"So you're the head of this squad? Hello, just call me 'Shalnark' — I'm the one who hired you all."
On the surface, Xiang Nan didn't betray any unusual reaction.
He even stepped forward to initiate a handshake.
Shalnark saw this, shook his hand, and introduced himself.
"I'm called Seventeen."
Said Xiang Nan.
"What's our mission?"
Xiang Nan asked directly.
"No rush—come with me."
Shalnark gave off a rather friendly vibe, a genial young man. He smiled and waved them along, indicating they should follow him.
However, Xiang Nan keenly noticed that while Shalnark addressed him, his gaze had inadvertently swept over the other four squad members behind Xiang Nan.
"Captain… can you actually see this story character?"
"Huh, who is he?"
The few behind Xiang Nan hurried after them, speaking quietly in puzzlement.
"I don't recognize him either, probably just some minor character. Maybe he only showed up a couple of times in the original story—I don't recall the name."
Xiang Nan responded offhandedly.
"Oh."
They didn't suspect him.
Xiang Nan followed Shalnark, winding through the abandoned industrial zone, almost like playing hide-and-seek, and eventually arriving at a warehouse.
When they all entered, bang! … someone slammed the warehouse doors shut.
All at once, the inside became pitch-black.
Xiang Nan stood in place, hands in his coat pockets, face unreadable.
After a few seconds, in the darkness… a few flickers of firelight popped up, illuminating the space faintly.
Dim-yellowish light began spreading across the warehouse interior, barely letting him see his surroundings.
Four people!
Standing out in front was Shalnark, holding an oil lamp.
Not far away, leaning against a cold wall with her arms crossed over her chest and head cocked lazily, was a pink-haired woman—Machi.
Xiang Nan's eyes flickered.
Behind him, the one who had shut the warehouse door was Franklin… and next to a small van stood a bespectacled girl wearing a somewhat blank expression—Shizuku.
Members #3, #6, #7, #8 of the Phantom Troupe. Four members of the Spider.
"Only these four?"
Xiang Nan felt his heart sink, immediately stretching his senses as far as they would go to check for any other Spiders hidden inside.
Before coming in, Xiang Nan had already sensed multiple nen signatures, likely meaning danger. But he had no choice; this was the mission, so he had to step forward no matter the risk.
He couldn't abandon it.
"What does this mean?"
Xiang Nan's gaze was coldly fixed on Shalnark.
"Don't mind it."
Shalnark still looked as if exuding a big-brother vibe, speaking lightly,
He set down the oil lamp.
"I wanted to confirm a few things before giving you all the job."
He sounded polite, but Xiang Nan, as a player, knew too well how the Troupe's members did things.
No exaggeration—if his answers didn't satisfy Shalnark, these four Spiders would kill him in a heartbeat.
The others in his squad still had their newbie protection. But as captain, Xiang Nan had no such safeguards.
Xiang Nan quietly waited for Shalnark to continue.
"You guys are all from that 'Nameless Town' group, right?"
Shalnark smiled.
"Yes."
To a story character, noticing that newbie protection phenomenon is normal. They just don't understand the mechanism behind it, nor can the players reveal anything about the system.
From Shalnark's perspective, he can only interpret it as some strange phenomenon tied to an unknown power.
"Sigh… didn't expect the security squad I'd hire would turn out to be entirely from Nameless Town. Feels a bit fishy, you know?" Shalnark rested his hands on his hips, sounding ambiguous. "I only posted a job listing online, just a random security assignment. A firm named 'Spirit Shield' responded. I looked into them, and sure enough, they seem 'clean'… but you five apparently just joined them. So I can't help suspecting you might have an ulterior motive. Care to explain? It's all too big a coincidence."
He stared at Xiang Nan.
He's probing…
Xiang Nan thought to himself, acknowledging Shalnark's cunning. This was not a man who could be easily misled.
"Want me to tell the truth?"
Xiang Nan asked, smiling.
"Yes."
Shalnark beamed an especially wide grin.
The other Troupe members were also watching him.
"We just got handed the job, that's all. As for why it fell to us, I have no idea. Maybe you should ask that agency or just pick somebody else."
"As for your deeper reasons, I'm sorry, but I don't know anything."
Xiang Nan offered a wry, open gesture.
"Is that so…"
Shalnark scratched his chin.
Next second, he suddenly fixed his gaze on Xiang Nan and spoke:
"You must already know who we are, right? The moment you walked in, your body language changed—like you were bracing yourself for a fight, yeah? Guess those rumors about your group were spot on… You guys in Nameless Town apparently have unusual intel sources, have you?"
He laughed.
"The famous Phantom Troupe… you guys have done plenty. If you want to remain hidden, you should keep a lower profile."
Xiang Nan shrugged.
"No point in dragging things out with him," Machi suddenly remarked, stepping away from the wall. Her tone was cold and her eyes laced with killing intent as she walked toward Xiang Nan.
"If they're unreliable, just kill them. They've discovered our location, anyway."
Machi lifted her hands, slender glowing threads of nen swirling around her fingertips.
"But we can't kill them all, except maybe him," Shalnark said, glancing at Xiang Nan, "If we do, we won't have time to find replacements. We're in a hurry now."
He, however, did nothing to stop Machi, basically implying his tacit consent.
"Then interrogate him. Confirm if they're safe."
Machi's figure vanished in a blur.
At the exact same moment, Xiang Nan activated his nen ability.
Both his hands were suddenly clad in white gloves.
A flicker of silver thread swayed midair. Machi, appearing behind Xiang Nan, tried binding his limbs with her threads—
She never anticipated the man would detect her sneak attack so cleanly.
He evaded her, and while spinning, slashed an arm chop at her face.
Machi deftly dodged, realizing that this trenchcoat guy indeed had some skill. She narrowed her eyes.
But although Xiang Nan had avoided Machi's initial blow, he failed to notice that at the instant his feet touched down, something yanked at his leg, causing him to stumble.
Looking down, he saw one of Machi's nen threads had pierced the toe of his shoe.
In ("Hidden")!
She had concealed some threads, extremely thin and near-invisible, plus Machi's skillful "Hatsu" operation. Xiang Nan couldn't precisely track all the threads or their trajectories… Her fighting style, along with her ability's synergy, was excellent. Certainly a top-tier technique.
He toppled. His hand instinctively braced on the ground for balance—
At once, an entire mesh of barely visible threads lashed out, snagging around his torso.
The speed of Machi's move, her reaction timing… alarmingly accurate.
Everything was swift and lethal.
Now, with Machi's approach, she began to tug her threads.
They constricted Xiang Nan like a captured animal.
But at the moment she drew close, Xiang Nan's elbow jerked back, ramming her right in the chest.
She gasped sharply, face reddening.
"Behave. Struggle again, and I'll cut you to pieces."
Machi threatened icily.
The threads wound around Xiang Nan were both supremely tough and razor-sharp. As they tightened, even parts of his trenchcoat were slicing open.
However, while Machi was binding him for that split second, Xiang Nan flicked several surgical blades, tangling them with her threads and twisting to keep some space so they wouldn't slice too far into him. Now if Machi wanted to fully restrain him, she'd have to exert more effort.
Even under her threat, Xiang Nan remained calm.
He merely sneered strangely:
"Examination's done… diagnosis: traumatic pneumothorax."
When he said that, Machi—standing behind him—suddenly blanched.
Her pupils contracted.
Her fingers, which had been hooking the threads taut, began trembling involuntarily.
"Not bad, Spider… your strength is indeed frightening. But right now, you're my patient. Sure you want to keep pushing?
"Because before you kill me, I guarantee… you will die first."
"…"
As Xiang Nan spoke, Machi's face already started turning ashen. She looked to be in dire condition.
Whoosh!
Seeing Machi's abnormal reaction, the other two Troupe members instantly lunged forward.
Franklin aimed his weapon-like fingers at Xiang Nan's face.
Shizuku also raised her "Vacuum Girl," seemingly about to smash Xiang Nan's head.
Xiang Nan showed no fear.
His malicious smile only grew more pronounced.
"You want to strike? I'm the only one who can save her…"
"It's not a big deal for me to die here. Having a Spider go down with me would be an honor."
"…"
Hearing that, Shalnark and the other two Troupe members all changed color.
~~~
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