat."

Chapter 7 Wolf Factor Holder

Seeing that Xue's expression was still a little hesitant, Lina tugged at the corner of her clothes and said, "It doesn't matter! Lina is already full. Big brother is really a good person who saved us."

After hearing what his companion said, Xue realized what she was doing and quickly lifted up her clothes and touched the wound on her abdomen.

Smooth and flat, not even a scar left, completely healed - as if he had never been injured.

"How can this be?"

Astonishment appeared on Xue Lenglen's little face, and she repeatedly confirmed the condition of her body.

It felt like a dream. Such a serious wound was completely healed within a few hours. Rather, it was more difficult for her to accept that this was reality than a dream.

"how did you do it?"

Cheng Rang pursed his lips and shrugged mysteriously: "...a secret."

I thought Xue would continue to ask, but she was not more curious and even nodded in understanding.

"Such technology really cannot be revealed, otherwise there will definitely be trouble."

Cheng Rang suddenly laughed, looked at Xue with a serious face, and shook the chicken drumstick in his hand: "Don't worry about whether there will be any trouble. If you don't eat it, it will get cold."

As soon as he finished speaking, the chicken drumstick in his hand disappeared and was quickly taken into Xue's hand.

In just two or three mouthfuls, a huge chicken leg was swallowed whole by Xue Xue. Looking at her desperate look, it seemed as if someone would snatch her away if she ate a little slower. The eyes that stopped and looked around made Cheng Rang feel indescribably uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, there are many more, I'm here. It's very safe here."

But even if Cheng Rang saved Xue's life, it only meant that she could accept his food and no longer treat him as an enemy. It seemed that she was still very far away from complete trust.

She must have been deeply hurt by someone to become like this...

Rather, it is very likely that being shot this time was not the first time that had happened to her.

However, another child named Lina is completely opposite to her. Although she looks like a ghost when fighting monsters, she usually feels like a coquettish and clingy puppy when getting along with her. He didn't mean to be wary of Cheng Rang, but he just said whatever he wanted.

When Cheng Rang once had questions about her being too enthusiastic, Lina answered Cheng Rang like this: "Because Lina is the holder of the dog factor~"

"Canine factor? What is that..."

"Shou... the reason why children like us have different powers from humans is because——"

Listening to Lina's explanation, Cheng Rang's expression gradually became heavy.

【Cursed Son】

The child born when the mother ingests the gastrula virus during pregnancy causes the virus to accumulate in the fetus, thus possessing certain gastrula abilities. The cursed child is hated and persecuted by most people.

Originally, the gender of the fetus could not be selected, but due to some influence caused by the gastroenterovirus, all known children with gastrulovirus were girls.

It started appearing after the Gastrea Wars, so now the cursed children are all under 10 years old. Because of their exclusion, most live in peripheral areas.

"Abandoned by his own parents, beaten and driven away by passers-by for no reason. Even encountering the police who are supposed to help people has become the most dangerous behavior, and they may even be shot. In the end, they can only live in ruins The peripheral area of…”

Completely different from the cold written explanation of the system, Cheng Rang was particularly shocked when such words came from Lina, who was a cursed child.

"By the way, Xue is the holder of the wolf factor~ He's super handsome, right?" Lina hugged Xue next to her, narrowed her eyes and rubbed her cheek, and Xue didn't seem to resist Lina's intimacy. Behavior, the corners of the cold mouth melted, and a smile appeared.

Cheng Rang looked at Xue's slightly naturally curly gray long hair. In this way, the two children had completely different personalities, which was partly due to the influence of the gasterozoal factor.

Cheng Rang nodded: "In other words, this is the peripheral area, not a place where humans live..."

"Of course, only some very polluting factories will be built here. There are basically no humans living here. Most of them are cursed children like us... More than 90% of the strange human faces you can see here are Those bastards from IISO.”