As the battle was over, the staff from the Hunter Association were already inside, guiding the civilians out in an orderly manner.
Medics ran back and forth, tending to wounds, checking pulses, and offering water to the victims.
Tianzhu stood still, leaning slightly against a broken pillar. Since he and his niblings (niece, nephew) were completely uninjured, he intended to wait for a while instead of rushing outside.
Theo seemed to be standing next to him, his head hanging down in disappointment.
Vera's eyes darted toward Theo and their uncle for a while, but she maintained silence.
Meanwhile, Noa was seen walking toward Sungjun, brushing some dust from her coat as she returned after having a brief talk with an official. Sungjun was seen helping the injured people to place them on stretchers.
"Hi…" She said from beside, upon reaching him.
"Hmm?" Sungjun turned to the side, looking at her. "Yes?"
Giving a bottle of water, Noa said, letting out a subtle smile. "Thanks for the help. If not for you, the situation would have turned very grave for us."
Sungjun gave a momentary pause as he stared front, not at her but at the holographic screen displayed before him.
*Ding!
[An S-rank Ability: Memory Extraction is Detected. Would you like to extract it?]
At that notification, Sungjun couldn't help but respond to her more kindly as he took the bottle, "It is not a problem. I just did what I should do."
[Extraction Process has been started. Time for completion: 180 seconds]
Needing to keep her busy for 3 minutes, Sungjun stopped his work and went on conversing, starting by stretching his hand. "Alexander. You can call me Alex."
Noa was slightly surprised but said. "I'm Noa."
"So, what do you do?" As Sungjun asked her while keeping his eye on the timer on the screen, Noa didn't bother hiding it, but instead of completely explaining it, she simply said, "You can say I'm a police officer."
Sungjun blinked in surprise at that. He couldn't help but wonder whether she knew him or something. After all, he was a mafia don. But then, reminding himself that no officer would like to introduce themselves as police, especially to his face, he calmed himself and asked. "Did you come here with someone?"
Noa shook her head. "No. It's just me…"
"That's good." Sungjun nodded and then looked around a bit while saying, "If you don't mind… can we talk somewhere else. I am actually just in need of an officer."
"You like food?" she asked casually in response, brushing hair out of her face.
"I eat to survive," Sungjun replied, blinking in surprise.
"Great. How about I'll treat you to lunch then?" she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Consider it a thank-you meal. You know, technically, you saved my life. We can talk in a restaurant."
"Sure, not a problem…" He nodded with a smile.
While both of them started walking away, Tianzhu was seen watching them from far away.
Right then, he felt nudging from the side. As he turned, he saw Vera, who had a mischievous smile on her face. "It feels like Uncle's having a crush on someone."
Tianzhu blankly stared at her and gave a knock on her head. "Shut up. Let's go."
"Wait…" Vera, however, grabbed his hand and said, "Let's eat something." Tianzhu looked at her and then at Theo. He let out a sigh and nodded. "Fine."
After a while, as Sungjun and Noa walked out of the mall, a system chime rang in Sungjun's head, receiving a notification that the skill had been extracted successfully.
Once the goal had been accomplished, Sungjun stopped and used an excuse to go to the toilet before rushing back to the mall.
While she waited outside, Sungjun gathered with the remaining two, using their mobile phone service, which was now working due to the disappearance of the dungeon barrier.
Tempest, Umbra, and Sungjun gathered on the first floor of the mall. Both stood before him for further orders.
Sungjun merely took the emergency exit to leave the mall with them and disappeared, leaving a poor Noa there waiting for him for atleast forty-five minutes before she stormed away in anger, feeling like he played her a fool.
To improve her mood, she kicked on the accelerator, making her way to Qinghefang Historical Street, which is not far away and known for street food delicacies."
Soon, she found herself at a bustling street food stall in Qinghefang Historical Street. The scent of sizzling oil, sweet and spicy sauces, and freshly made dumplings filled the air.
While she was walking around and enjoying a corn dog, her eyes spotted a familiar-looking family of three.
Vera was seen walking beside Theo and her father, hesitated for a second before finally picking up a grilled skewer of stinky tofu. She took a bite and blinked. "This is… better than I expected," as she admitted, chewing thoughtfully while Theo made a face filled with disgust, not liking the taste. Noa approached them.
With a pat on his shoulder, she attempted to surprise him, but when she touched him, Tianzhu's reflexes activated on their own. Before he reacted, his hands grabbed her arm, resulting in a sharp hiss escaping her mouth. Just as he turned around, he saw her, and he immediately freed her. "Ah…"
"Miss Noa?" Vera's eyes lit in surprise. However, Noa's face turned ugly as she rubbed her reddened arm. "Seriously, what's wrong with you? You just assault anyone who tries to call you?"
"I'm sorry…" Tianzhu immediately bowed, his expression turning awkward. "My body just acted on its own." Meanwhile, Noa still didn't look pleased by his excuse. However, before she could speak, Vera criticized him, letting out a scoff, "Uncle, aren't you a store owner? Why do you have such reflexes?"
As Tianzhu could only apologize to her once again, Noa could only nod.
After a while;
As the group of four walked through the streets, with Vera and Noa quite engaged in conversation, the former asking the latter all kinds of personal questions, Theo halted his footsteps and stared at them. Just stared for a while. No one turned back to pay attention to him.
Theo wanted to turn around to walk away, but in the end, he slowly moved forward, maintaining a steady distance between the group.
Meanwhile, Tianzhu chuckled as he took a bite of his own. "I used to eat these all the time as a kid. After school, before training. Cheap, fast, and filling."
Vera raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Noa leaned in a bit, curious. "Wait… you mean like martial arts training or hunter training?"
"Not exactly." Tianzhu shook his head. "I wasn't a fighter. I trained to become a baseball player.
Noa nearly choked on her food in surprise. "Athlete? Seriously?" She blinked at him, almost as if trying to figure out if he was joking. "What happened then? Did you retire as a pro? Or…"