"So, you didn't know who we were, and you just chased after us?" The black-haired girl sitting on the chair tilted her head slightly, her voice calm but cold as she looked down at the man kneeling before her. The man, with a sharp, monkey-like face, nervously replied.
"Yes, yes, that's right." He nodded frantically, as if his eagerness could prove his innocence and earn him some leniency.
"Is that all? What you've said, the others have already told me. Nothing new here." The black-haired young lady tapped her fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair. Though the sound was soft, in the tense and silent environment, it felt like the tolling of a death knell.
"I, I..."
He racked his brain, desperately trying to think of something that might satisfy the young lady's curiosity, but his mind felt like a rusted machine, unable to come up with anything useful.
At this moment, the burly man standing beside the black-haired young lady slowly raised a thick gun barrel, aiming it at the man's forehead. The pressure made him even more frantic.
"I know a secret! A secret about Boss Haus!" Suddenly, he remembered something and shouted quickly. Only then did the black-haired young lady raise her hand slightly, signaling the man beside her to lower the gun.
"Go on."
"What I know is... our boss is not ordinary. He used to be a seasoned Sequence 5, but he couldn't advance for a long time. Then, half a year ago, he suddenly broke through." After saying this, he took a deep breath.
"Is that it?" Jinzerk, standing nearby, shook the gun in his hand, clearly unimpressed.
"There's more, there's more! My cousin used to be one of Boss Haus's old subordinates. He once bragged to me that the boss's breakthrough wasn't accidental. He got his hands on some kind of treasure they found in a ruin."
"If we can find that ruin, there must be a lot of good stuff inside. I can take you there. Just don't kill me!"
"Too vague." The young lady's voice remained indifferent, completely unmoved.
"But there must be good things inside! My cousin said they couldn't defeat the ruin's defense system back then, so they had to flee early."
"Stop, stop, stop." Jinzerk stepped forward.
"Where is this ruin you're talking about?"
"I don't know, but my cousin does. I can take you to him. I know where he is. We can definitely find him."
"Tsk, you don't even know that?" Even Jinzerk shook his head, indicating there was no saving this man.
"That's enough." The young lady waved her hand lightly.
In the man's terrified eyes, the burly man slowly aimed the gun at his forehead. Then, a sharp pain struck the back of his head, and he lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.
"That's it. We've asked everything we needed to." Finally able to uncross her legs, the young lady stood up, stretched slightly, and then crouched down in front of the unconscious man to check his condition.
"He's unconscious. Not bad. I was worried you might have killed him earlier," she said as she stood up.
The group gathered around again, discussing what to do next.
"Letting them go just like that is out of the question. It'll only make them think we're weak and afraid to take serious action. They'll come after us again without hesitation, knowing we won't kill them," Alen analyzed calmly.
"So, we need to take some measures, right?" Guro stretched his stiff back and casually responded.
"Killing them outright is not an option. Even though this is a region where the Federation's laws are hard to enforce, we're still good students. We can't just carry the stigma of murder. That would be too costly," Simu wagged his finger.
"Besides, N is watching from a distance. He'll definitely report back to the academy when we return. We shouldn't touch murder," Xelian added. His tone suggested that if no one could find out, murder might be acceptable.
"So, it's a bit tricky," the group's eyes shifted between the bound and unconscious enemies.
"If we don't handle this properly, other opportunistic forces might come after us, making it harder to complete our mission. I don't want to be in gunfights every day. It's exciting, but too annoying."
"What should we do..." The group fell into thought.
"Instead of waiting passively and counterattacking, why don't we just storm their base and take out their boss? That way, no one will dare to mess with us anymore," Jinzerk leaned against the overturned SUV and casually suggested.
"Why wait for them to come to us? I like the feeling of kicking down doors."
This rich young man had indeed done such things before.
"That... isn't a bad strategy, but given the current situation, it's too aggressive," Alen stroked his chin.
"Let's just let them go for now. Maybe today was just an accident, and it was only a mid-level guy giving orders. We just need to deal with that guy named Brother Long."
"Oh, right, that Brother Long guy. We almost forgot about him. He's the one who ordered his lackeys to come after us. He must be nearby. Let's capture him first."
With that, the group had a clear target, their eyes lighting up.
The boss of the Leopard Head Gang was nowhere to be found, and their base was likely dangerous. Dealing with Brother Long, who had caused this mess, was a more reliable option.
The next steps were simple. They had the captured enemies call Brother Long, pretending they had caught the two girls and found a lot of valuable items in the vehicle.
"Got it? If we can catch Brother Long, I'll put in a good word for you in front of the young lady. She might let you go, since she's in a good mood lately. But if Brother Long escapes, then there's nothing I can do. We'll have to use you to vent her anger."
Guro and Simu grabbed one of the more timid captives, threatening him. Guro even held a blood-stained steel rod, casually tapping it on his shoulder. The faint smell of blood and rust made the man shudder, not daring to think about which unfortunate companion had left that mark.
"I understand, I understand. I'll do as you say. No problem, it'll work." The man nodded eagerly.
For gang members, loyalty was a rare commodity. Betrayal at gunpoint or in the face of death was common. Even a little extra kickback could make them sell out their own gang.
"Good. Now, demonstrate for me. Let's see if you're smart enough and if there are any loopholes. If you mess up and Brother Long escapes, I'm afraid the young lady will be so angry that she'll make me spend the whole night torturing you slowly."
The two of them were really getting into their roles, perfectly embodying the demeanor of ruthless gangsters.
"Alright, I'll demonstrate right now."
He pretended to pick up a personal terminal, cleared his throat, and began.
"Brother Long, Brother Long, we did it. Pointy Mouth told me to let you know. Those two girls are really beautiful. I've never seen anyone so pretty in my life. They're even better than the top-tier girls in those black market videos. Brother Long, what should we do with them? Hehe."
At first, his voice trembled, but as he went on, it became more natural, even adding a lecherous chuckle.
"Tsk, tsk, not bad. I think you've got talent," Guro clicked his tongue.
"Hehe, in this line of work, you have to know how to do this kind of thing. Don't worry, we'll definitely lure Brother Long over. He's always been a lecher. Last time, he..."
He went on to share some of Brother Long's past exploits, trying to curry favor with the two.
"Alright, let's get to work."
Guro gripped the steel rod with both hands and, to the man's astonishment, slowly bent the thumb-thick rod into a U-shape. He then casually tossed the twisted rod onto the gravel ground, where it landed with a metallic clang.
Seeing this, the man was stunned. He had been hit with that rod earlier and knew its weight was no joke. If this man could bend steel so easily, what kind of torture could he inflict?
He slowly crouched down and carefully picked up the bent rod, cradling it in his arms as if it were a precious artifact.
"Now you know you've messed with the wrong people, right?"
"I know, I know. I'll do as you say. I'll make sure you're satisfied, and the young lady too."
He nodded repeatedly, his earlier lecherous demeanor gone, replaced by a quiet obedience.
Though he had a gun and had been in the Northern 2nd District for a while, he was only Sequence 1. He had never seen such young individuals capable of bending steel rods.
This must be Sequence 4, no, Sequence 5. Such experts were not to be trifled with. In his eyes, Sequence 5 was the pinnacle of power in a gang. He had never seen such a person in action and couldn't imagine how powerful they were.
Over the next half hour, the group made their preparations. They even had Ruby and Evony tied up and lying on the vehicle's sofa for a photo as part of the ruse. Though their faces weren't visible in the photo, their attractive figures were enough to draw attention.
"Remember, if they don't specifically ask for it, don't send the photo," Ruby held her personal terminal, looking at the projected image of herself and Evony, emphasizing the point.
"Got it, got it. No problem," Guro and Simu assured her. The group then continued their whispered discussions.
"I'm going to be a big star in the future. This kind of photo could become a black mark on my record."
Ruby carefully examined the photo, where half of her face was visible, the small star near her eye subtly hinting at her identity. Evony, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. To her, it was just a photo, even if her face was visible.
"Are we ready? Let's begin."
Under the watchful eyes of the group, the man picked up his personal terminal and carefully dialed Brother Long.
Soon, the call connected, and Brother Long's impatient voice came through.
"How's it going? Did you find them? Don't tell me you got lost again. I knew Mosti was a terrible driver. Next time, I'll have Red Horse lead."
"Brother Long, cough, Brother Long, we found them." He swallowed nervously, his voice less natural than during the rehearsal. Fortunately, Brother Long wasn't the most observant and didn't notice anything amiss.
"You found them? Did you catch those two girls?"
"Yes, we caught them. Those two girls are really beautiful. I've never seen anyone so pretty in my life. They're even better than the top-tier girls in those black market videos. Brother Long, what should we do with them? Hehe."
He forced a dry laugh at the end, finally finishing his lines.
"Oh, you really caught them? Hurry, where are you? Send me your location. I'll send someone to pick you up." Brother Long sounded eager, completely oblivious to any potential traps.
"Location, right. The location is..." He looked up at the group, and Guro gave him a slight nod.
"The location is near 1714, 8194."
With that, Brother Long hung up, not bothering to ask any further questions.
"All that preparation for nothing. What a waste," the group sighed, feeling like they had prepared for a tiger but ended up with a three-legged cat.
"Better safe than sorry, haha."
N leaned against the large vehicle, casually swirling a glass of amber-colored drink in his hand as he watched the group's performance.
"Teacher, what do you think of how we handled this? Was it effective? Any flaws or mistakes?" someone asked him.
N shook his head, refusing to comment.
"Now's not the time for evaluations. When we get back to school, I'll have plenty of time to analyze all the mistakes and situations you encountered. For now, just do things your way."
"Hesitation and indecision are the worst."
He waved his hand and returned to the vehicle.
Alen then walked over and patted his companions on the shoulder.
"What the teacher means is, since we've already done it, there's no point in regretting or hesitating now."
Time passed slowly. Brother Long called a few more times, asking about their location and situation, but the group managed to cover everything up. About two hours later, a small black dot appeared on the horizon, kicking up dust as it approached.
"He's here."
Valk stood up and walked over to the now-righted SUV. He untied the captive in the front seat and made him get out to greet Brother Long on the open ground, while Valk himself stayed in the vehicle, aiming a gun at the man to ensure he didn't try anything.
Xelian was also in the vehicle, while the rest of the group hid—some behind the large vehicle, others on its roof.
The old, roaring SUV sped closer. Seeing the bullet holes and the stopped large truck, the man in the passenger seat grew even more excited.
"Pointy Mouth, you did well! I'll reward you handsomely when we get back."
As soon as the car stopped, he jumped out and ran toward the large truck.
"Where are the girls? I want to see them."
Unfortunately, before he could get close to the truck door, a shadow leaped down from above, wrapping around his neck and flipping him to the ground.
The three men who had come with him in the SUV were about to grab their guns and get out when several blue streaks of electricity flashed, causing them to collapse inside the vehicle, twitching and incapacitated.
A few minutes later, the four bound men knelt on the cold, hard ground, slowly regaining consciousness. They looked around in panic as the sun began to set, their mouths sealed with tape, unable to speak.
Finally, footsteps approached, and someone turned them around to face the black-haired young lady sitting on the black wooden chair. Half of her body was shaded by the parasol behind her, while the other half was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. Her black skirt shimmered faintly with a golden hue, and beside her stood four menacing figures wearing sunglasses.
"Now, I have some questions for you," the young lady said calmly, raising her hand slightly. Someone stepped forward and tore the tape off their mouths.
Her black hair, black dress, and black eyes exuded a chilling aura that seemed to seep into their bones. Even under the warm light of the setting sun, it felt as cold as an icy prison.
This time, she was slightly more serious. As a Songstress, she had the ability to influence emotions and mental states. Combined with her own innate talent, the coldness emanating from her soul spread through the air.