A Show of Strength

Jiang Mian reached out and took the small package, with no intention of leaving. She opened it right there.

Watching her movements, A Gui couldn't help swallowing.

Inspecting the goods face-to-face... wasn't common in underground dealings.

Especially for a "regular customer" who had already made one transaction, it carried a hint of distrust—perhaps even counted as a provocation.

But he didn't dare say anything.

The woman in black before him, even if she was a newly diagnosed "Patient," had to be of no low sequence given the rate at which she burned through supplies.

People like that were stronger than ordinary Aberrants—and crazier too. Who knew whether they would go out of control over the slightest displeasure?

That was why, in their line of work, if you weren't an Awakened yourself, you might end up getting stabbed someday.

The waterproof cloth was swiftly untied, revealing what lay inside: a transparent glass test tube roughly the length of an index finger, along with a map bearing several lines of notes.

Jiang Mian first picked up the Suppressor. The clear liquid gave off a faint blue glow in the dim light.

To her senses, the one in her hand was no different from the previous one.

As for its effectiveness, she would only know after trying it—but this wasn't the right place.

The Suppressor could be taken orally or injected, with the latter taking effect faster. Jiang Mian habitually chose the former.

She then unfolded the somewhat crude map. It marked the address of a small private hospital in North City, with a line of tiny writing beside it that was likely the password for entry.

So it's here...

She had passed this place several times on her way to work at the Special Affairs Bureau. Who would have thought it was hidden in such an obvious spot?

Without changing her expression, Jiang Mian folded the map back up. Seeing this, A Gui hurriedly forced out a smile and asked, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"No problem with the goods, right, sis?"

She didn't answer A Gui's question. Instead, she said, "The previous Suppressor was far less effective than you claimed."

A Gui's heart skipped a beat. He licked his dry lips, but remembering that Brother Biao was watching from the shadows, he found a little courage again.

He straightened his back, his tone gaining a touch more eagerness than before.

"Sis, that's hard to say. It depends on the individual's constitution. Someone like you... I've never seen anyone burn through them this fast."

He hesitated, but ultimately couldn't suppress his curiosity. Working up his nerve, he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what range is your sequence... roughly in? If your sequence is high, then developing tolerance quickly and getting diminished effects is normal."

In the darkness, Du Biao nearly failed to catch his breath when he heard that. He had the urge to rush out and beat him senseless.

Is this idiot's brain full of water?!

He could only force himself to hold back and curse furiously in his heart.

How long have you been doing this... Have you fed all the rules to the dogs? Tired of living, are you?!

He felt exhausted. He had repeatedly warned A Gui that prying into a customer's information was the gravest taboo of all.

This woman clearly wasn't someone to trifle with. She went through Suppressors so quickly—how low could her sequence possibly be?

Asking that now, if he angered her and she went out of control here, they would all be dragged down with her.

He should've handled this himself from the start...

But the words had already left A Gui's mouth. They could only play it by ear now.

With that thought, Du Biao placed a hand on his weapon, his muscles taut as he prepared to move at any moment and stabilize the situation.

Jiang Mian seemed to have seen through A Gui's little scheme and gave a cold snort.

The next moment, a scorching, violent aura abruptly spread outward. The temperature inside the warehouse shot up at once, turning it into a steamer.

"Th-this is..."

A Gui felt a scorching sting even when he breathed. This ability had such obvious elemental traits... the [Cataclysm] path...

"Don't ask what you shouldn't."

"Y-yes, sorry! I talked too much!"

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Only then did he remember that she was an unknown high-sequence Aberrant. Even Brother Biao, whom he relied on, was only somewhere above sequence two hundred.

So A Gui immediately chose to surrender without a fight.

"Don't let it happen again."

Jiang Mian gave Du Biao's direction a meaningful glance. Without paying any attention to A Gui, whose legs had gone weak and who was nearly scared senseless, she turned and walked into the dark curtain of rain beyond the door.

"Now you know fear?"

Du Biao stepped out of the shadows, his expression grim. He was clearly on the verge of exploding.

"Brother Biao... I was wrong..."

A Gui hurriedly admitted his mistake.

"Hmph. Watch your mouth. If there's a next time, I'll sew it shut for you first."

Although the Aura of the other party's attack had still been at First Order, Du Biao was certain that only a top hundred Sequence Ability could have caused such a commotion.

And it seemed the other party had noticed him...

"Not simple..."

On the street, Jiang Mian hurried through the rain.

Though she looked somewhat bedraggled by the downpour, she had already used the power of [Gale] to cushion her body in a layer of air. The clothes beneath her raincoat remained dry and fresh.

It had to be said, this skill was quite useful—combat, concealment, escape, daily life... it was remarkably well-rounded.

As her proficiency increased, her [Gale] could now distort sound and conceal her own Aura, but it could not alter her figure or that overly eye-catching face.

Jiang Mian was strikingly beautiful to begin with. That was both the foundation of her disguise and the source of her troubles.

Even with deliberate concealment, some of her subtle traits might still be remembered by those with ulterior motives.

If she wanted to operate in the gray zone for the long term, buying Suppressors and gathering information, she needed a "new persona" completely unrelated to her public identity.

If she had a skill related to disguise, things would certainly be much more convenient.

Unfortunately, judging by her current growth path, there seemed to be no sign of that. She could only be even more cautious.

Those two had been somewhat dishonest just now, but her "new persona" had already been established: a mentally unstable Fire Element Aberrant.

That impression would be enough to make them rein themselves in considerably during their next transaction.

Before she found a more stable, cheaper channel, she still had to keep this line open as a backup route for obtaining Suppressors and information.

The rain seemed to have grown heavier.

Jiang Mian arrived at an intersection. Straight ahead lay her little house, while turning right led to that private hospital.

At this hour... and with such heavy rain, there probably won't be many people.

After thinking it over, she felt this was the perfect chance to scout the place out and see whether anything unusual was going on.

Though she still had not decided whether to seek a new Suppressor channel there, it was never wrong to gather some information in advance.

With [Gale] supporting her, as long as she was careful, no one could catch her anyway.

Those "Same Kind" were using an operating hospital as cover. It really was darkness beneath the lamp.

Jiang Mian restrained her Aura as much as possible and drifted toward the hospital like a ghost.

Even with her vision limited, Jiang Mian could still sense the information around her through the Flowing Wind.

But as she passed through an alley, she sensed a familiar Aura outside.

That... Security Officer?

Jiang Mian matched the clues and recalled the Female Security Officer who had brought Teacher Lin to find her before.

Is she on patrol?

She still had a vial of Suppressor on her. She had originally intended to wait until just the right time to drink it, but she had not expected to run into a patrolling Security Officer halfway there.

Jiang Mian had no desire to collide with the other party head-on. Just as she was about to change routes, an abrupt beam of light shone straight toward where she stood.

"?"

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