Sensei was calmer and sharper than she had imagined.
Hua Ye let out a soft breath.
Acting on instinct, she raised her gun and kept watch on the depths of the alley—
There was an ambiguous corner where she couldn’t see what was happening behind, only stray bullets and concrete fragments flying everywhere.
She silently took a step back, slowly pushing Sensei away from the alley entrance.
She had a halo for protection.
Based on the situation just now, even if she saw a bullet flying toward her, she would probably feel a pang of fear, but the bullets and concrete fragments wouldn’t harm her at all.
But Sensei was a mere mortal, and his only lifesaving measure was a shield that could only be used for three minutes a day…
However, her body was weak.
Last night she almost fainted during an outing—
That was proof.
‘My body is weak. Fighting the Helmet gangs who are always in gunfights, my odds of winning are too low.’
‘Even though I have some self-defense techniques from my past life’s memories, using them on these children is completely unnecessary. These kids just want to loot and cause chaos, not murder and arson.’
After a moment of deliberation, she quickly reached a conclusion.
“Let’s get out of here, Sensei. We don’t need to confront the Helmet gangs directly right now. There’s no need to get involved. Later, just let the Valkyrie kids come and clear the place. Let’s go.”
While keeping her gun at the ready, she slowly backed away from the alley entrance.
Behind her, Sensei was poking at the Shittim Chest with a serious expression, silent for a moment.
Then he gave a decisive answer.
“I just contacted the Valkyrie Police Department through the Shittim Chest with the help of Ersi Hemo. Right now, three nearby officers are heading here via GPS.”
Ersi Hemo? Who was that?
Probably the kid who exchanged contact info with the advisor yesterday.
For some reason, her name felt unfamiliar.
But only three officers…
Hua Ye listened to the torrent of bullets in the alley—
Like a downpour—
The clatter of shell casings, and the waves of heat and explosions that surged every so often.
Her brain quickly made an assessment.
“At least five, no, more than ten. Normally, an officer can handle two or three opponents, but in this situation, we can’t just arrest them.”
Plus, as small-time thugs, the Helmet gangs wouldn’t waste ammunition and grenades they had to buy at the convenience store.
But now they were shooting like crazy, which meant whatever they were fighting over was extremely important to them.
Was the Collaboration Strawberry Daifuku that popular? To make these kids waste so much ammo…
It seemed her pre-order was just normal.
So in terms of fighting spirit, this Helmet gang wouldn’t be any slouch.
That made retreat even more necessary.
Hua Ye, still backing away, finally made up her mind completely.
“Run.”
She didn’t look back.
In a low voice, she said just that single word, not checking Sensei’s reaction.
She believed he would understand her meaning and realize his own situation—
No halo, and in Kivotos, where battles were frequent, he was at the bottom of the food chain.
He had to be careful of stray bullets from these rambunctious kids.
And the Shittim Chest’s protection could only be used three times a day.
Using it in such a pointless place was meaningless.
One step, two steps.
She used her back to force Sensei backward.
But she still kept her guard up, ready for any big explosion that might send stray bullets toward him.
The kids on the street—
From the moment the gunfight in the alley intensified, when Hua Ye drew her gun and Sensei took out the Shittim Chest—
Had silently quickened their pace and rapidly left the area.
Normally, they might stop to watch the commotion, but causing trouble under the nose of the Defense Room Chief?
They didn’t have the guts for that.
Still, as they watched Hua Ye shielding Sensei and urging him toward the sidewalk, the kids who were evacuating couldn’t help sneaking glances, their eyes rolling, lost in thought.
“Well, this is quite an eye-opener…”
Sensei muttered to himself, his gaze shifting between the students evacuating on both sides of the street and the shops that had voluntarily raised bulletproof steel plates.
He had learned something about the daily lives of the Helmet gangs when he led them before, but this was his first time witnessing a scene like this.
When he first arrived at the Black Market yesterday, the streets were already empty, only a few Helmet groups.
But he wasn’t scared
—He’d been warned during orientation—
Just worried and observant.
He came here knowing the ground was unstable.
“This is part of Kivotos too…”
But Buzhihuo Huaye, who had already led Sensei more than ten meters away from the alley entrance, interrupted his thoughts and self-talk with a voice tinged with impatience and irritation.
“Hey, Advisor, I told you to run! Are you deaf? Run!”
Ten meters was too short a distance for bullets!
Was he not going to run?
Did he want to wait for those guys to burst out and shoot him?!
But Sensei just looked up at the halo hovering above Hua Ye’s head—
A golden ring that shimmered like flowing gold, constantly vibrating.
Among the two rows of crosses that flanked the halo, one pair was trembling wildly.
He silently noted that detail.
Though he didn’t know what it signified, he remembered it.
He shook his head and said, “It’s okay…”
“Hahaha! In other words, the Clatter Clatter Helmet Gang wins!”
A girl’s wild laughter echoed from the alley, accompanied by the gradually fading sound of gunfire and the sudden, sharp increase of hurried footsteps rushing toward the entrance.
“I’ve got the Collaboration Strawberry Daifuku! Now we’ve got everything! Girls, retreat! We’ll head to the Black Market to flip this haul right away! Hahaha! This is a huge profit!”
Hot on the heels of the footsteps came the sudden roar of an assault rifle and childish, weary cursing.
“Bastard! Shameless! Thief!”
“Don’t run! You thief! That’s what we barely managed to steal… ah, buy cheap!”
—Accidents are always faster than preparation.
A team of Helmet gangs burst out of the alley.
At the front, the leader was clutching a large, tightly wrapped package while panting, laughing behind her helmet.
“That’s right! That’s how it is! Hahaha! What? I stole it with my own skill. If you’ve got the guts, take it back! Hahaha!”
The kids behind her also cheered.
“Ooh! As expected of our leader! Doing what we couldn’t do so easily—inspiring, truly inspiring!”
“Yeah!”
The leader waved her small hand with grand ambition.
“Girls, after we sell this, I’ll treat you all to sweets at the Trinity pastry shop, and buy some good accessories for your guns! Now, let’s move!”
Then they sprinted off, their faces under the helmets full of smiles and dreams of a bright future, longing for the famous Trinity pastry shop and modification parts.
—Then they turned their heads and saw, ten meters away, a very familiar figure—
So familiar it even frightened them a little—
And an unfamiliar man without a halo holding a tablet behind her.
Their footsteps froze.
The leader let out an incredulous cry.
“No… way? Is it really… Buzhihuo Huaye?!”
The helmeted kids immediately fell into chaos, not even noticing the intensity and tension on Buzhihuo Huaye’s face.
They just instinctively scrambled backward, screaming in panic.
“It’s the Pink Murderer! The Federal Sword of No Mercy! We’re dead! Girls, run!”
“Ribbit! I don’t want to get sent to the Correctional Facility! No way!”
What were these guys doing?
Hua Ye was a little confused as she watched the tattered Helmet gang—
Several with their helmets even broken—
Back away as if they’d seen a monster, clearly having just fought a tough battle.
For a moment she didn’t react, but then she snapped out of it.
She forcefully shoved Sensei by the waist, pushing him into a nearby shop with a half-open door, and quickly said her last words earnestly.
“Advisor! Hide! Be careful!”
“Ow! My waist!…”
Hua Ye thought she heard Sensei say something, but she couldn’t afford to care now.
Because the Helmet gang leader was sharper than she’d expected—
The moment she saw Hua Ye, she looked around and, noticing no police or SRT units nearby, immediately yelled at her panicking members to rally their spirits.
“Everyone, don’t be scared! Let’s attack together! Buzhihuo Huaye might not be able to catch all of us! There are no cops around now! If we rush her, we can break through!”
This kid’s reaction speed was good.
Hua Ye quickly put her finger beside the trigger—
The safety was off, and any accidental touch might actually fire.
All she could do was buy time.
The gun in her hand couldn’t outmatch the assault rifles they had, especially since there were at least seven people present, not counting the ones still in the alley fighting each other!
‘This is bad… I should have run earlier. Damn advisor!’
Unlike Hua Ye, after the initial panic upon seeing her, the leader was thrilled that there were no police around.
It seemed she wouldn’t be arrested immediately.
If she tried hard, maybe she could escape from the famous Buzhihuo Huaye! Then she’d become a big shot in the Black Market circle! After all, the Seven Prisoners—
The seven strongest delinquent girls admired and looked up to by countless bad kids—
Had all achieved the feat of escaping from her at some point!
Well, in the end, they were all captured by the Correction Bureau and locked up in special prisons.
No matter! One vs.
Seven, advantage me!
…But unfortunately, before she could finish her speech, her members had already run off.
Or rather, from the moment she started looking around, they couldn’t wait to bolt.
She was left awkwardly clutching the big bag of Strawberry Daifuku, turning around to see her empty surroundings and her fleeing members in the morning light.
“Running away, sisters! Running away!”
“Leader, I’ll bail first… You do your best!!!”
Then the leader, grinding her teeth, roared at the retreating backs that were disappearing down the street.
“Hey! Bastards! Don’t you have any will to win?! Don’t you want to become legendary delinquents in the Kivotos Black Market?! Don’t you have any ambition?!”
But the only answer was her members’ fading silhouettes and diminishing footsteps.
She gritted her teeth, bent down, slowly placed the package on the ground, then reached into her pocket and drew her sidearm…
But in the next moment, a gust of wind swept by, forcing her to look up at its source—
Buzhihuo Huaye’s cold, slightly angry smile was right in front of her.
“So… fast?! It’s like teleportation…”
Before she could react, she let out a foolish exclamation, her eyes full of disbelief.
And the one she was marveling at, Buzhihuo Huaye, while holding her suddenly aching forehead and suppressing her inner malice, gracefully and swiftly pressed her pistol against the still-dazed leader’s forehead, and said calmly,
“Take a good look, kid!”
Who told you to ignore the enemy’s movements, just stand there yelling and looking around?
In front of an enemy, you can’t show such an obvious opening.
—Bang!