"Honestly, Ch'en… you always charge in that fast."
Hoshiguma lifted a hand to her forehead, her refined, beautiful face full of helplessness. Her long green hair fell naturally down her back, swaying in the breeze, and a single horn jutted from her right temple.
Tall and long-legged, she wore black leather—jacket and boots—with the jacket casually tied around her waist, a triangular-bladed shield in hand, giving her a free, rough-and-ready look.
Her voice, however, carried a calm, intellectual tone, completely different from the wildness most Oni exuded deep down.
That said…
As an elite operator of the Lungmen Guard Department's Special Inspection Unit, there was no way she'd just watch her superior fight alone.
"Suppress them!"
Hoshiguma led the other officers, charging in alongside Ch'en to take down the gangsters.
Dozens of minutes later…
More than twenty people were hauled one after another into LGD transport vehicles. When the last one was shoved inside and the doors slammed shut, the mission was officially a complete success.
Ch'en gave the order for the vehicles to head back to LGD headquarters. Then she and Hoshiguma each swung a leg over a police bike and pulled on their helmets.
The whole time, Ch'en was still grumbling under her breath, her blue-violet dragon tail smacking against the bike frame.
"A bunch of damn punks, and they actually dared smuggle Originium! Bastards—ever heard of Lungmen law?!"
You don't even know what Originium is and you're still smuggling it?!
Ch'en's temper was notoriously short; Hoshiguma, who'd worked with her for a long time, was long used to it.
She spoke up to soothe her. "Ch'en, don't be mad. At least we nabbed all of them before they did any real damage."
"Sigh…"
Ch'en let out a frustrated breath. "Crime's been way too frequent lately. When is Lungmen ever going to truly be free of chaos?"
"..."
On that point, even Hoshiguma had no real answer. She understood: Ch'en had always been trying to make Lungmen a safer, more stable city, but Hoshiguma saw further than Ch'en did. That kind of peace and stability was an extravagant dream—something almost impossible to truly achieve.
Hoshiguma herself had once struggled to survive in Lungmen's underbelly as a member of the black gangs. Her understanding of Lungmen far surpassed Ch'en Hui-chieh's.
The underworld, the white side, politics, economy, education, diplomacy, and so on—every facet of Lungmen, she'd seen with her own eyes.
Add to that the slums and the existence of the Infected… To make this city truly peaceful and stable would require a staggering amount of effort.
Brrrm
Lost in thought, Hoshiguma heard Ch'en's bike engine roar to life.
Just as she was about to twist the throttle herself, Ch'en's hand froze on the grip. She suddenly asked, "Hoshiguma, can you see that thing up ahead?"
"Hm?"
Hoshiguma followed her gaze forward. There was only the road and a street sign. Nothing else.
"See what?" She was puzzled.
Ch'en, however, felt even stranger. A very obvious light-screen had just popped up in front of her—how could Hoshiguma not see it?!
Tatsuki: "Welcome, you two, to the Apocalypse Chat Group. Here's an introduction to the group—please read it at your leisure."
Their usernames didn't immediately tell him who they were, so Tatsuki started with a standard welcome package.
Tatsuki: "Pinned: Apocalypse Chat Group Intro & Rules"
March 7th: "Since when did you make an intro?"
Tatsuki: "Not long ago. I pinned it. From now on, every new member can read the intro announcement to understand the basics, saves us from repeating ourselves every time."
Nami: "About time you did that."
Emilia: "I read through it just now. Tatsuki-kun's intro explains the group really well."
Saeko: "Agreed. It's quite thorough. If someone still can't believe it after reading, then… they'll just have to verify it themselves."
Ch'en's temper was explosive, but she wasn't brainless. Since she still couldn't figure out what was going on, she chose to watch quietly for the moment.
Following the instructions on the light-screen, she tapped open the Apocalypse Chat Group's intro announcement.
The more she read, the more shocked she became.
The end of the world? Different worlds? Powers, travel between worlds… There was so much that she could hardly decide whether this screen in front of her was real or not.
Ch'en's brows knit together.
Rice Noodle Dragon: "Are you people joking? Or are you trying to use some special trick like this to pull something on Lungmen?"
Lungmen? Tatsuki blinked.
In Lungmen, people called her Rice Noodle Dragon.
He more or less knew who this was now.
Senior superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department—Ch'en.
Exusiai: "Lungmen?"
Rice Noodle Dragon: "Exusiai? You're that troublemaker from Penguin Logistics."
Aqua: "Sounds like someone Exusiai knows! Exusiai, quick, help me spread the faith!"
Exusiai: "Uh… I'll pass on the preaching. I may be an angel, but I'm not good at that. If you let me carpet-bomb something with an Arts barrage, I'd be way happier."
Aqua: "Bombardment? Are you Crimson Demon Clan too?"
Exusiai: "Uh, no—don't drag me into that! Anyway, hey, Rice Noodle Dragon, who even are you? That weird username doesn't ring a bell, but you sound super familiar with me."
Ch'en: "I'll topple your lungs! *Lungmen swearing*! What do you mean 'Rice Noodle Dragon'? I'm Ch'en Hui-chieh. You tell me—are we familiar or not? Did Penguin Logistics cook up this nonsense? I'm thinking I should invite you all down to LGD for a nice beating."
"..."
Tatsuki's mouth twitched.
That Lungmen cussing, and that name—Ch'en Hui-chieh. Yep, no question, this was Ch'en.
…
Inside Penguin Logistics.
Exusiai, wearing a short-sleeved top and short shorts, sprawled on the sofa with her bare stomach and belly button exposed, suddenly shot upright.
"Ch'en Hui-chieh?!"
Croissant, also in a T-shirt but only in underwear on the bottom, shuffled over. "Why're you suddenly yelling Ch'en-sir's name? I thought we were getting busted again."
Texas, lazily chewing on a pocky stick while playing on her phone, also glanced up at Exusiai.
Penguin Logistics had been hauled in by Ch'en more times than they could count.
And a big chunk of those times? All because Texas loved flooring the gas pedal and tearing up the streets.
Exusiai scratched the back of her head and let out a goofy laugh. "Ahaha, it's nothing. I just… dreamed Ch'en-sir was arresting me again. Gave me a bit of a scare."
With that flimsy excuse, Exusiai's nervous attention went straight back to the chat group.
Exusiai: "Cough, cough—didn't we just have tea yesterday? Let's skip today. Next time, I swear."
Ch'en: "You think there's going to be a next time?"
Exusiai: "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! Ch'en-sir, I promise there won't be a next time!"
When it came to Ch'en-sir, Exusiai was like a mouse facing a cat—purely on edge.
Tushan Honghong: "Sister Exusiai really seems scared of this Ch'en."
Nami: "Hard to believe… that fearless Exusiai is actually this well-behaved."
Hai Xiaomei: "Is Ch'en Hui-chieh Exusiai's superior or something?"
Tingyun: "I rather think her reaction doesn't sound like an employee to a boss. It's more like how criminals on the Xianzhou act when they run into the Cloud Knights."
Tatsuki: "Tingyun might be spot-on."
Platelet: "Eh?! Did Sister Exusiai do something bad?"
Ch'en: "Hmph! She's the little disaster from Penguin Logistics—always speeding or drag-racing, and when she's not doing that, she's stirring up trouble all over Lungmen!"
Ch'en: "As a superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department, I'd love nothing more than to bust Penguin Logistics all in one go."
Kiana: "Street racing in the city every day… So Exusiai was that hardcore?"
Tushan Honghong: "Oh, I get it—Ch'en is the cop, and Sister Exusiai's the criminal."
Tingyun: "Looks like my intuition really was correct."
Furina: "An officer arresting criminals to uphold the fairness of the law… Has Exusiai already been judged?"
Exusiai: "No! I haven't! I'm innocent! It wasn't me—it was Texas driving!!"
Texas really did love speed and burning rubber. Sometimes, Exusiai, Croissant, and Sora got thrown around in the back seat so hard by Texas's wild driving that they'd nearly puke.
....
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