"Whew—"
Nangong Saya let out a breath and pulled her scarf up over half her face.
As she adjusted her clothes, she cautiously surveyed her surroundings.
The empty street held only a few hurried passersby. There were no suspicious characters in sight.
After making sure no one was following her, Nangong Saya turned into an empty alley.
But she didn't notice the little sparrow following her from above.
Fang Cheng sat in a chair by the window, a freshly brewed cup of tea beside him.
His skin kept switching between black and its usual color. As he trained his Mountain God's Protection, he watched Nangong Saya's movements through their shared vision.
"Strange. Why would she come here?"
Fang Cheng was puzzled. He hadn't expected to run into Nangong Saya in this place.
After he'd asked for her help last time, they'd stayed in touch. Every now and then, Fang Cheng would invite Takeda Masumi and Nangong Saya out for food and drinks.
Their relationship was something like acquaintances who'd gotten to know each other through a fight. They were close enough to make the occasional dirty joke.
Seeing Nangong Saya in Aomori Prefecture, Fang Cheng guessed she might be heading to Machine City.
After all, this dump didn't even have any tourist attractions, let alone job opportunities or local specialties. Even its industry was concentrated in neighboring Iwate Prefecture.
The only reason outsiders came here was to sneak across the strait into Hokkaido.
But Nangong Saya had a perfectly good auto repair shop in Tokyo, a whole gang of underlings, and a peaceful life—apart from lacking a man. She had no reason to go to Machine City.
Then again, she was a Cyborg herself. Maybe she had some connection to Machine City behind the scenes.
Fang Cheng wasn't all that