Chapter 89
by Need_More_SleepChapter 89: A Thousand Deaths Won’t Be Enough!
The dim train tunnel swallowed all light as Mi Xiaoliu crouched low, rubbing her burning eyes with trembling fingers. A nameless dread coiled in her chest, tightening with each passing second.
Something’s wrong with my eyes.
“Master, it’s okay… it’s okay… Put your contacts back in,” Sasha soothed through their mental link.
Mi Xiaoliu fished out the colored lenses and pressed them clumsily beneath her eyelids. The painful adjustment process made her wince. As the lenses settled, the buffs from her novice combat suit flickered—not disappearing entirely, but becoming inert.
So the suit can coexist with other clothing, but it turns into ordinary fabric when layered.
The feverish heat in her eyes gradually cooled.
“Oi.”
A woman’s voice. From behind.
A hand landed on her shoulder.
Mi Xiaoliu stood and turned—then immediately backpedaled two large steps.
Even with her 800-degree myopia, she’d recognize that silhouette anywhere.
Gloria.
Bathed in golden-white light like some Super Saiyan (Though her hair remained frustratingly gravity-defiant), she stood out like a flare in the tunnel’s darkness.
Her expression was pure thunder as she shook a crumpled sheet of paper.
“You write this?”
Mi Xiaoliu shook her head and retreated further, clutching her hood.
“Hoho?” In a flash, Gloria closed the distance, looming over her. When Mi Xiaoliu tried to sidestep, Gloria teleported in front of her again.
“Hmm…” Gloria tilted her head, studying the boy (girl). “Pervert brat? Nah… doesn’t fit.”
She knew Mi Xiaoliu’s physical limits intimately—after all, she bullied him (her) daily. One punch from her would leave the boy (girl) owing two health bars.
But this cowering posture? The way he (she) shrank into herself? Identical. No need for closer inspection—the mannerisms and silhouette were a dead giveaway.
“Cosplay? Let’s see.” Gloria reached for the hood.
Thinking she’d strip her like Yiwen had, Mi Xiaoliu death-gripped the fabric.
“Tch. Fine. Does the Old Lady know about this?” Gloria released her, baring her little fangs in a devil’s grin. “Wanna guess what happens if I tell her?”
Mi Xiaoliu stared at the ground.
“Bark like a dog, and maybe I’ll keep quiet.”
“Woof.”
“Heh…”
A sharp smack landed on Mi Xiaoliu’s rear.
“Brat, get your ass home before some trafficker prices you at 500 mira and sells you to a sweatshop. Cosplaying at midnight—really?”
Since the Man in Black’s rise, wannabes had popped up everywhere—most ending up in police interrogation rooms. But this goody-two-shoes? Unpredictable.
She watched Mi Xiaoliu scurry off but didn’t leave herself. Instead, she tapped the paper against her palm, waiting impatiently.
……
Mi Xiaoliu hadn’t even changed out of her combat suit when Wei Shi called.
“Nighttime wanderlust again?”
“Mmm.” Brutally honest.
Or maybe just forgetful? Should Wei Shi buy a feather duster for disciplinary purposes?
Wei Shi swallowed his prepared lecture for if she’d lied—then deployed the “you admitted it scolding instead.
He kept it under a minute. Past data showed Mi Xiaoliu would hang up beyond that threshold, so Wei Shi speed ran his reprimand like an auctioneer on espresso.
“Mission. Stay put—target lives near you.”
This month’s quota hasn’t been met yet.
————————
Bar District.
“An ability that nullifies abilities?”
Yiwen wanted to blame tech—but she’d literally stripped the girl naked. Unless she’d hidden gadgets in those platform boots…?
“Overthinking it.” Officer Chen sipped herbal tea while watching his team process the gang members. “More likely she shares your power type. Explains how she with her twig body was able to brawled with Humpback Whale.”
(Humpback Whale had insisted every punch landed at full force.)
An ability that erased abilities? Paradoxical.
“Thought my power was critically endangered?” Yiwen chucked pebbles, triple-checking her gravity manipulation still worked.
Only that brat had ever resisted it.
“She’s getting a LV5 threat assessment,” Officer Chen said, jingling his keychain. “Maybe she took a drug mimicking your power—specifically to counter you.”
“Doubt it…”
“Next week, Little Demon King’s doing a city sweep. Pay’s good, so he’ll purge our problem cases. We’ll add her to the list.”
“Little Demon King?” The name screamed extremist.
“A true LV5.”
Yiwen’s grip tightened.
Historically, LV5s were city-level threats—some weaker (Like theoretical LV5 Regeneration), others beyond measurement.
“What’ll happen to her?”
From the moment her power failed, Yiwen knew she couldn’t catch the girl alone.
She held back her spatial attacks against me.
Yet the humiliation festered. Unavenged.
“If she resurfaces, he’ll defeat her.” Officer Chen shrugged. “Compliance equals no harm… probably.”
The qualifier rang hollow.
Even bound by rules, who could guarantee non-lethal force?
“Boss, fresh corpse nearby. Looks like cardiac异物—wait, what?” The coroner’s face twisted as he lifted an evidence bag.
“GODDAMMIT!” Yiwen snatched it away, shielding the contents.
Inside: A blood-soaked scrap of fabric, its original color obliterated.
But Yiwen didn’t need color to identify it.
Not when her current lack of underwear made her intimately aware of its provenance.
This’ll get framed as the murder weapon in court. When reporters ask, Officer Chen will choke back laughter—”White Whale’s panties”—and I’ll go viral as the cop who got undressed by a criminal—”
“YOU LITTLE BITCH—! A THOUSAND DEATHS WON’T BE ENOUGH!!”