Chapter 126: We Were Played

Although they were enemies, Xie Liu had to admit that the Special Alliance’s cyborgs were successful to a certain extent. Those who had undergone modification had achieved varying degrees of evolution; if an ordinary person had been in his place just now, there would have been no way to dodge that blade.

The Cat Woman had evaded the strike and vanished somewhere to lick her wounds. Xie Liu lightly flicked the blood off his blade and began to walk slowly toward the direction where she had disappeared. He never felt any pity for his enemies. As the black blade gradually pierced into the depths of the darkness, Xie Liu frowned. The enemy’s presence had vanished; ever since she had ducked into the pile of clothes, she had not moved again.

Xie Liu advanced cautiously through the dark. Although his ocular mutation granted him vision superior to the Cat Woman’s, seeing clearly in such dense darkness was no easy task. He walked past counters crowded with mannequins. Being exposed while his enemy remained hidden made Xie Liu feel as though he had fallen into a passive position.

"Are you trying to play hide-and-seek with me?" Xie Liu turned in the darkness, pointing his folding blade in all directions. A purple glow flickered in his eyes. The sounds from outside were fading, and Xie Liu’s ears twitched slightly.

Then, he heard a violent pounding on the door.

"Hey, hey, hey! Is anyone in there?" Xie Liu sheathed his blade and retreated to the door that had just been locked. "What is it?" Xie Liu asked through the rolling shutter. He heard the person outside shout, "What are you doing? It’s broad daylight—aren't you open for business?"

"We're closed today," Xie Liu called out loudly. He didn't want to drag innocent people into this mess.

However, the person, whose voice sounded quite young, was relentless. "Closed for what? And who are you? Where’s the owner? Where’s the landlady?"

Xie Liu: "..."

He hadn't expected this guy outside to be an acquaintance of the owners. Xie Liu felt at a loss.

"Who are you? How did you get in? Why did you close the door?" The person’s voice outside suddenly changed. Xie Liu cursed silently, and sure enough, the guy started yelling, "Open the door, or I’m calling the police!"

Xie Liu wished he could strangle the man outside. If the police really were called, he would never be able to explain himself. His equipment was the real deal; if he were intercepted by the police, ten of him couldn't explain it away. Ordinary police had no way of knowing about the existence of the Fantasy City.

Should he open the door? Xie Liu didn't want that option either. If an ordinary person came in, the most likely outcome was that they would become the Cat Woman's hostage. Xie Liu leaned against the shutter, his mind racing. Before he could think of a solution, the guy outside began to bang on the door again.

"Open up, or I’m calling the police!" The man sounded serious. Xie Liu gritted his teeth and flipped the switch for the shutter. With a rumbling sound, the metal door rolled up.

"Why are you closing the shop in broad daylight, and what's more..." A middle-aged man walked in, his expression one of shock when he saw Xie Liu. "Who are you?"

Xie Liu did not answer. Instead, he swung his blade, thrusting it directly at the middle-aged man! The speed was so great that no ordinary person could have reacted in time.

The man hadn't expected Xie Liu to attack without a word. Although the blade was still sheathed, taking such a hit wouldn't be pleasant. He instinctively stepped back, reaching out to grab Xie Liu’s scabbard.

But by then, Xie Liu had already pulled the scabbard back.

*Clang!* A sharp sound rang out as the folding blade was drawn, slashing straight toward the middle-aged man’s neck.

The man had intended to block the thrust, but in the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a slash. He retreated in a hurry; although Xie Liu’s strike was fast, the man retreated even faster, managing to dodge the blow.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Xie Liu, having missed, slowly retracted his blade and sneered. "An ordinary person couldn't have such skills."

"How did you figure it out?" The middle-aged man crouched on the ground, clearly strained from dodging the strike. He asked in surprise, wondering where he had slipped up.

"Because you recognized my voice," Xie Liu replied, keeping one eye on the shop for any movement from the Cat Woman and the other on the man. "The owner of this shop is a cyborg from the Special Alliance. He hasn't been here for more than a week, so how could a customer recognize the owner’s voice so clearly?"

"Besides, your timing was too convenient. It forced me to be suspicious."

Xie Liu sensed some clothes shifting in the shop and continued, "However, that alone wasn't enough to confirm you were with her, so I tested you. I didn't expect you to expose yourself so quickly. When you raised your hand to catch my scabbard, I knew you weren't an ordinary passerby."

"If I’m not mistaken, you are the owner of this shop."

The middle-aged man’s expression shifted slightly. He hadn't expected Xie Liu to be so sharp-eyed, identifying his identity at a glance. He immediately shouted toward the back of the shop, "Li’er, get out of here!"

A cat-like yowl echoed from inside, and Xie Liu caught a glimpse of the Cat Woman darting past and disappearing into the back. Xie Liu cursed, "Damn it!" and turned, blade ready, to give chase.

But the middle-aged man wouldn't let him pass. He pulled a dagger from somewhere and thrust it at Xie Liu’s back.

The man’s strike was incredibly fast, but to Xie Liu, it was nothing. While it far exceeded the speed of an average person, it was insufficient in front of him.

Feeling the wind at his back, Xie Liu spun around and parried with his blade. The man’s dagger was sent flying, and Xie Liu immediately drove his scabbard into the man’s chest. The man couldn't dodge in time; he was struck, flew backward, and crashed to the ground.

"You thought I wouldn't kill you?" Seeing that the Cat Woman was long gone, Xie Liu was furious. If this guy hadn't gotten in his way, he would have finished her off. He turned and walked toward the man, who was struggling on the ground.

"You’re part of the Special Alliance anyway, so I might as well finish you off too." Even though the main target had escaped, taking out a nuisance wouldn't be bad. Xie Liu approached the man with his blade, but the guy scrambled to his feet and fled out the door. Seeing Xie Liu chasing him with a blade, he turned and ran without a second thought.

Xie Liu frowned. He couldn't chase someone through the streets with a naked blade, so he sheathed it and took off in pursuit.

The man’s fighting skills were mediocre, but he was exceptionally fast. Plus, since Xie Liu was unfamiliar with the area, he lost the man’s trail after a few turns in the alleys.

"Damn it, did he really get away?" Xie Liu slammed his fist against a wall in frustration, stirring up a cloud of dust. He was far too passive in this place. With that thought, he decided to return to the clothing store.

He hadn't walked far when he saw a young man passing through the alley. Xie Liu stepped forward and blocked his path. "Brother, did you just see a middle-aged man in a brown jacket run past?"

The young man seemed startled by Xie Liu’s attire but nodded. "Ah, yeah, I saw him. He went that way."

The young man pointed toward the curve behind him. Xie Liu thanked him and immediately took off in pursuit. The young man watched Xie Liu run away, a faint smile appearing on his face. He turned and walked into another alleyway; when he emerged again, he had taken on an entirely different appearance.

"The Special Task Force is nothing much," the man chuckled, then headed toward the clothing store.

Meanwhile, Xie Liu, having been led in the wrong direction, chased for half an hour before finally realizing he had been misled.

Looking at the bustling street ahead, Xie Liu felt a surge of rage. He had been played so easily! Now that he thought about it, the young man who had given him directions was definitely suspicious. That area was sparsely populated—how could someone just happen to be passing by? Furthermore, what would a twenty-year-old be doing in such an old, antique-filled area? Xie Liu hadn't realized this earlier.

"Played." Xie Liu slammed his hand against a railing. Due to his excessive force, he left a permanent handprint in the steel.

"Look, look, what is that guy doing?" A few girls walking by covered their mouths and giggled as they passed Xie Liu, pointing and whispering. "He looks pretty cool, but this is so weird."

"Probably some kid who’s watched too much anime," someone else laughed. "He looks like he’s only seventeen or eighteen. Don't his parents keep an eye on him? These things will ruin his life; there’s no future in this kind of stuff."

"Doing this kind of thing all day and night—are they even human?" another person sighed, shaking their head. "Games and anime are such a bad influence."

Xie Liu felt a genuine urge to draw his blade and cut them all down. Their gazes made him both furious and embarrassed. He realized the culprits behind all this were undoubtedly the Cat Woman and her companion.

With that, Xie Liu glared at a middle-aged woman who was still pointing and whispering. She was so frightened she jumped back, and only then did he turn around, satisfied, and head back to the street where the clothing store was located.

Just as he arrived, he spotted an acquaintance—or rather, a "not-quite-acquaintance."

"Wang Qi?" Xie Liu frowned. "What are you doing here?" He walked up and tapped the young man on the shoulder.

"I thought you had already left?" Xie Liu had appeared behind him. The man, startled by the touch, spun around and smiled when he saw Xie Liu. "We meet again! It’s fate."

"I thought you had left," Xie Liu asked, frowning. "Why are you back?"

Wang Qi scratched his head. "I was going to, but my girlfriend said she was out shopping with her roommates, and I had nowhere to go. I figured I’d just wander around here; I used to come here often, you know."

"You’re familiar with this place?" Xie Liu suddenly asked. Wang Qi nodded. "I’ve been here a few times."

Xie Liu rubbed his chin, thinking, and then said, "How about doing me a favor?"