Chapter 232

Chapter 232 – The Scales at Both Ends 13

Kui Xin was discovered after standing at a street corner for two minutes. Before she was found, she was in a Shadow Transition state, her body indiscernible as a mass of unidentifiable black fog, not in a normal physical form. Yet, Augus still managed to detect her.

He must possess an investigative type of Extraordinary Abilities and one that is actively deployed; if it were a passive ability, Augus wouldn’t have waited two minutes before revealing Kui Xin’s presence.

The Investigative Eye’s listing of these Extraordinary Abilities confirmed Kui Xin’s suspicions.

Even though Kui Xin had witnessed many great storms, Augus’ abilities still took her by surprise; the overlapping capabilities arranged together made it so dazzling that she almost strained her eyes just by looking at them.

“Rebound Air Blast… No description, A Rank.” Kui Xin quickly discerned each one.

“Spirit Command: no description, also A Rank.”

“Flesh Regeneration… A Rank.”

“Mark Dangerous Foe: B Rank, the capability marks the position of enemies in one’s field of vision, with increased visibility for greater threats.”

“Blood Thorns: B Rank, leaves invisible markers on an opponent’s wound, allowing one to sense the direction of the marker within a range.”

“Shadow Realm: B Rank, communicates with the shadow space, can place oneself in an isolated shadow space to deflect external investigation and has some resistance to external attacks.”

“Bullet Trace: C Rank, the bullet automatically tracks the target within a set range. If the first attempt fails, the lock on will become ineffective for that target.”

“Mental Manipulation: D Rank, allows for controlling objects remotely.”

“…”

After a quick glance, Kui Xin’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch.

Augus had high and low-ranking abilities in abundance, far more than the number reported on the forum. His source of abilities definitely wasn’t limited to killing players; he probably also targeted official organizations like the Special Affairs Department and the Investigation Bureau.

If his only Extraordinary Abilities were of A Rank, Kui Xin merely needed to use the Reset; his abilities would all vanish. Yet, if he had S Rank abilities, Kui Xin wouldn’t even see their names.

Clearly, Augus wouldn’t allow Kui Xin to remain silent indefinitely and asked curiously, “Do you know? You might be the strongest player I’ve ever encountered. You look different from others in my sight.”

Augus glanced at Yu Hansue and then back at Kui Xin, “Remover 9908, appears like a light bulb illuminating darkness to me. You are different from her and all players… You literally shine like the sun in the night.”

Kui Xin didn’t move or speak, and Augus patiently waited for her to respond, but Kui Xin never opened her mouth.

“Are you not going to introduce yourself? Is this meeting too hasty?” Augus asked.

Kui Xin remained silent for a long while and said in heavily accented English, “You spea… ese?”

Smiling Augus: “…”

Yu Hansue, wary: “…”

This wasn’t Kui Xin’s fault. Her vocabulary was more than enough for reading written English, as long as it didn’t involve specialized terms. Speaking English would result in a heavily translated version, and she had never practiced English oral proficiency; her listening skills were mediocre. Additionally, the English used in class was very different from everyday oral English.

Crucially, Augus’ English was also accented, not properly pronounced American or British English, rather something… rustic. She only understood a few key words.

In the Second World, everyone had personal translation devices capable of translating any language. In the Second World, she could talk to anyone without language barriers. But when she returned to the First World, language barriers suddenly appeared in conversations.

“Hello, can you tell me what this guy is saying?” Kui Xin politely looked at Yu Hansue, “You can actually understand him?”

“Their inherent talent is knowing languages, his accent is indeed peculiar. Have you seen ‘The Godfather’? The characters there have a similar accent; he might not be originally from their country, maybe he’s an immigrant…” Yu Hansue’s mouth couldn’t stop twitching.

Persistent, Kui Xin pressed, “What exactly did he say?”

“He says you’re different from others, you’re like a beacon in the night compared to him who is like a light bulb,” Yu Hansue summarized roughly, “I guess he means you’re very powerful.”

Seeing their back-and-forth, Augus’ smile started to waver.

“9908, are you whispering behind my back?” Augus said.

Yu Hansue turned to translate, “She doesn’t understand your words, and you don’t understand hers. We’re not whispering, we are talking openly. She was just asking me what you said.”

Augus thought, “You know her?”

“No.” Yu Hansue said coldly.

“Then why did she happen to appear here?” Augus asked oddly, “The density of players in the world is so low; it cannot just be a coincidence, right?”

“She seems to have no intention of attacking nor weapons. If she did, you would see it instantly when we first met,” Yu Hansue said.

“It does make some sense, but it seems like she isn’t leaving anytime soon. Maybe we need to talk to her properly,” Augus continued, “Better kill that Heterogeneous-Blooded as soon as possible. I think he’s about to regain consciousness.”

Yu Hansue’s palms were sweating, sticky to the point she struggled to grasp the scalpel and gun.

She wanted to kill the Heterogeneous-Blooded on the spot, but she couldn’t… hesitation and retreat washed over her, accompanied by subtle fear. She couldn’t kill in front of Kui Xin.

“Are you afraid of her seeing?” Augus seemed to ponder, then laughed, “We need to eliminate her; she saw quite a lot and is likely powerful. If you are interested, 9908, I can let you take this prey’s life.”

For a brief moment, Yu Hansue realized—Augus was suspicious! He was testing her and Kui Xin’s relationship. Actually, it may not be so simple. As soon as Kui Xin entered the trading scene, Augus considered her prey! He apparently noticed Kui Xin wielding notable Extraordinary Abilities, he wanted to kill her!

Yu Hansue opened her mouth to shout to Kui Xin, “Leave quickly!”

But before she could finish, Kui Xin put down the snack bag, disappearing in a flash; fog enveloped her. Augus’ face unchanged, his hand probed into the Shadow Realm, pulling out a silenced gun and firing off rounds blindly.

Flashes sparked, bullets deflected mid-air and swerved towards Kui Xin. Under the influence of her Shadow Transition, Kui Xin flickered and ducked into a wall, evading harm as the bullets struck the wall instead.

Black fog reappeared, solidifying at Augus’ back, a fruit knife materializing in Kui Xin’s hand. Precisely, she thrust it toward Augus’ neck, invoking Reset, immaterial barriers fell around Augus. His Shadow Realm and Air Blast Rebound, along with Flesh Regeneration, immediately failed.

The fruit knife already pierced Augus’ neck, blood spurted, almost slicing through his major artery. Suddenly, the road beneath Augus rose a stone wall out of nowhere; it struck Kui Xin mid-attack, sending her flying.

Kui Xin adjusted nimbly mid-air, landing steadily, retreating several meters away. Her heart racing, she felt the chaos unfold before her.

She had been caught off guard; causing actual damage to Augus required exiting the Shadow Transition state, and the unexpected stone wall caused real harm.

Her abdomen ached slightly; lifting her shirt would reveal bruising; pain gradually faded, Flesh Regeneration taking effect.

Augus touched his abdomen oddly, “The pain… I can feel yours. You’ve displayed three Extraordinary Abilities… You are…”

“Ma Yi?” He said, “Remover 233?”

A joyful smile spread across his face, laughter echoing down the quiet street.

“Finally, old friend!” Augus exclaimed widely, “You gave me a big surprise!”

This straightforward statement, Kui Xin understood clearly.

Standing still, she refrained from attacking cautiously, feeling overwhelming respect.

Augus’ surrounding stone walls slowly lowered, restoring the road.

No one was more aware of what this meant; one of Augus’ abilities was outside the control of Reset, he wielded an S Rank ability!

“Hello, Augus.” Kui Xin stood upright, speaking briefly in a language Augus could understand, “This is a pleasant surprise.”

Augus ceased attacking to turn towards Yu Hansue, vigilant.

“I am sorry, 9908. Can you leave now?” Augus asked, “This matter between me and Ma Yi, outsiders should leave.”

Yu Hansue’s gaze stiffly shifted to Kui Xin.

Events unfolded beyond expectation; she felt shaken yet understood it logically… So, Remover 233 was she; things were not as they seemed!

“Augus, what are you and 9908 doing?” Kui Xin ignored Yu Hansue.

“We were conducting a transaction. Meeting you now was unforeseen. You and her are really strangers, Ma Yi?” Augus said intrigued, “Has coming to this city special? Did you come straight to greet me?”

Then his tone darkened, “Isn’t it just our two person game? Have you brought 9908 into this, disrupting the purity of the game?”

Yu Hansue recognized Augus’ complex sentence structure, fearing Kui Xin might not comprehend. She rushed to translate, “He says it’s just the two of you in a game, he resists you being involved, thinking you two know each other.”

Kui Xin said, “You leave here… Do not go home.”

She released her Reset; Yu Hansue regained her abilities, as did Augus.

Now, Yu Hansue was injured, possibly marked by the Blood Thorns, Augus’s ability. However, with the Wheel of Time, there was hope of not being marked definitively; Yu Hansue could perhaps regress to a previous state, evading detection.

Although Augus appeared mad, he was careful. Those shots intended to determine the Wheel of Time’s power were also to control Yu Hansue’s movements.

Similarly, Augus likely came here for multiple reasons, to finalize a deal with Yu Hansue, to battle Remover 233, and perhaps collect Extraordinary Abilities in Tonglin City, where players gathered.

Two Removers were in opposition, and a third was spectating.

An immense pressure surrounded Yu Hansue; she wanted to stay but trusted Kui Xin. Leaving would allow her to summon help, alert authorities, and drive Remover 777 away.

As she retreated, a noise emerged from the suitcase.

The unconscious Heterogeneous-Blooded had regenerated, his body bursting violently from his restraints, emerging bloody and fleshy. Rather than attacking, he escaped the scene like a lizard, his fleeting shadow vanished before her eyes.

Yu Hansue’s expression changed sharply, chasing after him instinctively.

Heterogeneous-Blooded’s escape was significant, potentially endangering the city’s populace. Quick action was imperative.

Just as Yu Hansue vanished, sirens erupted nearby.

Augus’ face became grim, “Did you call the police?”

“The shooting might have alerted nearby residents,” Kui Xin replied calmly.

“Force ourselves to pause for tonight, perhaps an ill-timed encounter,” Augus said significantly, “Ma Yi, our appointed battleground is in Tonglin City, awaiting you there.”

He withdrew into darkness, disappearing.

Temporary halt, Tonglin City, await you… Kui Xin noted these key phrases, folding the fruit knife and packaging it carefully in the snack bag.

Blood from Augus streaked the blade.