At this moment, Mumei’s emotions were more evident than ever before.
Only, the young girl fixed her gaze on Fang Li, and for the first time, a genuine hostility appeared in her eyes.
Fang Li knew exactly where that hostility came from. If someone mocked his family, would he react like Mumei?
However, Mumei was completely unaware that the person she referred to as “Ani-Sama” was merely her own wishful recognition of someone as her family.
Despite Mumei’s formidable strength, this young girl was not as strong as she seemed.
In reality, Mumei was nothing more than a victim in this era. The people of this era had already lost all hope to the creatures known as Kabane. People only knew fear, dread, and terror towards the Kabane, making it almost impossible to see a future in this world. It was as if they were living on their last legs.
Just look at the Samurai in Aragane Station and one would understand that they have given up all hope.
Even these individuals known as Samurai feared the Kabane.
It wasn’t simply described as cowardice. You see, in such a time filled with panic, the order between human societies was almost meaningless.
What good were laws?
As long as there was even a hint of someone being bitten by a Kabane and or if a Kabane had left some sort of trace on someone then others had every reason to kill them.
Just like Mumei and Ikoma, even if they argued until they were hoarse, telling others that they were harmless, who would truly believe them?
No one wanted someone they trusted to suddenly leap and bite them, sucking their blood from within their bodies, thus robbing them of their lives.
So, the truly terrifying thing was not the Kabane, but the fear within people’s hearts and Mumei was a sacrificial lamb beneath the fear of humanity.
When she was still human, the station where Mumei lived was invaded and overrun by the Kabane, just like Aragane Station.
At that time, the Samurai in the station suspected that Mumei had been bitten by a Kabane and shot at her. Thanks to her mother’s protection, Mumei survived. However, Mumei’s mother died at the hands of the Samurai’s Steam Gun.
And just as Mumei was about to be shot, the person who saved this young girl was the so-called “Ani-Sama” Mumei mentioned.
He was a character with a significant background and an extremely cunning mind. He rescued the girl from the hands of the thugs and then he stripped away the girl’s original name and gave her the meaningless name “Mumei.”
In order to achieve his own goals, he gathered people, prepared for power, and even studied the ecology and characteristics of the Kabane.
He willingly subjected Mumei to surgery, injecting her with the Kabane virus, and turning her into a Kabaneri so Mumei becoming a Kabaneri was merely the result of an experiment.
The so-called “Ani-Sama” in Mumei’s words taught her combat techniques from a young age, training her specifically to fight against the Kabane and told her that being weak is a sin.
It can be said that Mumei is the razor-sharp claw developed by her “Ani-Sama.” A claw that is used to tear through the Kabane and fight against them.
That is why Mumei is so determined to fight against the Kabane. It is the purpose of her existence.
For a young girl on the brink of despair, it is a lifeline.
Therefore, Mumei admires this person and refers to him as “Ani-Sama.”
Only, Mumei has no idea as to what kind of person this so-called “Ani-Sama” really is.
“Are the so-called truths always the cruelest?” Fang Li lifted his gaze slightly and suddenly asked this question as he looked into Mumei’s eyes.
“How old are you?”
This unfathomable mysterious question at the beginning and the regular question at the end almost caught Mumei off guard, leaving her unable to react immediately.
Why could such a question emerge from the serious topic they were just discussing? In this situation, Mumei instinctively replied, “I’m 12 years old.”
“12 years old?” Fang Li raised his brow and couldn’t help but size up Mumei from head to toe. She was probably not taller than 160 centimeters, and her figure leaned toward the petite type.
Her exquisite charming face revealed an overflow of innocence. However, in terms of physique, Mumei could already be compared to a 15 or 16-year-old girl. Fang Li was completely speechless. “This physique at the age of 12? How would elementary school students on Earth feel about it?”
But if she was indeed that age, then it would be easier to understand Mumei’s naive and independent personality, aside from her combat abilities. In simple terms, she was a mischievous child. Naturally…
“It’s too difficult to expect such a mischievous child to see through the true nature of an adult.” Fang Li sighed lightly and couldn’t help but speak up. “You’re better off not knowing anything. It might be for the best.”
“You…” Mumei was genuinely angry at this moment as she felt that Fang Li was teasing her.
So, Mumei reached into her bosom and pulled out a weapon called kunai. With the kunai in hand, Mumei spun around and swiftly threw it with her agile movements.
“Whoosh—!”
The weapon called kunai turned into an arrow and, under Mumei’s throw, sliced through the air, creating a sound-breaking sound as it violently shot toward Fang Li.
The speed of the projectile was comparable to a bullet. If it were before Fang Li gained his title, his nerve reactions wouldn’t have been able to catch the trajectory of the kunai. However, at this moment, Fang Li successfully caught the violently shooting kunai.
But Fang Li didn’t dodge or move an inch, remaining in place without any action.
“Ding—!”
The sharp weapon grazed Fang Li’s cheek and heavily embedded itself in the wall next to his head. It was clear that Fang Li had already seen that the weapon wasn’t really aimed at him. On the other side, Mumei maintained her throwing stance, staring straight at Fang Li. After a while, she uttered a line.
“I hate you.” Leaving behind those words, Mumei turned around and walked out of the cave. She leaped up, landed on a distant treetop, and like a civet, leaped forward, gradually disappearing from Fang Li’s sight.
Seeing this, Fang Li smiled with a helpless expression on his face as he pulled out the kunai lodged near his head, and held it in his hand. Looking at the kunai that still retained a bit of the warmth from Mumei’s young body, Fang Li muttered to himself, “Did I go too far?”
No matter what, Mumei was just a victim. She might be a bit silly and naive, but she definitely wasn’t a villain. Of course, Mumei wasn’t a villain, but there were no good people around this young girl. For example, the so-called Ani-Sama.
“Amatori Biba…”
…