After killing Miss Rabbit, who had refused to pay her debt, Xia Lun did not rush back to Whitewash City.
There was a simple reason: after violent incidents on the scale of the "cruise ship explosion" and the "battle in the port district," the Herno Strait region would very likely be placed under lockdown. Fleeing in a hurry now would only make him look guilty.
As a model citizen of Whitewash City, Xia Lun was exceptionally good at covering his tracks. He had burned away every bullet he fired, along with any drops of blood or flakes of skin he might have shed, using Final Ash. He had also taken care to avoid cameras and other Surveillance Devices on his walk to the port. Better yet, he had spent the past few days at home in Beaver Harbor without going out, so he even had an alibi! In other words, there was no direct evidence connecting Xia Lun to the battle—not even a lead pointing toward him. Once he had dealt with Miss Rabbit, he used Blood-Drop Rebirth to teleport straight home to Beaver Harbor. Rather than tally his gains immediately, he followed his usual routine and had a local chef make Herno-style seafood and tomato fried rice. Then he sat down to eat at exactly noon.
The fried rice was excellent. The tomatoes' sweet-and-sour flavor had soaked into the soft grains of rice and the pleasantly chewy squid and scallops. With the local spices bringing out the freshness, Xia Lun almost felt as though he could taste the sea at sunset.
Blood-Drop Rebirth depleted his Life Force, so Xia Lun ate more than usual. Once he was full, he drank coffee made from lightly roasted local beans.
As the warm coffee went down, Xia Lun slowly relaxed. The aggression