Chapter 177
by Need_More_SleepChapter 177: The Kidnapper
“Before we parted ways, I memorized the governor’s planned route.” Hayato Shigenobu gripped the steering wheel with one hand while tapping a route on the map with the other. “We should be able to intercept them here.”
It was a small town close to the city. Even though they’d been driving almost nonstop for twenty-four hours, the governor’s entourage would still have to stop for meals and late-night snacks.
After all, this was the governor. He’d come to Sunshine City for an official development inspection—he wasn’t going to spend days cooped up in a car eating canned food. They weren’t international fugitives constantly dodging assassins.
Honestly, who’d even want to assassinate a governor? Especially with all those bodyguards around him, including an LV4—one specialized in protection, no less. There was even an LV4 viral-type ability user rumored to be a top-tier healer.
Compared to Mi Xiaoliu, Hayato Shigenobu was starting to look more and more like a professional mercenary. His memory for intel, combat skills, and technical abilities had all improved dramatically—as if he’d been born for this.
The only downside? He’d inherited his boss’s bad habits, like not keeping his eyes on the road while driving.
“Boss has a personal grudge against the governor. Rumor has it he bankrupted himself for this—even I got a million upfront, with another two and a half mil waiting after the job’s done.” Hayato proudly pulled up his bank balance to show Xiaoliu.
Only to find the oddly dressed girl dozing against the window, her head bumping against the glass with every bump in the road.
Well, that made sense. Long car rides were tiring, especially after hours on the road.
They’d already switched cars multiple times.
The original owners weren’t idiots—if their cars got stolen, they’d report it. Even with signal jammers to block tracking, the license plates would still get flagged by nearby traffic cops.
Some people just have no manners. It’s just a stolen car—why call the police?
“I remember seeing news about the governor when I was a kid. He’s actually pretty impressive,” Hayato mused aloud, mostly to keep himself awake. As the driver, he couldn’t afford to zone out.
“Thanks to him, our state’s economy improved, workplace benefits got better, and 996 became a thing of the past. He always comes off as super approachable in public.”
With superhumans around, population growth had slowed, so it wasn’t like the old days where “if you don’t want the job, someone else will.”
“Ever heard of ‘Black Shark’? That was Boss’s codename back when he was still with the Superhuman Police.” Hayato glanced over and saw Mi Xiaoliu was awake now.
She shook her head.
“You’re not from Fanzui City, huh? That codename was pretty famous—though I only heard about it when I was in kindergarten.”
Most LV4s and above had some level of fame, like celebrities. Fans would praise them, haters would nitpick every flaw, and some would even get into heated online battles over who was stronger. The information age had turned superhuman policing into its own fandom.
Superhumans weren’t exactly popular with regular folks, but outside of certain people in Fanzui City, most mature adults didn’t hold any malice toward the Superhuman Police.
These were people who sacrificed their safety, family time, and personal lives to protect others. Only edgy middle-schoolers who thought crime was cool would actually hate them.
With Wei Shi not around, Hayato had no qualms gossiping behind his back.
“Back in the day, people called him and Humpback Whale the ‘Black Gay Duo’—two LV4 physical enhancers in the same city, and they were super close… Don’t tell Boss I told you that.”
“I never heard about Boss having a grudge against the governor, but the reason he left the Superhuman Police is pretty tragic. Someone he arrested had their accomplices murder his family as revenge.”
Just like the clichéd backstories of most antiheroes in movies.
But it also meant Wei Shi’s old identity as Black Shark must’ve been exposed, leading to that tragedy.
When Hayato took this job, Wei Shi never explained why he wanted the governor dead—and Hayato never dared to ask. But it probably tied back to that incident.
Honestly? Hayato didn’t think Wei Shi stood a chance. Even with Night Owl’s intelligence network helping him all these years, he’d never managed to get his revenge.
“We’re almost there. No clue if things’ll kick off here, but I’ve never seen LV4s fight before.”
Well, he had seen an LV4 beat up an LV5—but that time, the “Little Demon King” didn’t even fight back, so it wasn’t exactly exciting. To this day, Hayato still wonders if the guy was even legit.
Before they could enter the town, a traffic cop suddenly blocked their path, parking a patrol car right in front of them.
Hayato rolled down the window. “What’s up, officer? I’ve been following traffic rules.”
Please don’t tell me they found out the car is stolen. He’d taken this one from a drunk guy who’d been hugging a trash can and trying to kiss it—no way he’d sobered up enough to report it yet.
Even if he had called the cops, he probably couldn’t even remember his own license plate.
“You’ve been driving with your fuel cap open the whole time and didn’t notice? License, please.” The cop handed Hayato a breathalyzer, frowning at his baby-faced appearance.
Hayato hadn’t noticed. He still kept forgetting to wear his seatbelt too.
Wait, shouldn’t this just be a warning in most cases?
He handed over his fake driver’s license.
Seeing the breathalyzer come up clean, the cop looked mildly disappointed. “You’re pretty young to be driving a Baolu. Rich kid?”
“Nah, just got a decent job.” Hayato grinned.
Then his phone rang—not the organization’s black burner, but his personal one.
The ringtone blared: “The rain outside keeps falling, drip-drip-drop, three whole days and it still won’t stop—”
Goddamn spam call.
The cop instantly tensed, his hand subtly moving toward his belt as he scanned the car for anything suspicious.
Noticing Xiaoliu in the passenger seat staring at a dashboard ornament, he subtly signaled his partner.
Both Mi Xiaoliu and Yiwen had gone missing—Raven had probably already put out a missing persons alert.
And the head of Fanzui City’s Criminal Investigation Division had strongly urged them to keep an eye out.
Not only had he told Sunshine City’s Superhuman Police captain that Yiwen’s father was an LV5, but he’d also claimed Mi Xiaoliu was a “person of interest” to Lady Lasvedo (Complete bullshit—she’d just bailed Xiaoliu out once).
Whether he’d exaggerated or not, the local cops were definitely paying extra attention now.
Damn, this kidnapper’s got some nerve—using a ringtone like that?
“Hands—”
“Tch.”
Za Warudo!
Hayato stopped time, frantically soaking a towel in ether before slapping it over both cops’ faces.
As time resumed, he swerved around the patrol car and floored the gas.
No choice—cars don’t start in stopped time.
But then one of the cops just coughed twice and yanked the towel off.
Since when do traffic cops have superhumans?!
“This is ×××. We’ve located the missing child, Mi Xiaoliu, in a BMW. The driver is a young man around twenty years old—a superhuman. He attacked us with knockout drugs…”
—
At an ordinary hotel, Yiwen finally got to take a proper bath after what felt like ages, then changed into the clothes the red-haired woman had bought for her.
Finally, shoes again. Though she’d developed something of a phobia about them now.
That water hadn’t actually smelled that bad—it was mostly in her head. Even though that little b*tch’s feet were kinda pretty…
She checked herself in the mirror. After less than a week, her skin had already tanned slightly. The forest sunlight was brutal. Thankfully, pretty people stayed pretty even with darker skin. Still, she’d have to hole up at home for a few days after this to whiten back up. What if Mi Xiaoliu suddenly stopped liking her because of it?
Speaking of Mi Xiaoliu—what the hell happened over there?! She was dying to know.
Yiwen headed to the front desk to borrow a phone and call home, but on the way, she ran into the greasy-haired uncle.
The man didn’t react at all to her transformation from a grubby tomboy to a fresh-faced, stylish one. Clearly, he’d seen it all before.
“I’ve already paid the front desk. You can rest here tonight.” He handed her a few hundred-dollar bills. “Take this for now. Buy a train ticket home first thing tomorrow. We’re here on business, so we’ll be making stops—probably won’t be going your way.”
“Thanks, uncle. Let me get your contact info so I can pay you back later.” Yiwen only took one of the bills.
They were close enough to the city now—a hundred bucks was more than enough to get her home.
“No need, no need. Everyone runs into trouble sometimes. Helping out is just good karma.” He scribbled his WeChat ID on a piece of paper and handed it to her.
What a nice guy.
Big shots really are different.
“Sir, just now—” The red-haired woman approached and whispered something in his ear.
The greasy-haired uncle nodded, then turned to Yiwen. “The boy who went missing with you has been found. He’s safe, but it seems he was kidnapped. They’re in a white sedan, and they’re actually in this town right now…”
He’d apparently dug up everything about Yiwen’s identity.
“…Huh?” Yiwen’s confusion doubled.
Mi Xiaoliu got kidnapped? And taken out of the city?
What kind of kidnapper does that? Nobody in Sunshine City even knows how rich her adoptive mom is!
Yiwen bolted outside, then glanced down at her clothes.
Whatever.
She took off into the sky.
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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