Something's wrong, they're not NPCs?

Chapter 351 Just a Little Pain
6 month 19 day.

early morning.

"What's going on with this guy?"

"Level 5 Evolver? The existing high-level Evolvers should all be familiar with him..."

"No, a level 5 evolver, I've never seen anyone who can rub a fireball in his hands... something's wrong!"

"..."

They may have some level, but they are far behind Su Ming.

They may have the potential to be weaker than high-level monsters, but their long-term luxury and enjoyment have long made them forget how to fight against strong enemies.

Even worse than Tokugawa before he evolved from eating high-level monsters. It was obvious to the naked eye that no matter in terms of skills or swordsmanship... or combat experience, they were no match. No wonder Tokugawa was not afraid of them at all.

6 month 19 day.

Two o'clock in the morning.

The battle ended effortlessly. But the hem of Su Ming's short sleeves was stained with blood, and his white clothes...

"Tokugawa!"

"Didn't you say that you have no interest in things between men and women?!"

"If I had made it clear earlier, you would have been nothing more than a bitch no different from any other woman... How could I have become like this?"

"You're nothing but a bitch who only admires power!"

"..."

Su Ming deliberately left someone alive.

It's not gossip, I guess, choosing Osaka makes you a living person. It's just out of interest, gossiping and learning about Tokugawa Airi's life before.

Seeing the twisted and hateful expression on his face...

Seems very unconvinced.

But no matter how unwilling he was, he could not change the situation that he was stripped of his limbs and sat paralyzed on the ground without even touching the corner of Su Ming's clothes.

"Mu Qiang...is there any problem?"

Tokugawa Airi also stood up, calmly stood in front of Osaka, and drew out the samurai sword without a sheath.

"I never said I was any different from other women."

"Mr. Su is very strong."

"So strong that I can't think of any way to resist. Facing a strong man with absolute strength... Is there anything wrong with me accepting my fate?"

"When you become one with them and treat people as commodities, you should also be laughing at those women who have to kneel down and kiss your toes just to survive, right?"

"It's just that you have to experience what they went through. I have to experience it. I can accept it. I have no complaints."

"And you...what you did to yourself, if you were to experience it yourself, would it be so difficult?"

"..."

Osaka's face froze, and he wanted to say something through gritted teeth.

"Pfft-"

But Tokugawa Airi had already swung the knife. Very neatly, his head still maintained a look of astonishment... rolling down like a ball. It went up and down several times before hitting the corner of the wall and stopped. The smell of blood filled the whole room.

"I was actually going to ask him what he knew."

Su Ming didn't react either.

Or when he noticed that Tokugawa Airi was about to strike out with the knife without hesitation, he hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to stop her. Before he could think clearly, the guy's head had been separated.

"You don't need to spend more time on him. I basically know everything he knows."

"terribly sorry."

"Because of my personal grudge, I asked you to take action."

"..."

"If you weren't here, I would probably just run away in a panic like before."

It was a panic escape.

But with her current strength, she should seek revenge on them directly after she recovers.

"They are the pioneers of their respective shelters. If they want to enjoy the power under the leader of the shelter, they must come out to find what the leader wants. Food, water, medicine, weapons...even sex toys."

"From my personal point of view, even if those leaders who are afraid of death know that their subordinates are dead, they will only think that they were killed by monsters. They will not think of you."

"They have some strength, but because they survived with that strength... they could never become the ones to come here and explore."

Tokugawa Airi wiped the blood off the samurai sword, put the sword aside, and went to move the body...

Drag it to the balcony and throw it down. The monsters below are eating it happily.

The calmness of wiping the blood from the floor with a towel was not something a simple person could do.

"..."

Perhaps because Su Ming had stared at her for too long, Tokugawa Airi squatted on the ground and raised her head again, "Please rest assured, I am the cook. Before you, my initial relationship with them was just an ordinary one. We stayed in the same chaotic camp for a while. After that, we basically interacted with each other with grudges."

"No, I'm not interested in whether you're a cook or not. Um... where's the shelter?"

It's not that Su Ming is so saintly, but if he knew, if it wasn't that troublesome, and if it didn't cost much, it wouldn't be a bad thing to go and find out what level the human strongmen were at.

6 month 19 day.

early.

"Are you planning on going to the shelter and doing something?"

Although Su Ming did not clearly state what he wanted the specific address of the shelter for last night, she saw him packing his luggage now, and no matter how dumb she was, she would know where Su Ming was planning to go.

"Cut the roots. I don't like leaving any trouble behind."

This reason is more appropriate than saying that he intends to save the world.

Didn't lie either.

Even if Tokugawa Airi said that those people would not suspect that she killed them, what if? Anyway, killing these people was not a burden for Su Ming at all, and being cold-blooded was not a bad thing.

"I'm sorry, I ate monster meat...I can't go with you."

She had already eaten the piece of meat that Su Ming had wrapped.

"Just stay here. It's just a way for me to stretch my muscles a little, and hopefully it will make me feel a little more satisfied."

6 month 19 day.

morning.

Is there anyone else in this world who can ride a motorcycle so confidently besides me?

"Om-"

Just twist the throttle casually and don't care how many monsters it attracts.

Su Ming instantly recalled the feeling of racing in Haidao City a long time ago. At that time, he went on a long trip... An Shiyao had an accident.

It shouldn’t happen this time, right?
Tokugawa Airi has her own strength and lives in a safe place. She is not a doomsday rookie like An Shiyao and An Xiaoxi. She is an old rookie... She kills without blinking an eye. She also has no emotional fluctuations.

'I volunteer to let Mr. Su stand up and kick. Is that a problem?'

but.

Oh shit.

With this trend, can it really end well in the end? Can they really become ordinary partners?
Which partner would say something like "My partner can just stand me up and kick me at will"?

"..."

The motorcycle didn't go very far, and the fuel gauge didn't reach the bottom. Instead, it was blocked by an obstacle. There were indeed too many tentacle monsters attracted by the sound... Although they would not attack Su Ming, they were still blocking the way.

[You are not allowed to show off in front of her! ]

"..."

The moment his right hand relaxed slightly, control changed hands... and it was Xue'er who took out the mobile phone from Su Ming's pocket and typed.

When did you start trying to be cool in front of Tokugawa Airi?
【And... Plato. 】

[It's been so many years, but I haven't changed. I like saving these civilians. 】

"..."

No.

I really don’t have such noble qualities. If I were just an ordinary person, even living a life would be difficult, and I wouldn’t even consider how other strangers were doing.

It's just a convenience.

[Thinking back on it, if you were only thinking about how I should use my feet at that time... I wouldn't have cared so much. ]

[You also... also have moments when you are a little bit handsome. ]

“Isn’t this slander?”

Since it was a matter of innocence, Su Ming had to speak up.

"How come I remember that Xue'er would secretly open my door every night and ride on...hiss."

Forget it.

The wife can distort the past however she wants.

No matter how it is distorted, it cannot change the fact that she is already his wife.

6 month 19 day.

Night.

Su Ming arrived at the shelter that Tokugawa Aili mentioned.

In fact, it is completely far away from the urban area and can be considered a rural area. It must have been a sparsely populated place before the disaster.

You can see it at a glance.

Those artificially constructed high walls and fences... could not have been built overnight. It took more than two years to build a "sanctuary" where ordinary people had no value and had to agree to be dogs before entering.

This group of people and the shelter we visited in Sea Island City...were they also the kind of people who were looking forward to gathering together in the future?

What is the level of a Level 5 Evolver? It sounds like a pretty average level.

After rescuing the dogs, will those who agreed to go in as dogs be thankful that they saved them, or will they reprimand me for rescuing them but not keeping them there to protect them, which is worse than not saving them?

6 month 19 day.

late at night.

Dozens of bodies were left in the shelter.

"You should leave... If the strongest Yamada and his men come back, you will die."

Clean and dressed. A freckled woman with dull eyes.

She was grateful to Su Ming for killing the man who was about to drag her into the room and for helping him... but she didn't feel hopeful because of it.

"It's okay, they are the ones I'm looking for."

"..."

"Do you want to continue to be treated as an object, or do you want to pick up the knife and be a human being? I know you didn't have a choice before, but now you can choose again."

"Items...people?"

The woman pursed her lips and looked at Su Ming for a long time. Hatred suddenly burst out from her gray eyes.

"I, I'm... a human."

6 month 20 day.

noon.

It would take me at least two days to travel from the bank building to the place where those guys set up their shelter. I don't know how long it would take him.

"Puchi——" After a simple meal of noodles, my body got better. I couldn't wait to sharpen my samurai sword and go out to hunt monsters again.

No matter how hard I kill them, the number of low-level monsters never seems to decrease. Maybe it's because of their exaggerated asexual autonomous reproduction ability that they're even more numerous.

What happened to him?

Cutting off the roots?

Even if they really want to eradicate the problem completely, I don't think it's a good idea to reveal the destination or things to do to me.

You know, I am different now from the girl who couldn't think of any way to resist at the beginning. I have become much stronger, even more than the changes I have brought about in the past two years.

test?

Pretending to go to the shelter, but actually just wanting to see if I would run away?

This is a perfect opportunity. I don't care what he wants. With my current ability to fight even high-level monsters, I can run to the Chiyo district... to the lair of a more terrifying monster. Even if he comes, I can use him to kill the monster I want to find.

"I am willing to be kicked by Mr. Su. Is that a problem?"

When I said this, wasn't I also promoting the position that I would never resist?
The purpose is to please.

But he was neither proud nor happy... Instead, he looked a little troubled.

"I don't care if you are a cook or not, I just want to ask... where is the shelter?"

I have no curiosity about my body.

I know that from my perspective, I shouldn't have the thought of "who can I trust?"

I should only think about what I want to do and what I need to do to achieve it.

For example, right now... the only thing you should be thinking about is whether or not to escape.

"Crack-"

Distracted.

As a result, when the low-level monster swung its tentacles, I was unable to react immediately. My arm was scratched and stained with a layer of corrosive liquid.

"..."

After I dealt with the monster, I returned to the bank building and waited.

Ok.

I continued to stay.

It doesn't matter whether he goes to the shelter to save people, to eliminate the roots... or to have fun.

"I'm not strong enough."

"Without him..."

The theory is valid. Even if I try my best to defeat the monster, I may not be able to bring back meat, not to mention that I may need more advanced ones later.

Is there really someone like him, a strong man with absolute power... who doesn't want any benefits and is just a good person?

But the thoughts that occasionally arise in my mind tell me clearly that it is not just because of interests.

I definitely covet this kind of training that doesn't require any brainpower and gives me a guaranteed result without dying.

There is also a trace of... attachment to this kind of environment, where I don't have to be stared at by others with profit-filled eyes, and I feel less lonely.

6 month 23 day.

Night.

I am very curious.

Even at the speed I was traveling, he should have been back in such a long time.

but no.

There was no movement.

I was still sitting alone beside the mattress, lighting a fire and cooking the food he left behind. The luncheon meat and other things were much better than what I had eaten before. There was definitely no such good supplies in ordinary areas, so he probably went to areas where high-level monsters were infested to find them.

Can I go now?

I haven't come back in five days. Maybe I'm dead. Maybe I suddenly feel that I'm meaningless... I don't plan to come back.

Inexplicable.

I always feel that the night scenes without any lights that I am used to seeing are a bit lonely.

"You can't even do this, and you still want revenge?"

'Weak, too weak.'

"If you really have no choice, go back to sleep. And don't say anything stupid like you have to kill all the monsters."

'...'

Although I bathed in the blood and flesh of monsters whenever I had time, the smell of decay never ceased to fill my nostrils.

But something was missing.

Strange man.

You saved me, and helped me become stronger...and showed me that even I had more possibilities.

But I didn't ask for anything.

Not only did I not take this body, I also did not take my resources... I even left more and better ones.

Is that right?

Died on the road, maybe met a monster that he couldn't defeat. I know very well that there are many terrifying things in this world... I don't even have the qualifications to see them. Even he doesn't have the qualifications to defeat the monster, I can only swing the sword with a thousand times the effort to have a slight chance.

【Mr. Su's Tomb】

With mixed feelings, I erected a monument in the bank building where I spent some time with him.

"I'm sorry, maybe I have a lot of misunderstandings about you."

"Well...if you were killed by a monster. Maybe, I can repay you by killing more monsters."

I have experienced life and death.

I saw my mother die in front of me, and I saw my father waving his tentacles to kill me.

Now... it's nothing more than a shameful desire for warmth, and a sense of chill after losing it.

Nothing else.

6 month 23 day.

late at night.

Why should I stay here after erecting the monument?

Maybe they didn't believe that Mr. Su would just disappear like that. Maybe they were expecting him to come back... to prove that there weren't any such scary monsters nearby.

But no matter what, I stayed.

and……

"Tokugawa, are you still awake?"

"I encountered some trouble on the way, and I don't know if this thing can be eaten... Anyway, I cut off its neck and the surrounding parts and brought it back."

"Think about it yourself. If you can eat it, eat it. If you can't eat it, forget it."

"..."

He seemed very tired. He dropped the bag... The tentacles in the bag were different from the ones I usually faced, with patterns.

That was... the monster that could create hallucinations and had a body covered with patterns.

"Mr. Su, are you injured?"

I saw that his clothes were also stained with mixed monster liquids, I don’t know if there was human blood.

"No, it's all his. I'm a little tired."

"..."

If he had just fought with such a powerful monster and ended up like this... he must be very tired.

So, if I fight back now, when my body is healthy and in the best condition...can I win?

6 month 24 day.

early morning.

He simply took off his dirty coat and pants without taking a shower, and just lay on the mattress to sleep.

"Want to hallucinate me?"

"Even if I could make them die in front of me... it's impossible."

"I'm not that stupid. I know it can't be true...but..."

"..."

I saw him wrapped in a quilt, talking in his sleep.

I understand.

The monster also used hallucinations on him. Maybe it was because the liquid from the monster's explosion invaded his mouth and nose... The hallucinations were more intense than what I experienced at the time.

They died before his eyes? Does it mean that the people he cherished, his wife, parents, family members... died?

Just like when I saw my dad, even though I knew it was fake, I couldn’t control my emotions.

He is very strong, but he is also a human being like me. He also has a past that is unknown and I don't want to talk about.

At times like this, you can only bear it by yourself. You can only endure the pain of having your heart torn apart and crushed...

All I can do.

"..."

I just quietly picked up a towel, dipped it in clean water, and helped him wipe off the remaining monster liquid on his body to prevent secondary contamination.

"Yao?"

He didn't open his eyes, but he grabbed my wrist.

Then he touched my chest... At that moment, I couldn't help but shiver. I had never been touched directly by a man before, so I didn't know what to do.

瑶？
Do you think I'm your dead wife?

"No...this..."

Pinching my canteen, as if feeling something.

"Xue'er. Of course I know it's fake, but... it does feel a little uncomfortable."

Is Xueer the wife?
"Xue'er, you are indeed the cutest person in the world. That kind of thing can't happen."

"..."

It wasn't until I was pulled into bed that I realized... he was under some kind of illusion and completely regarded me as his wife.

Hands are so natural...

Maybe he had a very loving relationship with his wife. Just like my parents, I once saw them in the entrance hall on their wedding anniversary...

"Well, I'm Xue'er."

I also know that if you don't want to give, just walk away.

I could handle the hallucinations, so it's impossible for him to not be able to handle it after he came back alive. It's even normal that he recovered before me.

But looking at the patterned meat wrapped in clothes...

Although he may really have some purpose, he is not a simple person.

Just offering her body would temporarily help him forget the pain of losing his wife... It sounded much more noble than being forced to offer her body, become his object, and be kicked around.

Just think of it this way. It's just my body after all. Just a little pain.

(End of this chapter)