"There are people who treat us like gods, like saints. Some of us, we allow it, encourage it.

One needs hope, and sometimes this comes at the end of the katana. I don't know if it's better to believe in a god on earth than to worship some indifferent bastard in heaven. I just know that neither option is suitable. ”

-- The Late Silver Ring, 2035

***

We need to regroup.

I looked over Lucy's head and at all the children. They turned away from dead aliens. Some people stared blankly at the ...... Two bodies left there. I counted two more adults, and a few teenagers my age. At the very least, all the kittens were found.

"We need to get out of here," I whispered into her hair, holding Lucy.

"Can't we stay and wait for the samurai's help?" Lucy asked.

I took a step back and smiled at her. I wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but I wasn't in the habit of lying. "We'll figure it out," I said. "I've got this thing, we can, uh, scout the monster forward and escort the kittens...... Somewhere. I shook the hummingbird.

"Where did you get that?" She asked. "Something happened to your chest, you're covered in blood. Are you hurt? ”

"I'm fine. But it could be even worse in the future. I looked around again. Junior? There are others. Earlier there were still a lot of people here. ”

"She, ah, where she was crying. You know how she feels about people looking at her like that," Lucy said. "What about the others? They're gone. Say they don't want to stay and maybe there is a better shelter. I'm staying because you...... You know. Well. I sent Bitchbot with them. She is, herself. ”

She held out her hand, and our hands met. She pinched mine, and I pinched it back.

[Catherine, now that the most immediate threat has been eliminated, you may need to consider dealing with your injuries.] There are several options that can greatly improve your situation. ]

"Not right now," I said.

"Huh?"

I shook my head, reassuring Lucy. In addition, a group of people is forming on one side of them, the remaining adults, and some older children. The two boys dragged the body aside and covered it with a thin blanket pulled out of the storage room at the back.

"Want to see kittens?" I asked. "I guess I should be with a small team."

"They should be fine," Lucy said, looking at our children. "They're strong, stronger than those religious kids and preppy students.

With just one glance, you can see how other people are dealing with it. Pious children are forming a small prayer circle. Those prep students, who looked like some of the high school graduates, panicked, some of them on tablets, others tapping on the side of their temples as if that could help their gear connect. I can't imagine that the online media will keep up with the ongoing intrusion.

Compared to them, the kittens look pretty good. Not great, but it's okay. The nose was picking out something, the twins huddled together, and Daniel was talking to some other people, gesturing exaggeratedly and with a smile on his face.

"Yes, well," I said. We walked out into the crowd, and Lucy hung beside me, dragging the cane behind her with one hand. I pretended not to hear a squeak when we stepped on something wet.

"We want to stay," said one of the adults, the bald man who looked like a poster boy before and after the commercial, who started out as a cowardly office worker and ended up being some kind of supermodel.

"Our protectors will come." A girl next to her said. She was beautiful, with long blond hair and a smile on her face. In fact, she frowned at the man opposite, her hands lazily fiddling with a string of rosaries. It goes well with the "almost nun" uniform she wears.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Four pairs of eyes turned to me. The woman who was almost bald, who looked like a teacher, was shivering, and there was an older boy who looked like he was from our orphanage.

"You're the one who kills monsters." Sister said. "Thank you."

I raised an eyebrow at this. "Yes, of course," I said. "I just happened to have a gun."

"Do you have the qualifications to use it?" The bald man asked.

I winked at him, then looked at the three dead aliens in the room. "Nope. No, I'm not. Want to do something about it? Maybe call the local security forces? ”

"Don't be belligerent," he said.

"Fuck you," I said.

The nun girl coughed. "Please, you two. Now is not the time to do this. We need to decide what to do now. If we stay...... I can lead the children in singing and praying while we wait, and if we go, then we first need to decide where we are going. ”

"I don't think singing helps," I said. I frowned. My words sound a bit vague. "I ...... I only have twelve rounds left in this matter. It's a big room, and ......' my voice fades away.

"Cats?" Lucy asked.

"I'm fine," I said.

You're not. I'm afraid I lost more blood than I initially expected. Or, most likely, you tore a wound while running. Your blood pressure and temperature readings indicate severe internal bleeding.

"That's bad."

[Indeed.] You will soon lose consciousness. May I advise you to heal yourself? You have its points. ]

"Cats? Cat, do you need to sit down? Lucy said.

Everyone else stared at me, especially the bald ones. "Was she bitten? Will she become one of them? ”

"Sir, don't be stupid." Sister said. "These monsters do not pitt humans against their fellow citizens. These are just scouts, that's all. ”

"She might come across some model number seven there, we don't know," the bald man said.

I growled under my breath. "It's blood loss,. Miaris, is there a choice? ”

There are two options that are immediately feasible. You can spend points to unlock the Small Prosthetic Level I tree and then purchase an in-house repair system. Over time, this will use your body's cellular reserves to heal you.

"Slow down," I said.

"What? Cat, what are you up to? Lucy said. She tried to pull me back, but almost tripped over. The boy from our group rushed over and picked me up.

It's slow, but it can be avoided in the future. The second faster option is the following two medical utilities. Class I blood recovery. A compound that replenishes your blood supply within hours. There is also a Level I Nano Regeneration Kit.

Nano regeneration kits are expensive and have 20 points, but can ensure your survival and quick recovery.

"How much does it cost?" I muttered.

I could feel Lucy right next to me, her worries streaming out of her.

25 points. If you die, it's better to spend than to lose.

"I need privacy," I told Lucy. To make matters worse, I still felt good despite knowing that I was getting weaker.

"I—I don't know. Is anyone here medically trained? She asked the others.

Then I fell to my knees. "Oh, oops," I said.

"Cats!"

"Miaris," I whispered. "Now or forever, huh?"

New purchase: Nano Regeneration Kit

Points reduced to... 42

New purchase: Blood Recovery

Points reduced to... 37

Two boxes appeared on the ground in front of me.

The nun gasped.

I put down the hummingbird and opened one of the boxes. Inside there is a crimson tube with a plastic plug at one end. The yellow arrow points to the stopper.

Press it against your skin.

I pushed it onto a small patch of skin that could be seen through the torn shirt. In less than a second, the red liquid in the syringe poured into my body. I didn't even feel it happening.

[A syringe is injected through your skin into a series of tubes connected to the nearest vein or artery and Hemo-Resto is administered.]

e pour directly into your system.

"Hmm," I said, letting go of the syringe. It left three small red dimples on my skin, barely visible under the bloodstains.

The next box contains a small device that looks like an asthma inhaler and a rebreather.

Put it in your mouth. Inhale.

"Simple," I muttered.

It felt like inhaling a puff of electric fire, and the tingling sensation spread down my throat and through my lungs. As soon as the inhaler was empty, I threw it away and I coughed desperately.

The chest began to tingle again, like a sleeping limb, but all over the damn place. My missing eye twitched, and my stump moved.

I'm afraid the Nano Regeneration Set is too weak to do anything for what you're missing. A Level II kit can repair a missing limb, but at the moment this is out of your budget.

I nodded, then looked up to see Lucy and the others staring at me. "I'm sorry," I said, wiping my mouth with my sleeve. "I'm dying."