"Don't be afraid... Mom's always here..."

This was, after all, a middle school. Most of the children who were pushed forward were around thirteen or fourteen, all wearing similar school uniforms.

As they pushed the children out, everyone wore smiles on their faces, their eyes filled with a hint of gratitude.

The reason this school became a shelter was because a group of middle schoolers had opened the sealed school gates to a group of refugees when the Honkai first struck.

So now, when they pushed these children forward, not a single person hesitated.

Besides the dozen or so middle schoolers, the rest were children of varying ages.

Unlike the adults who knew they had been rescued, the eyes of these children still held the apathy of the apocalypse, as well as the fear and confusion that had lingered for three months.

There was also a disheveled adult woman, holding a somewhat dirty swaddling blanket and a slightly tattered HOMU doll.

Was that... a baby?

Durandal couldn't help but take another look.

Unlike the other children being pushed forward, she had come forward on her own.

Some of the people around her seemed to have some objections to her presence, but after some hesitation, they said nothing, instead giving the woman a look of pity.

The bespectacled young man took the serum, used the small cap of the vial to portion it out, and watched as each child tilted their head back to swallow it before moving on to the next.

He knew that the nutrient serum didn't taste very good. He, who had once been a member of the social elite, understood this. That was why he had to watch the children and make sure they didn't waste this precious resource.

It turned out the children were more resilient than he thought. Even the youngest child just stuck out their tongue after swallowing the serum.

Later, when he saw the mother at the end of the line, the young man's eyes showed a hint of surprise. But then, he glanced discreetly at Durandal and the others, hesitated for a moment, and then walked up to her anyway.

"These days... it must have been hard for you and your child..." After doling out the serum, the young man sighed quietly, reached out, and patted the baby's head in the swaddling blanket. Then, he poured some of the serum and held it to the woman's lips.

"For the child... for the child..." the woman said, shaking her head, her dry voice hoarse. "Let the child drink..."

She muttered softly, raising the baby in her arms to make it easier for the young man to feed it.

The young man was at a loss for words. After giving the woman a long look, he sighed and spoke softly in front of her.

"She's not weaned yet. She can't drink this. You have to drink it. If you drink it, you'll have milk to feed her." The young man spoke softly, as if coaxing her. The woman stopped mumbling and looked up, revealing a face that still held some trace of beauty.

If it weren't for her disheveled appearance, the woman would have been a beauty.

The young man held out the nutrient serum again. This time, the woman didn't refuse. Instead, she held the baby, bent down, and put her mouth to the vial, draining the nutrient serum in one gulp.

"Okay, next are the elderly..."

Compared to the children, there were far fewer elderly people. A little shuffling through the crowd revealed only three elderly people, and they all looked like they were on their last legs.

After carefully giving out the remaining nutrient serum, the young man returned the capped empty vial to Rita. "We can leave now."

Rita took the empty vial, nodded, and walked back to Theresa's side. "Lady Judah, we can leave now."

Theresa looked at the assembled crowd, walked up to the man, and pressed the two vials in her hand into his. "Take some of this too."

Then, Theresa turned around. "I'll lead the way. Durandal, you're at the rear. Maid, you're in the middle of the formation. Watch out for stragglers. Number Two will provide cover for us."

"Understood!" Durandal responded, standing at attention and replying seriously. Rita gave a slight bow, indicating that she had received the order.

The group recounted their numbers again. Excluding Theresa and her three teammates, there were 87 people. With the baby, that made 88.

Led by Theresa, the crowd walked out of the school and followed the streets that had been cleared by the group toward the train station.

The train station was some distance away. They needed to reach the third frontline's operational zone, where the third frontline's vehicles would transport these people to the train station.

Just as they were about to leave, Durandal, at the rear of the formation, suddenly saw something lying on the ground.

It was yellow... a HOMU doll.

Durandal immediately recognized that this HOMU doll was the one that the mother had been holding. It had likely fallen to the ground when she had bent over to drink the nutrient serum.

This must have been the mother's child's favorite toy. Otherwise, why would she have kept it by her side for all three months?

Durandal quickly took two steps forward, picked up the HOMU doll from the ground, and gently dusted it off.

The HOMU doll had been sewn up in several places. Durandal felt that her guess was correct; only a love that strong would keep such a broken toy by one's side.

She had to return it to that mother quickly, or the child would wake up and start crying.

Durandal quickly scanned the crowd and soon spotted the mother. She was walking at the very end of the formation, and unlike the others, who were in pairs, she was all alone.

No, she had her child.

Durandal quickly caught up to her, tapped the mother on the shoulder, and held out the HOMU doll.

"Um... your child's HOMU doll..."

The mother paused. She turned around, but didn't look at the doll being held out to her. Instead, she stared at Durandal for a long moment before somewhat木讷 [mùnè - wooden; blockheaded] lowering her head.

"Thank you..." Durandal didn't know what this mother was thinking, but she still received a thank you.

However, seeing that the mother didn't seem to have any intention of taking the HOMU doll, Durandal kindly offered to help. "I'll put it in your arms..."

As she spoke, Durandal lowered her head, intending to place the doll in a place where it wouldn't fall out easily and where the child could see it.

But the moment she lowered her head, Durandal froze.

The infant in the mother's arms lay quietly in the swaddling blanket, its face an unnaturally ashen color.

Durandal looked up in disbelief, looking at the mother, who had been staring at the child. Then, she lowered her head again, unable to believe what she had seen.

After a long moment of silence, having understood what it meant, Durandal silently placed the HOMU doll in what she felt was the best place and gently touched the child's forehead.

The mother flinched, but ultimately allowed Durandal's hand to touch the child's forehead.

Feeling the chill in her hand, Durandal spoke softly.

"Your child is so cute..."

The mother suddenly looked up, staring straight at Durandal with a pair of bloodshot eyes, unblinking.

Her mouth trembled, and after a long struggle, her hoarse voice managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Thank you... Thank you..."

"Thank you..."

...

"Don't be afraid... Mom's always here..."