"Little Shun, what do you mean by dying or not dying? Why are you suddenly saying these things…" Hearing Shun speak as if he was ready to face death, Sirin wanted to change the subject.
"Sirin, by now you should understand, right? We've probably been targeted." …Schicksal, they really are impossible to guard against.
Shun had never expected that Sirin could be schemed against just by attending school. He had already reacted so quickly and wanted to quickly take Sirin and Dalia and run away, yet he was still one step too slow.
He didn't know how things were on Aunt Dalia's side. Shun estimated there was an eighty percent chance she had been captured by Schicksal. After all, letting Sirin withdraw from school was like slapping Schicksal in the face.
She was an experimental subject with high Honkai energy resistance that they had screened for so long. How could they possibly let her run away so easily?
Perhaps a Valkyrie squad had already been deployed? For example, the elite squad he had heard about when he and Sirin first arrived in the town. At the time, he had found it strange that they weren't carrying heavy weapons. Now it made sense—for a Valkyrie squad, heavy weapons were nothing but a burden.
"Targeted? Why? Haven't we always minded our own business? Isn't the KGB gone now?" As a Russian, Sirin still had some impression of that fearsome police force.
Or rather, as long as one was Russian, no one wouldn't know about that secret police that only existed in the past.
"What trash is the KGB? Does it even deserve to be compared with Schicksal? Anyway, Sirin, you just need to know that we're in big trouble. As for whether we've been minding our own business? The Lord doesn't care."
Fate was such a thing that loved to toy with people. He had clearly been doing his best to keep Sirin away from that world, yet Honkai-side matters had still found their way to Sirin.
"Not good, this car doesn't have much fuel left…" Shun no longer knew how long he had been stepping on the accelerator. In any case, the severed end of his leg where the prosthetic was attached was already dripping with blood.
Sirin was curled up in the passenger seat, covered with a blanket and asleep. Because the car window was broken and Shun had been driving continuously for a long time, cold wind kept pouring into the car, so Sirin was very cold. Fortunately, there was a blanket in the car.
Sirin had slowly fallen asleep while covered by the blanket. But now that the car was out of fuel, Shun had no choice but to wake Sirin up. The two of them would have to continue on foot.
As for whether he could still walk with his amputated limb, it didn't matter. Shun didn't cherish this body anyway.
Since after leaving the city they had been driving along the area near the train tracks, they could continue doing so on foot. As long as they followed the tracks, they would eventually find a city.
The pickup truck he had stolen had already been driven into the water by Shun. Although it might not cause much trouble for Schicksal's follow-up pursuit team, it could at least buy some time.
"Little Shun, which way do we go next?" This was the question Sirin asked the most along the way, but to be honest, Shun didn't know how to answer her.
Siberia was vast and boundless, its territory unimaginably expansive. Although Shun had been racing at full speed for several hours, the distance they had covered was nothing more than a drop in the ocean for this enormous land.
He had only run a mere few hundred kilometers. Compared to Siberia's endless expanse, it was simply a grain of sand in the sea.
Moreover, because they had been hurrying in such a rush, Shun had been unable to leave no traces at all. The dust kicked up behind him, the road surface crushed by the tires, and the occasionally bent grass and trees when they veered off the road—all became clues to his whereabouts, as if announcing to people that he had once passed through these places.
Shun stared anxiously into the distance, silently praying in his heart that Schicksal's pursuers would be a little slower. Because at this moment, before they stepped into the next city, he and Sirin were like turtles in a jar.
Once they encountered Schicksal's people on this vast plain, they would almost certainly be in a desperate situation, and this escape game would likely end in failure. Thinking of this, Shun couldn't help but bite his lip tightly, a layer of fine sweat seeping out on his forehead.
Regardless of whether Sirin could still walk, his own body was almost at its limit. After all, he was originally disabled, and he had been overloading the prosthetic for so long…
Shun staggered and fell toward the track laid with sleepers. Fortunately, Sirin was quick-eyed and quick-handed, pulling him up. Otherwise, with that fall, Shun would have been done for.
Sirin suggested taking a rest. Shun knew that it wasn't because Sirin couldn't hold on anymore, but because he couldn't hold on, so Sirin had suggested it.
"Alright then, let's rest for a while." After a long period of non-stop travel, night had quietly fallen without them noticing. The two found themselves on the vast Siberian land. Looking up, the brilliant starry sky unfolded before their eyes like a gorgeous, colorful painting.
"It's so beautiful…" Sirin hugged her knees, sitting on the grass, her eyes shining as she gazed at the dazzling starry sky.
Then, she turned her head to look at Shun and asked, "Hey little Shun, do you think we will die?"
Shun shook his head. He had no confidence in the answer right now. Their power was too weak. Even a random C-rank Valkyrie from the support staff could wipe them out. But at least there was one thing he could guarantee.
"At least before I die, I won't let you die."
After that, the two seemed to be enveloped by an invisible silence. Neither spoke another word. The whole world seemed to have quieted down, with only the crisp crackling sounds of the wood in the bonfire occasionally ringing out.
As for whether lighting the fire would expose their location, there was no need to worry too much. If Schicksal's people had chased them to the point where they could see their bonfire or discover the traces left by it… then there would be no need to run anymore.
Sirin looked at Shun. She really wanted to say something, but every time she uttered the first syllable, she felt as if an nameless force had blocked her throat.
"Little Shun, are you cold?" Among the two of them, only Sirin had the blanket they had taken from the car. Even though it was summer in the Siberian wilderness, the bone-chilling cold could not be dispelled by the heat of the bonfire.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about my condition. Just take care of yourself, Sirin. If enemies catch up, you can run farther away."
"…" Am I a burden? Sirin thought.
Probably. After all, according to little Shun, the bad people called "Schicksal" were targeting her. Little Shun and Mom had been implicated because of her.
No wonder little Shun suddenly said they needed to move. So that was why… If Sirin still didn't understand what little Shun meant by wanting to move, then she would truly be beyond saving.
"Don't think about those things, Sirin. This isn't your fault." Shun only needed one glance at Sirin to know what she was thinking.
"I was the one who took the initiative to come and save you. It has nothing to do with you."