Now that we've talked about Xiaojing's mother, let's talk about the inside of the shelter. That being said, I wasn't able to observe much information. If you are a person who has studied the so-called "apocalyptic survival", you may be able to observe more doorways, while I can only summarize superficial things.

As far as I can see, the people inside the vault are not entirely dependent on the supplies that Naruyoshi has collected outside, and they also grow vegetables in large areas indoors. Soil from unknown sources was laid out in some of the open spaces in the shopping mall, and the vegetables were planted in the types that were less difficult to care for and did not need much sunlight. After all, there is still fog, and the sunshine conditions of the mirage property market are relatively poor. I heard that they also have mushrooms in some rooms, and the harvest seems to be very good.

They have set up a lot of bunkers and traps on the first floor, and they have also prepared several emergency escape routes and vehicles that need to be used in critical moments. This is a measure to prevent demons from storming the shelter en masse one day. They also sometimes practice to avoid rushing through critical moments and ruining the painstaking preparations of the past.

It can be seen that the interior of the vault is well organized, but Naruto himself does not have such strong leadership skills. Despite his desire for this, he lacks the ability to organize others effectively, so he only uses his own prestige to take the lead, leaving the matter to a very small elite of the survivor community who are good at management.

Survivor groups are not always united, and while people should be fully united in the face of foreign enemies, poor living conditions can also breed a lot of stupidity and evil. Many apocalyptic fictional stories have detailed predictions of how people will be hostile and betrayal of each other in extreme circumstances, and the real world can sometimes surprisingly exceed the imagination of writers, and sometimes disappointingly echo pessimistic predictions that people are not always in the same boat in the face of disaster.

I had that concern not long ago that the survivors would attack Qiao Licorice and Xiaojing while I was away. And Naruyoshi has a similar mindset as me, so he left some trusted people in the shelter to keep an eye on the whole situation to prevent anyone from committing crimes while he was away. Although as long as there are some sane people will not do that, the rich law enforcement experience in the past has taught him that there are some people in this world who are not clear and selfish.

In addition, I noticed that there seemed to be a strange atmosphere in the Vault, where most of the survivors would not only cast a look of trust and gratitude at Naruyoshi, but even worship him. The worship mentioned here is not worship in the popular sense, but there is a secret atmosphere similar to religious belief. I was able to capture such emotional fluctuations with my awareness, and in some rooms I "saw" that someone had placed a humanoid wood sculpture on a table that mimicked the altar, and the gods were chanting original prayers. It seems that a simple superstition centered on Naruyoshi has formed inside the shelter, and he is worshipped as a god or a messenger of the gods.

Xiaojing's mother doesn't seem to be very accepting of this kind of atmosphere, but she is proud of her husband's admiration.

Naruto smiled helplessly, turned to me, and said, "I don't really like to be treated as an immortal, an angel, or anything, but the pressure on the survivors is really high, and I can't promise that I will have a way to take them out of the fog, so I have to let them find a way to put their hearts and souls." And the people who helped me manage the vault always told me that such a culture would help prevent division and crime within the vault. I'm not good at managing organizations, so I have to let them do it. ”

According to some of the miscellaneous knowledge I've read on the Internet before, religion does work especially well in this regard, but it's not always a good thing in the long run. However, Naruto probably didn't think about breeding a new civilization here, and it was indeed impeccable as a way to temporarily fool the situation.

He arranged our respective rooms for us. The previous five survivors were scattered and placed in different positions, while Xiao Jing was of course going to live with his parents, and Qiao Licorice and I were arranged in a double room.

Although it is not very suitable for me to sleep so close to Qiao Licorice, it is a special condition after all. Moreover, the shelter is not completely safe, and some of the major hazards have been mentioned before. In case I don't have time to protect the licorice in case of danger, it's better to rest closer to each other. And it's not about sleeping in one bed, this room has two beds.

Jo Licorice seemed to be exhausted, and threw herself on the bed at once, and I sat down on the other bed. However, she didn't seem to be in the mood for immediate sleep, but talked to me about the information available, to see if there was a breakthrough, and how to defeat the two high walls that had intercepted us—the fanatics and the bite of blood.

"The location of the fanatic believer is already clear, but the bite of the blood still does not know where to go." I say.

"Bite the blood, the half-blood demon who ate Wei Chi and rejuvenated......" Qiao Licorice looked thoughtful, "You're interested in her, right?" I mean that interest. ”

I guess it was the blue bird who told her, and their best friends always talk about everything. But I'm the same if I want to say that, and I occasionally confide in her. Although I often criticize her for her "abnormal interests", I have to admit that she also has a certain side that people are willing to rely on. There seems to be such an incredible magic in her.

"Yes." I admit it.

"Why?" She wondered, "Is it because she eats people that makes you think she has a similar demonic nature to the Kraken?" ”

"I don't know." I speak from my heart.

"I don't even know about myself......," she sighed vaguely, and continued, "Speaking of which, I've always had a doubt. ”

I answered, "What doubts?" ”

"The Kraken eats human flesh, right, but what does this have to do with your murder in the past?" She asked.

"How?" I asked.

"Even if you have to cut a large piece of meat from someone's body, depending on the part and method of cutting, you can completely avoid the death of the other person." She looked at me with no reproach in her eyes, but just wanted to understand my motives and state of mind at that time, "You in the Majin period are almost the same as you are now in terms of personality, and you also have the same moral concepts, so you will also suffer at that time." The only difference is that you're forced to hunt human flesh for the Kraken because of her powerful charm, and it's not about your own will. But other than that, you can play flexibly. ”

"Perhaps." I'm not going to debate whether it's seductive or not, "But it's basically only eating the flesh of humans who have just died. ”

"So it's about freshness? But it doesn't seem to have anything to do with 'people have to be killed.'" She said curiously.

"It's not a matter of freshness. It is literally eating only the flesh of humans who have just died. I said, "It seems to have a way of knowing if the source of the meat it ate was dead just now." ”

In other words, it cares about the death of the prey, which is as important as the predation itself, if not necessarily so important. But this habit feels unnecessary to living beings...... "Is she a propensity to spread death?" she said thoughtfully. ”

I'm noncommittal. I've thought a lot about the many habits of "it", but I can't get an answer. Suddenly, Qiao Licorice seemed to react, "Wait, you just said 'basically'?" Does that mean she has a rare exception? ”

"Yes, there is, but in that case it is to bring a living person to it and let it hunt on its own." I recall the "experiments" I did, and the scene from the past is still vivid in my mind: "If it eats people halfway through and survives, and people are not eaten to death by it for a while, in that case it will stop for a while." ”

However, "it" always picks at the fatal place first, such as from the throat when eating people. If "it" is allowed to start with the non-lethal parts, "it" would rather not be in the mouth. Therefore, it is not possible to use this method to save the prey from death. However, there have been warlocks with particularly tenacious vitality in the past, and even if they are eaten like that, they will not die immediately, and I have summarized this information from that experience.

I've also tried to get "it" to eat me in case of hunger.

Although "it" doesn't usually take me as a prey, even I can eat it when I'm hungry. Unfortunately, since my immortal body and super-fast regeneration at that time were all derived from the power of "it", allowing "it" to replenish nutrition by eating me was completely an act of tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall.

The topic of "it" was over for a while, and Joe Licorice moved on to other things, this time talking about me and Bluebird recently.

Sensitive as she has noticed, the atmosphere between me and the blue bird has become a little more inexplicable lately. The reason for this is because I suspect that the blue bird has not actually implanted a "malignant factor" in my healing dream, and I know very well that I will never get an answer from the blue bird. But I really wanted to know the truth.

I told Jo Licorice what was on my mind, and she said the same thing as Bluebird, "But what you want to know is not the truth, you just want to prove that you are a bad person, right?" ”

"I don't know." That's all I can say.

"Let's assume that scenario." "One day," she said, "you got the answer. The answer is 'Bluebird has really implanted malignant factors', and this is not what Bluebird told you personally, but you have obtained it based on other unshakable ironclad evidence. In this case, do you feel like you're not a bad guy? ”

"Even then, it's my hand that does evil, so of course I am." I say.

"Why should you pursue the truth if the fact that you are a bad person remains the same, regardless of the truth?" "You wish you were a good person, didn't you?" she asked. ”

"How could I be a good person?" I reflexively said, "Besides, even if I am brainwashed, there are many people in the secular society who have committed crimes because they have been instigated, instigated, and brainwashed by others. ”

"That kind of thing is clearer, but he still chooses to release you. Because, no matter how much others use words to implant ideas, it is still yourself who finally makes up your mind to do evil; And those who have been brainwashed by the hidden forces do not even have the freedom to make that judgment on critical choices. Maybe you think you have a judgment, but that's just an illusion, and it's the Kraken who uses her judgment to cover your mind. She said, "When you first entered the fog and you protected me from under the fangs of the demons, you said to me that you would protect me and not let the demons hurt me in the slightest." Is this statement a lie? ”

"It's not." I say.

"So, is this what a person with evil heart would say?" Her voice became gentle.

I can't answer. Her strength is obviously so weak, without my protection, she can't even survive alone in the mirage. However, her words were so powerful that they gradually pressed me into the corner of my heart, wanting to talk to him left and right, trying to cover my ears as if I hadn't heard her words. At the same time, it also reminded me that she is actually a very good psychoanalyst.

Maybe it's the same as she said...... No, it's just like she said, I want to know that I'm really brainwashed by "it". This thought often appeared even during those five years, sometimes dominating my thoughts, sometimes lurking in unnoticed corners, whispering in my ear. As in many stories, monsters use magic to deceive people's hearts and make people die for themselves. If so, what a great forgiveness for me.

Joe Licorice stared at me with a gaze that seemed to penetrate my heart, and my mind had nowhere to escape. Then, she changed her tone again, "Just think you're a bad person." ”

"Huh?" I was a little surprised to see her change her tone. But apparently, her words are not over yet.

"Then, suppose you brutally killed some innocent person today, would you feel like you deserve to die? Should I pay for that person's life? She asked.

"Of course." I say.

"Since you feel that you deserve to die, it means that you have repented. However, your sins have become a fact, and repentance cannot bring the dead back to life, so you can only accept the punishment honestly, and it is only right to kill and pay for your life. "But if you live until tomorrow and you have a chance to save ten people, do you think you should pay for it tonight, or do you live until tomorrow and save those ten people and then pay for it?" ”

I was already aware of what she was going to say, but when faced with this choice, I could only follow her words, "Save those ten people first." ”

"If you bear the sin of ten human lives, but you can save a hundred people in the next month, should you pay for it this month, or will you pay for it again next month?" "You've killed hundreds of people in the past years, but by living next year, you'll have a chance to save thousands more," she asked. In fact, considering your merits so far, you have indeed done the same thing. So do you think you should pay for your life this year, or next year? If you plan to talk about it next year, but you find that you can save more people in the year after that, do you think you should pay for your life next year? ”