CH 26

With the increase of passengers onto one side of the ship, so did the amount of signatures on the contract. The fugitives’ eyes contained an glint of joyous greed; there were at least sixty or seventy passengers on the boat, netting them an entire year’s worth of lifespan each after all was said and done. This would undoubtedly be a huge income for most players, much less two fugitives on the verge of death.

SuHe stood, shooting his companions a comforting smile before approaching the fugitives and picking up the pen. “I’d like to cover the fees for my three friends. Would amending clauses be needed for it to take effect?”

One of them glared, irritated but unwilling to part with the lifespan he was about to receive. “Go sit back down,” he snarled. “I need to think about this.”

QiLeren, Dr Lu and XueYingying watched the scene with trepidation, but SuHe calmly returned to their table.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Dr Lu whispered to SuHe, staring restlessly at the two figures by the contract. “They’re not gonna kidnap us or anything, right?”

A corner of SuHe’s lips drew up sharply into a cold, mocking smile. “Don’t worry, they’re here already.”

QiLeren reached for his cup, feeling thirsty, and as he did so something flashed across his peripheral vision that very nearly made him fall out of his chair – there was a person hanging outside the window! The airship wasn’t quite as fast as a plane, but why would there be someone clinging onto the outside of a vehicle so far from the ground?!

The figure seemed to be surveying the situation inside and disappeared in a blink. QiLeren stared blankly at the window as if the person would come back if he kept his gaze there.

“They’re here.” SuHe leaned into his chair with crossed arms, eyes half-lowered and content to just sit back and watch the scene unfold.

His three companions turned their attention to the fugitives to see a young, uniformed man phase through the airtight walls and into the ship without a single sound. The room was deathly silent aside from the fugitives’ ceaseless hustling, ignorant to the figure behind them.

At this, the passengers of the ship displayed a unity that before this was unthinkable to QiLeren. Not a single person gave any outward reaction to this new development, not a single whisper nor change in expression, all minding their own business and wordlessly waiting for the fugitives’ inevitable capture.

The young man swung the metal pole gripped in his hand and downed Eyepatch without fanfare. When Prosthetic Leg turned around suspiciously at the noise, all he saw was the unforgiving glint of approaching metal before likewise dropping unconscious beside his friend.

A total of no more than three minutes elapsed between the young man’s first appearance and the incapacitation of both fugitives; there was not a wasted motion nor any tension. Perhaps one could even describe the whole process as being somewhat anticlimactic, but QiLeren personally thought that this was the way things should be – simple, efficient and effortless. The idea of rescue workers engaged in a drawn-out cinema-worthy showdown with the fugitives, in which the bombs may or may not be seconds away from being detonated for extra points, could not be less appealing.

The uniformed young man looked down at the hand under his boot before shifting focus, tilting his head at the detonator on the ground.

“I’ll defuse it.” Emerging from the crowd was a smiling ChenBaiqi, whose hands had somehow been freed from its bindings. “Since it’s for my own safety, I won’t ask for payment.”

The young man gave her a steely look and retracted his foot. ChenBaiqi didn’t disappoint, making short work of the detonator and stripping off the explosives, which she threw to the young man. “I suggest throwing these outside. If they go off accidently because of shoddy workmanship…” She chuckled dryly.

“This is material evidence.” As if a switch had been flipped, the young man started speaking, though his expression remained cold. “Two pieces of scum with not even a card on their body. Probably sold them all long ago, hence why they turned to robbery. Can someone give me a rundown of what happened here?”

“I can do it!” the little girl who came with ChenBaiqi volunteered.

The young man made notes on a notebook as she recounted the events, raising questions where needed. “How many people signed this contract?”

“Everyone standing on this side,” ChenBaiqi answered, pointing.

The young man tore down the contract and fell silent as he read the terms. “This…this is a demon’s contract?”

“Yes, Mr Al,” the little girl replied softly. “The robber said that it’ll be effective as soon as we sign. I got a notification saying that ten days were deducted.”

Al gave the fugitives on the ground a disgusted sneer. “The Institution will get it out of them.”

A few minutes later saw the contract put away and the two fugitives snugly tied up in the corner. The young man named Al slouched contently in his chair, arms crossed as he spoke to ChenBaiqi. QiLeren could hear them clearly due to how close they sat, but the two made no moves to conceal their conversation.

“That’s not the weapon I remember you using,” ChenBaiqi commented at the metal pipe now discarded on the table.

“I ripped it off the side of the ship. It’s enough against two pieces of trash,” Al replied leisurely. He looked at QiLeren.

QiLeren’s heart skipped a beat. This man, who was most definitely the same person who he saw earlier hanging by the window, was no ordinary passer-by.

“Who are you?” Al asked. The person he addressed was, of course, not QiLeren but SuHe.

“Friends,” ChenBaiqi introduced with a smile. “One from Aurora and three fresh out of the tutorial.”

Al’s eyes held a blatant display of armour-piercing scrutiny, as if he was going to peel SuHe’s defences apart, layer by layer, until the very components of SuHe’s soul were bared for him to examine.

“Would it be correct for me to assume that Mr Al is an officer of the Tribunal Institute? I’ve heard much about the renowned Institution, but your efficiency today was truly impressive.” SuHe smiled, but didn’t offer up his name.

…Which was just as well since Al didn’t seem very interested in knowing, seemingly losing interest in this stranger immediately after learning their origins. It was as if he was a beast in the wild, running into one of his own kind and unwilling to expend even a single drop of additional effort after confirming that the other was not a threat.

“There’s been an influx of diabolical followers recently,” ChenBaiqi brought up offhandedly.

Al’s eyes closed as he dozed in the chair. His voice held the delirious air of sleep talking. “Weaklings will always choose to betray, and those who betray will be judged at trial for their crimes. They have committed unforgivable sins that can only be washed away with death.”

The little girl sitting by ChenBaiqi sneaked glances at SuHe, evidently wanting to talk but held back from doing so every time by ChenBaiqi’s warning looks.

The ship around them had fallen silent, previous chatter dropping into hushed conversations to out of consideration for Al. The young man looked as though he was asleep already, but QiLeren knew he’d be ready for combat in a split second at the faintest suggestion of disturbance.

He was most likely a highly experienced player, QiLeren thought. To think that a veteran would be so frightening – suddenly appearing on an airship sailing high in the sky, having the ability to soundlessly phase through walls and knocking down someone with a single hit…not to mention the fact that, from ChenBaiqi’s remark, this metal pole was apparently not his normal weapon. Even this clear underplay of Al’s abilities was enough to render QiLeren speechless.

Would he become that powerful as well? QiLeren brought a hand to the card slots on his belt and thought of the fugitives’ lunacy, the desperation of men with nothing left to lose and everything to gain, bringing with it a sympathetic bitterness. If he couldn’t become stronger then the only road left for him was to die here.

Ahead of him, the road to survival seemed endless.