Chapter 164 – A Two-Person Investigation at the Black Market

“Goodbye…”

After saying farewell to each of her bandmates, Lin Xi started home.

Before joining the band, she had always gone straight home after school. The school’s wide variety of extracurricular activities simply didn’t interest her.

She would much rather go home and read manga or watch anime.

She used to do that alone. Later, after Shi Yu came to stay, they watched together. Now that Thor lived with her permanently, she watched with Thor.

Her phone chimed as she walked.

It was a message from Xia Xun.

Xia Xun said she didn’t have time to visit Lin Xi today and would probably be busy for a while. She begged Lin Xi to forgive her.

Lin Xi couldn’t have been happier that Xia Xun wasn’t coming. She was a little afraid to face her.

After all, Lin Xi was the one who had “bullied” her to tears last night.

“My Mega Fireball Spell really is stronger than Xia Xun’s ice…”

“All that cuddling has made me stronger without me even noticing. It’s extended my lifespan by so much, too.”

“I cuddle, therefore I am.”

Lin Xi used to worry that she wouldn’t find enough girls to cuddle. Now she worried there might be a few too many.

Not one of them objected to cuddling.

Shi Yu and Thor would gladly go much further. “Seeing each other without barriers,” “deepening their communication,” “making the most of a precious spring night”… Lin Xi maintained an iron defense against those two perverts.

Lu Yi wasn’t so bad. She was an innocent Neko who loved to eat and sleep, and who liked using Lin Xi as a pillow and a Sleeping Pill.

When Lin Xi thought it over, she realized she cuddled Qin Ling the least.

Qin Ling was a beautiful genius Fox-kin who poured all her attention into her career. Why would she have time to cuddle? As far as Lin Xi was concerned, Qin Ling was the most driven member of the team.

She was also a virtual idol streamer, a hacker, and the guitarist for the Kizuna Band-and she excelled at all three.

“Compared with Qin Ling, I’m such a lazy Salted Fish.” Lin Xi decided it was time to change.

When she got home, she planned to improve her cooking, only for Thor to stop her.

“Master, are you dissatisfied with my cooking?”

“No. I just don’t want to be such a ‘Salted Fish.’ I need something to do, like working on my cooking skills.”

“Oh, I understand. You have too much time on your hands?”

“Uh… more or less.”

“That’s easy. If you want entertainment, play with me. I’m your toy now. You can do anything you like to me, and if I say so much as one word of protest, I’m not fit to be your Dragon Maid!”

“Get out.”

Lin Xi left the kitchen and flopped onto the couch. “Thor, you’re turning me into a helpless lump. Ever since you moved in, I hardly have to do any housework.”

“Ehehe…” Thor giggled. “Are you complimenting how capable I am without saying it outright? I used to work as a professional Maid in A City. A little housework is nothing.”

Lin Xi still wanted to do something worthwhile. She had already practiced guitar in the clubroom, so she decided to work on her drawing.

She had promised to be Shi Yu’s manga assistant, and she didn’t intend to take seventy percent of the royalties for nothing.

She had only just taken out her tablet and stylus when Qin Ling called.

“Hello? Lin Xi?”

“Mm, it’s me. What’s up?”

“Keep me company tonight.”

Lin Xi: “…”

Was the career-obsessed genius Fox-kin girl falling into depravity too?

“Qin Ling, do you like me too???”

“Huh?! Who-who likes you?! Where did that come from? Just because you’re the Blazing Flame Succubus doesn’t mean you get to be this full of yourself!”

“Uh… Didn’t you ask me to keep you company? You don’t mean the ‘one-night stand’ kind, do you?”

“What is wrong with you, Perverted Witch?! Mo and I really are the only non-perverts on our team.”

Lin Xi: “…”

“What else is ‘keep me company tonight’ supposed to mean?”

“Not that! Let me finish before you jump to conclusions!” Qin Ling explained. “Come with me to the Black Market tonight.”

“If you’d started with the words ‘Black Market,’ I wouldn’t have misunderstood.” Lin Xi was delighted to hear Qin Ling was still the same normal, beautiful Fox-kin girl. “The Black Market, huh…”

She had never been there before.

Shi Yu had told her about it long ago.

Shi Yu sometimes went to the Black Market to buy or sell things. The gun she’d used in her first robbery of Jinrui Bank had come from there.

According to Shi Yu, the place sold every kind of bizarre thing imaginable.

Curious, Lin Xi asked, “Are you buying something or selling something?”

“Neither,” Qin Ling said. “It’s a new mission.”

“One of ZERO’s members, someone who operated at the Black Market for a long time, was murdered. Come with me to investigate.”

“Huh?” Lin Xi had thought they were going shopping. She hadn’t expected to play detective. “Just the two of us?”

“Mm. Shi Yu and Lu Yi have both shown their faces at the Black Market before, so someone might recognize them. Mo is a wealthy young lady who moves in business circles. She’d definitely be recognized. Neither you nor I have ever been there-“

“What about me?” Thor cut in from nearby. “I’ve never been to the Black Market either. I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Qin Ling said flatly.

“Why not? Qin Ling, are you trying to go on a date alone with Master?! Are you trying to get a head start on everyone too?!”

“Who is trying to get a head start?!” Qin Ling shot back. “That has nothing to do with this!”

“A head start? What does that mean? Are you all competing in some kind of race?” Lin Xi asked, joining the conversation.

Qin Ling told her to shut up.

Lin Xi: “…”

Qin Ling then explained to Thor why she couldn’t come.

“This murder may be connected to the Dark Realm Alliance. Thor, didn’t you say they once invited you to join them? You might be recognized too, so you’re staying behind.”

Back in A City, Thor had been a Special-Grade Disaster-a draconic one at that. The Dark Realm Alliance had invited her to join, but she had refused.

Thor strongly suspected that those bastards had sold her information to Drax the Destroyer in retaliation. Drax had coerced her and stripped away her freedom.

That was why she hated the Dark Realm Alliance.

Then she had come to Z City and met Lin Xi, turning disaster into fortune…

Qin Ling’s reasoning was clear. She and Lin Xi were almost completely unknown to both the Black Market and the Dark Realm Alliance.

That would make it easier for them to operate.

“With my brains and Lin Xi’s fighting power, there won’t be a problem,” Qin Ling said confidently.

Since it was a mission, Lin Xi had no objection. She wasn’t comfortable letting Qin Ling go alone either.

“All right. I’ll go with you.”

“Mm. I’ll pick you up tonight. The Black Market usually doesn’t open until midnight.”

“Okay,” Lin Xi agreed.

Qin Ling truly did care about nothing but work, Lin Xi thought.

If Qin Ling was Sherlock Holmes, did that make Lin Xi a Watson with absurd combat stats?

Lin Xi had watched plenty of mystery films and read plenty of detective novels and manga. Perhaps she might even have some useful suggestions for Qin Ling.

A two-person investigation at the Black Market, hunting for the killer of a fellow ZERO member… They belonged to the same organization. Lin Xi would take this seriously and help Qin Ling find the culprit who had murdered their colleague.