District 39, a Utopia for the Cursed Children (5.1K) (Continued)

Just thinking about the sly smile of a certain rich young lady Yotsuba Mahiro chuckle softly. She expertly turned the steering wheel, and the silver-gray Aston Martin kicked up a cloud of dust on the broken road.

As for why he said that, it was simply because, as they approached the Monolith, a dark new city gradually came into view amidst the dilapidated ruins.

Calling it a new town is a bit of an exaggeration.

In reality, there are only a few renovated buildings and a sturdy wall made of ultra-holmium alloy, resembling a city wall.

Several young girls on patrol spotted a car speeding away in the distance and excitedly shouted:

"It's my brother! Open the door!"

"Open the door!"

"Open the door!"

As the sound traveled, several children were pushing hard in front of the city wall, slowly opening the heavy gate that resembled an ancient city gate, until the car drove through.

"Brother!"

"It's my older brother~"

"Big brother, it's been so long! I've missed you so much!"

As soon as I got off the bus, a large group of girls immediately surrounded me, chattering excitedly.

They were dressed in different clothes and were of different ages, the oldest being ten years old and the youngest only six.

But the only thing they had in common was that all of these children had red eyes.

They were all girls from a pure generation who once lived on this land, abandoned by their parents, and also known as the Cursed Children.

Throughout the year, whenever he had free time, he would collect these little girls from various places in the Tokyo Area, settle them together, and spend most of his savings on this.

This also includes a significant amount of gold...

"Hehe~ Yotsuba Clan- chan is still as popular as ever with these kids~"

Just then, a silvery, elegant, and alluring laugh drifted over, the voice filled with that familiar Kansai.

Looking in the direction of the sound, one could see a young girl in a kimono standing beside a Mercedes parked not far away, walking gracefully toward them.

With long, wavy, jet-black hair and wearing a brightly colored kimono, she looked like a perfect young lady from a wealthy family. Her temperament, Kisara that of a young lady from a wealthy family, was very similar to that of Kisara. In the entire Tokyo Area, only the daughter of the president of Shiba Heavy Industries, Miori Shiba, possessed such looks and temperament.

"It's been a long time, Miss Sima. What brings you here today?"

Yotsuba Mahiro waved to the children around her, and they immediately scattered and returned to their respective posts.

"That's so formal~ You should just call her Weizhi."

As usual, Miori Shiba approached after only a few words, while Yotsuba Mahiro took a few steps back and dodged slightly, maintaining a polite distance.

It wasn't that he was allergic to beautiful girls, but rather it was a lesson he had learned from working with this daughter of the Sima family over the past year.

This woman is undeniably beautiful, with outstanding looks and demeanor. However, she is also a shrewd businesswoman, adept at using her advantages in negotiations, a tactic he has learned the hard way in the past.

However, seeing his reaction, Miori Shiba showed no embarrassment or anger. Instead, she stood there and said quietly:

"They're coming because they miss you, of course!"

"Really? I'm truly flattered."

"Hey, how's that thing you talked to the Yotsuba Clan about before? How about you dump Kisara and come with me? I know Kisara gives you 10% of the reward every time he completes a mission, but if you come with me, it's okay if it's the other way around~"

With a snap, Miori Shiba opened the iron fan in her hand, covering her face with only her eyes visible, making it difficult to discern her expression.

Incidentally, this was already the umpteenth olive branch Miori Shiba extended to him.

And his answer remained consistent.

"Miss Sima..."

"You've already called them 'We haven't knitted yet'!"

"Alright, Miss Miori..."

Stare--

"Okay, Mizuki." He changed his mind several times before finally managing to continue, "You know, that's impossible."

"Hmm... Honestly, I really don't understand~ What's so good about that kind of female gorilla, whether it's you or Kosomi..."

Miori Shiba pouted unhappily.

Although Kisara her lifelong rival, in some ways she felt like she always inexplicably lost.

Could it be because of those two huge monsters?!

XP, of course!

There's nothing I can do; he just likes girls with long, straight black hair, especially those who are kendo practitioners.

Of course, Yotsuba Mahiro couldn't tell Miori Shiba these things, so she changed the subject and said, "Miori, how about we talk about the progress of the matter I entrusted to you?"

"It's finished."

With a snap, Miori Shiba closed her folding fan and pointed to a newly built temporary building in the distance, surrounded by several large windmills, their three blades slowly turning with the wind.

"The wind power station you needed, Yotsuba Clan, has been built, along with the supporting transformer. Although the quantity is not large, it is enough for these children."

How much is it in total?

"We'll consider the power transformer a gift; you only need to pay for the windmill. It'll cost ten million yen in total, no bargaining!"

"..."

Upon hearing the price, Yotsuba Mahiro's eye twitched involuntarily. "You wouldn't be after that little bit of balance in my account, would you?"

"Oh dear, what is Yotsuba Clan- chan saying? I don't understand~" Miori Shiba ignorance, "I didn't hear that Yotsuba Clan -chan killed Hiruko Kagetane, the original IP address 134, a couple of days ago and received a reward of 100 million yen~"

I don't know if this woman was deliberately provoking me or what...

Didn't you just blurt that out yourself?!

"Fine, ten million, right? I'll transfer it to you in a couple of days."

"Not now?" Miori Shiba blinked in surprise.

However, Yotsuba Mahiro gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "... Can't I just keep this money in my hands for a couple of days?!"

His appearance completely amused Miori Shiba, who burst into laughter without any regard for her image.

But as she laughed, she gradually quieted down, a smile still lingering on her lips as she gazed at the children in the distance and said:

"Speaking of which, Yotsuba Clan is really good to those children."

Unusually, this time Miori Shiba didn't use a gloomy tone; instead, it sounded like she was sighing.

But Yotsuba Mahiro shrugged and said, "Really? I only remember an old Chinese saying: 'When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven.' What I did was merely what I could do."

"Is it within their power...? But those generations who were plundered are unwilling to do even this simple thing."

They plunder and bully the weak to gain a fleeting sense of satisfaction.

This is what the plundered generation did to the Cursed Children.

Now, seeing the children's happy smiles as the lights were turned on, Miori Shiba seemed to be infected by their joy, and a happy smile involuntarily appeared on her lips as well.

Looking at the handsome young man beside her, whose appearance she had never seen before, she couldn't help but say:

"As expected, Yotsuba Clan, you're so gentle."

"Since you find me gentle, I wonder if I could exchange that gentleness for a small discount?"

"Hey sis~ Let's keep business separate. Besides, the price they gave Yotsuba Clan- chan was the cost price, they weren't making a profit."

The idea that a businessman won't make money is utterly unbelievable.

Not to mention, coming from the mouth of Miori Shiba, a shrewd businessman, it's even less believable.

"Speaking of which, Yotsuba Clan- chan, what are your plans for collecting these children?"

"Why would you have such a thought?" Yotsuba Mahiro asked, looking at Miori Shiba.

"Just a woman's intuition."

Perhaps Miori Shiba felt it was getting late, so she walked gracefully towards the parked Mercedes-Benz. But just as she opened the door to get in, she suddenly turned around and said:

"Yotsuba Clan- chan~ If you have any tickets to Noah's Ark, remember to save one for me too~"

"Noah's Ark? That can't be right. This is just Arcadia in District 39, the residence of these children."

It was also the utopian kingdom he built for these children.

However, Miori Shiba did not respond further, and it was unclear whether she had heard her or not, before she saw her get into the car.

But it must be said that this woman's intuition is truly remarkable.

He had no intention whatsoever of helping this world.

Especially after experiencing all sorts of things, big and small, this year, I feel... this utterly terrible world is probably best left destroyed.

Shortly after Miori Shiba left, Yotsuba Mahiro explained the precautions for using electricity to the children before leaving.

Although he still had plenty of time left, gathering the scattered Cursed Children was a very troublesome task.

Especially now, when they no longer have a high degree of trust in others.

However, just after he drove past a traffic light that had fallen and twisted in the middle of the road, turning into an obstacle, and not far ahead was the ruins of what was clearly a gas station, he suddenly saw a police car parked in a corner of the road.

Yotsuba Mahiro immediately stepped on the brakes.

There was something very wrong with that police car; the exhaust pipe was still emitting heat, clearly indicating that it had just been parked there.

The question is, what would a police car be doing in such a desolate, ruined place?

The answer is self-evident.

As Mahiro got off the bus, he could already hear sharp screams coming from inside the building.

"Let me go!"

"Shut up, you noisy, thieving little brat!"

Bang!

A muffled, heavy thud echoed faintly from the abandoned, unfinished building.

Two police officers dragged a girl deeper into the building. The bespectacled, skinny officer took out new handcuffs and locked one of the girl's hands, while the other end of the handcuffs was locked to the exposed steel railing.

The girl, having caught her breath from the pain, struggled a little, but when she realized she couldn't break free, she seemed to despair.

As if her heart had died, she ceased to struggle, but the unease she felt about not knowing what her future held made her pale.

Fear lingered in those crimson pupils, causing them to tremble slightly.

The two officers silently drew their sidearms, opened the magazines, and counted the bullets inside, a wicked smile playing on their lips.

The menacing atmosphere they exuded made them look less like police officers and more like street thugs.

It was obvious that these two men intended to use the girl to test their guns.

"Let me go first this time."

"Whatever you want."

The two quickly decided on the order of firing.

The crew-cut police officer, carrying a pistol, walked about ten meters away and raised the dark muzzle, pointing it at the girl.

Bang!

As the trigger was pulled, a gunshot rang out.

Strangely, there were no bullet holes or bleeding on the girl's body!

Even the girl herself was surprised.

"Hey, have you lost your mind playing around with women? You can't even shoot accurately from this distance?" The skinny, bespectacled police officer scoffed mockingly.

"Come on, isn't it normal to miss the first shot?!"