Activating the Thoughtwave Card: Target-Carmen

Carmen lay on the ground, grimacing as he gasped for breath. His wounds hurt like hell.

"Is it someone from Marauder Prison? They caught up fast!"

As he thought this, he caught sight of a vaguely familiar figure approaching from around the sewer corner.

A familiar figure?

Carmen froze for a moment and turned his head with difficulty.

Only when the figure reached him and kicked the pistol away did he get a clear look.

It wasn't someone he knew. He just recognized the man's gear, because he wore the same thing: an Enforcer Suit.

The stranger's face shifted in and out of focus between the darkness and the flashlight's beam.

Carmen thought he knew who this was.

A thought flashed through his mind: So that sewer rat is this young! Hah, he's even kind of handsome. Dying at his hands wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Meanwhile, his right hand slipped beneath his body without drawing attention.

"Heh..."

A quiet scoff was followed by an utterly calm, indifferent voice.

"Enforcer Carmen, if I were you, I wouldn't make any dangerous moves that could be misunderstood. Like reaching for that weapon with your right hand..."

Carmen stiffened. Then he gave a bitter laugh and relaxed completely.

Clack—

He dropped the Claw Blade onto the ground.

He brought both hands into view and kept them there for Yu Yuan to see.

His injuries were too severe. He had no strength left to resist.

Yu Yuan gave a slight nod. He slung the Assault Rifle behind his back and drew his Glock 17, keeping watch with one hand while swiftly searching Carmen with the other. Every weapon he found went flying at least two meters away.

Only then did he stop and look at Carmen.

Carmen seemed baffled by the whole procedure. He had simply watched Yu Yuan search him.

"Uh... you're not going to kill me?"

Yu Yuan had already stood up and was deftly gathering the weapons scattered across the ground.

"Kill you? Why would I? Don't we have a common enemy? Besides, do you and I have a grudge?"

As he spoke, he went over to Soda and began stripping him of his supplies and gear.

Soda had no weapons besides the pistol and Tactical Sword he had dropped earlier. His gear was identical to Yu Yuan's. The one thing Yu Yuan was pleased to find was an Enforcer Helmet at last.

He knew an Enforcer Suit couldn't be missing its helmet.

Yu Yuan took the helmet off Soda's head. It was smeared with blood, but he didn't mind. Then he glanced at the helmet Carmen had dropped.

He decided to play it safe. To Carmen's astonishment, Yu Yuan put Soda's helmet on his head instead, then donned Carmen's. After adjusting the fit, he nodded in satisfaction.

Yu Yuan piled Soda's Enforcer Suit to one side before turning back to Carmen.

"Lawrence already sees you as a thorn in his side. Soda's attack was just the beginning, not the end. You'd better think hard about how you're going to deal with the threat Lawrence poses."

Yu Yuan lightly patted Carmen with his left hand and watched the confusion on his face.

He offered no explanation. When he had patted Carmen just now, no one had known what happened.

The Book of Fate had already opened.

The [Thoughtwave Card—Fear of the Overlord] had turned into a faint glow and merged into Carmen's body.

[Thoughtwave Card activated successfully—subject: Carmen; target of fear: Lawrence.]

Seeing the words appear on the Virtual Light Screen, Yu Yuan gave an enigmatic smile.

His work was done. He needed to leave as soon as possible.

The rest could be left to time.

"If I were you, I wouldn't let anyone know I exist. Would you?"

Without waiting for Carmen to answer, Yu Yuan tossed him the signal flare he had found on Soda.

"Of course, if you think telling Lawrence about me will make him spare you, you can always try."

Yu Yuan said it casually, picked up the gear, and turned to leave. But after only a couple of steps, he stopped.

He returned to Carmen.

Then he asked a question Carmen hadn't expected.

"Oh, right. Do you know where that bald guy—Fries—keeps his Safehouse?"

"Safehouse? Fries..."

Carmen's mind stalled for a moment, but he soon remembered something. "I don't know where his Safehouse is," he said weakly. "But I know he has a lover in the 14th District. She leads a refugee organization. Because of Fries, we've always turned a blind eye to them. She might know something."

"A refugee organization? What's it called, and do you know where to find it?"

"It's called Nightingale. I think they're based near the Opera Building. That's all I know. Nobody wants to pry into Fries's affairs..."

Yu Yuan committed the information to memory, though he would still need to verify it.

"What about Soda? Does he have a lover or a Safehouse?"

"No." Carmen shook his head.

"Soda's only hobby is torturing prisoners. Aside from patrols, he usually stays at the police department."

Yu Yuan had what he wanted, and he smiled.

He stood again and picked up the gear.

"All right. Honestly, escaping the trap Marauder Prison and Burning Fortress set for you was impressive. So I'll give you a piece of news: Marauder Prison has its sights set on all of East City, and the Black Shield Police Department is clearly in the way. So... go back and prepare for your war!"

"One more thing... I told you not to try anything, but you still couldn't keep your foot still! I'll let it go this time. Try not to do anything so easy to misunderstand again. Good luck, Enforcer Carmen. Respect!"

Carmen watched him vanish around the sewer corner, cold sweat running down his forehead.

"He noticed everything!" Carmen looked at his Tactical Boots. He had modified them himself; a blade about five centimeters long could spring out from one of them.

It had been his last chance to strike back. Unfortunately, Yu Yuan had been too cautious, and Carmen had never found an opening.

In that moment, Carmen had felt the same pressure from the young man that he felt when facing Lawrence—only this young man was even harder to read.

He committed Yu Yuan's words to memory.

Whatever else happened, he had survived. Now he needed to figure out how to get out of the sewer and back to the police department.

And then there was the news Yu Yuan had left him. Was Marauder Prison preparing for all-out war?

If that was true...

Carmen struggled to bandage his wounds, then used his teeth to pull a thin syringe from his collar and plunged it into his neck.

As the hormones entered his body, the pain soon eased and strength surged through him. Carmen struggled to his feet and staggered toward the nearest sewer manhole.