CHAPTER 39: YOU ARE NO LONGER HUMAN

Mumei had no idea just how easily her words could be misunderstood by those unaware of the truth.

Even if the people who knew about Mumei's need to survive by sucking blood were to understand, they would surely realize that humans and Kabaneri were not the same kinds of beings.

In such a situation, people would instinctively fear both Mumei and Ikoma.

Therefore, gaining the trust of others for Mumei and Ikoma was an incredibly difficult task.

Similarly, Ikoma, who had not fully accepted the fact that his way of existence had been changed, could not comprehend Mumei's act of sucking a person's blood.

As a result, Ikoma's expression towards Mumei became extremely stern.

Conversely, Mumei seemed unable to understand Ikoma's inner thoughts and casually said, "It would be better if you also sucked some blood, otherwise, you won't be able to sustain yourself for long, you know?"

Hearing this, Ikoma didn't even have to think and immediately said, "I will absolutely not engage in blood-sucking!"

"Is that so?" Mumei glanced at Ikoma and said somewhat nonchalantly, "But if Kabaneri doesn't drink blood within a certain time frame, not only will they lose their strength, but they will gradually turn into Kabane, you know?"

"What… What?!" Ikoma was suddenly hit with a tremendous shock.

Seeing Ikoma's stunned expression, Fang Li sighed and said, "Ikoma, it's better to quickly abandon some naive ideas that you might have in your head and face reality." Saying this, Fang Li stared at Ikoma intently and said word by word, "After all, you are no longer human now."

The expression on Ikoma's face changed dramatically after hearing that.

Finally, Ikoma hung his head in despair and couldn't say anything anymore and a heavy atmosphere filled the air.

Mumei, however, seemed unaffected by it all, and she continued to lick the fingers stained with Fang Li's blood, looking like a cute girl enjoying sweet honey.

Unfortunately, what Mumei licked was not honey but blood, adding a touch of evil and bloody sensation to this young girl's cuteness.

Fang Li let the heavy atmosphere linger in the air as he looked at Ikoma, who had fallen into silence and remained silent as well. He only took out an Injury Potion Bottle, a water bottle, and a pack of cookies from his leg bag.

Then, Fang Li poured some of the remaining potion onto the wound on his arm.

"Hiss…"

A sound like skin being touched by a hot iron plate echoed as the liquid touched the wound.

That was the sound of the wound on Fang Li's arm steaming.

After pouring out half of the remaining Injury Recovery Potion, the wound on Fang Li's arm directly absorbed the liquid, emitting steam-like smoke, and the wound quickly healed visibly to the naked eye.

Before long, the wound on Fang Li's arm completely disappeared.

Mumei was stunned to see this scene and Ikoma, too, stood there in a daze, witnessing the scene.

Ignoring the bewildered looks of the companions around him, Fang Li put the quarter-filled Injury Recovery Potion back into the leg bag. Then he opened the water bottle and tore open the Energy Compression Cookies. He ate the cookies while drinking water.

Like Mumei, Fang Li hadn't eaten since last night.

After intense battles and killings, Fang Li had rested enough, but his stomach was empty.

And now, with Aragane Station fallen, the food and water on the Hayajiro Train were undoubtedly limited. It wouldn't be easy to feed a large group of people.

It was clear that in such a scarce situation, people would not willingly provide food and water to Fang Li and the entire group.

Fortunately, before embarking on the Dungeon World journey, Fang Li had exchanged food and water as a precaution.

The water bottle could hold ten liters of water, which should be enough for Fang Li for a while.

There were ten Energy Compression Cookies in total, and each cookie provided a day's worth of nutrition to the user. This meant that Fang Li wouldn't have to worry about food for at least ten days.

Additionally, since Mumei and Ikoma were not human and didn't need human food, Fang Li didn't have to beg others for food and water for himself and the others.

After finishing the cookie and taking a few sips of water, Fang Li felt warmth spreading in his stomach, and his body gradually regained some strength. He placed the cookie and water bottle back into his leg bag and looked back at Mumei and Ikoma.

As Fang Li glanced at them, he saw two Kabaneri with blank and stunned expressions on their faces as they looked at him.

"Uh…" Fang Li couldn't help but say, "What's with those expressions?"

Mumei and Ikoma exchanged a brief glance of confusion, and then Mumei's eyes, when she looked at Fang Li, were filled with curiosity, while Ikoma's eyes seemed to be staring at a creature more unbelievable than himself.

"…You startled me," Mumei said directly. "It's the first time I've seen a human with recovery abilities stronger than Kabaneri."

Apart from possessing physical abilities comparable to Kabane, Kabaneri had little difference in other aspects.

For example, they needed blood to survive, and their hearts would emit light and become their weak point, but they had a steel-like skin membrane for protection.

Another example is that they had powerful recovery abilities.

For a human to fully recover from injuries like the ones Fang Li had just sustained, it would take at least several days. But for a Kabaneri, it would take just a few minutes for them to completely recover.

However, Fang Li had instantly healed the injuries he had just suffered.

"Is it because of the potion you just used?" Ikoma mumbled, his eyes wide open. "What is that thing? I've never heard of it before."

"Hey," Mumei directly addressed Fang Li. "Let me see…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Mumei's expression suddenly changed.

Seeing this, Ikoma furrowed his brows and asked, "What happened to you?"

Ignoring Ikoma, Mumei's expression became serious as if she had confirmed something.

"Hey! What happened to you?" Ikoma raised his voice. "Don't tell me you're thinking of drinking someone's blood again…"

"Kabane!" Mumei interrupted Ikoma, speaking to herself. "I sense Kabane aura ahead!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Mumei rushed to the door of the car leading forward, extending her hand, intending to open the door.

However, at that moment, a hand forcefully grabbed Mumei's shoulder and Mumei was slightly startled and turned her head to see who was holding her.

There, Fang Li firmly held Mumei's shoulder, looking at her charming face, and said, "You can't go out."