mygo, but Cthulhu

"Don't bother me, Charlotte. I'm taking care of important matters."

"……I see."

Charlotte was silent for a moment and then nodded slightly. As she lowered her head, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. After a moment's hesitation, she quickly spoke to Sanyuan Tokou.

"Father, can I leave for a while?"

"Go."

The man shook his head indifferently, and at the same time raised his foot and stepped hard on Marina's fingers. However, Charlotte didn't care about this at the moment. She hurriedly walked around the butlers and walked into the alley on the pretext of going to the bathroom. As soon as she turned the corner, her mouth was covered tightly, and her whole body was firmly controlled. She looked up and met Ozawa Misaki's slightly wary eyes.

"Xia Li, if I let you go now, you won't call your people over, right?"

"Woo,"

With her mouth tightly covered, Charlotte could only nod vigorously. At this time, the deacons guarding outside seemed to have noticed something and tentatively called out to the alley.

"Miss, are you okay? Are you in any danger?"

"..."

There was no response from inside, and they frowned, holding their guns vigilantly and slowly approaching the alley. A moment later, Charlotte's angry voice suddenly rang out.

"I said, I'm in the bathroom, what do you want to do by coming over here?"

"Um, sorry, miss, because you didn't respond just now..."

"Do I need to report to you every ten seconds just to go to the bathroom? Stop kidding, get out of here!"

"Yes, yes, we'll leave now."

The butlers nodded in panic and walked away. Misaki Ozawa in the corner couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when she saw this scene, and Charlotte also smiled at her at this time.

"You can trust me, Misaki. After all, you're Kokoro's friend... By the way, why did you come back alone? Did Kokoro ask you to come?"

"No, it occurred to me on the way that your father might harm Marina-san and the others in order to obtain these books, so I told Kokoro about my concerns... But she said we still needed your father's help, otherwise Japan might become a battlefield."

Misaki explained in a low voice, and Charlotte sighed after a moment of silence.

"She's right. The Xianjuan Group is now under particular suspicion. She can't influence other countries for the time being. Only my father can secretly negotiate with various high-ranking officials and convince them to send representatives instead of troops... So, why did you come back?"

"…What Kokoro said makes sense, but I still can't just abandon Marina and Rinrinko-san. Kanon and the others share the same sentiment as me."

After a moment's silence, Misaki shook her head slightly with a complicated expression.

"Under their cover, I found an excuse to leave the team and came here without my heart noticing... I wanted to save them."

"Are you crazy? My father is determined to obtain this knowledge. Even if you are a friend of Xin, you will not end well if you stand in his way."

"I know...that's why I need your help, Charlotte."

Ozawa Misaki pursed her lips and stared at her seriously.

"I've searched through Ms. Tsuzuki's records, and she mentioned that she left a spell in the church basement just in case... If you can quietly activate it with your magic, all the books will be burned, and your father won't have to continue to torture Ms. Marina and Ms. Rinrinko."

"You're asking me to disobey my father... Do you know what will happen to me if he finds out about this?"

"If he values ​​his so-called ideals over you, then I believe he is unworthy of being your father. If your hesitation is out of fear rather than affection for him, then you are not his daughter, but his prisoner."

Misaki Ozawa responded softly, and Charlotte was stunned for a moment. She stared at Misaki in a daze, and when she subconsciously wanted to say something, Marina's scream suddenly came into her ears.

"Ahhhh!"

"Tell me now! You damned bastard!"

In great anger, Mizono Watari used a dagger to tear open Marina's belly, and stuffed his palm into it and stirred it continuously. She was in so much pain that she was about to faint, but she still clenched her teeth and shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, that knowledge is dangerous..."

"I am more dangerous to you now."

Mizono Watari sneered and turned to pick up the torture instruments prepared by the butlers. Misaki could no longer bear it after seeing this scene. She drew her pistol and prepared to rush out regardless of the consequences. However, when she passed by Charlotte,

Her hand was suddenly grabbed, and she subconsciously turned her head to meet her complicated gaze.

"You're courting death by charging out like this. The butlers of the Sanyuan family are all elite soldiers. There's no way you can defeat them with just a pistol."

"Maybe, but I can't just do nothing."

Misaki replied softly and tried to break free from her hand, but Charlotte could only sigh at her expression. After a moment's hesitation, she gritted her teeth and nodded.

"Stay here and don't go out. I will help you burn those books."

"Charlotte, I appreciate your kindness, but to be honest, if there's a chance you'll be exposed, I don't want you to take the risk instead of me..."

"Shut up, you are Xin's friend, you can't get into trouble, otherwise how can I face Xin?"

Charlotte interrupted her firmly, then took a deep breath and made up her mind. She emphasized to Misaki that she should stay here and then turned to leave. The girl hesitated for a moment and could only watch her back as she went away, praying in her heart that she would succeed.

Charlotte tried hard to suppress the tension in her heart and walked back into the church. She saw that Marina and the others had been tortured to death. In a pool of blood, she and Rinrinko leaned on each other to support their bodies. Their bloodstained eyes were dim but still unwavering. Blood slid down their cheeks and dripped onto their bare, broken hands.

"Charlotte, do you know why they endure so much pain and are unwilling to hand over the key?"

The next moment, an old, weak voice suddenly sounded in her mind. Charlotte subconsciously turned her head and saw a frail old man in a priest's robe under the scarlet cross. He leaned against a pillar and barely looked up at her. There was a kind of persistence in his eyes that she did not understand. This persistence allowed him to miraculously survive to this day.

"...As they said, to protect the innocent?"

"Yes, they have a firm belief, so they won't regret it even if they die... What about you, child? Do you have your own beliefs?"

The old man looked at her weakly, and Charlotte hesitated for a moment and answered softly,

"I want to do my best to protect my friends... Is that considered faith?"

"Of course. As long as you can persevere, then this is your belief... Since you still have things to do, why not pass on your magic power to me? Your father will be able to detect who burned the books. If he finds out it was you, you will die."

The priest raised his hand to her tremblingly, his face so pale that Charlotte couldn't help but wonder if he would die in the next moment... But even though it was extremely difficult, he still insisted on completing the action and forced a smile at her.

"Charlotte, I have a granddaughter your age... She died saving others, and I wanted to be like her, trying to save others in my final moments... I had been living in self-deception. It was she who taught me that even if God doesn't exist, it's not scary, because we can all become our own God."

"Please fulfill this little wish of mine, child. I beg you."

"...I understand. Thank you, Father."

Charlotte was silent for a moment and then nodded slightly. She secretly transferred her magic power to him, and the old man now gave her a relaxed and grateful smile.

"No, I should thank you... Thank you for giving me this opportunity to atone for my sins."

"boom!"

When Sanyuan Duguang was about to pick up a new torture instrument, he suddenly heard a huge roar behind him. The impact of the exploding flames pressed him against the wall. After seeing the situation clearly, he opened his eyes wide instantly, staring at the entrance to the basement that was constantly spewing flames, his voice hysterical.

"My knowledge! My knowledge! No!"

He screamed and rushed forward, but at this time, only a large piece of burnt pages was rolled up. He desperately searched for the intact part, but found nothing. After a moment, his face suddenly twisted, he grabbed the old man's collar, and strangled his throat with a mad roar.

"Hiroi Akinari! You're almost dead and you're still trying to stop me! You damn bastard!"

"..."

He thought he would hear familiar sarcasm, but the only response was silence. Sanyuan Duguang was stunned for a moment, and then he saw that the old man in his arms had closed his eyes contentedly, and there was no longer any sign of life.

"You actually died like this...Ahhhhhhhhh!"

The unvented rage made him roar. He frantically picked up the dagger and cut the old man into pieces, but even that couldn't calm him down. He turned around in anger and prepared to find Marina and the others, but unexpectedly saw that Ozawa Misaki had sneaked in at some point. She was standing in front of them, pointing her gun at him coldly.

"If you come any closer, I will shoot you. I won't warn you a second time, Sanyuan Watari."

"Hahaha, you little brat dare to threaten me?"

"Didi,"

He couldn't help but sneer, but just as he took a step, his cell phone suddenly rang. When he saw the name of the caller, his expression became even uglier, and he gritted his teeth and answered the call.

"Ms. Xianjuan, your friend is pointing a gun at me... How are you going to apologize?"

"Oh, really? But at least Misaki didn't shoot you. For the sake of our cooperation, I think you can forget this little unpleasantness, right?"

"What if I can't forget?"

"Then all the nations would probably know a lot of things, such as the special nature of your body, and the mysterious power you possess... You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"...You still need my help, and now you're threatening me?"

Sanzono Tokou's face was distorted as he squeezed out a voice, but Genmaki's voice remained calm, as if she didn't hear his anger at all, and her tone was as relaxed as if she was saying good morning.

"You misunderstood, Mr. Sanyuan. I was just giving you a friendly reminder. I was reminding you not to cause greater damage by venting your emotions... For you, this should be the most basic common sense, right?"

"Okay... you win this time."

Mizono Watari held the phone tightly, but finally chose to compromise. He glared at Misaki and turned away. The girl didn't care about his reaction and silently picked up her phone to answer Xin's call.

"Misaki, you were too impulsive this time. If my call had been one minute later, do you know what would have happened?"

"I'm sorry, Kokoro... I just can't give up on Ms. Marina and the others like this."

Ozawa Misaki sighed.

"After all, they've witnessed many of our lives and helped us a lot... Although we're no longer the same as we were before, I think Ikumi also hopes that Marina and Rinrinko-san can survive."

"...Yes, but Ikumi is dead, and Marina and the others aren't as important as your safety."

Xian Juanxin was silent for a moment and then sighed, her tone a little tired.

"Come back soon, Misaki. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up."

"I know. Sorry, Kokoro."

Misaki hung up the phone after mumbling an apology. She leaned over and gave first aid to Marina and the others, and the fire was getting bigger and bigger. After moving them outside, she looked back at the burning church, made an awkward sign of the cross, and whispered a complicated thank you.

"Thank you, Father. If it weren't for your help, Charlie would have been in trouble. Thank you.

You can save her."

"If there is no heaven in this world, then I at least hope that you can rest in peace in death... Goodbye. I will try my best to save more people like you did. I promise."

Chapter 299 Obtaining Chips

Xian Juanxin lowered her head and stared at the plans on the table, tapping her fingertips regularly. Her brows furrowed more and more as she thought. She picked up the coffee beside her and took a sip, not realizing that the bitter liquid in her mouth had turned cold.

"This won't work,"

After a moment, she shook her head and threw the plan she had carefully considered into the trash can, then picked up the next plan. However, her expression did not improve. After thinking for a while, she sighed silently and threw this plan into the trash can as well.

One plan after another that she had carefully considered was thrown into the trash can, until the folders that had been piled up like a mountain on the desk completely disappeared. At this time, the sky outside had become dark, and Xian Juanxin sat silently in the dark, with no intention of getting up to turn on the light.

After a while, she sighed slowly and closed her eyes exhaustedly. Her temples were throbbing from overexertion, and she quietly felt the expansion of her blood vessels, her heart gradually filled with powerlessness.

Countries were almost recovering from the impact of the network outage, but no matter how she calculated, she couldn't figure out how to prevent them from sending troops. Those agents sent back too much intelligence before they died, and the eyes of the whole world were already firmly fixed on this city... They all knew that there was a mysterious power here, and an opportunity for rapid growth in national strength.

The modern international community seems to value human rights and freedom, but these are just nice slogans. When it comes to the lifeblood of a country, no country will care about such things. They will grab them at all costs. Perhaps Tokyo will become the fuse of World War III.

"..."

Xian Juanxin stared out the window silently. She could see many people queuing up to receive emergency food. They were all very worried before, but after holding the actual food, they subconsciously smiled, feeling fortunate that they didn't have to starve.

Even after the training was over, the students of Hanasakigawa were still actively practicing. They endured the fatigue and tried their best to get used to the guns and weights. Even if sweat dripped into their eyes, they tried their best to lock onto the target in front of them and pulled the trigger hard.

...Everything seemed to have finally stabilized, but she knew that these were all just illusions. Soon this scarred city would burn again, and the armies of other countries would fight frantically on this land. The bombs dropped by planes would turn innocent people into pieces, and the blood would cover this place. The death toll would be far greater than the casualties caused by the Blood Cross disaster...There was no hope for the future.

Unless, she can introduce new variables, she can gain enough benefits to impress all countries.

"Heart? Heart?"

A familiar voice brought her back to reality. Xin Xianmian blinked blankly, and then she realized that Misaki and the others had come to her without her knowing. The black-haired girl put the rich lunch box in her hand on the table, looking at Xin with some worry. At the same time, she also found a pile of plans in the trash can, and she couldn't help but pursed her lips.

"Are you okay? We saw you hadn't come down to eat, so we brought our lunch boxes over, but we found you sitting here alone, without even turning on the lights...Are you having any trouble?"

"...Misaki, maybe we'll all die soon."

Even though she was starving, Genmaki Shin still didn't look at the lunch box on the table. She was silent for a moment and then spoke softly. Misaki and the others immediately opened their eyes wide and their expressions became confused.

"Xin, why are you saying this suddenly? Didn't we just eliminate the Toyokawa family? Are there still enemies that threaten us now?"

"If I can't resolve this difficulty, the whole world will soon be our enemy... No, they don't even see us as enemies. We are just fuel in their war. Our flesh, blood, and souls will become meaningless."

Genmaki Xin sighed softly, and Ozawa Misaki became more and more confused and worried when she saw her expressionless face. She subconsciously held Xin's hand tightly and asked anxiously.

"Why? Xin, why do you say that? The situation here has stabilized. Even if other countries are unscrupulous, they won't directly violate UN regulations and fight each other in our city, right?"

"The UN's rules are useless because the UN was established by powerful countries, and when faced with sufficiently large interests, they certainly won't care about the rules they set."

Xian Juanxin answered softly, and at the same time stood up and raised her hand to gesture to the window. There was only a resolute silence in her eyes illuminated by the sporadic lights.

"Modern society is an information society. If data storms can be controlled, they will be incredibly powerful weapons. If the Blood Cross Virus can reduce the probability of losing control, it will also be very useful in destroying civilians. Not to mention various spells. This is a completely new field that is different from modern science."

"Japan's main focus used to be the economy, but the yen has collapsed. Our country has no military, and it's impossible for us to hold off other countries with well-equipped air, land, and sea forces with just a few armed personnel. Our only option is negotiation."

"But why should they care about us? We are powerless, and this city holds the potential to allow them to surpass their opponents... They will only let the steel and caterpillar tracks crush our bodies, let our blood become the lubricant for the gears, and let our screams become useless proof of tragedy."