Chapter 131: Martial Art Thief
Cherry spent the night sneaking from school to school, looting their secret stashes for whatever techniques she could find.
Most of the martial artists didn't have much in the way of security, or rather they didn't have any security that could keep Cherry out. Or even catch a glimpse of her for that matter.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
'Well this is a real disappointment. I guess I shouldn't have expected the boxers to be the bookish sort...' Cherry said, tossing the so-called martial arts manual back into a drawer.
"Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. It would have been easier to just challenge all the dojos and absorb their techniques that way. I suppose getting some practice sneaking about doesn't hurt though." Cherry muttered under her breath.
There was still one school to go to though, so she'd finish what she started at least.
The last target was actually a front for some kind of assassin organization. They'd try to recruit whatever talents they found, either by tempting them or through more nefarious means.
From the outside, the dojo looked average in just about every metric one could judge it through appearances. This included the security measures, as one could only see a few guards patrolling around the property.
Of course, the true security was actually the highest of any of the schools, as there were many well hidden individuals tucked away in places the average person wouldn't look. They glowed just as brightly as anyone else in Cherry's Life Sense.
Cherry didn't know how to get into the secret compound without risking giving herself away. So she chose to reveal herself in a controlled manner.
Cherry snuck behind one of the obvious guards and over the wall, making sure that the hidden guards could see her just fine in the moonlight.
As expected, the hidden guards made no moves to stop her, as they were there for the hidden compound, not for the false dojo. They signaled one another and one of them moved to another location and descended underground. Presumably he was going to report the intruder.
Seeing this, Cherry made a show of searching for the martial arts manuals and stealing them. Then she left the dojo the way she came in, all the while making sure she was only seen by those she wished to see her.
Now that they thought she had left with what she came for, she could start with the true infiltration.
This time she kept to the blind spots of every guard, hidden or not, and found her way to the trapdoor beneath a rug. Lifting the trap door ever so gently as to not make any sound, she swiftly descended into the darkness.
Cherry found herself in what appeared to be a secret storage for alcohol. Clever to hide a secret entrance inside an already secret room.
Cherry used her superior senses to examine the room and quickly found that one of the barrels was empty. Taking the lid off and crawling inside, she found that the other end of the barrel could also be opened and found herself inside a stairwell.
His throat was grabbed the instant he had turned far enough to face her. He felt his vocal cords get shredded before he could scream or call for help. A rain of blows landed on his body, pulverizing the joints of his bones and thus rendering him almost completely unable to move. As a last ditch effort to resist in some way, he tried to push himself to fall backwards, in the hopes that he could make some noise that somebody might hear, but Cherry simply caught him and settled him back down into his chair.
Even after all that, the man still had the nerve to glare at her, not an ounce of fear in his eyes.
"Where do you keep your martial arts manuals and anything else in regards to technique, such as poison recipes?" Cherry asked with a soft voice.
'I can't talk, you stupid bitch!' The man spoke coldly in his mind.
"Perhaps not, but you can point with your eyes." Cherry said.
The man wasn't impressed that she seemed to know what he was thinking. It was a pretty predictable thought, after all. He did not cooperate and simply waited for death and prepared
to be tortured.
"I'm not going to torture you. It's distasteful and rarely produces good results, especially
with your sort. I just thought I'd give you the chance to save me some time. If you cooperate, then I promise not to cripple every single one of your men here. If not, then I have no qualms in doing just that." Cherry threatened.
The man didn't think she was lying, she said it far too casually and after how she took him out in seconds he believed she was capable enough to follow through. He carefully weighed the pros and cons of cooperating, but the choice was clear. She would likely find what she wanted anyways, so it's better to save his men if he could.
The man directed her to a hidden safe and blinked to give her the code.
Cherry dialed the safe and opened the door.
*Poof!*
Cherry received a face full of poisonous gas, she turned to look at the man who was glaring at
her with a gloating hate.
Cherry only smiled under her mask and shook her head. Poison of this caliber was useless against her even if she didn't deliberately deal with it with vital energy.
She took out the documents and started to read over them, as the man slowly lost his good mood and grumbled to himself in silence.