Su Xiao walked out from the main entrance of the hospital, followed by Bubu Wang, who was yawning incessantly.
There weren’t many pedestrians on the street, and most of them were young students, aged between 14 to 19 years old. The dayti atmosphere in Academy City felt full of energy and vitality.
As he walked among the pedestrians, Su Xiao took out a walkie-talkie.
"Alex, I’ve been discharged."
After a long pause, there was no sound from the walkie-talkie. Su Xiao tapped it a few tis.
Beep beep beep～
A phone rang near Su Xiao, coming from a passerby. The passerby answered the call, paused for a few seconds, then handed the phone to Su Xiao.
"I think it’s for you..."
Su Xiao glanced at the bewildered student, then at the walkie-talkie in his hand, and finally at Bubu Wang. Last night, he had let Bubu Wang carry the walkie-talkie in its mouth; could it be that saliva caused a short circuit? After a mont, he took the phone.
"I’ve deployed the Hunting Dog Troops nearby; which side do you belong to now?"
The phone in Su Xiao’s hand had already been intercepted by Aleister.
"It seems my previous intelligence was wrong. This is not solely your turf, and do you need to ask which side I’m on? Compared to that doctor’s way of handling things, I prefer a simple and direct approach."
"It seems my ’old friend’ couldn’t persuade you."
There was a hint of amusent in Aleister’s tone. Su Xiao chuckled; he had a feeling that Aleister might have already known he wouldn’t join Mingtu Zhuihun’s side, as Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Mingtu Zhuihun weren’t related.
"The ideologies don’t align; it’s impossible to work together. I’ll handle the aftermath of last night’s incident, and after resolving it, I’ll et Tsuchimikado Motoharu."
"You’ll definitely et him."
Su Xiao hung up the phone and returned it to the student, who stayed bewildered the whole ti, unable to keep up with the developnts.
Once the student left, two n in black suits approached Su Xiao.
"Mister Bai Ye, we are the Hunting Dog Troops."
"Where are those two from last night?"
"The Tenth District, it’s quite complex there. They t with a magic spy last night, who provided them a shelter."
A mber of the Hunting Dog Troops handed over several docunts. After looking through them, Su Xiao got the gist of the situation.
"Where is Yukidaseki Tanxi?"
"Miss Yukidaseki is recovering; she was seriously injured in last night’s battle, in the sa hospital you were in."
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao pondered for a mont, "If it’s that hospital, we can contact her now."
...
Two hours later, Academy City, Tenth District.
The Tenth District, adjacent to the Seventh District, lies on the outskirts of Academy City. There are no schools here, only many ’experintal animal’ incinerators, and the city’s sole Juvenile Reformation Facility is situated here.
Without outstanding research projects, the institutions here lack wealth. Over ti, most research institutions here are abandoned, ultimately turning the area into a slum within Academy City.
Yes, even Academy City has a slum, though unlike outside slums, here they don’t suffer from hunger or cold and don’t struggle at the brink of subsistence.
A large number of idle people, free from hunger concerns, gather in the Tenth District. Their internal violent tendencies are ignited by the environnt, causing a significant spike in the area’s cri rate. No student, especially female students, would dare to step in here after 6 PM.
Aleister tacitly allowed the awful security environnt here. To him, this is a dumping ground for junk, where all useless things can be piled up without worrying about outside infiltration, as poor security deters students from coming, greatly reducing the chance of secrets getting out.
Under such tacit approval, the Tenth District is notoriously infamous, with nurous groups of the Powerless running rampant. These so-called Powerless Groups are ford by Level 0 Ability Users. Do not underestimate them; they differ from students and have an air of terrorist organizations.
A black car was driving through the Tenth District, with a sniper from the Hunting Dog Troops in the driver’s seat, and another mber in the passenger seat, a laptop on his lap showing several surveillance videos. They specialized in sniping and intelligence gathering, respectively.
In the car’s back seat, two people and a dog were cramd.
Yukidaseki Tanxi’s fair cheek was pressed against the car window, her eyes rolling back in frustration from the tight squeeze.
"Couldn’t you... get another car? I really feel like killing you guys."
Yukidaseki Tanxi struggled to turn her head, glaring furiously at Su Xiao. She wasn’t wearing much, and now squashed in the cramped rear seat, she was almost sitting on Su Xiao’s lap.
Su Xiao didn’t look too pleased, either. If he weren’t worried about the target escaping, he wouldn’t be huddled in this car. Bubu Wang was really squeezing in.
Screech, the car ca to a sudden stop.
"Mister Bai Ye, we’re at the designated location."
The sniper in the driver’s seat opened his door, retrieved a leather case from the trunk, and swiftly disappeared into an abandoned building.
The Hunting Dog mber in the passenger seat handed over three earpieces, which Su Xiao, Yukidaseki Tanxi, and Bubu Wang each put on.
Exiting the cramped car, Su Xiao moved his sowhat stiff right arm. His right arm couldn’t wield a blade yet, requiring at least 15-20 hours of rest before he could fight with it. Not being able to use his right arm didn’t an Su Xiao couldn’t fight, especially since the enemy was more severely injured.
Su Xiao, Yukidaseki Tanxi, and Bubu Wang headed toward a bar called Fire Forest, where Kanzahegueng Fireweave was reportedly healing.
A sign stood at the bar’s entrance, reading: "In celebration of our three-month anniversary, we are hosting a custor appreciation event with discounts on drinks. Groups of two or more enjoy a 25% discount."
Due to the discounted drinks, even at noon, custors frequently ca and went from the bar.
"It seems this is the right place. The discount event... is just to use the crowd to conceal the target."
Yukidaseki Tanxi activated her wireless earpiece.
"Are you ready?"
"I’m at the sniper point, ready to provide fire support at any mont. Considering the bar’s setting, I’ll need precise coordinates."
"No problem."
Yukidaseki Tanxi tilted her head toward Su Xiao, tossing a signal transmitter the size of a car key towards him.
"Once activated, this thing will receive an indiscriminate fire strike at its location in three seconds."
Yukidaseki Tanxi had previous experience working with the Hunting Dog Troops, and she was unusually proactive in this mission.
Or perhaps Yukidaseki Tanxi held a grudge—60% of her skin got burned last night, and even with Mingtu Zhuihun’s treatnt promising no scars, the sensation of being seared by flas lingered in her mory.
Su Xiao caught the signal transmitter and was the first to walk into the bar.
Opening the wooden door, he entered to find that the bar wasn’t modern in style, instead leaning towards an ancient European style. The bar was filled with round wooden tables, and the seats resembled sections of wooden logs.
"That student last night was really sothing. Too bad she got away."
"Aren’t you afraid of death? Causing trouble in the Seventh School District."
"Owner, another bottle of Fire Leech."
The bar was bustling with people, most custors ranging from teens to thirty-sothings. A short-haired woman in a purple dress, wearing a pure gold serpent-shaped earring on her left ear, was moving among the patrons. She seed well-acquainted with every custor, frequently greeting and chatting with them. She appeared to be the owner of the bar.
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