Chapter 7: Scum of the Earth! The Imminent Power of Nezuko Kamado

Chapter 7: Scum of the Human World! The Soon-to-Activate "Nezuko Kamado’s Bamboo Tube" (Please Bookmark! Please Recommend!)

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Runti’s voice sounded weak and feeble, yet her words were thick with a sharp sense of caution.

“I’m just an unlucky soul whose fate has been twisted.”

Under the girl’s wary gaze, Cui Ze made no rash moves—he simply shrugged.

Runti couldn’t comprehend Cui Ze’s strange words, but she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least, the person standing before her and her brother was a human capable of normal communication, not one of those brainless, flesh-devouring undead monsters their father had created!

The little slit-mouthed girl didn’t respond immediately, but Cui Ze was growing restless.

“By the way, don’t you feel something’s off about this chat environment? Mind if I light a small campfire first?”

Since arriving on this vast sea, this was the first time Cui Ze encountered someone he could talk to. The loneliness and urge to express himself, pent up for three or four days, suddenly burst forth.

Besides, the dark cave environment was really starting to get to him.

A gloomy, eerie cave; a terrifying slit-mouthed girl; a pale beam of flashlight; and a normal male human with usual interests…

It was like a pure horror movie set!

Runti nodded lightly, then watched as Cui Ze methodically used some simple items inside the cave to light a small campfire.

The bright, warm glow instantly illuminated the area near the prison, dispelling some of the terrifying darkness.

With the fire lit, Runti’s mental state visibly improved; at least her face wasn’t as pale as before—though that might have been just an illusion.

“To answer your first question, I’m a poor soul who was shipwrecked and forced to drift onto this zombie-infested island.”

Cui Ze sat cross-legged on the cave floor, speaking calmly.

“In return, can you tell me who you are?”

Of course, Cui Ze knew the identities of Runti and Peggywan, who lay behind her. He even remembered, clearly, the pattern on the pink lace mask the other wore over her face years later!

This conversation was just Cui Ze’s way of finding someone to talk to and vent his frustrations, while trying to gather some information about Runti and Peggywan’s father, who had only been briefly mentioned in the original story.

Runti pressed her lips together without answering, then softly said, “You haven’t answered the second question yet.”

Just what Cui Ze was waiting for!

He poured out all the experiences since his arrival in one breath to the little slit-mouthed girl trapped in the cage, weaving in many references to Master Kaido, Admiral Zepha, and the bloody zombie ginseng rooster.

Naturally, he omitted his true origins and information about the light screen.

“The fierce fire-breathing dragon king in the sky—”

“The useless Navy idiot—”

“The dead bodies suddenly attacking me—”

Cui Ze’s torrent of words left Runti’s small head spinning, and even Peggywan, lying behind her, twitched slightly.

But clearly, his “chatterbox” trait had significantly altered how he was perceived.

A good kind of change.

Runti’s vigilance lessened considerably, and after Cui Ze finished, she began carefully sharing her own story.

Feeling much lighter after venting, Cui Ze listened with great interest as Runti revealed the hidden background from the original tale.

A pair of siblings from a tragic childhood… born in the Vodka Kingdom… a deeply broken family… a father with a superhuman-type virus fruit power, who sought immortality at any cost by experimenting on his own children… mysteriously missing five days ago…

When speaking of their father, Mzan, Runti’s voice grew much lower, and she noticeably skipped over large portions of the story, yet Cui Ze still gathered plenty of vital information.

“Such a despicable father…” Cui Ze muttered.

Countless men at sea abandon their wives for fame and fortune.

But a scumbag like Runti and Peggywan’s father? That’s rare.

Using his own children as subjects for biochemical virus experiments—what level of “scum of the human world” must that be?

“Don’t you dare insult my father!”

The little slit-mouthed girl glared angrily at Cui Ze.

The half-brain boy behind her barely propped himself up, his eyes darkly fixed on Cui Ze.

“Alright, I apologize,” Cui Ze said without sincerity. He clicked his tongue, feeling a bit thirsty after talking so much.

He pulled out a water bottle, and just as he twisted off the cap, two pairs of eyes snapped onto him like lasers.

More precisely, onto the water bottle in his hand.

Cui Ze shook the bottle left and right, and the staring eyes followed his every move.

Eventually, unable to bear the teasing any longer, Runti interrupted.

“Um, can you share a little water with me?”

She stuck out her tongue, licking her dry, chapped lips—not for herself, but because…

“My brother hasn’t had water for many days.”

Cui Ze saw Peggywan suddenly reach out his withered little hand to tug gently at Runti’s sleeve.

Though Peggywan had long been without a drop of water, the sister caring for him couldn’t have been in much better shape.

Clearly, he was a very caring little brother.

Cui Ze pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a strange ache. After taking a small sip to prove the water was safe, he tossed the bottle into the cage.

Overjoyed, Runti immediately grabbed the bottle. Although it wasn’t heavy, the frail girl, as thin as a wild grass stalk, staggered and nearly fell.

Ignoring her awkward stance, Runti turned and cradled the bottle, holding Peggywan’s upper body as she slowly fed him the water.

“Drink slowly and leave some for yourself… Oh, wait!”

Cui Ze remembered the special rice ball he’d caught while fishing earlier—the one made by Tanjiro Kamado—and pulled it from his pocket. After testing a small piece himself, he tossed it to Runti.

“This rice ball was handmade by a good older brother for his little sister. You should feed some to your brother too; maybe it’ll help him feel better.”

Runti took the rice ball silently, fighting the tempting aroma of the rice, breaking off small bits and feeding them to Peggywan.

Whether it was the warmth of Tanjiro’s brotherly love or Runti’s sisterly care, after drinking most of the water and eating much of the rice ball, Peggywan’s body visibly regained strength.

Looking at the remaining water and rice ball, he tightly shut his mouth, refusing to eat more.

If he weren’t so weak, he might have forced his sister to finish the rest!

“Kid, you’d better eat all that rice ball. I have other things here that I can share with your sister—foods better suited to her.”

Cui Ze worried that the rice ball’s effect on young children might affect Runti, and he definitely didn’t want to be labeled a lolicon. He tried to dissuade her.

But clearly, his words sounded… a bit ambiguous.

Peggywan, too young to understand, missed the meaning.

But Runti, two years older, caught on.

Or rather…

She misunderstood.

She shoved the remaining rice ball into her mouth in just a few bites. A flush returned to her pale cheeks, and she glared angrily at Cui Ze.

Seeing this, Cui Ze’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

Damn it…

If a normal little girl looked at me like that, I might feel a bit pleased…

But you, a little slit-mouthed girl with horns, staring at me like this, make me feel like I’m about to die any second…

Slit-mouthed girl… slit mouth… demon tribe…

Suddenly, Cui Ze’s eyes lit up as he recalled the bizarre item he’d caught fishing last night.

“Nezuko Kamado’s Bamboo Tube!”

“Item Effect 2: The saliva contained within the bamboo tube, infused with the power of the demonized girl, has mild healing properties, and grants enhanced healing effects for the specific race ‘Demon Tribe.’”

This item actually still works?

Please bookmark! Please recommend!

—

Nezuko’s item is truly not a perverted tool! Nor is it just a thirst quencher!

It has real effects!

(End of chapter)