Hoshiguma watched helplessly as her friend's expression grew increasingly grim. Ch'en's tail was rhythmically lashing against her own calves, strike after strike, as if those two legs didn't even belong to her.
"Alright, alright. No matter what's happened, don't take it out on yourself. It's already done; even if you whip your own legs until they break, it won't change anything, will it? Cool down, cool down."
Seeing Ch'en getting worked up over the situation, Hoshiguma quickly stepped in to comfort her friend.
Having partnered for so many years, Hoshiguma understood Ch'en's personality perfectly. To Ch'en, an oversight like this felt like a direct mockery of her own incompetence. For soone who worked harder than anyone else, that was a cruel thought—and the one voice she dreaded hearing most.
Though Hoshiguma didn't know the deep-seated "why" behind this drive, years of companionship allowed her to read the emotions behind every one of Ch'en's movents.
"I'm fine. It's just that my plans for the next few days have been completely derailed. Looking at this, my vacation today and tomorrow is officially dead. I was actually planning to go see a movie."
After taking a few deep breaths, Ch'en spoke to Hoshiguma in a level tone. It seed she had regained her composure, even finding the ntal space to discuss movies. Ch'en felt like every ti she tried to take a leave and ended up back at the station, nothing good ever happened. Today, she had only intended to drop off a few brawling thugs, only to stumble into this ss.
"Are you talking about Yan Fortress? I heard from the others that it's not great. They said everyone fell asleep within five minutes of the premiere. By the ti the second screening ended, the sa people were still sitting there asleep because no one else had co to watch it."
"I know. I was banking on its hypnotic effects; I wanted to see it before it got pulled from theaters. I've been having so insomnia lately, so I wanted to see if that movie was really as effective as they say."
As she spoke, Ch'en expertly reassembled the crossbow parts. She didn't even need her eyes open for this, let alone watching them. She could do this in her sleep.
"Has anyone asked Wei Yenwu? Didn't he say he had eyes and ears all over the slums and that everything was under his control?"
Ch'en questioned Hoshiguma, already preparing to put her uniform back on to go demand answers from Wei Yenwu. How did such a massive oversight happen?
Was he planning to wait until the LGD launched a large-scale operation and these people stord in with these weapons before telling her? Or had that old man's supervision truly failed?
"Wait, wait! Swire has already gone to see the City Executive. She should be on her way back by now. Listen to what she has to say first. If that doesn't work, it won't be too late to go then!"
Hoshiguma looked at her decisive squad leader and sighed. Ch'en was great in every way, but her drive was just too strong—sotis you couldn't even get a word in to stop her.
"Oh, you're all here? Pink Sausage Dragon, aren't you supposed to be on leave today? Why'd you run back to do overti again? Careful not to overwork yourself with all this extra labor, or you won't even have the strength to unsheathe your sword."
Just as Ch'en finished changing and was ready to head out, she ran headfirst into a Feline walking quickly toward them.
Ch'en's face, which had just returned to normal, imdiately soured. rely seeing this Feline was enough to ruin her mood for the day—not that her mood was great to begin with.
"You should mind your own business, Char Siu Cat! Careful that your 'three-legged Feline' martial arts don't fail you when a real ergency hits. Don't co crying to to save you when that happens!"
Ch'en didn't hold back in her rebuttal to Swire. The nearby officers went silent, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire of the impending "Dragon-Tiger" clash.
Everyone's pace quickened. Regardless of whether their desks were nearby, they scurried to their seats and pretended to be buried in work, while secretly waiting for the Lungn Guard Departnt's unique spectacle: the Dragon vs. Tiger showdown.
"Lungn Profanity, Pink Sausage Dragon, what is that supposed to an? I need you to rescue ? By the ti you get around to supporting , the guy selling cheongfun on the street will have opened a nationwide franchise!"
"I wonder who it was that got chased through the streets by twenty-odd thugs when she first started? Dragging that teor hamr behind her like a tail... why do you even use a hamr as a weapon anyway?"
The two began bickering as if no one else existed, completely ignoring the stares of the surrounding officers. The onlookers just sat there with "been there, seen that" expressions. They could practically predict the next lines of the argunt; they had been fighting like this for years, and the material was getting old.
"Ladies, ladies, we have serious business to attend to. Let's go inside and talk shop. You can get back to fighting once we're done, alright? Business first..."
Hoshiguma did her best to diate, keeping the two calm while preventing them from actually coming to blows. In all these years, no matter how heated the shouting match got—even when the screen was filled with Lungn profanities—they had never actually fought physically. That was the only reason Hoshiguma hadn't just dragged them both away.
The two glared at each other before finally acknowledging Hoshiguma's point. Their "contest" could wait; the serious matter took priority.
"What did Wei Yenwu say? How did Ursus weapons suddenly appear right under his nose? Isn't he worried the Yan governnt will send soone to investigate if this gets out?"
The mont they entered the office, Ch'en's questions fired off like a machine gun, directed at the returning Swire. The barrage of questions was so thick that Swire didn't even have a chance to open her mouth.
"Let speak first, Pink Sausage Dragon!"
Swire slamd her hand on the desk, cutting Ch'en off. Realizing she had asked a bit too much at once, Ch'en fell silent. Swire looked at the "Pink Sausage" in front of her with a sigh, feeling a strong urge to give her a piece of her mind, but she knew work ca first.
"Chief Wei isn't entirely clear on why these weapons appeared in Lungn. However, it's confird that these weapons weren't traded in the slums. They were hidden and traded in other sectors, but he doesn't know the specific locations yet."
Swire spoke seriously. For Wei Yenwu to admit he was "unclear" was an incredibly rare occurrence. The man whose eyes and ears covered all of Lungn had just admitted that soone had pulled off a massive operation right under his nose. That alone proved how troubleso this enemy was.
"What does that an? The gangs bought this stuff from sowhere outside the slums?"
Swire's words left Ch'en deeply perplexed. The LGD's cargo inspections were extrely strict, and Ch'en often personally oversaw them to prevent dangerous goods from flowing into Lungn.
"Unclear. Chief Wei said we need to start our own investigation on this end. If he finds any leads on his side, he'll inform us imdiately."
Hearing this, Ch'en knew Wei Yenwu was as clueless as they were. If she wanted to know the truth, she would have to find a way to crack this case herself.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see what the interrogation room turns up. We don't have a single lead. What are we supposed to do, search every single corporation in Lungn with ties to Ursus?"
Ch'en frustratedly ruffled her hair. If the only clue was "Ursus," the list of suspect companies was long enough to keep the LGD busy until the day Wei Yenwu retired.
Wait for news from Wei Yenwu? Then what was the LGD even for? She didn't want the LGD to fail to find anything, only to have to rely on soone else's charity for intel.
"Perhaps we should think about how these things were brought into the city without being detected. If we find the actual transport thod, the rest of the investigation will beco much easier."
User Comments
0 comments from readers