"There is no place you can escape!" Black Panther called out with a grin as she approached with three of her men. "I won't let you off easily though as I will enjoy cutting every limb of your body before watching you suffer as you bleed out to death."
Now that Liu Ye and Avi were stranded in the Teleportation Station with them, Black Panther wasn't in hurry to attack them. She slowly approached while pushing them back to the other side which had no exits and no teleports available.
Liu Ye looked in the direction of the Station Official but he only looked away and walked out with a cigarette in his fingers. He only needed one look at the Panther Gang to know he doesn't get paid enough to involve himself with this issue.
"Wait a damn minute!" Liu Ye yelled madly as he stood at the front and extended his palm to stop them. "Do you have any idea who the fuck am I?"
Avi was being serious with two Ice Gauntlets forming around her hands but it was obvious they wouldn't survive if they tried to fight them. It was basically 4 versus 1 since Liu Ye was still useless when it came to high leveled battles.
Their only chance was using diplomacy and bullshitting to gain time. When it came to the latter, Liu Ye knew very well how to buy time.
"You are a dead man, that's what you are," Black Panther replied as her palm burn with flames but Liu Ye pulled out a bigger gun.
"Am I really a dead man? Are you sure?" Liu Ye questioned with an evil smile. "Didn't you already kill me? How come I'm still alive?"
The Panther Gang paused at the realization.
"I guess we didn't finish you in the end," the Waterbender admitted as his arms turned into two Water Blades. "This time we will make sure you are dead for sure."
They were about to launch an attack but Liu Ye stopped them again. "Do you doubt your abilities so much? You are wrong. You did kill me but I'm immortal. I was reborn right after you killed me and I will keep coming back. You can never kill me."
Avi widened her eyes but she didn't drop her guard. It was apparent that he was wasting their time.
"Hahaha, do you expect us to believe that?" Black Panther burst out laughing. "I will burn your body this time so you can no longer fake your death."
"Do it then," Liu Ye dared her confidently while spreading his arms to embrace her attack. "Once I'm reborn again, I will go to the Mercenary Guild and let someone kill me so they can collect your 1000 gold. I dare you to set a new bounty afterward so I can make you lose all your money."
Black Panther squinted her eyes as she glared at him but Liu Ye no longer explained it as he tapped on Avi's shoulder. He already bought them enough time to escape.
Swoosh!
Avi swung with her arms and threw the Ice Gauntlets in the ground. They quickly turned into water and a thigh Ice Wall separated them.
"Quick!" Avi called out but Liu Ye was already jumping on the platform leading back to the Emerald City. She slapped the button and hopped inside just as the Ice Wall exploded.
Ice Spikes flew everywhere but Avi blocked them with her own body as she hugged him tightly. The next thing he knew, their surroundings changed and both of them appeared in the familiar cage of the main Emerald City Station.
"Damn, that was close," Avi cursed as she released him and quickly pulled him towards the exit. "Let's leave before they come."
They showed their permits and paid the entry fee just to leave when the Panther Gang appeared behind them. Liu Ye didn't even turn around as they ran out of the Station to get the most out of their time advantage.
"How did you kill a Gang Member?" Avi questioned as soon as they grabbed a Robo Taxi and set off. "Most of Black Panther Gang are around Level 60."
"Not only did I kill one of them but I also blackmailed them into giving me all of their weapons," Liu Ye informed, causing Avi to widen her eyes.
"How?" Avi urged as she leaned closer but Liu Ye shrugged with a mysterious smile. "It's a secret, but I can tell you if you tell me a secret too."
Avi squinted her eyes. "It depends on what you want to know."
"How can one awaken in real life using Avatar Online?" Liu Ye questioned curiously. "I know what it means to awaken but I want to know the process."
It was the last mystery he wanted to solve without sounding too suspicious. Can Avatar Online really cause someone to awaken in real life and bend elements? It still felt too surreal yet everything pointed to that fact.
Thankfully, Avi didn't find him too suspicious.
"I probably shouldn't say that but you will awaken soon anyway," Avi began cautiously. "By playing the game, you basically—"
"What is going on here?"
Avi's words were momentarily cut off by a third party that suddenly appeared beside Liu Ye. He didn't even need to turn around to know it was Katherine's voice but it didn't seem as sweet as before.
"Katherine..." Avi muttered awkwardly as she put on a fake smile. "Nothing much, we were just chatting."
"Chatting about our organization's secrets?" Katherine asked while raising her eyebrows.
Avi couldn't help but act surprised. "Doesn't he know so much already? You told him everything."
"I didn't tell him anything confidential though," Katherine argued before turning to Liu Ye. "What did you tell her? Did you try to trick her to gain information?"
"Well, it's not like I learned anything I didn't know yet," Liu Ye replied casually as if he did nothing wrong. "Only just now did I ask how one can awaken since I want to get ready. It's not hard to figure out everything else."
"Well, knowing your situation, you are going to learn about it any time soon. There is no real need to get ready for it. You will understand once you feel it," Katherine informed. "We will know when you are close to awakening anyway so we will pay you a visit to explain everything."
"I have a different question then," Liu Ye followed up right away. "What if one can awaken Elements in real life but after you explain everything, they refuse to join your organization. What will happen with them?"
Katherine raised her eyebrows. "That's actually a topic I came here to discuss with Avi but I happened to meet you two in the same location. I wanted her to discuss it with you once she meets with you tomorrow."
"Huh?" Avi looked at her strangely. "What do you meet him tomorrow? I will be busy meeting with that candidate you—"
She paused mid-sentence while pointing at Liu Ye. "Don't tell me that he is the one I'm meeting tomorrow?"
"You didn't read your files? I thought the reason you met with him in-game was that you wanted to get to know him better before you land," Katherine explained confused. "Is it not?"
"Of course I read them… That's exactly why I met with him," Avi lied blatantly as she patted Liu Ye's shoulder. "I just couldn't wait to see him so we met together."
Too bad, Katherine was too tough to trick.
"You didn't read them."
"I didn't," Avi confirmed as she hit Liu Ye on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't a hundred percent sure so I decided to remain quiet about it. Katherine didn't tell me the details," Liu Ye replied honestly and swiftly changed the subject. "What is it that you need to discuss with Avi?"
"Unfortunately, that topic is only reserved for her so I can't talk to you about it," Katherine denied. "But I wanted to discuss something else with you."
She paused before revealing, "It's about your sister."
Liu Ye's expression changed momentarily. "What about her?"
"I want her," Katherine announced but Liu Ye didn't hesitate with his answer.
"No."
Liu Ye had no tolerance policy which involved his sister with anything dangerous.
"Why? You don't even know what I wa—"
"Let me guess, you found that she has potential too and you want her to be one of your candidates," Liu Ye cut her off as he shook his head again. "She can't even kill a bug and you want to train her in battle? I can't allow it."
"You got it all wrong. I don't want her to be a candidate or even be involved in battles," Katherine corrected with shiny eyes. "I want to train her and awaken her hidden potential. I am still testing if she has it but my instincts tell me I am correct."
"And what is it?" Liu Ye asked suspiciously. He was already unhappy that Katherine was approaching his sister, not to mention training her.
"She will tell you herself tomorrow once we are done with her first lesson," Katherine informed as she tapped Liu Ye's forehead. He immediately saw images of Zhenzhen sitting in a pond in his mind.
"She agreed to it herself because she wants to help you," Katherine added. "I'm only telling you because I want to have a good relationship with you two. I also know how much she respects you so she would stop if you asked her to. I want you to stay put and see how she is doing and then decide."
"What do you think?"
