Om couldn't help but respect the presence of Evil Ghost. Previously, when Saiko had dealt with Evil Ghost, he had sent out a B-level squad—but that squad had been eliminated with ease, contributing nothing.
On top of that, the recent Battle of New York had revealed information about Evil Ghost's true strength.
Adding these facts together, even Om, who was reluctant to face reality, had no choice but to acknowledge Evil Ghost's power.
The plan he had formulated with Saiko was designed to avoid Evil Ghost as much as possible: complete all actions regarding Liu Xiu while Evil Ghost was unaware and absent.
The strategy was simple: strike when Liu Xiu was alone, use prepared measures and overwhelming force to subdue him in an instant, and quickly transport him back to headquarters.
During this operation, they needed to conceal their identities and erase all traces of their presence, preventing Evil Ghost from tracking them later.
After mentally reviewing the plan one more time, Om turned his chair toward the large floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the cityscape.
The streets were dazzling at night, vehicles streaming past. Om smoked his cigar, waiting for news that the plan had been executed.
Meanwhile, Liu Xiu had no idea that a massive net had quietly been cast to ensnare him.
He was still roaming across the rooftops, observing the streets and crowds below.
Just moments ago, Liu Xiu had stopped an armed robbery at a convenience store.
The robber hadn't even managed to flee 200 meters before Liu Xiu caught him.
Liu Xiu didn't take the man's life; he simply broke his arms and legs and left him outside the police station, turning him over to the authorities.
After handling that incident, he continued roaming the city, keeping an eye out for petty criminals.
After wandering a while longer, a sound ahead drew his attention.
Sensing trouble, he accelerated toward the source.
He leapt to the rooftop of a nearby building and scanned the street below.
In a narrow alley, two groups were loudly confronting each other, hurling insults back and forth. The leaders of each group approached each other with knives, clubs, and seemingly ready-to-fire guns.
Seeing this, Liu Xiu prepared to intervene. If this conflict wasn't stopped, it would cause further chaos.
Firstly, many people would likely die in the fight.
Secondly, the clash could endanger nearby civilians.
Liu Xiu planned to subdue everyone before calling the police to deal with the street thugs.
Once his strategy was set, Liu Xiu jumped from the rooftop.
He landed silently on the ground, positioning himself between the two hostile groups.
The two groups, originally engaged in heated argument, fell silent at the sudden appearance of the black-clad figure.
"Step back and disperse," Liu Xiu ordered coldly.
He rarely spoke much during fights. When dealing with criminals, he preferred to convey his intentions through actions.
Hearing Liu Xiu's stern warning, the thugs seemed to recognize his reputation. Intimidated, they quieted down.
"Again, disperse. I don't want any conflicts to happen," Liu Xiu repeated.
The thugs exchanged glances, and seemingly swayed by his reputation, they began to step back.
Seeing them retreat, Liu Xiu exhaled quietly.
Since these were ordinary people, he didn't need to exert too much force; conserving energy was important.
As Liu Xiu pondered and prepared to leave the alley, a round object suddenly rolled to his feet, exploding with a "BOOM!"
Caught off guard, Liu Xiu was thrown through the air.
Before he could get up, more people surrounded him.
They held a special metallic net, which they draped over him.
Once trapped, Liu Xiu felt his gravity-controlling powers were hindered.
The metal net tightened as he fell, preventing him from struggling. The more he fought, the tighter it became.
Realizing this, Liu Xiu stopped struggling and focused his mind, attempting to break the net with his abilities.
Meanwhile, a man sneered beside him.
"Don't waste your effort. This is specially designed to counter you," he said.
"You probably feel your mind going fuzzy, unable to fully control your powers," the man boasted.
Liu Xiu strained to lift his head and saw the mocking face of the leader from one of the earlier brawling groups.
Seeing Liu Xiu's puzzled look, the man continued:
"This metal net carries a special current targeting your neural system, making it impossible to concentrate on controlling your powers.
Understand that? This may be the last explanation you hear before you die. People as kind as me are rare."
"Who… are you? Why are you doing this?" Liu Xiu asked, voice firm.
The man offered no answer, leaving Liu Xiu anxious.
His conversation was a delay tactic, buying time for possible reinforcements and trying to glean any clue about the group behind the attack.