Ace and Cherry moved through the crowds, went through alleys, and sneaked through abandoned buildings until they eventually reached their destination, a butcher that happened to be open at that time.
The building, which used to be a regular convenience store, had been transformed into a butcher shop where the owners sold various types of meat, including those from beasts. Hunters not only killed beasts for their crystals but also utilized their meat for various purposes, such as milk, elixirs for medical use, and enhancements for weapons.
"Hello, young man and woman," the owner greeted them cheerfully. His wide smile and cheerful attitude attracted many customers and made a couple of them feel good about themselves. "Are you looking to buy some meat today?"
"Yes, please," Ace replied. "But I don't have any cash on me."
"Who said you needed cash?" the butcher laughed. "We live in a cashless society. Barter trade is the new currency. If you have something valuable, we can make a trade for meat and something else. How does that sound?"
Ace smiled inwardly, knowing that he had a gauntlet and sword made from intermediate beast crystals. Making sure no one was looking, he quickly retrieved the gauntlets from his blood inventory and presented them to the owner.
"How much can these get me?" he asked, but the butcher fell silent. With wide eyes, he looked at the gauntlets, then at Ace, then back at the gauntlets, questioning himself.
"These gauntlets hold great value. They must be of intermediate tier if I'm correct. Did you steal them?" he asked, but Ace simply stared back without any expression on his face.
"Alright. Here's the meat. Actually, come back for the rest of the month, and I'll give you meat daily. Does that sound good to you?"
"I wish it could, sir," Ace replied, knowing well what was about to happen to the city.
The butcher shrugged and handed Ace a thick, juicy leg that he had just prepared. As bloody as it was, Ace and Cherry couldn't resist the enticing aroma. "Let me clean it for you and pack it nicely."
"No need," Ace replied. "We'll take it as it is." He quickly grabbed the meat and wrapped it in a piece of foil paper provided by the butcher. With Cherry following behind, they returned to the building where Chris and Sky were waiting for them.
"While you guys were gone," Chris spoke, "I prepared a fire for us to roast the meat. By the way, Ace, how did you pay for all of that?"
"No need to worry about that." Ace replied, keeping his hand behind his back. Even though Sky and Chris had witnessed their power, Ace didn't want them to know about how he and his sister fed in order to maintain their special condition. "Chris, you can roast the meat and divide it between you and Sky. I'll take our share and eat somewhere else. I've got... catching up to do with Cherry."
Cherry and Ace sat on the rooftop of a skyscraper with half a leg of meat in front of them. Even though they had just reunited, Ace could sense his sister's bloodlust as she stared at the bloody slab of flesh.
[Blood mutants can alternate between consuming blood and consuming raw, fresh flesh, as long as it isn't poisonous.]
"Well, eat up," he said, waving the meat over her face. "I can tell you're hungry. It shows in your eyes."
"I'm not eating that, Ace," Cherry pretended. "In case you didn't know, my palate can only accept blood now."
"Not true." Ace proceeded to explain to Cherry all the information he knew about blood mutants, thanks to his system providing detailed explanations. It was easier for him to catch his sister up to speed. "We don't have to drink blood all the time. Raw meat not only provides us with the blood we need, but it also gives our mouths something to chew on."
"Alright, Acey boy," Cherry said, grabbing the piece of meat from her brother's hand and pointing it at him. "Have you tried it yourself?" The two siblings laughed and tried it together.
Surprisingly, the meat tasted better than they had anticipated, and since it contained blood, their bloodlust was satisfied. With that chapter closed, Cherry began recounting her journey from escaping the Grand Master's ship to finding the settlement, fighting Huntress and Murdock, and finally meeting Chris, leading up to where they were now.
As she spoke, Ace would interject with more facts about blood mutants and the limited information he had about the Granians.
"Honestly, sometimes I wonder where we would be if we hadn't been abducted," Ace spoke as the sun neared the halfway mark in its journey. "We would have been forced into military academies to fight. Then we would probably be separated due to our differing strengths, with you clearly being stronger than me. And we would be forced to fight in this war between us and the aliens, all because they want two humans to become their weapons."
[WARNING!!]
Cherry, Ace, and Jin, the third blood mutant in the city, felt a sharp pain in their necks, followed by an unfamiliar sound. The pain intensified, turning into splitting headaches, as everyone else in the city noticed a small-scale dust cloud generated by a large airship flying toward them.
Suddenly, Ace's system developed a dark red glow, and his stats glitched severely. His hands began transforming and deforming, and this wasn't happening only to him. Cherry and Jim also experienced unusual reactions as the ship approached.
"They're here," Ace said, using his system scan to pinpoint the exact location of the alien ships. "They're here for us, Cherry. We have to go, now."
[Temporary System Override.]
[Ace Underwood, turn yourself in and save this town from the anguish that will befall them because of you.]
[Override Cancelled]
[Quest: The Time has Come. Your enemies draw near, and there's no one to help you fight but yourself and your sister. Defeat the Granians and the blood mutant or risk getting captured. This is not a reward-based quest. Your life and freedom are at stake.]