Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Phyllis asked in surprise,
What’s this light?
I don’t know. It’s probably to send magic power back to this world.
Roland shook the dust off his hands.
We have to leave this place as soon as possible. If someone sees us here, we’ll have trouble.
But, isn’t this guy our enemy?
He explained,
Yes, he’s our enemy, but in this age, not everyone has the right to kill him or any other nefarious murderer. A special organization and its professional staff are in charge of arresting and punishing these bad guys.
As for Fallen Evils, Garcia had told Roland that the martialists with hunting licenses granted by the association also had the right to kill them. In fact, these licenses not only allow the martialists to kill any suspected Fallen Evil but also gave them the right to kill any Awakened who probably harbored evil intentions. Roland believed that if this secret was made public, it would inevitably spark a public outcry.
What a strange age,
Phyllis commented.
They walked out of the KFC and found it was less chaotic. Seeing the Fallen Evil leave in a sudden, all the people still stuck in the McDonald’s felt relieved.
Roland soon saw Zero dash toward him while pushing through the crowd.
She looked worried. Her hair band had slipped off, her long white ruffled hair tumbling down to her shoulders. Some people around her tried to make her stop, but this little girl managed to elude them with adroit movements. When she finally reached Roland, her anxious look yielded to a joyful smile.
However, the smile lasted for only a few seconds. She quickly straightened her face and shouted angrily.
Why did you come out so late? Even a tortoise runs faster than you, uncle!
A flush rose to her cheeks because of the recent exercise and she panted heavily. Looking at her, Roland could not help bending over to touch her head.
Sorry to make you worried.
Zero gritted her teeth and glared at him.
Who was worried about you? This is her first time to visit this city. What if the crowd separated her from us?
Despite what she said, the little girl still willingly accepted his touch.
After that, Roland spent a lot of efforts explaining to her what had happened to them and why they had come out so late. He made up a story to explain what had been dragging their feet, and Zero finally calmed down after hearing that they had been affected by the Fallen Evil’s attack and had nearly lost the chance to escape.
Fortunately, they had a smooth, happy journey after the attack. Roland took the girls to shop clothes and then to have dinner at a hotpot restaurant. As a unique cuisine, hot pot featured a strong flavor and various ingredients. More importantly, it was relatively inexpensive. He ordered a lot of potatoes, starch noodles and lotus root slices, which could easily make them feel full. By doing so, he could still afford this meal even if they overate.
Phyllis’ behavior here was no better than her gluttonous actions back in the KFC. With constantly watering eyes, she kept moving her chopsticks to gorge herself with these spicy, tasty food. Roland was not sure whether she was too moved or was simply burnt by the spicy flavor. At the end of their meal, she even picked up the pot to drink some red, oily soup, making all the people around gape at her.
They went back to the tube-shaped apartment building at 9:00 pm. When they walked up to the 8th floor, heading for Roland’s apartment, they unexpectedly ran into Garcia.
She stood in their way with a long face, giving them a considerable pressure.
Roland thought,
Has she been here waiting for me since I hung up the phone?
His lips flinched. In embarrassment, he tried to explain to Garcia,
Look… I did hang out with my relative—
She interrupted directly,
So, can we talk now?
Her tone was quite sharp, making Phyllis frown. After a burp, the ancient witch said,
Please mind your attitude. He’s this world’s lor—
Roland hurriedly stopped her and said to the girls,
Ahem, it’s fine. You go home now. I need to talk with her first and I’ll be back soon.
He had been worried a lot that a proud person like Garcia would have flown into a rage and never wanted to meet him again since he had told her such a tenuous excuse and hung up the phone. Anyone being stood up like that would naturally explode with anger. However, beyond all his expectations, Garcia had still waited here for him. Given that, he thought the association might be really short-staffed.
He followed her into Room 0827. Instead of inviting him to take a seat first, she turned around and asked directly,
Have you thought it all over? Or is this… an excuse you made up to reject joining the association?
She gazed at him, her eyes glaring as if she had wanted to see through his mind.
Roland shrugged and then walked to sit on the sofa.
Do you have any water? Ice water will do.
At this moment, he thought he saw blue veins throbbing at her temples.
Hearing this, Garcia took a deep breath and then said through her teeth,
I’ll go to get you some.
Thank you.
Roland took a sip of ice water and slowly asked,
I’ve got a question. I’ve seen a growing number of reports about Fallen Evils recently and even ran into a newly awakened one in the street today… Does the association have trouble?
Garcia knitted her eyebrows.
Have you been somewhere near the Green Valley Park today?
You know it?
Yes. Someone called the police, but it’s the association’s job to take care of these things. All the martialists close by received the news from the association and I was one of them.
That monster…
Garcia said in a deep voice,
It was dead when we got there, and its Natural core was gone. Someone acted faster than we did.
Roland pretended to know nothing about the truth and asked,
Who?
I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to tell you that.
She shook her head.
In fact, I shouldn’t tell you anything about this incident. It’s the association’s secret. As for your first question, yes, we did have trouble. The Erosion of the alien world is accelerating, and our world will soon face a major crisis.
The Erosion again…
Roland quickly captured the keyword.
What kind of crisis?
No one knows. Maybe our world will be destroyed in this crisis. Or, all of us will lose our minds and become some monsters. That’s why the association needs more people to stand out, fighting against the Erosion. It’s the whole world’s crisis and has nothing to do with gender, races or nationalities. Everyone who has awakened with the Force of Nature has to shoulder this responsibility!
At this moment, Garcia significantly raised her voice.
As martialists, we may get killed in the fight against the alien world’s Erosion, but it’s our duty to do so! I can understand if you feel afraid and hesitant. But think about it. If we refuse to fight, who else has the power to protect our world?
Roland fell silent, surprised at her frankness. She had explicitly admitted that they were understaffed and joining them meant great responsibility and even sacrifice. He believed that no one would act like Garcia in a negotiation. In order to attract more people to join the association, she should have tried to conceal the difficulties the association had instead of being so blunt about the risks of joining it.
Having heard what she said, he understood why some awakened people would rather fight on their own than join this association.
Her eloquent rhetoric about heroism could hardly attract people in this age, as normal people usually placed their personal interests above the benefit of all human beings.
In the beginning, he himself had also planned to join the association just to gain rewards and reputation for himself, but now he realized that this thing was not that simple. As one of the creators of this world, he thought now it was the time for him to find out the cause for the mutation of the Force of Nature and the truth about the alien world’s Erosion with the help of the Martialist Association.
He somehow felt that these phenomena must have something to do with the Bloody Moon.
