Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Surveillance

Ahem, so, what are your specialties?  

In a certain office, Jim and the Crimson Walker, Isaac sat with their chins propped on their hands, the very picture of professional police officers.  

Do I need special skills just to join? The teenager across from them looked puzzled. I thought this was unpaid volunteer work. You’re telling me there are requirements for free labor?  

No, but we need to know what you’re good at. We can’t just send someone with zero skills out to die. Isaac pinched the bridge of his nose.  

Thanks to the radicals’ habit of recruiting cannon fodder, pumping them full of ability-enhancing drugs, and throwing them into the meat grinder, Tian Xing Dao’s reputation had taken a nosedive.  

Hearing this, the interviewee’s opinion of the organization instantly rose a few notches. He straightened up.  

I can make complete strangers furious from dozens—even hundreds—of kilometers away, just by moving my fingers.  

Jim and Isaac leaned back in unison, performing the universal gesture of what the actual fuck.  

In the end, Isaac handed the kid an indefinite “we’ll call you”—a polite rejection.  

“Why do people like this even bother applying?” A girl sitting behind them groaned.  

“Records say he’s just a regular 14-year-old middle schooler,” Isaac replied, scrolling through the tablet in his hands. 

“Only notable thing about him is that his crush started dating someone else, so at midnight last night, he posted some edgy ‘love and darkness 💔’ rant on social media.”  

Classic case of an angsty teen lashing out at the world over trivial drama. No way they’d let someone like that join. It was precisely because the radicals recruited anyone that their once-idealistic organization had become such a mess.  

“Bro, you can just look up people’s info like that?” Jim leaned in, impressed.  

“Every proper organization needs a hacker,” the Crimson Walker said, pushing his face away. 

“Now that the mastermind behind the Dream Game incident is gone, other hackers can finally shine again. We’re not quite on the feds’ level, but digging up basic info is easy.”

He shut off the tablet. “But there’s one area where we’ll surpass them soon… Tonight, we’re hitting Central Plaza. Wear civilian clothes with your uniforms underneath.”  

“Huh? Why?” Jim and the others groaned in unison.  

It was the middle of summer. Their uniforms were already stuffy enough—now they had to layer up?  

“Our people found the Dream Game’s server,” Isaac answered. “Well, they found it days ago, but we held off on retrieving it.”  

Every organization—even out-of-town gangs—was hunting for that thing. The fact that their fledgling group had located it first was something to be proud of.  

But we’ve had unidentified tails recently. HQ suspects Night Owl… All combat-capable personnel are mobilizing. Even if the feds get their hands on it, we can’t let them have it.  

—  

On the shopping street, Mi Xiaoliu crouched in front of a street vendor’s stall, examining a strange little latch. The shopkeeper spun an elaborate and entirely fabricated backstory:  

“Legends say this was a birthday gift from Li Kui to Zhang Fei, back before Qin Shi Huang and Qianlong had their falling-out. Kid, if you like it, I’ll be a good guy and let it go for just 2,000 mira.”  

Mi Xiaoliu hurriedly put the palm-sized trinket back.  

Too expensive.  

Yiwen couldn’t take it anymore. She stepped forward, hefting the toy in her hand. “This is worth 10 mila, max.”

The vendor’s face twisted in horror. 10 mila? “If you’re not buying, don’t waste my time! King Arthur once offered ten chests of diamonds to Zhuge Liang for this very—”  

“20 mira,” Yiwen said.  

“…Fine, just pay up.”  

The vendor tearfully accepted his 20 mila profit.  

Mi Xiaoliu turned to stare at Yiwen.  

“Yiwen is amazing.”  

Yiwen had successfully earned Mi Xiaoliu’s admiration.  

“It’s getting late. Let’s go eat,” Yiwen said with a smile.  

Mi Xiaoliu tugged at Yiwen’s sleeve. “I want to go to your house tonight.”  

Heli wouldn’t be home until very late, and Gloria liked to ambush her in her room ahead of time.  

She was too scared to go back.  

“Huh?” Yiwen turned her face away so Mi Xiaoliu couldn’t see her expression. “W-why so sudden?”  

She didn’t actually mind that much—and for some reason, her mom really liked Mi Xiaoliu…  

“Then—” She was about to agree when her phone suddenly rang.  

It was the dispatcher.  

Ugh! A work call during my time off? It’s definitely about that little bitch showing up again, forcing me to work overtime. So annoying.  

Reluctantly, she answered.  

“Our mole in Tian Xing Dao just sent word—they found the Dream Game server. There’s an operation tonight. Get here immediately.”  

This was news even Officer Chen found hard to believe. When they’d originally planted Jim as a mole, no one had expected anything from him—just a placeholder until the operation wrapped up. Yet somehow, he’d actually delivered useful intel.  

“Tonight?” Yiwen frowned.  

She’d already planned a whole evening of fun—even bought tickets for an escape room.  

“Yes. Got other plans? Tian Xiao Dao isn’t gonna wait for you to finish your date. HQ’s treating this as top priority—even Humpback Whale’s joining. You can flirt with your little boyfriend after this is over.”  

“He’s not my—” Yiwen grumbled. “Isn’t this overkill? It’s just Tian Xing Dao. How could they find something we couldn’t?”  

“Never underestimate the enemy. You’re still too green on that front,” the dispatcher scolded. “Night Owl’s been tailing them, which means their intel’s probably legit.”  

“If it’s so important, why not bring the Little Demon King?”  

An LV5 would make things way more secure.  

“The Little Demon King hasn’t been part of the Special Abilities Division for a while. He’s busy with other things. Take a cab—no shady drivers on this route.”  

Hanging up with a sigh, Yiwen gave Mi Xiaoliu an apologetic look. “Sorry, Xiaoliu. Work stuff.”  

Mi Xiaoliu grabbed her sleeve again.  

Don’t want to go home.  

Scared of Gloria.  

Gloria had just DM’d her, threatening to eat her.  

“Stop it, I’m really busy.” Yiwen gently pried Mi Xiaoliu’s hand away. “There’s a mess left over from the Dream Game incident that I need to deal with. We’ll hang out another time, okay?”  

She hailed a cab and got in.  

She didn’t give Mi Xiaoliu the spare escape room ticket—even though it expired today.  

Why should I? So he can take someone else? Lu Mingxue? Or Gloria?  

Watching Yiwen drive away, Mi Xiaoliu lowered her head, trying to remember the way to Raven’s house.  

“Master, didn’t she just say she was dealing with the Dream Game mess?” Sasha piped up.  

“Mmm.”  

“Master, the Dream Game mess is that server thing, right? We have to find it before anyone else!” Sasha explained.  

“So… should we tail the little white-haired one?” Sasha proposed a bold idea.  

It had always been Yiwen tailing Mi Xiaoliu—when had it ever been the criminal stalking the cop?

“Seems like there’s only one police station around here.”  

…  

Night fell. Jim and his teammates from Tian Xing Dao arrived at Central Plaza separately, pretending not to know each other as they converged toward the same destination.  

Unnoticed by them, a short figure dressed as a clown handed out balloons to children while keeping a sharp eye on the flow of the crowd—particularly those wearing long sleeves and pants.  

And unnoticed by that clown, a small white whale watched from above, tracking the clown’s overly frequent head-turning.  

Meanwhile, Yiwen had changed into her black uniform.  

The white uniform was meant to stand out—so criminals in the act might hesitate or flee upon spotting an officer, preventing violence before it happened.  

But tonight’s operation required stealth. Black was the better choice.  

Using the shadows to hug the walls, Yiwen remained unaware that, in her blind spot, a figure in black stood atop a building, blending into the darkness as he observed her.  

“Yiwen is weird,” Mi Xiaoliu thought to herself.  

She meant the outfit.  

“Ah, yeah…” Sasha hesitated. “Master, have you not realized yet that Yiwen is that little white-haired girl who’s been opposing you?”  

Mi Xiaoliu’s lips parted slightly, as if surprised.  

Yiwen is the bad guy.  

“No, Master is the bad guy here…”  

Unnoticed by Mi Xiaoliu, a tall man in a crow mask crouched atop a building, watching her intently.  

“The Princess is within our mission zone. Intentions unclear.”  

“Really?” Rutherford’s voice crackled with the excitement of a vampire who’d just tasted poisoned blood.

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