Chapter 40 The Troupe Leader of Meteor City 40 I'm in Charge
[Special ability [Biomanipulation] confirmed for use; single use lasts five minutes.]
Please specify the target audience.
In the field of vision, the scalpels flying everywhere and their owners, the 'doctors', were all marked with glaring red circles.
Ayana's mind raced faster than ever before, and a clear and definite instruction formed in her head.
[Target audience: Humans.]
[Command confirmed.]
Countless scalpels about to pierce Ayana's body seemed to be suddenly paused, stopping abruptly just centimeters away from her body, eerily suspended in mid-air.
Immediately afterwards, the several scalpels suspended in the air seemed to be controlled by invisible threads, and the direction in which their blades pointed was reversed, all pointing at their original owners.
The 'doctor' seemed oblivious to the danger, standing frozen in place, his smile stiff and lifeless, but his eyes held an undisguised shock and disbelief.
He struggled to move his body, trying to escape the attacks of several scalpels, and to regain control of them, but found that he could no longer move his body, not even a single finger.
The 'doctor' could only watch helplessly as the several scalpels he had created swept towards him.
The piercing screams were accompanied by despair.
In the blink of an eye, countless scalpels pierced his limbs and bones one after another at an astonishing speed.
Chest, abdomen, limbs, even head...
The 'doctor' was nailed into a blood-red hedgehog, with blood gushing from countless wounds all over his body.
He stood frozen in place, his eyes wide open in disbelief, and died standing there.
Immediately afterwards, the 'doctor' fell straight to the ground.
He could never understand why he died from the very Nen ability he was most proud of.
With the danger completely over, Ayana swayed forward, her footing unsteady.
But she hadn't forgotten what she was supposed to do. With sheer willpower, she pushed her exhausted body forward and ran toward Feitan. As she helped Feitan up, she called out to Uvogin, who was still fighting over there.
"Uvogin! Stop fighting! Retreat! Join up with Kuroro and the others!"
Uvogin was engrossed in the fight when he heard this and roared in dissatisfaction, but he still obeyed Ayana's orders.
He punched a man who was blocking his way, sending him flying, then turned and strode towards Ayana and Feitan.
"Feitan, can you still walk?" Ayana helped Feitan up, who was covered in blood, her voice full of concern.
Feitan gritted his teeth, his vision beginning to blur due to excessive blood loss.
He tried to steady himself, but his severe injuries caused his body to fall uncontrollably to the side.
Feitan managed to squeeze out a sound, but his voice was almost hoarse.
"He won't die."
"Don't be stubborn, I'll help you walk." Ayana lifted Feitan's arm and put it on her shoulder without further ado, then turned to the terrified children and shouted, "Keep up, don't waste time!"
The children were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, unable to stand up, and just stared at Ayana with wide eyes.
Ayana had no time or energy to take them away. She gritted her teeth and said, "If you want to die, then stay here!"
"Those who don't want to die, stand up! No one will help you!"
After saying those words, she helped Feitan walk forward.
The children, who had just been slumped on the ground, looked at each other and finally got up. Driven by the tense atmosphere and their survival instincts, they burst out with unprecedented strength and followed closely behind Ayana and Uvogin.
Despite suffering numerous injuries, Uvogin continued to pave the way, using brute force to drive away everyone who blocked his path.
Ayana helped Feitan up, keeping an eye on the children behind them while remaining vigilant against any potential attacks.
Her own arm was still bleeding profusely, and the two consecutive battles had left her exhausted. But she knew this was the most crucial moment, and she struggled to hold on, refusing to give up.
"Over here!"
Soon, they joined up with Kuroro and the others.
Kuroro and his two companions were guarding a fork in the road.
Kuroro's gaze swept over the disheveled group, and when he saw Ayana's pale face and the blood-soaked figure beside her, his eyes dimmed considerably.
He didn't ask any further questions, and went forward with Finks, each taking charge of one of them.
Kuroro supported Ayana, while Phinks simply carried Feitan on his shoulder.
Nobunaga cautiously scanned his surroundings, and after confirming that there were no pursuers, he nodded to the group.
Without wasting any time, the group quickly disappeared into a very hidden and narrow path at the fork in the road, and went in one after another.
Uvogin brought up the rear; his massive size allowed him to almost block the entire alleyway entrance, ensuring absolute safety.
The children walked in the middle, their fear keeping them from making a sound, and they simply followed the moving figures in front of them.
Kuroro knew the terrain of the popular street very well. He led the group through the ruins and alleys quickly, trying to keep the people from figuring out their whereabouts.
They soon arrived at a place inside Meteor City.
The buildings here are densely packed and dilapidated, and the alleyways are chaotic, making it difficult to track people down. Even if pursuers come, they cannot catch those children.
Kuroro chose a relatively secluded corner of the ruins and signaled everyone to stop.
"We're safe for now," he said, glancing at the children huddled together, still shivering.
Ayana straightened up, walked up to the children, took a deep breath, and said, "Listen, the group that captured you, one of their strongholds has been destroyed by us, but their organization is still around, and they may have other strongholds in Meteor City. It's still not safe for you here."
The children looked up at Ayana with their dirty little faces, their eyes filled with fear and confusion, at a loss for what to do.
One of the older children mustered his courage and spoke up, his voice trembling: "Then...what should we do? Who are you? Can you protect us?"
Seeing the children's utterly terrified expressions, Ayana felt a pang of pity, but slowly shook her head, her voice heavy: "We can't protect you forever."
Upon hearing her answer, several children lowered their heads, seemingly crying.
“We are outnumbered and outgunned, while the people in that organization are all adults, many of whom are very powerful,” Ayana continued. “Moreover, in Meteor City, relying on others to survive is suicidal. As residents of Meteor City, you should know this better than anyone else, right?”
"Then...then are we doomed?" a child asked, his voice trembling with tears.
“No,” Ayana interrupted him decisively, “the only ones who can save you are yourselves.”
She looked around at the group of children, raised her voice, and her eyes became much more determined: "You must protect yourselves, find a good place to hide, and try to survive. We will do our best to destroy that organization, but it will take time. In the meantime, protecting yourselves and your companions is the best way for you to save yourselves."
“You must unite and help each other, otherwise even if we rescue you now, you will still be captured again.”
Ayana did not want to make any unfounded guarantees or promises to these children.
She knew that as a human being, if one only lived under protection without the awareness of self-reliance and self-improvement, one would not be able to develop any sense of self and would be locked in endless constraints for the rest of one's life.
Kuroro stood aside and silently watched the scene unfold, without interfering with Ayana.
As a child who grew up in Meteor City, he knew better than anyone that relying on others and choosing weakness was simply courting death.
Finally, the children looked at each other, gritted their teeth, as if they had made up their minds.
They bowed deeply to Ayana and the others, then turned and helped each other up, disappearing into the ruins.
They will bravely face the path of survival they must take alone.
After seeing the children off, only a few of them remained.
None of them chose to speak; the exhaustion after the fierce battle enveloped them.
Feitan was still unconscious, and his serious injuries couldn't be ignored. The group didn't have time to linger there and hurried home.
"Bang!"
Uvogin kicked the door open roughly, then collapsed to the ground, looking utterly exhausted.
He also had many wounds, but not as serious as Feitan's. He refused to admit that he was almost out of strength, so he pretended to be strong.
"None of those guys could fight well; I didn't even get to have my fill of fighting them!"
Nobunaga then went inside and, together with Phinks, settled Feitan on the sofa.
Then, Kuroro and Ayana went inside together.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission: Destroy the organ trafficking organization's stronghold.]
[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission: eliminate the "doctor" and rescue the trapped children.]
[Rewards are being distributed; 500 points have already been issued.]
The system notification sounded in her mind, but Ayana had no time to pay attention to it.
She took a breath and looked up at Feitan on the sofa.
The black-haired boy was almost covered in blood, his short hair and blood stuck together, clinging to his forehead and cheeks.
There was hardly a patch of unscathed flesh on his body. One eye was swollen, and wounds covered his entire body. In some of the wounds, the flesh was even turned outwards, and blood gushed out, staining the sofa cushion beneath him red.
Feitan's breathing was weak; excessive blood loss and intense pain had plunged him into a coma.
"Hey, Feitan!"
"Feitan!"
Phinks crouched beside the sofa, his brows furrowed tightly, trying to wake Feitan, but Feitan gave him no response.
Seeing his companion so badly injured had driven Phinks to the brink of madness. He suddenly looked up at Ayana, his voice filled with suppressed rage.
"Ayana, what do we do about Feitan now?!"
“You told me this operation would rescue the children and strike a blow against that organization, but you never said Feitan would end up like this!” Phinks’s voice grew agitated. “I didn’t join you to watch my friends die!”
"Finx, what are you yelling about?!" Ayana was about to reply when Uvogin, who was slumped on the ground, stopped her.
Although he was exhausted, upon hearing Phinks accuse Ayana, he immediately stood up, glaring at Phinks, "What was the situation back then?! If it weren't for Ayana, Feitan would have died long ago, and those children wouldn't have been rescued. What's the use of blaming her now?!"
“I’m just stating the facts!” Phinks glared back without hesitation. “Feitan is in this state now, almost dead. Shouldn’t someone be held responsible for this?”
"Take responsibility? Who do you want to take responsibility for?!" Uvogin, with his explosive temper, strode angrily toward Phinks. "You want to fight, Phinks?!"
As conflict seemed imminent, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
That's enough.
Ayana breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll take responsibility, I have a plan."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
