Kuan fired a shot into his opponent’s leg before capturing them for his mission. Hauling them up to the ground afterwards, the hero transferred them over to the local authorities. As he left, someone called out his name.
“I’m a messenger sent by the SIU. Captain Maka wants to see you!” a woman dressed in a postal uniform saluted the man.
“Okay. Why didn’t he just give me a call?” Kuan pulled out his phone.
“He didn’t want anyone tracing the communication,” she answered, handing him a book.
“I know what to do,” Kuan said as he flipped through the pages.
The messenger departed and Kuan removed his glasses. Taking out a microfiber cloth, he wiped the lenses clean before checking the title page. The hero muttered to himself and then headed to the Crossroads business district.
Crossroads – Business District, Evergreen Apartment Complex
Kuan hit the up button but the elevator never arrived. When he pressed it for the third time, an elderly resident passed by and let him know that all the elevators were out of service. The hero wasn’t a fan of using the stairs but he had no other choice. Five minutes later, he arrived on the third floor. Clutching the stair railings, he checked the book one more time to confirm the location. Heading over to the seventh room on the right side, Kuan pressed the door bell. He waited for thirty seconds before pressing it again ten times in a row. Captain Maka finally opened the door for him.
“Glad you figured out what’s in the book,” the SIU officer said, pointing at a nearby folding chair.
“You trying to sell me some drugs?” Kuan handed the book over to Captain Maka.
A single light bulb hanging from a tattered string was the only light source in the room. The only pieces of furniture were the chairs and a mahjong table filled with a complete set of tiles. Old newspapers lined the floor, some marked with red marker. All the windows were closed, curtains preventing any light from entering.
“I need your help with something, Kuan. I already told Tess and she authorized it,” Captain Maka said, moving the tiles around in a specific pattern.
“Am I helping you out as a guild member or as part of the DSTF?” Kuan shuffled his tiles around in response to the SIU officer’s request.
“Not a bad question. This time, it’s as a guild member. It’s actually related to Kisai,” Captain Maka answered.
“I’m starting to see why I’m here. Okay, I’ll do it,” Kuan accepted the request.
“Glad to hear that you’re willing to do it. Here’s what you’ll need to do,” Captain Maka instructed as he arranged tiles in a pattern.
The investigation involved three different dimensions: Za’ard, Zhongjie, and *. However, the focus was on Za’ard, specifically the transportation hub in the capital. Kuan would work alongside a SIU officer and an agent sent from the Knight’s Association.
“Good luck, Kuan,” Captain Maka said as Kuan opened the door to leave.
Za’ard – Capital Entrance Checkpoint A
“You again? The SIU must be really understaffed if they assigned you to this,” Inspector Knight remarked, placing a pair of binoculars into his pouch.
“Same here. When I visited the Mage’s Association’s main office back during my school days, it was packed with people,” Officer Moss responded, adjusting his communication device.
Kuan peered down at the workers moving crates below them. Nothing stood out to him just yet. All the shipments coming in passed the safety inspection. Inspector Knight continued his banter with Officer Moss, both men going back and forth about working together again. An inspection agent held her hand up in the air and asked the driver of a truck to step out. Kuan alerted his two companions about the stop.
“You think it’s suspicious? Looks like just a normal truck to me,” Inspector Knight questioned, not understanding why the hero bothered with something so trivial.
“The license plate,” Kuan replied, glancing over at Officer Moss.
“A Za’ard government plate. Hmm, the driver isn’t wearing an official uniform either,” Officer Moss observed and requested someone back at the Crossroads office to check the plate for him.
Before he could get a response, the back of the truck opened and five uniformed personnel exited. They marched up to the inspection agent, armed with heavy duty firearms, and surrounded her. Inspector Knight prepared to draw a magic circle but Kuan shook his head at him.
“What’s wrong?” Inspector Knight’s hand stopped glowing.
“Those are impostors, not Za’ard military. Uniforms don’t match up,” Kuan answered, taking pictures of the armed group.
“You can tell that easily?” Officer Moss finally received a respone about the plate.
“I’ve had experience dealing with them before. Anything on the plate?” Kuan answered and reached for his gun.
“Oh so you get to fire the first shot?” Inspector Knight retorted, readying his magic circle once more.
“HQ is telling me that this plate hasn’t been used in over a year,” Officer Moss answered.
All of a sudden, the truck exploded. Inspector Knight’s magic circle protected all three from the blast as more armed personnel emerged from the burning remnants of the vehicle. Two of the them fired grapple hooks and engaged Officer Moss. Kuan fired three shots at the platform support and caused the area that they all stood to collapse. Their opponents latched onto the wall with their special equipment, avoiding a devastating fall.
“I’ll handle this!” Officer Moss shouted as he was blown upward by Inspector Knight’s burst of wind.
The SIU officer hurled a grenade at his opponents. After detonating, it disabled all devices reliant on magic circuitry for thirty seconds. Both people on the wall fell and landed in Inspector Knight’s magic circle. Vines sprouted out from it and pinned both occupants of the circle down to the ground.
“Kuan, someone incoming on your left. Knight and I will handle these guys!” Officer Moss joined up with Inspector Knight.
The hero tapped his glasses and the bullets flying towards him reversed direction. Instead of returning to the person who originally fired the shot, the bullets scattered across the ground, exploding near Kuan. He leaped back, pulling out his own gun. This was no ordinary opponent.
Kuan fired a test bullet into the air before dashing away as it detonated with a loud bang. Bullets originating from his hidden opponent locked onto him as the he ran. Some of them accelerated towards Kuan, boosted by a special type of wind magic. The hero returned fire but his bullets were slowed down by a sudden burst of wind. However, this didn’t deter Kuan because he fought Kaze and Zhuyu before.
When the enemy bullets were centimeters away from his body, Kuan calmly exchanged his firearm for a hunting knife. He sliced up all the projectiles with three slashes. His familiarity with the opponent’s bullets allowed him to use his powers and stop them from striking him at the last second. However, this wasn’t a strategy he could keep up because there was a limit to how many times he could apply his powers. He needed to think of a way to lure the opponent out.
The hero rapid fired six bullets from his gun. All the projectiles exploded with a loud bang and a thick smoke poured out from them. Kuan strapped on a gas mask and listened for any abnormal sounds. His plan hinged on the enemy not having the proper equipment to combat this. Hearing light footsteps approach him, Kuan prepared for close range combat. Firing his firearm was not advantageous so he readied his body to counter an attack. He ducked as the opponent swung a knife at him. Kuan grabbed their arm and tossed them to the ground. After kicking the blade out of their hand, he cuffed them to a nearby railing.
Kuan then heard a sharp noise behind him. The shell casings on the floor flew up into the air and whizzed towards the man. They were once again carried by the same wind magic as before. This time, Kuan couldn’t block all of them as they struck his right leg and arm. When the hero recovered, he noticed that his opponent had escaped.
The hero turned around and finally saw the enemy for the first time. They wore a gas mask too and held two guns, one in each hand. They slowly raised their guns and started firing. Kuan returned fire with his own guns. Adjusting the path of them with his powers, he sent them flying past his opponent’s. However, the enemy’s bullets curved and crashed into his, shattering them. It was a stalemate, neither side’s bullets making it to their intended target.
“Tch, they got away,” Kuan’s opponent finally spoke and removed their gas mask.
“An Internal Affairs officer?” Officer Moss stared at the woman.
“You know her?” Kuan continued pointing his gun at her.
“Not personally. I’ve seen her in reports before. She’s a high ranking official in the Crossroads Oversight Committee,” Officer Moss revealed.
“Are you taking these two in?” Inspector Knight pointed at the two unconscious enemies they fought.
“Officer Moss of the Special Investigations Unit, allow us to take custody of those two. The Oversight Committee will handle the investigation,” the Internal Affairs member said as Crossroads military vehicles arrived behind her.
Kuan finally lowered his weapon and watched as the two unconscious people were transported into an armored truck. Inspector Knight spoke with the commander of the military unit, exchanging information with him.
“Jeonxiang Kuan, the stories about you were not exaggerated. I am Inspector Qin, an Internal Affairs officer that is also on the board of the Oversight Committee. Are you here on business for the guild or from Tess?” the woman nodded as one of her subordinates passed by.
“Someone put in a request to help out the SIU. The client didn’t leave their name,” Kuan answered, intentionally choosing not to reveal that Captain Maka hired him.
“I see. Tell Tess that I’m keeping an eye on her and the SIU,” she reported before leaving.
“What did you guys do?” Kuan glanced over at Officer Moss.
“I don’t know. What did Tess do to get her attention?” Officer Moss shook his head.
Kuan asked Officer Moss for an evidence bag and placed the remaining shell casings from Inspector Qin’s bullets into it. He was sure Tess would want to know more about the opponent. Her ability to manipulate bullets combined with her magic was a formidable combination. If they ever ended up facing her or anyone from Internal Affairs, it would be advantageous for him to gather as much information as possible from this fight. The man sighed, not looking forward to writing the report Tess always asked for after an encounter with a new opponent.
