Chapter 7

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

Runti’s voice sounded extremely weak and powerless, but one could still sense the strong caution in her words.

"I’m just a poor guy whose fate has been twisted."

Under the girl’s wary gaze, Cui Ze did not make any rash moves, merely shrugging his shoulders.

Runti didn’t understand Cui Ze’s strange words, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved.

At the very least, the person standing in front of her and her brother was a human who could communicate normally, not one of the brainless, flesh-eating undead monsters her father had created!

The Slit-Mouthed Girl didn’t respond immediately, but Cui Ze couldn’t hold back any longer.

"By the way, don’t you feel something is off about this chat environment? Can I light a campfire first?"

Since descending into this sea, Cui Ze had never encountered someone he could communicate with. The loneliness and desire to express himself, pent up for three or four days, burst forth all at once.

Moreover, Cui Ze really couldn’t stand the environment deep in the cave.

The eerie and strange cave, the terrifying Slit-Mouthed Girl, the pale beam of flashlight, and a normal human male...

A pure horror movie scene!

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

The bright and warm light of the campfire instantly illuminated the area around the cell, dispelling some of the terrifying darkness.

With the campfire lit, Runti’s mental state visibly improved. At least her face wasn’t as pale as before, though it might have been an illusion.

"Answering your first question, I’m a poor soul who survived a shipwreck and was forced to land on this zombie-infested island."

Cui Ze sat cross-legged on the cave floor, speaking in a very calm tone.

"In exchange, can you reveal your identity?"

Cui Ze, of course, knew Runti and the person lying behind her, Peggywan. He even remembered the patterns on the pink lace mask she would wear years later!

This conversation was merely a way for Cui Ze to find a chat partner to alleviate his boredom and to see if he could gather more information about Runti and Peggywan’s father, who was only briefly mentioned in the original story.

Runti pursed her lips and didn’t answer, instead saying softly, "You haven’t answered the second question yet."

This was exactly what Cui Ze was waiting for!

He poured out all his experiences since his arrival, talking non-stop to the Slit-Mouthed Girl in the cage, interspersing his words with a lot of complaints about Kaido, Admiral Zephyr, and the bloody zombie roosters.

Of course, Cui Ze omitted his exact origins and the information from the light screen.

"The huge, vicious, fire-breathing dragon in the sky—"

"The utterly useless Navy moron—"

"The dead bodies suddenly attacking me—"

Cui Ze’s endless words made Runti’s head spin, and even Peggywan, lying behind her, twitched.

Clearly, Cui Ze’s “talkative” nature had a significant impact on his image.

A positive one.

Runti’s caution decreased significantly, to the point where she began to share her own experiences after Cui Ze finished his story.

Cui Ze, who had just vented his frustrations, felt much lighter and listened with great interest as Runti recounted the hidden background of the original story.

A pair of ghost siblings with a tragic childhood... born in the Vodka Kingdom... a family in shambles... a father with the Paramecia-type Virus Fruit ability, who hoped to achieve immortality through his powers and used his children as test subjects... mysteriously disappeared five days ago...

When talking about her father, Muzan, Runti’s voice became much lower, and she clearly skipped over a lot of content. However, Cui Ze still gathered a lot of important information.

"What a scumbag father..." Cui Ze sighed.

There were countless men who abandoned their wives for fame and fortune at sea.

But a scumbag on the level of Runti and Peggywan’s father was rare.

Using his own children for biochemical experiments—what kind of “human scum” was that?

"Don’t you dare insult my father!"

The Slit-Mouthed Girl glared at Cui Ze.

The half-brain man behind her also struggled to prop himself up, staring at Cui Ze with a gloomy gaze.

"Alright, I apologize."

Cui Ze offered a half-hearted apology, smacking his lips, feeling a bit thirsty from talking so much.

He pulled out a water bottle he had with him, and as soon as he unscrewed the cap, he felt two gazes focus on him.

More accurately, on the water bottle in his hand.

Cui Ze held the water bottle, swaying it left and right, and the two gazes followed his movements.

Finally, Runti couldn’t bear it and interrupted his playful actions.

"Could you give me a little bit of water?"

Runti licked her dry, cracked lips, but it wasn’t for herself.

"My brother hasn’t had water for many days."

Cui Ze saw Peggywan, who had been silent, suddenly reach out with his withered little hand, tugging on Runti’s clothes and shaking them lightly.

Peggywan hadn’t had water for a long time, but how much better could Runti, who had been taking care of him, be?

Clearly, this was a very caring younger brother.

Cui Ze pinched his nose, feeling a bit choked up. He first took a small sip of water from the bottle to show it was safe, then threw it into the cage.

Overjoyed, Runti immediately reached out to catch the water bottle. Despite its light weight, the frail girl stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

Ignoring her awkward posture, Runti turned around, cradling the water bottle, and gently fed the water to Peggywan, bit by bit.

"Drink slowly, and leave some for yourself... Oh, right!"

Cui Ze remembered the [Kamado Tanjiro’s Special Rice Ball] he had caught earlier. He took it out of his pocket, first pinching a small piece to show it was safe, then threw it to Runti.

"This is a good brother’s handmade rice ball. Feed some to your brother too; it might improve his condition."

Runti silently took the rice ball, resisting the temptation of its aroma, and broke off small pieces to feed to Peggywan.

Whether it was the brotherly warmth of Kamado Tanjiro or the sisterly warmth of Runti, Peggywan, after drinking half the bottle of water and eating half the rice ball, clearly felt much stronger.

Looking at the remaining water and rice ball, Peggywan tightly closed his mouth, refusing to eat any more.

If he had the strength, he would have forced his sister to eat the remaining rice ball!

"Kid, you’d better finish the rice ball. I have other things to give to your sister, something more suitable for her."

Cui Ze was a bit worried that the [Special Rice Ball]’s effect on young children might affect Runti. He didn’t want to be labeled as a lolicon, so he tried to persuade him.

But his words sounded... a bit ambiguous at this moment.

Peggywan, being too young, didn’t catch the nuance.

But Runti, who was two years older, did.

Or rather...

She misunderstood.

She quickly stuffed the remaining rice ball into her mouth, and her pale face immediately gained some color. Then she glared at Cui Ze angrily.

Seeing this, Cui Ze couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

Damn...

If a normal girl looked at me like this, I might feel a bit pleased...

But you, a Slit-Mouthed Girl with horns, looking at me like this, gives me a strange feeling...

Slit-Mouthed Girl... Slit... Ghost...

Cui Ze’s eyes suddenly lit up, remembering the peculiar item he had caught last night.

[Kamado Nezuko’s Bamboo Mouth Plug]!

[Item Effect 2: The saliva in the bamboo mouth plug, infected by the abilities of a ghost girl, has a slight healing effect, with a healing bonus for the specific race [Ghost]].

This gentleman’s item could actually be useful?