mygo, but Cthulhu

"But, Senior Xin has always been willing to help others..."

"You're talking about the former Xin-senpai. Although she still does this now, it's no longer because of the innocent reasons she had before, but because of profit."

Duohui interrupted her softly, looking around to make sure there was no one else around before continuing cautiously.

"Otherwise, there would be no need for her to allow the company to replace the government. The blueprint for controlled nuclear fusion would already satisfy all countries. Her actions are simply aimed at gaining more benefits and power."

"You should have noticed, right? After saving Hanasakigawa's classmates, Kokoro-senpai didn't comfort them. Instead, she directly told them about the current crisis. She was deliberately pushing them until they massacred the Toyokawa family under her orders... Our classmates are just a microcosm. Thanks to her covert actions, the hundreds of thousands of people she saved have a deep admiration and trust in her, and most of them have become members of the Genmaki Group."

"Her power is expanding at an unimaginable rate. The hundreds of thousands of people who survived the Blood Cross disaster are her most solid foundation, and her cutting-edge technology and capital make her even more powerful... Do you understand what I mean, Kasumi?"

"I don't understand...what does this have to do with your active choice to join the Xianjuan Group?"

"Because the company represented by the Genmaki Group will cover this city, and we always have to find a powerful force. Your parents and mine, as well as Satomi's family and Arisaki's grandmother, all need funds and a safe environment... and these are not so easy to obtain."

Huayuan Duohui sighed softly.

"Besides, Kokoro-senpai must have noticed your newfound abilities. I'm sure she arranged the best medical care for Asuka for your sake... She's trying to be nice to you."

"..."

Toyama Kasumi silently held her sister's hand. She had received a lot of help from Genmaki Kokoro, and at this moment she couldn't help but subconsciously want to refute Duohui's words. However, she also remembered the smile on the blonde girl's face that had obviously changed... There was no trace of the past in it, only calmness and rationality.

The sense of distance from Genmaki Kokoro has become particularly strong for her now, and she even carries a sense of oppression from a superior... At this moment, Kasumi had to admit that what Tae said was correct.

"If I join the Xianjuan Group...will my family be better off?"

"There will be immediate improvements in conditions... But even though I invited you, I still urge you to think about it."

Huayuan Duohui slowed down her voice.

"Bearing the Xianjuan brand means both you and I will desperately struggle in this frenzy of capital competition. We can help each other, but we'll both be confined to the Xianjuan Group."

"If you choose to wait a little longer, you might be able to find a better opportunity, or even a chance to leave Japan and start over...it all depends on your choice."

"I...I can't make a decision for the time being. Can you give me a few days to think about it?"

Toyama Kasumi hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. Duohui was not surprised by her reaction. She stood up and put on her military cap while nodding slightly.

"Well, it's a good thing you're thinking about it. Remember to take the medicine Asuka gave you... I have to leave now. I have to regroup with my classmates."

"Who is your direct superior? Shin-senpai himself?"

"No, she has too much to do... Misaki is our boss and superior, so she's the commander."

Duohui answered while putting on her military jacket, but before she could leave, she suddenly heard a noisy and chaotic sound coming from the street. She was stunned for a moment and hurried to the window.

"We reject corporate rule! We don't want cyberpunk!"

"Xian Juanxin, get off the stage! Dictator, get off the stage!"

Following the angry shouts, she saw a huge crowd holding various signs and moving forward. They were obviously so angry because they heard the contents of the "Joint Declaration". They all looked like students and intellectuals who were lucky enough not to encounter much trouble in the chaos.

"Now something's wrong..."

Hanazono Tae sighed with a headache, and Kasumi couldn't help but frown after seeing the situation on the street.

"What should we do now? It seems not everyone is willing to accept the company's rule. Are they planning a protest?"

"It seems so. Kasumi, you stay here. I'll go meet up with the other students. They're all considered to be Kokoro-senpai's people by the public. If we don't gather quickly, they might be in danger."

Hanazono Tae left quickly after saying a few words, and Kasumi looked at her back tiredly, staring silently at the situation on the street.

After a moment, she sighed, sent a message to her own family and her friends' families, asking them not to go out, and then sat down next to Asuka again.

She was no longer interested in caring about these things...as long as nothing happened to the people she cared about.

Chapter 302 Reunion with Mio

Takamatsu Deng walked aimlessly on the street, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. She had been walking like this since her desperate escape a few days ago. She didn't know where to go and could only keep moving forward with her head down.

This is all her fault. If only she didn't have this cursed power... No, if she didn't have this power, she probably wouldn't be able to help everyone until now, and she would be even more useless.

But... what should she do? Even if she and everyone else had agreed to become monsters, she still couldn't ignore the casualties caused by her, and she still couldn't be completely selfish.

She hated herself for being so indecisive, but she was powerless to change. She could only move forward in sadness, hoping to find the answer.

"Xian Juanxin, die!"

But at this moment, she suddenly heard an angry roar coming from the front. She looked up in a daze, but saw a large piece of stone flying from the front. She instinctively squatted down and covered her head.

"Boom!"

Fortunately, she was not the target of the crowd. The stones flew over her and hit the replay of Xian Juanxin explaining the "Joint Announcement". The screen cracked instantly, and the calm blonde girl quickly disappeared. Deng quickly dodged and was not hit by the falling stones.

"Why do you do this? Didn't Senior Xin save many people?"

She spoke unconsciously in a daze, but the crowd didn't care and continued shouting as they walked forward. Just when she was about to be swallowed by the crowd, a hand suddenly reached out and pulled her to the side of the road.

"Are you okay? How come you don't hide in front of so many people... Wait, are you Deng?"

A young girl was about to say something to her helplessly, but she was stunned when she saw her face clearly. After she came to her senses, she asked excitedly. Deng also looked at her confusedly, feeling that she looked a little familiar, but couldn't find the source of this familiarity for a while.

"You are……"

"I'm Mio, Deng. I used to play with you when we were little. Do you remember?"

The girl smiled nostalgically as she spoke, and the light couldn't help but blink.

He blinked, gradually recalled the long-lost memory, and nodded subconsciously.

"I remember now... I'm sorry, I didn't know you hated dango bugs..."

"It's okay. I overreacted at the time. It's not your fault."

Mio smiled and shook her head, and Deng felt a little relieved by her explanation.

"Thank you for forgiving me... By the way, I did look for you back then, but you'd already moved. Your family must have thought I was bullying you, right? Where are they now? Can I explain and apologize to them?"

"Uh, I'm afraid this won't work."

Hearing her words, the girl's expression froze for a moment, and Deng pursed her lips and quickly lowered her head.

"I'm sorry, I know they won't forgive me so easily..."

"No, Deng, don't get me wrong. They don't remember this incident anymore... I said no only because they are dead."

Deng was stunned for a moment, looking up at her blankly, while Mio bit her lip and tried to maintain a smile on her face, shaking her head slightly.

"They happened to be in the area where the Blood Cross outbreak occurred... After hundreds of thousands of survivors emerged from the disaster area, I immediately went looking for them. But even after checking that incredibly long list for several days, I still couldn't find my parents... Now I just hope they didn't suffer too much before their death."

"Sorry……"

"Deng, you don't have to apologize. This is not your fault. You have nothing to do with this disaster."

Mio interrupted her softly and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Come to think of it, why were you walking down the street alone? What happened? Where are your family members?"

"My mom and dad... they're dead too... all because of me."

Gao Songdeng lowered her head, and at the same time, an extremely heavy sense of guilt suddenly spread and gnawed at her heart. She had always told herself not to care about so many deaths, but when her childhood playmate whispered about her pain, she once again clearly realized the terrible and bloody consequences she had caused.

If it weren't for her, Mio's parents could have survived, and more than one million innocent people could have survived... But because of her, such a tragic tragedy was repeated more than one million times, and countless people suffered immensely.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... wuwuwu..."

Gao Songdeng could no longer escape this point. She trembled and cried, and fell to her knees on the ground sobbing. All the pain and self-blame burst out with her tears, making her feel that her consciousness was overwhelmed by the pain, and she almost drowned in the endless blood.

"Don't cry, Lantern."

I don’t know how long it was, but when Takamatsu Deng slowly opened her red and swollen eyes, the first thing she heard was Mio’s low voice and the first thing she felt was her warm embrace.

"Don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you... It's too arrogant to take all the deaths as your own responsibility. You're just an ordinary girl. What can you do?"

"Mio..."

Takamatsu Deng hesitated and wanted to confess her sins, but she found it difficult to continue as soon as she opened her mouth. She was afraid that Mio would hate her, and she didn't dare to imagine what expression she would look at her with... Even now she still couldn't muster up the courage.

"Stop talking and get some rest. Sit here for a while. I'll catch up with the parade and get us some food."

Mio touched her head and was about to turn and leave, but the next moment her hand was grabbed forcefully and she lowered her head to meet Deng's eyes filled with worry and confusion.

"Mio, why are you doing this? Didn't Kokoro-senpai save so many people? Without her help, many people would have starved to death, right? Why are you against her?"

"I understand this... but the relief food distributed by the Xianjuan Group can only keep us from starving to death. Food is hard currency now, so I must find a way to accumulate more."

Mio sighed.

"Someone is willing to provide us with food so that we can participate in the parade. As long as I can go there and hold up a sign and shout slogans, I won't have to worry about food rations for a month... I really need this lamp, and you look like you have no food either. I don't want you to starve to death, so I have to get as much food as possible."

"...I'll go with you."

After hesitating for a moment, Deng spoke softly and seriously, and Mio thought for a moment and nodded, handing her a sign.

"Alright then, remember to stay by my side and don't get separated by the crowd. We're just marching and won't resort to violence. This kind of thing happens all the time in Tokyo. I don't think Xian Juanxin will do anything to us."

"Well, if that's all, Xin-senpai wouldn't hurt anyone. She's a good person."

Chapter 303 Only Despair

"Misaki-senpai, what's the situation now?"

Hanazono Tae hurried to Ozawa Misaki, and she raised her hand helplessly to gesture to the marchers in front of her, and shook her head slightly.

"After we formed a line here, they didn't move forward, but they kept shouting over there and refused to listen to our persuasion."

"What are Senior Xin's instructions?"

"She told us to wait and see. As long as these people don't intend to attack the front, we shouldn't act rashly... I don't know how long we have to wait."

Misaki sighed, and the girls from Hanasakigawa, who had never faced such a scene before, nervously clenched their guns. They subconsciously stood in a row, and their neat black uniforms formed an obvious deterrent, making the marchers dare not move forward and just keep repeating slogans.

As time passed, everyone felt tired, and the shouts of the crowd gradually became quieter. Mio simply stopped shouting. She looked down at the time on her phone, then turned to the lamp with a relaxed look and spoke softly.

"It will be over soon, Deng. The time required by the employer will be up soon. We will leave here as soon as we get the food. Then we won't have to worry about anything here."

"Well, I hope it goes well."

Gao Songdeng nodded silently. She looked around and found that many people had begun to casually hold up signs. It was obvious that they came for food like them, but there were also some people with tense expressions. The closer the end time was, the more cautious their expressions became, and they all reached into their pockets to hold something.

...No, that's not right. This parade is not that simple. Something must be happening.

At this moment, Takamatsu Deng suddenly realized that something was wrong. She quickly lowered her head to avoid eye contact with one of the suspicious men. At the same time, she also grabbed Mio's hand and spoke to her nervously in a low voice.

"Mio, please leave here first. Some people look strange. It might be dangerous here later."

"You come with me, too, Deng."

Mio was stunned for a moment before quickly responding in a low voice, and Takamatsu Deng also shook his head vigorously.

"I can control them, Mio, don't worry about me."

"How could I not worry about you? You're just an ordinary girl like me. What if something happens to you if you stay here?"

"I'm not an ordinary person, I'm..."

Just when Gao Songdeng was about to explain, her voice suddenly stopped. She knew that the current situation did not allow her to hesitate, but the resistance from her subconscious still made her pause uncontrollably.

I have been avoiding my own nature all the time, and I can't make up my mind right now.

"Do it."

After hesitating for just a few seconds, Takamatsu Deng suddenly saw those suspicious men pull out pistols from their pockets. Her pupils suddenly contracted and she quickly grabbed Mio's hand, wanting to lead her out of the crowd, but the crowded human bodies around her made it impossible for her to break through easily, unless she transformed into the energy form of starlight.

But if I transform at such a close distance, I'm afraid I might accidentally suck some of the life force out of everyone around me...

This thought flashed through Gao Songdeng's mind, and at the same time, the heavy sense of guilt began to torture her consciousness again. She was unwilling to hurt innocent people even a little bit, and she was extremely panicked about this.

"boom!"

While she was hesitating again, the men had already raised their pistols and were shooting from the gaps in the crowd. The unprepared girls of Hanasakigawa were hit one after another. In panic, they subconsciously hid behind the cover and checked their bodies tremblingly.

Fortunately, their equipment was sophisticated enough, and the bulletproof vests prevented most of them from getting hurt. As they all breathed a sigh of relief, Misaki quickly reached out to a girl who was a beat slower to react and still remained in place, trying to pull her into the shelter.

"Give me your hand!"

"boom,"

The next second, the girl's neck was torn by a bullet in front of her eyes. She was stunned for a moment and then opened her eyes blankly. She subconsciously covered her neck in pain, but could not stop the blood from gushing out.

Misaki's pupils suddenly contracted. She gritted her teeth and rushed out as fast as she could to drag the girl into the shelter. Almost at the same time as she hid behind the wall, a series of bullets hit the side, just missing her military cap.

"Ahem... President..."

The pale-faced girl tried to speak weakly, but blood gushed out of her mouth. Misaki anxiously took out the first aid kit to bandage her wound, but discovered in despair that her carotid artery had been completely torn, and there was no way she could pull her back from the clutches of death with what she had.

"Don't talk, just hold on... I'll contact the hospital right away. You'll definitely survive..."