Chapter 201

Chapter 201: First Strike (Two-In-One)

“I’ll only say this once. Hand her over to me, and you’ll all walk away unharmed. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what will happen next.” The girl pointed at Mi Xiaoliu. “Don’t even think about calling the police for help—they’re too busy to deal with you right now.”  

This time, it really wasn’t Easter causing trouble. Who would’ve thought the Red Prince wasn’t dead and had come to this city?  

Someone like him appearing anywhere would warrant immediate suppression.  

“You’re dreaming.” Yiwen stepped sideways, shielding Mi Xiaoliu, and sneered, “If you were actually capable of beating us, would you even bother negotiating?”  

Not bothering with the verbal sparring, Okulet erased the car’s trunk door, pulled out a smoke grenade, and hurled it at the girl. Before it even landed, he felt a discomfort in his own lungs.  

After clearing the smoke from his own respiratory system, he watched the girl’s reaction through the thick haze with his special eyes.  

The continuous smoke didn’t choke her either—another attack nullified—but it successfully obstructed her vision.  

“Cover your noses and mouths, and call the police with your phones.” Okulet took out two more smoke grenades.  

He tossed one at his feet and the other behind him, then grabbed the other two and quickly retreated beyond the smoke’s range.  

There was likely a spatial ability user hiding nearby assisting her, making escape difficult.  

Yiwen immediately called Humpback Whale, but the call didn’t go through. Reluctantly, she dialed Enoch instead.  

Since very few people knew about Mi Xiaoliu’s situation, calling the general police hotline would only register this as an ordinary ability-user assault case.  

“Someone’s trying to capture Little Xiaoliu? Hold on, let me mute—I’ll be right there!” Enoch panicked and hung up.  

Who asked you to come? And since when do you call her “Little Xiaoliu”?  

But Enoch wasn’t stupid. If he, a support staffer, was personally rushing over in this situation, it could only mean the detective squad was genuinely short-handed.  

For an ordinary ability user, it wouldn’t be worth it—but for the Red Prince, it was.  

To turn the tide, they had to take out the spatial ability user hiding in the shadows.  

The “Recording” ability of the Lasvedo family had one critical prerequisite: visibility.  

And these eyes, the medium for “Recording,” happened to have the unique function of seeing certain special substances—electronic ghosts, souls, even objects hidden in parallel worlds could be detected. When using the ability, these aspects were further enhanced.  

Enhanced vision? Check. A sixty-kilometer ability range? Check. The trouble now was pinpointing the spatial ability user’s location.  

Okulet’s eyesight hadn’t been optimized—he couldn’t just erase everything within sixty kilometers.  

The spatial ability user was clever. They hadn’t directly attacked him or the other two, as that would’ve allowed him to sense their location through intuition.  

Clearly, these people had come prepared—at the very least, they knew his identity. They were probably the same group that had targeted him yesterday.  

When the intent to attack arose, the corresponding attack would preemptively strike the attacker? But that didn’t prevent the attack from being executed.  

The result was obvious: this time, the attack phased right through her.  

This phenomenon reminded Okulet of Riels. However, Riels’ technique involved rapidly dispersing the atoms in a part of his body and reassembling them after the attack passed.  

“Two kilometers,” Mi Xiaoliu suddenly said.  

“Hm?” Okulet was puzzled.  

“Resident,” Mi Xiaoliu added.  

Sasha had told her. The Fourth Fractal’s personal teleportation distance could be gauged directly from the world map’s layout, but when carrying someone, the maximum range was only two kilometers.  

The term “Fourth Fractal” still made her uncomfortable.  

Okulet pondered.  

Earlier, he had teleported a few hundred meters—within his line of sight. Erasing space beyond his vision risked accidentally wiping out bystanders.  

The distance wasn’t long, but if the enemy maintained maximum range, even if both of them teleported simultaneously, they shouldn’t have been able to place the girl right in front of them so precisely—unless his earlier teleport had coincidentally moved him toward their position.  

The latter was more likely. Their route back to the city was easy to predict.  

As for the location—probably the sky. The girl had shouted upward earlier. But it could also be a deliberate misdirection. Otherwise, who would be that dumb?  

Okulet subtly glanced at the sky but saw nothing except blinding sunlight.  

“You’re discussing your plans out loud—are you looking down on me?” The ghost-fire girl finally lost patience and charged out of the smoke.  

Okulet picked up a small pebble and handed it to Yiwen. “Your turn to throw it at her. Aim for her head—no ability-enhanced force.”  

With Riels’ ability inherited to adjust trajectory, she could hit with pinpoint accuracy at this range.  

“Huh? But it didn’t work earlier?” Yiwen was confused.  

Besides, a pebble this small without added force would barely scratch her, right?  

“Trust me.” Okulet stepped back.  

Yiwen nodded and hurled it straight at the girl’s face. The girl didn’t even bother dodging, only closing her eyes reflexively.  

The pebble vanished just before hitting her.  

Okulet’s doing.  

“Did you feel it hit your face?” Okulet asked.  

“No,” Yiwen answered, realizing what he was testing.  

He had used Yiwen’s throw to determine whether the ghost-fire girl’s ability was tied to the attacker’s intent—to uncover the nature of her power.  

The answer was clearly no.  

Her ability was to make the attacker suffer their own attack one second before it landed on her, while simultaneously nullifying the attack itself—regardless of paradoxes like “if the attacker died from the attack or was interrupted, the attack wouldn’t exist in the first place.”  

Even if the attack was successfully executed, it wouldn’t matter, because she would simply phase through it like the Red Prince’s time-deletion.  

She could also sense the true source of the attack. For example, when the truck was about to “attack” her yesterday, though the truck took the damage, she immediately recognized it as the Red Prince’s doing—which was why Easter classified it as a sensory-type ability.  

Designation: LV5 First Strike  

A passive ability that triggers even while sleeping.

Okulet had initially considered using an unintentional attack to counter her—for example, standing in front of the girl and shouting at Yiwen, “Shoot me!” then dodging at the last moment before the attack landed.  

However, their pebble-throwing stunt had successfully enraged the girl. She picked up a sharp stone from the ground and lunged at Okulet, using it as a weapon.  

The stone was erased.  

As the girl charged at him, Okulet quickly positioned himself in front of Mi Xiaoliu, blocking the girl’s wild swings without daring to grab her arm.  

His intuition warned him that even “restraint” would trigger her ability’s preemptive backlash.  

What followed was a comical scene, Okulet continuously parried her flailing punches without retaliating, while the ghost-fire girl’s amateurish strikes couldn’t take him down.  

She couldn’t ignore him and go straight for Mi Xiaoliu either, because Okulet shielded her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.  

At first glance, her ability seemed useless once figured out, but it still forced the opponent into a one-sided fight—no counterattacks allowed. Combined with the spatial ability user preventing escape, it was a troublesome situation.  

Aside from her overpowered ability, the girl’s combat skills were genuinely terrible—just pure flailing. It was hard to believe that between the two of them, they had two LV5s.  

The ghost-fire girl’s laser gun had been erased by Okulet the moment they met, along with the cornfield.  

But as long as she wasn’t a child and was physically capable, even bare-handed strikes would eventually hurt, especially with her nails involved.  

Okulet’s arms were soon covered in bloody scratches.  

Wasn’t this just a street brawl?  

Yiwen was dumbfounded, her initial tension completely gone.  

She tried deflecting the girl’s punches, only for her own hand to be violently jerked off course.  

This shouldn’t count as an attack, right?  

Even if it did work, deflecting punches at close range wasn’t very useful—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been kicked in the crotch by Xiaoliu before.  

Why did I think of that again?  

She had to find a chance to get payback.  

Seeing Okulet struggling, Mi Xiaoliu changed into her beginner combat suit and poked his waist.  

Okulet nodded, stepping back to sit on a rock and rest, letting Mi Xiaoliu handle it herself.  

He watched the fight while occasionally directing her.  

Realizing she was being mocked, the girl wasn’t stupid enough to keep wasting energy. The situation was already decided—with Mi Xiaoliu in her combat suit, standing still and letting her punch all day and night wouldn’t even make her bleed, and even if it did, she’d heal instantly.  

The girl had actually come prepared with plenty of weapons, including several new types of poison, but she’d run into Okulet’s intuition paired with erasure.  

Five minutes into the encounter, all her weapons were gone, and her ability had been mostly figured out.  

How the hell is this little demon’s ability so annoying?  

“Fall back for now, Sherry,” a sigh came through her earpiece. “We should’ve acted sooner. And you didn’t lure Mi into the forest like you were supposed to.”  

The girl, called Sherry, didn’t respond. Instead, she glared at Mi Xiaoliu with what could only be described as hatred.  

“You had so many miracle herbs back then. Why would you give them to someone perfectly healthy instead of sharing them with actual patients?!”  

Mi Xiaoliu didn’t answer, silently staring back.  

“None of your damn business. Were you the one who grew those miracle herbs? Hypocrite.” Yiwen spat near her feet.  

Verbal attacks didn’t trigger her ability.  

Still, she shouldn’t be too aggressive in front of her elders—and she didn’t want to set a bad example for Mi Xiaoliu.  

“If it were me, I’d have donated them unconditionally,” the girl replied coldly. “Even if you’d sold them at high prices to patients, I wouldn’t despise you as much as I do now.”  

“Sure, sure. With that overpowered ability of yours, I don’t see you doing any good deeds,” Yiwen taunted deliberately.  

The girl ignored her. With her hands in her pockets, she lightly tapped the ground with her toes—a signal—and vanished.  

Since the spatial fluctuation targeting her wasn’t dangerous, Okulet couldn’t predict it in advance, and without prediction, there was no reaction.  

That’s it?  

Just like that?  

Yiwen was stunned.  

She’d expected an intense battle—from their first exchange, she’d known this girl was a formidable opponent.  

Pfft. Total letdown.  

Still, without Okulet around, it would’ve been dangerous. Even if they figured out her ability, she could still attack with weapons.  

“Hey, old man, let me bandage you up before you catch rabies or something. Xiaoliu, check the trunk for the first-aid kit—I think I saw one earlier…” Yiwen trailed off as she noticed Xiaoliu staring up at the sky.  

Mi Xiaoliu had seen it.  

A flickering black dot in the sky, riding some kind of machine in a parallel space.  

Lasvedo’s eyes were sharp, but “optical illusions” were something anyone could fall for.  

A cloak shifting between primary colors at just the right frequency, positioned high in the sky against backlighting—it was hard to spot.  

But Mi Xiaoliu saw it.  

It was difficult, but she saw it.  

“Fourth Fractal! Master, shoot him!” Sasha fumed.  

Can’t hit the girl? Fine, but you’re fair game!  

Hearing that title, Mi Xiaoliu didn’t hesitate—she pulled out her blue-flame Gatling gun.  

She hadn’t recovered the related memories yet, but she hated this person.  

Hated him.  

Closing her eyes because she was afraid of Gatling’s muzzle flash, she fired into the sky, drawing confused looks from the other two.  

The Resident instantly teleported away.  

The barrels spun for only a second before Xiaoliu stashed the gun back into her inventory.  

She thought she felt the heat.  

It scared her a little.  

“Did you see something?” Yiwen squinted upward but only saw blinding sunlight.  

“Mm.” Xiaoliu leaned against Yiwen. “Pat.”  

Actively seeking comfort.  

“Okay, okay. Pat, pat.” Yiwen stroked her head.  

She still didn’t understand why Mi Xiaoliu was so afraid of fire—even the fire from her own weapons.  

Back at her house, she’d loved watching Yiwen’s mom cook but always ran away when the gas stove was lit.  

Oh, right. There was still a third wheel here.  

“Hey, old man, turn around,” Yiwen said, suddenly embarrassed.  

Okulet obligingly looked away.  

Kids these days…  

—  

Twenty kilometers away, atop a certain tower.

“Teleporting with someone else doesn’t cover this distance, but the Resident can chain his ability.”  

“The Sixth Fractal spotted me.” The Resident removed his cloak and took a swig of vodka from a bottle at his waist.  

“I am the Sixth Fractal,” Sherry snapped, kicking at him angrily.  

Her foot passed right through him, and she nearly twisted her ankle.  

Like Uchiha Obito, this guy’s body constantly flickered between reality and a parallel space.  

“The time you spent fighting the Red Prince yesterday was more than enough to capture Mi,” the Resident said impassively. “Back then, the Little Demon King wasn’t her bodyguard yet.”  

“Are you saying I should’ve just ignored that scumbag?” Sherry snorted. “The Federal Paranormal Police are useless—letting a pervert run rampant for so long.”  

“Enough arguing. Both of you, fall back for now. If we can’t make progress, then we’ll just have to—”  

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—  

BANG!  

That was the sound of the vodka bottle shattering.  

But what were those noises before it?  

Sherry didn’t see what happened. One moment, the Resident was standing there—the next, he collapsed, his body riddled with bullet holes, eyes wide in disbelief.  

Dead on the spot.  

—  

“The more I think about it, the angrier I get. We just let her run away like that?” Yiwen grumbled, feeling stifled.  

It was a strange sense of déjà vu—back then, letting Mi Xiaoliu escape over and over had felt just as frustrating.  

But Mi Xiaoliu was cute. If they hadn’t let her go, they wouldn’t have gotten to show her off later.  

“We couldn’t stop her. Neither side could do anything to the other.”  

Okulet glanced at the trunk, its door erased.  

“I considered continuously erasing the air around her to create a vacuum. But my intuition told me not to.”  

Indirect methods wouldn’t work either.  

“Then I tried erasing her underwear. Instead, my own underwear disappeared.”  

Yiwen: “??”  

This old man was unhinged.  

Usually, he wore the same stern expression as Old Chen, but every now and then, he’d drop something absolutely deranged. No wonder they’d been roommates.  

Yiwen almost pulled Mi Xiaoliu away from him, but seeing the bloody scratches on his arms, she held back. That would’ve been too cruel.  

“Her ability’s definition of an ‘attack’ aligns with her subconscious perception. Violating her underwear falls under that category.” Okulet’s expression didn’t change as he moved items from the trunk to the passenger seat.  

This car really was ancient—no one would take it even if he gave it away for free.  

But after so many years together, how could he bear to replace it?  

“Theoretically, if she blames a carpenter for getting a splinter in her fingernail, the carpenter would suffer the injury she would’ve accidentally inflicted on herself.”  

The definition of an “attacker” likely also stemmed from her subconscious. Ignoring her lackluster brawling skills, that girl’s ability was ridiculously strong.  

“So there’s no way to counter her? Then how did she get those injuries on her hands?” Yiwen asked, confused.  

“Her subconscious believed she got hurt by accident.” Okulet replied.  

Perhaps only another conceptual-type ability could counter hers.  

Or Blue Flame.  

“Do you know her?” Okulet asked Mi Xiaoliu while motioning for them to get in the car.  

“Easter,” Mi Xiaoliu answered.  

“Hm. Do you know much about Easter?”  

No response.  

“Tell me if you remember anything.” Okulet checked the time on his phone.  

Yet the car’s hanging ornament also displayed the time. His awkward attempt to hide his embarrassment only made Yiwen cringe alongside him.  

As they neared the city, traffic suddenly came to a standstill—a long, unmoving line.  

This wasn’t rush hour, and they weren’t on a highway. A jam like this was unusual.  

Okulet frowned.  

He’d encountered traffic yesterday too.  

What are these people even doing?  

Over ten minutes passed without a single car moving.  

This isn’t right.  

Yiwen got out to check what was happening ahead.  

She flew up briefly but gave up—the line was way too long. By the time she got back, more cars might’ve boxed them in, and losing track of the old man would be a pain.  

She called Enoch: “Yeah, we’re safe now. Currently…”  

Glancing at the map: “On [×× Road]. Any idea why traffic’s backed up like this?”  

“Huh? I just got on the main road—no clue.” Enoch sounded baffled.  

He’d taken backstreets to avoid notice—and now he’d just missed them.  

Wind noise crackled over the line.  

Yiwen switched to speakerphone: “Say that again.”  

“Oh, uh—I said I just got on the main road. No idea what’s going on. Is Little Xiaoliu hurt?”  

“She’s fine. Just head back.” Yiwen hung up, annoyed.  

Why are you so worried about my Xiaoliu?  

“…Little sister?” Okulet turned slightly.  

“Yep. Don’t tell me you thought Mi Xiaoliu was a boy? She’s a girl—just as adorable as me.” Yiwen’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Not very professional, old man. A bodyguard should at least know their employer’s basic info.”  

To emphasize Mi Xiaoliu’s cuteness, she reached over and squished her cheeks, molding them like dough.  

Mi Xiaoliu immediately hugged her toy donkey protectively, thinking Yiwen was going to hit it.  

Okulet didn’t reply, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, deep in thought.  

“You can take off your ey—”  

Before he could finish, the driver from the car ahead knocked on the window, offering a cigarette: “Hey, man. Got a light?”  

Okulet traded his lighter for the cigarette and asked: “What’s going on up front?”  

“Heard it from the guys ahead. Some crazy kid took his vice principal’s car and got it stuck in a tree. Called a tow truck.” The man leaned on the window.  

“Ten minutes ago.” Okulet pointed at the hanging clock.  

A tow truck only took up half a lane. How was traffic still frozen?  

“Well, the kid freaked out the tow truck driver, so the guy paid him 100 mira to show how he got the car up there. Then the tow truck got stuck in the next tree over.” The man blew a smoke ring.  

“So they called another tow truck. This new guy didn’t believe it either, so he paid the kid another 100 mira to demonstrate… and now three tow trucks are stuck. They’ve called a fourth—”  

“…”  

Yiwen hugged Mi Xiaoliu, utterly speechless.  

What kind of absurd nonsense was this? This had to be deliberate—someone manufacturing a traffic jam.  

Easter was really going all out to stop them from calling for backup.  

Wait—what if it wasn’t Easter?  

“Uncle… this might be the Red Prince’s doing.”  

The ghost-fire girl had distracted her earlier, but now she remembered—Humpback Whale hadn’t answered his phone, probably for the same reason.  

“The Red Prince?” Okulet’s brow furrowed.  

“Yeah. Humpback Whale said he came back to life.” Yiwen’s expression darkened.  

Is the Red Prince here for revenge against me? Is that why he’s blocking the road?  

Okulet opened the car door: “Get out. We’re flying back.”  

“Huh? What about the car?” Yiwen patted Okulet’s old friend.  

“Leave it.”  

“…”  

This old man definitely had a grudge against the Red Prince.  

Misha, the victim, was the Chairwoman’s daughter. And if the old man was the Chairwoman’s husband…  

I kinda feel bad. We got a wish out of it, but the Red Prince wasn’t even fully dead.  

Still—  

“Uncle, aren’t you Xiaoliu’s bodyguard? Isn’t dragging her into danger a bit irresponsible?” Yiwen had to think of Xiaoliu first.  

But Mi Xiaoliu gently tugged her sleeve.

“Let’s go find the Red Prince.”

[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]