Kōkan Station

Kōkan Station

Having fought together was far more effective than any self-introduction. Mumei acknowledged Xu Yue's strength, and once they had both returned to the carriage and sealed the side door, even Sion stopped making any further moves.

When he learned from Mumei that this harmless-looking fellow was actually no weaker than her, the shock in Sion's heart was imaginable.

As a member of the Hunting Party, he understood all too well what that meant. Even a figure as brilliant and ambitious as the Young Master had needed to rely on Lady Mumei for the plan, sending him with her to Kongokaku.

Unable to determine Xu Yue's identity and lacking confidence in dealing with him, Sion reined in his earlier hostile attitude.

At first, all his confidence had come from Lady Mumei beside him. Now that even Lady Mumei said the other man was no weaker than her, there was no need to stir up more trouble.

"Sir, I believe there was some misunderstanding between us at first. Shall we let it go?"

"If it was a misunderstanding, then of course that's fine."

Xu Yue agreed readily, but his gaze remained fixed on Mumei, who was playing with a kendama beside him.

Mumei might not have thought much of that look, but it made Sion's skin crawl. Had this guy really come because of Lady Mumei?

He just didn't know whether Xu Yue was also a Kabaneri.

"Nope. I smelled him."

Still playing with the kendama, Mumei seemed to have read Sion's mind directly. Without even turning her head, she kept staring at the ball in her hands...

With his own strength as a foundation, and knowing both Mumei and the others' objective—as well as their need to keep a low profile—Xu Yue naturally found a balance in getting along with them.

After directly seeking them out, he got along fairly well with the two of them over the following days aboard the Hayajiro.

The scene had only lasted a few minutes in the anime, but in reality, it took several days to travel from the abandoned station to the next stop, Kōkan Station.

Along the way, they encountered two Kabaneri attacks in succession while passing through a canyon and a tunnel.

Xu Yue also witnessed Mumei's abilities firsthand.

In combat against people, she had reached the level of a Genin. Though she was inferior to him, she was still dangerous enough. Against Kabaneri, however, she was even better than he was.

Her various tactical maneuvers flowed together seamlessly.

She was especially skilled at dealing with encirclement, possessing her own unique combat techniques.

When fighting Kabaneri alone, even ordinary Chunin might not match her efficiency.

That was what a professional looked like.

Unfortunately, every time she untied the ribbon around her neck to fight, she needed time to rest afterward. She also needed to drink human blood regularly, which was what Sion beside her was there for.

"Ah, pervert mister, have you run out of that food?"

Licking the lollipop Xu Yue had stuffed into her mouth, Mumei spoke with some regret.

Xu Yue had packed quite a bit of food in his backpack. Although food from the early twentieth century was not as tasty as modern food, it was still far more delicious than anything in this era, where people could barely survive from one day to the next.

"You eat too much."

Xu Yue still wore a gentle expression as he looked at the mischievous yet innocent girl before him.

Because of her mother's death and the ideas instilled in her by the villainous Biba, this seemingly innocent girl firmly believed that the weak had no value in living.

A large part of the reason she could chat so easily with him was probably her recognition of his strength.

"Pfft, you eat more than I do."

After making a face at Xu Yue, Mumei ran off to one side protectively clutching her lollipop, as if afraid he would snatch it away.

Meanwhile, Sion seized the chance to try recruiting Xu Yue again.

"Doctor Xu, it would be such a waste for someone with your abilities to remain an ordinary person in obscurity. Lord Biba thirsts for talent, and our Hunting Party also—"

"Alright, it seems we're almost at our destination. We're slowing down."

Xu Yue had no interest in hearing the rest. The Hunting Party... if he wanted to earn a high score in this mission, they were undoubtedly the most suitable target. Besides, he had plans of his own...

After being rebuffed again, Sion showed no displeasure. Along the way, he had vaguely seen what this man was capable of, and through their exchanges and Xu Yue's behavior, he had confirmed that Xu Yue was definitely not one of the Shogun's men!

Since he was not the Shogun's man, then regardless of what faction he belonged to, there was still a chance to recruit him. Sion would not give up. There would be more opportunities on the road...

Kōkan Station stood on an island like a lone peak beyond a cliff, connected to the mainland by only a single bridge.

Its steep cliffs and surrounding sea were the greatest guarantee that Kōkan Station had survived until now.

Because of its unique location, Kōkan Station also bore the important responsibility of repairing and manufacturing Hayajiro, giving it extraordinary strategic significance.

Woo woo~

The roar coming from the tunnel at the sole entrance made the Samurai standing guard at Kōkan Station, as well as the Steam Smiths responsible for maintenance, extremely nervous.

The Hayajiro had arrived ahead of schedule, not matching its expected arrival time. They feared that something had happened.

Only after repeatedly confirming the signal sent from the other side did they lower the drawbridge and allow it through.

"Did you hear? Hayatani Station has fallen, so the Koutetsujou arrived early because it was short on supplies."

"Sigh, has the front line retreated again? I wonder when it'll be our turn."

"Don't talk nonsense. There's absolutely no way anything could go wrong with our geographical location."

Seeing the bloodstained Hayajiro slowly pull in, carrying an aura of iron and blood, many nearby residents and workers began whispering among themselves.

Meanwhile, the Steam Smiths busily adjusted the rail switches, guiding the Hayajiro to its designated position.

"Connect the Inspection Boxes."

After the Koutetsu Hayajiro reached the maintenance area, all its cabin doors remained tightly shut. Only after the Steam Smiths slowly backed two carriages in and connected them to the sides of the Koutetsu Hayajiro did they open the valves at the designated connection points.

The two Inspection Boxes began conducting a comprehensive examination of every member aboard the Hayajiro. Everyone had to strip completely naked, and anyone with a suspicious wound had to be isolated for at least three days to eliminate all safety risks.

However, while everyone else obediently underwent inspection, the valve beside the final carriage of the Koutetsujou was opened from within, and three figures jumped down.

They were Xu Yue, Mumei, and Sion.

With a back door available, Xu Yue naturally had no interest in stripping naked for an inspection at the front. Perhaps that was why he had instinctively sought out Mumei first thing.

"Who are you people?!"

A samurai spotted the three of them and rushed over, raising the Steam Gun in his hand as he barked sternly.

"When judging someone, judging by appearances is the stupidest thing you can do. That's what my big brother says, mister."

Mumei played with the Kendama in her hand, casually flicking the ball against the samurai's nose.

Just as the samurai was about to fly into a rage, Shikoku Kenzou, the head of the Yomogawa Family and the highest-ranking official of Kōkan Station, arrived before them. He waved a hand at the samurai and said, "Stand down. Do not offend our honored guests."

Then he turned to Sion, who had spent most of the journey fading into the background, and said, "Mr. Sion, I already understand why you have come. This way, please."

"Lord Shikoku, I trust you've been well."

Sion seemed to count as a minor leader under Biba as well, apparently with enough standing to command some respect.

As for Xu Yue, Shikoku Kenzou subconsciously took him for a member of the Hunting Party. Xu Yue had no intention of correcting him.

And Sion, who had already wanted to recruit Xu Yue, was even less likely to say anything. He might even have been secretly delighted inside.

However, at that moment, an accident from the original story occurred: a man found to have a wound began trying to flee.

Only, unlike in the original story, there were two people fleeing this time!

The other one was none other than Railway Guerrilla Number One, who had had his gun taken away and been punched in the face. At the moment, he had stripped down to nothing but a pair of briefs.

Even the savage wound on his face could not hide his terror. Through his toothless mouth, he spoke with a lisp.

"I wasn't bitten! Someone else did this to me! It's just an ordinary wound!"

These past few days had been enough for them to understand how terrifying the Kabane were. They had even attacked Kabane through firing slits and seen bitten samurai use Suicide Bags to kill themselves.

"Right, I wasn't bitten either! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

The other man, the one who had fled in the original story, also hurriedly tried to explain himself.

But clearly, the samurai—who had long been driven nearly mad by the pressure of the Kabane—would never let these suspects go.

"Whether you were bitten or not isn't for you to decide!"

As the samurai moved to capture them, not a single Reincarnator showed any intention of intervening.

Even Railway Guerrillas Number Two and Three, who had teamed up with that "guerrilla," along with the seductive woman, could only hide inside the Inspection Box with terrified expressions. What they had seen along the way had scared them out of their wits. This was far more terrifying than the leisurely difficulty of their first mission.

"Stop!"

Although there was one more fleeing man than in the original story, Ikoma, the protagonist with a saintly disposition, stepped forward just as he had originally and stopped the samurai.

He even mercilessly accused them of aiming their guns at the wrong targets.

In Xu Yue's eyes, he was undoubtedly what people called a pig teammate. The samurai might originally have been willing to let things go and merely detain the two for three days, but Ikoma had directly poked their shameful sore spot. How could they not become enraged out of humiliation?

The two men, who might have survived otherwise, could be shot dead in a hail of bullets the next moment.

"Ahem. Lord Shikoku, I saw that guy with the flattened nose. He was beaten into that state."

Xu Yue spoke calmly.

Having worn a hypocritical mask for his entire life, Xu Yue would instinctively continue maintaining that disguise when lending a hand did not affect his own interests.

"Oh? In that case, lock them up for three days and observe them first."

Shikoku Kenzou gave Xu Yue that courtesy. If they had truly been infected by the Kabane, the incubation period would never exceed three days.

He had known all along that the chances of the two still being able to run around after infection were low. He simply had no interest in caring what happened to commoners. He only stepped in because Xu Yue had spoken.

Xu Yue's words immediately earned the gratitude of Ikoma and the other two, while also drawing the attention of the other Reincarnators.

"What? How did that guy get mixed in with the boss here?"

"Damn it, he must have bought intelligence on this story!"

"He's clearly a newcomer too. How could he have had the money to buy such detailed intelligence?"

"That lucky bastard."

"..."

Whether they were first-time newcomers or third-time old noobs, quite a few of them were filled with jealousy.

Why did they have to strip naked and endure a humiliating inspection, while he could so easily latch onto someone powerful?

A smaller number of them were already rolling their eyes, thinking about how to build a relationship with him and persuade him to pull them into that circle as well.

Since he had taken the initiative to help someone he barely knew, he was probably the bleeding-heart type. Those kinds of "great heroes," "good people," and "allies of justice" were fairly easy to handle.

A little moral blackmail was enough to easily achieve their goals.

What these Reincarnators, who knew nothing of the plot, did not realize was that because Xu Yue had spoken up, Ikoma—the protagonist, who had secretly been collecting Kabane flesh for research—did not expose his collection of Kabane flesh during his conflict with Samurai.

As a result, he was not imprisoned over the matter, nor did it draw Mumei's attention.

To a certain extent, the role and position protagonist Ikoma had held in this incident had inexplicably been taken over by Xu Yue...

The chapter will be recommended tomorrow~ Please support it in advance, and help it move up the newcomer rankings next week.