Let's rewind a bit.
On Lungmen's ring road.
"Hey Texas, are these headphones you recommended really okay?"
In the passenger seat, Exusiai scrolled through her tablet. On the screen was a group chat created last night, mostly filled with discussions about headphones.
"They are all top-ranked recommendations I found online last month."
Texas replied and as usual she had a Pocky stick in her mouth.
She knew what Exusiai meant, headphone names had been getting weirder lately.
Poetic names were fine, and even the overly chuuni ones meant to attract certain fans were whatever.
But MSR7… was that really okay?
It was just a phonetic pun caused by language differences, but a lot of sellers were heavily marketing it with that name. Now the others were giving her strange looks.
Texas was already regretting how she had dumped her entire un-deleted shopping cart into the chat last night.
"Top-ranked, huh… alright then."
Hearing that, Exusiai decided to wait and see a bit longer.
After all, it was a gift and not a cheap one either. They could not afford to mess this up!
A pair of headphones bought with the combined effort and salaries of all four Penguin Logistics members, there was no way it could flop!
Apuru pai! Apuru pai!
Exusiai's phone notification went off. She opened it and saw a voice message from Croissant, then tapped to play it.
"Exu! Exu! I have already bought the headphones!"
"???"
Exusiai was baffled. Since when did Croissant have money to buy headphones?
Confused, she played the second voice message.
"Sorry… after we finished a delivery, Croissant dragged me into a shop, and when we came out, we'd already bought them…"
Sora's voice sounded full of helplessness. Exusiai could more or less guess where Croissant got the money.
That is so unfair! She had been seriously researching this and that breadhead just went ahead and bought them first!
Give her effort back!
"Croissant already bought them?"
Since Exusiai was not using earphones, the audio naturally reached Texas, who was driving.
What Texas was curious about, though, was how Croissant had managed to convince Sora to pay first.
She could not figure it out. But with Sora there, Croissant probably would not cause trouble.
"Welp, guess I will just slack off."
Exusiai put her phone away. Since the purchase was already done, there was no need to keep researching.
Whether she would get her salary this month was questionable anyway and her newly purchased batch of etched ammo had been funded through a request to the boss.
Luckily, etched ammo was not really needed in Lungmen. Otherwise, she would go bankrupt sooner or later.
"Ask Sora where they are. We will go pick them up."
Seeing Exusiai immediately slack off, Texas gave her something to do.
She was not about to be the only one working.
"Hmm… they said that they are waiting at a drink shop on XX Road. Also they asked what we want to drink."
Following orders, Exusiai pulled out her phone again and sent a message, confirming their location and scoring herself a free drink.
It seemed Croissant felt pretty guilty about what she did, willing to treat them. That alone showed she had some self-awareness.
"Just have Sora pick something for me."
Checking their current location, Texas prepared to make a U-turn.
As for drinks, she did not mind, she trusted Sora's taste.
Mostly, she just did not know what to pick.
"Got it~"
Exusiai typed out the message and put her phone away, no longer slacking.
She was not stupid, if she kept slacking Texas would definitely assign her more work. So she pretended to watch the road instead.
Of course, Texas saw right through her little trick. But as long as Exusiai did not openly slack off, Texas would not bother her.
With Texas focused on driving and Exusiai "focused" on the scenery, they quickly arrived at the drink shop.
"Ahh, so cool!"
After getting in the car, Croissant set down the drinks and pulled at her collar, letting the air conditioning flow into her clothes to cool off.
She had been running around nonstop, then waited under the blazing sun for Texas and Exusiai, no wonder she was sweating.
"Croissant, honestly…"
Sora sighed helplessly from beside her.
After finishing the delivery, she had been dragged all over the place by Croissant and eventually ended up paying for the headphones first under her persuasion.
But she still did not even know what kind of headphones Croissant had bought. The shopkeeper had packed them up, and now Sora was holding the neatly wrapped box.
Croissant had convinced her by saying they had searched so many stores to finally find these and missing out would be a waste.
After weighing it, Sora figured paying first was not a big deal. If Croissant really messed up, she could just make her pay the full amount later.
She was not a devil, after all—installment payments were negotiable.
"So what did you buy?"
Once the car started moving, Exusiai stopped zoning out and asked Sora in the back seat.
The gift-wrapped package in her hands was just too eye-catching.
"I have no idea. Croissant said it is a secret."
Sora carefully set it aside to avoid bumping it.
"Hehe, do not worry! I checked the reviews, it is definitely top-tier stuff."
Croissant grinned brightly and gave a thumbs-up.
"…You did not actually buy those Feline headphones, did you?"
Seeing her expression, Exusiai recalled Croissant mentioning "Feline headphones" last night.
They sounded fitting in a way but whether Shirou could accept such a unique style was another question.
"Tsk tsk, do I look like that kind of person?"
Croissant crossed her arms and shook her head.
Sure, she had been recommending Feline headphones and thought Shirou wearing them would be hilarious but she was not that shallow.
The headphones she picked were definitely perfect for everyone at Penguin Logistics and they would absolutely suit Shirou. Of that, she was certain!
"it is not 'like you would'—you totally would."
Looking at Croissant, Exusiai spoke based on her past experiences with her.
"Exusai, is that really how you see me? That is honestly heartbreaking."
Croissant clutched her chest, putting on a pained expression.
Exusiai could only roll her eyes in response.
"Cut it out. Someone is tailing us."
Before the two could continue messing around, Texas suddenly floored the accelerator.
She had noticed the cars behind them quite a while ago and had even taken a detour but they kept following relentlessly.
The Penguin Logistics crew was already used to this kind of situation. So once Texas reached a relatively open stretch of road, she sped up to shake them off.
Still, since they were being chased, she gave her teammates a heads-up so they could prepare.
"Lungmen profanity—this is bad! I did not bring any weapons!"
Croissant's first reaction upon hearing they were being chased was panic over being unarmed.
"It is fine. We are not engaging."
Texas remained calm as she sped down the road. She had no intention of fighting and once they reached central Lungmen they would be safe.
After all, they were not on a delivery mission. If they could avoid a fight, they would.
"Not engaging means… you are going full speed, huh?"
Exusiai instantly understood and grabbed the handle beside her.
She trusted Texas's driving skills, but fear was still fear.
Besides, holding on helped with motion sickness.
"Hold tight. Exusiai, prepare to clear the way."
Texas pressed the accelerator to the limit. Even though their car was already fast, the pursuers were clearly prepared and they were keeping up without trouble.
So Texas planned to shake them off as quickly as possible to avoid further complications.
There was a big difference between opportunistic robbers and well-prepared pursuers. The former would give up if they could not catch up. The latter would do everything to complete their objective.
And clearly, these guys had anticipated a chase like this.
"Whoa!"
Just as Texas expected, several crossbow bolts slammed into the rear window, making spiderweb shaped cracks.
Even though Penguin Logistics car windows were reinforced, they could not withstand Originium-enhanced bolts for long, it could only handle maybe a few hits at best.
Another volley would probably shatter it completely.
Taking advantage of the moment while the enemies reloaded, Texas drifted sharply, throwing everyone in the car to the left.
"Praise the apple pie!"
Seizing the opportunity, Exusiai leaned out of the now-open right window and fired rapidly. Rubber bullets from her gun shattered the enemy's windshield, slowing them down.
Unfortunately, it did not stop them entirely. Two more vehicles quickly filled in, followed by another barrage of bolts.
"Do they ever stop?! Croissant, grab my bag from the back!"
Exusiai complained at the relentless pursuit and motioned for Croissant to hand over her backpack.
"Here…wait, you are not about to…?"
Though Croissant already had a guess, she still passed the bag over.
If she did not, they might get overturned by the pursuers.
But if she did… then the only ones getting hurt would be the enemies and Lungmen's roads.
Obviously, that was the better option!
"This is inspired by that mushroom cloud Shirou made!"
Exusiai pulled out a strange-looking gun from her bag. It barely resembled a firearm and looked like it could only fire one shot at a time.
She then took out a large round from her waist, loaded it, opened the sunroof and fired backward.
"Take this…Exusiai's Broken Phantasm!"
The shot landed precisely in front of the pursuing vehicle.
BOOM—
A massive explosion erupted instantly.
As for what happened to the people in the car, Exusiai did not really care. The fact that she aimed at the front of the engine instead of directly at the car was already her being merciful.
As for accidentally hurting civilians?
Come on at this speed with crossbow bolts flying around, what civilian would dare get close?
Even if Lungmen citizens loved a good spectacle, they were not suicidal.
Still, despite thinking that, Exusiai had confirmed there were no bystanders before using the explosive. Blowing up buildings was one thing but hurting civilians was another.
"Exusai, you Lungmen profanity…you made a new kind of explosive?!"
Though she could not see it, Croissant felt the car jolt from the explosion. It was not as intense as Shirou's rooftop blast before…but still.
Exusiai's usual explosives were not like this! A bullet-shaped explosive with that kind of power was insane!
"Do not look at me like that. That was the only one. I used up all my materials making it. I have to get reimbursement for this, or I will not be eating for the next two months."
Back in the passenger seat, Exusiai explained after noticing Croissant's curious stare.
Otherwise, she was worried Croissant would start asking her to fire one every time something happened. That thing was expensive!
While it was inspired by Shirou's explosion, the internal structure was based on something she made back in school to prank teachers, just with extra components added.
Originally, it was meant to deal with shielded or heavily armored enemies. But under normal conditions, using it could easily get herself caught in the blast, so it was only a prototype.
Still…it was undeniably effective but it was just very costly.
"So… have you figured out what you are going to do now?"
With the immediate danger gone, Texas casually put a Pocky stick in her mouth and asked.
"…Is it too late to run?"
Exusiai suddenly realized that they were on a road leading into central Lungmen.
Which meant… she had just detonated that explosion in the city center.
There was a massive difference between using explosives out in the outskirts and doing it in central Lungmen.
Using explosives in the city center was basically dancing on the Guard Department's face.
"We are driving a Penguin Logistics vehicle. Not a private car."
Texas's words sealed Exusiai's fate.
If it had been a private vehicle, they might have been able to deny it. But this was a company car, with a huge Penguin Logistics logo on it.
The Guard Department was not blind.
"Waaah… bring me lots of apple pie when you visit me…"
Sentenced to doom, Exusiai curled up in the passenger seat, hugging her knees.
"Um… under the circumstances, if we explain properly, it should be fine… right?"
Sora tried to comfort her. As frequent visitors to the Guard Department she had a decent grasp of how they handled Penguin Logistics.
At worst, Exusiai would get a long lecture or be detained for a few days.
After all, Penguin Logistics had a rather… special line of work.
"Do not bother. She knows exactly what is coming. Let's just hope Officer Chen is not on duty today."
Texas sighed. She did not blame Exusiai, after all, their car was practically filled with crossbow bolts. One bad dodge and they could have lost a tire or their lives.
All they could do now was hope the boss and the others would figure out who attacked them… and pray Chen was not working today.
Last time, Chen had scolded them for two full hours. Their ears had not felt right for days afterward.
Time returns to the present—Lungmen Guard Department.
The four members of Penguin Logistics sat in a neat row, while two figures one tall and one short stood before them.
"I understand the situation. But using explosives of that level in the city center… Exusiai, you have got some nerve, don't you?"
The short woman looked at the report in her hands, having already understood the full sequence of events. She had just spent quite a while lecturing them.
"Alright, alright, Chen, have some water and take a breather."
Beside her, Hoshiguma handed over a cup of warm water.
"…Haa, thanks. Honestly, I have to say explosions, brawls, street racing… every time we get reports like that, you lot are the first that come to mind. Can you not make things a little easier for us? Do not you know—"
Chen took the water, drank a sip to wet her throat, and continued.
From the moment Penguin Logistics was being chased and attacked on the highway, the Guard Department had already been mobilized. What she did not expect was that they would escalate things so quickly.
Exusiai's shot had not killed anyone, but the people in that car were severely injured. As for the others, most had already fled and were still being pursued.
If the surveillance footage had not shown that Penguin Logistics was the one being chased, they would not be sitting here getting a lecture, they would already be in the interrogation room.
Still, using explosives like that warranted a lecture no matter what. The impact had been far too great.
After a full hour and a half of "moral education," Chen finally stopped, not because she was tired but because Exusiai had completely spaced out.
"Wabby wabby… wabby baboo?"
Exusiai, who had taken the full force of Chen's verbal barrage, was now utterly dazed, she could not even form a proper sentence anymore.
"…Man, that is terrifying."
Croissant looked at the completely fried Exusiai and could only sigh. Chen's lecturing ability was truly something, she had talked Exusiai into a stupor.
Not just Exusiai, even the rest of them, just listening from the side, had nearly lost it. If Hoshiguma had not stepped in to calm things down, Exusiai might have become Not-Exusiai today.
Officer Hoshiguma, we thank you forever!
Croissant silently offered her gratitude.
"Do not let it happen again next time! Otherwise, it will not just be Chen, I will join in too."
Hoshiguma said with a smile.
The kind of smile that sent chills down Penguin Logistics' spines.
"Do not worry, we will not dare."
They all nodded rapidly.
As for "next time"… they would deal with that when it came.
After all, given the nature of Penguin Logistics' work, it was hard not to get caught by the Guard Department.
"Has anyone not come to pick you up yet?"
Chen popped a throat lozenge into her mouth and asked.
Normally, someone would have come by now to take Penguin Logistics away. For some reason, no one had shown up today.
"Oh, someone from Penguin Logistics has been here for a while, They are over at Officer Swire's office."
A busy Feline officer nearby raised her hand and answered.
"???"
A string of question marks practically appeared over Chen's head. Why would Penguin Logistics' people be with Swire?
"It is Shirou, right? The one I mentioned before."
Hoshiguma figured it out quickly. After all, the only Penguin Logistics member Swire would call over was Shirou. She had even asked Hoshiguma to have Jaye keep an eye on him.
Jaye had already told her a bit about yesterday's events. Honestly, she thought Swire's poaching plan was not bad, it was just that Shirou clearly took good care of the four in front of them. It was hard to say how Swire planned to recruit him.
Just thinking about it made for great drinking talk… though it would be better with some snacks.
"Shirou? Oh, him."
With Hoshiguma's reminder, Chen finally recalled who Shirou was.
She had paid some attention to the mall incident before and there had been a "helpful civilian" who stopped the suspect.
That person was Shirou.
Ever since then, that "char siu cat" (Swire) kept saying he was a promising talent and should be recruited.
Chen had mostly dismissed it as drunken rambling. After all, he was with Penguin Logistics. In the Guard Department whenever Penguin Logistics was mentioned, the first thought was always: another major case.
To put it bluntly, about 30% of their workload involved Penguin Logistics, especially the people currently sitting in front of her.
And Shirou seemed pretty close to them.
Chen had a feeling there would be one more person for her to lecture in the future.
"Chen, what are you spacing out for?"
Seeing Chen lost in thought, Hoshiguma waved a hand in front of her face, snapping her back.
"What is it?"
Even Chen felt a bit tired after lecturing them for so long.
"Nothing, it is just that the Penguin Logistics crew ran off."
Hoshiguma pointed at the now-empty seats in front of them.
"???"
Only then did Chen notice that Exusiai who had just been lectured into oblivion had somehow dashed out the door.
She had no idea what was going on anymore.
"Ahem… Missy did make that poaching declaration in front of them last time."
Seeing Chen's confusion, Hoshiguma gave a brief explanation.
"That was not a joke?"
"Nope. Missy is serious. Honestly, I think it is a good idea too and after observing him several times, I can say that he is genuinely a good person."
"…You sure?"
"We will talk about it over drinks later. You will probably be interested too. For now, let's head over to Missy's place, I have a feeling it is going to get lively."
"…You just think it sounds fun, don't you?"
"Yep."