Scheming

"If you trust me, I can help you look into it," the girl suggested.

"You? How would you look into it?" Luo Xia asked.

"I've installed a few cameras in this sewer. Since you were able to find this place, it must have been the Hands nearby who did it. I can check who has been coming and going today," the girl explained.

"There are other people in this sewer? And what are your Hands?" Luo Xia asked.

"Thieves. We call ourselves Hands because we only take... well, things that aren't exactly valuable. As for this sewer, there are actually quite a few people like me," the girl explained.

Luo Xia fell silent for a few seconds upon hearing this.

Ten meters above lay the bustling city of New York, yet this place before him was even filthier and more chaotic than the slums of Hell's Kitchen. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of heartbreaking experiences had driven the people living here to lead such subhuman lives.

However, Luo Xia quickly cast such sympathy aside; he wasn't yet powerful enough to afford the luxury of pitying others.

"If you can help, then I would be truly grateful," Luo Xia said.

The girl offered a smile as friendly as she could manage, then walked over to the generator, grabbed the crank, and began to spin it frantically.

Her movements were quite practiced; she clearly did this often. Still, her frame was a bit too thin and weak, and merely getting the generator running left her panting for breath.

Current flowed through, lighting up the bulb and illuminating the dim den. It was only then that Luo Xia noticed a fish tank on the table, though the goldfish inside was already floating belly-up.

Noticing Luo Xia's gaze, the girl awkwardly tucked the tank into a drawer. "I just forgot to feed him today."

Luo Xia merely smiled and said nothing.

The girl opened her computer, tapped away at the keyboard for a while, and then pulled up several dynamic video feeds.

"The cameras run on batteries, but to save power, I modified their internal structure, which dropped the resolution to the lowest setting," the girl explained to Luo Xia as she worked, a look of distinct pride on her face.

She was just an ordinary girl, unable to resist showing off her skills to someone else.

Luo Xia was tactful enough to offer a compliment: "Impressive, you even know how to do this."

"I downloaded tutorials from the internet. Well, I have Wi-Fi here too, I from... let's get back to business. Look, this is today's surveillance," the girl said, pointing to the monitor that looked like a giant brick.

Luo Xia took a glance. The camera was positioned at the only path accessible after coming down the manhole, and the screen was currently playing the footage of Luo Xia jumping down from above.

"But why does it look so blurry?" Luo Xia asked.

"Didn't I just say? To save power, it's not recording in high definition. Or, you could lean in closer to look..." the girl said to Luo Xia.

Luo Xia didn't refuse; he simply sat down in front of the computer and began adjusting the video's timestamp to see if he could find anyone else who had passed through that manhole today.

But he had only been watching for a few seconds when he heard a burst of rapid footsteps behind him.

Luo Xia didn't even need to turn around to know that the girl had run off, taking advantage of the moment his attention was fixed on the computer.

What a scheming girl! Luo Xia sighed inwardly. No one who could survive in a place like Hell's Kitchen was simple.

However, Luo Xia didn't turn around. Instead, he reached toward his watch, pulled out a USB cable, and plugged it into the computer.

"Violet, pack and download all the data," Luo Xia commanded.

"Understood, Commander. Please give me ten seconds."

As Violet's voice echoed in Luo Xia's mind, the old computer's hard drive emitted a harsh, grinding noise, as if it were operating under extreme overload.

Ten seconds later, Violet automatically retracted the USB connection, while the computer's main unit began to emit a wisp of blue smoke and a foul, acrid smell of burning.

Only then did Luo Xia stand up and continue to speak to Violet: "Access all nearby cameras and find her."

Just moments ago, Violet hadn't just packed the data from the computer; she had also seized control of all the cameras the girl had installed throughout the sewer.

Violet fed the footage directly into Luo Xia's Tactical Goggles. The previously blurry images were processed, making it possible to at least distinguish human silhouettes.

The girl was thin and weak, and she hadn't managed to run very far. She was clever, though, taking several turns in an attempt to exploit Luo Xia's lack of familiarity with the sewer. But with the help of the cameras, Luo Xia easily cornered her in another equally filthy and dilapidated den.

Unlike the previous one, this den seemed even more decadent; Luo Xia could even smell the scent of marijuana.

By the time Luo Xia arrived, the thin Asian girl from before was arguing in a low voice with someone else.

"Daisy, I told you a long time ago that you should return this thing. Now the owner has tracked us down. I know he's not an ordinary person; if he finds you, you're finished. He has a gun!"

"Skye, I'm not doing this for myself! This is the best chance we have to get out of here! If we sell this gem, the money will be enough for us to find a place on the surface to live. Don't you know that a Hand suddenly went missing recently? No sign of life, no sign of death. I can't spend another day living in this sewer."

Luo Xia didn't rush in blindly. He hid around the corner and activated the X-ray function of his Tactical Goggles. A hexagonal crystal was sitting on the table—it was the Energy Activation Device he had been searching for.

Having found what he wanted, Luo Xia didn't waste any more time. He stepped out from the shadows and said to the two girls, "Sorry to interrupt your chat, but I'm in a hurry."

Only then did Luo Xia get a clear look at the other girl. She appeared to be white, and she was much fuller in figure than the Asian girl named Skye.

Seeing that Luo Xia intended to take the Energy Activation Device, the girl called Daisy grabbed a wine bottle from the side and pointed it at him. "Don't move! Or I'll crack your skull open!"

Luo Xia paused for a moment. He saw that the hand Daisy used to grip the bottle was trembling; the girl wasn't nearly as brave as she was pretending to be.

"I sympathize with your plight, but please put that down, or I will consider it a provocation," Luo Xia said, drawing his Colt 1911 pistol from behind his back.

As soon as Daisy saw that Luo Xia had a gun, she immediately lowered the bottle. "Fine, take it. I have absolutely no objections."

Luo Xia retrieved the Energy Activation Device and was about to leave, but after a moment's thought, he said to the two girls, "No one should have to live in a sewer. If you need help, go to the Nelson & Murdock Law Firm. I think there are people there who would be very happy to help you."

With the item in hand, Luo Xia didn't intend to hold these two thieving girls accountable. It was clear that both of them had been forced into theft by their circumstances, so he might as well let them find that champion of justice, Matt. He trusted that the lawyer-turned-vigilante could help them escape this sewer.

Just as he was about to leave, however, Luo Xia heard a series of loud, thumping crashes. Immediately after, Violet issued a warning: "Commander, something has destroyed two of the cameras."

A blurry photo appeared on Luo Xia's Tactical Goggles. It was the phantom of a massive entity, looking like some kind of bizarre, humanoid monster.

Luo Xia turned his head and asked Skye and Daisy, "You just said that many of the people living in this sewer have gone missing?"