Impossible!
Completely impossible!!
How could a weak Infected, not even a formal knight, instantly kill their proud experimental product??
Looking at the footage transmitted from the high-definition drones, even when slowed down, they couldn't clearly see how the little squirrel did it. How did she instantly slice the experimental product into so many pieces? Flames? Why were there flames on the little squirrel's already broken blade!
Was she pretending to be weak before?
No!
There was absolutely no need for that.
In the luxurious private room on the top floor, the merchants hidden behind their masks looked incredibly grim. Those who hadn't participated in the betting were fine; a flash of surprise crossed their eyes, as if they had discovered an interesting toy. In today's Kazimierz, capital is one of the highest echelons of this country. In their eyes, it didn't matter how strong an individual was.
The few merchants who were surprised were only surprised because they had lost their bets and lost face in front of so many people.
This tall, humanoid monster, which looked like a wolf but wasn't, was an experimental product of these capitalists' private research. Kazimierz is close to Columbia, and Columbian capital and technology are extremely prevalent in Kazimierz. Human experimentation to create super-soldiers was also very popular among these capitalists.
However, Columbia is a country completely controlled by capital, and even a large part of its Parliament is capital, so clandestine human experimentation is, to a certain extent, even more rampant. In Kazimierz, the Kazimierz Supervisory Commission and Kazimierz's capital mutually constrain each other, but also develop together. This means that many capitalists in Kazimierz don't actually dare to conduct large-scale human experiments. Such experiments are too insane and it's easy to be caught by the Supervisory Commission.
"Send someone immediately and get rid of this little squirrel!!"
One of the merchants, who had bet fifty million that she would last two minutes, stood up and gave the order. However, as soon as he finished speaking, a merchant in the corner who hadn't bet from the beginning stood up and said, "Wouldn't it be a shame to kill such an amusing diversion?"
"Since she's the sole survivor, why not follow the rules, give her the money, and let her go? It's rare to find a good toy. If you don't want to play with it and just want to crush it, we still want to."
"That's right."
"Agreed."
Quite a few merchants nodded in agreement.
For them, they could easily crush this little squirrel if they wanted to, but the strength she had just displayed was quite impressive. This potential that erupted in a desperate situation, this completely unexpected feeling, was a breath of fresh air for many of the capitalist merchants. They felt as if they had found an interesting toy and were reluctant to break it so soon.
"Hmph."
The few merchants who had lost their bets sat down, extremely displeased, and said nothing more.
In the artificial forest arena.
Sona still couldn't believe it. How had she just killed that monster? Did she really have that kind of strength? And that voice she heard at the critical moment...
Suddenly.
A drone flew down from the sky, and a gender-neutral, synthesized electronic voice emerged from it.
"Congratulations, little squirrel. You are victorious. You survived until the end."
"This one million is your reward as the victor."
Another drone flew over and dropped a black briefcase. The briefcase had no lock and opened automatically when it hit the ground, revealing neat stacks upon stacks of Kazimierz currency.
One million Kazimierz currency is equivalent to about 800,000 Lungmen Dollars.
Eight hundred thousand Lungmen Dollars was nothing to these wealthy merchants, no different from eighty bucks or even eight. But for an Infected like Sona, eight hundred thousand Lungmen Dollars was an astronomical sum she couldn't even dream of.
Sona never thought these people would actually give her the money.
Sona was worried and didn't dare to touch the case.
The people behind the screen seemed to see her hesitation.
"You are the victor. Naturally, you can take the money and leave here alive. The extra two hundred thousand is my personal reward for you. Your final performance was a real eye-opener for all of us. We look forward to your next performance, little squirrel."
After speaking.
The drone flew away. Behind Sona, the previously sealed metal gate opened with a rumble.
Next time???
Sona took a deep breath.
She had just been thinking about taking this money to improve the lives of those around her and never participating in this disgusting competition again.
Could it be....
Sona thought of a terrifying possibility, as if one foot had already sunk into quicksand, and she could only watch helplessly as she was pulled under.
She didn't overthink it. She grit her teeth.
She immediately dragged her exhausted body, picked up the briefcase, and ran out the door.
Sona was very tired and wanted to sleep, but her will to live forced her body to keep moving. When she finally ran out of that nightmarish place, she ran far, far away, through countless streets and alleys, before she finally collapsed, exhausted, in a remote corner. She hid behind a trash can, sat on the ground, and gasped for air.
Only then did the pain in her body and the tide of exhaustion, which she had suppressed when her spirit relaxed, wash over her all at once. It overwhelmed her entire body. She hugged the briefcase tightly and fainted.
Only after the young woman fainted did a faint, translucent figure, whose lower body was invisible, slowly float out of the cheap necklace around her neck.
Lucas Reeve raised his head, looking at the night sky, past the barren and impoverished corner, towards the punk-style skyscrapers that seemed so close in the distance. He was stunned.
"Uh... Where is this?"
He turned his head again, looking at the young woman who had fainted in the snowy corner, wearing only a thin, tattered undergarment because her armor had shattered.
Her fiery red hair was blazing on the snow-covered ground. Her eyes were tightly closed, her delicate and cute face was full of sorrow, and her legs, covered in wounds, along with her body, looked unspeakably miserable.
Tsk....
It's December...
It could drop to negative ten-plus degrees in the middle of the night. If this girl was left to sleep like this, she'd probably freeze to death.
Lucas Reeve thought for a moment, then used his soul power. The scattered Originium energy in the surroundings was drawn over by Lucas Reeve, forming an energy barrier that enveloped the girl.
...
The next day.
Sona groggily woke from her sleep. The moment she woke up, she remembered that she had seemingly escaped from a stadium, a product of the wealthy merchants' sick amusement. Afterward, she couldn't resist the fatigue and fainted. Remembering everything, Sona woke with a start, frantically looking around.
She was surrounded by snow. The snow was very deep; where Sona was sitting, it reached all the way to her waist. It showed just how heavy the snow had been last night.
Such heavy snow... and she didn't freeze to death?? Even if she didn't freeze to death, she should have definitely gotten frostbite.
Sona stood up in disbelief and moved her still slightly aching body. Although it hurt, that was just the injuries from yesterday's battle and had nothing to do with the night's cold.
Sona was confused, but she didn't know what was going on. She nervously opened the briefcase she was hugging. When she saw the stacks upon stacks of cash inside, Sona's anxious heart finally settled. What happened last night was real.
However, the observant Sona still wondered how she had defeated that monster in the end. And, at that critical moment... what was with that voice?
Was it a real human voice, or an auditory hallucination in her moment of crisis?
And...
She had slept outside all night, with so much snow, but her body wasn't frozen stiff at all.
Strange...
Sona frowned.
Could it be that a god was protecting her?
Sona pulled a necklace out from her collar. The necklace's pendant was made of pure wood, very smooth, but in this man-eating city, it was extremely cheap. Yet, to Sona, it was priceless, because this necklace was something her family had asked for at a nearby church when she was very young. They said that as long as she wore it, she would receive the protection of the gods and gain good luck.
However.
Sona didn't feel she'd had any good luck.
Her subsequent experiences could only be described as miserable.
Sigh...
Sona stopped thinking about it.
She carefully picked up the briefcase and ran towards an even more remote area.
Passing through one sewer and staircase after another.
Sona arrived at a remote corner beneath this mobile city.
"Sister Sona!!"
In this remote corner, a cute little girl was standing on her tiptoes, looking into the distance. When she saw Sona, she shouted excitedly. Her small body was dressed in a large cotton coat that didn't match her size at all. She was walking barefoot on the icy, snow-covered ground, the soles of her feet already frozen white. The little girl rushed over and threw herself into Sona's arms.
"Little Ella, what are you doing outside? It's cold. Hurry back inside."
The little girl pouted. "I was worried about Sister Sona... You didn't come back all last night."
And when the little girl saw Sona's current disheveled appearance and the shocking wounds on her body, her heart ached and she burst into tears.
They entered the building. It was less a house and more an abandoned warehouse. Because it was so cold, many people were sitting inside, warming themselves by a fire. Most were elderly, or disabled middle-aged people. But they all had one thing in common: every single one of them was Infected.
When they saw Sona enter, these people quickly stood up, excited. In truth, when Sona hadn't returned last night, they all had a bad feeling.
"Good... good... It's good you came back alive."
"Little Sona, can you stop being a knight? Being a knight is too dangerous...."
Sona shook her head. "Not anymore, Grandpa Hogg. Look."
Sona excitedly opened the briefcase, revealing the stacks upon stacks of cash inside.
"This is the prize money from a champion I won at an underground knight competition yesterday. It's a full one million... This money is enough for us to live on for a long time."
After confirming that their eyes weren't deceiving them, no one was happy. Instead, most of them felt guilty...
It was all because they were useless!
Forcing a young girl to do such a dangerous job to support them...
Although the situation for the Infected in Kazimierz isn't as bad as in Ursus, the Infected can't find any work at all. Even if an Infected person is robbed on the street, no one will care. This is the current reality for the Infected in Kazimierz.
No work means no income. The vast majority of Infected can only rely on scavenging.
Some of the younger Infected, however, can rely on themselves and participate in underground knight competitions. Although the official tournaments don't allow the Infected to participate, private competitions do, and the prize money for the champion is usually substantial. Thus, many young Infected have embarked on this path that represents death. Very few survive, and the vast majority die in the competitions, let alone make money. But as long as one person in a hundred can earn money, even if ninety-nine die, it's still enough to attract groups of desperate Infected to throw themselves at it.
"I'm going back to my room. Everyone, tomorrow we'll go to a remote corner outside and buy a small house. We'll live there from now on, no more living in this kind of place."
Sona smiled and returned to her room.
After closing the door.
A flash of pain crossed her face.
The pain wracking her body made Sona break out in a cold sweat.
Yesterday's battle had left her covered in all sorts of injuries. Go to the hospital... impossible. Hospitals would absolutely not treat the Infected, even if the Infected had money.
Suddenly.
A piercing pain erupted from within her body, radiating outwards.
This feeling!!
Sona had a bad feeling.
Oripathy.
The intense pain of Oripathy made Sona break out in a cold sweat. She tried hard not to cry out.
In the end, under the dual torment of her Oripathy and her physical injuries, Sona fainted once again.
Lucas Reeve, meanwhile, speechlessly floated out of her body again.
"Ah, this..."
"How did this girl faint again? Round two?"