It was the next morning.
When he first entered the main city of Lungmen, Megumi was quite nervous. Despite having this new disguise, it could bring people's attention to him considering how it looked.
Even if his stoic expression betrayed his inner feelings, Megumi wasn't going to let it down in the slightest. It was his greatest defensive mechanism in keeping any semblance of control he had over his life.
Thankfully, all he received was a few strange glances... And people pulling their purses away from him whenever he got close.
'At the very least, I can travel around the main city freely...'
Aside from all that, there had also been widespread panic and conspiracy theories being advertised on the news. Or people were wildly discussing the appearance of his Nue Totality, stating it to be a mythological being from... A god or something?
'...This is too much, I really screwed up big time...' He kept his head low, embarrassed at hearing his technique being talked about, 'how do they even Shikigamis? Is it because of this foreign energy in the air?'
Although there was no Cursed Energy, Megumi could sense a different type of energy in the air, what he assumed to be the enabler for the 'magic' that people used here.
'It's best to find a library soon, but I need to train my abilities first,' after being hit by that red sword slash for a second time, Megumi realized how outclassed he was in this world. 'Right now, I need to tame... Tiger Funeral and Mahoraga...'
When he summoned Piercing Ox against that white haired Lupo, miraculously, it had been tamed when she killed it.
'I still need to find out how that was possible in the first place... Is it because nobody in this world possesses Cursed Energy? Because of that, the ritual didn't become null... Because those without Cursed Energy count as a tool, that should be it, right?'
That was the current theory Megumi was running with, which took quite a lot of deliberation when he went out to explore Lungmen.
'...Ah, is that a gym?' His gaze turned elsewhere, seeing an interesting structure amongst all others.
'What does that sign say?' What caught his interest most was the sign, which stated that it possessed a training room for 'arts' users to utilize.
'Arts...' Megumi tried the word on his tongue, '...Is that what the magic of this world is called?' Why else would the gym advertise its training room for these arts users then? It only made sense.
Megumi walked into the gym, hood still pulled down, before he turned to the receptionist desk. 'Well, I guess I'll try it out.'
He couldn't keep training in abandoned buildings in the Slums after all, especially since it would paint a pattern that could be led back to him.
Also, because of the stunt he pulled in District 9, most likely the LGD were going to flood it to find any presence of the black haired man.
Megumi decided to call out to the receptionist, "hello? I saw the sign, something about a training room for arts users?"
The receptionist, a particularly buff man, turned up to regard him, "huh? You?" The man looked up and down, analyzing his appearance. "...You sure kid?"
The Ten Shadows user wondered if his appearance was giving the man any doubts, "yeah, I can show you?"
"Eh, it's whatever," the man waved him off, "you wanna buy a membership?"
Megumi didn't have any identification, so he shook his head, "no, I'm just planning to stay for... Five hours and leaving."
"Alright, that'd be 500 LMD," the muscular man reached his hand out, "you can use any of the training rooms, just don't cause too many damages in them."
Megumi nodded, reaching into his pockets and accessing his spatial storage. "Here you go," he pulled out the required amount of money.
"Have fun in there, I guess," the receptionist leaned back on his chair after taking the money and placing it somewhere safe.
With a wave, Megumi continued onwards to the rooms.
When he was out of sight, the receptionist sighed, 'he totally looks like an edgelord...' But he wasn't the type of person to judge others... Openly, of course.
Picking out a magazine from his desk, he leaned back and opened it.
***
'Wow...' Megumi looked around the room he was in, it was far more spacious than he thought. 'This looks really... Well made?'
He couldn't tell if the quality was standard for training rooms like this, 'but it must be the norm because of arts users, right?'
Back in his world, there were barely any Jujutsu Sorcerers, and even if there was; most of them came from Japan.
'After I finish training, I should take on that Rhine Labs commission, I still need some money after all,' spending time in the morning training was his current goal. It was perfect, as the commission only started during the afternoon.
'I think it should be safe, considering there have been no pictures of my face leaked, stating it was the cause of the Nue Totality summoning.'
Locking the metal door behind him, Megumi noted the strange material that covered every inch of the room.
Knocking on them to get a feel of their durability, he found it far more resistant than any material he had been exposed back to on Earth.
'New world, new things to discover, huh?' Megumi sighed, 'still a pain...'
Shaking his head, Megumi brought his hands together, 'it's time to get training, anyways.'
"Divine Dog: Totality."
Thanks to the noise insulation of the room, he didn't need to worry about being discovered.
"Alright," Megumi assessed his Shikigami summon, "fight me, I need to get stronger."
Preparing himself in a fighting stance, his partner complied.
The werewolf got into a four legged low stance, claws prepared and sharp.
***
Megumi laid down, panting. He had to take his jacket off when sparring with his Shikigami, healing his cuts and bruises with RCT. 'Damn, I couldn't even do much against it.'
He took a glance at the werewolf, it simply sat there licking its paw, only barely visible damage had been sustained to it.
'I didn't use any Cursed Tools, but this is still pretty embarrassing,' it became clear to him that he was weaker than his Shikigamis. 'I need a way to circumvent that...'
He didn't want to use any weapons right now, because training his foundation was far more important at the moment.
His thoughts lingered, could he? What else could he do? Train more until his Cursed Energy reserves and physical strength increases..?
But then it clicked.
The muscle memory of Sukuna bled into his body, making his muscles move. As Megumi saw his hands clasped together, he realized a part of the Ten Shadows that was recently discovered by the King of Curses himself.
With a breath, he spoke out...
"Piercing Water!"
A jet torrent of water fired off from his hands, Max Elephant's ability to store water and fire it off... It was now accessible to him.
It slashed through the room, Divine Dog Totality having to duck its head as Megumi guided it across the room, "that's-!" A sense of excitement filled him, discovering that he had access to his Shikigami's abilities!
He dispelled the ability, water stopped shooting from his clasped hands as adrenaline filled his veins once more.
Totality growled at him, before laying back down for a rest.
"Ah, sorry about that," Megumi scratched the back of his head, before turning his attention back to where Piercing Water had landed.
'The damage... It's pretty good,' while he purposefully lowered his output on the attack, it still left a hefty graze mark across the room.
'Does that mean..?' If he could access Max Elephant's abilities, could he access Nue's lightning?
Although he didn't want to accidentally summon the bird, seeing how it had grown to the size of multiple skyscrapers, he was going to attempt it.
'Recall the feeling... The feeling of drawing upon Max Elephant's abilities...' Megumi sat down in a criss-cross position, focused intently on the feeling he came to before.
A sense of euphoria filled him, trying to replicate the same feat he had achieved with Max Elephant, but this time, Nue was the focus.
With a breath in... And a breath out...
Bzzt
A sparkle of electricity was heard, causing Megumi to shoot his eyes wide open. Looking down, he stared at his fist...
"Aha... Wow, it really..." Megumi wondered why the hell the guide book for his Ten Shadows never included abilities like this.
'Did... Did Sukuna discover it? By himself?' The Ten Shadows user could have never imagined using the technique like this.
'Is this how... I will be able to tame Mahoraga..? No, don't think about that summon yet, do it when you have access to all Shikigamis...'
The only disadvantage Megumi noticed when using Nue's electricity to make it flow through his body was that he couldn't summon Nue itself. He needed to research it more.
'However... The max amount of electricity Nue can discharge is compressed into my fist... Does that mean the power of Nue Totality is concentrated entirely here?'
It was a mind-blowing thought, seeing how the bird was capable of shooting lightning that could span entire city blocks.
"Alright... Totality, let's go again," Megumi prepped himself in a combat stance... One way too similar to Sukuna.
'Damned muscle memory...'
But he wouldn't let that complicate things for him, even if it brought a wrenching feeling in his stomach.
Divine Dog Totality blinked its eyes open, before standing up and growling in agreement.
Taking in a deep breath, Megumi charged forward, reeling his right fist back.
Totality dodged to the right in a black blur, extending out its right claw while doing so and stabbing it forward.
Megumi spun around and delivered an elbow blow, infused with lightning.
The werewolf raised its left hand to block it, but when it impacted, a discharge of purple lightning blew through it, pushing it back and freezing up its nerves.
"Grr..." The dog let out a sound as it recovered, getting on all fours.
Megumi's eyes widened, before clapping his hands together and discharging lightning to the Shikigami.
Totality maneuvered left and right, moving past the lightning as it tore through the reinforced ground.
'It's quite strong!' Megumi's eyes widened, even though he was lowering his output considerably, a large amount of Cursed Energy left him. 'So this is another downside, huh? If Nue were discharging this lightning, it wouldn't even be a drop in my reserves... But because I'm doing it...'
It drained him considerably. That was another thing he discovered.
Totality found itself zapped by another wave, letting out a growl before it bursted at supersonic speeds, circling around to Megumi's back.
Releasing his stance, the black haired man ducked under a swiping claw blow before lashing out with his left leg, slamming his foot into the dog's side and discharging more electricity.
The summon was stunned from the impact, before Megumi balanced himself with his arms and delivered three more kicks
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
Totality was knocked back, each hit increasing the strain of electricity coursing through its body, before it keeled over in enough pain to nearly be unable to fight.
"Haah~... To imagine myself surpassing Mahoraga..." Megumi remembered the words Gojo had spoken to him, to imagine himself going past his limits... Not to believe that Mahoraga was upper ceiling...
'No... Mahoraga isn't my limit at all...' A sense of conviction burned through the despair he had been feeling since entering this world. Even if it was only temporary, it fueled his resolve.
Totality settled itself on the ground, strangely whimpering.
Megumi blinked, forgetting that he had recently laid a beatdown on his Shikigami, "ah, sorry about that..."
The dog let out a low growl.
"Alright, come on, I'll give you a scratch and heal you," bringing his hands together to form a seal, he called out.
"Round Deer."
Stepping forward, the puddle behind him formed upwards into a deer, who followed along with him.
When they both arrived, the deer started to heal Totality while Megumi rubbed its chin.
Totality let out sounds of satisfaction, closing its eyes as it did so.
'Just using the electricity of Nue through my fists let me overpower Totality even though I could only fight it to a stalemate prior... I just gotta be more efficient with its Cursed Energy usage.'
He gripped his right fist, his left scratching Totality, "alright... I need to see what other abilities I can utilize through myself."
***
Saria stared at the file, narrowing her eyes as she did so.
They were currently in the building in which the extension of Rhine Labs was attempting to establish itself in Lungmen.
"...Can you tell me why we are hiring help from the Mercenary's Tavern?" The Vouivre kept a stone cold face as she regarded the man who suggested such a thing in the first place.
"Hm?" Kyle Hensonn took a sip of his coffee while leaning on the table, "I mean, we're short on security, and we can't expect you to shoulder all the burden..." He spoke out, "and besides, the Mercenary's Tavern isn't filled with heartless criminals. Sure, they're motivated by money but they get the job done."
Saria felt the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, before resisting and placing the file back on the table, "fine, but if anything goes wrong, it's your responsibility, understand?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the man nodded his head, taking another sip. "Anyways, how's Ifrit doing? I heard she was getting treatment for her Oripathy levels..."
Saria crossed her arms, thinking about what she should say next... "She's doing fine," that was a lie, but the white haired woman could only hope for the best. "Treatment is... Unorthodox, but Ifrit should be getting better. Especially since Silence is overlooking it."
"Oh? That's good to hear, it's a shame how somebody as young as her already has so much... Nevermind," Kyle shook his head, standing up from his leaning position. 'I shouldn't push matters like this in front of Saria.'
"Before you leave, when is our 'guest of honor' going to arrive?" Saria spoke out before Kyle could completely exit.
"Oh? Well, it should be around... Late in the afternoon," Kyle took another sip of his coffee, "there's been a huge spike of crime due to Siracusa's gangs and mafioso leaking into Lungmen, so we'd need all the help we can get."
"...I hope you're right," Saria sighed. She'd personally deal with the mercenary they were hiring if they were to step out of line, anyways.
"Oh, one more thing before I leave," Kyle halted his steps at the door, before peeking his head back, "have you heard the news about District 9 of the Slums?"
"No, I don't believe so, what about it?" Saria crossed his arms, keeping a straight posture.
"You should check it out then, I can't really explain it in words," Kyle had a rather... Disturbed look when he said that.
That caused Saria to raise an eyebrow, it usually took a lot to 'disturb' him, even when he first heard of the state Ifrit was in.
"...I'll see it for myself, then," Saria nodded, perhaps she could spend a few minutes off to see what all the fuss was about.
"Alright then, don't be too surprised with what you see, haha," Kyle waved her off and stepped out of the room.
Seeing him off, Saria grabbed a tablet, before typing any news about Lungmen's District 9-
'Wait, no... It's already all over the news, huh?' Saria clicked on a video, displaying the scenery in the middle of the night.
The usually composed woman couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, 'What is that..? A Wild Beast?'
'No, it's far too big to be one, and a Wild Beast doesn't just randomly burst out of a city... Is it fake?'
But if it were fake, why were there so many videos of it? What happened last night while she was asleep?
'The researchers back in Columbia would go crazy over this,' Saria placed a hand over her mouth and tapped her finger. 'Will it appear again? Is the safety of our establishment here compromised? What is going on in Lungmen city?'
A knock on her door broke Saria out of her stupor, before replying, "come in."
The door opened at her words, and a familiar face made itself known, "hiya~ Saria!"
The Vouivre woman blinked twice, realizing who it was, "Muelsyse? What are you doing here?"
The Elven woman was in charge of the ecological sector of Rhine Labs, and usually stayed in Columbia for businesses that regarded the company there.
"Oh~, me? Well, I was also just recently put in charge with Rhine Labs' establishment in Lungmen, along with you~!" The woman held an umbrella over her shoulder, holding a very joyous expression.
Saria placed down the tablet, giving one more look to turn to-
"Huh? What are you watching?" Muelsyse immediately appeared by the woman, looking over at what she was watching by tippy toeing.
"...It's about the latest news in Lungmen..." Saria spoke out, wondering how the Elf would-
"My goodness, what is that?" Her eyes widened, grabbing and bringing the tablet closer to her face, "can a bird ever grow that large~?"
"It's not just a bird, it looks like the result of an arts summoning, or rather, that's my theory," Saria explained.
"I see... Wow, the researchers back in Columbia would be rushing to Lungmen to investigate it, hm~?"
"Of course they would," Saria sighed, "we have a hired mercenary for security coming in the afternoon, just so you know."
"Oh? We're hiring mercenaries now?" Muelsyse held a rather surprised look, before turning back to the video, replaying it over and over again.
"Due to the increased crime rates and the lack of security in our establishment, yes, it was Kyle Hensonn's idea."
"Ah, that man can be quite the trouble sometimes," Muelsyse humphed out, "but well, I guess it's sometimes a good idea to trust him, wouldn't you agree~?"
"I believe so," Saria blandly replied, "besides, what are your thoughts on the video?"
"Hmm~, well, the bird in the video looks like a 'Chimera,' wouldn't you agree?" Muelsyse placed a finger under her lip, swaying as she analyzed it once more.
"...I can see why you'd think that," Saria called back to the treatment Ifrit was receiving currently, the 'Chimeric Treatment.' "But that refers to mixed races through artificial means, can a beast like that be a Pure Chimera?"
"Well, we don't know~," Muelsyse shrugged shoulders, "but do you think you'd be able to defend me against it if it comes after Rhine Labs?"
"...If I can get a good hit in, I believe I can tear through it," Saria spoke out, narrowing her eyes as the scene of the bird forming a gigantic electric barrier.
"...Its electricity arts will be a problem to get through, though..." The Vouivre admitted.
"Don't worry, I can help in insulating it," Muelsyse pointed out, "my water arts should help in such an endeavor, no~?"
"Then let's hope it doesn't come to it," Saria sighed, turning off the tablet, "but from what I believe, we won't encounter it unless the summoner decides to call upon it again."
Muelsyse tilted her head, "why do you believe it was a summoner who called upon it?" She faked her ignorance, already coming to the same conclusion as Saria.
"Because it appeared out of nowhere, a skyscraper spanning beast does not make an appearance like that unless it was summoned," Saria concluded.
"Ah, you've always got an excellent mind~," the Elf complimented with great enthusiasm.
The two paused their conversation as the sounds of footsteps alerted them, a researcher bursting into the room with labored breaths.
Saria gave a confused look, wondering what their 'excitement' was all about.
"Oh~?" Muelsyse looked at them with a curious expression, wondering what had gotten them all riled up.
"Ms. Saria-," the researcher stood up straight, calling to the Head of Defense, before being shocked at the other resident, "Ms. Muelsyse? What are you doing here?"
"Ah, it's no need to be so surprised~, I'm simply here for a few days to check up on Rhine Lab's establishment here," the woman in question closed her eyes and waved him off, "besides, you seem to have some... Interesting information there~?"
The researcher straightened himself, before clearing his voice, "please, take a look, you two have heard of the recent events in Lungmen, correct?" They raised what seemed to be a file to them.
"Indeed," Saria confirmed with a nod, before receiving it.
"What is this about?" Muelsyse leaned over to see what it showed.
"You see, District 9 of the slums has had the highest concentration of Originium in its air out of all other Districts, to the point where universities and colleges all over the world use it as a case study for what happens when Originium reactors aren't kept in place..." The man rambled on.
"Get to the point," Saria deadpanned.
Muelsyse gave her a cute but disapproving look.
"A-ah, my apologies, but what you can see from the data here is that it has been decreased to the least recorded of all Districts in the Slums!" The researcher pointed to a few key data points, "this is what we found out when visiting the area, as we have been curious about what effects the 'Chimera Bird' had caused."
Saria had to reassess her vision, rubbing her eyes and taking another look at it, "what..? Is that even-?"
Muelsyse cut her off, "arts can't destroy Originium particles in the air... And since that bird was the one who formed that purple electric barrier..."
"Yes, indeed, we believe that bird was the one who destroyed the Originium in the atmosphere, this is a revolutionary discovery!" His words were frantic, along with his movements being jittery. "I-if we spot that bird again, we have to capture it to research how exactly it can cause such a phenomenon!"
Saria and Muelsyse stared at each other for a brief moment, before the former spoke up, "so you want me to capture it?"
"A-ah, well, if we happen to spot it, please, I request of you..." The researcher looked embarrassed, knowing they were asking for a favor.
"...If it's a danger to Rhine Labs, then I'll try my best to take it down," Saria relented, "if it appears around an area that isn't ours, I won't even bother with it."
"Thank you!" The man bowed his head, before taking back the data sheet and rushing out of the room.
"...Wow~, isn't that a discovery?" Muelsyse felt a spark of curiosity igniting within her, tilting her head as she pondered the data over and over again. "A truly revolutionary discovery, hm~? I might just ask to extend my stay in Lungmen."
"..." Saria kept silent, merely sighing, "...It's the afternoon already, right? We have a mercenary to attend to."
As if on cue, the phone in Saria's office beeped, signaling an arrival that was for the Head of Defense to attend to. "What a coincidence..." She muttered to herself while standing up.
"Oh, let me come with you then~, we'll discuss this matter later, m'kay?" The Elf girl felt even more energetic. "Besides, I wanna see who our 'special guest' is."
The two left the room, Saria in particular wondering how such a simple establishment of Rhine Labs in Lungmen had led to... Whatever finding that 'Chimera Bird' was.
***
Megumi stood in front of the establishment where he was supposed to arrive, looking back down at the address he had written down.
The place was weirdly... Far away from the LGD headquarters, so he didn't need to keep his hooded jacket on. He had recently found out that his face hasn't actually become public for whatever reason, so as long as he kept far away from the LGD Headquarters, then he was safe to wear the black haori and white gi.
'Besides... I should at least look presentable,' the hooded outfit he wore would not paint a good first impression for him. 'This haori is like wearing a formal suit to an interview, right?'
With a sigh, Megumi wondered where he was supposed to go, the rather large building gave an intimidating aura. 'If I had Mahoraga's adaptation, finding my way around would be easy...' He really needed to stop thinking about the Divine General.
Speaking of his Shikigamis, Megumi had recently discovered what abilities he could utilize from the current Shikigamis he had tamed, 'I should focus on taming Tiger Funeral, then I'll be one step closer to Mahoraga.'
Other training methods he employed were trying to perfect his RCT and Falling Blossom Emotion technique, the latter was especially important if he wished to utilize Dragon Bone more effectively.
Megumi grabbed a door knob once he reached the entrance to the receptionist desk.
"Hello?" Megumi called out politely, keeping a straight face, "I was commissioned for... Security and defense here."
"Oh? Can I have a name?" The desk lady perked up, before typing something on her computer.
"...Zen'in," Megumi said, knowing that telling his real name, even if this company was far away from the LGD, was a bad idea.
"Ah, I see, it's listed here..." The lady pressed a few more buttons, before sliding her chair to another section of her desk and pressing a button.
The lady turned back to Megumi, "please, wait at one of the chairs over there," she pointed to a corner of the room which looked like a waiting section. "The Head of Defense should arrive soon."
"Understood," Megumi politely bowed, before walking to the seats. 'This is just a simple security shift, shouldn't be too bad...'
With those thoughts, he focused on suppressing his Cursed Energy as best as possible, the receptionist didn't notice his weird aura as badly as other people; most likely thanks to her not being skilled in combat.
'I wouldn't want any bad first impressions, considering the Head of Defense should be particularly skilled in combat...'
Now was the time to be patient, and hope nothing blows up in his face.
***
"Boss," Frank called out to his superior, they were now residing in a different hotel from before. "The Lupo you hired to hunt down the man who killed Hanshi... She abandoned it."
"Excuse me?" The Boss held an irritated expression, "is there a reason why? What happened?"
"It's unknown why she abandoned it, but she recently raided where we used to reside and... Killed a large portion of our men stationed there," Frank answered, a bead of sweat forming on the back of his neck.
"Tch... Of course," The Boss took a whiff of his cigar, "it doesn't matter, she's just one loose dog, we'll deal with her."
Frank wanted to say that the woman was known as the 'Mad Dog' of Siracusa, but kept his words restrained in his throat, 'the Boss already knows, it'd just be an annoyance for me to remind him.'
The Boss rubbed his temples as he shifted subjects, "Rhine Labs... They didn't agree on our terms to get Oripathy treatment medication."
"Boss?" Frank raised an eyebrow. The man knew that The Boss was uninfected, but Frank himself was...
"It's already been a long time since that ordeal, don't you think it'd be a good time to strike, now?" The Boss gave him a glance.
"...Are you sure it's a good idea, what if they trace it back to us?" Frank knew that The Boss wanted to stabilize his Right Hand Man's condition as soon as possible, but making an enemy of such a large company would be disastrous.
"Tell me, Frank, what problem has the Blood Hounds been facing when they make their move?" The Boss leaned back.
"...That the people we attack know that it's us?" Frank made a guess.
"Bingo," The Boss snapped his index and middle finger, "the LGD knows it's us causing the crimes, the Slums knows it's us disrupting their business... It works to improve our influence and get more people in our ranks. Thus, increasing our power for those Lupos who are interested... Maybe even having those from the Mafioso defect to join us, it's happened before."
The Boss paused for a moment, a thoughtful look, before continuing on; "but that also means that the enemies know who we are, and who to target to get the thorn out of their side. This time, however, we won't make it known that it is the Blood Hounds who will target Rhine Labs."
"So... You suggest we prepare a squadron with disguises, ones that won't point back to us?" Frank stated the obvious. "Are you sure? My condition isn't even that bad-"
"Don't say such foolish things," The Boss shot him a disapproving look, "Oripathy is more dangerous than you think, Frank."
"Apologies," Frank shook his head, "I'll round up our elite men who are skilled at stealth, what's our main objective?"
"Steal and secure any Oripathy treatment medicine, do it stealthily... And kill any witnesses."
"Understood," The Right Hand Man nodded, before moving to relay the orders, but a sense of unease filled him, 'still... That Lappland will be a problem...'
He shook his head, he'd deal with that monster later.
"Oh, I just remembered Boss, have you heard of the gigantic bird that appeared in the Slums?" Frank inquired.
"...Yeah, I have, pretty fucking insane if you ask me," he narrowed his eyes, remembering seeing the gigantic bird from where he resided. "But it happened in the slums, I bet you it's a summoner that spawned it."
"If it's a summoner... Then they wouldn't think of placing it in Lungmen's actual city, right?" Frank placed a cupped hand under his chin.
"Of course, they'd immediately be shot down by the anti-air cannons, the reason why they did it in the Slums was most likely because it lacks any of them," The Boss boredly spoke out. "So we won't have to worry about it appearing in our territory, besides, the damage it caused in the Slums is beneficial to us... Even if it targeted a useless district."
"Alright, Boss, I'll get to doing my job now," with a respectful nod, Frank exited the room, a sense of fulfillment after asking his question. 'Indeed, we won't have to worry about that overgrown bird, huh?'
***
Ch'en was over the phone, Swire and Hoshiguma once again standing beside her. They were going to try their luck at calling Lin once more.
Beep
The call was forwarded through, before the voice of Lin came out, "I know it's you, Ch'en, Swire, and Hoshiguma, what do you want this time?"
"...Lin, listen..." Ch'en spoke out, a slightly more resigned voice, "it's about... The guy we've been looking for."
A sigh could be heard through the phone, Lin was most likely pinching the bridge of her nose, Ch'en assumed.
"Yes, yes, I had a meeting with him... he didn't lie about anything," Lin spoke out, "he even said he wasn't a threat to Lungmen, and I sensed no lie in it."
Ch'en blinked, turning to Swire and Hoshiguma.
Hoshiguma didn't know much about Lin, so she herself turned to Swire, the one knowing the mouse Zalak as well as Ch'en.
The tiger lady in response just shrugged, "she's good at telling lies, that's all I know." The woman sounded far more defeated than before.
"...How can you be so sure?" Ch'en felt a lot more standoffish while replying back to Lin.
"I can tell lies the best out of all of us, you know that, Ch'en..." Lin continued on, "the fact that he didn't use the bird to destroy other Districts of the Slums or Lungmen itself is already telling of that."
"How can you be so sure...?" The blue haired dragon lady could feel her grip on the armrest of her chair tightening.
"Ch'en... Do you know what was recorded when a team of researchers explored the damage that gigantic bird caused?" Lin came to her next point.
"...What? What are you talking about?" Ch'en looked at the phone with a confused look, before turning to Hoshiguma and Swire.
The two were as clueless as she was.
"District 9 has the highest Originium density in the air in all of Lungmen, it's quite literally its greatest failure and disgrace," Lin spoke out, "but after the bird appeared, do you know what they recorded in the area where it affected?"
Ch'en felt her confusion rising even higher, before she replied, "...No..."
"The Originium density has decreased, lower than any other District of the Slums," Lin spoke out lowly.
Swire and Hoshiguma jolted from shock, moving closer to the phone.
"Huh, what?!" Swire yelled out, wondering how the hell something like that had happened.
"Missy, calm down," Hoshiguma tried to pull her away from interrupting Ch'en and Lin's conversation.
"You dirty rat, no, Lin, what the hell are you talking about?!" Swire spoke out, "how do you even know-?"
"I know every part of the Slums, private information like this is easily accessible to me. It's no lie, it'll become public in less than 12 hours, I bet you," Lin calmly spoke through the phone.
Ch'en in particular are frozen in shock, 'that... That can't be true...'
"So if you think he's a danger to Lungmen, I believe you should reassess your views before everything comes burning down," Lin said. "Of course, if any of you care for the Slums' development, you won't pursue this matter any further. Leave it to me."
With those words, the phone call ended, leaving the office in silence.