The atmosphere grew charged with tension in an instant.
“Get away from him, or die.” Grape’s voice was always so cold and detached, her silver hair swaying gently in the breeze.
Futian quickly staunched the bleeding with his energy, and the wound began to heal rapidly. After reaching SS-rank, this was one of the key functions of energy.
Solar Corona had already drawn the alchemy technology firearm that the Alliance had custom-made for him—a perfect match for his abilities.
Before Futian could speak, Lin Cheng suddenly piped up. “Misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding… I’m fine.”
Grape turned her gaze to him. She said nothing, simply watching him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
“They suspect me of being an ability user involved in a crime from two years ago, so I’m cooperating with their investigation. No big deal—I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
Litchi shifted her eyes to Lin Cheng’s face. Using her psychic abilities, she probed him mentally. Lin Cheng blinked at her, and moments later, Litchi understood. She tugged lightly at Grape’s hand. “He’s fine. Let’s go back.”
“Oh.” Grape nodded.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Litchi took Grape’s hand and turned around. She glanced at Xu Wanyue but said nothing.
Xu Wanyue was still catching up to what was happening when Grape and Litchi both turned away. But Futian—his palm freshly pierced by the dagger and seared by the agony runes—couldn’t help the flicker of anger in his eyes. For an SS-rank ability user, it wasn’t a serious injury, more like a scraped knee. Still, the humiliation burned. He called out, “You—stop right there.”
Litchi and Grape acted as if they hadn’t heard him and kept walking. Futian raised his hand, about to say more, when Litchi suddenly whipped her head around. Her dark pupils flared into brilliant gold.
SS-rank. Mental Domination.
At the same moment, Grape glanced back over her shoulder. She didn’t unleash her power, but the contempt in her eyes was blatant.
“I wouldn’t mind sending you to your death. It’d be quick. No pain.”
Lin Cheng, who hadn’t been cuffed yet, hesitated before patting Futian’s shoulder. “Buddy… maybe let it go? I can’t stop her when she gets like that.”
After delivering that line, Litchi and Grape turned and walked off without so much as a backward glance at Futian. His face flushed alternately pale and green. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to strike—he just had too much to consider as an SS-rank adjudicator for the Alliance.
He had seen the name Yue Sha in the Alliance’s files. She was a killer who operated in the shadows, with no official combat records. But the rumors all agreed: at least four other SS-rankers had died by her hand in the past.
The greatest terror was the unknown.
If the Alliance’s other SS-rankers weren’t tied up handling the SS-rank Catastrophe that had descended on neighboring B City, he never would have held back this long. Litchi and Grape were already out of sight. Solar Corona stood quietly to one side, lost in thought.
Xu Wanyue approached Lin Cheng, the tear tracks still fresh on her cheeks. “Are… are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Good thing it was just an S-rank Plunderer that showed up—otherwise, I’d have kicked the bucket.” Lin Cheng held out his hands. “Go ahead and cuff me?”
“You…” Xu Wanyue’s head was spinning.
“It’s no big deal. They think I’m connected to an S-rank criminal suspect from two years ago. They’re taking me in for questioning, but I’ll be out in a couple days. Can we… pause the contract for these two days?”
Xu Wanyue froze. She took the handcuffs from Futian and carefully fastened them around Lin Cheng’s wrists. In a small voice, she said, “How are you still thinking about that right now?”
“I didn’t do anything, so I’ve got nothing to fear. The Alliance will clear my name.” Lin Cheng grinned, then looked apologetically at Futian. “Sorry about that, buddy. She didn’t mean it—she’s just got a hot temper. Uh… how about I wire you a million as compensation once I’m out?”
The words grated on Futian’s ears, carrying a faint undertone of mockery. He shot Lin Cheng a cold look but said nothing. Solar Corona spoke up softly instead. “Come with me. Futian’s got some things to handle. Don’t worry—it’ll just be a blood test to match against the database, plus a psychic-system interrogation. Then you’re free.”
“Sure. Okay.”
Compared to Futian, Solar Corona was far more polite.
Lin Cheng obediently followed Solar Corona to their vehicle with Xu Wanyue in tow. Futian vanished into the distance, returning to the small hill where they had been earlier.
The Shaman was rolling on the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face from the pain. In those brief ten seconds, Lin Cheng had hacked the Plunderer into a pile of chunks—and the agony had feedback straight to him.
Futian fed him a sedative potion. The Shaman passed out quickly. Futian hoisted him over his shoulder, intending to deliver him to the Alliance’s healing ability users.
“Name?”
“Lin Cheng.”
“Age?”
“Turning twenty-one next month.”
“Education?”
“Dropped out of high school.”
“Occupation?”
“Pretty much unemployed, I guess. But I’m part of the Fruit Shop—my codename’s Watermelon.” Lin Cheng answered the questions from the silver-haired girl across from him with full cooperation.
He remembered seeing her once on the computer—she was the Alliance’s poster-girl adjudicator. Looking into her eyes made his head swim a little.
Her voice had an ethereal quality to it, her gaze so pure it was almost angelic. It made him want to bare his soul to her.
“When did your ability awaken?”
“That year I turned fifteen, during a Catastrophe descent. I got home and realized it had awakened.”
“Why didn’t you report it to the Alliance?”
“Didn’t want to be an adjudicator. Scared of all the fighting and killing. Just holed up at home playing games and stuff…”
“Have you killed anyone?”
“Yeah, one. A while back, on a Fruit Shop mission—I took out that guy named Qin Huan. The Fruit Shop handled everything after that. They should’ve sent you their records on Qin Huan… that won’t be a problem, right?” Lin Cheng asked cautiously.
“No problem.” The eighteen-year-old silver-haired girl answered gently. “Besides Qin Huan, has anyone else died by your hand?”
“Nah. I get woozy at the sight of blood, actually.”
“How did you join the Fruit Shop?”
“Litchi and I are good friends. She brought me in.”
“How did you meet her?”
“Saw how pretty she was and struck up a conversation. We got close over time.”
“Have you heard of Si Ming?”
“Of course! He’s my idol!”
“Where does the Fruit Shop get its Evolution Blood?”
“No idea. Only Litchi knows that stuff. I’m basically her kept man—no real power in the shop…”
“Just a kept man, and Grape attacks Futian on a dime?! What else are you hiding?!” The silver-haired girl slammed the table.
“Grape and I… we have a little thing on the side, you know?” Lin Cheng’s smile turned awkward. “Don’t tell Litchi, though—she’d get jealous.”
The silver-haired girl took a deep breath. “What is your ability?”
“Mimicry Abyss creatures. I can also alter my body form. But I swear, I’m not the criminal suspect you’re thinking of. Aside from Qin Huan recently, I’ve never killed anyone.”
“What rank is your ability?”
“A-rank normally, but I can push S to S+. Unlike regular physical-system abilities, mine burns lifespan. Every use shortens my life a bit—that’s why I never reported it to join the Alliance back then… I’m scared of dying.” Lin Cheng answered sincerely.
His head was growing fuzzier by the second. The girl across from him seemed prettier, her lips curving up as her voice turned even more ethereal and soft. “Am I cute?”
“Yeah, pretty cute. Boobs are a little small, though.”
The silver-haired girl drew in a sharp breath, a flash of anger in her eyes. “What kind of girls do you like?”
The questions had veered wildly off track, but Lin Cheng didn’t notice, answering in a daze. “Dunno… I like all kinds. Gentle ones, cute ones, aloof ones, long-legged ones, big-chested ones—whatever.”
“Black stockings or white silk stockings?”
“Both. Heh heh heh.”
“Where’d you get that Transformation Device?”
“Lemon made it in the Fruit Shop—an alchemy gadget, good for two uses. It could’ve been recharged, but I had to self-destruct it against the Plunderer.”
“Do you… hate the Alliance?”
“Nah, I think the Alliance is pretty great.”
“Do you… know Si Ming?”
“Me? No way I’d have a shot at knowing him.”
“You really have no idea where the Fruit Shop’s Evolution Blood comes from?”
“Not really. I think Litchi has some deal with Si Ming… super secretive.”
“My interrogation is over.” The silver-haired girl stood up and looked toward Futian and Solar Corona, who were seated to one side. She left the room, a hint of anger lingering in her eyes—clearly still miffed about the “small chest” comment.
Lin Cheng’s head remained bowed for a good while before he finally lifted it. He tried to stretch, but the cuffs held his hands tight. Looking up, he asked, “Is the interrogation done?”
“Yes,” Solar Corona answered softly from across the table.
“So, am I cleared?” Relief washed over Lin Cheng’s face.
“I’m sorry. Some ability users train in anti-psychic interrogation techniques ahead of time, so to fully clear you, we’ll need a blood sample to compare against the suspect’s from the Alliance database.”
“How’d you get his blood?” Lin Cheng asked curiously.
“From the weapons of Alliance adjudicators who fought him. Their blades retained blood samples from that HP bar… We lost two A-rank adjudicators in that battle, and he still got away.” Solar Corona’s voice held a note of sorrow.
“You have my full cooperation. Tough job—thanks for it.” Lin Cheng extended his wrist. “Go ahead and draw.”
“For physical-system ability users, due to technical limitations, it might take two to three days, and we’ll need two draws. I’ll take you to the Alliance Special Prison shortly. All abilities are sealed there—you’ll stay for two days. I hope you understand.”
“Uh… can I have my phone?”
“Sorry, no.”
“Fair enough… Could you get me a book or two? To pass the time.”
“What kind of books would you like? I can get them for you.”
“Just a couple novels—anything works. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Solar Corona smiled warmly. “In this incident, you bought time and took down the Plunderer. You’ll get an Alliance reward once you’re released.”
“For real? Nice.”
“You earned it.” Solar Corona picked up the blood-drawing kit. “We need one hundred CCs today. Someone will come for the second draw tomorrow.”
“Sure thing.” Lin Cheng nodded with a grin, perfectly cooperative.
