The commotion at the Ballet Twins Building was still unfolding, while far away at New Eridu's Public Security headquarters, a fresh disturbance was breaking out.
"Commander Zhu Yuan and the others have been gone a while now — they should be bringing Perlman back any minute, right?"
A Mouse Thirren Sheriff who'd only just joined the force was chatting idly with a colleague beside her.
"Sure, our Commander Zhu Yuan is a total workaholic, but even she wouldn't push things that hard. Everything has to be done step by step."
Qingyi poured herself another cup of tea and settled at the table to sip it with an air of unhurried composure.
"Is that so? But to me, Commander Zhu Yuan has always been my idol!"
Stars practically sparkled in Mousey's eyes, and she fell silent, looking every bit the star-struck fan who'd finally met her idol.
"Is that right? Good, good — having something to aim for can be motivating. Just don't go overboard the way Zhu Yuan does. You need to balance work and rest properly."
With that, Qingyi took another sip of fragrant tea and let out a contented breath of warm air.
"Um... Senior Qingyi, you sound like you're speaking from a lot of experience."
Mousey scratched her head. What she actually wanted to say was that Qingyi reminded her exactly of the old men who played chess all day in the park below her building — but looking at Qingyi's young, pretty face, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"I've just been at this job a bit longer than you, that's all. You'll get there too, one day."
As a Intelligent Construct, Qingyi had been working at Public Security for who-knew-how-long — by rights, her rank should have long surpassed Zhu Yuan's.
But for all sorts of reasons — plus the fact that she herself had no wish to be buried in official duties — she'd simply settled into her current position and let it be.
"Hm? Sounds like we've got visitors."
"?"
Boom! Rumble!
A burst of explosions rang out, followed by a hail of gunfire and the furious shouts of Sheriffs.
But the commotion lasted only a brief minute before quiet returned.
Mousey still hadn't worked out what had happened, but Qingyi had already snatched up her custom law-enforcement three-section staff — Peace Bringer.
She'd modified it herself, crafting the weapon best suited to her out of Public Security's standard requirements for non-lethal apprehension.
"Stay put here — I'll go take a look outside."
With that, Qingyi picked up her Gavel and walked out of the break room.
But when Qingyi reached the Public Security lobby, the sight before her made her frown deeply.
"Who are you people, and what business brings you here?"
Before Qingyi stood a group of the most ordinary-looking civilians imaginable — the kind you'd see every day without a second thought. What was unusual was that every one of them was holding a highly dangerous weapon.
Modified blades, illegally sold firearms, even homemade explosives — these people were no civilians at all. They were nothing short of terrorists.
"New Eridu's public security code prohibits selling dangerous weapons to civilians. If you're willing to tell me where you got these weapons, I'll even put in a good word with my colleagues to spare you the charge of assaulting officers."
Bang! Before she could even finish, one of the 'civilians' fired first. The bullet grazed past Qingyi's face — had she not tilted her head slightly, it would have blown her skull open.
"I take it that means you've got nothing more to say? Fine then — let me switch to a language you'll actually understand."
Even as she spoke, the 'civilians' charged at her. But the moment they reached her, a flicker of electric light flashed — and they all collapsed, eyes rolling back.
"If you don't understand the rule of law, well, I happen to know a thing or two about the rule of the staff."
As she spoke, Qingyi jabbed her staff into another man. The electric light flared again, and he too crumpled to the ground.
But seeing Qingyi's display of skill didn't scare off the rest of the group — instead, they charged forward as if they hadn't seen a thing.
"This is getting troublesome. And these civilians don't seem quite right — could they be under the influence of some mind-altering method?"
Qingyi fended off their encirclement while turning over in her mind who might be pulling the strings behind them.
But before she could come up with a plan, a scream rang out from the room behind her.
"Stop! Or I'll fight back!"
Back in the break room, Mousey had heard the commotion outside and, unable to resist her curiosity and worry, poked her head out — just in time to see Qingyi in full magnificent form.
"Wow! Senior Qingyi is so cool!! Go get 'em! (°°)/ Beat those bad guys down!"
But that one glimpse was enough to catch the attention of a few of the attackers. They abandoned their assault on Qingyi and surged toward Mousey instead.
"Waaah! Oh no, this is bad! S-stay back! Don't come any closer, or I'll fight!"
Anyone who'd graduated from the Sheriff Academy had at least some real skill.
But Mousey was still a fresh intern, barely out of the academy, and she was outnumbered by opponents armed with high-lethality weapons like handguns. She was subdued after only a few exchanges.
By the time Qingyi realized what was happening, the attackers already had Mousey in their grip, using her to threaten Qingyi.
"If you don't want her hurt, surrender quietly and drop your weapon."
The thugs didn't really want to resort to this — it was terribly inefficient — but the truth was, they simply couldn't beat Qingyi.
Against the other Sheriffs, they could still win through sheer numbers.
But Qingyi fought like an actual war god — not a single wasted motion, one strike per man. No one lasted an extra second against her, so they'd been forced into this desperate move.
"I'd advise you not to do anything stupid. Otherwise what awaits you won't be as simple as a few years behind bars."
Qingyi frowned. With a hostage in the enemy's hands, she genuinely couldn't act rashly — but the gleam in her eyes made it clear she was far from out of options.
"Quit yapping! If you know what's good for you, drop that busted stick right now and get flat on the ground! We've got no interest in you stinking cops!" the thug holding Mousey hostage barked.
At the same time, he tightened his grip on Mousey, and she began to struggle on reflex.
"Alright! I'll put it down right now — just don't you dare hurt her!"
As she spoke, Qingyi slowly crouched down, tossed Peace Bringer onto the ground, and clasped her hands behind her head as if she'd truly surrendered.
"Hmph. Should've done that from the start."
Seeing Qingyi drop her weapon, the thug finally relaxed.
But even with her hands well away from the weapon, Qingyi wore a smile of triumph.
Her body leaned forward while her hips arched back, twisting into a pose that seemed to defy human anatomy, as she shot out her right leg and kicked Peace Bringer.
With that kick, Peace Bringer shot through the air with a whoosh, flying straight at the thug — and struck him square in the head under his startled gaze.
____
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🔥 New history: DanMachi: Inheriting the Legacy of Alternate Versions — posted on The_Mikudayo