"True power does not lie in showing itself, but in remaining hidden. Those who reveal their hand too early will only be the first to fall."
As for that half-mechanical modified man, he had naturally been deceived by this man. Third Brother had used clever words to make the half-mechanical cyborg believe he had become the minor boss of this district.
In reality, that guy was merely his shadow double—a puppet with no identity. No matter how great his contributions were, the credit would ultimately belong to others. His rise in status was nothing more than an illusion fabricated by Third Brother to control him.
"Milta has been getting more and more rebellious lately. This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. I've had my eye on that gravity gun of his for quite a while now."
His cunning eyes shifted toward the outside of the clothing store, toward the two "gang elites" he had deliberately maneuvered into fighting each other like a crane and a clam.
Third Brother licked his lips and sneered. "From the behavior of the people inside and outside the store, I could already tell they weren't from the same gang."
"There's no such thing as friendly neighbors between gangs. If different gangs run into each other, it's basically draw your guns and shoot.
Looks like I bet right."
"Heh, you're indeed impressive—but so what? As long as I balance both sides' strength and let you wear each other down until you're both crippled, I'll be the final winner."
"Two little beauties... hehe, and that mature shop owner isn't bad either. Compared to those two girls outside, she's got a bit more refinement."
"But I didn't expect that strangely dressed girl to be from Mad Hatter Party... that organization is no joke. I'll have to find a chance to inform the boss and tell him to handle this carefully. If we anger her and attract Mad Hatter Party, then Kowloon Stronghold... probably won't be able to stay in Barcelona anymore."
Unlike that clueless fake leader, this true minor boss of Kowloon Stronghold naturally had his own intelligence channels. He had at least heard of global organizations.
He didn't know about MOTH, but Mad Hatter Party—a terrorist organization active across multiple countries and frequently appearing in the news as a headache for the World Government—how could he not know of it?
Unlike gangs that only stirred up trouble in a few cities, this was a genuine world-class terrorist organization that confronted governments directly. It was rumored that they had once slaughtered all pirates in the Wengai Strait, turning the waters of that crucial Eurasian shipping route blood-red.
Third Brother didn't think his small gang could hide better than those pirates.
Even in this sealed city, Mad Hatter Party had still managed to get in. Wasn't that proof enough of how terrifying this organization's reach was?
"What a pity... that beauty from Mad Hatter Party can't be touched."
Third Brother muttered regretfully, yet his finger showed no hesitation as it tightened on the sniper rifle's trigger. "This time, I'll control a lead bullet to sever the tendons of that busty woman's leg. It'll earn me a favor from the beauty of Mad Hatter Party and keep her stable for now."
"If possible, it'd be best to get connected to Mad Hatter Party. With them as backing, becoming the gang leader would be effortless."
Third Brother's mental abacus clicked loudly in his mind—but the actions of the clothing store owner, who had been sobbing on the ground, completely shattered all his plans.
The shop owner had vanished. In the moment he lost focus, she had somehow appeared right in front of him.
"What?! How—"
Hiding on the beam, Third Brother's pupils shrank violently as he cried out involuntarily.
He had never imagined that the shop owner had been pretending the entire time.
But by the time he realized this, it was already too late. His bullet and his voice had completely exposed his position.
Just as he was about to use his ability to control the lead bullets in his pocket, a pair of tailoring scissors flew from the shop owner's delicate hand and cut straight through his throat.
"'True power does not lie in showing itself, but in remaining hidden. Those who reveal their hand too early will be the first to fall.' I quite agree with that statement."
"But there's one problem—you actually need the ability to stay hidden."
The mature shop owner cast a contemptuous gaze at the man, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Heh, when those bandits left earlier... there was one fewer set of footsteps. Sure enough, there was someone hiding. Didn't expect it to be an esper."
"You...!!"
"Me? I'm an intelligence agent of National Boundary Guardian."
Third Brother had no idea what National Boundary Guardian was—but he didn't need to know anymore.
"Damn it... truly the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind... one misstep, and it's eternal regret..."
This true minor boss of Kowloon Stronghold had finally obtained an awakening serum and become a rare esper. He had even arranged for a mechanically modified fool to act as his public double.
With such a setup, he could have made a name for himself in this city.
Who would have thought he would die obscurely in this insignificant clothing store, all for what was nothing more than a routine gang task of harvesting profits?
Espers—those were the bosses of every gang, the core of the upper echelon.
Third Brother was ambitious. He had planned to play the fool while hiding his strength, slowly climbing upward, then use his hidden ability to seize power and become the boss.
Yet he never expected that one day, he himself would be outplayed by someone else doing the same.
Third Brother fell from the beam, clutching his bleeding throat as his gaze gradually dimmed.
The shop owner took the gun from the esper's hand and kicked his corpse.
After confirming he was completely dead, she flicked another pair of tailoring scissors from her fingertips toward Vill-V, Hua, and Inori. The scissors landed precisely between them, halting their playful exchange.
"Hey, you three—stop staring at each other over a road roller. You've already realized you're on the same side, haven't you? Even if you're itching for a fight, don't do it here... or do you want me to host a sparring tournament for you right here?"
Hearing the shop owner's call, Vill-V—who had been fighting Inori—instantly transformed into a bouquet of flowers.
In the blink of an eye, she reappeared ten meters away beside Hua.
Now that they had been exposed, there was no way to continue fighting.
What a joke—if this went on, all the equipment she brought for this mission would be used up.
Vill-V only carried lightweight gear with her—ordinary materials that wouldn't repair themselves once broken.
As for secondary soulium, that kind of nanomaterial had extremely high density. Vill-V had no intention of lugging that kind of thing around while jumping and fighting.
Magician wasn't some battle maniac. Fighting as an improvisational performance was enough—who wanted to go all-out in a prolonged fight? It was exhausting.
This flashy clash was just for show—to create noise and give the shop owner time to search for enemies inside, drawing the hidden enemy's attention.
Even if Inori wanted to keep fighting, Magician would surrender.
Oh wait—Magician had already had her fun and slipped away. The one surrendering now was Conductor.
(Conductor: Sharing one body with Magician... what rotten luck.)
(Expert: Mm, agreed.)
(Pure Evil: Expert, has the custom Magician deletion model 001 I requested been completed?)
(Expert: I did not approve that project. I clearly replied and even recorded the reasons in the workshop log.)
(Pure Evil: Hah, wasn't that proposal great? What if Id splits off an extremely evil Vill-V one day? We'd need a countermeasure—like locking her in a little dark room.)
(Expert: ...Are you talking about yourself?)