Chapter 68: The Villain Who Plucks the Fruit

"Who placed these?" Wakaba felt a slight chill ripple through her heart.

Her mind raced, instantly conjuring the images of the two security patrollers.

"They are the most likely culprits, and they have the capability... As expected, I've been targeted by the Security Bureau."

Keeping her composure, she changed her shoes, passed through the entryway, and stepped into the living room, acting just like an ordinary student returning home.

"The living room, the stairs... There's even one in the bedroom."

A moment later, she had roughly mapped out the locations of the cameras in her home and discreetly checked her weapons.

Fortunately, her weapons were hidden in a drawer interlayer and showed no signs of having been touched.

She turned on her computer as she usually did and played a video game.

It wasn't until five o'clock in the afternoon that she put down the keyboard and let out a heavy sigh. "Sigh~~ Time for work again."

With that, she reluctantly stood up, pulled open her bedroom door, shouldered a backpack from the storage room at the end of the hallway, went downstairs, crossed the living room, changed her shoes, and left.

At a street corner in the downtown area, inside an unmarked car.

"Cousin, isn't this just a normal high schooler?" Kakuda Hachiro looked at the screen of the smartphone mounted on the dashboard, which displayed the live feed from Wakaba's house.

Shibata Yoshiko stared at the empty detached house and said, "It's only the first day. How could she possibly discover anything amiss so soon?"

"Sigh~, alright then." Kakuda Hachiro let out a helpless sigh.

"Cousin, drive to Haisen Town right now!" Shibata Yoshiko suddenly commanded.

"Why go there? The target's part-time job isn't in that direction," Kakuda Hachiro said.

"Who said anything about trailing the suspect?" Shibata Yoshiko rolled her eyes. "It's five o'clock now, off-work hours. I've arranged to meet some friends at an art exhibition."

"Oh, I see." Upon hearing this, Kakuda Hachiro nodded without hesitation, started the car, and drove toward Haisen Town in the East District.

At this time, night had not yet fallen, but the sun was already sinking westward, yielding the vast sky to its natural deep blue—boundless, profound, and mysterious. The daytime heat was gradually dissipating, and a tranquil night was about to arrive.

Looking up into the distance, near the low Earth orbit, one could see the bright exhaust trails of aerospace vehicles faintly flickering as they slowly pierced the firmament.

At the intersection of East Third Street in Sakai Town, right in front of the roadside greenery, several attractive young women dressed in short maid skirts were already holding high advertising placards to attract customers.

Wakaba walked down the street with a neutral expression, looking just like anyone out for a casual stroll.

Yet, she was secretly observing whether she was being tailed.

During her assassin training, apart from marksmanship, tracking and counter-tracking techniques had been her core curriculum.

"No pursuers~~?" Wakaba pretended to be tired from walking and sat down on a flowerbed by the roadside.

The flowers in the bed, battered by the blazing summer sun, had drooping, dejected petals.

The street was bustling with pedestrians, and while vehicle traffic on the road wasn't heavy yet, car horns blared from time to time.

On the large screen of the office building across the street, the latest international news was being broadcast.

"...A massive collapse has occurred in the Grand Canyon, the largest mining park in Rui Xing Prefecture, leaving a death toll as high as 110,000. It is reported that the cause of the accident was aging equipment and managerial negligence on the part of Nietzsche Corporation... The Nietzsche Group may face astronomical compensation claims of up to 800 billion, pushing it to the brink of bankruptcy. Insiders have leaked that the Cohen Group is already in negotiations to acquire the Nietzsche Group..."

"Last night, on the evening of July 2nd in the 2230th year of the Era of Light, the joint meeting between the Martian Envoys and the Terrestrial Alliance concluded successfully. It is reported that the Martian Envoys will be invited to visit the nation of Dongfu to attend the 170th birthday celebration of our Prince of Seizaburou..."

Wakaba watched the news, but her mind was turning over other matters.

"From the looks of it, the Security Bureau only suspects me; they haven't confirmed it yet. Those micro-cameras must be an attempt to gather concrete evidence."

"As long as I maintain 'normalcy' at home, I should be able to hold out for a while longer."

"But certainly not for long..."

"I must increase my strength as soon as possible and strike first to eliminate these threats!"

With this thought, her gaze hardened once more, and she resolved that tonight and over the weekend, she would spare no cost to wipe out that defiled beast.

Time flew by, and night descended.

Qingzhao River—the very river where the Realm of Mist was located.

By night, the river resembled a winding silver ribbon, with the colorful neon lights of the city reflecting upon its calm surface like a magnificent underwater metropolis.

The riverbanks were lush with thriving aquatic vegetation, and waterbirds swept past from time to time, kicking up ripples.

"Halt! No approaching this area!" As Wakaba arrived at the riverside, she was intercepted by two magical girls.

The two girls wore identical, puffy, short-skirted uniforms of the same design.

Wakaba frowned as she looked at them, sensing the surging magical power radiating from their bodies, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Who are you?" she asked, keeping her hands in her pockets.

The magical girl on the left lifted her chin proudly. "We, the 'Blades of Aogwu,' are currently clearing this defiled beast. This is no longer any business of idle bystanders like you."

"If you don't leave immediately, we won't be polite," the other magical girl warned with a cold expression.

"What?! You're the Blades of Aogwu!" Wakaba dropped her jaw in exaggerated shock and quickly took a few steps forward.

Seeing this, the two magical girls instantly tightened their guard, magic simmering beneath their skin.

"...The Blades of Aogwu! That legendary, strongest magical girl organization! Rumors say you take eradicating defiled beasts as your sacred duty, sacrificing yourselves one after another for world peace—so truly noble~~~!"

Faced with Wakaba's glowing praise, bizarre expressions flickered across the faces of the two magical girls.

"...I've admired the Blades of Aogwu for ages! I heard you embrace all rivers and welcome talents from all walks of life—I want to join you and contribute my share to eradicating the defiled beasts!" Wakaba said, stars in her eyes.

Meeting her sincere and enthusiastic gaze, the two grew even more bewildered.

"You really want to join us?" the magical girl on the left asked, her tone strange.

"Yes, yes! I've looked up to you for a long time," Wakaba nodded vigorously.

"Then go on in," the magical girl said, a trace of sneering undertone in her voice.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang~!

Gunshots rang out, sustained in rapid succession until the magazines were emptied.

From the moment finger-sized blood blossoms bloomed on the centers of the two magical girls' foreheads to the instant their skulls were thoroughly blasted into bowl-sized bloody caverns, barely two seconds had passed.

Viscous, tofu-like brain matter mixed with blood spilled from the gaping wounds. Traces of utter disbelief still lingered on their faces as their bodies slowly crumpled to the ground.

Two ragged holes were torn in the pockets of Wakaba's jacket, revealing the dark muzzles of guns emitting wisps of faint gunpowder smoke.

"Not only were these two bad guys harboring malicious intent, but they also tried to scheme against me?" She sneered, stepping over the corpses of the two girls and walking forward.

As she walked, she muttered indignantly:

"Not only did these bad people want to harm me, but they also wanted to steal my loot!"

"After all these days, countless efforts, and multiplying the cost of my life by N, just as victory was within reach, these villains jump out to harvest the fruits of my labor?"

Her devious little mind was already formulating a plan: how to slaughter this bunch of scoundrels next.

Splash!

She leaped into the river. The familiar sensation of weightlessness returned instantly. A damp, fine drizzle beat against her face, blurring her vision. The lingering heat of the summer day was washed clean in a single breath by the dampness of the rainy world.