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

Watching with interest the chess game that Rick could never beat Hubie...

He told the children in the settlement who had never been outside the cave about the adventure stories he had experienced before and the friends he had met. Although Cheng Rang said on the surface that these were just stories he made up, Hubi would listen every time. Very seriously.

And because the humans here don't have a correct calendar, they can only vaguely grasp how long it has been.

It is impossible to judge the seasons, because it is very likely that the heat released by high-ranking races on the battlefield somewhere can bake the entire continent as hot as summer, melting snowflakes and black ash into rain, falling from the sky.

And often at this time, even if there is a shortage of resources in the settlement, it is impossible to go out. The rain of death stained with spiritual remains cannot be completely blocked by the cloak, and forcing one to go out will only cost one's life.

"Today is the 100th day..."

The blade of the knife made notches on the wall. Twenty of the four vertical and one horizontal marks were carved on the wall of Cheng Rang's room. He lifted up the weed blanket and got out of bed. As soon as he went out, he saw a sad face. Kelong came out of the studio.

"Morning, Kelon."

"Ah, Cheng, good morning!"

After hearing Cheng Rang's voice, she swept away the gloom from her face as if changing her face, and smiled again, but little did she know that Cheng Rang could see all of this clearly.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Cheng Rang looked around and saw no one, then exposed her and said, "I saw that worried expression just now."

"Hey, hehe, it turns out that the process can't be concealed, and he's been discovered~" Ke Long giggled like this, subconsciously blocking the door of the studio behind him.

Behind that door can lead to an observation tower with a telescope. Cheng Rang knew it without even thinking——

“[The rain] hasn’t stopped yet?”

This situation has been going on for half a month. Except for underground water sources and a small number of crops, all the livestock that were raised died before they could be driven back from outside.

The contamination of spiritual remains makes it impossible to even recycle any part of dead livestock.

Although the resource reserves in the settlement can last for a short period of time, if the endless black rain does not stop, the situation will only get worse.

"Did the rain get bigger?" Seeing that Ke Long just lowered his head and remained silent, Cheng Rang asked.

"....Um."

She answered hesitantly, and it seemed that the situation was not as simple as she had guessed.

Suddenly, Rick appeared behind the two of them like a ghost.

"Cheng, I have a task for you."

Kelon's body trembled after hearing these words. It seemed that the words he wanted to immediately refute Rick were stuck in his throat. In the end, he just opened his mouth and then closed it tightly.

"coming."

Cheng Rang followed Rick who turned to leave. Before leaving, he comforted the uneasy Ke Long: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

...

Arriving at Rick's room, Hubie was also here as expected.

"No one else can hear it?"

"...No... nearby life reactions...only Rick and Cheng." Hubi, who stood there like a statue, only moved his lips and answered.

"Then, calling me here alone and making sure no one else around can hear... is this a task that can only be completed by me?"

"Yes." Rick said solemnly: "It's a mission that requires going out."

A copy of the drawn map was spread out on the small work table, and Rick pointed to the location marked with a red cross pattern.

"Due to the ongoing black rain and possible vibrations caused by the fighting, the roof of this portion of the underground waterway collapsed."

"So far away...how did you know?" After Cheng Rang asked this question, he immediately looked at Hubi standing aside.

After spending more than three months together, Cheng Rang has become accustomed to thinking of Hubi as a taciturn human girl, but the fact is that Hubi's identity is still the tenth Ex-Machina in the racial order. Analysis individual.

"...Through long-distance detection and analysis...the possibility of collapse here...98%...will block subsequent water flow..."

Through Hubi's explanation, Cheng Rang learned that a collapse occurred at the location marked on the map.

The depth is unknown.

But the only direct source of fresh water has been blocked. For example, this is equivalent to a swimming pool being cut off from one place, and more water storage places are blocked. If it is not dredged, the best possibility is There was enough water left to survive the black rain, and teams were sent to repair it later.

The worst possibility is that the black rain will continue to fall, seeping through the collapsed rock formations and contaminating the entire underground water source.

"No wonder the water rations have been getting less and less recently." Cheng Rang recalled the recent changes and nodded, "What is the plan?"

"We know very little about the situation there. The first task is to confirm the collapse and assess the status of the water source."

"Aren't you going to clear it?"

Rick pursed his lips and pointed to Hubi beside him: "...If you can do it alone, there will be at least hundreds of cubic meters of rock collapse there. Otherwise, no matter how small the movement is, she won't be able to detect it. .”

"Detect...Did you let Hubi use the elf?"

"...No...Rick prohibited Hubi from using elves...but Hubi...violated the agreement...because the situation was urgent..."

The girl turned her head and said this, her mood seemed a little low, and there was self-blame in her furrowed brows.

"...Hubby, I made Rick angry...I'm sorry..."

Rick didn't respond to this and just stared at Cheng Rang as if he was ignoring Hubi.

It was assumed that the loss of water would endanger Rick's survival, so did he do this without permission? Cheng Rang guessed silently and defended Hubi: "Hubi should be worried about your safety, not to mention that under the cover of such a heavy black rain outside, using some elves should not be detected by guys from other races. ..."

Rick clicked his tongue and interrupted: "I don't mean to blame her. After all, this is also about other people in the settlement. I just don't understand why the plan she proposed..."

With his fingertips swiping through the air, Rick pointed directly at Cheng Rang in front of him and said word by word: "The one with the highest success rate... is for you to go to the collapse site alone to dredge it.

Cheng Rang couldn't help but laugh at this. He held his forehead and shook his head repeatedly, and then said, "Is there any need to say it?"

"Of course it's because I'm very strong!"

Chapter 26 Vampire

Just wait here for my good news.

Cheng Rang only left this sentence, then took the map and set off alone.

Wearing his own cloak and not even riding a horse, he disappeared in a flash of light blue rain.

"Is he really a human? Or, besides bringing a broken Ex-Machina back to the settlement, I also recruited another guy whose acting skills are better than yours."

Hubie stood next to Rick and watched Cheng Rang leave, and said: "...Physical evaluation shows that it is 100% human...no mistakes...just movement function... ...beyond Hubi’s knowledge…the reason…is unknown.”

"Is the reason unknown... So which one is more difficult to analyze than his 'heart'?"

Hubie remained silent for a while, then said: "I don't know."

However, Rick didn't seem disappointed with Hubie's answer. Instead, he said, "It seems that you are at least more frank about telling what you don't know. There is progress."

"...Is Rick complimenting Hubie?"

"Well, that's right." Rick nodded.

"...Well, Hubby...very happy..."

The corners of the girl's mouth turned up slightly, forming a smile.

This reaction made Rick stunned.

"happy...?"

"Yes, according to Cheng's answer, when you are praised... you should feel happy..."

Rick seemed to be relieved, scratched his head and said, "Ah, I was shocked. I thought you would really react happily."

Is it just what you were taught to do?

"...?"

Hubie seemed a little puzzled by Rick's reaction. He tilted his head and said, "...Is there anything wrong with this?"

"That's totally wrong. You just applied a formula-like reaction to a specific environment. I don't know why Cheng Rang taught you this. But not all compliments to you must reflect happiness!"

"....for example?"

"For example, you used elves to investigate without my permission. You did a great job." Rick used such sarcastic remark to Hubie as an example.

But the answer I got was——

"... Hubie, he is not happy with Rick's compliment. Instead... he wants to express his apology... but the reason is unknown..."

The girl pressed her chest, her expression showing distress, as if she didn't have a thorough understanding of such an abstract thing.

But even this was enough to surprise Rick.

The girl in front of me should be classified as a broken machine - an Ex-Machina girl.

It seems that there is really a small part of the "heart" that can feel other people's feelings and respond to them.

..... Such a feeling.

"Not bad." Rick couldn't help but sigh.

"...What is Rick referring to?"

"Can you guess it?" Rick started playing charades with Hubie with interest.

The girl lowered her head and was lost in thought, but finally shook her head.

"...I don't know, but...Such compliments make Hubie feel happy..."

Rick laughed along with Hubie and murmured: "Really?"

"....Um."

——————————

call!

There was a sound of breaking through the sky, and a figure with an unclear trajectory quickly broke through the rain curtain and headed in a certain direction.

Although the journey is long, it should take at least three days if you go all out on horseback, but that is only for Rick and the others.

For Cheng Rang, this is only a few hours away. Even in such a rain of death, with the protection of the special equipment Avalon, his speed will not be restricted.

The woods that were supposed to be covered with snow and black ash were melted, and the rainwater mixed with the spirit corpses turned them into dead places, shimmering with a terrifying blue light.

This overwhelming heat wave is anything but normal, but no one is sure what the cause is.

Coming out of the cave that sheltered the human settlement, Cheng Rang, who was living in a seemingly peaceful and safe place, was suddenly brought back to reality by the scene in front of him.

——This is still a world where the [War] is still going on.

The so-called small happiness of human beings is just escaping and lingering in places beyond their reach.

And obviously, after such a long period of comfortable life, Cheng Rang, who was acting alone, was not as lucky as before.

.....There are still about tens of kilometers away from the location marked on the map. Even though the deployment range of other races has been deciphered, it is obvious that the current situation has been broken.

[Conflicts] have occurred between other races, or conflicts are still occurring.

The melting sky and endless black rain are proof of this.

The uninvited guest who appeared in front of Cheng Rang obviously recognized himself as an enemy.

It was a woman with a coquettish figure and scantily clad clothes. Her purple eyes that shone with strange light seemed to have magic power that could absorb consciousness.

Bat wings sprouted from her back, and her seductive red lips swayed into a smile, exposing the sharp teeth in her mouth.

"Oh, look what I found, a lonely puppy?"

.....Vampire.

It is a race that absorbs the blood of other races to maintain life and become stronger. It has "secretness and illusion", a magical adaptability that can affect cognition.

But it is also possible to acquire other abilities by absorbing the blood of different races, such as the magic bullet used to stop Cheng Rang.

It doesn't seem to have anything to do with illusions or anything like that.

Green flames rose from the circular pit several meters in diameter behind Cheng Rang, and the terrifying heat that could even ablate rocks swayed silently, telling him the power of the magic bullet just now.

Cheng Rang raised his hand and grabbed his hood. He did not answer the vampire's words. He just confirmed the surrounding situation for the first time. The result was that there must be an ambush, but the number and location were unknown.

Even if it is a vampire, this time it will take a group of people to act, so it dares to confront the "orc" who is alone.

"Oh hoo~ He's still a male, so lucky!"

Because of the speed just now and the lack of reaction from the elves, the vampire who mistakenly identified himself as a beastman and called himself "puppy" spoke again.