Can We Still Reconcile Now?
16: Chapter 16 – Hiss…
Can We Still Reconcile Now?
After bursting out of Eden’s dressing room, Li Mu ran toward the concert hall’s exit, carrying the ‘unconscious’ Eden in his arms.
Behind him, a group of kidnappers sprinted with all their might, feeling as if their lungs were about to explode.
This wasn’t out of anger, but sheer exhaustion.
“Slo-slow down…
Spade 4…
slow down!” As assassins, physical fitness was a basic requirement.
Every assassin present was at the peak of human conditioning.
But even so, they had to push their bodies to the absolute limit just to barely keep up with ‘Spade 4’ running ahead of them.
Worse yet, ‘Spade 4′ was carrying a person but still moved as if flying, her steps elegant and her pace showing no signs of fatigue, as if she were merely out for a stroll!
In response, Li Mu glanced back over his shoulder as he ran, giving the men behind him a smile brimming with mockery.
“Tsk tsk~ You all are really useless, aren’t you?
♬~” “With stamina like this, what are you doing being assassins?
You might as well go home and be babysitters.” “You…!!!” The group of assassins following behind were about to explode with rage.
Already in a state of extreme tension, this taunt instantly made their eyes turn red.
They pushed themselves to run faster, as if wanting to tear the woman at the front to shreds.
Li Mu turned his gaze forward and continued running toward his planned destination, still carrying Eden.
Of course, he had no real interest in teasing these assassins.
Everything he did was to pull them into his tempo, to overwhelm them with one emergency after another so they had no time to think.
It was all to make them forget one crucial thing: to question his identity.
That’s right, this was still, in essence, a play.
The goal was to draw out the mastermind behind this kidnapping.
These kidnappers were just pawns paid to do a job.
The one hiding behind the curtain was the true culprit.
Feeling Eden lying motionless in his arms as if truly unconscious, Li Mu nodded to himself in approval.
Working with smart people is so much easier.
As a clever person herself, after her initial confusion, Eden had mostly figured out what Li Mu was trying to do just by watching his actions, so she decisively cooperated.
Of course, the main reason for her compliance was Li Mu’s current appearance.
Eden’s eyes opened just a sliver, and she saw the face of the person carrying her.
Although the hair color was different, the eye color was wrong, and there was a mask, at such a close distance in his arms, she could easily sense his aura…
and it was an aura she was very familiar with.
Elysia, it really is you!
You said you didn’t have time to come support my performance, but you came anyway, didn’t you?
Oh, you…
A nearly invisible smile graced the corners of Eden’s lips.
Trusting completely in Elysia’s strength, she felt no fear for their safety.
Instead, she was curious to see what Elysia had planned.
What was the plan?
To directly infiltrate their ranks, of course.
Since the so-called Spade 4 was late, Li Mu decided to borrow her identity to mix into the kidnapper team and follow them to their employer.
Because he planned to recruit Sakura later, Li Mu had some understanding of these assassins hired by the Toxic Pupae.
Their identities were centrally managed by the organization.
Members did not know each other personally and were only temporarily teamed up for missions, during which they would almost always use aliases to hide their true selves.
Only members who were truly trusted would reveal their identities to one another.
Therefore, it was highly likely that these Toxic Pupae members didn’t know each other, using only code words for confirmation.
This allowed him to exploit the information gap and impersonate the absent Spade 4.
And what if these assassins did know each other?
Well, in that case, it would just be their bad luck.
If he couldn’t smoke out the mastermind, he would have to settle for cleaning up these lackeys.
After all, for him, finding the mastermind was just a way to sell Eden a favor, and then…
cash in on it!
It would be great if he found them, but it didn’t matter if he didn’t.
Fortunately, it seemed these people truly didn’t know each other, allowing him to continue his act.
A smirk formed on Li Mu’s lips.
A faint whisper escaped his lips, lost in the wind, but Eden, being so close, heard it clearly.
“Ehehe, you’ve all managed to save your own lives, you know.” “Shouldn’t you be thanking Miss Faded Elf?” However, even after infiltrating the group, there was still one problem.
Even if they didn’t know each other’s identities, an important operation like this would surely have passwords or other methods of confirmation.
He didn’t know their codes, so he had to find a way to skip that step entirely, which was exactly what he was doing now.
By kidnapping Eden and then yelling for them to retreat with him, he made them subconsciously accept him as a teammate.
At the same time, he pressured their minds with a constant sense of crisis and a stream of unexpected events, leaving them no time to ponder his identity.
Just like right now.
A pre-planted bomb detonated, sealing the path ahead.
Simultaneously, the piercing wail of police sirens echoed from the distance.
Li Mu stopped.
The group of kidnappers behind him finally got a chance to catch their breath, clutching their chests and gasping for air.
Li Mu turned around, his cheerful tone instantly becoming serious.
“Not good.
There are enemies ahead.
Change direction.” Hearing his words, the panting kidnappers shuddered.
The captain pulled out a syringe of adrenaline and decisively injected it into himself.
He then snarled at Li Mu through gritted teeth: “Spade 4, you take the target and the others and follow behind.
I’ll clear the way!” “No breaking formation, and don’t you dare run ahead of me!” If they let this woman who ran faster than a rabbit lead the way again, their lungs would probably give out before they even broke through the blockade.
Hearing this, Li Mu stood ramrod straight, his feet together.
“Yes, sir!” After glaring fiercely at Li Mu, the captain led the group to retreat along a pre-planned route.
Following behind the captain with Eden in his arms, Li Mu mentally declared his plan a success.
As long as he followed these people, he should be able to find their employer soon.
Then he could sell Eden a huge favor, and then…
cash in on it!
Jie jie jie, perfect!
Just as Li Mu was celebrating his plan, a figure suddenly rolled down from a nearby building, landing in front of them and blocking their path.
This person had pink hair, a tall figure, and was dressed in stylish urban attire, her face obscured by a black mask.
But what drew the most attention was the long katana she carried on her back.
Seeing this, the assassins raised their guns, ready for a quick draw, but the person immediately shouted: “Wait!
I’m Spade 4!” “I’m on your side!” But her words were met with the sound of gunfire.
BANG!
BANG BANG!
A dense volley of shots rang out.
The pink-haired woman on the other side was remarkably skilled, diving behind a roadside barrier before the first shot was even fired.
“You’re attacking me?!” Once the gunfire ceased, an angry voice came from behind the cover.
“Infighting during a mission?
Are you trying to violate the organization’s rules?!!” The captain sneered and pulled a grenade from his belt.
“Idiot!
If you’re going to impersonate us, at least do your research.
Our Spade 4 is right here in the team.
If you want to sow discord, you’ll need a better excuse.” He was about to pull the pin and throw it.
“Spade 4 is in the team?” the person behind the cover asked, confused.
“No, you’ve been tricked!
I’m the real Spade 4!” “AE535!
That’s the code for this operation!” The captain’s finger, hooked on the grenade’s pin, froze.
At the same time, all the strange occurrences during the mission so far flashed through his mind.
He whipped his head around to look at Li Mu.
He saw Li Mu tilt his head and say apologetically, “My apologies.
I’m the mole.” BANG!
The captain went for a quick draw, but his shot was easily dodged.
“Hee hee, I was hoping to follow you and find your so-called employer to sell Eden a favor.” “What a shame ♬~” Bullets rained down, but Li Mu evaded them with ease.
Watching Li Mu stroll casually through the storm of bullets, the hearts of the assassins plummeted.
“Dammit, is that speed even human?” At that moment, the pink-haired woman who had been hiding behind the barrier charged out, wielding her long katana and slashing at Li Mu.
Her speed was incredible, arguably beyond human limits, and the arc of her blade even crackled with electricity.
Li Mu sensed a faint flow of Honkai energy from it; it was a Honkai weapon.
A pity it was useless.
In this era, before the advent of MANTIS soldiers, when it came to individual combat ability, besides the alien Kalpas and the Herrscher Elysia, he feared no one.
Even while holding Eden, I am invincible!
He lifted his leg, kicked the sword from her hand, and sent her flying into a distant wall.
She had just started to get up.
Li Mu kicked the toe of his boot against the fallen katana.
The sword on the ground shot out like a bullet, pinning itself to the wall right next to her forehead.
A few strands of pink hair drifted to the ground.
The pink-haired woman froze.
Even though she wore a mask, she could feel the mocking smirk behind his.
The remaining assassins saw this and exchanged glances.
The captain gritted his teeth and said to the others, “He’s only one person, and he has to protect Eden!
Get out the automatic weapons!
If we all attack together, we’re not without a chance to win!” Hearing this, a vicious light gleamed in the others’ eyes as they replied in unison, “Right, let’s get him!” The assassins’ actions actually surprised Li Mu.
Ho ho, they’re not running away?
They actually dare to charge me?
Are these assassins who sell their lives for money really this dedicated?
As he thought this, he prepared to incapacitate them.
However, before he could act, he saw the leading captain take one step toward him, then pivot and sprint away into the distance.
At the exact same moment, all the others turned and ran in different directions.
In an instant, the team of assassins scattered like birds.
What assassin who had survived this long would be a reckless fool?
Every single one of them knew with perfect clarity that this person was completely out of their league!
Since they couldn’t win, there was only one option left.
—The situation is dire, time to scram.
This was where the importance of teammates became apparent.
With so many of them, no matter how fast their opponent was, he couldn’t possibly catch them all.
You just had to be faster than your teammates.
This was the so-called principle of “better my comrade dies than I do.” Unfortunately for them, every single one was thinking the exact same thing.
The fleeing captain saw his teammates keeping pace with him and cursed under his breath before jabbing another syringe of adrenaline into his body, his speed skyrocketing once again.
Watching the scattering assassins, Li Mu didn’t bother to give chase.
He only needed to interrogate one for information, and he now had a more suitable candidate.
He turned his gaze to the pink-haired assassin he had thrown against the wall, the one with the black mask.
She was currently trying to sneak away, not even daring to retrieve the Honkai weapon stuck in the wall next to her.
Her body instantly froze when Li Mu’s gaze fell upon her.
She turned her head stiffly to meet his teasing eyes.
And so, Spade 4, or rather, the girl named Sakura, felt a cold sweat instantly trickle down her back.
Hiss…
can we still reconcile now?
—o—