Chapter 291

"No problem, Nana, you can rely on me more often!"

When Mika, fully equipped, charged at her, even Nana felt a pang of pain in her chest when she was hugged like that... She helplessly rubbed the pink-haired girl's head. Whether it was Typhon or Takina, they had either cooperated with Nana many times before, or they were born into Lycoris Banka, and their thought patterns and combat procedures were exactly the same as Nana's, so there was absolutely no possibility of anything going wrong during the battle.

After nodding to the two to indicate their direction, Nana finally looked at Texas, Rope, and the others:

"Then, let's go."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

A cantaloupe... no, it's an ice cream-flavored kid! ↑

PSS: After thinking about it again, it's unlikely that Nana would prepare her personal items in front of so many unfamiliar people... So, the description of pantyhose and other food items will have to wait until next time. (Scratches head)

9th Lungmen Seafood: 331 Enemies

The Penguin Logistics Safe House, which Nana uses as a frontline base, is a mixed-use commercial and residential building with three bedrooms and two living rooms facing three directions.

The unloading and supply transport is done through a commercial storefront with a roller shutter door as the entrance, while Nana, Rope, and the Penguin Logistics members leave through the residential door at the back... In addition to the commercial and residential doors, this safe house also has a third emergency exit that leads directly to the subway passage.

Because Ch'en Hui-chieh and Hoshiguma were celebrities even in the shantytown, and Jingzhe and Nian had special racial traits and extraordinary temperaments, the four of them had to leave through the emergency exit.

Chen Hoshiguma led the team through the subway and across the artificial river, then drove back... When everyone arrived at the meeting point in the Central Park of the shantytown, Nana and the others had already eaten dinner at the night market.

"Oh, you've already started eating? I'll have one too!"

"Me too, extra spicy!"

Hoshiguma has always played the peacemaker in Ch'en Hui-chieh's team, easing tensions, but Nian is just naturally outgoing. Fortunately, Penguin Logistics has a lively character like Exusiai, so with Exusiai's help, the reunion of everyone was completed in an orderly manner.

The people sitting at the street stalls eating and drinking may seem no different from the locals and tourists in the surrounding Lungmen at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one would wonder why they seem to be resting and preparing to go to work rather than having dinner after work.

Penguin Logistics is a familiar face in the area. Among this group, Exusiai is always carrying a Firearms Arts, Croissant always carries a shield and hammer—this is common knowledge. Chen and Hoshiguma are both Superintendents of the Guard Bureau, and they are legally carrying weapons most of the time... So even if someone notices that this group seems to be fully armed, it wouldn't be surprising.

Compared to that, Nana, the guy carrying the finely crafted bass case, is more suspicious. After all, the idea that a musical instrument case doesn't necessarily contain a musical instrument is quite common in the various foreign imports of Great Yan... especially in Leithanien movies.

As for the constant stares during the meal, the problem only stopped after Nana finished eating and actually took a bass guitar out of her box.

Yes, Nana's instrument bag really does have an instrument on the front... an ESP GB-4/M.

At first, Nana thought that her manager had sent it to her as a kind of disguise, thinking that she would also use it. But thinking about it carefully, the bass guitar and bag cost almost 60,000 Lungmen Dollar... which is about the price of some custom-made handguns.

It's just that Nana didn't tell anyone else, otherwise we really wouldn't know if Nana had packed a gun... or if she had just put the gun in this bag along with it.

Upon further reflection, even an agent wouldn't seem to need to waste budget on disguise. So, Nana belatedly realized a third possibility as to why there was a harp in the bag... that the bag never belonged to her in the first place, but to the Emperor.

He had simply stolen the Emperor's collection of musical instruments from the safe house, since Rhodes Island's deliveries had been mixed up with Penguin Logistics' original contents after he arrived at the safe house.

The instrument bag looks a lot like the weapon bag, so it's not impossible that Nana would make a mistake if she was just looking for a suitable camouflage box to put the machine gun in... Although she realized it too late, she had already taken it, so Nana wouldn't put it back now.

Anyway, one of the penguins said he would contact the weapons dealer, but he hasn't come back yet.

After figuring this out, Nana tested the pitch of the bass in her hand, found that it didn't need adjusting at all, and put it away. She continued to serve food to Rope next to her... After all, the people sitting at the table were either industry leaders, petty thief nemesis, or VIPs of Great Yan... None of them were easy to deal with, and it might be difficult to expect Rope to voluntarily open up and eat his fill.

Speaking of this dinner, it was Exusiai initially invited Nana to sit down, but after Chen arrived, the stall owner, known as Uncle Dong, treated Chen as the leader of the group:

"Chen, all your dishes are ready. Let me know if you'd like to add anything else!"

"Yes, thank you, Uncle Dong."

"Hey, no need to thank me... It's rare that you sat with Penguin's girls without making a fuss, and those blonde and white-haired girls don't look like ordinary people either... You're a superintendent now and you still care about the people in our old town, we should thank you. Here, let me bring you another plate of Scale Balls, Exusiai and Rope both like my cooking."

Watching Chen accept the complimentary gift from the owner of Dong's Fishball Shop with a smile, Exusiai, who was sitting at the same table, had his headlamp shining like the stall's incandescent light, while Rope, who was sitting next to Nana, kept licking his lips... even though Nana had already seen her eat two whole plates of scale balls.

"Oh, they love it! You should rest too..."

"Okay, okay, but don't worry about me. I'll only be setting up my stall for a few hours... Jie will come to help me watch the stall in a little while..."

Seemingly having overheard someone familiar, Hoshiguma swallowed her food and asked curiously:

"Uncle Dong, what is Jie still doing here?"

"Yeah, he's a good lad... but how should I put it, he's at the prime of his youth, yet he's always either helping to kill fish or watching the stall... It's great that someone is willing to appreciate my skills, but the best he can do here is be a shop manager... I'm not planning to open a chain, it's such a waste of such an honest kid."

Watching the superintendents chat with the stall owner, and noticing that Nana seemed a bit out of sorts while chewing on her cola straw, Rope, taking advantage of Exusiai's glance towards the stall owner, quickly shoveled three more Scale Balls into his bowl. Then, while stuffing the food into his mouth, he said to Nana:

"The guy they're talking about, Jie, is from Ursus. Because of his intimidating eyes and his job in the old city, he was once considered a potential gang member and was kept under surveillance by the Guard Bureau... But later everyone realized that Jie was a good person; it's just that his eyes are naturally a bit listless and look rather scary. And he has a good relationship with Hoshiguma, so he's probably like me... um... Guard Bureau informant?"

Without changing her expression, Nana listened to the Little Bunny explaining those untold rumors to her. She then took out a tissue and wiped the red sauce from the corner of Rope's mouth.

"... So, the investigation begins here..."

Hearing Nana's soft sigh, Texas, sitting on the other side of Nana, twitched her ears.

"We can probably start here too..."

"Hmm? You ran into someone you know too?"

"... rather than acquaintances, it's more like... leftovers from yesterday's business."

Following Texas's gaze, even though the place where the other person was standing was dark, Nana was still able to discern the identity of the newcomer from the fleeting glimpse of her black skirt and pink hair.

"No, they might be looking for me..."

Seeing Nana get up, Texas picked up her work bag and followed, but then shook her head at Texas and the Exusiai:

"The other party is one of 'Rat King's' men, there won't be a fight, you guys keep eating... we'll be working until late tonight."

"Rope, you can stay here too... Croissant, I'm leaving this child in your care for now."

Regarding Nana's request, the bread man, who always had the shield and hammer at hand, patted his chest and said that it was fine to leave it to her... Although Nana was somewhat amused and exasperated to see Rope sitting next to Sora, an active idol, she was actually quite uneasy, unlike Nana who was just watching the show.

"What? We agreed to work together... How come the police are questioning people while the gang is fighting with other local gangs? No way... Come on, Xiao Lin, help me keep filming Ch'en and the others..."

Seeing Nian pull out a second camera and rush over with Nana, even though she was mentally prepared that this person would definitely do something reckless, Jingzhe still couldn't help but sigh when she actually encountered him.

So, she shoved the camera at Kong, who was standing to the side, Jingzhe grabbed her staff and chased after them... But thankfully, she was stopped by those burly men in vests after only a few steps:

"Unauthorized personnel are prohibited from passing through, and photography is also forbidden..."

Seeing the other person raise their hand to take his camera, Nian immediately pulled it back, his smile unchanged.

"But I'm not an unrelated person. I went in with the two people before me... As for the ban on photography, is there something you're hiding here?"

"You..."

"Hey, Nian, didn't I tell you we weren't allowed to have any conflicts with local forces?"

"But... I didn't do anything to them."

Seeing the Dragon Lady's innocent expression, Jingzhe could only sigh with a stern face. Then, completely ignoring the gang member's feelings, she shouted directly into the crowd:

"Miss Medic, could you please pick us up?"

Hearing the commotion in the distance, Lin Yuhsia, who had half a group of people occupying the pavilion, also had a strange expression... The person in front of her, who was supposedly hanging out with Ch'en Hui-chieh and seemed to be an official of the Lungmen, had also hired Penguin Logistics, a guy who was considered a maverick in the Lungmen gang, to accompany her.

As Ch'en's childhood sweetheart, Lin Yuhsia was well aware of her own inflexible nature and his attitude towards Penguin Logistics... but she actually tacitly approved of her partner associating with them.

Although Lin Yuhsia had mainly come to talk about how Nana had beaten a group of small gangs under the protection of the Rat King to near-legal minor injuries yesterday... now that she saw how cooperative the Guard Bureau was with Rhodes Island, Lin Yuhsia was no longer going to take Nana's words to heart.

"... The person outside, is that your friend?"

"She's a technician from the Great Yan side... Hmm, it seems like she's taking the camera out as a personal interest. She's very... curious about Lungmen's film culture."

"In that case, she should go to the film studio instead of the slums... But, this kind of thing is none of my business."

As she spoke, Lin Yuhsia waved outside, and soon Nana saw someone filming with a camera. At first, they were filming the gang members under the Rat King, but upon seeing Lin Yuhsia, they excitedly turned their camera towards Nana.

"Don't worry about us, you guys continue~"

Even Nana couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly at Nian's blatant disregard for the other gang members. Picking up the teacup pushed towards her by the pink-haired mouse, Nana took a moment to clear her mind of Nian's thoughts.

"So, Miss Lin came to us this time... because you've found out about the cult I mentioned?"

"It can't be that fast. The people around you should know why I'm looking for you."

As she spoke, Lin Yuhsia looked at Texas, where Lupo, with her long, straight black hair, was quietly eating her poki, and then said out of the blue:

"The reason they contacted us is probably because of those gang members who were injured by Medic yesterday... But both Penguin Logistics and my employer's actions yesterday were in accordance with the rules. I think it's unreasonable for them to send 'Gray Lin's' agent to mediate."

"I think so too, so I yelled at them back... I came to see you today on the way, and also to talk about this... Miss Medic, yesterday's beating was a little too hard... Although legally defined as 'minor injury,' it's actually quite disrespectful to us on our turf. Ms. Texas, could you please repeat the Lungmen underworld rules for your employer?"

Texas shrugged and looked at Nana, who was looking at her with curiosity:

" In Lungmen, bloodshed is investigated and those who die are punished with their lives. Because of the 'Gray Lin' order, even the most ruthless fighters won't cause too much trouble for ordinary people or the authorities..."

"I see, so Lungmen has such a rule... Is there anything I should compensate them for?"

Seeing Nana's question, which seemed unsure whether she was serious, Lin Yuhsia speechlessly picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said:

"That won't be necessary. After all, there are many eyewitnesses, and they took it upon themselves to involve Rhodes Island in the attack. But ultimately, we're all here in Lungmen to make a living. If Rhodes Island agrees to our underground rules, then I'll add a Rhodes Island section to the slum's 'Corporate Forum'... Oh, although it's called Corporate Forum, it's essentially the slum's external gang BBS. Whether it's advertising their business or recruiting, it's fine."

"Thank you so much, you're a really nice person."

Seeing Nana smile and give her a "good person" card in the voices of Shan Erling, Wu Ling, and Lu Jiuchun, even Lin Yuhsia, who had been hanging around her father's gangs since returning to China, felt a little embarrassed. If it weren't for the video of this little doctor breaking several people's arms and legs with a baton yesterday, she might have actually believed that the person in front of her was a simple young girl.

"Hmph... Anyway, let's leave yesterday behind. Now... are you looking for that cult?"

"Miss Lin still doesn't believe me? The superintendent of the Guard Bureau can testify for us."

Seeing Nana tilting her head slightly and acting cute, Lin Yuhsia thought of how she had taken Chi Xiao to the food stall and kept asking Uncle Dong all sorts of questions... Thanks to her, Lin Yuhsia, who didn't really want to see Ch'en Hui-chieh, probably wouldn't be able to eat the food she had been eating since childhood today. Although Jie's cooking was alright, it was still a bit lacking compared to Uncle Dong's... No, I'm getting off topic.

Shaking off the regret of not being able to eat the Scale Pill, Lin Yuhsia snorted again:

"Just because you're with the cops, you can claim to be doing good deeds? If that's the case, then most gangs in the slums could claim to be doing good deeds all day long. We'd probably be living in a utopian world by now, and there wouldn't be any need to distinguish between new and old cities... This is a slum, I'll investigate using my own channels."

That's true. When Lin Yuhsia received a report from her subordinates that she had seen Ch'en Hui-chieh with people from Rhodes Island and Penguin Logistics, she sent someone to ask a trusted person... but there hasn't been a reply yet.

Just as Lin Yuhsia was about to say something polite, indicating that she could offer more help than Ch'en Hui-chieh, Nana, sitting across from Lin Yuhsia at the tea table in the pavilion, suddenly continued to point behind her with that innocent smile:

"The investigation channel you mentioned, is it that person?"

Following the direction of the cat's finger, Texas, who suddenly smelled a bloody odor in the wind, picked up an Originium Sword from her thigh pouch with her fingertips and stepped forward to protect Nana behind her.

On the other side, Nian exclaimed and adjusted the camera to capture the figure in black... And when Jingzhe habitually raised his staff and shouted, "Who goes there!?", the figure hanging on the ground floor of a shop near the park swayed a couple of steps and fell down.

"... Bai Xue?!"

As Lin Yuhsia exclaimed in surprise, she waved her hand, and a gust of wind carrying magic swept past. The pink mouse caught the figure with a wound on its waist and covered in blood in mid-air.

"Hey, hey! Bai Xue, what happened to you...? Did Aunt Wen Yue have an accident?!"

"My lord, it's alright... but, Miss Lin... please be careful..."

There was no chance to explain to Nana who the person was; even Texas didn't seem to recognize him. Nana, who rushed to help as a first-aider, noticed the shuriken and kunai—weapons distinctly characteristic of the Higashi— in the man's pocket and realized he was a ninja. As Nana helped treat the man and absentmindedly pondered whether she had a special affinity for ninjas lately, following the direction Bai Xue had come from, Nana and Nian simultaneously uttered amused sounds as they looked at the dark figure.

As the chaos spread from the small pavilion to the street stalls outside, Ch'en Hui-chieh led the group into the scene. The group took out the flashlights distributed by Nana, and several beams of light shone on them, instantly exposing the humanoid creature shrouded in black mist to everyone's eyes.

"That's... Seaborn Si?!"

It's normal for Sora, who only knows the enemy's name but not its type, to ask this question. But before Nana could explain, Nian, holding the camera, stepped forward and directly denied it:

"No... that's Artifact Fiend."

Only here, after being resuscitated by Lin Yuhsia and Nana, did the ninja known as Bai Xue regain some clarity of consciousness and manage to utter a single sentence:

"Everyone, beware of the Shanhai Congregation..."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

The cantaloupe-flavored bunny↑ and yesterday's cat are actually the same picture, but they are clearer when separated.

PSS: Artifact Fiend don't just appear out of nowhere, but it seems no one has noticed why Lungmen has Artifact Fiend... Oh well, the mystery is solved: this volume is a chaotic mix of Lungmen's Demons Seaborn and Sui Fragments.

9th Lungmen Seafood: 332 I'll just ignore it.

"What is the Shanhai Congregation?" Nana asked the people around her... Ch'en Hui-chieh and Hoshiguma looked even more confused Nana. Fortunately, Ms. Jingzhe from the Prosecution Office gave a clear answer.

"So... what are the Shanhai Congregation?"

"Some people who promote feudal superstitions and even harbor resentment towards their own compatriots..."

Seeing that the Prosecution Office seemed to be trying to brush her off with that one sentence, before Nana could press further, Ch'en Hui-chieh, who had drawn the Guard Bureau's standard-issue sword, quickly reminded Nana to focus on what was in front of her first:

"Medic! This guy is the same one as last time..."

"Ah, it's the same thing, isn't it? Speaking of which, Miss Nian seems to know about it. It's called... Artifact Fiend?"

"That's not the point, is it?"

Despite Chen interrupting her again, Nana calmly performed initial treatment on the unfamiliar ninja's wounds, then smiled at the Ch'en kept turning back to look at her.

"Don't worry, this time the Artifact Fiend very environmentally friendly and normal... Just follow the same treatment method as last time."

Compared to the others who were on high alert, Nana was the calmest among the onlookers, even to the point of being indifferent. After all, in Nana's understanding, without mental Pollution, the only counterintuitive thing about the Artifact Fiend was its 'mechanism' of breaking things based on the number of attacks rather than strength.