Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 47 – Life Should Have Weight
“It seems the rain will continue for a while.”
Luo Yan calmly disassembled the sniper rifle and placed the parts back into the hidden compartments of her wheelchair.
Anna, still facing away from her, covered her eyes nervously.
“It’s over, Anna,” Luo Yan said softly.
“Eh?” Anna paused. “So soon?”
Although it seemed like a lot had happened, Luo Yan’s two long-distance shots had only taken a few seconds.
Anna had only just turned around when she heard the two shots, followed by the sound of Luo Yan putting away the rifle.
“Let’s go to that café you mentioned,” Luo Yan started to push her wheelchair, then paused. “Wait, after all that, the café owner… has probably left, right?”
“Oh, right!”
Anna slapped her forehead, then said uncertainly,
“But… I’ve never seen Elise leave the shop before…”
“Elise?”
“The café owner! She’s also from the Western Continent, like me,” Anna’s voice was filled with admiration. “But she’s so amazing… I can’t explain it… just… amazing.”
“…So are we still going?” Luo Yan asked.
She wasn’t particularly interested in this “Elise,” but as long as Anna was happy.
Besides… a café… she had only read about such places in novels; she was curious.
“Should we… still go? See if Elise is there…?”
Anna scratched her head. Since Lady Luo Yan said the matter was resolved, it should be safe.
Even if Elise had left temporarily because of the incident, she would probably be back by the time they arrived.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Luo Yan nodded, then, after a moment of thought, pulled out a small umbrella from a hidden compartment in her wheelchair.
“One for each of us. It will be easier to walk.”
Even though Anna’s umbrella was large, it would still be difficult to cover both of them and the wheelchair.
However, Anna’s attention was elsewhere.
“Lady Luo Yan, you have so many things in your wheelchair…”
She stared at the compartments, her eyes wide.
“Not much, just three or four novels, some documents, a cane, a change of clothes… that’s all.”
The extra clothes were to prevent another embarrassing situation like the previous Flower Street incident; the rest were things Luo Yan always carried.
“I don’t think I should be the one making this comment, but isn’t that a bit… much…?”
Anna said, twitching her lips as she pushed the wheelchair.
“I think it’s fine… hm?”
Luo Yan said indifferently, then paused.
“Lady Luo Yan, what’s wrong?”
Anna asked nervously, worried that Luo Yan had used her ability and was experiencing side effects.
“Nothing.”
Luo Yan shook her head. She knew her own body.
And she had only opened her eyes for two brief moments; the energy consumption was minimal.
She had paused because she had sensed a gaze directed at them from Construction Street Six.
“Probably just someone from the Apprehension Department team…”
…
Although Luo Yan appeared calm, the members of the Apprehension Department team were still in shock.
A long-distance sniper attack targeting a “Ruin” level ability user… whoever the attacker was, it was terrifying.
Two simple shots had killed the Devil’s minion who had pushed their entire team to the brink of death, without even revealing their presence.
Although the second shot had only been possible thanks to the team leader’s desperate efforts…
He knew his contribution was minimal.
This battle had been a one-woman show.
“Could it be Director Hua Qiling of the Disaster Response Department?”
The leader wondered. The only person in Yan City with such long-range precision sniping ability was Hua Qiling.
—This was why Hua Qiling was considered so powerful, even Grifres had been shocked.
If she reached “Peril” level, she would be a nightmare for all “Ruin” and even some “Peril” level ability users.
A single shot from ten, even twenty kilometers away, unavoidable.
But the leader quickly dismissed this guess. This wasn’t “Eagle Eye’s” precision.
It was another ability, one that paralyzed the man with the black umbrella.
Just then, the Disaster Response team arrived, witnessing the gruesome scene.
“Apprehension Department?”
The Disaster Response team leader frowned, then his gaze shifted, his pupils constricting.
“Is the crisis resolved?”
He asked gravely, his expression alert.
Although there was a rivalry between the two departments, it didn’t affect the team members.
They might be competitive, but in the face of a disaster, they stood together.
“It’s resolved,” the Apprehension Department team leader said weakly, still recovering from the effects of the mind control.
“Let’s clean up… and send my team to the hospital. I’ll submit a detailed report later.”
Including about that terrifying figure…
The other team members had been infected by the Devil’s minion’s blood, their bodies mutating.
But this was common in disaster events. Yan City’s hospitals had the necessary antiserum; there was no need to worry about long-term effects.
“Understood.”
The Disaster Response team leader immediately got to work, some cleaning up the scene, others transporting the injured Apprehension Department members to the hospital.
The sooner they received treatment, the better; delaying would only worsen the infection.
The Disaster Response team was clearly more experienced in handling such incidents. They quickly finished cleaning up and left.
Yan City was in turmoil; they had other missions to attend to. The rest of the work was the city government’s responsibility, not the Anomaly Management Bureau’s.
No one noticed the burly figure standing in the shadows, silently observing the scene.
“Miss Luo Yan…”
It was Grifres. He had arrived almost at the same time as the Apprehension Department.
But seeing them there, he hadn’t revealed himself.
The Apprehension Department was Dawn’s enemy; he wasn’t about to help them.
He had planned to wait for the man with the black umbrella to eliminate the Apprehension Department team, then kill him.
Devil’s minions were everyone’s enemy, including Dawn’s.
But Grifres hadn’t expected someone else to intervene and save the Apprehension Department team, and someone he knew very well.
—Miss Luo Yan.
The mysterious girl from Ghost Town, who had single-handedly confronted the “Witch of Envy’s” will fragment.
The moment the man with the black umbrella froze, Grifres had sensed a strange mental wave.
It was Luo Yan’s ability; he had experienced it firsthand.
But it was much stronger now, so powerful that even he wouldn’t dare face it directly.
Although some time had passed, Grifres hadn’t forgotten Luo Yan.
He just hadn’t expected her to stay in Yan City.
And now it seemed she was on Yan City’s side…
“Why is she doing this?”
Grifres looked towards the source of the spiritual energy pulse, then quickly looked away.
He remembered that Miss Luo Yan’s suspected “Envy” ability was sensitive to prying eyes and thoughts.
He couldn’t be careless.
“If Miss Luo Yan is truly on Yan City’s side, this could be troublesome.”
Dawn was currently gathering its Cadres, preparing to enter Yan City and retrieve the Eldest Mister’s remains.
At this juncture, a terrifying existence who potentially possessed demonic power and could even reach “Peril” level or higher, siding with Yan City, wasn’t a good sign.
If possible, Grifres didn’t want to be enemies with this mysterious, powerful, yet kind and innocent girl, with whom he had once fought alongside.
Yan City was a whirlpool, but when it would fully form was still unknown.
Devil’s minions, drawn by the reappearance of the “Primordial Demon’s” will fragment, were swarming the city. The Apprehension Department was relentlessly pursuing Dawn, seemingly with ulterior motives.
And Dawn was planning to attack Yan City’s “Wall of Resentment” and retrieve the Eldest Mister’s remains before “Mister” passed away.
Yan City was constantly struggling, always one step behind.
This storm was still brewing, and no one knew what would happen when it finally erupted.
“I should discuss this with Alyxsia. As for Mister… I won’t disturb him for now.”
Grifres decided, his figure retreating into the shadows.
Yan City’s cleanup crew had arrived, signifying the end of another disaster.
…But whether in Yan City or elsewhere, there were still many more disasters…
Imminent, or already unfolding.
…
Due to the heavy rain and their unhurried pace, it was half an hour later when Luo Yan and Anna returned to Construction Street Six.
The government personnel were still cleaning up.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered, their expressions ranging from curiosity to apathy, some even weeping.
Such scenes were common in the New Era, but empathy seemed to be a rare commodity.
Luo Yan had thought Anna, with her young heart, would be affected by this.
But she only showed a fleeting sadness before composing herself.
“Don’t you find this… terrifying?” Luo Yan asked. “Several lives… just gone…”
Anna, surprised by the question, thought for a moment, then said,
“Lady Luo Yan, have you ever left a mega-city?”
Luo Yan considered her time in Ghost Town, which was also a kind of city, then shook her head.
“You know I was brought to Yan City by Big Sister Hua, and before that… I was a refugee,” Anna’s steps seemed heavier as she spoke.
“Wandering the Endless Wasteland, no mega-city willing to accept us, no one willing to help.”
She looked at the surrounding crowd, at the expressions of sorrow and pity on their faces.
“The residents of mega-cities have the time to mourn their loved ones lost in accidents, but refugees don’t.
“Our lives are like weeds, easily taken by any disaster, a few mutated monsters, or a passing Devil’s minion’s whim.
“I had friends, many friends who huddled together for warmth, but they’re all dead, killed in disasters, by Devil’s minions, even eaten by monsters… No one remembers them, except for me.
“We have no future, we only seek to survive the present.”
As Anna spoke of her past, her emotions were something Luo Yan had never sensed before.
Dark, lost, and filled with a subtle pain.
Luo Yan had always thought of Anna as a cheerful, somewhat silly girl, but she hadn’t expected such a past.
Although Hua Qingling and Hua Qiling had mentioned it, Luo Yan hadn’t paid much attention, having no concept of life outside a mega-city.
“Lady Luo Yan, you’re not only beautiful, but also kind… In this world, kindness is a rare quality,” Anna continued, changing the subject.
“I heard a little about your past from Second Sister Hua, just a little, and I think you’re truly amazing. Although your story is sad, you’ve done things that none of us could.”
Anna stopped and stood before Luo Yan.
She was only slightly taller than Luo Yan in her wheelchair, so she had to reach up to touch her hair.
“You’re truly a good person, Lady Luo Yan, although you always seem indifferent, you cherish everything around you, just like today.”
“I haven’t really done anything,” Luo Yan said softly. She didn’t mind being patted on the head, although Anna’s movements were clumsy and slightly ruffled her hair.
“You’ve done plenty,” Anna said, putting her hands on her hips. “You saved so many people! Just like Big Sister Hua, she also saved many people. These are great deeds.”
Luo Yan paused. She had never considered saving people a “great deed.” She simply felt that…
“Life should have weight,” she whispered.
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