Citizens who wanted to leave the city held oil lamps and torches, dragging their families and luggage with them, and gathered on the avenue from various streets, forming a long and spreading star line, extending to the top of Sugard Mountain.
After everyone witnessed the strange sight of three flesh-and-blood creatures that emerged from the sea and breathed mist, the people who were initially frightened had already fled here. And when night fell and no good news came out from the radio, more uneasy citizens came with them.
Get your luggage and set off on the road out of Belfast to avoid danger.
They are worried about a repeat of the Zernst incident.
In the long queue, a strange team mixed in: a tall, dark-haired man wearing a black coat, followed by seven boys and girls holding hands.
Scattered throughout the avenue, the exorcists responsible for guarding the crowd noticed this strange team, then their eyes touched the badge on the man's chest and nodded slightly to him.
After following the crowd for more than ten minutes, the man and the children turned into an uninhabited street on the right.
The sense of security was accompanied by the feeling of being away from the crowd behind them, as if they were peeling away from the cocoon. The children crowded together again and followed closely behind Lu Li.
The youngest girl was held by Weier's hand, and her other hand was holding her favorite teddy bear. Looking at Lu Li's back, she suddenly took a few steps and raised her hand, wanting to give it to Lu Li.
Wei'er gently pulled her back to her side and patted her head to tell her to be more honest.
They only brought the necessary things, and everything else was left at the "camp", including canned food and some dried fish. Lu Li said that he would go back to get these tomorrow.
"How long do we have to walk? My feet are hurting." The little girl raised her right foot and jumped forward.
"Let me hug you." Weier picked her up helplessly. The little girl laughed a few times, took off Weier's glasses and put them in her jacket pocket.
"It takes too long to walk like this. Shall I take you there?" Anna said in Lu Li's ear.
"They are too young and not suitable for contact." Lu Li replied, children's minds are more susceptible to contamination. After thinking about it, he added: "There is a police station in Love Street some distance away. You can go to them and borrow one.
A carriage."
"Um."
Anna returned to peace.
Light shone through the windows of the buildings on the street, and occasionally citizens walked nervously with their family's luggage. These more or less dispelled the loneliness in the children's hearts.
This chaotic sound of footsteps lasted for several minutes, then suddenly disappeared as the front footsteps stopped.
"There's something ahead..."
Lu Li frowned and looked at the gray street a dozen meters ahead.
A strange and obscure aura surged.
Without any hesitation, Lu Li walked up the steps of a house and knocked on the door.
"Anna." Lu Li whispered.
Click——
There was the sound of the door being unlocked and unlocked.
After pressing the doorknob, Lu Li opened the door and turned around and said to the children at the foot of the steps: "There's something weird ahead, hide in first."
"Oh." Weier quickly replied, walking past Lu Li with her younger siblings.
After all the children came in, Lu Li closed the door tightly and locked it, then stood in front of the cat to observe the outside world.
Thumb thump——
There were footsteps on the stairs behind me, and then a man asked in surprise: "Are you..."
The male owner of the house came down from upstairs, holding a wooden stick in his hand - but there was only surprise on his face, no fear or other emotions.
I don't think it was a thief or a monster who would break in with a group of children.
"Shh..." Weier and Meira made silent gestures at the same time, pointing to the door: "There are monsters outside."
The little girl in her arms also hissed, but Weier pulled her little hand down.
Panic appeared on the man's face, and he subconsciously wondered if it was a monster attracted by these guys, but the man in front of the door never looked back, so he could only stay quiet and look down nervously.
The obscure aura on the street is approaching, and gradually appears outside the cat's eye - it is a figure that cannot be seen, only the mist that has been pushed away forms a twisted and twitching humanoid outline, slowly moving on the street -
The children in the entrance hall and the male host on the stairs held their breaths in unison. The curtains blocked their view and made it difficult for them to see what it was, but the constant friction sound of the joints made by "Gragra" was getting closer and closer.
After dozens of seconds, this chilling voice gradually faded away.
After waiting patiently for another two minutes, Lu Li stood up straight and left the cat's eye.
"What is that..." The male host finally dared to ask, his voice dry and hoarse.
"Things in the fog." Lu Li looked up at him, opened the door and let the children out: "Thanks for providing shelter, we should leave."
"No...you're welcome."
The male host replied blankly, watching Lu Li close the door and disappear.
The footsteps outside the door gradually faded away, and for some reason, the male host suddenly felt uneasy - as if he was leaving the warm fire and entering the cold darkness.
He almost wanted to call them out.
"What's wrong, dear?" Suddenly his wife's voice came from behind him. He saw his wife appearing at the door, holding her bulging belly and looking worriedly.
"It's nothing, go back to the room and hide..."
The male host shook his head gently, suppressed the inexplicable disappointment in his heart, and returned to the bedroom.
…
Ten minutes later, Lu Li stepped into Love Street.
He borrowed a carriage from the police station and quickly took the children to the warehouse in Elm Street.
Weier patted the little girl and asked her to go to Meila. She climbed out of the car and sat next to Lu Li. She raised her head and asked, "Mr. Lu Li, what was in the fog just now?"
"I have no idea."
"Don't you even know..." Weier, who had already learned about Lu Li's identity from the police station, said in surprise.
"Most people who witness strange things with their own eyes would hardly survive to tell others what they encountered." For this smart little girl, Lu Li deliberately told her more.
"And know they usually come at a cost."
"The price?" Weier tilted her head in confusion.
"The price of gaining knowledge." Lu Li said.
Otherwise, the Demon Slayer would have released information about the monsters long ago, and there would be no need to destroy large amounts of books and separate themselves from civilians.
Humans are so weak that even if they know of their existence, they still have to pay a price.
"Mr. Lu Li, does this world... no longer belong to us?" Weier asked profoundly in a childish voice.
After a moment of silence, Lu Li answered Weier: "Maybe it never belonged to us."
…
The speed of the carriage is much faster than walking. Even if it senses something strange, there is enough time to turn around and stay away.
Near seven o'clock in the evening, the carriage drove into the Elm Street neighborhood, passing the ruins destroyed by the cannibalism incident, and stopped at the warehouse on the edge of Elm Street.