P.S., thank you [潤二] for the monthly pass! Please give me more monthly passes and donations!

Chapter Sixty-Two Doubts

Rentaro's sincerity touched Koyo. She stared at Rentaro's face, about to say something, when she realized that Rentaro's face was just like that of the female reporter from before—pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and his face full of unconcealable fatigue.

Seeing Rentaro's haggard appearance, Momiji realized that he had been growing weaker and more exhausted lately. So, the words she was about to say changed.

"No need. This is a test given to me by Lord Yuan Yuan. I must solve it myself. Mr. Rentaro, you should rest assured. Your current condition is really bad."

Rentaro's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned to its gentle expression. He waved his hand dismissively and said...

"Alright, in that case I won't bother you anymore, but like I said, if you need my help, please let me know."

As he spoke, Rentaro patted Momiji on the shoulder and went back up to the second floor. Once he was out of Momiji's sight, his face twisted instantly, his expression turning ferocious, but then he quickly returned to normal.

"Damn it, what's wrong with me lately? I keep losing control of my emotions. Just now, I was rejected, and I suddenly had the urge to kill. This is so abnormal."

Unaware that a bloodthirsty Gastrea soul resided within his body, constantly influencing his emotions, Rentaro, distressed, tugged at his hair and muttered to himself as he walked back to his room. Behind him, Momiji watched him with a grave expression, her face grim.

Rentaro's murderous aura appeared for only a moment. If it were an ordinary person, they would not be able to detect it at all. However, under Szayelaporro's training, Koyo was already very sensitive to murderous aura. In addition, with the recent rapid increase in her talent, she had gained a sense of danger that seemed to be able to foresee the future. Therefore, the moment Rentaro released his murderous aura, she keenly captured that dangerous and bloody aura.

Although she didn't understand why someone who had been so sincere just moments before would suddenly reveal murderous intent, Momiji absolutely trusted her senses and secretly became more wary of Rentaro.

However, the most important thing right now is to solve the problem of the murderer. But that fresh, seemingly recent stench of blood is still quite bothering.

With a sigh, Hongye shook her head and, without further hesitation, turned and walked away. Seeing Hongye leave, Lan Yuanyan quickly followed, like a little follower, asking in a childish voice, "..."

"Sister Hongye, where are you going? Are you going to save them?"

Hongye naturally knew who Aihara Enju was referring to, and nodded slightly.

"Of course, but before I save them, I need to find a gloomy woman. With her help, things should be much easier."

When Yuan Yuan said she could seek help in his name, the first person Hongye thought of was Muroto Sumire. Although she had no good feelings towards this gloomy woman who had once toyed with her body, she had to admit that in this situation, this person was the one who could provide her with the most help.

"Sister Hongye, you can definitely save them, right!"

"Yes! It definitely can!"

The two girls' voices gradually faded into the distance.

Rentaro, who had already returned to his room, reappeared at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Looking in the direction the two girls had gone, a cold smile appeared on his lips. He then shook his head, walked quickly to the door of Yuan Yuan's laboratory, and respectfully knocked.

The laboratory door, which wasn't an automatic door at all, opened silently after Rentaro knocked. However, Rentaro didn't seem surprised at all and walked straight into the laboratory.

Upon entering the laboratory, "Rentaro" couldn't wait to say...

“Lord Yuan Yuan, the time is ripe. Soon, I will be able to make Satomi Rentaro completely despair of humanity.”

Surprisingly, this Rentaro was Byakuya using his body.

Looking at "Rentaro," Yuan Yuan showed no reaction, his expression remaining cold and indifferent. However, Shiki, who was acting as his assistant, looked rather grim. Although she had adjusted her mindset, put aside her arrogance as the world's consciousness, and returned to being Yuan Yuan's assistant, seeing the [Protagonist] runes on Rentaro's body fading and sometimes even disappearing for a moment still caused her some distress and a deep sense of frustration.

After glancing at Siji and seeing that she didn't seem to be losing her temper, Yuan Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then said to Bai Ye,

"You don't need to come and report to me. Just do what you want."

"Yes, sir, but there is one more thing I would like to ask you."

Bai Ye already knew about Yuan Yuan's laissez-faire attitude towards Rentaro's matter, and if it were just for Rentaro's sake, he certainly wouldn't have come to Yuan Yuan specifically.

Yuan Yuan wasn't surprised by Bai Ye's words. He knew Bai Ye's fear of him; if it weren't necessary, this transmigrator certainly wouldn't have appeared before him. Therefore, Yuan Yuan simply uttered the two words, "Speak."

Bai Ye bowed deeply again, then asked respectfully,

"One of the mission targets you assigned to me, sir, Aihara Enju, has recently become increasingly close to Ogiwara Momiji, whom you are grooming. I would like to know if the mission regarding Aihara Enju can continue?"

The time it would normally have taken to get a reply from Yuan Yuan was extremely short, but to Bai Ye it felt like an eternity.

If one of Aihara Enju and Satomi Rentaro causes another to despair of humanity, Yuan Yuan will tell Bai Ye how to solve his ability problem. If both of them despair, Yuan Yuan will directly help Bai Ye solve his ability problem. This was the task that Yuan Yuan assigned to Bai Ye.

From the very beginning, Bai Ye never intended to solve only one person's problem, because he wasn't sure if he would be able to implement the solution after obtaining it from Yuan Yuan, and even if he could, how much time would it take. Therefore, Rentaro's goal was always to drive both of them to despair, and then have Yuan Yuan directly step in to solve his problem.

However, seeing Aihara Enju and Ogihara Momiji growing increasingly close, Byakuya couldn't help but feel anxious. He could see how much Yuan Yuan valued Momiji, so he wasn't sure if Yuan Yuan would make him abandon the mission with Aihara Enju because of Momiji. If that were the case, he would have to take a huge risk.

"Like I said, just do what you think is best."

Yuan Yuan's voice remained cold, but to Bai Ye now, it sounded like heavenly music. Bai Ye nodded vigorously and excitedly replied loudly.

"Yes, I understand. I will definitely complete the task you assigned me!"

P.S., thanks to [Masked Hero Dark Law] for the monthly pass, and thanks to [Blue Eye Book Flipper] for the donation.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Exterminate All

"Hey, gloomy girl, are you really sure the killer would appear in these places? I find that so unreliable."

After covering Aihara Enju, who had been traveling all day and was now asleep on the sofa, with a blanket, Momiji came to Muroto Sumire's side and asked with a slightly worried expression.

"Didn't I already say? If you trust me, stay and watch. If you don't trust me, just leave and don't waste my time. Although I want Yuan Jun to owe me a favor, you're not the only way."

Without even glancing at the red leaves, Sumire Muroto sipped her stimulating coffee and said nonchalantly.

Momiji stared intently at the still composed Sumire Muroto. After a long while, she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Sumire, watching the screen displaying multiple images with her.

"Fine, I'll trust you this time."

In fact, Kureha had no choice but to trust Muroto Sumire. Kureha had found Muroto Sumire early that morning, requesting her help in Yuan Yuan's name, but Muroto Sumire said the investigation couldn't begin until the evening. With only three days left, and not daring to waste a single minute, Kureha naturally left to find someone else to help.

However, after leaving Sumire Muroto's laboratory, Koyo realized a serious problem: Yuan Yuan's reputation was indeed very useful. Many high-ranking people, after learning about the situation, might be willing to do Yuan Yuan a favor and help her investigate the murderer. But Koyo didn't know how to find those people.

Because of Yuan Yuan's personality, not many people dared to bother him. Those who needed his help usually contacted his collaborator, Nanjo Ai, who would then speak with Yuan Yuan. However, even Yuan Yuan's collaborator, a young woman, was too frightened to visit him easily after witnessing a previous visitor being thrown out of the window for angering Yuan Yuan; she now always communicated by phone.

In this way, although Yuan Yuan did not hide anything from Hongye, and Hongye knew the names of some people who had done business with Yuan Yuan, she had no idea how to contact these people. She had no idea how to ask them for help. She even knew the address of Muroto Sumire's laboratory only after she had been there once before being given to Yuan Yuan.

Helpless, Momiji could only take Aihara Enju with her and investigate on their own.

Two people searching a city like looking for a needle in a haystack naturally found nothing, so in the evening, Momiji had no choice but to go to Sumire Muroto again.

Sumire Muroto seemed to have anticipated that Momiji would come looking for her again. When Momiji, filled with turmoil, knocked on the door of her laboratory, Sumire Muroto leisurely and lazily handed her a cup of hot milk that she had prepared beforehand, and gave her a meaningful look at her chest, making Momiji grit her teeth in anger.

Would you like another drink?

Muroto Sumire leaned lazily back in her chair, pointed to the empty milk cup in Momiji's hand, and asked languidly.

"Need not."

Gritting her teeth, she managed to utter two words slowly and deliberately before ignoring the annoying, gloomy woman and focusing intently on the screen in front of her that was monitoring the location where the culprit was supposedly most likely to appear.

Momiji ignored Muroto Sumire, but Muroto Sumire wasn't about to shut up and continued speaking lazily.

“I have thoroughly investigated this serial killing case. It has been going on for more than a month, with new victims appearing every night. What I can confirm is that the perpetrator has astonishing strength, capable of tearing human bodies apart with his bare hands and piercing through concrete with his limbs. Such strength is naturally impossible for a human. In this city, only the Cursed Child and the mechanized warriors could do this.”

"Aren't there Gastrea? Even a newly born Level 1 Gastrea can easily do what you're talking about!"

Upon hearing that the suspicion had once again pointed to the Cursed Child, Momiji couldn't help but interrupt Sumire Muroto. Due to her emotional state, her voice became somewhat loud, causing Enju Aihara, who was sleeping nearby, to shift her body uncomfortably.

Realizing she was getting agitated again, Hongye quickly stopped talking, adjusted her emotions, and calmed herself down.

It wasn't surprising that Momiji would get excited, but it was somewhat unexpected that she could calm down so quickly.

Something seems to have changed about this child.

While silently observing, Sumire Muroto continued speaking in her distinctively languid voice.

"If you can think of Gastrea, do you think the police can't? There was no Gastrea virus residue in the crime scene investigation. The victim was just torn apart, with no loss of flesh. So the killer couldn't possibly be a Gastrea. And there are other reasons why suspicion is being focused on the mechanized warriors and the cursed children."

As she spoke, Sumire Muroto pointed to the gloves on Momiji's hand, which were inlaid with black metal pieces.

"Traces of holmium metal residue were found on the cement wall that was broken by the murderer."

Subconsciously, Momiji's gaze followed Sumire Muroto's movements and fell on her own gloves. The next moment, realizing the significance of holmium, her expression turned ugly.

"It seems you've realized it. That's right, because of its property of inhibiting Gastrea's regenerative abilities, holmium metal has long been listed as an important military resource. Apart from the government and large military factories, the only ones who can possess and use holmium metal are the Cursed Children and mechanized warriors equipped with holmium metal weapons."

As Sumire Muroto explained, Momiji's expression didn't improve; instead, it grew even uglier. Clenching her fists, she gritted her teeth and said...

"Only children of the curse can possess weapons made of holmium metal after becoming partners with a police officer; ordinary children of the curse have no chance of obtaining such things. But, but, but,"

The more she spoke, the angrier Hongye became. Although she didn't lose her composure this time and still controlled her volume, the sound she made was no different from a low growl.

"But those people know this, yet they still focus their investigation on ordinary cursed children. Are they trying to wipe them out completely?"

In the past, upon hearing Sumire Muroto's words, Momiji wouldn't have given it much thought; she would simply admire Sumire's abilities and eagerly await her help in catching the culprit. However, after Yuan Yuan's series of lessons, Momiji now considered many more things.

"Knowing full well that the murderer couldn't possibly be among the ordinary cursed children, they still insisted on searching for the murderer among the ordinary cursed children, and even set a three-day deadline. Their goal from the beginning was not to find the murderer, but to find an excuse to expel all the ordinary cursed children and send them to their deaths in the outside forest."

P.S., thank you to [Erya] for the donation.

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Murderer

Yes, although the ordinary children of curses were abandoned by the higher-ups because they were deemed to lack potential and were not worth training as warriors, even the weakest children of curses are far superior to ordinary people in terms of strength, speed, and reflexes. Once they riot, ordinary people would have no chance to resist.

Furthermore, the rate of viral invasion within the Cursed Children increases with age. By now, many of the earliest Cursed Children are likely on the verge of Gastrea transformation. For the human leadership, keeping these Cursed Children in the cities is indeed far too dangerous.

Therefore, from any perspective, a large number of cursed children without police supervision pose no benefit to humanity, only a strong danger, like a bomb that could explode at any moment.

[So, in order to eliminate the potential danger posed by the Cursed Child, the higher-ups used this series of murders as a pretext to expel the Cursed Child? No, if we really think about it that way, even the murders might have been orchestrated by the higher-ups themselves.]

Biting her lower lip, Hongye's face grew increasingly grim. The more she thought about it, the more she understood the danger of the ordinary cursed children's current situation, and a strong sense of unease and resentment welled up in her heart.

"Sure enough, some intriguing changes have occurred in you."

Looking at the red leaves with great interest, Sumire Muroto raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Judging from your expression, besides what you said, you must have thought of a lot more. You wouldn't have thought about this much before."

Momiji suddenly looked up, staring intently at Sumire Muroto, and asked with a grim expression,

"So you do know something. Could it be that this incident, like the one involving the Demon Child, was also your doing?"

"Don't forget my identity. I am a researcher. The Demon Child Project is a scientific research project, which is within my capabilities. No matter how you look at it, this plan to expel the cursed child was proposed by those politicians for the sake of exchanging interests. How could it have anything to do with me?"

Momiji's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but Muroto Sumire remained unfazed, glancing at her with disdain and saying,

"Don't blame everything on me just because you have a bad feeling about me."

After carefully considering Muroto Sumire's words, Koyo realized that it was indeed true; she was just a researcher and shouldn't be involved in such matters. She suppressed the murderous intent in her eyes, her expression softening, and then decisively bowed her head to apologize to Muroto Sumire.

I apologize for questioning you without my permission.

"It's okay, even if people suspect me, it won't cost me anything."

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