Chapter 41 Imitation

Although Street 6 and Street 7 were connected, simply stepping across the nearly invisible boundary line on the ground made Xingyu feel as though she had crossed into another world.

She looked back at Street 6 behind her, which was relatively clean overall. Delicate new shrub seedlings had even been planted along the curbs. On both sides of the street, alongside ordinary residents, some small vendors were chatting warmly with passersby.

Street 7, however, resembled an abandoned wasteland, unbelievably filthy and chaotic. Wastewater flowed freely across the ground, exuding a nauseating stench. The walls along the road were covered in mottled bloodstains and unsightly graffiti.

Dilapidated crates and discarded furniture were piled haphazardly on both sides of the street, forming makeshift barriers. Tilted lampposts stood crookedly by the roadside, their lampshades shattered. Garbage heaps rose like small mounds at the mouths of the alleys, attracting swarms of flies and rats.

A few emaciated stray cats occasionally darted through the piles of refuse, staring vigilantly at the two uninvited guests.

Xingyu carefully stepped around the sewage on the ground, which contained rotting food scraps mixed with shattered glass and wooden planks. She had no desire to soil her shoes.

In contrast, Tianwu seemed entirely accustomed to this environment. He strode directly through a puddle without splashing a single drop.

"Keep an eye out and check the roadside to see who looks like gang members," Tianwu said.

Xingyu pointed to someone not far away: "Isn't that one right there?"

Nearby, a person was setting up a makeshift roadblock at the edge of the street. A ferocious skull was crookedly spray-painted onto the roadblock, strung with several old glass bottles filled with a dark red liquid.

"You're right!" Tianwu nodded, a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes.

To her surprise, however, he didn't immediately head in that direction. "Still, there shouldn't just be one, right? Can you look around for anyone else?"

Xingyu gestured toward that direction with her chin, a hint of confusion in her voice: "Weren't you going to kill all the gang members? She's right there. Go ahead."

"What's the use of just one? We still need to find all of them." Tianwu pouted, his tone turning a bit more earnest. "We still need to investigate the situation properly."

Xingyu shrugged.

Although she could see the identity information of everyone on the street, she really didn't want to point them out one by one.

After all, explaining how she knew all this information would be quite troublesome.

"You go over and provoke her, make a big commotion. It's best to make them feel like their dignity has been threatened and start a quarrel. That way, the other gang members will gather on their own."

Confusion first flashed in Tianwu's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a light of comprehension: "That makes sense... Oh! Why didn't I think of that?"

Immediately afterward, however, he asked with some perplexity: "Have you dealt with gangs before? You're so familiar with this."

"A little bit," Xingyu replied vaguely, urging him, "Hurry up and go."

Tianwu, however, remained frozen in place, an expression of awkwardness washing over his face.

He rubbed his nose sheepishly, his voice turning somewhat squeamish: "Well... this method you mentioned, I'm... not very good at it. Could you go instead?"

"..."

Sensing Xingyu's skeptical gaze, he immediately explained in a flustered manner: "I promise you'll be fine! It's just that—just that I'm not very familiar with frontal combat."

His voice suddenly grew confident again, a proud light sparkling in his eyes: "Just gather them together, and I guarantee I'll take care of it in no time!"

Faced with Tianwu's expectant gaze—

Xingyu flatly refused.

"I won't do it."

Disappointment instantly washed over Tianwu's face.

"But... but..." Tianwu stammered, his voice laced with urgency.

Subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed Xingyu's sleeve, his movement carrying a childish persistence: "If you don't help, they're going to go cause trouble for big sis later..."

At that moment, she somewhat understood how Hill must have felt looking at her that morning.

"...Fine." Xingyu finally let out a helpless sigh.

She straightened her name tag and stepped forward.

The person setting up the roadblock noticed her and looked up. The moment their eyes met, the person stared at her trainee identification badge, sizing her up with slight hesitation.

Xingyu calmly spoke: "Your gang has come to the wrong place."

"What did you say?" The woman sneered. "A trainee agent dares to come here and boss people around? Do you know whose turf this is, kid?"

Xingyu remained unmoved: "Of course I know. This is a garbage dump, exclusively meant for accommodating low-life trash like you."

These words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. The woman's expression darkened instantly, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes: "You tired of living?"

A few whistles echoed from the distance.

The commotion here had clearly attracted attention, and several more gang members emerged one after another, their eyes filled with hostility.

"What's going on here..." a scarred man began.

Before he could finish, Xingyu had already drawn her blade, pointing it straight at the woman in front of her with an icy voice.

"Get out of our territory."

This action acted like a fuse, instantly igniting the anger of the gang members.

Shouting threateningly, the group swarmed forward, forming an ever-tightening encirclement.

Faced with this situation, Xingyu even had the leisure to turn her head and glance back at the spot where Tianwu had originally stood—

As expected, nobody was there.

This minor movement did not escape the eyes of the gang members, further infuriating them.

"Ignorant and fearless!"

The encirclement rapidly shrank, and Xingyu felt the pressure closing in from all directions.

The tip of her sword remained unwavering, a silent challenge to the crowd.

Just as the situation seemed on the verge of erupting, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from the gloom.

Tianwu emerged from the shadows. He nimbly leaped down from the upper walls, his movements as light as an agile cat. In the blink of an eye, Tianwu had stepped onto one of their shoulders, his dagger slashing a crimson arc through the air.

The gang member collapsed to the ground, and Tianwu landed steadily on the fallen body, looking toward Xingyu with a panicked expression.

"Y-you're too reckless!" Tianwu shouted. "I thought you were going to wait for my signal!"

Though his voice was flustered, his movements were completely unaffected, remaining as precise and swift as ever.

Caught completely off guard by the sudden assault, the group was thrown into disarray, looking around in panicked panic as they tried to locate the elusive attacker.

The moment Tianwu finished shouting those words to Xingyu, he vanished from sight once more.

An eerie tension hung in the air, as if he might materialize from any corner at any second to deliver a fatal blow. Someone trembled as they raised an iron pipe, having no idea where to point it.

Xingyu's thoughts were entirely elsewhere. She closely observed her surroundings, a vague concept beginning to form in her mind.

The memory of being silently stalked by Bian Yin yesterday remained vivid, and the lingering fear of being watched without realizing it still unsettled her.

Therefore, ever since the start, her eyes had been searching for Tianwu.

He was utilizing the contours of the buildings, the shadows of the garbage heaps, the commotion Xingyu had stirred up, and even the visual obstructions created by the enemies themselves to conceal his presence, thereby moving beneath everyone's noses without being detected.

He would even deliberately leave behind tiny "traps," such as a purposefully kicked pebble or a swaying trash can lid.

The exact instant the gang members were distracted by these little tricks, Xingyu sharply caught sight of a nearly imperceptible dark shadow.

The shadow flowed like liquid, silently sliding into the darkness on the other side.

This was his unique combat technique, capitalizing on his agility and small stature.

Very well, she understood now.

She could also reverse the process... and utilize the chaos Tianwu created to study his fighting style.

Taking advantage of the moment when the others were still searching for Tianwu, Xingyu swiftly slashed the throat of the person in front of her. Seizing this sole window of opportunity, she nimbly slipped into a nearby alley.