Lungmen Guard Department, training grounds.
"Slash!"
With a sharp, forceful shout, Chen thrust forward at high speed with the wooden sword in her hand.
"Oh?"
Seeing the move, Shirou immediately thought of how to respond.
After all, he had used it himself before.
He used the body of his wooden sword to block the attack, then rotated it and pressed it directly against the hand holding Chen's sword.
It was only sparring and there was no need to go too hard.
"Good work. Let us stop here for today."
Seeing Shirou withdraw, Chen did not press the attack. Instead, she carefully reflected on where she had made mistakes and what could be improved.
"No problem. It is part of the boss's deal with Chief Wei, after all."
Shirou rubbed his right hand slightly. His physical condition had improved compared to before, but without using magecraft, repeatedly blocking Chen's strikes still left his hand feeling numb.
Especially since Chen had not been holding back and her sword techniques had become much sharper.
Still, it was not particularly difficult for Shirou. The moment he saw Chen's opening stance, he could already predict her next move.
That was largely because he had projected Chi Xiao before.
Thinking about that projected Chi Xiao reminded Shirou of the look Wei Yenwu gave him a few days ago, it was the kind that sent chills down his spine.
Better not dwell on it. It was not good for the heart.
Even now, recalling that expression still made him feel cold.
Despite the blazing weather.
By now, his newbie work at the Guard Department had long ended. Due to his outstanding performance and because many people wanted him to return to continue teaching, Penguin Logistics had struck another deal with the Guard Department.
This time, the boss came well-prepared with Yith, staying alert in case that scheming dragon tried anything again.
Although they had not suffered losses and had even gained benefits, the boss insisted he had not fallen so low as to sell his employee's dignity for a bit of profit.
In the end, the agreement was for Shirou to assist in training the Guard Department personnel, mainly in marksmanship.
In return, Penguin Logistics received guarantees of information exchange and easier access to certain trade channels.
In simple terms, while Wei Yenwu profited, the boss certainly did not lose out.
The only real loser was probably Shirou.
As for the boss's earlier bold declarations, not a single one had been fulfilled.
In the boss's words, Shirou did not dislike the Guard Department environment anyway, the conditions were not too restrictive, and his salary had not been reduced so he could just work a bit harder.
In addition to his Penguin Logistics pay, Shirou was now also earning a salary from the Guard Department. It was not much, but it was still extra income.
Wei Yenwu had also assigned him a special task to spar with Chen every day, purely in swordsmanship.
That was how the earlier sparring session came about.
Shirou could roughly understand the intent: find someone competent in swordsmanship to act as a whetstone for Chen.
His sword skills had already been reported by Chen, and combined with the fact that he had projected Chi Xiao and used a draw slash back then, it drew Wei Yenwu's attention again.
For Shirou, it was not a pleasant feeling.
From what he had heard, Wei Yenwu was not exactly a good person.
How should he put it? He was particularly cunning, perhaps.
Still, aside from the unsettling look Wei Yenwu gave him, Shirou did not care too much about it.
After all, the boss and Yith were there to deal with him.
In short, due to various reasons and because he had gained a certain understanding of Chi Xiao and its sword techniques Shirou had become the ideal sparring partner.
That was why Wei Yenwu had offered such favorable terms to negotiate with the boss, and as expected, the boss was convinced.
"Honestly…"
Thinking about how his boss had promised to protect him one moment, only to throw him into the fire the next, Shirou could not help but feel like complaining every time he thought about it.
"What is wrong?"
Still reflecting on her own performance, Chen snapped out of it upon hearing Shirou muttering and asked.
Although she lost more often than she won in sparring against Shirou, the gains were substantial.
He always targeted the weaknesses in her sword techniques, making her realize her own flaws. On top of that, his attacks were often tricky and unconventional.
Over the past few days, Chen felt as though she had returned to her earlier days of learning swordsmanship.
At the same time, she balanced training and work well, without letting these sparring sessions affect her duties.
"No, it is nothing. That last move you used, was it a draw-slash technique?"
Realizing he had spoken aloud, Shirou quickly changed the subject.
"Yes, but it only resembled the form. It is difficult to fully execute it with a wooden sword."
Not noticing Shirou's attempt to deflect, Chen answered directly.
It was not that she blamed the weapon. They were both using wooden swords so losing so often could only be attributed to her own shortcomings.
However, since most of their sparring stopped short of going all out, if they truly fought to the end… the outcome might not be too different.
Chen had initially thought it could at least be evenly matched.
But recalling that Shirou understood her sword techniques, could exploit their weaknesses, and had once controlled numerous blades for mid- to long-range attacks in the slums, she was no longer so certain.
"It is understandable. There will definitely be some difference in feel compared to a real sword. And since Chi Xiao is an Originium weapon, the gap becomes even greater."
After hearing Chen's explanation, Shirou could understand.
As someone who could use many Noble Phantasms as weapons, the ones he handled most comfortably in the end were Kanshou and Bakuya.
They were quick to project, he was already familiar with their properties, and they did not consume much magical energy.
"That is not an excuse. You are also using a wooden sword, are you not?"
Chen lightly refuted his attempt at reassurance.
She did not want to accept that her losses were due to the weapon. That would only make her overly reliant on Chi Xiao.
After all, Chi Xiao was not something that could be drawn and used casually.
"Ah, that… haha…"
Hearing Chen's response, Shirou let out an awkward laugh.
After all, he was already used to handling various kinds of weapons. But for Chen, using anything other than her usual swords would naturally feel unfamiliar.
"Hm?"
Although she did not understand why Shirou suddenly looked awkward, Chen did not have time to pursue it further. Their sparring session had ended and it was time to return to work.
"It is already this late. If there is nothing else, I will get back to my duties."
With that, Chen quickly left after a brief remark. Shirou was already used to it.
The fact that she could spare half an hour for sparring was already remarkable. If not for Wei Yenwu's arrangement, she probably would not have chosen this time slot at all.
At the very least, she would have waited until after work.
"Let me see… there is no training scheduled for the sniper group today, so I can leave early?"
While checking his schedule, Shirou took a quick shower in the Guard Department locker room and changed his clothes.
Teaching at the Guard Department in the morning, visiting the slums in the afternoon, and returning to the dorm in the evening to cook dinner, this had been his routine these past few days.
Occasionally, he would switch it up by going to the slums in the morning and the Guard Department in the afternoon mainly to accommodate members who were usually absent in the mornings.
Sometimes, like today, he could even leave early.
"Let me check… someone called me?"
As part of his routine, Shirou checked his phone and noticed that he had missed many calls, along with a message sent about ten minutes ago.
It looked like he had missed nearly an hour's worth of calls.
There was no helping it, he had stored everything in a locker during sparring, so it was normal that he did not hear them and it was better than accidentally damaging his phone.
He had seen the price of this model and even as second-hand it was far more expensive than his previous phone.
And this model had only been released about half a year ago.
Considering it was a hand-me-down from Swire, Shirou could only remark on how wealthy she really was.
After exchanging greetings with a few people along the way, Shirou soon walked out of the Guard Department.
It was close to noon, and the intense sunlight bathed Lungmen City.
Even though this mobile city was parked in a relatively cooler region, it was still midday. Most residents would not step outside unless necessary.
What felt stifling to ordinary people barely affected Shirou.
"Rhodes Island, huh?"
Recalling the message he had just read, Shirou thought to himself.
The calls had come from Minmin and there were more than a dozen of them. When she could not reach him, she finally left a message asking him to come over when he was free.
Shirou guessed it was probably for another blood sample. Ever since he agreed to assist with research, he had been pricked by needles quite often.
He did not mind it. If his blood could help develop inhibitors or other treatments for Oripathy, he would not care even if it meant daily blood draws.
After walking for a while, Shirou arrived at the Rhodes Island office.
"Shirou, you are here!"
Having received word that he was on his way, Minmin had already arranged for someone to notify her as soon as he arrived.
"What happened? You seem in quite a hurry."
Seeing how agitated she looked, Shirou asked with some resignation.
"Well, the main ship received your blood samples, and their research has finally made some progress. It is only natural to be excited, right?"
Hearing his tone, Minmin coughed lightly and calmed herself before explaining.
She had been so excited earlier that she could barely contain herself. The moment she heard that Oripathy research on the Rhodes Island landship had shown signs of progress, she immediately wanted to share the news and perhaps draw a bit more blood while she was at it.
"I see."
Understanding the situation, Shirou could see why she was so eager.
From what he knew, Rhodes Island was a pharmaceutical company that had established many facilities like the Lungmen office to help treat the infected. Even their main landship housed many patients.
Yes, Rhodes Island itself was a massive landship. When he first learned this, he had been surprised until Minmin showed him photos.
Thinking about it, it was not that strange. If mobile cities existed, then a massive landship was not so far-fetched.
At present, Shirou had a fairly positive impression of Rhodes Island.
They aimed to improve the conditions of the infected, using relatively gentle methods without resorting to extreme measures.
Moreover, they treated many patients who could not afford expensive medical costs without charging them. In return, those patients would take on various jobs within Rhodes Island.
Most of them ended up doing miscellaneous tasks or helping with paperwork, just like the children currently assisting at the office.
Just hearing about this alone gave Shirou a favorable impression.
After all, it was not just a single person doing these things, but a whole group working together.
It was truly something beautiful and it was almost dazzling.
However, after everything he had experienced, Shirou knew that many things could not be judged by appearances alone. Still, based on Minmin, the other Rhodes Island operators at the office, as well as Rosmontis and Blaze, he felt the credibility of Rhodes Island was fairly high.
Even so, he still held some doubt. That orange cloth strip was still lying safely in his drawer, after all.
"Tch, Shirou, you are way too calm about this."
Seeing his composed expression, Minmin could not help but comment.
"I do not know the actual situation yet. And the reason you were so eager to call me aside from sharing this news, you were probably also planning to draw some blood, right?"
Shirou directly exposed her real intention.
Although it did not show on his face, he was genuinely happy about the development.
"Hehe, this is for the sake of humanity! Shirou, you have to live a long life and stay away from all that fighting and killing. If anything happens to you, it would be a huge loss!"
Seeing her intentions laid bare, Minmin stopped pretending and got straight to the point.
Not just her but every researcher involved understood that the progress in this research was largely thanks to Shirou.
Without him, there would be no samples. Without samples, the research would stagnate or even regress.
So his safety was of utmost importance.
When the researchers heard that Shirou had recently been working at the Guard Department, even participating in pursuits involving infected individuals, they felt like they were about to have heart attacks.
That was how serious it felt to them.