Hearing that sound, the hair on Charlotte Sutton's body stood on end, but she forced herself to stay calm, desperately thinking about what to do next. However, recalling the “monster’s” movements just now, she was certain there was nothing she could do. The physical prowess and destructive power the monster had displayed were enough to wipe out an entire train car of ordinary people. Even if a few police officers armed with Nambu revolvers showed up, they’d likely be doomed as well—those small-caliber pistols have trouble even taking down a rabbit, so it’s hard to say if they could kill the monster before it got close.

And as far as she knew, the handful of people who could go head-to-head with this “monster” weren’t here—distant water can’t put out a nearby fire.

So, the best choice now was to wait for the train to reach the next station, and as soon as the doors opened, get off as fast as possible—run as far as she could.

If the monster didn’t chase, she’d live. If it did…

She could block the door for a moment, at least giving the two children a chance to survive.

She was very calm. Even though her heart was pounding like a drum and her asthma was about to flare up, she remained calm, already prepared to sacrifice herself, so as not to disgrace the Sutton family name. Just then, a boy in a Shimizu Private High School uniform walked the wrong way through the connecting door and just stood there, staring blankly.

For a moment, the immense pressure of life and death almost made Charlotte Sutton curse out loud.

Idiot, is this the time to gawk?

Get out of here, now!

She waved her hand repeatedly, signaling for the boy to run, but his attention was entirely on the monster and he didn’t notice her at all.

She didn’t dare make a sound either. There were two children behind her, and if she disturbed the monster while it was eating and drew its attention, it would be bad enough if she died—she might even drag the two kids down with her.

All she could do was raise her schoolbag and wave it silently, trying to make herself more visible to get the boy’s attention so he’d run. This time, the boy noticed.

……

Autumn Whitman had actually planned to leave. This wasn’t a train groper, nor was it a normal murder case. The situation was clearly off—like the opening of “Resident Evil.” It was better to let the police handle it. Doing good and punishing evil doesn’t mean charging in blindly; if he was confident, he’d rush in and beat up the bad guys to improve his own skills, but if the bad guys seemed abnormal and extremely dangerous, at the very least, the police should test the waters first.

That was their job—they were the professionals.

But as he was halfway turned to leave, he noticed the slender girl hiding by the train door, and the two pale-faced children she was shielding behind her.

The monster also noticed the corner of a schoolbag flashing through the gap in the ad board. It dropped the remains in its hand, slowly straightened up, and its gaze began to shift between Autumn Whitman and the ad board, seemingly interested in the flesh on both sides, its predatory desire intense.

Autumn Whitman believed that if he turned and ran now, this “monster,” which seemed to crave flesh and blood, probably wouldn’t chase him, and would most likely go after the girl and children behind the ad board. But he hesitated for only half a second before turning back, bending slightly, and preparing to fight.

The girl was signaling for him to leave quickly, but precisely because of that, he couldn’t leave.

From the education he’d received since childhood, being a good person was a steel stamp imprinted deep in his mind. Even though he often fantasized about marrying nine wives, defeating Tang Jieyuan, and looking down on Lord Wei, that never changed—after being forcibly relocated, can’t a guy at least fantasize to make life a little sweeter?

Repay kindness with kindness, repay resentment with honesty, show compassion to the weak, never bully the vulnerable, be even better to good people, and worse to bad ones—he felt that was the right way to be a person.

So, this girl was a good person. She shouldn’t die. He couldn’t abandon her, couldn’t let her take the hit. Otherwise, he’d have to question his own manhood—it wasn’t about nationality or courage, but as a man, he couldn’t leave a girl and children in danger. He should step up and protect them; that was the bare minimum.

He forcibly suppressed his body’s instinctive trembling, bent his knees and hunched his back, ready to pounce, showing his determination to fight no matter what. The monster sensed it, fixed its gaze on him, and let out a deep, menacing roar, its whole body radiating a greedy hunger for flesh as it slowly advanced a few steps, then suddenly sprang forward, crossing half the train car in an instant.

So fast!

Autumn Whitman’s eyes narrowed. He’d never fought an opponent like this before. The tree spirits only had two fast-swinging vine arms, but their actual speed was pretty slow, more like large herbivores. Once you figured out their patterns, they weren’t too hard to handle, and it was hard to get hurt by them. But this monster was different—more ferocious than any carnivore. Compared to this monster, the tree spirits were like little brothers.

But now that he’d decided to fight, he actually didn’t feel much fear. He shifted his body slightly, gathered his strength, and launched a textbook front kick straight at the monster.

Damn it, you dare eat people?

Die!

Chapter 8: What a pity, he was a brave guy