Chapter 287: Why The Mutants Are Hated

We were squeezed into the transport following behind that duke Khar guy.

The vehicle was basically just a large truck with seats at the back so we were squeezed up together in that one vehicle.

Well... Some of us definitely didn’t mind... Especially when Maylene was humming happily using the excuse that there were no seats to sit on my lap.

And of course, Olivia insisted that because of her larger size, it would be too inconvenient for her to take up so much space on her own so I ended up sitting on her lap too.

The good thing was that I didn’t need to feel embarrassed about it because the other Guardians took that as their cue to also beg Siti and Diana for the same favour as well.

So... All three of us were sitting on someone’s lap with another person seated on our laps as well. It was honestly quite a bizarre sight.

But at least no one was saying anything about it which was definitely a blessing.

Good thing that the truck was also enclosed so we didn’t need to worry about being seen either.

One thing though, that guy was saying that he was going to show us around the city... How was he intending to do that by stuffing us inside this truck? There weren’t even any windows here aside from some small portholes meant for air at the top of the box we were sitting in. It felt more like we were in a prison transport or something.

I didn’t get to figure that out as the transport came to a halt without warning.

Everyone eyed the door for a moment before the sounds of doors being opened and footsteps surrounding our truck could be heard.

"They aren’t really trying to ambush us, are they?" Siti wondered aloud, not at all worried about the possibility that it might actually be the case.

Dan was already moving to the door of the truck, lifting up his shield and acting as the wall between us and the people outside.

The rest of us moved into battle positions behind him as we eyed the truck’s door, waiting for it to open.

Soon enough, the sounds of the door handles being unlatched could be heard and the Guardians all readied themselves in case it was indeed an ambush.

The doors swung open and there were a few people who looked like servants, all of them looking surprised to see us in combat stances.

Hmm... Guess we were too on edge for nothing.

Our Guardians straightened themselves and Dan stepped out of the truck first, his shield still raised slightly just in case it was still a trap.

When we stepped outside, I realised we seemed to be in the city centre where we were surrounded by towering buildings that stretched all the way to the roof of the cavern.

Well... Even though I said tower, they were only about twenty or so stories high but the fact that we were underground, this height was pretty impressive.

I noted that on each tower, there were giant symbols at the side of these buildings that looked like family crests. I’m guessing each of these towers belonged to one of the dukes or another important ’noble’ within this city.

Seems like they weren’t just surviving after the invasion of the Anomalies... They were even thriving. That’s actually quite a surprise.

It’s not unheard of, since Maylene’s colony was also kind of thriving in a way where they had their basic necessities met and were even able to pursue their own hobbies and wants for several years before they realised their water supply was running out.

What I wonder is how they were able to maintain this lifestyle despite the surface of their world being taken over by Anomalies.

Khar was waiting on the sidewalk with a very self assured smile on his face.

"Welcome, my new friends! You are my guests today! Come right in!"

Like before, he didn’t wait for us to respond and turned on his heels to head inside the tower.

All of us shared a look but seeing we had no other choice, we followed behind him.

Looking back, I found several well dressed people walking along the streets of the city, no doubt also nobles or wealthy elites.

Compared to them... The people who had stepped out of the cars to follow alongside us behind that Khar guy... Their clothes were simpler but all uniform. They all had the same colour palette as the crest that was displayed on the side of the building we were walking into, no doubt marking them as staff of that noble family.

The lobby of the building was clean and pristine, making me forget for a moment that we were currently in an underground cavern with Anomalies stalking the ground above us.

It looked like the lobby of an expensive hotel rather than just a normal tower.

There were even staff members who quickly fell to their knees and bowed their heads when the duke guy walked towards the elevators.

He then paused in front of it to turn and smile at us, "I’m afraid that as good as these machines are, it is not big enough to fit everyone. We will have to split up to get to my home."

Obviously he was trying to hint that he should ride the lift alone with Olivia while the rest of us have to take the other lifts but...

Olivia came to my side, "I will stay with him."

Khar managed to maintain his smile, "But of course. Come. The lift can at least accommodate three people."

He’s really just going to shove me in there with them and try and make me feel like the third wheel or something?

No one else objected and the three of us stepped into his private elevator, the only floor buttons present on the panel were the top and bottom floors.

We already knew this guy was full of shit because the lift was big enough to accommodate all of us if he wanted to. He just wanted to be alone with Olivia.

The interior of the lift was made of glass, allowing us to see outside the building as it ascended. As the doors closed and the lift began to rise, we were treated to the view of the city outside.

If you were to just ignore the walls of the cavern and the fact that their main source of illumination came from lights shining down from the cavern’s ceiling, you might actually believe you were in a normal city.

Khar grinned and turned to Olivia, "So what do you think about the city?"

Olivia continued to ignore him and just stood beside me silently like a silent sentinel.

I decided not to leave him hanging and pretended like he was talking to me, "Well... We’ve barely seen any of it yet."

He shifted his gaze to me, "This is the only part of the city that is worth seeing."

"Even then, we’ve barely even seen any parts of it. I thought you would show us around the place?"

He smirked again, "Don’t worry, little mongrel. I will."

I heard a crack coming from Olivia’s hand as she rolled her wrist to make the popping sound.

Unfortunately, the guy did not get the hint.

The lift reached the top floor and it opened up into a luxurious penthouse, once again designed and decorated in a way that you would have thought there wasn’t an apocalypse going on outside.

In fact... I might have completely forgotten about that fact if it weren’t for some... Additional decorations scattered around the room.

There were burned husks of Anomaly remains mounted on the wall including one that looked like it had been taxidermised as a statue to be made as a centrepiece in the main hall.

While I was distracted by that, several figures suddenly came forward, all of them female and dressed in clothes that basically left nothing to the imagination.

They lined themselves up and fell to their knees, pressing their heads to the ground as Khar stepped in.

Because of their lack of clothing, I could see their skin and... All of them had burn marks on their bodies.

There was no question who might have been responsible for those marks.

Khar strolled past them without acknowledging them before pausing to turn back to face me, smiling when he noticed me looking at them.

"Oh? Could you be interested in one of them? They’re mine though, so don’t get any ideas."

I turned back to him, "You torture them?"

He blinked, looking surprised, "Torture? How could this be torture? I am giving them a gift! Don’t you get it? We are the future of this world, the ones with powers who have risen up to be the saviours that can fight back and reclaim the world! We are the chosen ones! The ones who have not been granted powers... They are the ones who have been forsaken! For us to grant them even a place at our side, even as slaves, is the greatest honour they can have!"

...

Should have seen that coming...