EM CH25

Chapter 25: Looking Down on Me

The Aberrant Core embedded at Ni Lan’s left pinky shimmered with a pale white glimmer. Like the Illusion Chamber Core: Drawing Into Reality in Yu An’s possession, it was a Tier 1 Silver core. Belonging to the equipment core category just like the Arrogant Bat, her laser blade could be freely retracted into the core, slicing through concrete and brick walls as easily as cutting cake.

The silver hue on her right pinky was deeper, reaching at least Tier 2 Silver quality, with its exact destructive power yet to be determined.

That single slash swept past, dragging a lingering ribbon of light. As the light faded, the brick wall above the slash mark shifted diagonally and finally collapsed to the ground with a thunderous roar. With the factory losing a corner of its outer wall, the van behind it was stripped of all cover.

As the dust and smoke dispersed, the men exchanged panicked glances. The three burly men with guns bolted immediately, shouting for the two loaders to hop in the van and make a break for it.

The driver floored the accelerator, the van surging away from Ni Lan. Ni Lan kicked off the edge of the fractured wall, swinging her laser blade left and right to carve the smooth cut into jagged steps for footholds. Flipping forward through midair, she swept her blade horizontally before the van could reach full speed.

A corner of the cargo container was cleanly sheared off. The steel casing dropped to the ground, tumbling and clattering along the narrow road, kicking up a trail of sparks.

But the distance between person and vehicle had widened, leaving chase impossible. Ni Lan finally slowed her steps, letting out a frustrated shriek before planting her laser blade tip-down into the ground.

“Not a good day for serious business.” Ni Lan flicked the hollow die earring, its six numbered faces spinning rapidly. “Bad omen. Hopefully I won’t run into trouble during the exam.”

Glancing up absently, she spotted a young man in black appearing right near where the van was closest. Dressed in the Pure Black Hood outfit, his face was shrouded in the hood’s shadow, a mass of pitch darkness.

“Hm? Wasn’t he a civilian?”

Yu An’s Pure Black Hood suit granted him feline agility and leaping speed. From the very moment his eyes first locked with the scarred man, Yu An had been calculating the van’s orientation and tire ruts, predicting that it would turn right once it fled.

He sprinted diagonally across the abandoned factory to the opposite end, leaped up to hook his hands onto the wall rim like a cat, vaulted over, and landed nimbly.

Reaching behind his back, he gripped the Arrogant Bat resting in his backpack. As the sheared metal corner tumbled along the asphalt with a screech, he whipped his torso around and swung with full force, connecting with a loud crack against the angular sheet metal.

The sheet metal corner launched outward, whirling along the trajectory Yu An calculated, plunging heavily into the van’s front tire. The van had already accelerated to high speed; the sudden blowout caused it to swerve into a violent drift. Tires screeched against asphalt in a deafening scream accompanied by the acrid stench of scorched rubber, dragging four pitch-black skid marks across the narrow road as the vehicle spun out into the ditch along the outer edge.

The three patrolmen took in the entire scene, exchanging astonished glances: “Who is that? One of ours?”

The lead patrolman radioed dispatch: “Check the young man in black.”

Dispatch replied: “Emergency Order Squad 1 intern, Yu An. Zhao Ran is mentoring him.”

Hearing this, the patrolman urgently radioed Ni Lan in the distance: “Xiao Lan, the guy in black is on our side. Whatever you do, don’t hurt him.”

Seeing the van flip into the ditch on its jammed front wheel, Ni Lan drew her blade and closed in. With the van overturned nose-first in the trench, the cab and container were completely mangled. The scarred driver pounded the steering wheel in fury, smashed the jammed window glass, leaped out, drew a pistol from his jacket, and fired directly at the approaching Ni Lan.

From an unsuppressed pistol, the gunshot’s crack reverberated painfully against the eardrums. Ni Lan didn’t even flinch. Raising her arm in a blur, that lightning slash cleaved the oncoming bullet in two midair, sending sparks flying.

The three armed men abandoned the vehicle and fled, pulling triggers frantically at Ni Lan as they ran. Bullets whizzed erratically through the air, carving dozens of perilous diagonal streaks across the sky.

“Betting your marksmanship is trash.” Charging fearlessly up to the van, Ni Lan brought her blade down with both hands. An arc of sword light flashed across the scarred man’s arm. At first, it only felt as if a thin wire had grazed past; yet two seconds later, the scarred man’s gun-wielding hand along with half his forearm slid downward along the clean, razor-sharp cut, the severed limb tumbling to the ground.

The cross-section of the forearm was cauterized by the laser, unable to shed even a single drop of blood. Stunned by sheer terror, the scarred man froze for a long moment before clutching his stump and thrashing on the ground in agony, his screams breaking his voice.

Seeing their leader go down, the others immediately abandoned all thoughts of resistance, scattering in panic away from Ni Lan.

But they had forgotten one person.

Yu An was already standing in the center of their only escape route, both hands resting atop the Arrogant Bat planted between his feet. The Pure Black Hood shrouded his features, leaving only a dark void.

He was by no means the type to lend a warm hand simply because he ran into colleagues from Underground Railway. The sole reason Yu An hadn’t casually strolled away was that he had his eye on the three guns in their hands.

Yu An raised his bat: one strike, one head. The heavy wooden bat cracked against skulls with crisp thuds. One man raised a gun to pull the trigger on him, but Yu An ducked to evade it, darting in close like a cat. A swing smashed into the man’s head; the man let out a shriek as the gun flew from his grip. Yu An held up his hand, and the falling pistol landed right into his palm.

Only one man in the gang still held a gun. Panting heavily as he scrambled off the ground, he turned his head only to be greeted by the black maw of a gun barrel.

Yu An stood before him, bat resting on his shoulder, gun aimed forward.

Shuddering, cold sweat soaked the man from head to toe. Sweating profusely while putting on a blustering front, he stepped forward against the barrel, sneering provocatively: “Hey, you don’t look like you’re from the streets. You confiscated my piece, but do you even know how to use it?”

The top three Aberrant hunting companies were all bound by the agreement not to carry firearms during operations, and Underground Railway’s patrol teams were likewise forbidden from discharging guns during public patrols. Some people deliberately exploited this loophole, since beyond seven paces, a gun was faster than most weapons, and within seven paces, a gun was both fast and deadly accurate.

The competition between the three major hunting companies was far fiercer than normal commercial rivalries. Rival companies would hire unconstrained third parties to scout intelligence or smuggle samples.

As long as conflicts didn’t escalate into open warfare on the streets, the government would not interfere with the feuds between the three hunting companies. This was no longer brawling between ordinary mortals; battles involving Aberrants and Vessels were fraught with peril and volatile tension, where tugging a single thread could shift the whole board.

“I’m a temporary worker.” Yu An bumped the slide against his shoulder with one hand, chambering a round with a crisp mechanical click. Extending his arm, he snapped off a single shot toward a point twenty meters outside.

The severed hand that had held the scarred man’s gun lay right there. The bullet struck the severed hand, bursting the palm on impact, while the pistol it had held clattered cleanly onto the ground.

Turning deathly pale, the last man slowly raised both hands in surrender, dropping the gun at his feet.

Staff from Underground Railway’s patrol team arrived one after another, binding the loaders scattered across the ground to prepare them for transport. Several patrolmen in protective suits gingerly handled the cargo inside the truck, one crate having sustained outer damage, leaving it unclear whether leakage had occurred.

Yu An minimized his presence as much as possible, surreptitiously slipping the three pistols into his bag first, before squatting in the inconspicuous roadside ditch to pick up loose rounds off the ground one by one.

“Who are you?”

A smooth, supple female voice sounded very close to him. Yu An lifted his head to meet a pair of large eyes fringed with thick eyelashes.

Ni Lan stood behind him, resting her hands on her thighs as she bent over Yu An, looking down at him. The dice hanging from her earlobes were still spinning, long hair with black-and-white highlights draping past her temples.

Having packed his things, Yu An zipped the backpack shut and bolted, not expecting her to snag him by the back of his collar. The girl possessed astonishing strength, hauling Yu An right back in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Ni Lan reached her hand into the dark void beneath the Pure Black Hood, pinched Yu An’s cheek, and yanked him out from beneath the hood. “How old are you? They wouldn’t be hiring child labor, would they?”

Confronted by a fierce, glamorous face, the bold duochrome eyeshadow and deep crimson lips left Yu An completely at a loss.

Yu An dreaded small talk with strangers most, let alone with a girl. Choked for words for a long moment while his cheek stung from being pinched, he mumbled an answer: “Born in ’99. Emergency Order Team intern.”

“Oh… Mr. Zhao is mentoring you. No wonder they told me whatever I do, not to hurt you.” Ni Lan curled her lips, her thumb rubbing the cheek she had pinched red. “If Mr. Zhao asks, just say you tripped and fell. Understood?”

During the scuffle, the zipper on Yu An’s back parted slightly, the zipper letting out an untimely: “Meow~”

Yu An: “…”

“Ooh.” Ni Lan covered her mouth, asking with keen interest, “Where did you buy this outfit? Could you drop me a link…?”

“The Pure Black Hood hawked by the Midnight Merchant at my door,” Yu An was forced to reply.

“Ah… then it’s definitely out of print… I love buying things from the Midnight Merchant too.” Ni Lan flicked the spinning die at her ear. “I bought quite a few pieces.”

Yu An scrutinized her attire, gauging that every piece was stat-boosting gear. The skirt she wore resembled a casino dealer’s uniform; from head to toe, this girl gave off the impression of an obsessive gambler.

Yu An found an excuse to slip away. Following the interviewer’s orders, he scouted around Guxian Hospital, confirmed nothing was amiss, and returned to Pizza Manor Station, surprised to find the girl still waiting for him outside the concourse.

“Hey, didi. The patrol team’s vehicle was full, so they told me to take the subway to headquarters myself. Are we headed the same way?”

Yu An blanked out for a second, realizing he had already nodded before his brain caught up.

He immediately sensed the unusual properties of her outfit and accessories: that dealer skirt probably carried a subtle attribute that guided another’s consciousness, just like a croupier dealing cards at a blackjack table.

The two stepped onto the platform together. With their rather striking outfits, drawing curious glances from passengers was inevitable, but Yu An remained impassive as he held the handrail, watching the rundown platforms zip backward through the window.

With Aberrants running rampant and safe zones shrinking by the day, the permanent population of Hongli City had gradually declined by a third; poorly maintained subway platforms matched the decaying city well.

Yet many people still chose not to leave. Some were too destitute to move away, while others, guided by a sharp nose, smelled lucrative opportunities in Aberrants.

“Twenty more minutes until Yidi Station.” Ni Lan checked the digital arrival board, her feet aching slightly from standing too long in high heels, but there was no helping it: outfits sold by the Midnight Merchant had to be worn as a complete set to maximize their effects.

The moment she casually mentioned their destination, “Yidi,” the surrounding passengers fell instantly silent. Quickly pulling their gazes away, they even backed away discreetly, yielding several empty seats out of fearful reverence.

Yu An found an open seat nearby and offered it to Ni Lan.

“Pretty well-behaved.” Ni Lan wasn’t bashful either, giving Yu An’s cheek another pinch through the hood before taking the seat.

Primarily, it was because she was too tall and wearing ten-centimeter stilettos. Yu An had been spacing out imagining a scene: the car jolting slightly, the girl losing her balance and stepping on his foot, the stiletto heel puncturing the top of his foot as blood spurted out.

Once seated, Ni Lan rested her hands naturally on her lap. Yu An couldn’t help studying her severed pinkies.

“Chopped off by someone in a casino back in the day,” Ni Lan held up both hands generously for him to see. “You gamble, you accept your losses. I left that place afterwards.”

“Gambling?”

“…Yeah… It’s in my nature, my hands get itchy and I can’t resist.” Ni Lan laughed. “Look at my two core slots: both were embedded with Blind Cores.”

Yu An’s eyes went wide. For ordinary human Vessels, a core slot could only host a single core in a lifetime, permanently locked without replacement. She had actually dared to gamble on Blind Cores on her own body. Pulling two silver-grade cores was certainly a joyous jackpot, but if luck hadn’t been on her side and she pulled low-grade cores or ones with limited uses, her very destiny would have been altered.

The ultimate gambling addict was truly nothing more than this.

Passengers thinned out gradually until the terminal stop, Yidi Station, leaving only the two of them in the empty train car.

Underground Railway headquarters was established right within this station’s platforms. In reality, branches large and small were scattered across the city’s subway lines, forming an enormous operational web.

Stepping off the train, pitch darkness surrounded them, starkly contrasting with other stations. A beast with an acute sense of smell could detect the dangerous aura permeating the air.

Moreover, this platform held no exits leading aboveground, only an elevator descending further down. Red light seeped from the seam of the elevator doors, the sole glimmer of illumination within the dark space.

The elevator shaft was exceedingly deep, running for about half a minute before light appeared. The subterranean entrance opened into an opulent hall, bodyguards in black suits flanking both sides of the elevator in two neat columns.

Yu An grew vigilant. Standard subway security checkpoints never inspected Underground Railway staff backpacks, but he wasn’t sure if this place would. His bag concealed three firearms.

Sure enough, the guards stopped both of them, comparing the photos on their ID cards first, then tapping the cards against the reader and scanning their fingerprints, returning the cards only after verification cleared.

“So strict. But dropping the guns at home first would have made me late.” Yu An felt a pang of regret.

The black-suited guards unzipped both backpacks for a meticulous search, even popping open Yu An’s Core Storage Analyzer to verify the count and types of Aberrant Cores, before zipping everything back up and gesturing that they were cleared to pass.

Yu An was stunned. Guns didn’t count as contraband here?

More familiar with Underground Railway’s layout than Yu An, Ni Lan led him to an elevator and pressed the call button. The elevator ascended from basement level 8 to level 1 where Yu An stood, the doors sliding open slowly.

The company’s interior design was far wealthier than Yu An had imagined. He had thought that an organization built entirely underground would look somewhat dingy, but the place was lavish and brilliantly illuminated, making one forget they were dozens of meters below the surface the moment they stepped inside.

A black-suited guard waiting inside the elevator pressed the button for them, sending them to the floor for the intern written exam.

Outside the examination hall gathered ten interns awaiting the test, several holding rolled-up printouts, pacing while reciting material under their breath. By the entrance, a youth in a flame-colored jersey leaned casually against the wall with his hands behind his head, the air rippling around him, scorching heat baking the potted plants in the corridor.

Yu An had crossed paths with him once before at the Eagle Bureau. His ID card hung over his chest, the name column bearing the characters “Huo Yangui.” At his throat, a blood-red Aberrant Core that seemed to burn with fire was embedded, swiveling left and right like an eye.

Looking up casually, the youth caught sight of Yu An. He swept an appraising glance over Yu An from head to toe, tilting his chin upward with a contemptuous smirk.

Yu An offered no reaction whatsoever. Checking his phone, sure enough, the interviewer had left a message.

Boss: “Have you arrived? Non-examinees aren’t allowed on your floor. I’m in my office; text me when you finish, then wait for me by the door.”

Yu An: “Arrived.”

Boss: “Don’t be nervous. There’s really no need to compare scores with others. I don’t care that much about rankings anyway; rankings are just an excuse. The interns in this cohort are all very capable, so there’s practically zero chance of being cut.”

“Also, remember not to let anyone know you can swap cores.”

Zhao Ran’s assured, winning attitude had flipped completely from before, likely because he had learned the caliber of the competing interns this morning.

Accustomed to Zhao Ran’s smug, victory-in-hand tone, Yu An was suddenly displeased and sent a voice message straight back.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ran was sitting in his office, cradling his head over the desk, tousling his messy hair.

“Where on earth did those two old fossils dig up interns like that? One has dual core slots with all silver-grade cores, while the other is embedded with a Tier 3 Red Aberrated Species core. And the assessment meeting forbids interviewers from supplying resources to interns.” Slumping limply onto the desk, Zhao Ran felt his soul shriveling up. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Exams aren’t the end of life, and test scores don’t measure a person’s worth.”

Ding-dong. A voice message popped in from Yu An.

Yu An: “Interviewer, are you looking down on me?”