No matter where you were, the approach of a holiday was always something to look forward to—at least for merchants. Even though there were still several days before the official start, Lumina Square was already filled with holiday warm-up events and early promotional campaigns from cafés and shops.
One of the defining sights of a modern city was advertising, and the main building of Lumina Square boasted an enormous screen that continuously scrolled through commercials from various businesses. None of that meant much to Ignis, though. He had come here today for one reason only: to grab discounted ingredients at the supermarket.
There was no way to use a smart shopping cart to bulk-purchase nutrient paste. Even though he'd received no small amount of money from various sources, once he factored in the motorcycle and his equipment upgrade budget, bargain shopping during discount hours was still the most cost-effective option.
There was still a long time before the evening rush began, so Ignis wandered around aimlessly. With the holiday atmosphere growing stronger, the commercial streets had started running promotions early. The result was that even before Golden Week officially began, some areas were already getting uncomfortably crowded.
Take that hotpot restaurant called Simmer Hot Pot, for instance. It wasn't even mealtime, yet the air was thick with the spicy aroma of fire-willow peppers and blanched beets. As someone who loved spicy food, the Salamander was practically drooling—but the strongest memory that place stirred wasn't the food. It was Jane Doe.
Last time they'd been here, she'd posed as the owner and used the rules to con a free meal out of the place with him.
I wonder how she's doing now.
They'd only been apart a few days, yet Ignis already found himself missing her.
He sighed, stepped away from the queue, and moved toward the sandbox area—where he spotted a familiar face: Officer Zhu Yuan.
"Didn't expect to run into you here," Ignis greeted her.
"With the holidays coming up, the downtown area needs extra officers everywhere. Our Lumina sub-station is no exception," Zhu Yuan replied, her gaze sweeping over the lines of people below. "We've basically deployed everyone we can spare."
"Even so, it's still not enough manpower," she added. "There are always some restless types who want to stir up trouble when things get crowded."
Following her line of sight, Ignis noticed a suspicious figure in the queue. The man kept glancing around furtively. The young people in front of him were busy chatting, completely unaware that their wallet had already been pulled more than halfway out of a back pocket. Seizing the moment, the thief deftly lifted it, then pulled out his phone, pretended to answer a call, and casually left the line.
Ignis was just about to ask Zhu Yuan whether she was going to do something—when a rush of wind passed him. The officer had already vaulted down. The pickpocket heard the movement too and immediately bolted.
To be fair, people in New Eridu were generally in good shape. The thief weaved through the crowd so skillfully that Zhu Yuan had trouble catching up at first. The density of people forced her to dodge constantly, making it hard to accelerate. As the thief pulled farther ahead, Zhu Yuan grew increasingly anxious.
With crowds this thick, shouting for him to stop could easily cause a panic. Using firearms or police equipment would be even more dangerous. The only option was to call for nearby backup and block him before he vanished into the maze of side alleys.
Zhu Yuan raised her communicator—when a black figure shot past her.
Ignis moved at incredible speed, yet his motions were light and precise. He slipped through the crowd while avoiding collisions, like a grouper darting between towering rocks—bulky in appearance, yet completely unhindered. The thief stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how someone that massive could move like that.
The explanation was simple: absolute control over one's body meant precise landings and minimal noise. The giant took three bounding steps, burst out of the crowd, and landed with a two-and-a-half-turn aerial spin like a professional gymnast. The thief—and the surrounding onlookers—were left dumbstruck.
When the thief finally snapped out of it and pulled a dagger from his waist, preparing to resist, Ignis nearly laughed. The giant reached to his side and produced a hammer bigger than the man's head. Faced with that gentle smile, those terrifying muscles, and the ability to leap several meters at a time, the thief reconsidered. He glanced at the alley behind him.
If I run in there… I'll probably get beaten even worse. At worst, being sent to the Public Security Bureau meant detention. But if he were caught somewhere without cameras—one look at this guy's face made that option far more terrifying than jail.
He tossed the dagger aside, flung the stolen wallet to the ground, clutched his head, and squatted down without further resistance.
To applause from the crowd, Officer Zhu Yuan pushed her way through and cuffed him. A Public Security Bangboo soon arrived and escorted the thief to the Lumina sub-station for questioning.
"Looks like you helped me out again," Zhu Yuan said as she picked up the wallet and found the owner among the spectators. The poor guy had been so busy filming the spectacle on his phone that he hadn't even realized it was his wallet that had been stolen.
Once everything settled down, Zhu Yuan approached Ignis. "Thank you for stepping in. Catching him would've been troublesome otherwise."
"With crowds this dense, you can't just draw equipment," Ignis replied, glancing at the time—the discount rush was about to start. "Officer Zhu Yuan, do consider this as merely a civilian helping out."
"Mr. Ignis," she said suddenly, her tone turning formal, "I hope I never have to arrest you for going down the wrong path."
"Don't worry," the Salamander laughed as he waved her off. "I'm a law-abiding citizen."
Truth be told, he didn't dislike Zhu Yuan at all. In fact, he found her very agreeable—upright, yet flexible when necessary. He enjoyed his new life in New Eridu and had no intention of causing trouble here. Aside from the occasional Hollow Raider tactics, he was practically a model citizen.
You could even call him a vigilante—someone actively trying to cleanse New Eridu of the corruption of the Chaos Gods. Don't ask where those gods came from; the important thing was that they were being dealt with.
He bought an extra-large milk tea from Richard's Teamilk, sipping it while scrolling through his phone as he waited. Suddenly, his phone rang.
It was Markus.
"Hey there. I hear you helped the Public Security Bureau catch a pickpocket again. You really like helping them, huh? How about I pull some strings and get you officially hired?"
"How do you know already?" Ignis was baffled. It had only been a few minutes.
"Come on, the video's already circulating," Markus said. "There aren't many people in New Eridu built like you. You're already conspicuous enough—pulling stunts like that, aren't you worried about exposing your Hollow Raider identity? Bringer's been cracking down hard on Proxies and Raiders for his campaign. And you're doing this right next to the Bureau."
"If it came down to it, they couldn't catch me anyway," Ignis said, taking a huge gulp of milk tea. It was absurdly sweet, but the mint helped cut the richness.
"You didn't call just to chat. What's up?"
"There's a new batch of Fantasy," Markus said—and instantly, Ignis tensed.
"Brand new. Not leftover stock."
That meant new victims. Ignis frowned deeply.
"Any idea where it's coming from? Where it's being produced?" he asked coldly.
"Not yet," Markus replied frankly. "Someone's spreading word that they can supply Fantasy again and are looking for distributors. After the Vulcan Quarter operation last time, my boss handed over the intel to the Bureau. They arrested a lot of dealers and users—but those people died shortly after. Which was strange. As such, the Bureau made no progress, and without new evidence, the case was shelved."
"To be honest, I don't want my people touching this stuff," Markus said, rubbing his face. "Based on the Razor Incident, making direct contact is extremely dangerous. But you stand out too much to infiltrate personally, so all I can do is look for other support."
"I'll keep an eye out for info, but don't get your hopes up," he continued. "These drug traffickers aren't simple. My boss doesn't want me too involved—it may touch on some major forces."
"You're telling me not to act rashly," Ignis said.
"No," Markus chuckled. "I'm saying your enemies are powerful. Be prepared. There are still people in this city who want to uproot them completely. When the time comes, we might be counting on you—vigilante."
"No problem," Ignis replied. "I've got several blood debts to collect."
He drained the rest of the milk tea in one pull, crushing the paper cup in his hand. Slaanesh—the Prince of Excess. New grudges, old grudges—best to settle them all at once, and then erase its influence from this world forever. These perverts deserved no mercy.
"Oh, one more thing," Ignis added. "Help me look into the Saint Love Behavioral Correction School. A friend of a friend disappeared there."
"Understood," Markus said, then hung up.
Ignis stared at the bustling crowd across the street and sighed. This world was truly screwed up. Hollows were already bad enough—and now the Four Chaos Gods were involved, likely targeting him specifically. Innocent people were being dragged into a war with almost no chance of victory, and it left a sour taste in his mouth.
Mounds of human remains.
Anger smoldered slowly in his chest, quickening his breath.
"Are you okay?" a timid voice asked from below. It was a young female employee from the tea shop, holding out a handkerchief.
"Are you feeling unwell? Or having an allergic reaction? I can call an ambulance."
Honestly, the girl had deep dark circles under her eyes, and even standing on tiptoe she looked unsteady. If anything, she seemed more in need of help than he was.
"I'm fine," Ignis said, declining her offer. "Just remembered something unpleasant. I'm okay—thank you for your concern."
He took the handkerchief, then gently returned it to her hand.
"It'll be okay," she said suddenly. "No matter how big the problem is, you'll get through it."
Her words startled him.
"I'll take that as a blessing," Ignis replied, giving her a wave as he left.
At this point, he no longer cared about the discounted groceries. He needed to find that Slaanesh vanguard as soon as possible—destroy or banish it before it caused even more damage. New Eridu had become something he wanted to protect. He had a new family here, friends—and even a lover. He wouldn't allow that androgynous abomination to keep staring at this city, occasionally throwing out blood rituals or narcotics.
The enemy was covert, but not without traces. Chemical agents had to move through channels, and disappearances followed patterns. But these weren't things Ignis could investigate alone.
He sent several messages to Jane Doe, hoping the criminology expert and special consultant to the Public Security Bureau could help. With her abilities—and the Bureau's authority—he was sure she could uncover something. He also warned her not to attempt infiltration under any circumstances. Compared to Riza, these monsters were far more dangerous; in front of them, there was no such thing as keeping secrets.
He waited a long time—long enough for the subway ride home to pass several stops—without a reply. Finally, he gave up. The rat-Thiren was probably deep into her own mission. He only hoped his request wouldn't burden her too much.
Just as he stared blankly at their chat window, Nicole called.
"Where are you? Get back here now—I found a huge money-making job!" The excitement in the Cunning Hares' boss's voice was palpable, her words trembling. "We can pay off months of debt in one go!"
Wait a second—Ignis had seen Nicole spending freely lately and thought they were already out of debt. What did she mean by a big job that could wipe out months of liabilities?
Just how big was the Cunning Hares' financial hole? They'd been making real money recently!
===BREAK===
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