Chapter 70 – Sin City (4)
◎ Sent in! ◎
“Hey, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Recently, there’s this guy named Su Cha. Oh man, he’s truly wicked, doing all sorts of evil deeds—deception, robbery, arson, murder. He even captured a child and ensl*ved him. This guy is beyond bad. When he sees a dead body, he’d step on it a couple of times. Mia’s and Gaida’s, several teams have been wiped out by him!”
“Impossible, really? Can he take out so many people by himself?”
“Well, not exactly. He operates with a gang. What’s their name again? My memory is terrible; I can’t recall it right now.”
“It’s called V587,” a voice nearby reminded him.
“Right, right, V587. They’re quite imposing, shouting slogans every time after doing bad things, afraid that others won’t remember them. Oh? Cheng Yi, do you also know about these people?”
Cheng Yi twirled her purple-highlighted hair with her finger but remained silent.
She thought, ‘Not only do I know, I know too well. They were looking to buy information from me yesterday, and I even know who their next target is.’
The two speaking individuals approached cautiously. “Do you have information on them? Share it with us.”
Cheng Yi tapped her emblem and said, “Sure, do you have crystals for exchange?”
The person asking choked a bit, muttering softly, “Stingy, money’s all you care about!”
Cheng Yi shrugged nonchalantly, “You guys have really exaggerated the rumors. ‘Child slave’? They were together to begin with. And as for the arson and robbery, it was Gaida losing a level 2 crystal, and in frustration, spreading false information.”
“We don’t care if it’s true or false. The more sensational, the better.”
“By the way, Cheng Yi, why do I feel like you have a bias towards this V587?”
Cheng Yi affectionately touched her new crystal bracelet she had strung together in the past few days, with a mysterious smile, “Just wait and see, there’s more drama to come.”
*
Desert Camp.
Song Ke wore a troubled expression, sighing, “Sigh~”
Xu Xing held his sunburnt face in his hands and sighed along, “Sigh~”
“Sigh…” Lin Youyou, infected by them, held her head and let out a long sigh too.
The atmosphere was gloomy and filled with despair.
It’s no wonder they were so disheartened. In these past few days, V587 had gained some notoriety, unfortunately for the wrong reasons. They tried all sorts of methods – theft, robbery, intimidation… They did all sorts of bad things, but the effect? Zilch.
Su Cha was still hanging out with them just fine.
“Do you think those people have reported the incidents? How come there’s not a peep?” Song Ke muttered to herself.
Every time they committed a crime, they practically wanted to announce their names through a loudspeaker. Could these victims please show some backbone and use the legal weapon to protect themselves? Oh, wait, in Sin City, there seemed to be no such thing as “law.”
Song Ke was getting sunstruck, her gaze unfocused, drifting into wild thoughts.
A bottle of cold water was pressed against her face, and Zhuang Qingyan kindly advised, “Have some water, snap out of it.”
The provider of the cold water was Xu Xing, the mobile fridge of V587.
In such scorching conditions, the existence of an ice-element awakener was truly a godsend. Xu Xing finally got his wish and became the team’s mainstay. Now, everyone couldn’t do without him.
“At present, ordinary crimes go unpunished,” Zhuang Qingyan summarized, “so, only one possibility remains.”
“What possibility?” Su Cha leaned against the wall, adjusting his fingerless gloves.
“Murder,” Zhuang Qingyan announced the word heavily.
“But the people at the elevator weren’t captured,” Song Ke expressed confusion.
“The two people at the elevator had a dispute that escalated into a life-and-death duel. In the ‘rules’ of Sin City, the winner doesn’t have to take responsibility for the other person’s death, so it doesn’t count as killing,” Zhuang Qingyan explained.
“What we need to do is to legitimately kill someone without a direct conflict.”
“The key is, who do we kill?” Lin Youyou asked.
Although criminals roamed the streets here, they weren’t indiscriminate killers. They couldn’t just randomly pick someone to massacre, right?
“Louis the Ripper,” Zhuang Qingyan said a name.
“From the intelligence provided by Cheng Yi in the last exchange, this person is active near the trading street. He has a fierce and cruel personality, takes pleasure in torturing the weak, specifically targeting children and single women. After killing the victims, he would mutilate their bodies, hence the nickname.”
Lin Youyou and Xu Xing listened with furrowed brows, their expressions filled with hatred and disgust.
“Such scum deserves nothing less than death.”
“Louis has a significant reputation in the underground, and he’s already at Level 4. If we eliminate him, the Death Prison will definitely detect it. If this isn’t enough to get Su Cha inside, then… we might have to consider alternative ideas.”
“Doesn’t this count as ridding the people of a menace?” Song Ke always felt something was off, “It feels like we’re doing a good deed.”
Zhuang Qingyan shook his head, “Remember, in Sin City, there’s no goodness, no good people. Everything we do is to achieve our goals.”
Song Ke was convinced, eager to get started, “Alright, let’s go. We’ll take him down tonight.”
Lin Youyou chimed in, “Let’s prepare to give Louis a nightmare.”
“Let’s go!” Xu Xing clenched his small fist, encouraging everyone.
“Yeah, but Louis is cautious in his actions. We need to discuss how to lure him out.”
“I think there’s a person best suited for this task,” Zhuang Qingyan smiled faintly, and the corners of his peach-blossom eyes curved cunningly.
Xu Xing: Why does this sound so familiar?
*
Late at night, in the alleys behind the trading street.
A young boy, dressed in a manner suggesting affluence and about ten years old, roamed the desolate path. Every two steps he took, his shoulders would tremble in fear, and there was a faint quiver in his voice: “Wuwu… sis, sis, where are you?”
A cold, eerie wind blew from behind, and the young boy anxiously looked back, finding nothing.
He suppressed his urge to cry, wiped away his tears, and ran deeper into the alley. Accidentally stumbling over a stone, he fell with a thud. The boy, at a loss, rubbed his knee, unable to hold back any longer, and burst into loud cries.
The crying continued for about ten minutes until a pair of men’s feet suddenly appeared in front of him.
The boy stopped sobbing and looked up at the newcomer, dumbfounded.
Louis, his face scarred all over, squeezed out a strange smile and said, “Little boy, are you lost?”
The young boy was startled, his pupils trembling, and his little legs frantically kicked, trying to retreat.
Louis seemed to enjoy seeing the boy’s terrified expression, his mouth curling, and his eyes growing more excited.
He observed the boy in secret for a long time, making sure there was no one else around. Only then did he reveal himself, unable to contain his excitement.
Tonight’s delicious snack had arrived.
Louis slowly raised his right arm. The boy suddenly noticed that there was no hand on it; instead, there was a rapidly spinning cutting blade.
“Don’t be afraid, Uncle is here to accompany you. You’ll fall asleep soon.”
Louis raised the deadly weapon high, aiming it at the boy’s chest, about to make the cut—
Suddenly, the boy flashed the most sickeningly sweet smile at him.
Louis’s face changed drastically, and his danger radar beeped frantically. He then realized that his legs were frozen!
“You brat, you’re an awakener!”
Xu Xing promptly got up from the ground, looking composed and not at all like before when he was lost and scared.
He had cried for almost ten minutes. Louis was quite cautious, never revealing himself. His throat was now dry, and he was irritated, feeling cold and impatient. He had no idea how many times he cursed Louis in his mind.
“Bleh-bleh!” Xu Xing stuck his tongue out at Louis. “You’re done for!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a ghostly figure flashed in the darkness and ruthlessly attacked the immobilized Louis.
Louis was utterly shocked; this person had been hiding so close, yet he hadn’t sensed anything!
A surge of murderous intent came at him from above, and Louis, unable to move his lower body, quickly raised his right arm to block.
“Clang—” The cutting blade blocked a sharp dagger, and its spinning speed slowly came to a stop.
Just as Louis heaved a sigh of relief, he realized that something was wrong. Dark green rust spots appeared on the blade’s edge, spreading rapidly at an astonishing speed, creeping over his arm, mouth, and neck… gradually covering his entire face.
This was… poison-ability awakener!!
“Ahh!!” A piercing scream echoed in the alley, heard far into the distance.
“What’s that sound?”
“It sounds a bit like Louis the Ripper?”
“He wouldn’t be slaughtering women and children again, would he? This guy is really bad luck!”
“No… why do I feel like it’s him screaming?”
The two speaking individuals exchanged a glance. They were bold and daring, venturing into the alley in the darkness to investigate.
On the cold ground, Louis lay with a ghostly green complexion, his eyes wide open, resembling a poisoned frog, devoid of life.
Inserted into the still cutting blade on his right arm was a small flag.
The individuals examining the scene approached for a closer look, and there were some small words written on it: ‘Done by V587 Su Cha.’
Both of them: “…”
It’s often said that those who do bad deeds should remain nameless, but this Su Cha seemed quite arrogant.
Louis the Ripper was dead! Killed by Su Cha from V587!!
The sensational news quickly spread throughout the entire underground city.
Criminals whispered to each other, feeling uneasy. Who exactly was this Su Cha person? Stirring up trouble for several days in a row, unsettling both the desert and the underground. This time, he took down Louis. What about next time? Will it be their turn?
And the V587 team, known for their strange slogans—where did they suddenly come from? Their actions were so audacious, showing complete disregard for them. It was infuriating, truly infuriating!
“Gaida, what are you up to?”
“Hmph, settling scores.”
Gaida, who had his level 2 crystal stolen by Su Cha in the desert before, gathered a large group of awakeners who had suffered similar persecution. They decided to confront Su Cha: “Daring to be so arrogant in Sin City, watch me make him pay!”
*
“It’s still no use.”
Song Ke rested her chin on the wheelchair, her face full of disappointment.
Her semi-long hair fell on Zhuang Qingyan’s shoulder. A few strands brushed against his collarbone, creating a ticklish sensation.
It had been two days since Su Cha took down Louis the Ripper and he still hadn’t been arrested.
Couldn’t they even catch a murderer? Sin City truly lived up to its name as a paradise for villains. They could practically do as they pleased.
In the silence, Fang Zhixu suddenly spoke up, “Why could the man in the hotel that night activate the Criminal Record?”
Lin Youyou said, “Oh? Yeah, why could he enter the Death Prison?”
The few of them pondered seriously at the mention. When it came to murder, the man did indeed commit the act. However, they had confirmed that just killing someone wouldn’t allow entry into the Death Prison. Other than that, if there was something else special, it was…
Song Ke blinked, and a light bulb went off in her head, thinking of something.
Perhaps Sin City simply didn’t care about the life or death of criminals, but if you disrupted the foundation of this city…
“Bang—”
The front door was kicked open, and a large group of fierce awakeners stormed in.
The people who were originally dining in the restaurant sensed danger and scattered one after another, the faster the better. Even the boss hid. The hall was empty, leaving only Song Ke and her group of six.
Gaida gave them the middle finger, provoking them like mad, “Hey, Su, I’ll kill you today!”
Without another word, the group rushed at them, using both their hands and feet, unleashing their abilities towards V587.
Chaos erupted on the scene.
Su Cha kicked the person in front of him, and one of the awakeners had legs similar to Louis, both composed of mechanical cutting blades. He stumbled and fell backward, slipping on the ground. He collided with the nearby running elevator, and the sharp blades “sizzled” against the door frame, quickly cutting out a small crack. Su Cha’s poison mist hovered over it, swiftly corroding into the steel reinforcement in the vacancy.
“Shh, shh—” faint sounds came from inside the elevator cabin. In just a few seconds, the entire door frame collapsed with a loud bang, taking the esper whose foot got caught in with it. The elevator plunged uncontrollably into the depths of the underground.
“Boom—” a deafening noise shook the entire Sin City, freezing everyone’s actions.
Just when Song Ke and the others were uncertain about what was happening, the giant screen above instantly changed direction. Numerous bright artificial light sources automatically focused on Su Cha, blinding him. He could only shield his eyes with his hands.
Su Cha was illuminated all over, as if standing at the center of a spotlight, becoming the most conspicuous presence.
Snowflakes flickered on the screen, and then, as if the power was cut off, everything turned pitch black, with no imagery.
After two seconds, a cold and stern voice echoed throughout the entire city.
“Criminal Su Cha, you are under arrest. Immediately drop your weapons and surrender. Proceed to the Death Prison for surrender.”
“I repeat, criminal Su Cha, you are under arrest. Immediately drop your weapons and surrender. Proceed to the Death Prison for surrender.”
“I repeat…”
After repeating the announcement three times, the light disappeared, and the artificial sky vanished, but the danger wasn’t lifted.
Hundreds of heavy weapons appeared above their heads, their particle cannons aimed at Su Cha. The light gradually condensed, and if he dared to resist, regardless of the awakener’s level, they would be instantly blasted into pieces.
Su Cha dropped the dagger and slowly raised his hands.
He glanced back at Song Ke and the others, nodding discreetly to them. Then, step by step, he walked in the direction of the underground sea.
