Conflict

8:00 a.m., Japan Time. Minato Ward, Tokyo. The entrance to an office in an abandoned office building.

Ke Qirui lowered the brim of her Lüsterk Hat, the clear corners of her eyes lifting slightly.

From beneath the shadow of the brim, she expressionlessly glanced at the Working Demon slowly crumbling into ashes, then examined the backs of the four Troupe members.

She then took a Retro Single-Sided Mirror from her pocket, put it over her left eye, and clipped its chain to the collar of her trench coat. "We only came to take a look after detecting demonic fluctuations. Looks like someone already did our job for us."

Su Zimai also stared at their backs. "Captain, are they Exorcists too?"

"Probably not." Ke Qirui shook her head.

The one standing here right now was Ji Minghuan's No. 2 Game Character—"Xia Pingzhou"—not Unit 1, "Gu Wenyu."

Naturally, the two women could not recognize him.

But in No. 2 character's memories, Xia Pingzhou had met Ke Qirui once two years ago.

Both possessed SS-Rank Heavenly Drives. Within China's Exorcist Association, they had both been highly watched rising stars. It would have been difficult for them not to know each other.

If Ke Qirui looked closely, she should have been able to recognize that the man before her was Xia Pingzhou.

Watching the two women from the corner of his eye, Ji Minghuan thought to himself:

This is looking a little bad. If my Little Sister dies at the hands of the Troupe, then wouldn't my "Black Cocoon" lose a sustainable Main Quest outright?

With that in mind, he decided to find a way to let Su Zimai go without arousing the other members' suspicions if possible.

As for Ke Qirui, whether she lived or died had nothing to do with him.

"I'm hungry." Ayase Origami said expressionlessly. "Kill them, then hurry up and eat."

As she spoke, she turned halfway around.

Just then, Ji Minghuan suddenly said, "I recognize the woman in the hat. She's a member of the Exorcist Association. Her Heavenly Drive is a 'Retro Single-Sided Mirror'... I don't recognize the other one. Have you heard of her?"

At Ji Minghuan's words, Anluns seemed to recall something.

"An old-fashioned single-sided mirror?" he murmured, raising a brow. "Oh... Ke Qirui from the Exorcist Association? She's pretty famous. The captain knows her and apparently once considered inviting her into the Troupe."

"And what happened?" Ji Minghuan asked.

"The captain never said, but judging by this, she must have turned him down." Anluns smiled. "She later formed an Exorcist team called the Ghost Train Troupe. It was probably named after the Train Demon she contracted."

Ayase Origami tilted her head and gave the two of them an emotionless glance.

"After all that talking, are we killing them or not?"

Robert scratched his Mechanical Box Head and said calmly, "Forget it. The captain said not to cause any disturbances before the auction begins. There's no benefit in fighting these two Exorcists here."

Hearing that, Ji Minghuan took the opportunity to chime in. "If you agree, I'd like to try fighting that woman."

After a pause, he added, "But her Heavenly Drive would cause quite a commotion. If you think it would compromise the secrecy of the auction operation... then forget it."

In his memories, the Retro Single-Sided Mirror possessed by Ke Qirui had the ability to directly summon the Demons she had contracted.

This was fundamentally different from other Heavenly Drives—other Heavenly Drives turned Contracted Demons into components of the Heavenly Drive, while hers retained the Demons' Main Bodies and summoned them when needed.

And the previous night, Ji Minghuan had used Restraint Belt Detection in the park to test her. Ke Qirui's Retro Single-Sided Mirror currently had contracts with two Demons. The first was the Train Demon, and the second was the Movie Demon.

Judging from the name Train Demon, its size definitely would not be small. In other words, if they fought Ke Qirui here, she would undoubtedly summon the Train Demon and keep them locked in a standoff.

The resulting commotion would definitely be considerable—perhaps enough to announce to all of Japan:

—"The White Crow Troupe has arrived in Tokyo."

Anluns shrugged. "That's true... The captain warned us not to underestimate her abilities if we ran into her."

"Stop wasting time." Robert withdrew his gaze from the two women at the office entrance. "If killing them is meant to conceal our tracks, then fighting them and causing an even bigger disturbance would have a greater impact instead."

He paused. "Let's go. Don't make the captain angry."

"Then let's go."

With that, Ayase Origami was the first to turn around and head toward the empty corridor.

"Fine." Ji Minghuan said, with a trace of barely perceptible disappointment in his tone.

As he turned and left with the other two, he let out a breath of relief. Little Sister, this is all I can do for you. If they really refuse to let you go, then you'll have to part from this world forever. Losing one Main Quest is better than losing a Game Character.

"By the way, No. 12." Anluns caught up and draped an arm over his shoulders. "Does that mean you used to be in the Exorcist Association too?"

"Everyone who awakens a Heavenly Drive gets invited by the local authorities. They invited me too," Ji Minghuan explained without hesitation. "Later, I found it boring and left."

"No wonder you came looking for us. Did you think being in the Troupe would be more interesting?" Anluns smiled.

Ji Minghuan could not be bothered to answer. "We're robbing Tokyo Underground Auction in a week, right?"

"That's right. That's when we move." Anluns said.

"No detailed plan?"

"The captain usually only tells us five minutes before an operation begins."

"No preparation needed?"

"Anyone without that much ability to execute orders would have died ten thousand times over among us." Anluns smiled. "The captain is very interested in your abilities. He hopes you'll stick close to us and die a little slower. Don't be like the previous No. 12."

Ji Minghuan nodded expressionlessly.

He turned his head and glanced at Ke Qirui and Su Zimai, still in the office, from the corner of his eye.

So what are Ke Qirui and Su Zimai doing in Tokyo? Are they planning to get involved with the auction too? With my Little Sister's strength, taking on this kind of high-level situation... even if I'm embedded in the Troupe as a mole, I still won't be able to save her.

The four reached a corner and entered a filthy, cramped passageway. Robert placed his right hand against the wall and opened a doorframe. They turned the handle and stepped through, vanishing without a trace.

At the same time, inside the abandoned office.

"Their presence suddenly disappeared?" Su Zimai frowned. When she sensed their hostility, she had already been preparing to pull out her Heavenly Drive. She had not expected them to simply turn around and leave.

She turned to Ke Qirui and asked, "Captain, who were those people just now?"

"They seemed to be from the White Crow Troupe..." Ke Qirui said quietly.

"Huh?"

"I've seen a photo of one of them. That little girl in the kimono is the Young Miss of the Japanese Ayase Family. Later, she received an invitation from the White Crow Troupe's captain, left her family, and became a member of the Troupe."

"So they were planning to kill us just now?"

"Yes. I don't know why they didn't make a move." Ke Qirui said. "Every member of the Troupe is very strong. Without preparation, it would be difficult for us to win."

She thought for a moment. "It seems the Japanese Exorcist Association's concerns were real. The White Crow Troupe really has come to Tokyo, and they've set their sights on the Underground Auction jointly organized by the Association and several major crime families."

Su Zimai asked, "Then are we still taking this commission to 'protect the auction and ensure it proceeds normally'?"

"We've already come all this way. It'd be a shame to leave now." Ke Qirui rested a hand against her chin. "Report what just happened to the Association. Japan should further strengthen the auction's security."

"Who can they even call in?" Su Zimai sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Whether Exorcists or ability users, Japan's people are weak as hell. There are hardly any worth looking at."

"That may be true, but the Japanese Association can ask neighboring countries for aid and have them send some people over." The corner of Ke Qirui's mouth curled upward.

Su Zimai frowned. "Like who?"

"Blue Arc."

Ke Qirui slowly spoke the name.