Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

“If the boss wants to investigate, I can give it a try,” Isaac said. “Currently, my IP ranking is fifteenth, and a lot of confidential information is accessible to me, making the investigation much easier.”

"Then it's up to you." Kisara did not refuse.

There's no point in continuing the discussion before the investigation results are available; it's just a waste of time trying to explain the hypothesis with different assumptions.

"If there's nothing else, boss, how about I take you home first?"

Mugen shook his head and looked into Isaac's eyes.

"Satomi, I feel very happy with my life right now."

"Really? That's a good thing."

“The company has Enju, Tina, Natsume, and Satomi. It’s like a family,” Kisara said softly, slowly walking closer to Isaac. “Satomi, I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately.”

"Ok?"

"Suddenly I found myself standing on a bridge shrouded in morning mist, and all I could see was this bridge. I didn't know how I got here or why I was here; I only knew that I had to keep moving forward."

As Kisara spoke, he gradually covered his head, a look of fear appearing in his eyes.

"So I walked towards one end of the bridge, where there was no one. Suddenly the bridge collapsed, and my body was swallowed up by something like a black swamp. I watched this situation in silence until I was completely submerged. But not long after, I discovered how to breathe inside and felt much more comfortable."

“I don’t quite understand,” Isaac said.

"Back then, when I looked in the mirror in the morning, I noticed tear stains at the corners of my eyes and realized something."

Kisara spoke in a deep, resonant voice:

"I cried because I knew that this happiness would end one day."

After a pause, Kisara suddenly laughed.

"But it's funny, ever since Satomi lost his memory, every time I dream that I fall off a bridge, I see you standing at the bottom of the abyss catching me and pushing me back up."

As she spoke, she walked up to Isaac, hugged him tightly, and buried her face in his chest.

“I understand that even if I fall into the abyss one day, Satomi will catch me.”

"As long as you, Satomi, are still here, my happiness will never disappear."

Kisara once trapped himself in a cage called revenge.

Generally speaking, dreaming of sinking into a swamp indicates that a person is under a lot of pressure and will struggle to escape. At that time, the dreamer will be completely unable to get out of the swamp and will sink into it on their own.

Isaac's arrival freed her from the 'swamp'.

Kisara, burying her face in Isaac's chest, whispered, "I know you're not the Satomi I used to be, but that doesn't matter. All I know is that the only one who can accept a woman like me is the Satomi I am now."

She slowly tightened her arms.

"You absolutely... must never leave me."

--------------

On the other side, the police officers stationed in District 40, which is under my command, are doing training every day.

Under my instructions, this morning we will construct barbed wire and sandbags, and place concrete bunkers to block tanks at the predicted gastrea invasion locations. The remaining time will be used for lectures and reviewing yesterday's training. My direct order is that anyone who ignores or violates this order will be punished.

It seems that my comrade has become quite neurotic about police officers who do not follow orders, so he wants to use heavier penalties to restrain their actions.

Many police officers couldn't stand the restrictions and went to 'Flame of Return' to express their desire to join Isaac's side.

Isaac agreed without hesitation upon hearing the news.

After all, his goal was not to command them to go to the battlefield, but to reduce the number of police officers participating in the war, so as to meet the necessary conditions for the Self-Defense Forces to lose the war.

The number of police officers under my command is decreasing.

It's pretty clear that with the remaining police officers, the campaign is almost certain to fail.

The problem lies in the fact that the Self-Defense Forces have always had a mysterious confidence in their own combat capabilities. They firmly believe that even without the help of the police, they can easily deal with Gastrea with their advanced weapons and powerful combat capabilities.

I also raised this issue with the Self-Defense Forces, but they completely ignored it and instead mocked me, saying things like, "The discipline of the police is just bad."

The Self-Defense Forces, being a regular military force, have always disliked the police, so this situation is quite satisfactory to them.

At this point, Isaac was completely oblivious to their situation; in his view, the fate of the guard was already sealed.

He has now left his home, 'Flame of Return', and returned to his residence in Gouda Ward.

Tina, Enju, and Xia Shi are all there right now. Isaac is also going back to replenish some supplies. The Tokyo area is in a state of panic. Schools are closed and there are no food delivery services available.

As Isaac walked from the station to Gotacho, he sensed a strong atmosphere of tension and stopped.

The first thing that caught his eye was a large number of leaflets, blown by the wind and almost covering the ground. He picked one up and looked at it; it contained conspiracy theories such as, "Unforgivable tyrannical government! The government pre-determines the list of people who can enter the shelters!"

The Gota Ward, or rather the entire Tokyo ward, has undergone dramatic changes.

Near the square, an elderly man with white hair and a white beard, who looked like a homeless man, was making sharp cries from a wooden box. The cries were about the destruction of the world and the arrival of a hopeful new world soon.

Normally, such fragmented remarks would probably go unnoticed, but at this moment, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.

As Isaac walked through the arcade in front of the station, he felt a rustling sound under his feet. It turned out that the shop windows had all been smashed and the goods had been looted.

This place is already a scene of apocalypse.

The passing patrol cars turned a blind eye to the citizens' crazy behavior, probably thinking that letting them make such a fuss was the only way to maintain social functioning.

With a handbag containing supplies slung over his shoulder, he boarded the tram and returned to the 'Flame of Return'.

There weren't many passengers on the bus, but the palpable sense of panic that was being instilled in them made it hard to breathe.

Isaac saw an advertisement hanging from the ceiling. It read, "The Cursed Child's Bloody Revenge! Murder in District Three!" It seemed the deterioration of public order would erupt from its most vulnerable point.

Just as he was getting off the train to transfer stations, Isaac heard shrill laughter and angry shouts coming from not far away.

Turning around, Isaac saw this scene.

A group of adult men surrounded a ragged girl who was kneeling on the ground covered in blood.

The people around cheered.

The girl, Isaac, remembered seeing the singing white-haired girl in the shopping street.

Chapter 305: Countdown to the End of the World

In the center, you can see a straw mat laid on the ground, an overturned iron bowl used by the girl, and loose change scattered all over the ground.

She was here. Around the white-haired girl who lay motionless on the ground, a large group of adults had gathered. There were eight of them, ranging in age from their twenties to their forties.

What are you doing?

Isaac slowly walked towards the group.

The girl who had fallen to the ground stretched out her left hand, desperately trying to get up, and looked at Isaac with her unseen eyes:

“You were the police officer back then.”

The girl's face was covered in bruises, and the cut on her right hand, which she was clutching in pain, showed no signs of healing and bled profusely. Even more astonishingly, despite the violence she had suffered, the girl still wore a smile.

Logically, the wounds of a cursed child should heal after being injured. However, the girl's wound was still bleeding.

Isaac focused his gaze on the man in the lead and noticed that the dagger in his hand was black.

It was a slender weapon with a blade about twelve centimeters long, too short to fight against Guttites. It was hard to imagine any other use besides harming the Cursed Child.

The begging girl lay on the ground and gently shook her head:

"I'm sorry... Officer... We agreed not to come out again... I brought this on myself."

“Of course you brought this on yourself, I don’t deny that.” Isaac curled his lip.

He turned his gaze to the group of menacing men and sneered, "Does bullying the weak make you so happy?"

The oldest man in the crowd had a contorted expression of hatred, holding a blood-stained holmium dagger.

"Get out of the way! Annoying brat!" he roared. "That thing blends right in among us, attacking humans whenever it gets the chance. Worse than Gastrea! They have to be driven off the streets!"

"Really? If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't need to make so many cuts; one cut would be enough."

As Isaac spoke, he snatched the dagger from the man's hand and, to everyone's horror, plunged it into the man's throat.

Pfft!

"Like this."

Blood spurted from his throat onto the ground. The man cried out in pain but could not utter a word, blood continuously seeping from his mouth.

The man drew his dagger and fell into a pool of blood.

Do you know what you're doing?!

"Murder!!"

Those around screamed, but before they could utter a few words, Isaac's knife had already severed their heads. Blood splattered everywhere. His clothes were also stained red.

"What the hell are you yelling for? It's so noisy!"

Isaac picked at his ear with his little finger, looking impatient.

He looked at the remaining people who were trying to escape but whose legs were trembling and asked, "Didn't you say you were afraid they would turn into Gastrea and attack you because you were afraid of them? Now that I've killed a few people, it means I'll definitely attack you. Why don't you attack me instead?"

The people around were terrified and dared not utter a single word.

They understood that the blood-covered madman in front of them could very well slash them with a knife.

"I understand you all. I know that the Tokyo Ward's [Registration Robbery Law] has caused your negative feelings towards the Cursed Children to erupt. I can understand you going out into the streets to kill one or two Cursed Children."

“Yes, yes, it’s all because of that law that I…” someone immediately chimed in.

Before he could finish speaking, Isaac raised his gun and pressed it against his forehead.

boom!

Did I give you permission to speak?

Blowing out a puff of gunpowder smoke, Isaac continued, "If there's nothing else, I'll continue... But, while I understand, that doesn't mean I agree. The way you're doing things makes it impossible for our police officers to maintain their work enthusiasm. Do you know how much our performance will suffer because of you?"

As Isaac finished speaking, he looked up at the few people who were still standing there in a daze, and he sighed.

"They really don't understand the good intentions of us police officers. Oh well, at least you still have some value."

Hearing Isaac say that, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

Does the fact that they still have some value mean we should let them go?

However, just as they were thinking this, Isaac suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed forward, and red lightning began to crackle from everyone's bodies.