Tracking Through the Rain
At the edge of the seventh garbage district, streets built from scrap iron and rotting wood lay beneath a leaden sky.
Carl tossed aside the last moldy composite board and plopped down on a battered sofa with its springs exposed.
"Whew~"
She breathed out a puff of warm air, and her makeshift rag veil immediately stuck to her face, making the skin beneath her nose itch.
"La~~ la la la~"
Faint singing drifted over from dozens of meters away.
Sarasa's hopping figure darted past a mountain of compressor wreckage.
The girl's oil-stained skirt fluttered like a butterfly as she strung rusty gears into a wind chime and hung it from the handle of a cart.
Carl squinted at her unusually cheerful companion, somewhat baffled.
Wait... they were just clearing out garbage. Was there any need to be so happy?
Had she found something good?
Carl didn't understand, but he wasn't about to disturb her.
After all, if Sarasa was happy working, wouldn't she be more efficient?
And if she was more efficient, wouldn't the job be finished sooner?
And if the job was finished sooner, couldn't he go back sooner?!
So, Sarasa being happy = him getting back to his shack sooner. That was a good thing!
Rumble!
Thunder rolled across the sky, and violet-white lightning pierced the clouds, turning the metal fragments carpeting the ground into ghastly pale fangs.
He reflexively looked up. Layer upon layer of thick black clouds raced in, filling the entire sky as far as he could see in the blink of an eye.
"Damn May rain!"
Unconsciously cursing in Meteor City dialect, Carl pushed off with the black combat boots on his feet and stood up from the sofa.
The combat boots were practically new, the best thing he had found while rummaging through the garbage earlier.
With acid rain about to fall, he intended to hurry and find shelter first!
Rumble!
Muffled thunder rolled as violet dragons of lightning churned through the clouds, lighting up the world for an instant every now and then.
"Wait." Carl's expression changed, and he hurriedly looked around.
Where was she?
Where had Sarasa gone?
The singing he had still been able to hear when the thunder sounded had long since vanished.
The road dozens of meters away was empty, and the girl who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.
"Forget it. Getting out of the rain comes first."
After hesitating for a while, Carl shook his head. He wasn't one to meddle in other people's business. Maybe Sarasa had gone to take shelter from the rain?
The outskirts of the garbage mountain.
"Videotape, videotape~"
"Where are you~?"
In a small grove of dead trees, Sarasa skipped along the path.
She had woven a scattering of Meteor City words into a cheerful little tune.
"Boss, the job's done."
"We don't have to hand this haul over, right?"
In a corner, several thugs turned back and asked the burly man in black.
"Of course."
The tall figure rubbed his severed finger and glanced into the distance as if he had noticed something, but paid it no mind.
Committing murder in the rain was perfectly normal.
Crack!
Violet lightning streaked across the sky.
"The rain's coming!"
Xini lowered his head slightly and clenched his hand tightly.
Those tools were no longer of any use. Letting them relax one last time before they died was only fair, after all the effort they had put in these past few days.
"Heh heh~"
Watching the thugs walk away with wicked grins, Xini rubbed the tip of his nose-a raindrop had landed right on it.
The slight corrosive sensation, together with the chill of the rain, made his fiery red eyes light up.
He could hardly wait.
Outside the grove, Carl pulled the black robe tighter around his shoulders, her little round face already as black as ink.
Looking at the silent, deep grove stretching endlessly before him, he felt an ominous premonition rise in his heart:
"A little grove on a rainy day, and someone actually dares go in? Sarasa, what the hell is wrong with you?!!"
Looking at the clear little shoeprints in the dirt, he pulled up his hood. Together with the black veil, it left only his eyes exposed.
"Hope the rain doesn't get too heavy, or this'll be rough."
After making sure no skin was exposed, Carl followed the shoeprints that appeared and vanished in the mud into the dead grove, where rotting roots stretched through the curtain of rain like the knuckles of dying men.
Thanks to the original owner's more than ten years of survival experience, along with the eyesight strengthened by the Qi and Blood Pumpkin, Carl sped through the increasingly dark grove without tripping over the tangled roots or letting them slow him down in the slightest.
"Sarasa, oh Sarasa, you'd better not die in there! I'm showing a little kindness for once, so don't let my efforts go to waste!!!"
Carl stepped nimbly over a fallen trunk blocking his path. The rustling of branches brushing past filled his ears, making his heart rise into his throat.
How long had he been chasing her?
A map of Meteor City surfaced in his mind, with the word "outskirts" stamped across it.
Forcing himself to calm down, Carl picked up speed again and took out his one and only Bomb Pomegranate.
The outskirts had always been a gathering place for gangs and criminals!!!
"More... shoeprints?!!"
Carl stopped short, crouched down, and carefully counted the new shoeprints on the ground.
One smaller set was undoubtedly Sarasa's.
Six... no, seven sets of adult shoeprints.
Even thinking with his ass, Carl knew some unknown group had definitely set its sights on Sarasa!!!
The shoeprints continued onward, deeper into the grove.
"Pat!"
A raindrop struck his hood with a dull sound.
It was raining!
"Damn! The rain will wash away the shoeprints!"
Seeing the rain strike the prints, Carl's expression changed. He sprang to his feet and raced after them.
It was already afternoon, and with the sudden downpour, he didn't have much time left to track them!
The grove was already dark on a rainy day. Once the sun went down... he might only be able to collect Sarasa's body!
"There's no time. I can only hope Sarasa runs faster and those criminals run slower!"
Carl climbed up a tree trunk in a few quick movements and scanned the grove from afar.
The trees in Meteor City had no branches or leaves. Even with the curtain of rain in the way, it wasn't enough to conceal seven people's movements!!!
One sweep.
Two sweeps!
Rumble~
Violet-white lightning lit up the sky.
In that brief moment, Carl fixed his gaze on a spot about a hundred meters to his right.
Several dark figures were standing there, searching for something in different directions!
"Found them!"
Only after confirming the location several times did Carl slide down from the tree. Though he didn't know exactly where Sarasa was, locating the criminal group was enough!
"One against seven. This is freaking hard!!!" Carl bit open the sealed bag in his cuff, and the Bomb Pomegranate's bloody sweetness, mixed with the rusty smell of rain, instantly reached his tongue.
With its six-meter lethal radius, he was confident he could wipe them all out as long as he drew their attention a little!
He flitted past the charred tree trunks like a ghost. When he saw a kerosene lamp swaying a hundred meters away, he lowered his body and slowly approached.
He only had one chance!
If he threw it true, everything would be fine.
If he missed, he would be a coward for once.
Church, screening room.
The stained-glass windows flickered in the thunderstorm as Chrollo's fingertips unconsciously rubbed the cover of the book in his hands.
The light from the projector cast a sharp divide of light and shadow across his face.
"I wonder if Sarasa made it home?"
The Orange Warrior hadn't appeared in today's performance, so he had only just noticed that Sarasa wasn't at the church.
"The settlement she lives in isn't far from mine. Once the rain stops, I'll stop by and check on her!"
Seeing how worried Chrollo looked, Shalnark comforted him, broom in hand.
"The rain's too heavy today. I'm worried about her..."
Rumble!
A tremendous crash of thunder lit up the faces of everyone in the room and cut Chrollo off.