Arknights: Suika's Messenger Journey

"Go ahead and use it!" The old man waved a hand, showing that he did not mind Suika's behavior.

Just as Suika walked away, he spotted several fierce-looking young men following behind her and immediately barked at them.

"What are you little brats trying to do?!"

"Mind your own business, old man. Keep asking questions, and we'll dump manure water in front of your shop every day."

The leader of the young men spoke angrily.

Hearing that, the old man hesitated. After all, he knew these little punks well. They really were capable of doing something as vile as dumping manure water.

Although he did not rely on the tea shop to make money, having the entrance stink every day would still ruin his mood.

While he hesitated, he watched Suika enter the alley ahead, followed by those young men who clearly had no good intentions.

"Ah, what a sin!"

The old man sighed, then returned to his shop, picked up the phone, and dialed the Guard Department...

After entering the alley, Suika rounded a corner where people outside could no longer see what was happening inside at a glance, then reached out and fiddled with the paper cup.

More than ten seconds later, the little punks entered the alley.

"You little bitch, you brought this on yourself!" Seeing Suika waiting there for them, the leader raised his fist and charged forward.

When they were less than two meters away from Suika, she raised the paper cup.

"Since you're already here, how about having a drink before we fight..."

Two minutes later, Suika looked at the men sprawled drunkenly across the ground and curled her lip disdainfully.

"With drinking capacity like that, you still dare run around acting tough... Useless."

The men lying on the ground were making complete fools of themselves. The leader was drunkest of all. Since his killing intent toward Suika had been the strongest, even after he passed out, Suika had still pried open his mouth and forcibly poured two more cups down his throat.

By Suika's estimate, this guy would not be waking up anytime soon. Even if he did wake up, being force-fed that much alcohol would leave him miserable for a long while.

As for killing them, she had never considered it from the beginning.

After leaving through the other end of the alley, less than ten minutes later, a Guard Department vehicle pulled up at the entrance amid the sound of sirens.

"Who reported this?" The one who stepped out of the vehicle was Swire. Unlike Chen and Hoshiguma, she was not part of the Major Crimes Unit, so she sometimes handled this sort of miscellaneous work when the others were unavailable.

"I did!" The old man from the tea shop came out and pointed toward the alley.

"I just saw several little punks following a girl into this alley. I know those punks. They've been around here for years, stealing petty things and bullying the weak. They clearly meant to harm that girl, so I called the police."

The old man spoke very clearly. After hearing him out, Swire pointed toward the alley, and the accompanying officers strode inside.

"Officer!" Less than ten seconds after entering, one of the officers called out to Swire.

Hearing her subordinate call, she hurried inside.

Seeing her subordinate standing at the corner with a strange expression, she frowned and walked over.

The moment she turned the corner and saw the young men lying on the ground, she froze for several seconds as well.

The smell of alcohol on them was so strong that it was obvious even from where she stood.

Every one of them looked heavily drunk. Compared to the old man's story about them entering the alley to cause trouble, they looked more like they had just come from a banquet and gotten completely wasted.

Thinking of something, Swire left the alley and walked over to the old man.

"Was the girl you mentioned about this tall, with an extremely exaggerated pair of horns on her head and several bows tied on her?"

"Yes, yes, that's her. She was quite a cute little girl. Officer, is she all right?"

As he spoke, the old man craned his neck toward the alley. He did not see the girl being brought out. Instead, he saw the Guard Department officers dragging those little punks out of the alley.

Strangely, every one of those little punks looked completely drunk, leaving the old man utterly baffled.

Chapter 20: When Friends Come From Afar, First Down Three Cups

"We didn't find that little girl inside. She probably ran off through the other end, so you don't need to worry, sir. Put these people in the vehicle. We're heading back!"

After saying that, Swire did not wait for the old man to ask anything else before turning to give her subordinates their orders.

After watching the convoy leave, the old man walked into the small alley in confusion. Only after confirming there were no other traces did he walk back out, looking utterly lost.

"That's not right. They were perfectly fine when they went in..."

At that moment, the old man wondered whether something was wrong with his memory. He clearly remembered that none of them had brought alcohol in, so how had they all ended up drunk like that?

"Officer? We're just heading back like this... Isn't that a bit... The little girl still hasn't been found, after all?" In the vehicle, an officer cautiously looked at Swire and asked.

Swire turned to look at the drunks sprawled in the vehicle.

"Keep an eye on them. Don't let these guys puke in the car."

Then she turned to the person who had spoken.

"I already know the situation. I know that girl... You don't need to worry about the details. As for these guys, they dared lay a hand on her. Hmph... They picked the wrong people to provoke."

Thinking about the Drink Invitation ability Suika had demonstrated not long ago, Swire gained a fresh appreciation for it as she looked at those people lying on the ground.

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She had not expected Suika's spell to work on people who harbored ill intent toward her.

Then if she encountered enemies, as long as she had a cup in hand and that spell which allowed the wine gourd to keep producing alcohol...

"Hiss..." Thinking that far, Swire could not help feeling sorry for Suika's future opponents.

After all, with Suika's bizarre spell, even someone who knew its effect would have a hard time finding a way to resist it, much less someone who fell for it without knowing anything.

Meanwhile, Suika walked home while counting the roughly one thousand Lungmen Dollars in drinking money she had collected from those little punks.

She felt no shame whatsoever over stripping them clean, considering she had treated them to such fine alcohol. What was wrong with earning back a little of the cost?

What, the alcohol was infinite?

Opening the Ibuki Gourd still caused wear and tear, okay? Besides, this was fine wine capable of getting an oni drunk. Outside, it would be impossible to buy even with a fortune.

She had only charged them this much for a round of drinks and still felt like she had taken a loss.

"A bunch of poor bastards. So many of you running around acting tough, and this was all the money you had? When you run into a big shot who wants your life, what can this money even buy? It wouldn't even buy back a finger."

After walking for a while, she looked back.

"The Guard Department should be there by now... Otherwise, all that acting cute would have been for nothing."

That was right. When she had passed the tea shop earlier, she had already thought of how to deal with those little punks.

First, she would deliberately draw the old man's attention. Once he saw the people following her, there was a good chance he would call the police.

Then she would knock those guys out in the alley.

Once the Guard Department arrived, they would naturally take them away.

After they reached the Guard Department, word of those people's condition would inevitably reach a few informed ears, and someone would go investigate.

Her ability had only recently been demonstrated in front of them, and this was also the road she had to take home, so it would be easy to figure out that she was behind it.

Once they knew she had done it, along with the police report from the old man at the tea shop, those little punks would definitely receive special treatment.

For little punks like these who only dared use underhanded tricks and were not even real gangsters, Suika had no intention of getting her hands bloody.

She just had not expected Swire to be the one responding to the call. Those little punks had already been marked before they even reached the police station.

"Question them separately after they wake up. Get their home addresses, lock them up for two days, then notify their parents if they have adults and their guardians if they do not. At such a young age, instead of learning properly, they imitate that scum running around in society. Hmph!"

After getting out of the vehicle, Swire's expression was terrible.

Someone had vomited in the car, and the sour stench was absolute torture for the little tiger's sensitive nose.

So, having originally planned to lock them up for only a day or two, she decided to increase the punishment.

Chen, who was handling matters in the lobby, saw Swire spraying herself with perfume as she walked and cheerfully came over.

"Wearing perfume at work? As expected of the young lady of the Swire family."

"Hmph. Where's Hoshiguma?" Swire looked around Chen but did not see Hoshiguma.

"She's in the office handling case files. Why are you looking for her when you just got back from patrol? I'm warning you, Hoshiguma belongs to our Major Crimes Unit..."

Before Chen could finish, Swire slapped the patrol report against her. "Read it yourself!"

With that, she stormed toward the inside.

After searching around with the letter for quite some time, Suika finally found the location written on it outside a bar marked with a penguin head.

Only after seeing the upright, capsule-shaped Penguin Logistics sign beside it did Suika feel sure she had found the right place.

Considering Emperor's personality, it was not hard to understand why Penguin Logistics' reception center was located inside a bar.

Hearing sounds from within, Suika knocked on the door and then reached out to push it open.

The moment she entered, she saw a bartender-like young man cleaning up. Meanwhile, in the darkened room, a penguin wearing a huge gold chain and sunglasses sat at the bar drinking.

When he saw Suika, the young man walked over.

"Sorry, the bar isn't open to minors... A messenger?"

At first, seeing a child enter the bar, he reflexively wanted to send her away. But once he saw the messenger bag hanging at Suika's waist, he stopped.

Suika looked up. Although she could not clearly see the young man's face, his figure was quite handsome. All she could do was complain internally that Emperor really knew how to pick people. Based on what she knew about Penguin Logistics, this person should be the most mysterious Yi Si within Penguin Logistics.

"Mm. I have an urgent letter for Penguin Logistics. The address is here."

As she spoke, Suika took out the letter.

Upon hearing Suika's words, Emperor sprang up from his seat, then swaggered over to take the letter from her hand.

"Yi Si, get this little lady a tip... Wait, you smell like alcohol?"

Just as he began speaking, Emperor suddenly caught a peculiar fragrance of wine. He was certain that it did not come from his bar, which meant it could only be coming from this little girl who had suddenly entered.

"Emperor's nose is sharper than a Perro's..." Suika gave him a thumbs-up.

Emperor looked Suika over and quickly fixed his gaze on the gourd at her waist.

"Your alcohol smells extraordinary... I've never smelled anything this rich in Lungmen."

Emperor smacked his beak, feeling his mouth water.

Suika removed the gourd. "Want to try some?"

"Yi Si, bring me a cup." Emperor called out to Yi Si, who was counting money at the bar.

Hearing Emperor's voice, Yi Si jogged over with a cup and the tip.

Looking at the cup before her, Suika opened the Ibuki Gourd. As the liquor poured into the cup, an intoxicating fragrance spread through the room.

Chapter 21: Just How Ridiculous Can Drunk People Get?!

"Whoa! That's some fine alcohol!"

Even before tasting it, Emperor could not help exclaiming at the scent alone.

Taking the cup, he took a small sip.

Emperor slowly let out a long breath.

"What strange alcohol. It doesn't taste harsh, not like Yumen's Burning Knife, where one mouthful burns all the way from your mouth to your stomach. But an ordinary person would probably go down after one cup of this. It's far more vicious than Burning Knife."

With only one sip, Emperor could tell how extraordinary this alcohol was.

It was not as overpowering as hard liquor when first drunk, but its aftereffects were terrifying. It was the very definition of a needle hidden in cotton. Anyone who could drink three cups of it could be considered a true hero.

Suika did not say anything. She merely watched Emperor sip at the alcohol with a smile.

The reason was simple. She did not know how wide the range of the Drink Invitation effect was, and it was passive to begin with. She could not even turn it off. As long as she held a cup with alcohol in it, the ability would activate.

Given the current situation, she was afraid that if she spoke, Emperor would not be able to stop drinking.

Although that guy could revive after dying, there was no need to use that ability for something like this.

After finishing one cup, he suddenly spoke.

"I think I've got inspiration!"