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

The passers-by who gathered around to watch also took half a step back and whispered to him.

"What is this..."

"Not human?"

"....I got sick?"

Sergey gradually regained consciousness as his breathing became smoother and he squinted his heavy eyelids with difficulty, looking at the surprised expressions of Jet and others surrounding him with shameful expressions.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry... Did I scare you? I'm fine. Maybe it's because I haven't slept much recently. I just dozed off a little, haha..."

Sergey, who was lifted up by Jet and sitting on the ground, looked at the blond girl beside him

"Miss Isabella, right...Thank you for saving me. I don't know how to thank you."

"It doesn't matter, I just did what I should do."

Sergey raised his eyes and looked around. He was also a human, but only the girl in front of him had no disgust or prejudice in her eyes, only deep concern. She took the initiative to come forward, which was in sharp contrast to the crowd of onlookers who took half a step back and started talking.

Obviously this child is still so young... he should be the same age as my daughter... but——

Sergey's colleagues came and helped him up.

"Sorry for causing trouble to you."

"It's okay..." Isabella smiled, returned to Cheng Rang and subconsciously held his hand tightly.

Sergey was helped away by his colleagues, and this morning's walk came to an end.

.....

In Diana's fast food restaurant, several figures were sitting around in the booths.

"Well...it's jellyfish infection." Ms. Esteves, the chief surgeon at Lesside Hospital, explained to everyone while biting the wooden spoon used to stir the ice cream.

At this time, Esteves looked like a young girl, with glasses with large lenses perched on the bridge of her nose. From this, it could be seen that she was a clone of the main body.

With this ability to split, Esteves can use it to let his body and brain take turns to rest, which can be said to be a very useful ability - for doctors who work overtime.

She continued: "Jellyfish infection is a conceptual infectious disease that became popular for a short period of time immediately after the Great Collapse. As the name suggests, part of the patient's body will turn into a jellyfish-like texture. However, there are no new cases of the disease now."

"No matter how the patients look, they are still the original New Yorkers who cannot return to the outside world. But because they look so scary, there is a deep prejudice against this disease in the world."

Isabella stared at the hamburger in her hand with a complicated expression, but finally put it down without moving a bite, and asked: "According to what Miss Esteves said, there are no new cases of the disease, so there is a treatment for this disease. ?"

"I may sound irresponsible when I say this, but a cure has not yet been found... and the disease does not require treatment."

"No need for treatment?" Isabella was surprised.

"Well, no matter what changes have occurred in the patient's body composition, there is no difference in function from a healthy person, only the appearance has changed." Esteves glanced at the wall clock on the wall, grabbed a wooden spoon and poured the clock in front of him. The sundae was put into the mouth whole.

"New deadly diseases appear every day and night in HL, and most doctors are very busy trying to solve those diseases... Moreover, the economic aspect is also a problem, isn't it?

? "

She threw the wooden spoon into the empty glass and made a jingling sound. She stood up and walked to the door: "Thank you for treating me to a super-large sundae. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time. My rest time is over."

The noisy traffic flowed in for a moment as the store door opened, and then was isolated again. In the noisy fast food restaurant, only the booths near Cheng Rang and others remained silent for a long time.

Cheng Rang, who had been sitting with Jet and Isabella for a while, finally sighed, raised his hand and said, "Miss Vivian, please get two paper bags."

Putting the untouched hamburger and fries into a paper bag, Cheng Rang stood up and greeted, "Stop sitting there stupidly, let's go."

"...where?" Jet asked.

The task of squatting in the bar can only be carried out in the evening, but now lunch time has just passed.

Cheng Rang noticed that Isabella seemed to be preoccupied at the moment. Although she deliberately made time to accompany him when she had no tasks to arrange, she was obviously no longer in the mood to continue playing.

Taking out the photo of father and daughter that Sergey had taken before, Cheng Rang turned the photo to the back with the address written on it and handed it to Isabella: "If you are worried about his condition, let's go and have a look together."

As he spoke, Cheng Rang shook the bag of food in his hand: "He probably doesn't have enough energy to cook, right?"

Isabella was stunned for a moment, then took the photo and said softly: "Sorry, you obviously don't have much time to come back..."

"Don't worry, I can stay a little longer this time." Cheng Rang waved his hand to indicate that Isabella didn't need to apologize for this, then raised his lips and smiled and said: "Besides, if you weren't such a gentle and kind person, how could I Do you like it?"

The girl with a blush on her cheeks took hold of Cheng Rang's extended hand, and then complained softly: "Can you please stop saying this in public in the future..."

"Are you shy?"

"Of course I'll be shy!"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Cheng Rang comforted Isabella.

"Let's go, Jett."

"Ah, here we come! Speaking of Teacher Cheng, how do we get there?"

"Take the subway?" Cheng Rang recalled the address on the back of the photo, "It's faster. After all, I can only hold one."

Jett twitched the corner of his mouth with a complex expression, "Okay, but the survival rate of the subway line leading there today is only 40%. Wouldn't it be a little dangerous for Miss Isabella?"

"Mr. Jet, we are colleagues now."

The implication of Isabella's words is that she is no longer the person who needs everyone's protection and care. Please don't say such things that sound like you are looking down on others.

"Ah...that's right...I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter...it takes time to get used to it. After all, we have caused everyone a lot of trouble before."

Cheng Rang raised his eyebrows and said, "Is this kind of worry and discussion meaningful? As long as I'm here..."

"No matter which route, the survival rate will be 100%."

Chapter 28: Loneliness and gain

Hershalemz Lott, 59 Street, Bill Dartney, Old Westwood.

The streets are in disrepair and are riddled with holes. The walls of the roadside buildings are exposed with damaged walls and moss-covered blue bricks. There are few pedestrians on the road. Only the rickety rusty light poles emit light in the breeze. A squeaking sound.

This is the boundary of the slums. Ironically, the crime rate here is even much lower than other areas, because it is so poor that people from other worlds are too lazy to come and cause trouble. There are not even police stationed here. The nearest public The facility is a public telephone box at the intersection three hundred meters away. The dilapidated wooden doors of every house were almost never locked, and they just made a banging sound in the wind.

Nearly 90% of humans live here, and most of them are people who survived the collapse four years ago but cannot return to normal society outside.

For example - someone like Sergey.

"Sorry to bother you... Is Mr. Sergey here?"

Cheng Rang, Isabella and Jet stood in front of the door of the room with the address written on the back of the photo and knocked on the door. However, even though Cheng Rang tried his best to use as little pressure as possible, the old metal hinges still sounded. An overwhelming crunch.

Although the door handle was rusty, it was polished and there was a sudden quarrel in the room.

Three or two crows pecking at plastic bags on the street corner screamed and fluttered their wings into the sky, announcing the broken tranquility here.

"Ellen, come back quickly...!! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

“I’ve heard that thousands of times, screw you!!”

The wooden stairs were trampled with a thumping sound, and a girl with short, rough light pink hair strode down from the top. She yelled obscenities and raised her middle finger to the stairs.

The girl named Elaine, who was wearing a rebellious revealing halter top and hot pants that were deliberately torn, glanced at the wall on the right after running down the stairs, which seemed to be a habitual action.

Then he gritted his teeth and rushed out of the door as if he didn't see Cheng Rang and others at the door.

"Ellen!"

At this time, Sergey dragged his bloated body and limped down the stairs. He found that he could not hold his daughter back and fell weakly on the last staircase.

The man's eyes were full of remorse. When he noticed the three people who came to visit, his expression suddenly became kind and he spoke honestly.

smile.

"Ah! Oops, it's you...I'm sorry..."

Isabella looked at the man with complicated eyes, and she quickly stepped forward to help Sergey up.

Afterwards, everyone sat around the dilapidated wooden dining table. Cheng Rang took out the take-out burger for lunch. Because it was stored in the system backpack, it even remained warm and fresh just out of the oven.

"How is your health?" Cheng Rang asked.

"Fortunately, although I haven't fully recovered yet, I'm getting better..." Sergey seemed to be embarrassed and refused the take-out fast food offered by Cheng Rang, and then pushed the water glass in front of everyone, wincing. He returned his swollen hand.

There was only just boiled hot water in the water cup.

Although it is clear, you can still smell a bit of the disinfectant smell of chlorine from the water plant, but that's all Sergey's house can entertain.

Cheng Rang was the first to take the cup and take a sip, and then looked to the side of the stairs. This was the direction Ailian was looking at when she ran down.

"The girl just now...is your daughter?" Cheng Rang asked, looking back in the direction of Elian's gaze.

Sergey nodded first, and then said after realizing that Cheng Rang was not looking at him: "...Yes."

What comes into view is a dilapidated wall covered with picture frames. The photos inside must have been there for a while and have become slightly yellowed.

Among them are photos of Sergey and his wife when they were young. They were strong and handsome, and they also looked like Elaine when she was a child, cute and cheerful.

In the middle is a group photo of the three of them happily looking at the camera and smiling. It can be seen at a glance that this is an originally happy family.

Yes, originally...

Isabella didn't hear anyone else moving in the room, and there was no trace of the hostess living in this home. She immediately understood that the woman next to Sergey in the photo was probably no longer alive.

The attentive man noticed the change in Isabella's expression, because everyone's eyes had been cast on the photos on the wall.

He covered his face with one hand and said slowly: "She is not wrong, the reason is all my fault..."

"Ellen lost everything she once had, including friends and boyfriends, everything a normal girl should have...even my lover, her mother——"

The thin Elian was viciously pushed to the ground by her former friends, pulled her hair and slammed it against the cold wall.

Everyone shouted at her in disgust.

"Go away! You monster's daughter, stay away from us, you're so disgusting!"

Sergey seemed to be able to clearly recall the way his daughter squatted on the ground when she came back from school, crying and saying that she would never go to school again. His heart that he had already felt sorry for her felt like it was torn to pieces. It hurts like a hundred holes.

The man's expression was full of guilt and pain, and he said solemnly: "Everyone said that they dare not associate with the monster's daughter anymore, for fear that they would also be infected. Just verbal attacks are not bad..."

"It wasn't until Elaine came home with her face covered in wounds and tattered clothes hanging on her body - from that day on, she completely changed."

Jet, a half-mermaid who is one person and one clan, felt deeply about this: "How can this be possible! It's inappropriate for me to say this, but obviously in this city, all races of different forms live freely."

Cheng Rang and Isabella were both silent with solemn expressions. Because the two knew that they could not understand the feeling of being excluded and discriminated against, and had never had such similar experiences, they were not qualified to comment.

Sergey smiled bitterly and said: "Maybe they are [original] humans... This title probably aroused their fear even more. If they were completely different in the first place, there would be no discrimination, Mr. Jet."

Because she was once a human...and became a "monster" in the eyes of humans, that's why Elen was treated like that by them, because of her "appearance".

——Jellyfish infection.

There is no radical cure. Although it is ugly, it does not affect health so there is no need for treatment. Even if it can be corrected, it will require huge surgical costs. The most important thing is...

"There have been no new cases."

Miss Esteves' words echoed in her mind.

In other words, Sergey is completely alone in this huge city now.

Jet lowered his head.

"I think I can understand your loneliness..."

Sergey's cloudy eyes looked at Jet in front of him. This was the only face among the four that was not human. There were even tentacles growing on his translucent cheeks.

Jet put his hand on his chest: "I am a synthetic product. I have no parents and will not have children. I don't even follow the laws of nature. From a racial perspective, I am truly "alone" and have no one to rely on. Damn, alone.”

After Sergei was stunned for a long time, he slowly came back to his senses and said: "Ah, that's so pitiful..."

Jet quickly waved his hand and said: "No...but...ah, so, I have already thought about it!"

"...If you have nothing from the beginning, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Jet looked at Cheng Rang and Isabella beside him, thinking of the other colleagues in Lebra and the warmth and friendship they brought to him, showing a satisfied expression.

Smile.

“Because everything after that is gain.”

"However, you are different..." Jett's tone changed, "What happened to you... is incorrect!"

He slapped the table excitedly and stood up, while Cheng Rang and Isabella both saw the gentle Jet so angry for the first time, and they both cast surprised glances.