"Oh, not leaving immediately today?"
Sumire smiled, turning towards Asahi who was still standing silently in place.
Unlike yesterday, Asahi did not leave immediately after receiving the payment for the samples this time.
He had set his sights on this doctor.
Based on his observation, calling her a mere doctor or researcher was completely inaccurate. In this hospital, Sumire did not hold any official position, yet almost all activities revolved around her adjustments. Even the Gastrea materials were supplied by the hospital; she fundamentally did not have to lift a finger.
A person with high status, but unlike those in the upper echelon, she instead hid away in a hospital doing research day after day.
"Yes, I want to know a few things."
Especially concerning the Gastrea and the Cursed Children.
As a researcher, she must know a great deal.
To be honest, he wanted to find out for himself without relying on anyone else, but it seemed the government here had sealed off most of the news related to "Gastrea." The information he could access was merely the most surface-level; hidden, confidential news was nowhere to be found.
Or maybe he hadn't searched thoroughly enough, but Asahi didn't think he could get much further.
His prediction was relatively close to the truth. One must know that even a police chief inspector like Tadashima was quite clueless about Gastrea and related fields.
Hence, Asahi decided to explore another angle.
"What do I get in return?"
Sumire smiled, crossing her arms over her chest, showing interest. Her dead-fish eyes narrowed slightly.
He was secretly pleased; asking for benefit meant there was room for negotiation.
"Next time, I will provide Gastrea samples free of charge."
Sumire shook her head.
"Permanently free?"
A shake of the head.
"How about a Level 4 Gastrea?"
Sumire remained silent, still unmoved by the condition he set.
"Alright, what do you want?"
"Haha, honestly, I'm still a bit surprised. Although I'm not a combat personnel, I still know what a Level 4 Gastrea is. Normally, even Civil Security Officers have to team up to fight and kill one, not to mention the casualties. But a Level 4 Gastrea seems like a commodity to you, something you can take whenever you want."
"Furthermore, unless there's a large-scale offensive, or Tokyo itself is facing an existential crisis, where would a Gastrea of that level come from? They aren't like those small fries that can accidentally slip through the gaps in the Monolith's force fields."
"Therefore, the only place you can currently obtain a Level 4 Gastrea is outside—the Unexplored Zone. And daring to venture there means you're either insane, or... you are extremely strong, terrifyingly strong."
Sumire laid bare the entire truth, maintaining her light smile even while predicting his immense strength. Asahi remained silent, not saying a word.
"And it seems to be the latter case. The Gastrea you brought here appear to be from the outside area. You are not a Civil Security Officer, nor do you belong to Civilian Security, so you fundamentally wouldn't know when a Gastrea appears in Tokyo..."
"Enough, enough, you win."
Asahi sighed. The feeling of being completely exposed by an intelligent person was not pleasant.
"I'm not short on money, nor am I short on research materials. A decade has been more than enough time."
"But... as I said the first time we met, I'm interested in you."
A strange glint flashed across her eyes.
"Interest" here was not like the attraction between a man and a woman, but more like a researcher looking at something completely new that was about to be put on the operating table.
Fifteen minutes later, Asahi walked out of the hospital, his expression contemplative.
He had grasped all the basic information, assuming Sumire was still hiding higher-level secrets, but this was enough.
The most critical point was that if the Gastrea virus erosion exceeded 50%, a Cursed Child would transform into a Gastrea. Therefore, to complete his base, aside from food and defense, he also needed to prepare inhibitors (thuốc ức chế) to suppress the development of the Gastrea virus.
However, the medication and its formulation were circulated internally only within the IISO (International Initiator Supervising Organization). Unless he became a Civil Security Officer and was assigned an Initiator, the medication would not reach his hands.
Asahi also considered the black market, but regardless of the black market or official channels, it was fundamentally impossible to acquire medication for hundreds, or even thousands, of children later on.
"Should I just rob the IISO clean?"
Not very practical.
Just as he was walking and thinking, a figure flashed past him from the opposite direction—a young man, hands in his pockets, his face looking slightly bored.
Satomi Rentaro glanced at him, and seeing the strange attire, immediately looked away. Only when he noticed Asahi exiting the slum-like place of the old woman Sumire did he find it strange.
The moment he turned his head to look again, Asahi was gone without a trace.
Rentaro only then realized with a shock that since the mysterious person appeared and disappeared from his sight, he fundamentally could not feel the person's existence—no footsteps, not even a whisper of wind, like a phantom that didn't exist in this world.
Remembering now, the face beneath the hood was fundamentally not a human face!
The young man thought he had encountered a ghost, and goosebumps rose all over his skin. He rushed to Sumire's research room as fast as his legs could carry him.
...
Asahi looked at the system, finally finding a solution.
Previously, Asahi had purchased many items from the system store—weapons, equipment, vehicles... he lacked no oddity. Even abstract things like world fragments were a commodity that could be bought here.
More importantly, for identified items, they were not created by the system from nothing, but had a clear origin from some world.
So, was the Gastrea anti-erosion medicine from this world also on the shelves?
Looking at the item in front of him, Asahi smiled. Sure enough, he had guessed correctly.
Cell Activation Suppressant (10 tubes).
Can prevent the excessive fluctuation and development of cells. In some worlds, it is used to slow down the process of viral erosion.
Just reading the introduction, he immediately understood.
From Sumire, he had clearly grasped that the Gastrea virus "evolved" the host by breaking down the host's stable genetic structure. Genes are the basic and most important components of the body. Once more than half of the genes are eroded—50%—alienation will rapidly occur, leading to cellular transformation, and the Gastrea emerges after "breaking the shell."
This Cell Activation Suppressant could only prevent the latter part, meaning the effect of the genetic code on the cells, and prevent them from transforming. It did not directly treat the root cause, which was the Gastrea virus. It could be seen as treating the symptoms but not the disease.
This could only be used when the erosion was under 50% because once it crossed that boundary, the genes would quickly collapse. Injecting the medicine would be like using a piece of paper to patch a hole in a water container; it would be breached in a few seconds.
Nevertheless, it was better than nothing, before he could research an antidote.
Asahi exchanged for a large quantity of the medication. After returning, he immediately distributed it to the Cursed Children. After the distribution was finished, he began to address the main issue.
"Everyone."
"I apologize."
"You should not have to bear these things."
His words immediately caused a large stir, but his voice remained powerful and firm.
"No one deserves to suffer these circumstances from birth."
"Not just the people here, but... everyone."
"So spread out, search and take in new people, not just in this area, but throughout all of Tokyo."
"I want to build this place into somewhere that all... everyone can call home."
"In the name of the Silver King!"