No Hero V5C1: Reach Out Your Hand; Sharp Metal Claws

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No Hero Volume 5: Fallen Angel

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)


The Angel Falls Chapter One: Reach Out Your Hand; Sharp Metal Claws—translated by XianBang (proofread by Arcedemius & Trespasserby; C/E edited by lucathia)

“Gē, guess what…”

Wait, Luo Lun. I have to finish going over the model info first. If we still can’t find a satisfactory model, our ads will be ruined.

“That’s what I was just gonna say! I’m telling you, a super beautiful customer came to our store today. Even Olga praised the customer’s refinement!” 
 
Oh? Even Olga? Is it a girl?

“No, it’s a guy.” 

A pretty guy? Ha! Look at all these male models I have here. Which one isn’t pretty? 

“Hey! They can hardly compare to Ah Ye! Anyways, if you see him, you’ll understand. You’d better come!”

Don’t scream, there’s nothing

Night is only the haunt of darkness gone mad

“OK, perfect! That’s perfect, let’s take a rest before we start to record the next part.”

My anxiety finally settled a little when the sound engineer uttered this phrase. The sound engineer was really strict. We recorded from one to six, and only then did we finally finish recording a single part of the song.
 
Although I had initially thought that the sound engineer was intentionally making things difficult for the young master, I saw the ecstatic expression he had on right now, and he seemed genuinely happy.
 
After the young master exited the studio, the sound engineer patted his shoulder and said, “Drink some water and take a break.” He then turned to talk to the other staff members.

The sound engineer was intently discussing with the others, and was even loudly arguing about the details of the song production. This made me feel sincerely apologetic. He had truly only cared about chasing perfection, not about making things difficult for the young master.

I picked up the kettle and poured a cup of warm milk. Handing it to the young master, I said, “Young Master, you have worked hard.”

After drinking three cups of milk nonstop, the young master released a long, satisfied breath. He turned around to look at the clock on the wall and said, “Charles, I planned to eat dinner with Poseidin at seven today, but it looks like I won’t be able to be there on time. Go to N/H and tell him that I’ll be late.”
 
“Understood.” I nodded in reply and asked, “Young Master, shall I first prepare some nourishment for you for now?”
  
“It’s okay, I’ll eat when I get there.” While rubbing his stomach, the young master said, “I ate a lot for breakfast and lunch today!”
 
I smiled and said, “Indeed.”
 
“Ah Ye, let’s record the last part!” The sound engineer waved his hand, so excited that his eyes were shining.
 
The young master waved to me, signaling that I could leave. I bowed and watched the young master walk into the studio before I turned and left.
  
Walking down to the street from the studio building, I could only describe the crowd as a violent wave. The studio was located at the most prosperous western district of Sunset City. It was rush hour, so the crowds were not surprising. What was surprising was that besides the humans walking on the street, non-humans were also walking about without disguises, revealing their true faces.
  
The sky occasionally flashed with multi-colored lights, belonging to nature’s “nymphs.” They were like miniature women, some with wings and some with tails. What was similar was that they all glowed, despite their different types due to their different residences.

Nymphs living by the sea are known as sea nymphs; ones living in the forest are known as tree nymphs; but ones living in the city… This made me hesitate. Could they be city nymphs?

A few “wolfmen” leaned against a wall. Wolfmen were also a type of mythical creature, with the appearance of a wolf but without the ability to change into a human like a werewolf. They were an intermediary race between humans and werewolves.

But compared to werewolves, whose bloodthirstiness was unavoidable, wolfmen were rather harmless. As long as they were not provoked, they would not provoke any others. In reality, all they ever did was use their hind legs to prop themselves up against a wall and doze. If one did not look closely, they were hardly any different from the stray dogs on the streets.

I even saw a “nightwalker” holding a horn while walking past me.

Nightwalkers usually lived by the sea. They were a type of creature that could predict storms; every time a storm approached, they would sound a horn to warn the fishermen.
  
But nowadays, nightwalkers were almost extinct, since fishermen today could just turn on the television to watch the weather forecast. They did not need nightwalkers at all, and many types of mythical creatures would gradually become extinct when not needed.

Humans appeared unaccustomed to non-humans walking openly on the roads, but they were not afraid. Rather, they were like people in a zoo coming across ferocious animals—their eyes widening in curiosity and surprise. Although most people only dared to steal glances out of the corner of their eyes, on occasion, some people openly, even provokingly, stared at them.
  
In just this past year, the existence of non-humans had become far more widely known.

On the way to the studio, the young master had explained to me that after the conflict between non-humans and the Church at the plaza, non-humans were no longer a secret. After this year, it was clear that the situation was even more public, especially since Sunset City was one of the few base cities for non-humans.
 
A year ago, my feelings were less clear in regards to the human race knowing the existence of non-humans. It was probably because the majority of non-humans would not appear in the daylight, and chose only to come out at night. But nowadays…

It was dusk, the setting sun shining from the west. The sky was still bright, with crowds coming and going. There were many non-humans in their midst. Although they would still attract human attention, they were just stolen glances from a distance. The screaming, panicked, and fleeing humans of the past were all gone without a trace.

Perhaps one day, there will truly be no difference between humans and non-humans.

I waved down a taxi. When I entered the car, I realized that the driver was a nightwalker. He took a glance at me and said, “I have no blood for you to drink. I don’t take cards, credit, or human blood either.”
  
“…”

I took out a one thousand yuan bill. “Head for N/H.”

The nightwalker took the cash and then turned on the engine.

He drove the car smoothly down the road the entire way, without racing in the streets or driving on the sidewalk. Even when the car was stopping, the seatbelt did not suddenly dig into my chest. This made me involuntarily ask for his business card, in the hopes of often riding such a safe and trustworthy vehicle in the future.
 
People living in cities definitely need taxis. Perhaps this is why nightwalkers chose this job; they need “to be needed” to live.

Looking downwards at the driver’s business card, I saw the name “Nitewalker” on it. I smiled.

At this moment, the driver turned around and asked, “What’s your name?”
 
“Charles Endelis.”

Nitewalker nodded and said, “I’ll remember it. Do you need me to pick you up later?

“Oh, I will be fine,” I smiled. “If I have need of you, I will call you.”
 
He simply nodded without speaking. But this was not surprising. Quietness and loneliness were characteristics of nightwalkers.

Getting out of the car, I looked up. N/H’s sign was still a nondescript wooden one. The surroundings were very dim. This was a desolate street, not suitable for stores.
 
Swiping the card and entering, I walked through the long, dim staircase and climbed up to the lobby. In the dark lobby, only the bar was illuminated. The most important thing was that there were still only non-humans here. No humans were present.

N/H was still N/H.

I sighed in relief. Although I did not fear change, I did not want it to be too fast and abrupt, especially since I had just woken up.

This also reminded me that I should email X to ask how he was doing. He would have even more difficulty adapting to this fast-changing world than I would.

X always asked angrily: Couldn’t this world just remain the same?

“Long time no see, Charles Endelis.”
 
This voice belongs to Poseidin… or perhaps “Poseidynne”?

He… She was wearing a white dress with an aqua color spreading from the bottom up, identical-colored sandals, and light makeup on her face. Her aqua hair was tied and brushed meticulously.

One year ago he was androgynous, but now she looked completely like a girl. A very elegant, beautiful girl in her twenties.

Is Poseidynne’s change related to the young master? Although I questioned it, I felt that I already knew the answer.

Poseidynne had always liked the young master, and the young master was even having dinner with her. Most importantly, the young master was a man, so of course his partner would be a woman. Perhaps that is the reason why Poseidynne became feminine?

“Where’s Ah Ye?” Poseidynne asked.

I immediately explained, “The young master is still at the recording studio. He asked me to come over to tell you that he will be late.”

Poseidynne thought for a little and nodded. “Oh, right. Last time he mentioned that he was going to sing a song for a commercial. I haven’t heard him sing yet. Can Ah Ye sing well? You’ve heard him before, right?”

I nodded. “The young master has a clear voice, but he still needs practice.”

“Talented but still inexperienced. Your young master has always been like that.” Poseidynne smiled. Her smile was gentler than it had been one year ago. She asked softly, “Want some fresh blood?”

“Yes, thank you.”
 
Poseidynne smiled and started preparing the drink.

After seeing the non-humans mixed in the crowds of humans and Poseidynne’s current change, I could not help but say, “It has only been one year, yet humans have already accepted the existence of non-humans. What a huge difference.”

Poseidynne handed me a goblet full of red liquid and answered, “It’s not that huge. It just changed from a few confirming the existence of non-human to the majority of people confirming it.”

“Confirm?” The word was used strangely.

“With so many stories about werewolves, mermaids, and vampires around, do you think humans really don’t believe that non-humans exist?” Poseidynne mischievously said, “They can’t even say ‘there are no aliens in the universe’ with certainty, let alone us non-humans who reside on the same Earth as the humans!”

“You are right.” I was suddenly relieved. Actually, one year ago many people, including Mr. Bramble, May, Dell, and even Father Yue from the church, had already accepted me, a vampire. Right now, it was just that some more people knew of our existence, so the change was not that big.

The phone in my chest pocket started ringing. Perhaps a call from the young master? I immediately picked up the call, but the moment the line connected, I heard some yelling and screaming. “Charles, have you really woken up?”

I paused for a second and realized that it was Yue Gang’s voice. I quickly answered, “Yes.”
  
“Which hospital are you in? Or are you back in Sunset City?”

“Hospital?” I was a bit confused.

“Yeah! Is your ‘light allergy’ cured? Your little bro worried about you so much this past year. He kept on saying, ‘What if the treatment failed?’ and frequently prayed in the church. Even my dad felt pity for him!”

Could it be that Yue Gang still thinks I am allergic to light? And he also thinks that I went for therapy this past year? I remember being exposed under the sun in front of him many times. Right now the public already knows about the existence of vampires as well, but Yue Gang still thinks I am a human?

Is it because I really resemble a human too much? Or he is just too slow?

“Hello? Why aren’t you speaking? Is your illness cured?”
 
I could only answer, “It has been cured.”

“Are you back in Sunset City?”
 
“Yes, I am back.”
  
“Great, I’ll visit you in a few days. Can’t chat right now! I need to go do my work. Xie Wei is glaring at me!”

Xie Wei? I wanted to ask, but there was only beeping left over the phone. The speed at which Yue Gang had hung up the phone was as swift as it had been a year ago.
 
It seemed like I could only ask the young master about the circumstances later when he came; otherwise, I might fail to cover the lies successfully.

“Ah Ye probably won’t make it to dinner. It’ll have to be a midnight snack.”

I paused and turned to look at Poseidynne. She was staring at the television suspended from the ceiling. Her expression displayed her unhappiness.

The television was showing a news piece about a mental patient who had escaped from a psychiatric hospital in the suburbs and was suspected to have fled toward Sunset City. Both the police and the heroes were currently in pursuit, and it was advised not to go to a certain street in the western district.

I felt a bit doubtful, muttering, “A convict from a psychiatric hospital? The heroes should not need to act for this kind of criminal, right?”

Poseidynne disapprovingly said, “It is publicly being referred to as a psychiatric hospital, but the escape was probably from P29. P29 isn’t far from Sunset City, so it certainly is in the suburbs.”

“P29? What is that?” I asked in confusion.

“You don’t know about P29?” Poseidynne replied in surprise.

I honestly admitted, “I have only heard that Area 51 is the place where the government studies aliens, but I have never heard of P29.”

Poseidynne laughed, explaining, “Although humans didn’t acknowledge the existence of non-humans, it was inevitable that they would capture some not-quite human creatures, or some ‘humans’ with unique abilities. These people were criminals that couldn’t be contained by normal prisons, so the National Psychiatric Hospital #29 prison was specially built to contain these abnormal convicts.”

At this point, she looked at me and said, “The majority of non-humans know about P29, since it’s the only prison that has non-humans locked inside. But very few know about Area 51, since non-humans certainly don’t often go to the theaters to watch alien movies.”

I do not either. To be honest, I prefer superhero films.

“At least, in the past non-humans didn’t go to the movies often,” Poseidynne added.

But in the future, perhaps more non-humans will hear of Area 51, right? However, the most important thing for now is not Area 51, but P29.

My attention returned to the news, and I said, “The incident is occurring in the western district. That is First Wind’s area. Dark Sun is unlikely to go there.”

Poseidynne unhappily said, “First Wind is crazily busy lately, so he pretty much has no time to save people. Most likely, either Dragon Peace or Dark Sun will go to assist.”

I looked around at the surroundings. Thankfully, there were no non-humans sitting close to the bar counter; most sat in the corners. But I still lowered my voice to ask, “Ji Luo Chu has been busy?”

“He’s crazily busy!” Poseidynne lowered her voice too, but strongly stressed, “Haven’t you heard how famous Ah Ye has become?”

I stared blankly, immediately saying, “I really did not know. Could you please give me some more news about the young master?”

“Ever since you… couldn’t wake up from your serious injuries,” Poseidynne shrugged, saying, “Ah Ye has been working with all his might. Melody also became Ah Ye’s manager at that time, responsible for accepting Ah Ye’s job offers. Initially, it was passively modeling for pictures, but later they created lots of moving TV ads, walked fashion shows, represented many brands, and even attended charity events… No matter what job it was, Ah Ye accepted them all, so he became increasingly famous. Recently, he was even voted as Sunset City’s top spokesperson, even defeating Dark Sun!”

Poseidynne spoke the last part with a big smile.

“The young master could not be as famous as certain famous singers, right?” I was worried that I had missed too many things. Perhaps it would make my services inadequate.

Poseidynne shrugged, saying, “He’s famous enough in Sunset City, but he should be fine in other places, I think. Although Ah Ye accepts plenty of job offers, he never accepts ones that require him to leave Sunset City.”

I nodded, saying, “The young master cannot leave Sunset City, because he is…” Dark Sun.

Poseidynne shook her head. “No, DSII often acts as his replacement, especially for activities like campaigns. DSII practically takes Ah Ye’s place for participating in all events. Ah Ye only personally shoots pictures and commercials. Otherwise, how could he possibly go to school and work at the same time, and still have time to be a hero?”

Speaking up to this point, she suddenly paused, staring at me, and said, “Ah Ye didn’t leave Sunset City because he was afraid that when you woke up, you wouldn’t be able to find him.”

Hearing that, I paused. Only after a long time could I say, “I am sorry.”
  
“A man who gives up on life so easily should apologize.” Poseidynne nodded, then looked up at the news, and went “Ah.” She lightly complained, “Ah Ye really did head over to assist. Couldn’t he just slack off for once?”

Poseidynne complained while using a remote to drop down a massive screen. Then, she split the screen into nine squares, with every square tuned to a different channel, all covering the same news incident, just from different angles.

I looked up too, focusing on the news. On it flashed a silver light—Dark Sun riding his motorcycle toward the scene.

The police cars were circled around in a blockade. However, because all the reporting cameras were focused on Dark Sun, there was no way to know who was surrounded by the police cars.

Dark Sun got off the vehicle, walked toward the police, and said, “I received an assistance request…”

However, gunfire immediately erupted… The police actually fired at Dark Sun!

I abruptly stood up, crying in surprise, “What’s going on? Poseidynne, what exactly happened this year?”

However, Poseidynne’s expression was even more surprised than mine. She stammered, “H-how is this possible? Over the past year, the police and Dark Sun have been cooperating well. The police themselves even contact Dark Sun often. Why…”

“Stop firing!”

Dark Sun’s roar came from the television, followed by the sound of screaming. The picture on screen shook nonstop, so it was impossible to see what the situation was at the scene.

“I-I am going to look.” I was turning to leave.

“That’s the western district. This is the southern district. When you get there, the incident will be over. Charles Endelis, sit down!” Done shouting, Poseidynne said, “Your young master doesn’t need others to worry about his safety. You’re the person who should know this the best, correct?”

I looked at Poseidynne. Her resolute expression made me unconsciously sit down again, looking up with her to watch the screens.

The screen’s picture continued to shake, emitting the sound of a great deal of gunfire and screaming. Later, only the long-distance cameras’ shots worked, and it was impossible to ascertain the situation.

After approximately ten minutes, although it felt as slow as ten hours, yet the time displayed on the news indicated that it had indeed only been ten minutes, one of the squares slowly inched toward the scene… I thanked Mr. Reporter’s heroic efforts.

The picture moved increasingly closer to the scene, and Dark Sun’s silhouette also gradually became clear. His body was covered with bullet holes and bloodstains; he clearly had not completely dodged the police’s sudden attack. Many policemen were downed before him, sprawling and lying on the ground. I was unable to see if they were dead or alive.

“Are they dead?” A shuddering voice came from the image.

I really had to emphasize how heroic the reporters were. Even when facing a blood-soaked hero and many unconscious or dead policemen lying on the ground, they still dared to get closer and ask questions. This kind of courage was really worthy of admiration.

Dark Sun shook his head, saying, “No, they’re only unconscious.”

The reporter in the image let out a large breath, and I let out a large breath as well. Not because the policemen did not die, though I knew that the young master would kill people but would not do so lightly. Rather, I was glad that the young master had changed from not explaining anything like before, which had allowed others to misunderstand him.

The reporter saw Dark Sun’s shocking amount of bullet holes and bloodstains and worryingly asked, “A-are you all right?”

Dark Sun only shook his head. He lowered his gaze toward the policemen on the ground and walked toward the police cars. Grabbing the car’s radio, he said, “I completely cannot understand why you have attacked me. Is this a declaration of war?”

“No! It’s not like that!” The panicked voice of a policeman emanated from the radio. He stammered, “T-this time, the criminal seems to have a special ability…”

“What kind of special ability?”

The radio relayed a helpless reply. “We don’t know, either. The higher-ups won’t give a clear explanation. They only said that the criminal has a strange ability and told us to pay attention.”

Dark Sun coldly said, “Then, I’ll leave this criminal for your higher-ups to catch.”

Done speaking, he dropped the radio and turned to leave.

“Wait… please, wait a moment!”

Although more pleads kept coming from the radio, Dark Sun did not change his mind. He walked straight to his motorcycle, but a phone on his body rang. He took out a cell phone and answered the call. After saying “Yue Gang,” he quietly listened to the phone.

I was somewhat surprised, since Dark Sun had never carried a cell phone before.

Probably because my expression was so surprised, Poseidynne explained without prompting, “In order for the heroes and police to cooperate effectively, Ah Ye distributed several cell phones. Four for the Four Great Heroes, while Yue Gang and Xie Wei each received one for the police faction. They can use these cell phones only to communicate with the other cell phones and cannot use them to trace locations. Though the one in Ah Ye’s hand is an exception, of course.”

Xie Wei? I had heard this name many times already. It seemed that I would have to ask for information about Xie Wei as well. I remembered a year ago, he was still hostile toward the young master and the heroes, and seemed to not get along well with Yue Gang, but now it seemed like it was not the case anymore.

Suddenly, Dark Sun growled at his phone. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I won’t help!”

“Dark Sun! Help, save me…”

Dark Sun turned his head to look. A blood-covered policeman staggered from the police car-surrounded building. He hesitated a moment, but still ran toward the policeman.

The reporters wanted to follow, but Dark Sun turned his head and growled, “Don’t get too close. It’s dangerous!” The scene stopped moving, but it did not retreat either. It was clear that the reporters had stayed where they were. Dark Sun ran up to the policeman, reaching his hand out to hold him steady… but he suddenly and forcefully pushed him far away.

Poseidynne and I both widened our eyes. Although we wanted to see it more clearly, the picture suddenly started shaking.

“Look at the other screen!” Poseidynne cried in surprise.

The other screens showed that a moment ago, a few reporters and cameramen actually used microphones to hit Dark Sun. Even the cameras had become weapons. Thankfully, there were other reporters filming from further away, who appeared not to want to attack Dark Sun, so it was still possible to see the situation from the other news channels.

Facing the microphone- and camera-wielding reporters, Dark Sun clearly did not care. He simply used basic moves to dodge the reporters’ attacks, then simultaneously observed the reporters’ and the policeman’s conditions. But at this moment, the policeman pulled out a gun to shoot Dark Sun.

The reporters and policeman were both attacking Dark Sun, but while dodging, Dark Sun still had to factor in the reporters’ safety. From time to time, he had to pull them around to prevent the policeman’s bullets from hitting them.

What exactly is going on?

I was puzzled, but Poseidynne seemed to be as baffled as I was. And since Dark Sun was only dodging nonstop without taking any action, perhaps he was confused as well.

At that point, Dark Sun finally took action. After karate chopping and rendering unconscious two reporters, he dodged toward the policeman and knocked his gun away with a flick of the hand. Then, he grabbed his collar, saying, “Did you plot this? You’re not a policeman.”

The policeman said in surprise, “How do you know?”

Dark Sun studied the badge on the policeman’s chest, saying, “Police number 39576 isn’t you. Who are you?”

“I want to ask who you are.” The policeman countered, “Why don’t you listen? As long as I say something, everyone follows my orders. What are you, a robot?”

Dark Sun paused.

“How strange. How unfathomable! Even at this distance, you’re still not obedient! Could it be because I’m tired from controlling too many policemen?” The policeman suddenly shouted loudly, “Hey, let me go! Go away! Leave this place!”

However, Dark Sun kept his tight grip on his collar, not releasing him.

The policeman dumbly stared at Dark Sun, shouting, “I know! You really are a robot… wow! I’ve never seen a robot as realistic as you!”

Dark Sun appeared to have truly gotten angry, growling, “I am not a robot!”

“Don’t move!” The policeman used an even louder voice in reply.

Dark Sun had no reaction. Following that, the policeman resolutely tore his collar from Dark Sun’s grasp, and hurriedly backed away a few steps, as if he wanted to escape. Dark Sun did not react to this… No, he really did not move at all!
  
The policeman ran a few steps then stopped again, cautiously observing the situation. It seemed that he did not plan to flee and even ran back to Dark Sun, then reached out and waved his hand in front of his eyes for a while. However, Dark Sun showed not a single sign of budging.

Upon seeing this, the policeman burst into laughter, saying, “Of course I was kidding! I know that you are Dark Sun. You’re a super famous hero! Of course you’re not a robot! However, I can’t do anything about the occasional strong-willed person in the world, and I’ve never met anyone with a willpower as strong as yours! All I can do is use some tricks to make you waver!”

The policeman took off his police cap and tossed it, then loosened his necktie and circled around Dark Sun, saying, “You are truly handsome. It wasn’t just the media picking flattering angles! With such a handsome appearance, why don’t you be a model? Why are you playing hero… Do you hear me? I’m telling you to do things that make you happy, to do things you want to do! Stop trying to save others so much!”

Dark Sun remained motionless.

The policeman wheezed with laughter, saying, “Even with a visor you look so handsome. How about we see how handsome your true identity is?”

At this point, he raised his head and shouted into the distance, “Hey! The reporters over there, get closer! Don’t you want to film Dark Sun’s true identity?”

The screen transmitted the sounds of reporters gasping, but they were too afraid to approach, only insistently urging the cameramen to zoom in more.

The policeman appeared unsatisfied and yelled, “Get over here quick! I’m going to take it off!” While speaking, he put his hand on Dark Sun’s visor.

Seeing this action, the reporters and cameramen were frenetic. They repeatedly exclaimed, “Oh no, Dark Sun’s back is facing us. We won’t be able to film it…Go for it!”

After saying “Go for it,” every reporter really did go for it. Each person ran like an athlete in a 100-meter dash, arriving near the policeman and Dark Sun in a flash. Based on the picture, the distance between reporters and the policeman was less than five meters. All the frames were now filled with images of the policeman and the upper body of Dark Sun. If Dark Sun’s visor were pulled off, his face would be filmed as clear as day.
  
Seeing this, the policeman appeared very satisfied. Nodding, he said, “Excellent, excellent! I’ll take it off now! One, two, three, take…”

Suddenly, his hand was grabbed—by Dark Sun’s hand!

Dark Sun even swiveled his head to look at him, causing him to reveal a shocked expression. The guy seemed like he was completely unable to react. He did not even try to escape. But suddenly, the sound of a gunshot ended his need for any action. He slowly collapsed, motionless.
 
The situation had evolved far too suddenly. Almost no one realized what had happened, but that did not include Dark Sun. Dark Sun simply looked down at the collapsed policeman and turned his head to look in a certain direction. At this point, the reporters seemed to have recovered their senses, and the cameras simultaneously followed his gaze.
 
People wearing black suits and sunglasses walked out of the dark one by one. Among them were both men and women, but even the women were wearing black pants. In the end, approximately twenty people walked out. They were walking in sync toward Dark Sun from all directions.

Facing twenty people, Dark Sun was alone, looking utterly isolated and helpless… But two silhouettes suddenly dropped from the sky and appeared in front of Dark Sun.

The white cape of First Wind floated with the wind, his pose free and at ease. Solitary Butterfly stood tall, one hand on the holster at her waist, with the demeanor of a prideful noblewoman. Finally, with a loud sound accompanying the shaking ground, a massive silhouette stood next to Dark Sun. Dragon Peace had also arrived.
 
All four heroes had arrived. Although the people in black suits outnumbered them, the heroes did not lose to them in terms of their imposing aura.

The group of black suits stopped, yet one person continued to advance toward Dark Sun. He did not look any different from the other black suits. He was probably around forty to fifty years old. But based on the behavior of the other people in black, this person was likely their leader.

He walked up facing the four heroes, inspecting them with his eyes. Then, he flourished his ID with a practiced motion, saying, “We are the Special Crime Department of International Police Organization, abbreviated as SCIP. I am group leader Xie Yuan Jie. It is our responsibility to pursue the criminal behind you. Please hand him over to me.”

First Wind frowned. “Is he still alive? You shot him.”

Xie Yuan Jie explained in a formal tone, “The ammunition we used was an anesthetic one. He’s only unconscious.”

First Wind nodded and turned to Dark Sun. Even Dragon Peace and Solitary Butterfly turned to look at him. At that moment, Dark Sun gave off the feeling of being the leader of the heroes.

Dark Sun walked up, passing the other three heroes, and stopped in front of the leader of the black suits. He coldly said, “He’s mine.”

The man in black seemed to have misheard and asked, “What?”

Dark Sun roared, “I said, he is my criminal.” Simultaneously, he kicked out, causing the man in black to be kicked quite a distance away. The man hit a police car and fell, unable to get up.

Everyone was shocked.

“Dark Sun, what are you doing?” Solitary Butterfly was the first one who managed to react. She rebuked, “You didn’t need to hit him! They didn’t do anything!”

Dark Sun turned around and bellowed, “They attacked my criminal!”

All three heroes were shocked by his outburst. First Wind asked in confusion, “Dark Sun, has something happened?”

Yet Dark Sun replied by unsheathing gleaming cold metal claws from his fingertips…

Young Master?

10 Responses

  1. midori

    thanks a lot!
    that criminal is crazy, right? how dare he call dark sun a robot?! what happened, ah ye?! ahhh!

  2. 15B

    Poor nightwalkers… They became taxi drivers to survive, but what if self-driving cars becomes a thing? Hm… I guess people will always need restaurants to eat at, plumbers to fix clogs and leaks, and therapists to deal with the mass hysteria caused when two criminal forces clash in Sunset City, sinking the citizens into so much despair that it causes them to believe demons have appeared and the apocalypse is approaching. (R.I.P. Father Yue. As a free counselor, he must have been completely overworked the day after that little incident. That is, if people weren’t too scared to approach a building with the insignia of the Church.)

    I’m still a little concerned about how N/H sources their human blood. But I suppose now that they have a human patron, they probably take more care in the way that they harvest the blood. Not to mention, if humans were being killed or held captive for their blood, that particular human patron would likely raise up enough of a fuss that the entire building would be demolished.

    How confusing… Countries have already fallen into decline, yet governments are being mentioned again. Are they like city-state governments instead of the governments of countries, then? But why would they use the word “national” if countries no longer exist…?

    I find it a little odd how familiar Poseidin/Poseidynne has become with Ah Ye. True, Poseidynne did go with Ah Ye to save Charles so they would have already known about Ah Ye’s identities as Angel, Dark Sun, and even the Sun Emperor’s little brother, so there isn’t anything Ah Ye would need to hide during the year that’s passed. But it now strikes me as odd that Ah Ye asked Poseidynne to join the raid in the first place. Poseidynne is very powerful, but neither Charles nor Ah Ye were very familiar with them at that point in time and Ah Ye shouldn’t have been so lacking in fighters that he would be forced to resort to asking almost complete strangers for help.

    Or maybe Ah Ye just doesn’t mind not keeping those secrets anymore. After all, in Eclipse Hunter, those secrets were kept to allow Ah Ye to live a normal life. If letting a few more people know he’s Dark Sun or the Sun Emperor’s little brother doesn’t affect his ability to live the way he wants, then keeping those secrets doesn’t matter as much. Funnily enough, his identity as angel celebrity An Xiang Ye might now be the identity most likely to compromise his personal life, with how he has to dress like a girl to hide from the paparazzi.
    A bodyguard stepping out of the shadows and becoming widely known… Maybe Ah Ye really would prefer the stars over the moon. After all, the moon’s glow only comes from reflecting the light of the sun, while the light of the stars is their very own.

    Whether the cell phones were directly handed to Xie Wei and Yue Gang by Dark Sun or the phones were sent to the head of police for them to decide who to give the phones to, it seems a little odd they picked Yu Gang. Yue Gang is a dedicated police officer, but he DID swear to arrest Dark Sun so that all people can face the law as they should. His intentions to arrest Dark Sun could conflict with his intentions to cooperate with Dark Sun. Although if Yue Gang is making calls, he at least does recognize the value of calling in heroes to ensure minimal casualties or he’s been bullied by his coworkers into calling when they do need help. But I guess if Yue Gang is widely recognized as the popular leader of the regular officers, the decisions he makes will be representative of them.
    I suppose they couldn’t shine a spotlight in the sky to ask for hero help if Sunset City has enough neon lights to cause some serious light pollution… So cell phones it is.

    Oh my… And here I thought Eli would be the only person with psychic powers we’d meet. I guess he wasn’t sent to P29 because he has the Sun Emperor’s protection, or they really do only hold people who actually committed crimes there. How did they even capture that criminal the first time if he can control people who draw too close? Tinfoil hats wouldn’t work, if psychic powers can go straight through Ah Ye’s metal skull.

    People in black marching toward Dark Sun from all directions? Aren’t the reporters in the way? It ruins the dramatic scene a bit.

    Charles seems a little less puzzled than I am. No matter how you look at it, there seems to be no reasonable cause for Ah Ye to attack Xie Yuan Jie. Ah Ye isn’t so petty he’d personally punish a criminal who infuriated him, much less attack an innocent person who was preventing him from punishing that criminal. If the criminal was not completely unconscious and was manipulating Dark Sun into attacking the surrounding police and heroes in order to make a clean escape, then Dark Sun wouldn’t have made the statement that the criminal was his. Like the previous police officers and the news reporters, Dark Sun would have just wordlessly and inexplicably began attacking. In addition, there’s no way the criminal would control Dark Sun to kill the criminal himself. Even if Ri Xiang Yan suddenly appeared in the area and Ah Ye assessed that the criminal was a threat to his brother, that still wouldn’t explain why he would attack innocent Xie Yuan Jie instead of just directly dealing with the criminal. I guess it could be possible that being under mind control reminded him too much of being unable to disobey his microchip and the traumatic memories associated with that caused him to snap.

    • MaplePanda

      @Lucras
      Lol indeed. This could become one of the seven wonders on PR! already – The Great Wall of Commentary

    • Mizuhino

      @15B
      Since this is Yu Wo there are no definite answers yet but it seems to me that with Ah Ye’s childhood and the way he became who he is today he might have a problem with a group which seems to be pursuing a criminal like that. It’s unclear whether the group was merely retaining the criminal or if they created him. If they created him then Ah Ye would definitely be able to relate and may feel a need to protect the criminal from them. Of course, it’s also certain that the behavior of this criminal was of the “he might need killing” sort seeing how he didn’t hesitate to use police to try and kill others. So it’s possible Ah Ye could have been affected by him in some way, but then again it isn’t certain yet if Ah Ye was affected by his ability at all. He may have just decided to stop a moment to see what would happen.

    • Dao

      @15B
      My theory is that Ah Ye is behaving that way because of the criminal telling him to do what makes him happy, while still having control over him. And catching criminals makes him happy, so he got pissed when someone else interferes.

  3. Moony

    Ah, a new problem is being picked up, I’m quite intrigued! Somehow I’m still a bit overwhelmed by all the new information and things that are happening, but that’s good because it feels much more like Charles who hadn’t been there for a whole year!
    Although I do wonder if our dear Yue Gang is really that dense or is just trying to be like for making Charles to feel better about everything *chuckles*

    • Mizuhino

      @Moony
      Somehow I think he really is that dense/loyal (since I think believing something so intently could be taken as a sign of loyalty). He makes me think of Dick Gumshoe from Phoenix Wright.

    • Moony

      @Mizuhino
      Oh, you’re right! I would have never thought of that, but now that you say it … I have only played the first game of Phoenix Wright, however I based on that, I think Yue Gang is cleverer than Dick Gumshoe. At least I think there might be something that Yu Wo isn’t telling about him yet – just a gut feeling xD

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