Chapter 414: Probing Before Cooperation
“Choosing to meet here…”
On a quiet, dark park path, the cloaked girl walked slowly along the gravel trail. Her brows, hidden beneath her hood, furrowed slightly as she uncertainly looked at the location on the paper in her hand and her surroundings.
Kazumi had no strong opinions about the park being the meeting place. After all, the visibility in the woods at night was very low, and a small park with few pedestrians was indeed a relatively hidden meeting spot.
However, the problem lay in the mission content she understood. If the objective was to rescue an important figure, then whether it was a large prison or a special facility for holding criminals, neither was a place that could be quickly reached from this small park in Kyoto’s inner district.
And if she was called to this place just to make contact before going somewhere together, it seemed exceptionally convoluted in terms of both time and procedure. After all, this was an underground villain organization, not a bureaucratic agency that operated by the book.
After surveying her surroundings, the girl finally found the tree trunk with the scratch mark under the cover of night. With a blank expression, she assessed the ordinary tree that served as a marker. Kazumi stopped, turned to look at the still motionless surroundings, closed her eyes, and silently spread out her energy perception.
“Not here yet? Or are they hiding?”
Rubbing her temples with a hint of a headache, Kazumi couldn’t help but complain, feeling no life wave feedback from her surroundings.
These villainous types, they didn’t learn any good habits, but they certainly learned being unpunctual perfectly. None of her missions so far had been without waiting for someone. Still, there was nothing she could do about it, especially when her own strength was low.
Her heart, which had been somewhat excited knowing the specific mission details, calmed down a little. After all, the organization’s planning for so long wouldn’t just be carried out so carelessly.
With dwindling interest, Kazumi pulled out her mobile phone from her pocket, leaned against the tree trunk, and idly scrolled through the screen. Judging by the situation today, it would likely involve handing over the mission and getting acquainted with the team members. Any major actions would surely come later.
“Swish—” “Ding—”
A sharp blade extended from the darkness, slashing directly in front of the girl. But the next moment, an arm covered in sharp teeth emerged from beneath the girl’s black robe, solidly blocking the sharp attack.
“It’s troublesome even if my mobile phone gets broken.”
Kazumi was a little surprised that the target of the attack wasn’t herself but her mobile phone. The girl certainly wouldn’t be complacent enough to play with her phone in such a place without any defenses. Moreover, it was quite common to exchange a few blows to assess strength before meeting. However, it was rare for someone in this underground organization, filled with bad people, to be so gentle as not to kill.
Little Black’s arm slowly retracted beneath the cloak. Kazumi could now clearly see the true figure that had attacked her in the darkness. Her calm, unruffled eyes now showed a slight ripple, because in the girl’s field of vision stood a giant praying mantis, as tall as a person, with a faint glow emanating from its body.
“A bug? Is this part of the test?”
After a moment of surprise, Kazumi quickly entered a combat analysis state, tentatively condensing a few energy arrows and sending them over. The girl’s attention focused on the other’s thick forearm, which gleamed with a metallic luster.
“Clang—”
The faint glow seemed to grant the mantis-like creature high defense. Even when the energy arrows hit its body, they only produced a few sounds of metal collision, without causing significant damage.
Kazumi subtly glanced at the lush woods around them, understanding why the other party chose this location for the strength test.
The ability of this summoned creature wasn’t very strong; Little Black could easily crush it. However, the problem lay in its extremely sharp arms. In this forested environment, if Little Black hadn’t blocked the attack just now, a large portion of the trees behind them would likely have fallen.
Causing such a large commotion here was undoubtedly something Kazumi wanted to avoid. The felling of numerous trees and the energy traces would be enough to attract the attention of the Association. If a real investigation were to occur, it would be quite troublesome for Kazumi.
“They’re forcing me to finish it cleanly…”
A few Corpse Crows flew out from beneath the girl’s cloak, using the cover of night to charge towards the praying mantis’s eyes. However, it was noticed by the opponent. With two slashes, they were directly turned into minced meat. With nimble steps, the mantis advanced towards Kazumi’s position.
Kazumi feigned being completely terrified. She turned around defenselessly and ran towards the open space she had come from, even exposing her back completely.
Kazumi’s actions seemed to surprise the person hidden in the dark, but the mantis didn’t stop. After a moment, its wings suddenly unfurled, and its massive body soared into the air. Its wings vibrated so fast that only afterimages remained. In mid-air, it dived down with its arms that could sever steel, targeting the head of the panicked prey fleeing away.
“Buzz—”
The massive body had an exceptionally unnatural lightness. The arm blade gleamed with a chilling sharpness under the moonlight, approaching the fleeing Kazumi little by little, as if it could cleave her body in two the next moment.
And just as the mantis in mid-air was about to slow down and stop its pursuit, a faintly green energy gateway suddenly opened between the two. The giant mantis plunged headfirst into the portal and then lost control.
“Come out.”
The person hiding in the dark clearly hadn’t expected the situation to unfold like this, but the clear and cold words in their ear interrupted their stunned silence. Turning their head, they saw the black-robed girl, who had regained her previous cold demeanor, standing in front of the bush where they were hiding, staring directly at their location.
“Haha, I didn’t expect such a unique way of resolving this.”
Scratching his head with some awkwardness, the strange person boldly revealed himself. The disturbingly realistic mantis head atop his body gradually dissolved, eventually returning to the appearance of a rather amicable young boy. He extended his right hand towards the girl, who remained shrouded in her cloak.
“Allow me to introduce myself, a member under Master Andre, codenamed [Bug Wielder].”
