"How's your recovery?" Jiu Ming asked with a smile as he watched Sheele walk with Mine supporting her. Sheele smiled as well when she saw him.
"Thank you very much. I'm completely fine now." As she spoke, she raised her arm. It was still trembling slightly, but that was normal—her arms and legs had gone unused for a while, and they had remained damaged all that time. Now that they had recovered, she naturally needed time to get used to them again.
"Mm." Jiu Ming nodded. The moment he saw Haruhi emerge from the cave, a bright, sunny smile immediately spread across his face. "Hey, Haruhi, I—"
"I already saw it!!" Haruhi bluntly cut him off, pointing at the little girl huddled behind Jiu Ming and hidden by him. "You lolicon, whose kid did you kidnap from some family... Huh? What's wrong with her eyes?"
Haruhi stared at the little girl's eyes in astonishment. The whites of her eyes had been entirely replaced by black.
"Just as you can see, I brought her back from the quarantine zone." Jiu Ming shrugged. "It'd be pretty pitiful to just leave her there."
"The quarantine zone..." Haruhi's expression immediately turned subtle. "She's an 'infected'?"
Mine's expression changed slightly as well. The term "infected" was at the height of its notoriety right now; anyone who heard it would feel their heart go weak. Even a light brush against them could spell trouble, and now Jiu Ming had brought one back!? Even the old cat in the little girl's arms seemed to be infected.
"Hey! What exactly do you mean by this? Was life here getting too peaceful, so you wanted to stir up some trouble?" Mine shouted fiercely at Jiu Ming, suddenly seized by the urge to immediately take Sheele and leave.
"Relax, she's