Under the Veil of Night

Late at night, Kanae sneaked out of her room silently. She didn't even make the slightest sound as she walked out of the apartment. Years of practice caused her to become an expert in sneaking without a sound.

Evading the cameras, she ran outside towards the clinic. There, Shiro was busy reading a medical book when he heard a knock on his door.

"Oh, Kanae, what are you doing here?" Shiro was startled.

"The government bugged the apartment with listening devices. I don't have any other choice but to sneak out," Kanae answered helplessly. It was not her intention to disturb her friends, but she didn't have any other choice.

Shiro's eyes narrowed when he heard that. "You're quite reckless. You shouldn't participate in the group's activities for the time being. They might find out about you being in a group."

"They won't," Kanae stuck out her tongue. "I will never let them know something as important as this."

"If that's what you say, I won't say anything then."

Kanae sat down on the nearby chair. "How are Tommy's recent missions?"

Although they were quite busy with their real-life matters, they still took care of the group. In fact, they have been accepting a lot of missions lately. Most of them were only simple missions that didn't require all four of them to move. In a way, this was also practice for Tommy since that young boy was the one who finished the missions.

"He's getting better. Completing missions improves his movement better than his usual random fights," Shiro answered.

"That's good."

Shiro pondered for a moment. "You seem to be in a hurry for us to get stronger and gain more power. Is something big going to happen?"

"Kevin Kalin is going to be the official Clan Head of the Ryukalin Clan. I'm sure it's going to create a lot of waves at that time. The streets are going to be more dangerous, and I don't want to place you all in danger at that time."

Shiro nodded his head. "There is a lot of conflict about him being the clan head."

"What kind of conflict?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It's an internal conflict, so only those on the inside or those who are well-informed know."

"I see."

Shiro took out a pair of glasses. "This is for you. Jason says that he's going to be busy because his family is holding the gathering this month, so he wants to prepare things in advance. He already compiled the list of missions for Tommy, though."

"Thank you," Kanae checked the glasses and to her surprise, it seemed that the battery could last longer. She wondered how that man was able to improve it once again.

Shiro returned back to his book. "If there's nothing else, you should return. I have to finish reading this."

"You're very studious, Doctor Shiro."

"The door is over there."

"Alright, I won't bother you further," Kanae slipped out from the room using her new glasses. She made her way to Master Rudy's place. Her leave was quite sudden, so she could only ask the others to relay the message to this master of hers.

As she arrived, an arrow was heading towards her. She quickly evaded to the side as she saw the young man, who usually stayed by Master Rudy's side, aiming another arrow towards her.

DZING!

Another arrow made its way towards Kanae, and she evaded once again. Hearing the loud crash behind her, she knew that the power behind each shot was more than what an ordinary person could produce. In her heart, she was rather surprised. Even though she had trained here for quite some time, this was the first time she saw this young man's real prowess.

"Why are you shooting me?" Kanae asked when she saw the young man already preparing another arrow.

"Master Rudy's instruction, defeat you with my real skill in archery."

DZING!

Kanae rolled to the side and ran towards the young man. Before she got close, the young man already nocked another arrow on the string and aimed towards Kanae once again. In the next second, Kanae evaded the arrow once again as it planted deep into the ground not far from where she stood just a moment ago.

She took out her sword as she suddenly sprinted. In a matter of seconds, she crossed several meters and reached the young man's side. The small sword rested on his neck, and the young man was left without a chance to react as his bow and arrow were not ready yet.

"Is this sufficient?" Kanae asked.

The young man's eyes darted to the small sword as he lowered his bow and arrow. "Your movement is faster than before."

Kanae nodded her head. She already realized it herself when she moved because she could sprint farther than before. She believed that this change was the result of Master Rudy torturing her for the past two to three months.

"Are you sure you're wounded?"

"I'm already mostly healed. It doesn't hurt anymore," Kanae lowered her sword and retracted it into the special bracelet that was hidden in her sleeves. "Where's Master Rudy?"

"Can't you sense him?" The young man smiled.

Kanae frowned and focused more acutely. However, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't perceive where the master was. This made her rather perplexed. She was pretty sure that her senses were already very sharp because she constantly honed them. But why couldn't see sense him?

PAK!

A stone hit her head from behind and Kanae immediately turned around. She was stunned to see Master Rudy standing there. He didn't seem to emit a presence as he played with a stone in his hand.

"Are you surprised, little girl?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"Very much," Kanae caressed the back of her head. Her eyes were locked on the stone in his hand as she wondered what exactly had happened.

"You might be known by the outside world as one of the best fighters of the groups, but you're just a little youngster not yet ready to face the real world," Master Rudy smiled. "The true hidden masters like me can defeat youngsters like you easily."

Kanae nodded her head solemnly. This was something she had realized since a long time ago. Against those real veterans in the deeper part of Black Street, she was still nothing. Only against those in the outer layer of Black Street could she walk around without fear.

"How do you sense other people?" the young man asked.

Kanae looked back at him. "From their intent."

"What if they don't have any intention at all?"

Ah, she understood. She was relying on her instinct whenever it came to detecting people around her. Humans always had intent in their actions and the most obvious one was the intent to attack. It was what she always relied on in her fights against numerous people.

But if they purposely hid it, she might not be able to detect them.

"Do you remember the top fighters from the previous three most powerful groups? Do you think you can defeat them if they're not wounded or tired? Besides, you only earned the title because one of them stepped down after near total annihilation."

Kanae lowered her gaze as she shook her head lightly. It was only a coincidence that she was named as a better fighter in that hellish building. Her ability was still far from those top-tier fighters. Should they fight in their normal conditions, she wouldn't be able to win.

Besides, she was not that idiotic to challenge them in normal times.

"This will be something you have to master," Master Rudy smiled. "After you master this, I'll bring you to challenge the other masters in the deepest part of Black Street."

Kanae's body shook lightly. It was an outrageous move, yet she felt rather excited. It was almost impossible for her to venture into the deeper parts of Black Street alone and return unscathed. Such a chance was simply too rare. Bowing her head, she gazed at Master Rudy. "Please."

"Now, let's practice."

"Yes!"