Chapter 159: 95. Forced Capture
Fisher looked at the bustling bounty hunters in the distance, his gaze shifting to the firearms in their hands. There were at least a hundred of them, and engaging them directly would greatly increase the risk, especially considering the gang controlling the black market was based right beneath the royal city, not to be underestimated.
The fight between the two above them had reached a climax, with even the bed board vibrating slightly and making soft sounds. Jasmine’s ears perked up a bit, but remembering Fisher’s instructions, she refrained from looking up, instead imagining the scene in her mind based only on the sounds.
Were they fighting?
Jasmine thought this, her curiosity scratching at her like a cat, wanting to see but not daring due to Fisher’s words. She concentrated on listening with her ears, filling in the visuals with her imagination.
If she didn’t speak, Fisher wouldn’t know what she was thinking. After thinking for a while, he came up with a strategy. He gently turned his head, preparing to whisper a few words to Jasmine, only to suddenly catch sight of her long ears drooping at the side of her face.
After a moment of silence, he extended two fingers to pinch one of her soft ears and lifted it up, then leaned closer to her, ready to say something.
“Cheep.”
Jasmine’s face flushed slightly as she made a sound like a small animal. Just as Fisher wanted to release her ear, she leaned her head closer to him, seemingly signaling him to speak.
Like a pair of kindergarten children whispering to each other, Fisher lowered his head and softly spoke, arranging the subsequent plans, and then handed his staff to Jasmine.
After hearing Fisher’s words, she tightly hugged the staff and nodded, looking quite determined as if to say, “Leave it to me.”
The rescue operation officially began.
Anna, light-footed and wearing a hat, hugged her arms and followed the lead of the gang members into the artificially dug cave.
In the front half of the cave, quite a few hunters were resting against the sides, while gang members guarded the area, patrolling to see if there were any uninvited guests. The real black market required heading deeper into the cave.
As soon as Anna entered the cave, the bounty hunters and gang members nearby couldn’t help but be captivated by the lady who had stepped into the narrow space, unable to look away.
Her skin resembled cream, and her face was unbelievably beautiful, resembling an angel sent down by the Mother.
Several men swallowed hard; if gazes could eat, Anna would have been devoured multiple times by those men.
As mentioned previously, most bounty hunters were desperate outlaws burdened with lives taken, though many had reluctantly joined this line of work due to financial pressures, they too would soon be tainted black by such a profession like a dye vat.
Those who genuinely made money as bounty hunters were mostly related to taking lives. For money, they could slaughter entire families with whom they had no grievances, exchanging the heads with unseeing eyes for bounties.
If not for the group of subordinates following Anna, they might have already been contemplating how to tail this lady, dragging her to an isolated area for some “fun.”
Anna seemed completely accustomed to the eager gazes of the men. Ignoring those disgusting, sticky stares, she carried her small bag, walking at a leisurely pace.
Protected by her entourage, she quickly reached the true entrance of the black market, where tasks were issued, and bounties collected.
Inside was a spacious hall, and despite it being deep night, the surrounding flames remained bright. The air was filled with voices of conversation, mixed with the scents of sweat, blood, and alcohol from men.
Anna felt a bit uncomfortable, so she gently covered her nose. Just then, a middle-aged man with a smile approached her. He was neatly dressed, far from the traditional image of a gang member, even sporting two carefully groomed little mustaches on his lips.
He approached Anna, smiling as he extended a hand,
“Good evening, Miss Anna. I am Little John from the Vulture Gang. Your order is entirely my responsibility. It’s a pleasure to meet such a beautiful lady on a night like this.”
Anna glanced at him but did not extend her hand to shake. Instead, she continued to cover her mouth and nose, seemingly unwilling to breathe the air here.
“I’m here to collect the ‘goods.’ Where are they?”
Little John, though initially rejected, showed no anger. Instead, he naturally pointed with his outstretched fingers at his subordinates behind him and dissatisfiedly ordered, “What are you doing? You didn’t arrange a separate room for Miss Anna when she came! What does it look like having a distinguished guest standing here? Go arrange it! And bring the ‘goods’ and those who completed the order over.”
His subordinates hurriedly complied and ran deeper into the cave.
Anna cast a glance at Little John, who had quickly changed from being angry to smiling awkwardly, rubbing his hands. He gestured towards a certain direction inside and said, “I’m really sorry, you came unexpectedly. We didn’t prepare in advance. Please come this way. One ‘goods’ has already been caught, while the other two have been injured and are still fleeing. But they shouldn’t be able to go far. You don’t need to rush here; they have two companions still not captured. It’s not too late to come by once they are all caught.”
“No need, let me see.”
Little John smiled softly, no longer responding, and led Anna to a door in the cave.
Upon arriving, he took out a key and opened the door, revealing a spacious room with a being suspended by iron chains in the center.
The figure had a human-like face, but its entirely deep red hair and lobster-like exoskeleton behind it made it look monstrous. One of its hands was a claw, and the other bore a human palm with webbing. A huge shrimp tail curled slightly behind it.
It was completely entangled in iron chains, injured, with green blood dripping down the chains. It had already lost consciousness; it was Ling Jiu, the lobster subhuman that Fisher and the others wanted to rescue.
Beside the room, several fierce-looking figures with guns slung and cigarettes in their mouths were staring at Anna and her entourage, who were the hunters that had caught this subhuman.
“Ding ding, this is the ocean subhuman that the hunters caught. It’s also my first time seeing a subhuman from the sea. We thought these ocean subhumans were fiercer than the dragon people from the Southern Continent. When we issued the task, we specifically looked for capable hunters. Luckily, they are better at running away, hehe.”
“Do you want to pay for this one first and take them away, or wait until everyone is gathered and pay as a group?”
Facing Little John’s question, Anna signaled her subordinates. A box was lifted to the front of everyone.
“170,000. I want to take this guy away now.”
150,000 was the price for the lobster subhuman, and the remaining 20,000 was the commission for the black market. Once the task was successful, the black market would take an equal fee from both parties based on the unit price; Anna paid 20,000 more, while the bounty hunters would take 20,000 less.
Little John took the box, glanced inside at the gold Nali coins filling it, then satisfiedly closed it and clapped his hands, signaling his subordinates to lower the subhuman.
“The Pink Pavilion really does spend lavishly; 170,000 Nali O and still so generous just for a single subhuman. May I ask the reason? If Miss Anna is willing to share a bit of intel, I could refund you 50,000 Nali O.”
Anna directed her subordinates to take the lobster subhuman away, while sternly warning, “This is our business. Don’t meddle in it.”
“I’m just trying to make a bit more money. But if you don’t say, we won’t force you; after all, we’ve already made enough from this job. Just a reminder, once the goods are released, we’ll have no responsibility. Snakehead Street is long, and Saint Nali isn’t safe either; please keep the goods safe.”
Anna cast a glance at the smiling Little John and then ordered her people from the Pink Pavilion to take the subhuman away.
Behind her, Little John waved to the departing Anna and said, “Take care, Miss Anna! There are still two outside that haven’t been caught; we’ll catch them soon.”
Anna followed the people from the Pink Pavilion out of the cave without responding to Little John. Outside the cave was quite quiet, with only gang members leaning against the street, glaring at every corner of the street with unfriendly expressions.
Toward the end of Snakehead Street, where the gang had jurisdiction, there weren’t many people; only a bit further appeared the idlers and drug addicts.
Anna ordered her subordinates to throw the lobster subhuman into the carriage and cast a protective magic to prevent it from being stolen or waking up to struggle and escape.
After confirming there were no issues, Anna also grabbed the hem of her skirt and got into the carriage, addressing the driver in front, “Back to the Pink Pavilion.”
“Yes.”
As the carriage began to move slowly, Anna sat alone in the carriage, looking at the unconscious subhuman. Her stunning face showed no expression, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
Time passed slowly, and the carriage shook due to the uneven ground of Snakehead Street.
Just as this quiet journey was about to come to an end, with the carriage nearing the mouth of Snakehead Street, the driver suddenly shouted as if he had seen something, “Get out of the way!”
Anna frowned. In the next moment, the entire carriage abruptly stopped, and the inertia had Anna move forward. Thankfully, she had stretched out her hand in advance to brace against the inside of the carriage, preventing herself from falling.
The horses neighed from the abrupt pull of the reins, and Anna’s expression grew cold as she lifted the curtains of the carriage to look outside. She saw a figure in a cloak standing in the center of the road, staring directly at the carriage.
That cloaked figure was Jasmine, slowly raising her hand, revealing that she grasped a staff hidden beneath her cloak. As the staff rose, Anna caught sight of the illusory threads hidden in the darkness, connecting to the streetlights and buildings on both sides.
Anna didn’t understand what Jasmine intended to do with the spinner, but soon she would find out.
“Boom!”
Jasmine took a deep breath, as if a vortex was madly drawing in the surrounding air. After a second, as she raised her head again, her eyes were filled with flowing black water.
She abruptly yanked the staff. A tremendous force traveled through the spinner, tearing the streetlights and building walls behind her apart, sending them flying toward the direction of the carriage.
Countless streetlights and stones were pulled towards her by that small figure; the shocking scene stunned not only the bystanders and members of the Pink Pavilion, but even Fisher, hiding in the shadows, had not expected Jasmine to have such strength.
He looked closely, and in front of the cloaked figure, Jasmine’s impressive softness had once again shrunk, showing that she had entered battle mode.
Fisher couldn’t quite grasp how the whale folk’s battle state worked; was it only Jasmine that shrank like this, or did all whale folk do so?
What about the male whale folk?
If the chest couldn’t shrink, did that mean other areas were the only places left?
Deep in thought, Fisher facepalmed, stopping his absurd line of thought.
He raised the Fluid Sword, aiming at the carriage below, quietly waiting for the opportunity to strike.
“Protect Miss Anna!”
“Come quickly!”
“Ah!”
Chaotic cries came from outside the carriage as several streetlights were yanked and crashed into it, flipping the carriage over and sending it tumbling.
But before that, Anna had already leaped from the carriage with Ling Jiu. Ling Jiu’s protective magic resembled a bubble, different from what Fisher had used before, but it seemed to work quite well and could be easily dragged along like this.
Anna pulled Ling Jiu down with a finger, like holding a balloon, looking toward the cloaked figure in the street. She said to her people, “That person might be a companion of this ocean subhuman; go, bring her back!”
“Yes!”
Several strong men took out firearms and daggers, charging at Jasmine standing in the road.
Anna’s entourage had decreased significantly; just as she wanted to see how the battle was unfolding, a flash of silver light suddenly rushed toward her hand, which was gripping Ling Jiu.
She hurriedly withdrew her hand, allowing the silver light to sever the protective magic linking her and Ling Jiu. Ling Jiu fell to the ground, but the magic still covered his body.
Behind her, Fisher rushed at Ling Jiu at high speed, his gentleman’s hat perfectly obscuring his identity. In the absence of streetlights, everyone could only see his tailored suit.
He intended to take Ling Jiu away directly!
But Anna reacted faster than anyone else; she darted in front of Ling Jiu, blocking Fisher’s reach to take him away.
Seeing he couldn’t take Ling Jiu directly, Fisher had to alter his plan mid-air, changing his motion to grab Anna by the neck and landing behind her, securely restraining her.
Jasmine had drawn away quite a few Pink Pavilion members, but there were still plenty around Anna. With Anna being captured, they aimed their firearms at Fisher hiding behind her. If he dared to move, they would immediately open fire.
“Let go of Miss Anna!”
Anna’s expression was extremely cold, but after a second, her nose twitched as if she had caught a scent.
Then she realized something, her gaze trembling slightly, controlling her body back and pressing tightly against Fisher. The curve of her soft body perfectly fit against him, closing the distance to nearly none.
Fisher was quite surprised. To prevent her from pulling any tricks, he pressed the Fluid Sword against her waist. But he quickly realized what Anna was doing.
Anna was tall, and with this contact, the angle created between her shoulders and Fisher’s slightly lowered hat completely obscured his face, preventing his identity from being exposed as he got closer to others.
Feeling her leaning back against him, Fisher glanced at Anna in surprise but could only see her fair, jade-like neck and the fragrant warmth of her body.
He decided to go along with it, leaning back into the shadows beside the overturned carriage while extending his hand to stop others from approaching.
“Don’t move, or her life is forfeit.”
“Let go of Miss Anna!”
The situation gradually reached a deadlock, and Anna seemed tense, breathing heavily.
Fisher, however, remained calm. He looked down at Ling Jiu, still covered by the magic, and whispered into Anna’s ear, “Let him go, and I’ll let you leave.”
The warm wind brushed against Anna’s ear, and she glanced behind at her people with a struggling expression but didn’t dare move her head, softly biting her lip as she said, “What if I say no?”
No sooner had she spoken than Fisher twisted the Fluid Sword upward, the sharp blade wrapping around her neck and body like a water snake.
“I can certainly kill you all and leave. I have no qualms about testing one by one until the one casting the magic is dead and the magic is undone.”
Anna pressed her lips tightly together in silence, looking profoundly conflicted.
But what no one knew was, she discreetly placed her right hand behind her, taking advantage of the time to write on Fisher’s inner thigh.
Her delicate fingers traced across Fisher’s clothing, bringing him a ticklish sensation. Fisher concealed his expression behind his gentleman’s hat, then focused on deciphering her writing.
“Next Wednesday.”
“Full Moon Church.”
“Charity class.”
“Meet.”
Fisher frowned but hesitated for a second without making any further moves.
He intended to see what this person was planning.
After she finished writing, Fisher lightly patted her waist, only to feel her suddenly pinch his inner thigh hard. The pain combined with her previous words prompted him to release her soft body.
Anna staggered away, but due to the force of her struggle, she almost fell to the ground. Meanwhile, unintentionally, her wrist bracelet struck Fisher’s Fluid Sword.
“Buzz!”
The harsh sound of cutting rang out as her magically glowing bracelet was instantly severed, and the magic on Ling Jiu was simultaneously undone.
Anna fell to the ground and then looked angrily at Ling Jiu, now free from magic, yelling at her subordinates in front, “Kill him!”
That furious voice was so sincere, appearing to be genuine anger after being threatened.
Apart from Fisher, who knew she had written on his thigh, she didn’t show any signs of weakness.
It seemed women were born actresses…
Fisher lowered his head, peeking at Anna lying on the ground along the brim of his hat, firmly imprinting her visage in his memory.
Gunfire erupted along with Anna’s command as Fisher played along with her act, reacting quickly to twist his body and dash toward Ling Jiu, swinging the Fluid Sword to sever the incoming bullets.
He grabbed Ling Jiu, securing his gentleman’s hat on his head while slinging Ling Jiu on his back, sprinting towards the exit of Snakehead Street.
Meanwhile, Jasmine was throwing punches left and right at a few children. The moment she saw Fisher dragging Ling Jiu through the hail of bullets, her softness instantly swelled back to its original size.
Returning to her previous state, she cast an apologetic glance at the humans lying injured around her. Though she hadn’t intended to harm them, she silently whispered an “I’m sorry” before joining Fisher in sprinting down Snakehead Street.
They ran incredibly fast, quickly disappearing from Anna’s view.
Anna, still on the ground, stood up without bothering to dust off her clothes, gritting her teeth as she watched the chaotic street, unwillingly gazing in the direction they had escaped.
A subordinate rushed over, bowing his head to ask, “Miss Anna, should we chase after them?”
“Chase what? Do you want to expose our search for the subhuman to everyone? Does no one manage Snakehead Street? What about outside on Saint Nali Street? Hurry up and lift the carriage, and after cleaning up, we’ll go back!”
“Yes.”
Obeying the order, some subordinates went to lift the carriage, while others helped the groggy ones beaten by Jasmine. There was a moment of busyness.
Only Anna lingered in place, brushing off the dust on her clothing, her gaze following the direction where Fisher and the others had escaped, looking at the exit of Snakehead Street.
In her sight, she could just see the sky outside Snakehead Street.
The moonlight of Saint Nali was deep, yet a ray of moonlight pierced through the clouds and fell directly onto the earth, the watery moonlight spreading along the ground until it stopped just a short distance before Anna’s toes.
The entrance of Snakehead Street was chaotic due to the earlier battle, with the subordinates of the Pink Pavilion cleaning the street, and the idle thugs and addicts peering secretly from behind the buildings.
Only Anna seemed to have distanced herself from such disorder; she simply gazed at the bright moonlight without uttering a word. After a long while, she lifted her arm again, sniffing the masculine scent from her wrist, recognizing it to be that man’s scent.
Fisher Benavides.
She smirked slightly, allowing a faint smile to slip through.
After her subordinates retrieved the horses and lifted the carriage, her expression instantly returned to its previous coldness as she abruptly boarded the carriage, clearly fuming.
“Back to the Pink Pavilion!”
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