Chapter 154 – Open Up! Water Meter Inspection!

After descending from the tower, Lin Xi and Thor embarked on a shopping-and-eating spree.

Lin Xi had promised to pay for everything, and she kept her word, not letting Thor spend a single cent.

“You’re a Dragon Girl, yet you don’t eat nearly as much as that Neko Lu Yi.”

Treating Thor to a meal cost Lin Xi only half as much as treating Lu Yi.

“That’s because Lu Yi eats way too much!” It was Thor’s first time meeting a Neko who could eat as much as Lu Yi.

“Oh.” Lin Xi picked up her phone. “Speak of the devil. It’s Lu Yi.”

“Hello? Lu Yi? What’s up?”

“Lin Xi, bring Thor to the Safe House,” Lu Yi said. “Zheng Mo and the others are here too. We’re holding a strategy meeting.”

“Did something happen?” Lin Xi asked seriously.

Lu Yi replied, “Qin Ling has located Z City’s Strongest Mercenary Squad-the one Shuguang Technology hired to deal with us bank robbers.”

“Qin Ling plans to strike first.”

“Okay, got it. Thor and I will head over right now.” Lin Xi hung up and explained the situation to Thor.

Thor’s eyes lit up. “Finally, a fight! I’ve been holding back for ages.”

“Huh?! You like fighting that much?”

“I have too much energy and nowhere to vent it. That’s what happens when Master won’t let me cuddle with her.”

“How did this become my fault?” Lin Xi was speechless. “Let’s go meet Z City’s Strongest Mercenary Squad.”

…

At the same time Lin Xi and the others were holding a strategy meeting at the Safe House, Z City’s Strongest Mercenary Squad-First Blood-was also holding one at its base in the suburbs.

Inside the base’s conference room sat the five core members of First Blood and their employer for this mission, Shuguang Technology Commissioner He Mingyuan.

Each of the five core members was a superpower user.

The man at their head went by the codename Old K and was the squad’s Captain.

He possessed two superpowers, Body of Steel and Laser Eyes, giving him both formidable offense and defense.

Old K believed that no one except Chief Magical Girl Su Tang could rival him.

He was truly second only to one!

“Captain,” a brown-haired young man drawled as he toyed with a ball of flame in his palm, “we’re just capturing one artificial superpower user, aren’t we?”

“Do we really need a strategy meeting for that?”

His codename within the mercenary squad was Flame Emperor. His superpower was Fire Manipulation, and he claimed that no one in Z City understood flames better than he did.

“Every one of the five of us is a bona fide superpower user. How could we possibly fail to capture one artificial superpower user?”

“Besides, she’s just a girl, right, Commissioner He?”

He Mingyuan nodded. “That’s right. She’s a girl. We’ve already uncovered her name and address.”

The girl’s name was Shi Yu, and she lived alone.

In truth, He Mingyuan had not uncovered this precise information through his own investigation.

He had received an anonymous letter stating that Shi Yu was one of the robbers who had held up Jinrui Bank.

Using the letter as a lead, He Mingyuan searched the records at Shuguang Technology’s Artificial Superpower User Laboratory and quickly identified Shi Yu’s parents.

Shi Yu’s parents had once been senior researchers at the laboratory. After their daughter was left on the verge of death by a car accident, they secretly transformed her into an artificial superpower user.

Because they had managed to evade oversight, Shuguang Technology had never known that a self-aware “defective product” like Shi Yu still existed within the company.

He Mingyuan reported his findings to his superior, Wu Fa. Wu Fa ordered He Mingyuan to contact Old K immediately and launch a capture operation.

They had to retrieve the core and destroy the defective product known as Shi Yu.

“Didn’t this girl have an accomplice?” asked the mercenary codenamed Fleetfoot.

His superpower was subsonic speed. In the blink of an eye, he could close in on an enemy and slit their throat with ease.

“Commissioner He already told us they haven’t found her accomplice yet. But once we capture her, it won’t be hard to make her tell us where they’re hiding.” The one who answered Fleetfoot was the only woman among the mercenary squad’s five core members.

She was a mature, seductive beauty codenamed Succubus, and her superpower was Charm Power.

Licking her lips, she added, “This is the first time we’ve faced an enemy who’s a cute girl. When the time comes, you guys had better watch yourselves and not get carried away.”

“If you kill or cripple them before I get the chance to enjoy myself, I’ll make every last one of you pay.”

Flame Emperor and Fleetfoot both knew what Succubus was into, so they promised to be careful.

“What about you, Beast King?” Succubus asked the last member of the team.

The final one of the five core members was codenamed Beast King. His superpower was Beastification, allowing him to transform his body into that of a ferocious beast.

He had developed three forms in total:

Tiger Form, Leopard Form, and the strongest of them all, Dragon Form.

Tiger Form emphasized strength, Leopard Form emphasized speed, while Dragon Form possessed both and could even breathe fire.

Its flames just weren’t as powerful as Flame Emperor’s.

Beast King was currently considering whether he should change his codename to Dragon King.

After all, there couldn’t possibly be a Dragon Form creature stronger than him anywhere in Z City.

The aloof Beast King wasn’t inclined to humor Succubus. “When I cut loose, even I scare myself. How am I supposed to hold back?”

“With those girls’ scrawny builds, I could tear them apart in seconds.”

“Don’t you dare!” Succubus snapped in irritation. “They’re going to be my spoils. No one gets to kill them before I’ve had my fun.”

“Enough!” Old K cut off the argument between Succubus and Beast King. “The operation hasn’t even begun, and you’re already discussing what to do with the ‘spoils.’ Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourselves?”

Flame Emperor gave a cocky smile. “We’re only dealing with a few young girls. This job’s as good as done.”

“If we can’t even handle them, what right would we have to call ourselves Z City’s Strongest Mercenary Squad?”

“I agree,” Beast King said.

“Once this job is done, how about making a Magical Girl our next target?” Flame Emperor asked excitedly. “I’ve wanted to test myself against Magical Girl Xia Xun for ages and see which is stronger-my flames or her ice.”

“I want to race Magical Girl Misaka Shirai and see who’s faster,” Fleetfoot said.

Beast King was even more ambitious. He wanted to challenge Chief Magical Girl Su Tang.

As for Succubus, she wanted to take on all three at once-though not on the battlefield, but in bed.

“Good luck, you three,” Succubus said with a wicked grin. “Defeat those three Magical Girl fighters and send all of them to my bed. When you do, I’ll give you every cent I’ve saved over all my years as a mercenary.”

What had started as a proper strategy meeting was veering further and further off topic, but He Mingyuan didn’t dare make a sound.

Any one of these five could snuff out his life with ease.

Fortunately, Old K finally stepped in to take control.

“Listen up. No more discussing anything unrelated to the operation.”

“Everything else can wait until we’ve successfully captured Shi Yu.”

The Captain was clearly angry. The other four immediately fell silent and obeyed the Captain’s order.

The meeting could finally continue, and He Mingyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang outside.

“Hello? Is anyone home?” A girl’s voice came from beyond the door. “Please open up. I’m here to check the water meter!”