Chapter 237 The Land of Cherry Blossoms, The Capital of Cherry Blossoms, Lizardmen, An Underground Sanctuary, The Flower Street, A Young Girl
The land of cherry blossoms.
The city of cherry blossoms.
The earth was cracked everywhere, abandoned vehicles were scattered in every corner of the city, cracked cement ground was overgrown with weeds, and vines climbed all over collapsed buildings.
This once internationally renowned luxury city, decades ago, now resembles a forgotten, post-apocalyptic city.
In fact, the land of cherry blossoms was destroyed not long after a major upheaval occurred decades ago.
Even now, in this post-apocalyptic city, there are still creatures active, but they are not human. Instead, they are lizard-like creatures with dark green bodies, covered in thick scales like armor, and vertical pupils.
This race is called the Lizardmen.
They wore half-body armor resembling medieval Western suits of armor and carried various weapons as they roamed this cherry blossom capital that resembled a post-apocalyptic city.
Abandoned buildings and cracked earth mean nothing to them.
Rather, they prefer this kind of environment.
After all, they live underground in this world.
The more complex the terrain, the more it suits their tastes.
Within the ruins are numerous portals of light, each representing a dungeon.
They built a simple trading market on the ruins, and it was surprisingly quite lively.
The lizardmen were the alien race that invaded the Land of Cherry Blossoms, and they were also the culprits behind the land's destruction.
Today the sun is shining brightly, and the lizardmen, being cold-blooded animals, love this kind of weather. They are all out and about, some running dungeons, some setting up stalls, and some even just lazily lying in the ruins of the city, basking in the sun.
There was an indescribable sense of harmony.
And so, the day passed by in a lazy, unhurried manner.
As the sun set, many lizardmen got up from the ground and then gradually disappeared into abandoned buildings or cracked crevices in the ground, hiding somewhere unknown.
...As cold-blooded animals, even professionals like the lizardmen maintain a nocturnal lifestyle.
At night, they generally leave the surface and go underground to warmer conditions. They don't stay on the surface unless absolutely necessary.
Especially since Japan is an island nation, the sea breeze makes it even colder at night.
The night was thick, a blood moon hung in the sky, and the city was deathly silent...
rustle……
A faint sound arose.
In a corner of the city, a hazy figure crawled out from a crack in the ground, revealing a pair of eyes that warily scanned the surroundings.
After confirming that there was no danger around, he breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head and whispered in the language of cherry blossoms, "Come out."
With a rustling sound, about a dozen figures crawled out of the crack in the ground.
This is a group of humans wearing black cloaks. They crawl out of the crack in the ground, look around, and some are greedily breathing in the air while gazing up at the sky.
But almost no one spoke.
The illusory figure leading the way nimbly climbed up the raised, protruding ground around them, looked around, and returned after a while.
Then he said quickly in a low voice, “We only have three hours. We must be back at the shelter by 4 o’clock… Be careful not to be discovered by the lizardmen. Otherwise… you know the rules.”
Everyone's expressions tightened, and then they nodded solemnly.
They know the rules.
Once discovered by the lizardmen, you must never return to the sanctuary... you can only escape on your own.
Fortunately, lizardmen are generally inactive at night, so as long as they don't make too much noise, the chances of being discovered are actually very low.
...Otherwise, these human shelters wouldn't have existed for so long.
"In that case... let's take action!"
With a command given, everyone sprang into action.
They had clearly made contingency plans beforehand, and each acted separately with a clear objective.
These people were clearly familiar with the terrain, and they moved quite fast, rushing along the abandoned city in different directions.
They moved nimbly, clearly having received excellent training, and landed silently.
Soon after, they saw the portal representing the dungeon in the distance.
They observed cautiously and then discovered that many black figures had begun to appear near the portal, along with some blurry figures that were moving up and down in the ruins toward the portal.
But no one spoke. When they met, they simply nodded to each other without exchanging any further words.
...The land of cherry blossoms was destroyed decades ago.
The lizardmen purged the Cherry Blossom Country, killing a large number of Cherry Blossom people.
But some survivors managed to escape the lizardmen's encirclement and, relying on dungeon items, hid in a corner of this ruined city, barely clinging to life.
By day, the city belongs to the lizard people.
But even at night, there are still quite a few humans active around.
Their target, naturally, is these instances...
They can only become stronger by completing dungeons.
At the same time, they obtained the necessities of life.
Ironically... but they do have to be thankful that the alien race that has taken over this place is the lizardmen.
Lizardmen are naturally averse to the surface; they typically hide in their vast underground cities during rainy days, winter, and at night.
Otherwise... the people of Japan couldn't have persisted for so many years.
Even so, it's only a matter of time before the Sakura Kingdom is destroyed.
Upon seeing the portal, they acted swiftly, and soon after, figures entered the portal and vanished without a sound...
Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Soon, figures appeared from the portal, and without any idle chatter, they quickly retreated under the cover of night.
Before sunrise, everyone returned to the shelter.
The assassin came out first, but entered the shelter last.
Once he was sure there were no lizardmen around, he took a deep breath, turned around, and plunged headfirst into the rocks.
The rock seemed ethereal, rippling like water before disappearing...
"Another day has passed!"
"You had a great day!"
"As a reward... let's go to the red-light district and have some fun today!"
"That's true... Hahaha, let's go, let's go..."
Behind the rocks, a hidden world unfolds, with a narrow passage appearing here.
As soon as they entered the passage, the previously quiet queue immediately became noisy, with some people shouting and yelling, completely disregarding the possibility that their voices might be heard...
Of course, it won't actually get out.
Because the entire shelter was sealed off by a legendary item.
Once inside the area, even if an explosion occurs here, no one outside, separated by only one wall, will be able to hear the slightest sound.
The passageway, which is three or four meters high, is covered with various crystals that radiate brilliant light, illuminating the entire passageway so clearly that every detail is visible.
The winding, sprawling passage led downwards, eventually arriving at a massive underground city.
The dungeon was enormous and bustling with activity. Some glowing crystals obtained from the dungeon were embedded in the cliff walls and cave ceilings, illuminating the entire city with crystal clarity.
Looking down from the passageway, it resembles an underground hollow with a drop of hundreds of meters. At the bottom, there is an underground lake filled with luminous crystals, reflecting a dazzling array of colors on the lake's surface, creating a dreamlike beauty.
This is the 'Sakura House Shelter', one of the shelters in the city of cherry blossoms.
The road spiraling down the passage is not narrow, and wooden houses are built along the cliff on both sides.
The shelter was bustling with activity. Women and children, with earthenware pots on their heads, walked along the edge of the road, clearly having just returned from fetching water from the lake below.
They happened to run into the professionals who were returning and shouting. Their expressions changed, and they quickly stood respectfully to the side, bowing in greeting.
The professionals didn't even glance at them, talking loudly as they headed down to the bottom.
Soon after, they reached the bottom and went to a charming wooden cabin by the lake, where some professionals were already waiting.
Upon arriving here, they all took things out of their backpacks.
Most of it was food, but there were also some weapons and equipment... exactly what we got from the dungeon today.
Then there were people specifically assigned to do the accounting, collect their belongings, and hand them some paper money.
The professionals who had collected the banknotes left one after another and headed east towards the bottom.
Then you see that on the east side of this bottom, a wide passage has been opened up, with dazzling dungeon crystals hanging on the wooden houses, dreamlike and gorgeous.
In front of each wooden house stood several women dressed in cherry blossom attire. Their eyes lit up when they saw the approaching professionals, and they went to greet them.
With their sweet, soft voices, these women, who rarely see the sun, have exceptionally fair skin, even an unhealthy kind of fair, smooth as jade.
The professionals immediately burst into laughter, embracing each other and groping her, eliciting bursts of coquettish complaints...
This is Flower Street.
The lizardmen brought immense pressure to the survivors, and every time the professionals went out, it was a matter of life and death. Such a high-pressure mental state was naturally not a good thing in the long run.
The red-light district became the best place for these professionals to vent their emotions.
More importantly... the Sakura Kingdom has perished, and the number of survivors is dwindling. They need more women to bear children in order to ensure the continuation of their race.
It doesn't matter whose child it is.
The important thing is... to give birth.
"Bang!!"
As several professionals, each with a woman on one side, walked deeper into the red-light district, a shout and a loud slap caught their attention.
They raised their eyebrows and turned to look, and saw a small figure fall out of a house, land on the ground, and couldn't get up for a long time.
A burly man with a fierce face was cursing: "You brat! Do you think I raised you all these years for nothing? Disobedient children need to be taught a lesson!"
The fallen figure raised his head, his voice trembling: "Father, please, please believe me, I, I can earn money, please, don't let me, don't let me..."
Before she could finish speaking, the burly man kicked her in the face, causing a drop of blood to fall from her head: "Stop talking nonsense! You really dare to talk back after awakening the 'Useless Lifestyle' profession! Don't think you can disobey just because you're a professional! Hmph, I've spent a lot of money on you! If I don't get my money back, I'll be at a loss."
"Women should just obediently give birth to children and then obediently make money for me!"
The burly man sneered.
Beside him stood a lewd-looking man with triangular eyes staring intently at the figure on the ground.
The professionals looked over curiously, and their eyes lit up...
The girl who was knocked to the ground was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She had short, smooth black hair and was wearing a red kimono with small patterns. Her features were delicate and beautiful. Although she was just a girl, she had a surprisingly large figure. A small corner of her white strapless top was exposed, which made people's hearts burn.
Especially at this moment, her panicked expression and tearful face were truly eye-catching.
...There is an indescribable poignant beauty to it.
“Mr. Uesugi, I have already paid the money, a full 100,000 yen.”
The lewd man chuckled and spoke.
"Don't worry, don't worry, this girl is still a virgin, she's just a little shy... Aren't you going to get up right now?"
After saying that, he scolded the girl on the ground.
"No, Father, please, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, the burly man kicked her in the chest again, sending her small body flying. Her words were cut off, and another drop of blood fell from her head.
“Mr. Uesugi, you…” The lewd man was surprised.
"Don't worry, this girl has awakened a profession, although it's just a livelihood profession, but it's not going to break... Hehe, you know what I mean?"
The burly man chuckled and raised an eyebrow at the lewd-looking man.
The lewd man's eyes immediately lit up.
A burly man walked over, grabbed the girl's hair, and slapped her several times in succession, despite her pleading gaze.
"Damn, this is a monster..."
Looking at her face, which was still spotless except for a few stains, the burly man cursed under his breath with a gloomy look in his eyes. Then he roughly grabbed her hair and dragged her towards the wooden house behind him.
"No, please, Father, no, no..."
The girl cried, her face streaked with tears.
Although she has awakened, it's merely a physical energy manifestation, meaning she doesn't experience extreme pain. However, because she has only awakened the most basic occupation, her actual strength is still inferior to that of an adult man.
"Stop talking nonsense and serve your guest properly. Otherwise... Hmph, even if you're a professional, I have plenty of ways to teach you a lesson!"
As the man spoke, he pulled her into the house.
The girl finally couldn't take it anymore and screamed, "No!!"
She suddenly exerted force and slammed her head into the man's stomach.
She felt no pain, but the man was clearly just an ordinary person. He cried out in pain as his stomach was hit by a headbutt, and the hand that was holding her hair involuntarily loosened its grip.
The girl staggered backward in a panic, then turned and tried to escape.
"Damn it, how dare you lay a hand on me?!" The man roared in disbelief and rage, his already ugly face becoming even more ferocious.
The girl ignored him and just ran forward in a panic, trying to leave this place that terrified her.
But the next moment, a hand, like an iron clamp, gripped her neck tightly.
She froze, then looked up in alarm.
Then, she saw several pairs of eyes scanning her body with intense desire.
An unprecedented fear rose in her heart.
"Master, professional?"
A man's voice, sounding somewhat panicked, rang out.
Then, a chuckling voice rang out: "A professional virgin?... Excellent. Tonight, she's mine."
"Ah? But, but..."
"Huh? What, you have a problem with that?"
"...No, I wouldn't dare..."
The man trembled all over and dared not say a word. The sleazy man behind him who had paid was also trembling and dared not speak.
The girl's eyes widened, and the next moment, she felt a sudden chill on her chest.
She gasped and instinctively tried to cover her chest.
But the next moment, her hands were also restrained.
Her eyes widened as she saw pairs of burning eyes pressed close to hers.
Excitement and trembling rang in her ears.
"What a...perfect body..."
(End of this chapter)
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