Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 581: Hell Yeah, This Is the Good Stuff!
"So what, you're saying she's actually strong?"
Steven raised a brow after hearing Lin Yuhsia's explanation. As he spoke leisurely, he continued trailing behind the two girls, all while giving the draconic girl ahead another skeptical once-over.
How should he put it… maybe it was because of her dragon bloodline, but even Steven could easily tell that Ch'en's physical abilities were exceptional.
But being physically strong didn't automatically mean you could fight.
Besides, Steven couldn't sense anything particularly threatening from the girl. She was clearly acting alone on impulse and didn't even have the standard weapon a Lungmen officer should be carrying. In her hands was only a toy water gun that she'd probably bought from some roadside stall on a whim.
Expecting that thing to contend against the other girl's two flashy-looking swords felt absurdly surreal.
"Mmm… if she had her weapon, then yes," Lin Yuhsia replied thoughtfully. "But judging from the situation, she probably ran into that girl while out on vacation. She couldn't afford to lose track of the target, so she was forced to make do with what she had."
At first, Lin Yuhsia had intended to honestly admit that even she might not be able to defeat Ch'en head-on.
But then she noticed that Ch'en wasn't carrying the sword that almost never left her side, and hesitation crept into her voice.
A large portion of Ch'en's combat ability relied on Chi Xiao. If all she had right now was a water gun… then she'd been nerfed a little too hard.
Still, because of that, Lin Yuhsia could more or less piece together exactly why Ch'en was acting like this.
After all, the only time Ch'en would normally go out unarmed was probably during her days off. And if Lin Yuhsia remembered correctly, this should indeed line up with Ch'en's scheduled leave.
"Well then," Steven said while rubbing his chin, already predicting the likely outcome of this whole affair. "When things go south, are you going to step in as the kind-hearted citizen rescuing a police officer from dangerous criminals? Or should I, the delinquent teenage vigilante she already dislikes, swoop in and play hero?"
Honestly, Steven didn't mind the whole "hero saves beauty" scenario.
But if he did it on purpose, it would look way too suspicious.
Deep down, he'd much rather stay an innocent bystander enjoying the show. If Lin Yuhsia took on the role of troublemaker instead, his life would be a whole lot easier.
"Or," Lin Yuhsia shot him a flat look, "we could just warn Officer Ch'en that she's already been exposed and tell her to be careful?"
Then she narrowed her eyes.
"You just want to watch the drama unfold first, don't you?"
"Tch."
Steven clicked his tongue, completely unbothered that his thoughts had been seen through. He simply grinned sheepishly instead.
"Well, you've got a point. But after tailing her this long, that girl has probably already noticed us anyway." He gestured ahead with his chin. "And haven't you noticed? We've already followed them into a pretty empty area with barely anyone around."
Steven and Lin Yuhsia's stalking skills were naturally leagues above Ch'en's hilariously amateur-level tailing.
But even so, there was only so much they could do.
Everyone else had been actively avoiding the mysterious girl, while the two of them stubbornly continued following behind her. And now that the girl had already realized someone was tailing her, noticing Steven and Lin Yuhsia as well wasn't exactly difficult.
Not everyone lacked basic surveillance and counter-surveillance awareness like the female officer currently crouching behind a pillar trying her absolute best to stay hidden.
Though, to be fair, that really wasn't Ch'en's fault.
She was a police officer, not some undercover agent. Why would she ever spec into stealth and tailing skills?
At that moment, the white-haired Lupo girl walking at the front suddenly stopped.
With a smooth motion, she drew the longswords hanging at her waist and gripped them tightly before finally turning around.
"You've all been following an outsider like me for quite a while now." Her calm voice echoed through the empty area. "Wouldn't you like to come out and explain yourselves? Otherwise, it's very easy for me to develop unnecessary feelings of anxiety and danger."
Calling out toward Steven and Lin Yuhsia's direction, the girl—dressed in a stylish black trench coat and practically the living embodiment of the lone wolf archetype in Steven's mind—raised one sword single-handedly and pointed it directly toward where they were hiding.
And only now did Steven notice an even more important detail.
There was a visible scar running across her right eye.
It hadn't damaged the eye itself, but the knife-like slash mark only further perfected the image in Steven's head.
White hair.
Proud and aloof demeanor.
Solitary temperament.
Scarred eye.
A crazed, cruel smile.
Predatory bloodthirst in her gaze.
This girl was practically the physical manifestation of the words lone wolf.
The only mildly strange part was that this lone wolf happened to be a little she-wolf.
"What?" Lin Yuhsia glanced sideways at Steven, noticing the way he was staring at the girl without blinking. "You're actually going out to fight her?"
Knowing Steven's personality, she had assumed he wouldn't tolerate that kind of provocation.
But if they stepped out now, they'd be playing completely into the other girl's rhythm.
"No," Steven immediately shook his head. Then, with sparkling eyes, he whispered excitedly,
"Don't you think she looks cool as hell right now? This is a true lone wolf heroine! If she's in a manga, she'd absolutely be the kind of overpowering character competing for the main heroine position, you know?"
Lin Yuhsia stared blankly.
Once again, Steven had started saying things she couldn't understand at all.
"And besides," he added casually, "we can just stay here and enjoy the show. Someone else is about to take the blame for us anyway."
The moment he finished speaking, Ch'en finally realized she could no longer stay hidden.
Stepping out from behind the pillar, she tightly gripped the cheap roadside water gun in her hand and walked forward.
She had no idea how the other girl had discovered her.
But that didn't matter.
What mattered was that such a suspicious individual, even during Ch'en's vacation, still fell under her responsibility as a Lungmen police officer.
Back in the crowded downtown area, she'd been worried that if this girl suddenly turned violent, innocent civilians might get caught in the chaos.
But now, the girl had personally led them into an isolated area.
That meant Ch'en no longer needed to hold back over unnecessary concerns.
Standing directly before the white-haired Lupo girl, Ch'en spoke in an extremely formal, textbook-like tone.
"Miss, your behavior has been highly suspicious. If possible, I would like you to cooperate with me—namely, an acting officer of Lungmen—and explain your purpose for entering Lungmen."
However, the only response she received was the blur of the other girl lunging straight at her.
Meanwhile, as the audience member in all this, Steven grinned from ear to ear, delighted to witness the scene he'd been anticipating.
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Note:
The Lupo is Lappland by the way
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M