"Thank you very much for your patronage!"
At the entrance of a shop, the slightly overweight owner looked at the many items Morin had purchased and the straightforward payment. His slightly plump face formed a smile like that of Maitreya Buddha. He rubbed his hands together and respectfully sent Morin out of the shop.
"Brother!"
Seeing Morin return with large and small bags, Kohina, who was inside a minivan with the loli Riko, waved at him affectionately. Little loli Riko also looked at Morin expectantly from the side, like a little animal attached to its owner.
That old minivan was a second-hand electric model that Morin had just bought directly from a roadside car shop. Thanks to Sword Art Online and the memories of the villain he had absorbed, Morin, who had never gotten a driver's license, now had no trouble driving vehicles. Moreover, the operation of electric minivans was practically idiot-proof, and anyone with normal intelligence could probably hit the road within half an hour!
"Kohina, we need to get ready to leave."
Morin put the food, drinking water, medicine, and other supplies into the car's trunk. Then, after getting into the driver's seat and seeing little loli Riko, who had just washed up with water and changed into Kohina's spare clothes in the back seat, he smiled and greeted her, "Hey, looking at you now, Riko, you're quite a cute and well-behaved girl!"
"Ah?! Sir..."
Little loli Riko, who had just been rescued, heard Morin's praise, and her little face instantly flushed red. She looked at Morin but didn't know what to say.
Seeing Riko's cute reaction, Morin couldn't help but chuckle a few times before starting the car.
"Brother, where are we going?"
"Of course, to a place to rest and meet your companions!"
Morin held the steering wheel and chatted softly with Kohina. Little loli Riko, aside from staying close to Kohina, who was also a Cursed Child, kept her eyes fixed on Morin, afraid he would suddenly disappear from her sight.
After the slight sound of the electric motor starting, the minivan drove directly away from the spot, heading toward a certain direction in the Tokyo Area.
...
Tokyo Area, Sector 39.
Compared to the residential and commercial areas of the first twenty sectors of the Tokyo Area, and the agricultural and industrial areas of sectors twenty to thirty-five, Sector 39 had almost no pedestrians. The surroundings were filled with dilapidated buildings and occasional traces of battle. The fragmented roads were littered with the remains of a few cars, and overgrown plants and weeds added to the desolation. Compared to the nearby parts of the Tokyo Area, this place seemed like a corner of ruins that had been entirely forgotten.
As one of the last few numbered sectors, Sector 39 was located very close to the edge of the black Varanium metal Monoliths. If Gastrea Animals invaded or infiltrated, this area would almost certainly bear the brunt!
"This place... what pitiful children..."
Looking at Sector 39, which resembled a war-torn ruin and felt like a gloomy ghost realm, Morin, who had gotten out of the car after realizing the road ahead was impassable, looked at Kohina and Riko, who both showed a hint of relief on their faces, and deeply felt the twisted nature of this world.
As long as they were normal people, probably no one would want to live in such a dangerous place!
However, for the Cursed Children, only this dangerous area provided them with a small, narrow place to live.
After all, in the nearby city, the calls to denounce and expel the Cursed Children had never ceased. There was even a growing trend of increasingly harsh demands, with more radical individuals proposing that all Cursed Children be killed!
Once the Cursed Children walked on the streets, being avoided or receiving scornful glances was still a minor issue. Verbal abuse and even being driven away were commonplace. Situations similar to what the four scumbags had done were definitely not isolated cases.
For the Cursed Children to have a barely habitable place in Sector 39, a place where normal people wouldn't stay, was already something for them to be very grateful for...
"Riko, Kohina, you two have sensed the presence of your companions, haven't you?"
Shaking his head and sighing, Morin, carrying several large bags of items, stopped directly in place, his gaze becoming alert.
Although the surrounding area looked like a desolate and uninhabited ruin, Morin, having just gotten out of the car, had already detected at least three gazes fixed on his group through his Targeting skill. Of course, Morin could sense that these well-hidden gazes held no malice and likely belonged to the Cursed Children living in Sector 39, those who resided in a sewer in the original storyline!
"There... there's a familiar and warm feeling..."
"A total of three people!"
Hearing Morin's question, the little loli Riko hesitated, unable to confirm the identities of those hidden in the dark. However, the battle-experienced Kohina directly reported the number of hidden individuals and glanced in the direction where each of the three lolis was hiding.
"Well done, Kohina!"
Morin glanced at Kohina with some surprise, inwardly raising his estimation of the difficulty of the Black Bullet world again. On the surface, however, he calmly praised Kohina, then put the several bags in his hands on the ground and looked directly towards the hiding places of the three lolis, saying very gently, "My partner and I are Civil Security agents! We've rescued this child. Could someone come out and talk?"
Morin's voice echoed out, but the surrounding ruins and buildings remained silent, as if no one was there at all!
However, Morin knew that three well-hidden lolis were indeed observing his group. Even though he had spoken, none of the three lolis showed any sign of appearing. On the contrary, based on what Morin sensed through his Targeting skill, two lolis stayed behind to change hiding places, while the remaining loli directly retreated and quickly disappeared from Morin's Targeting range.
Feeling this situation, Morin felt somewhat helpless.
Who could blame these Cursed Children, who had been hurt so deeply by ordinary people before?
If a few casual words could make these Cursed Children drop their guard, then probably there wouldn't be any Cursed Children left in Sector 39. They would have long been killed by malicious scum or Gastrea Animals...
"Are you... going to make me drag you out?"
Having also sensed the change in the surrounding situation, Kohina looked around somewhat angrily, her eyes turning red as she spoke.
Kohina's eyes turning red—the unique characteristic of the Cursed Children—clearly surprised the two lolis responsible for continuing to lie low and observe. Morin even heard a barely perceptible gasp of surprise!
"You are a Cursed Child?! May I ask, what brings you here?"
However, before Kohina could rush out, a loli, who was at most seven or eight years old, finally walked out from her hiding place. She looked at Morin, Kohina, and the little loli Riko with a clearly excited yet very wary expression.
Morin didn't answer immediately. He looked at this loli and then secretly compared her situation with Kohina and Riko!
Clearly, this little loli, who was at most seven or eight years old, had eyes that shone with red light like Riko's. Compared to Kohina, both of them lacked sufficient control over their integrated Gastrea Virus factors. Otherwise, the two little lolis could have dissipated the color of their pupils, making them similar to the pupil color of normal little lolis. However, Kohina, who had experienced many battles, stood there in a way that made the two little lolis, who had no combat experience (being beaten and hiding definitely didn't count as combat experience), feel very uneasy.
The only common point was that all three little lolis were cute. Even though their eyes were red like those of Gastrea Animals, red eyes on a loli were definitely a cute point!
"Are there any adults here? I'd like to have a word with them!"
Morin crouched down, looking very kind and approachable as he spoke to the little loli in front of him.
"This... I don't know..."
The little loli saw Morin's smiling face but didn't answer him immediately, instead speaking somewhat timidly.
Clearly, this little loli's wariness was still very high. Even though the two little lolis beside Morin were also Cursed Children and seemed to be living quite well, it still didn't make the little loli abandon her heightened vigilance. Moreover, the elder had long instructed them never to trust strangers easily!
Seeing the little loli's fearful yet firm expression, Morin reached out and stopped the somewhat impatient Kohina, still wearing a smile on his face.
"Don't be afraid! I'm not a policeman, nor am I one of those who would hurt you. I'm a Civil Security agent, and I truly mean no harm!"
Finding the little loli's wariness particularly high, Morin continued to speak to ease her suspicion, while opening a bag of candy he had just bought and handing some to Kohina, Riko, and the little loli in front of him.
"What's this?"
"Candy! It's very delicious!"
"Delicious... this is a sweet taste..."
"Of course! I have no bad intentions. I just want to talk to the adults here. Your companion can take my identification to your adults, and they should agree to see me!"
"Then... then I need to ask the elder..."
After Morin's persistent efforts, the little loli's vigilance finally lessened a lot. After handing half a bag of candy and the identification Morin gave her to another little loli, she gradually opened up to Morin's methods. This allowed Morin, Kohina, and Riko to learn a little about the situation in Sector 39.
However, Morin didn't have to wait long. In less than ten minutes, the two lolis who had left returned together with news, allowing Morin and the others to go to the Cursed Children's gathering place!
...
Whoosh~!
Morin's group, following the three little lolis, bypassed hundreds of meters of ruins and streets before stepping into a sewer through a hidden entrance.
As soon as they entered the sewer, Morin's face darkened slightly.
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus chapter.
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