The girl lying on the floor blinked, staring back at the bewildered intruders.
Then, the girl spotted the man pinned to the floor.
“Ah! You’re the guy from earlier? Thanks! I caught it!”
The girl said, stroking the black cat’s head.
The cat, being rubbed, let out a contented meow.
If the atmosphere in the room weren’t so tense, it would have been a heartwarming scene.
“You…”
The man started to say something, but then closed his mouth.
“Um… Is this some kind of debt collection scene?”
She kept the same pose and pointed her chin at the man on the floor.
The delivery guy finally snapped back to reality.
He snorted, “What are you waiting for? Get lost!”
The thugs beside him, seeing their boss take a stance, began cracking their knuckles.
The girl nimbly rolled over, stood up, and took a step back toward the door.
“Mister, did you piss them off?”
The girl ignored the malice radiating from the group and simply asked the man curiously.
The man’s throat was hoarse. He finally forced out a single word from his lips: “Get out of here!”
In the man’s eyes, she was no different from a lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
At that moment, the girl also noticed the man’s bleeding arm, and her expression turned a bit grim.
The delivery guy seemed to interpret this as a sign of the girl’s fear.
He approached the girl and reached his hand toward her neck.
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get lost—”
The next moment, the sensation of grabbing the girl’s body never came—or rather, the sensation of his entire arm disappeared.
The delivery guy stiffly lowered his head.
Below his right shoulder was empty, leaving only a cross-section of wires, blood vessels, and nerves.
And his arm was held in the girl’s hand like a club.
“Wow, this scene feels a bit like when I first arrived.”
The girl tucked the black cat under one arm and swung the severed arm back and forth twice with the other hand.
Blood and machine oil dripped onto the floor, giving off a pungent smell.
The effect of adrenaline seemed to have worn off.
The delivery guy clutched his massive wound and howled in pain.
The others finally snapped out of it and drew their guns.
Not daring to watch what came next, the man closed his eyes.
Although her monstrous strength had surprised him, at such close firing range, the girl’s fate was predictable.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five gunshots rang out, but in the room came the sound of multiple bodies hitting the floor.
“Huh?”
The man opened his eyes in confusion and saw an unbelievable sight.
The delivery guy and the four big men lay dead on the ground, each with a small gunshot wound in the center of their forehead.
Their expressions were either shock or anger, but they all seemed frozen at the moment before they fired.
“Whew, looks like there won’t be any problems for a while.”
The girl raised the still-smoking gun in her hand, brought it to her lips and blew.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to try this pose.”
The black cat wasn’t startled by the gunfire either, because the girl had even used her other hand to cover the cat’s ears in time.
Now it was licking the girl’s fingers, as if protesting this extremely uncomfortable position.
“Are you okay?”
The girl tucked the pistol back into her waist and extended her hand to the man.
Her expression was so sincere, her words so earnest, that it seemed to make one forget the scene they had just witnessed.
“…”
The man was dazed for a moment.
Finally, he shook his head and climbed to his feet using his uninjured hand.
“Do you want me to find a doctor?”
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
The man pulled open a drawer, found the first aid kit, and bandaged his wounded arm.
The girl just stood by, holding the black cat that had started to doze off.
Neither of them spoke, until the man’s curiosity overcame his fear, and he finally spoke.
“Who are you?”
“Probably the Everything Store?”
After giving the answer, the girl giggled. Probably she didn’t believe it herself.
“Then why did you save me?”
“Because you helped me earlier today.”
The girl stroked the black cat in her arms.
“Finding this kid took a lot of effort.”
“I just pointed the way. Was it worth doing this?”
The man pointed at the bodies on the floor.
“They were Ymir’s people.”
“They aren’t anymore.”
The girl said indifferently.
The man was speechless.
The bleeding had stopped.
The man stood up.
“Anyway, thank you for saving me. But as you can see, I have nothing to repay you with.”
“No need, I’ve already gotten my reward.”
“Reward?”
The man asked in confusion.
Could someone have actually sent her to rescue him?
“It’s this.”
The girl pointed at the black cat in her arms.
“There’s a 100 yuan reward for finding it!”
“That little money isn’t even enough to buy the ammo you just used.”
“Ah—”
As if genuinely regretful, the girl let out a plaintive sigh.
She was truly a strange kid, in every way.
The man stood downstairs, his luggage already packed.
The girl stood with him, holding the black cat.
“Even though I’ve already said it, but… thank you.”
He bowed deeply.
The girl let out a soft laugh and disappeared into the night with the black cat.
The man stood still for a moment, then turned and walked toward the harbor.
Maybe today really was his lucky day.
Bres dragged his aching body and pushed open the door of the detective agency.
Click.
The glaring light turned on, and Qiao Anni on the sofa couldn’t help letting out a groan.
“Mmm… Don’t turn on the light…”
“I need to take a shower and change clothes.”
Bres stepped over the clutter on the floor and walked toward the closet.
As he passed by Qiao Anni, she covered her mouth and nose with the blanket.
“Why do you smell so fishy?”
“Went to the harbor. It was work.”
Bres hung his coat back on the rack.
“What about you? Did you make any money today?”
“Yeah, I caught that cat. It took me all day… Ah, give me a few more T12 bullets.”
Qiao Anni held out her hand to Bres.
“What the hell, you caught a cat and still fired a gun?”
Bres grumbled, tossing a few bullets to Qiao Anni.
“Thanks~”
“Just don’t let me see you on the morning news…”
Bres walked into the bathroom.
Accompanied by the sound of running water, he hummed a melodious classical tune.
Several hours earlier.
The man stood at the harbor, looking back one last time at the city that never turned off its lights.
The cargo ship would set sail in five minutes.
He would leave here and head to an unknown country on the other side of the ocean.
Facing the sea breeze, he took a deep breath, drawing in the cigarette smoke and the sea air.
This cigarette was given to him by that strange detective, who said it was a bonus, a farewell gift.
The cigarette slowly turned to ashes and fell to the ground, soon leaving only a short stub. The ship’s departure whistle sounded just in time.
Staring at the pitch-black sea, the man raised the cigarette butt and then let out a wry laugh.
Whether by coincidence or not, the cigarette’s brand was also a four-leaf clover.
The man used his prosthetic arm to crush the cigarette butt, put it in his pocket, and walked toward the cargo ship.
Whoever it was, whatever happened, he hoped this luck would last a little longer.
He did not look back again.