"That damn girl, she really makes me envious."
While searching in ME Corp, Zeus had been holding Bronya, who was still unconscious. If it weren't for Bronya's bite, which still made her feel lingering fear, she would have 'tormented' this girl who dared to steal her exclusive spot, letting this little girl know the truth that 'her married woman' cannot be bullied.
"Alright, stop mumbling. Hurry up and find some weapons, then let's go!"
Mei, on the side, smiled as she looked at Kiana, who was acting like a child. Although she hadn't found any traces of her father being framed in his company, her intelligence made her realize something was wrong. This company was not as simple as she thought. From the weapon laboratory they had found, she knew that this company was not some 'electronic commercial company' at all. This made her, being smart, already smell a conspiracy.
But in the current situation, with the outside full of Deadwalkers, even if she knew, it would be impossible to clear her father's name. Moreover, the mastermind behind this; its power was definitely something she couldn't contend with right now. So, being anxious now was useless. She had to try to survive and get out of this city. After copying the data onto a mobile device, Mei began to help.
"Uh… never mind. This great one won't bother arguing with a child for now."
Kiana was silent for a moment, then pouted unhappily and went to look for suitable weapons. Now, she had to protect Zeus and Mei's safety. If that little girl behaved herself, she wouldn't mind taking her along, but seeing her clinging to Zeus in her arms, she was still a bit jealous.
"What a child! You too."
Zeus saw all of Kiana's actions. Zeus smiled and commented on Kiana's little schemes, then lowered her head and whispered the same thing into Bronya's ear. Actually, Bronya had already woken up, but she had been pretending to be unconscious. One reason was that it was soft and 'too comfortable', and the other was because of Zeus's restrictions. Along the way, in places where Kiana and Mei couldn't see, Zeus had already removed the control chip from Bronya's body.
Even if Cocolia tried to activate her healing now, Bronya wouldn't be under her control, which also made Zeus sigh in relief. This child was too sensible; even if she were controlled by Cocolia, she wouldn't hesitate to burn out the chip in her brain, regardless of her own life. She truly was a little one who was both heart-wrenching and somewhat touching.
"Question: Why treat Bronya this way? Bronya is clearly just a tool, useless for anything but combat."
Knowing she had woken up, Bronya opened her silver eyes and looked at Zeus's purple eyes without any emotional fluctuation. Although Bronya's words lacked emotion, they still made one's heart ache to hear.
"You're mistaken about that, Bronya."
"You are not a weapon, but a flesh-and-blood person. Even with your current lack of emotion, preventing you from expressing your feelings, there is still someone's tenderness residing in your heart, isn't there?"
After finding a bench and sitting down, Zeus had Bronya sit on her lap and gently stroked the little girl's head, speaking seriously. Since Kiana and Mei had gone to find food and weapons, only Zeus and Bronya were in the room, allowing them to chat quietly for a while.
"Heart? My heart, Seele."
Guided by Zeus's words, Bronya touched her barren chest, feeling the pulsation of life there. The voice of a gently smiling girl flashed through her mind. Bronya's somewhat confused expression, in Zeus's eyes, was already quite good. That experiment had sealed this child's emotions, but not entirely. She still had her good friend, also like a sister, Seele. This name was the key to unlocking Bronya's sealed emotions.
"Have you found the answer?"
"It's right there in your heart."
Zeus pulled Bronya into her embrace, gently rubbed her forehead against her little head, and spoke to her softly.
"I don't understand, I don't understand why my chest hurts. Will you tell me? Can you tell me what's wrong? Has Bronya caught a virus?"
Without any resistance, Bronya leaned quietly against Zeus, her hands covering her chest, her voice filled with confusion. Drops of crystal-clear water slid down her angelic, cute face. She didn't understand why. There had been no attack here, yet she felt pain. Like a traveler in the desert seeing an oasis, like someone about to drown grasping at a final straw, she cried out to Zeus for help.
"I will tell you everything, relax, child."
Rubbing Bronya's little head with her chin, Zeus gently stroked Bronya's back with one hand, like a mother soothing her child to sleep. Under Zeus's touch, Bronya quickly fell into a deep slumber.
"It seems I need to take it slow; I can't stimulate her too much."
Releasing a calming spell from her hand, Zeus thought to herself. Although emotional fluctuations proved Bronya's emotions could recover, doing it too quickly might be counterproductive. Zeus could only go so far for now.
"Zeus, Zeus, look! I found a weapon suitable for you!"
Just as Zeus was thinking about her next move, a loud voice suddenly rang out, making Zeus's heart stop for two seconds. But Zeus, knowing Kiana's personality, could only helplessly watch as Kiana held a pistol and spoke to Zeus as if presenting a treasure.
"Hey hey hey! I know, can you please be a little quieter?"
Seeing Bronya's eyebrows furrow due to the noise, Zeus reached out a hand and gently smoothed them, a scene that made Kiana feel a pang of jealousy.
"I'm sorry, I tried to stop her."
Mei slowly walked over and apologized to Zeus in a low voice. Zeus nodded, indicating her understanding.
"The sun is about to set. Let's find a place to make do, then start retreating out of the city. If we encounter survivors on the way, we'll take them, but we can't continue searching for survivors now, or we might all be stuck here forever."
Zeus single-handedly put away the pistol Kiana had given her and told the two her plan.
"I have no objections."
"...Okay, I'll listen to you."
Kiana immediately agreed, while Mei hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow Zeus's arrangements. Zeus had now invisibly become the leader of this four-person team.
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