Chapter 61: Blue Pigeon, Ember, and Little Red Riding Hood

7:00 PM, Lijing Art Street.

Night had fallen.

The long street was brightly lit, the space above the pedestrians crowded with rows of illuminated signs. Neon text of all colors flashed across the boards. The night sky was sliced into fragments by the neon lights and power cables.

At that moment, a figure in a pitch-black hoodie stood dead center in the middle of the street, the hood pulled up over his head.

A massive swarm of leeches poured from his palms and the soles of his feet, sweeping in all directions. Like a lake of snow-white water, they flooded over the illuminated signs and power lines, gradually catching up to every fleeing figure on the long street.

Then, they violently forced their way into their mouths and noses.

The pedestrians collapsed, clutching their necks and convulsing for a moment before slowly straightening up. They seemed like entirely different people now—their eyes empty and pure white, the veins on their faces bulging. Every so often, a leech could be seen writhing beneath their skin.

Suddenly, a girl in a Gothic dress flew in from the distance, gripping a gray umbrella, and hovered in midair.

She looked down at the rioting crowd on the street, her jet-black ribbons and hair swaying gently in the wind.

A moment later, accompanied by a drawn-out cry or two, a pair of reindeer pulling a sleigh descended from the sky. A girl wearing a Christmas dress and a round red hat sat in the crimson sleigh.

"Magical girls..."

The hoodie-wearing youth glanced up at the two of them and muttered hoarsely. He then shoved his hands into his pockets, turned around, and melted into the chaotic crowd.

"A zombie crisis?" Little Red Riding Hood said calmly. "If it's just ordinary people possessed by leeches, that's one thing, but there must be at least a few super-human species citizens mixed in among them. They're still very dangerous. Don't let your guard down, Senior."

Magical Girl Ember remained silent, her eyes scanning the surroundings.

"Whoever tied the bell must untie it," she said. "If we find the esper controlling the leeches and take them out, that solves the problem. There's no need to waste time on everyone else."

Little Red Riding Hood clapped her hands, playing the deadpan foil. "As expected of a little girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth. You're so cultured, Senior, actually using idioms." Unfortunately, her completely flat tone made it sound like nothing but sarcasm.

Ember was already used to how punchable this penniless magical girl could be, so she paid her no mind. Her gaze cut through the rioting crowd, searching the long street for any unnatural figures.

Little Red Riding Hood also looked around and asked, "There are so many people here. How are we supposed to find him?"

"We'll just have to look," Ember said blankly.

As the two conversed, a deafening rumble suddenly echoed from the distant horizon. A moment later, a bolt of dark blue lightning dashed over, coming to a halt just below and to the side of them.

"I'll go find the esper controlling the leeches. You two focus on stabilizing the street and minimizing casualties," Blue Pigeon said, looking up at them.

Little Red Riding Hood paused for a moment before asking, "But how are you going to find him?"

"I run fast. I'm bound to bump into a suspicious person or two." With that, Blue Pigeon transformed into a bolt of lightning and darted off.

In reality, the confidence behind Ke Mingqing's words came from the fact that he could see other people's super-human species panels.

Because of this, even if the culprit behind the riot was hiding in the crowd, he could pick them out at a single glance.

"Is it really okay to leave it to him alone?" Little Red Riding Hood watched him leave.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Ember couldn't care less.

Little Red Riding Hood thought it over. "He is a rookie, after all..."

"Didn't you say yesterday that you liked him quite a bit? Yet you have so little faith in him." The girl in the Gothic dress said, "I'll bet he won't be able to find the culprit."

"Then I'll bet he can. If I lose, I'll tell you about Eldest Miss Heimu and your brother, Senior."

Little Red Riding Hood sighed softly, tearing her gaze away from that streak of ocean-blue lightning.

Ember froze for a second, frowning. "I don't care about what you're talking about."

"Do you really not care? Then why have you been pestering me for the last few days? Even I'm getting a bit annoyed with all your questions."

"They can do whatever they want."

The girl in the Gothic dress fell silent.

She looked down. By now, the street had descended into utter chaos as the leech-possessed crowd surged forward in a frenzy. Some wielded baseball bats, violently smashing illuminated signs, while others hoisted a television set and hurled it at a car.

They all wore the exact same expression of sheer madness—like a banquet for lunatics.

Just then, a pedestrian chucked a TV into the air toward her. Ember sidestepped it and loaded paralyzing magic missiles into her umbrella.

She aimed the tip of the umbrella at the crowd. Magic missiles sprayed out in a rain-like barrage, suppressing the rampaging pedestrians and forcing them to the ground. These missiles weren't lethal; they would merely put them into a deep, peaceful sleep.

But at that exact moment, a person not far away underwent a sudden, violent mutation. Tearing through his clothes, he transformed into an enormous wolf-dog and charged at her with a furious roar. It was a member of the super-human species, controlled by a leech.

Magical Girl Ember turned her head, leveling her umbrella so the tip pointed right at the wolf-dog's skull. She curled her finger over the trigger, fully intending to fire a magic beam straight ahead. Yet, suddenly recalling the sight of the blood-stained building, her finger briefly stalled.

At that moment, Little Red Riding Hood rushed in on her Christmas Sleigh.

The two reindeer galloped on thin air, gathering a thick layer of ice and snow. Hitting like an incoming blizzard, she crashed head-on into the massive wolf-dog, launching it flying over twenty meters away.

"Bang—!"

Accompanied by a deafening crash, the giant hound smashed into a high-rise building, tumbling into an office amidst a shower of shattered glass from the curtain wall.

"Why have you been so absent-minded these past two days, Senior?" the girl asked in confusion, glancing sideways from her sleigh.

"None of your business."

Ember drew a blade from the base of her umbrella and leapt into the air, slashing out a crescent moon of blade light carrying ripples of magic.

The elegant yet dangerous arc of light swept across the street like an evening breeze blowing up fallen leaves. As the pitch-black hem of her skirt fluttered, the surrounding mob froze in place. Then, they fell to the ground with dull thuds like ripe apples. Only then did the blood begin to spray.

"Now you've killed them." Little Red Riding Hood covered her mouth. "Are we supposed to write in the report that they just fell asleep?"

"Use a card to heal them." Ember sheathed her sword.

...

...

Meanwhile, Blue Pigeon, having turned into a bolt of lightning, was sprinting through the streets and alleys of Lijing Art Street at top speed.

He didn't miss a single corner, aiming for the most meticulous search possible. After a short while, he finally caught sight of a super-human species panel standing out amongst the rioting crowd.

[Superhuman Codename: "None"]

[Danger Rating: C Rank]

[Known Weaknesses: 1. Main body is extremely fragile; 2. Once the main body dies, the leeches will lose their lives.]

The source of the panel was a young man wearing a black hoodie.

At that moment, the youth also noticed the roar of lightning. He caught a glimpse of the spectacle out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned, stepping into an alleyway.

Blue Pigeon followed closely behind. In that instant, his vision suddenly went dark. From inside the alley, a tidal wave of leeches swept toward him—the walls, the ground, even the water pipes and electrical wires, every surface was covered in leeches.

It was too late to halt his momentum, and his body was instantly swallowed up by the swarm.

But a second later, a faint golden light suddenly bloomed across Blue Pigeon's body. It was Nietzsche's "Superman Philosophy" taking effect.

The leeches couldn't touch his combat suit.

"A fan of Rain Crow has to know how to summon the rain just like Rain Crow, right?" Saying this, Blue Pigeon brought his palms together, put the paper figure into the shadows, and snapped his fingers.

[E Rank Skill: "It's Raining" — Snap your fingers, and a heavy downpour will fall.]

With a snap, torrential rain poured down from the sky.

Following that, a surge of pitch-black lightning rampaged out from Blue Pigeon's body, conducting furiously through the rainwater. It formed an almost solid forcefield, relentlessly repelling all of the leeches in an unstoppable sweep.

The black lightning could hurt the user. Scorch marks were carved into Blue Pigeon's combat suit, and he quickly halted the lightning before he ended up playing with fire and burning himself.

The hoodie-wearing youth was horrified.

As he backed away, he thought in astonishment, 'Is this... the ability to control the weather? And how could he be completely unharmed? The leeches couldn't force their way into his body at all!'

Not giving the other party the slightest room to breathe, Blue Pigeon leaned forward slightly and immediately sprinted ahead.

The youth in the hoodie raised his hand. The leeches stacked themselves into a giant snake, surging forward to block his path. Immediately after, a group of leech-controlled men flooded in from the other side of the alley.

Like manipulated puppets, they brushed past the youth in the hoodie and lunged violently toward Blue Pigeon.

"You really handed me a perfect opportunity." Saying this, Blue Pigeon instantly activated the E Rank skill "Phantom Shift."

As a blue light flashed in his pupils, his body swapped places with one of the controlled pedestrians, bringing him right next to the hoodie-wearing youth.

Before his opponent could react, he threw a devastating punch wrapped in black lightning straight toward his head.

The pitch-black lightning looked like splashed ink, twisting and coiling around his fist like a slithering snake.

The instant the punch connected with the youth's skull, his head disintegrated like a block of tofu smashed by a hammer.

"Bang—!"

A mist of blood spread through the alleyway. The headless corpse slowly crumpled to the ground. Countless tiny leeches struggled to crawl out of his body, only to die in the filthy puddles.

"Easy."

Blue Pigeon flicked the blood off his metal gauntlet as a series of settlement panels popped up before his eyes.

[Congratulations. You have completed Weekly Mission 2: "Subdue or Kill a Super-Human Species Criminal" (Reward acquired: One chance to use the Item Roulette)]

[Congratulations. Detected that you have killed a "C Rank Super-Human Species" for the first time. First kill reward acquired: 2,000 Super Coins, one D Rank Equipment Box, and 500 Experience Points.]

[Current Level: Lv.08 (600 / 4,000 Experience Points)]

[Current Total Super Coins: 7,500 Super Coins]