Chapter 26 The Leader of the Phantom Troupe in Meteor City 26 (Revised and Concealed (Part Two...)
The air was unusually quiet; no one was willing to speak, and everyone was lost in thought, their eyes lowered in contemplation.
Ayana understood why they were reacting this way, so she didn't break the silence either. She exhaled and stood up from the sofa.
Ayana was still wearing the clothes she had worn the day before, splattered with blood and sweat, which clung to her body, making her uncomfortable.
She frowned, coughed twice, and mustered her courage to speak. Finally, she broke the deathly silence and said, "I'll go back to my room to change my clothes first."
But Ayana had only taken a few steps when her wrist was grabbed.
"Wait." Feitan's face was grim. His usually listless, dead-fish eyes were now sharp as knives, possessing an indescribable fierceness that instilled fear. He glanced at Ayana and asked, "How did you know all this?"
"You've been in Meteor City the shortest; everyone here has been here longer than you. How do you know things that even we don't know?"
Feitan's mind raced. He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous aura emanating from them: "Your arrival in Meteor City wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
"At first I thought you were thrown in, and based on your clothes and appearance I deduced that you wouldn't survive long in Meteor City, but now it seems that my deduction was completely wrong."
Feitan's tone was strangely calm. He sneered, gripped Ayana's wrist tightly, so tightly that Ayana felt pain, but he still showed no intention of loosening his grip and continued his analysis.
Feitan drew out his words, his usually deadpan eyes unusually tense, revealing his extraordinary focus as he stared intently at Ayana, not as if he were looking at a friend or companion, but rather as if he were staring at a dangerous individual who might kill him: "What is your purpose?"
"I sense no murderous intent from you, nor any malicious or negative thoughts. On the contrary, I sense mostly your..."
Feitan suddenly chuckled inexplicably, seemingly mocking, "Kindness? Ha, that's a rare thing in Meteor City."
"Then tell us, what exactly is your purpose?"
Ayana lowered her eyes slightly, her gaze fixed on the tightly clenched wrist, her wrists aching from being gripped so tightly.
Feitan's skin is whiter than that of ordinary people. Because he has not been exposed to the sun much and has been malnourished for a long time, his skin is almost transparent, like a thin sheet of white paper.
But at this moment, because of the excessive force, Feitan's hands turned from white to red, and Ayana's wrist bones seemed to be hurting Feitan a lot, but his expression was very serious, and he did not back down at all. His hands were even red.
His words were filled with doubt and questioning, but there was no doubt in his pure black eyes. He stubbornly held onto Ayana, as if he just wanted a definite answer from her.
Ayana did not reply to him immediately.
She glanced around and saw that everyone in the room except Nobunaga and the man lying on the floor with his mouth gagged was staring intently at Ayana, their eyes the same color as Feitan's.
It seems everyone... needs Ayana to provide an answer.
【Host. 】
The system spoke a second before Ayana could open her mouth.
[While I understand your feelings, please remember that you must never reveal the existence of the system under any circumstances. I emphasized this rule to you many times in the prerequisite tasks, and you will be severely punished if you violate it.]
These children are indeed pitiful, but they are ultimately just NPCs in this world. If you cannot survive in this world, we can move to another world and find another child to continue the nurturing plan.
Please don't invest too much emotion in them and make irrational decisions.
You should remember what punishment you would face if you revealed the existence of the system, right?
Your identity and existence will be stripped away, the system will be permanently shut down, and you will have no further opportunity to access other worlds or change your fate.
You will return to your original world, becoming a 'breeding tool' with little self-awareness, one that only obediently follows orders. I think this is definitely not what you or I want.
The system paused for a moment, then continued.
We have witnessed your strong sense of self and have high hopes for you. We hope you can change your destiny and truly take control of it. Please do not disappoint us.
The cold, mechanical voice was almost devoid of emotion, simply performing its functions according to the set program.
Nevertheless, this served as a reminder to Ayana.
"My coming here was certainly not by chance."
Ayana's mind worked quickly. Based on the information provided by the system, she put together a statement that would not be doubted. Her expression was calm: "Unlike most of the children in Meteor City, I was thrown into Meteor City by my own uncle."
"I think you've been living in Meteor City all this time, so you must really yearn for the outside world, right? But in reality, the outside world isn't as good as you imagine. After all, wherever there are humans, there will inevitably be countless dark things."
Although she loathed that family, the education she received from childhood and the long-term etiquette training were not useless. They gave Ayana a natural air of elegance, enough to command respect in any situation. In fact, the more urgent the situation, the faster her mind worked and the more flexible her thinking became, making her calmer than ever before.
"I think you can tell that I wasn't born into an ordinary family. In fact, I was born into a prominent family, and I was the eldest daughter of that family. My parents doted on me, and I was very happy, but..."
A half-truth, half-lies, is usually convincing, but the girl suddenly paused, her eyes drooping sadly, biting her lip, and a glistening light seemed to appear in her light blue eyes. She looked sorrowful and pained, and her voice was low.
“My parents were caught up in a family feud and tragically lost their lives, leaving me a lonely orphan.”
She sighed: "My uncle is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He endured for years and finally found an opportunity to seize my parents' business and sell me to an auction house, but I actually escaped."
"So he simply threw me into Meteor City and left me to fend for myself, but he knew in his heart that I couldn't possibly survive in this man-eating Meteor City. Ha, but he probably didn't expect that my parents had given me a lot of special training."
A chilling laugh, unlike anything anyone had ever heard before, escaped from the girl's throat. Hatred blinded her, and a raging fire burned in her sky-blue eyes as she gritted her teeth and spoke.
"I'm going to get out of Meteor City, find him, and send him on his way so he can apologize to my parents."
Ayana raised her head again, looking directly at the people present, her eyes devoid of any deception, and said frankly, "These are my purposes. As for the rest, I haven't really cared much about them. But now I also live in Meteor City, and I can't just do nothing and watch those people torture the children of Meteor City without valuing everyone's lives."
That's all I have to say. Whether you believe me or not, and whether you choose to stay here, is up to you.
Ayana took a deep breath, and pried Feitan's hands apart one by one, saying, "I need to go back to my room to change now."
She turned and left without hesitation. Kuroro quickly got up and followed her upstairs.
The living room fell silent again. Feitan's expression was not good, and he made a gesture as if to leave, which startled Phinks. He stood up and called out Feitan's name: "Feitan."
Although they had only spent a few days together, Finks had already trusted Ayana, and this voice directly exposed all of his trust.
Feitan turned his back on him, his back looking furious, and headed straight for the man who was struggling to crawl and roll towards the door, leaving behind a sentence.
"I'm not leaving. I'm going to teach that ridiculous caterpillar a lesson!"
Phinks stared blankly at Feitan's retreating figure, then suddenly chuckled softly. He slumped onto the sofa, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his mind filled with a jumble of thoughts, the girl's words still echoing in his head.
"In fact, I do not recommend that you delve into this matter, because that organization is extremely dangerous and has been operating for several years. There must be many experts within it, who are far beyond your current capabilities to resist."
"You can stay here and don't have to worry about anything or ask anything. I will take care of everything."
But now that they already know these things, how can they pretend they know nothing and live under the girl's protection?
It's absurd that the girl they once looked down on now wants to protect them.
The girl's eyes changed in an instant: "You must become stronger."
"Only by becoming stronger can we fight them and protect your dignity as residents of Meteor City."
Yes.
I must become stronger.
Finks clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, leaving marks on his palms, but he seemed not to feel any pain, only staring at the ceiling with his resolute eyes.
Only by truly becoming stronger can you protect yourself, as well as others and everyone else.
...
"Ayana?" Kuroro knocked on the door.
Hearing the girl's response from inside the room, Kuroro pushed open the door and peeked out.
He blinked and asked, "Am I bothering you?"
Pink and white rabbit ears stood up on the boy's head, making him look cute and clever. This made Ayana want to laugh, and her tense nerves relaxed. She returned a gentle smile: "Of course not. What's wrong? Did what I just said scare you?"
"If you're scared, you don't have to worry about these things. I'll take care of everything. You just need to stay in the study and read, and don't cause me any trouble," she reassured me.
“No, I’m not afraid, and I won’t just stay in the study and obediently read books.” Kuroro shook his head. “I can’t let you face those things alone, nor can I forget them, pretend that you don’t know anything, and live in false happiness.”
The black-haired boy walked into the room, closed the door again, leaving only Ayana and himself in the enclosed space, and then got straight to the point: "I came... simply because I have a question for Ayana."
The boy forced a smile, but it was a weak one. He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure whether to speak. But in the end, he made his decision. His usually gentle features instantly turned as cold as a icy wind. He asked, "Ayana, you were lying just now, weren't you?"
Ayana's eyes widened instantly, and she threw the question back at him knowingly: "Kuroro, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Although she appeared calm on the surface, Ayana's heart was in turmoil, and her expression nearly betrayed her composure.
impossible.
How could Kuroro possibly see through her lie?
"Hmm... perhaps using the word 'deception' isn't quite appropriate?" Kuroro seemed to sense her tension, and his tone softened considerably, no longer as sharp as before, but his words still showed no sign of backing down.
At this moment, he was not like a docile little rabbit, but rather like a cunning fox who could see right through people. His usually innocent black eyes revealed a hint of devilish charm as he coaxed, "If we were to describe it as 'concealing,' it would be much more appropriate."
The boy uttered each word clearly from his pink lips: "Right, Ayana?"
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