Preparing for Chaos

As expected, upon learning the identity of the driver, the police quickly dismissed the car accident as if smoothing things over, abruptly ending the matter. They then ingratiatingly escorted the long-haired woman back to her car.

The woman, in turn, completely ignored the crowd, arrogantly driving off from the scene of the accident.

At that moment, the bystanders could do nothing more than watch helplessly, frustration etched on their faces, as the red sports car sped away into the distance.

However, what happened next caused an enormous upheaval on the street.

Just as the long-haired woman's sports car traveled a few dozen meters down the road, it suddenly erupted into a massive burst of flames.

The moving car came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. From within the vehicle came faint, agonized screams. The sound of fists pounding against the car's windows could be heard alongside the crackling fire.

Seconds later, the flames engulfed the entire car. The screaming from inside became even more horrifying, cutting through the air like nails on a chalkboard.

Pedestrians on the street scrambled to get away from the blazing vehicle, maintaining as much distance as possible. Yet not a single person attempted to help.

The crowd of people who had earlier confronted the long-haired woman now watched with a grim sense of satisfaction. Meanwhile, the two police officers who had just arrived on the scene panicked.

Though they had no direct connection to the situation, they feared being implicated in some way.

In a flurry of desperation, they called for emergency services and fetched two fire extinguishers from their patrol car. Sprinting toward the blazing sports car, they frantically began spraying the vehicle with a white, advanced extinguishing agent.

Modern technology had significantly improved the effectiveness of fire extinguishers, to the extent that half a canister could extinguish a fully engulfed vehicle under normal circumstances.

However, despite spraying both extinguishers at full force, the flames showed no signs of abating. On the contrary, the fire seemed to intensify, as if the extinguishers were feeding it instead of suppressing it.

"Damn it, what's going on?" one of the officers exclaimed, stopping mid-spray when he realized their efforts were futile.

Left with no options, the two officers began pacing nervously. The heart-wrenching screams from inside the burning car were unbearable, echoing in their ears as the flames consumed their source of anguish.

Moments later, the screaming subsided, growing weaker and weaker until it ceased entirely. The only sound left was the crackling of the fire.

The officers exchanged tense looks, realizing that the woman from the Yamada Zaibatsu was now undoubtedly dead—burned alive in the inferno.

By the time the ambulance arrived, all that remained at the scene was the charred wreckage of the car. Any remains of the driver had fused irretrievably with the vehicle's ashes, making it impossible to discern the difference between the two.

A doctor dressed in protective gear arrived with a group of nurses, making his way to the vehicle's remains. Seeing the extinguishers lying on the ground and the visibly distressed police officers, the doctor's anger flared.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn't you put out the fire? Were those extinguishers just for show? Or were you deliberately trying to murder someone from the Yamada Zaibatsu?"

The doctor, himself part of the wealthy elite, was enraged. The only reason he had rushed to the scene was due to the identity of the person needing aid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered. Saving someone from the Yamada Zaibatsu could have been a golden opportunity to curry favor with the powerful family. But now, there wasn't even a body left to retrieve.

"We didn't want this to happen either! But the fire extinguishers were completely useless…" one of the officers stammered defensively. Unlike the impoverished, these officers, as members of the middle-class wealthy, didn't feel the need to grovel before the doctor, though they were equally bewildered by the situation.

"That's impossible! Do you take me for a fool?" The doctor glared, utterly unconvinced. Advanced extinguishing agents were widely known for their exceptional effectiveness.

"If you don't believe us, you can ask the witnesses or check the surveillance footage. There's a camera right over there," the second officer said, pointing toward a traffic signal with a mounted camera nearby.

Upon hearing the doctor's words, he immediately calmed down, realizing that the officers weren't lying. After all, it was a matter that could easily be verified, and lying would be pointless.

He began to suspect that the fire extinguishers might be faulty, just as he was preparing to test them when the father of the rescued little girl suddenly approached him.

Pointing toward the place where the girl who had saved his daughter was lying, the father spoke with a pleading look in his eyes, "Doctor, please save that child! She was hit by the car, and her injuries are severe. Please, I beg you."

Following the father's pointed finger, the doctor saw the motionless girl lying on the ground, a pool of fresh blood spreading around her. Immediately, he understood the severity of her injuries.

If blood wasn't transfused quickly, she would surely go into shock and die within moments.

However, instead of rushing over to check on the girl's injuries, the doctor scrutinized the father of the girl.

Although he couldn't see the man's face, the doctor could tell from his clothing that he was from a poor background.

Frowning slightly, the doctor asked bluntly, "Do you have money?"

"This…"

Upon hearing the question, the father's gaze began to shift uncomfortably. He and his wife had been working tirelessly to earn just enough to survive. They didn't have the luxury of extra money to take the injured girl to a hospital.

They had only managed to take their daughter out for some inexpensive clothes, and now, unexpectedly, this tragic event occurred.

At this point, he was speaking only out of a last shred of hope, hoping that the doctor was kind enough to provide some emergency help for the girl.

Until now, they still didn't know the girl had already passed away. Since her body didn't appear mutilated, they assumed she had only fainted due to blood loss.

Looking at the increasingly hesitant man in front of him, the doctor spoke irritably, "What good is your money now? You can't treat illnesses without money. You understand that, don't you?"

Then, ignoring the father completely, the doctor began working with the two officers, using materials from around the area to create a bonfire, testing the effectiveness of the fire extinguishers.

The result confirmed that both fire extinguishers worked perfectly and their extinguishing power was absolutely reliable.

This only deepened their confusion. Ultimately, they decided to blame the problem on the car itself.

With no other option, they cleaned up the car wreckage on the ground and proceeded to return to the Ecological City to report to the Yamada Zaibatsu.

Before leaving, however, they made sure to copy the surveillance footage from the nearby cameras. After all, when facing the Yamada Zaibatsu, they would need evidence to prove their innocence.

As for the motionless girl lying on the ground, she was completely ignored. Collecting bodies wasn't the job of the police or the doctor.

High above the street, Eriri, Kohina, and Antilene had remained silent during the entire ordeal, observing the events unfolding below in complete stillness.

"Eriri, why didn't you burn the two metal lumps that left as well?" Antilene asked, somewhat puzzled.

The earlier incident, where the long-haired woman had been burned alive, was entirely orchestrated by Eriri. In order to make the woman experience the excruciating pain of her body being burned inch by inch, Eriri had deliberately enhanced the woman's life force, allowing her to stay alive until her brain was finally consumed by the flames, leading to her death.

"That's not called a 'metal lump'; it's called a car," Eriri corrected, deliberately shifting the conversation away from Antilene's question.

"Doesn't matter what it's called," Antilene replied, not taking the bait. Instead, she pressed on, "What I want to know is what you're planning. I don't believe you'll let them off so easily."

"Oh? Could it be you're actually someone with a strong sense of justice? That doesn't match your personality at all," Eriri said, feigning surprise.

Her words immediately caught Antilene's attention, effectively diverting the topic.

"My personality? In your mind, what kind of person am I?" Antilene asked curiously.

There was even a hint of anticipation in her gaze, revealing her interest in how Eriri perceived her.

"Aren't you supposed to be the cold and ruthless type who acts like the world's number one?" Eriri teased with great enthusiasm.

Her initial impression of Antilene was based on brief depictions in the second season of the original anime and various online discussions analyzing her character.

Some even speculated that Antilene might have a yandere streak, but Eriri hadn't seen any such traits in her interactions so far.

Eriri's words made Antilene's expression grow slightly unnatural. She had indeed once believed herself to be invincible, but after Eriri's "guidance," that notion had become a dark chapter in her past.

Still, Eriri wasn't wrong—that high-and-mighty, aloof persona had indeed been her original character. It was just something she refrained from showing in front of Eriri.

"Hmph, it's not that I enjoy meddling. I just find those people annoying," Antilene grumbled, pouting slightly. Her reaction carried a hint of tsundere charm.

"Hmm~ I see, I see." Eriri smiled brightly, reaching out to pat Antilene's head. As the latter's face grew dark with embarrassment, Eriri reassured her, "Don't worry; those people won't fare much better than the one I burned to death."

After the police car and ambulance left, the little girl's parents finally realized that the girl who had saved their daughter was already dead. The scene fell into a heavy silence.

Most of the onlookers didn't have the time to linger and quickly dispersed, leaving only the little girl's parents and a few members of the resistance group behind.

Although the resistance was far from being able to compete with the massive conglomerates that ruled the world, they had their own connections.

One middle-aged man pulled out his phone and took a picture of the girl's face, now exposed without her gas mask and goggles. He then sent the photo to someone.

Several minutes later, the middle-aged man's buzzed chimed, signaling the arrival of a message. The screen displayed a complete set of information regarding the deceased girl's identity.

"I've figured out who this child is," the man said, putting away his phone with a pained expression. "What a pitiful child. Her parents died in a workplace accident two years ago due to dangerous conditions, and now she herself has been killed by one of those despicable corporate elite."

As he mentioned the corporate conglomerate, the man clenched his fists tightly. Though the long-haired woman responsible for the girl's death had perished in the car fire, it still didn't feel like enough.

If they had enough power, tragedies like this could have been prevented.

Unfortunately, compared to the massive conglomerates ruling the world, the resistance was still far too weak. Even with numbers on their side, they had no advantage against the overwhelming might of advanced weaponry.

"It's all our fault. If we'd kept a closer watch on our daughter, this wouldn't have happened," the little girl's father said guiltily. His wife shared his grief, her expression equally despondent.

Their daughter, who had fainted from the initial shock of the accident, was still unconscious, cradled in her mother's arms.

"This isn't your fault," the middle-aged man interjected, sighing heavily. "It's the fault of that wretched woman from the Yamada Conglomerate. The road was wide open, and yet she drove her car so close to the edge. That's nothing short of murder."

Though he understood that the couple bore a small share of responsibility, he chose to absolve them to ease their guilt.

After all, even the slightest negative emotion could become the tipping point that destroyed a struggling family.

"You can go back to your lives now. Since this child has no family, we'll act as her family and see to her burial," the man said, turning to the other members of the resistance behind him.

"No, please allow us to help. It's the least we can do," the little girl's father said earnestly, refusing to leave.

"But your time..." The middle-aged man hesitated.

For an organized resistance group, sparing some time was no issue.

But for an ordinary impoverished family, losing even a day's work could have devastating consequences.

"It's fine. We can take a day off," the little girl's father replied firmly.

Though taking a day off would cost them ten days' worth of wages, he made the decision without hesitation.

The middle-aged man was deeply moved. In a society where survival had rendered the impoverished numb, people like this couple were increasingly rare.

At that moment, a melodious voice echoed from above, so pleasing that it seemed to soothe the soul.

"Leave her to me."

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