Chapter 40

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Chapter 40: Things Suddenly Got A Bit Fantasy

“I’m sorry.”

Mi Xiaoliu sat in the chair, pressing her palm against her forehead, looking especially obedient.

She had just received a barrage of hard flicks to the forehead—very painful.

Not happy.

The originally dilapidated little shack had taken on a somewhat decent appearance after being freshly repainted. The cracks on the walls couldn’t be hidden without a full renovation, but at least it looked inhabitable now.

The cramped space barely accommodated the few of them. It couldn’t exactly be called cozy, but the basic furniture was all there.

“Come here, let big sis rub it for you.”

The Hermit Sister reached over to gently touch Mi Xiaoliu’s forehead, heart aching.

Such a pretty little face—if it got ruined by flicks, that would be a crime against beauty, an offense to gods and men.

The instigator of said forehead flicks had no comment. A cigarette dangled between two fingers as he played his game. During a death screen, he flicked the ash into the trash can—coating a severed hand inside with a light dusting of gray.

Glancing down at the hand, Wei Shi frowned and knotted up the plastic bag of the trash can.

It definitely wasn’t Mi Xiaoliu’s hand. It was a “souvenir” from a recent job. Wei Shi had responded to a shady offline invitation. He and the guy had hit it off immediately—like long-lost comrades—and before leaving, Wei Shi even brought back a little parting gift: that hairy pair of hands now resting in the trash.

When the game ended and his temper cooled, Wei Shi swiveled his chair to look at Mi Xiaoliu.

“Are you going through a rebellious phase?”

Mi Xiaoliu didn’t answer. She didn’t know what a rebellious phase was.

Wei Shi didn’t press the issue. He had already delivered the lecture.

“There’s a new mission. Are you taking it or not?”

“Taking it.”

A conversation as clean and curt as a father and daughter exchange. Wei Shi still wore the appearance of the middle-aged man from before. Switching appearances too often would attract suspicion.

Mi Xiaoliu glanced around, clearly looking for someone.

“Mind your own business. You two are being assigned to separate missions.” Wei Shi noticed the glance. “He said he’s staying at his dad’s place.”

At the same time, elsewhere—

Hayato was tucking himself in and irritably nudging a skeleton beside him. “Old man, scoot over.”

Then he lowered the coffin lid.

“This job’s just a basic heist. The client wants us to swap a painting in a museum with a fake.”

Wei Shi gestured toward the counterfeit propped against the wall.

The Hermit Sister helped by pulling off the cloth covering it.

In a world that had already suffered two apocalyptic events, very few ancient artworks had survived. Any piece that had was now considered priceless.

These works couldn’t even be openly displayed, yet vain “collectors” who didn’t know red from ochre still insisted on flaunting them.

“Normally, thefts like this are better left to the boss or Hayato, but you haven’t completed a single mission this month, right?”

The Hermit Sister gently ruffled Mi Xiaoliu’s hair.

For their team, theft missions were about as easy as it got.

“No more funny business,” Wei Shi said, holding up his index finger.

Mi Xiaoliu covered her forehead and took a step back, hiding behind the Hermit Sister.

—

The museum—one of the rare places that still had working surveillance.

The painting, being one of the few remaining works of art, was technically housed in a fixed museum. Still, it frequently toured the world for exhibitions, since there weren’t many presentable artworks left.

But who the hell had the brilliant idea to send it to Fanzui City for display? It was practically an open invitation to steal it.

There was no way it was a genuine article. Sure, art pieces might travel for showings, but they’d never make it to a dump like Fanzui City.

Chances are, the two museums had simply made a phone call—“Hey, we’re saying the painting is going to Fanzui City,—then promptly stored the original away.

They’d then ship some random stuff around for show, and the Fanzui City’s museum would slap up the forgery and sell tickets.

Since the post-LV5 Extinction Era began, this little scam had worked flawlessly for a hundred years. Usually, no one could tell the difference. Even if someone did, they’d keep quiet to protect their expert status. If it did leak, the museum would just say, “We were protecting cultural heritage,” and no one would be able to say otherwise.

The Hermit Sister knew all of this. But if the client didn’t, then why ruin the illusion? Leave a bad review? With wrong intel? They’d be having a little offline “chat” then.

Of course, the museum’s security wasn’t bad. But Fanzui City was home to an ability-user academy, making it one of the most ability-heavy cities in the world. Stealing a painting here? Totally doable.

Take Mi Xiaoliu, for instance. Thanks to her newbie combat suit, the surveillance cameras didn’t catch a single image of her.

The heist was going perfectly—at least, it should have been.

But Mi Xiaoliu had been trained by Sasha to be a polite, well-mannered child. Sasha was always scolding her for being rude.

So, just as she was about to take the painting, she walked over and gently tapped the security guard’s arm—intending to politely say hello before taking it.

Sasha, completely unprepared, didn’t even have time to stop her.

The Bluetooth earpiece crackled with what sounded like the Hermit Sister spitting out her drink, followed by Wei Shi’s curses. Instinctively, Mi Xiaoliu covered her forehead.

Now she wasn’t sure she dared go back.

—

“What? Black-clad intruder at the museum? Their target is ‘Mona Lisa’s Dangerous Smile’?”

Yiwen, who was in the middle of a mission against vigilante groups, was utterly dumbfounded. 

“Since when did these people care about art?”

“Maybe they’re short on funds?” her contact replied. “There are rumors they redistribute wealth occasionally.”

“Focus on your current objective… Hey! Come back! That’s an order.”

“It’s clearly more effective for me to engage a close-combat ability user,” Yiwen said, feet lifting off the ground as she launched into flight. “Last time was just a fluke. Ten percent won’t faze him—but what about one percent? One-tenth of one percent?”

“…You’re flying the wrong way.”

“…”

—

“So that’s the black-clad menace who had the cops running in circles the other day?”

In the front seat of a car, a blonde girl lit a cigarette, watching Mi Xiaoliu nimbly leap between high-rises like it was nothing.

Shen Qing reached over and snatched the cigarette from her. “Miss, we should keep our distance.”

The last time this person had shown up, they’d caused massive destruction—two streets leveled in under two minutes using nothing but their body.

“I don’t get it. How has someone this arrogant still not been caught? What is Foboler even doing?”

Even if she didn’t get along with her mother, she and her mom were completely united in their dislike of Foboler.

“Going head-to-head with an LV4 ability user and coming out on top? It just means the enemy’s too strong,” Shen Qing replied, shaking her head.

“Shen Qing, between me and her, who’s stronger?”

The blonde girl opened the door, her leg—wrapped in white stockings—stepping out gracefully.

Just a few days ago, these vigilante punks had completely ruined her good mood. Her mom had been on her case ever since.

“Miss, that’s an LV4!”

“I know,” the blonde said, striking a bizarre pose.

In front of Mi Xiaoliu, who was mid-retreat between rooftops, a sudden flash of light erupted—and then…

A golden dragon.

A massive golden dragon made entirely of energy appeared, along with a ridiculous anime-style incantation:

“The golden dragon devours my enemies!”

Things suddenly got way too Xianxia (Fantasy Cultivation).