Sha Rou stared at the young man. He knew her name, so he had either investigated her or he was the messenger of a familiar gang. There were only a handful of people who knew her background after all.
However, Sha Rou couldn’t sense any killing intent from this person. This could mean two things. Either he was harmless, or he was excellent at concealing his thoughts. Either way, she didn’t intend to deal with him for longer than necessary. Someone who could creep up to her without her noticing at all was someone she had no confidence she could beat.
“Who are you?” Sha Rou asked warily.
Instead of giving a direct answer, Cillin said, “Just a little something. Shall we find a better place to speak?”
Sha Rou frowned. “I don’t know you, I don’t think I have anything to speak to you. If you’re planning to threaten me with what happened earlier, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s not going to work.”
On the surface, Sha Rou looked like an underfed fourteen or fifteen year old girl. Few people could equate her to the calm and efficient killer she really was, especially since she was a girl. No wonder she was able to operate stealthily in this city for so long.
Sha Rou’s eyes slowly cooled when Cillin displayed no signs of leaving. “Fox Wolf? Myriad Sea City? Which gang do you come from?”
Cillin smiled. She thought that he was a member of a city gang, it seemed.
“Neither. I’m really here to speak with Shi Tang.”
Shi Tang was one of the people on the list he was looking for. He was also the Sha Rou’s older brother.
The second he said the name, Sha Rou’s killing intent suddenly erupted into full bloom. She disappeared at the same time a silver flash made its way toward Cillin like lightning.
This weapon was how the three would-be-rapists were murdered. It had cut through their arteries, throat, chest cavity, ribs, heart and everything in just the blink of an eye. In fact, it moved so fast that it looked like she had cut them down all at the same time; so fast that her victims were dead before they even realized what was going on. This time, the silver weapon was targeting Cillin.
The silver flash didn’t always appear to be visible. In fact, the only time it was visible was the time Sha Rou disappeared from view.
However, that didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
Cillin extended his right hand and pinched something with his index and middle finger before it could reach his chest, stopping it. His reaction was swift, but his eyes were really staring at a certain spot not far away from him. Slowly, the silver metal he caught became visible again, and Sha Rou on the other side of the weapon also became visible as well.
The weapon was a long and super thin strip of metal. Sha Rou herself was an alien with the ability to turn invisible. Very, very few people knew this because most of them had been killed by her hands.
The fight lasted for just an instant, but Sha Rou already knew that she was no match for Cillin. Not only was her invisibility completely useless against him, she couldn’t even pull her Silver Snake Blade free from his two-finger grip, so she decided that it would be pointless to extend the fight. The good news was that she sensed no killing intent or even malice from the guy, but that was still no reason to let down her guard.
Cillin released his grip, and the Silver Snake Blade returned to Sha Rou’s hand. She shook her wrist a little and put away the retractable Silver Snake Blade—this time for real—just like that. Judging from her skilfulness, it must’ve been years since the girl got her hands on the weapon.
“What is your business with him?” Sha Rou asked.
“Collaboration.” Cillin then bent his neck a little and pointed at the other side of the alley. “Someone’s coming. We should speak elsewhere.”
Sha Rou sucked in a deep breath and forced down her anxiety. As the mysterious young man said, it was better to leave this place for now. Living in this city hadn’t been easy for her at all because of her identity as an alien. She had to tread every step carefully or risk losing herself and even her older brother.
As it turned out, Sha Rou was very familiar with this area. She avoided the people walking over from the other side of the alley and left the place with Cillin.
After entering a good-looking restaurant, Cillin asked Sha Rou to recommend him some local delicacies. Although Sha Rou was still troubled by Cillin’s identity, she still answered his question and recommended a couple of dishes. She had never eaten in this restaurant before because it cost more than her usual haunts. Long story short, she couldn’t bear to waste her money here, but she still remembered their signature dishes because there was a display signboard above the restaurant entrance that looped through all its signature dishes endlessly. Since she passed by this restaurant quite often, it eventually became imprinted in her memory even if she wasn’t actively trying to memorize it.
As usual, Wheeze plowed into its food with complete disregard for any societal norm or dining etiquette. Moon had left to roam the city on its own. Officially, he was out to gather data. Unofficially, it had been centuries since he left his room, so he was curious to see even a shabby old place like this.
Sha Rou anticipated some form of bullying from Cillin and readied herself, but to her surprise neither man nor cat seemed to pay her any attention at all after the food was served. They both dug into their food to their heart’s content. A moment of hesitation later, even Sha Rou decided that she could worry herself silly after she filled her stomach.
The atmosphere became a lot lighter after the meal. While taking a sip from his tea, Cillin stared at the tensed Sha Rou and said, “Shi Tang won’t live past this year if he doesn’t receive the necessary treatments soon.”
Sha Rou’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. She was of course well aware of her brother’s deterioration for the past couple years, but she had no idea that it was so bad that he was going to die this very year. She felt an impossible amount of pressure pressing down on her in that moment.
“How did you know my older brother?” Her hands on her knees were shaking a little.
“I told you I wish to collaborate with Shi Tang. I’m very interested in his research.”
“You’re watching us?!” Sha Rou abruptly glared at Cillin hatefully. It was unimaginable how much hate this young girl was harboring.
Cillin didn’t deny the accusation. Instead, he said, “I can provide him with the best treatment and the lab he needs for his research. I can take you away from this place.”
Sha Rou’s heartbeat quickened against her will when she heard the words “away from this place”. It was the reason her older brother kept working even though he knew now badly the research was damaging his body. It was all to find themselves a better place to stay in this universe.
When she was younger, Shi Tang once told her that they could leave this xenophobic galaxy and make a better life elsewhere if they could find a wormhole or a jump point with a sufficient span. To achieve that dream, they invested nearly all of their income into his research, and they went to recycling centers and trash heaps to collect useful materials they couldn’t afford.
Somehow, Shi Tang was able to make great leaps in his research despite using broken and outdated equipment that were discarded by research institutes since god knows when. If the young man didn’t visit Return frequently, Cillin wouldn’t have noticed his extraordinary talent.
Sha Rou employed many methods to gather the money necessary to make their dream come true. She invested most of it in Shi Tang’s research and spent the rest purchasing daily necessities and the medicine Shi Tang needed to live. Without the medicine, her older brother would’ve died a long time ago.
Although Sha Rou wished to escape the hell they were in, she didn’t truly believe that her brother’s dream would come true. That pessimistic view was now shaken by the fact was Cillin was sitting right in front of her and expressing interest in her older brother’s research. She couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope inside her heart: maybe it wasn’t an impossible dream after all?
But who was this man? He had the power to put them under observation without them noticing, and his individual power was beyond her imagination. No ordinary person could do what he did.
Still, if he really could treat Shi Tang, then she was willing to do anything, even if it was something as impossible as assassinating the leader of this planetary government.
“Why did you come to me when my older brother is the one you wish to meet?” Sha Rou asked.
“Because your older brother listens to you. Plus, I’m sure he won’t leave you behind at this place.”
“You’re a boastful one, aren’t you? You’ve investigated us, so you should know that we are both aliens. We may not be slaves, but it’s still not easy for us to leave the planet.”
“That is none of your concern. I can take care of…” Cillin suddenly trailed off and looked at the restaurant entrance.
The corner they chose they chose to have lunch was quiet and fairly secluded. There was also background music, so they weren’t concerned that their conversation would be overhead by someone, especially since everyone looked like they were busy chatting with their own companions.
However, the entire restaurant fell silent when a new group of people entered the place. The atmosphere grew heavy and even oppressive as if a thunder cloud was looming above everyone’s head. Only the husky voice of a female singer could be heard for a time. Although the conversations inside the restaurant resumed soon after, it was clearly a lot more subdued than before.
Something unknown flashed across Sha Rou’s eyes as he dipped her head downward and drank her tea. Cillin could clearly sense that she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
The newcomers all had an insignia on their clothes. It was two halves of a fox and a wolf’s head joined into one.
Based on the information he currently had, the newcomers probably belonged to the ruling gang of this area, the Fox Wolf Gang.
The leader of the group was a fearsome-looking middle-aged man. He was wearing a cloak with animal fur on it. Seemingly not noticing the changed atmosphere, his gaze swept across the whole restaurant ass if he was searching for something. All the customers made sure to bow their heads so that they wouldn’t meet his eyes by accident.
His underlings were going to walk upstairs, but they waited after seeing that their boss had no intentions of doing so.
The middle-aged man’s gaze eventually landed onto an inconspicuous corner of the restaurant. His eyes wrinkled into the beginnings of a smile as he walked toward Cillin and Sha Rou.
“Hey, Lil’ Sha Rou. You having lunch with your boyfriend?”
The middle-aged man pulled a chair over and sat down next to them. He glanced at Sha Rou once before turning his head to examine the unperturbed Cillin.
Knowing that there was no escaping from this, Sha Rou rose to her feet and saluted the middle-aged man. “Parker. Boss.”
Parker nodded and motioned for Sha Rou to sit back down. Then, he looked at Cillin and the fat cat that was chowing down a bighead carp right on top of the table. A trace of annoyance passed through his eyes. This man and his cat are a fearless bunch, eh?
Parker stared at the nervous-looking Sha Rou while twirling a golden ring around his finger. He smiled. “Why don’t you start by introducing your boyfriend to me, Lil’ Sha Rou?”
Sha Rou cursed inside her head: How the fuck am I supposed to do that when I don’t know him myself?
Before Sha Rou could say anything, Cillin raised his hand to stop her. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a passing traveller.”
After that, he looked away from them and gave the swollen Wheeze a tummy rub. His action could basically be interpreted as: Talk all you want. I won’t interrupt your conversation.
“You tired of living, boy!?”
One of the underlings standing behind Parker pulled out his gun and tried to point it at Cillin. Before he could do so, the entire weapon fell apart completely without warning.
Parker’s pupils shrank to the size of a needle as the parts hit the floor. However, he was able to regain his cool very quickly thanks to his abundance of life experiences. Therefore, no one noticed just how cold his fingers suddenly became.