There Can Be So Many Cute Elements

(Congratulations to 'Imagine Breaker God' for becoming the leader of this book!)

"I... I was here first!"

"No, I was here first!"

"Move aside!"

"Let me through!"

Beside the cold Iron Fortress, crowds of people carrying their families and luggage jostled against each other, faces twisted with ferocity and panic, desperately shoving toward the entrance of the train.

"Ahh~" Mumei said in a tone of disinterest, "So someone's already beaten us here?"

Fang Li nodded, confirming her words.

After all, if even Fang Li had managed to learn the location of the Iron Fortress used for escape after three days of wandering, it was only natural that the people of Aragane Station would know it too.

So, when the alarm bells rang, the first refuge that came to the minds of Aragane Station's residents was, naturally, this very place.

But when everyone wanted to flee at once, this was the inevitable result.

People packed together, shoving and squeezing, and in the end, far fewer managed to board than should have.

"If only they'd gone one by one, they'd all be on by now." Mumei furrowed her pretty brow.

Fang Li frowned as well, then, as Mumei looked on in slight bewilderment, he took her Steam Gun and raised it toward the sky.

"Bang!"

The sharp gunshot rang out instantly.

"---?!"

The panicked noise vanished without a trace.

One by one, the people turned to look at Fang Li, who held the gun, their expressions frozen solid.

Under this gaze, Fang Li narrowed his eyes.

"Get on in order. No shoving."

He aimed the Steam Gun at the crowd, his tone carrying a chilling calm.

"If any of you keep pushing and end up trapping everyone here, then rather than let you doom us all, I'll put you down right now. Anyone who doesn't believe me is welcome to try."

The whole scene fell into a sudden silence.

Then, one by one, the people swallowed hard.

Clearly, no one was willing to take that risk.

And Fang Li wasn't joking either. Though he had never killed a living person before, he was certain that if he had to act, he wouldn't hesitate for a moment.

After all, Fang Li felt no emotion toward "death" whatsoever.

So, scanning the crowd, he aimed the Steam Gun at the person nearest the door and said, "Starting with you. One by one, get on."

Hearing this, the man, though panicked at being stared down by a gun, let out a relieved sigh and scrambled into the train.

"Next, you."

"Then you."

"And you."

"Good. One after another, keep going."

Under Fang Li's direction, the panicked crowd quickly fell into orderly behavior.

In the end, people barely needed his commands anymore; they boarded in silence, according to their distance from the door.

Watching this, Mumei cast Fang Li an extra glance and said, "You're really reckless, you know."

"Someone who charges alone into a horde of Kabane and slaughters them freely has room to talk?" Fang Li tossed the Steam Gun back to her and added, "Besides, if I hadn't done that, you'd probably have gotten annoyed by the noise too."

"...You talk like you know me so well." Mumei couldn't help but mutter.

But just then, as if struck by dizziness, her small body suddenly swayed and tipped to the side.

"Hey?" Fang Li quickly caught her.

A pleasant scent wafted from Mumei, tickling Fang Li's nose. His brow twitched, and his heart itched a little.

This girl, though she looked young—even childish—still carried a certain charm even at this age.

If this were Earth, girls her age would mostly be a bunch of brats, with no charm to speak of.

This made Fang Li realize that this was indeed a two-dimensional world.

Only in a two-dimensional world could there be so many cute elements.

(If this were Earth, this girl would probably be chased after like crazy.)

Thinking this to himself, Fang Li gave a wry smile and asked the girl in his arms, "What's wrong?"

"...No, nothing." Mumei rubbed her eyes, yawned, and her voice grew a little weak as she said, "Just a bit sleepy."

"Sleepy?" Fang Li's heart stirred slightly, as if he understood something.

But Fang Li didn't ask anything, only saying, "Then do you want to rest a bit?"

"Let's do that..." Mumei yawned again, looking genuinely drowsy.

"I'll take you to the train to rest first." Fang Li made this decision on the spot.

Yet, before Fang Li could act, a clatter of footsteps suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

Fang Li looked closely, then smiled.

The owners of those clattering footsteps were none other than the samurai of the Yotsuyu Clan.

Among them, naturally, were Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane.

And the one being supported by Kurusu Kunoichi, Kibito Aragane, and the other samurai was none other than Yomogawa Ayame.

"You..."

Seeing Fang Li holding Mumei in front of the Iron Fortress, Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane seemed somewhat surprised.

"Mr. Fang Li!"

Yomogawa Ayame also spotted Fang Li, a hint of joy on her face at his continued survival.

Unfortunately, before Fang Li could exchange pleasantries with the group, chaos erupted again.

It wasn't just the Yotsuyu Clan who had arrived; a crowd of sheltered commoners had come as well.

These commoners had no idea what had just happened. The moment they appeared, they rushed toward the Iron Fortress in panic, scrambling over one another.

"E-everyone!" Yomogawa Ayame finally snapped to attention, quickly calling out, "Please don't rush! Board the Iron Fortress one by one!"

But the commoners paid Yomogawa Ayame no heed, charging straight for the Iron Fortress.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out again.

The crowd of commoners, who had been shoving forward, came to an abrupt halt, frozen in place, their eyes wide as they stared ahead.

Fang Li held the drowsy Mumei with one hand, raised her gun with the other, and sighed before looking ahead.

"One by one. Don't make me repeat the same thing over and over. It's boring."

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