"Hey, wait! Wait! You left someone behind!"
The helmeted muscle man gritted his teeth against the pain in his thigh, watching his companions' retreating figures with near-despair. His outstretched arm clawed helplessly at the air, as if trying to seize something that was already gone.
But he caught nothing. His comrades' silhouettes grew smaller and smaller, disappearing into the smoke drifting from the grenade Jane had thrown. The thick haze swallowed the last flicker of hope from his eyes.
Finally, with a heavy thud, his clenched fist—and his last trace of hope—slammed into the ground.
Thud!
The force of the impact startled Ruby, who quickly ducked behind Phaga, peeking out with just her head to watch curiously.
"Aren't you usually so bold? You even dared to tease Nineveh, yet one thug sends you hiding?"
Ellen couldn't help but laugh, teasing Ruby as she spoke.
Ruby's face flushed bright red as she huffed indignantly. "That's different! Nineveh isn't standing right in front of me! What's wrong with saying a few things about her?"
"Pfft—!"
Phaga, who had been about to step forward to check on the fallen man, couldn't help but laugh at that. He turned and gave Ruby a look.
He didn't say a word, but the amused, indulgent expression he gave her—like one might reserve for a slow-witted child—was enough to crush Ruby's already fragile pride. Her face grew even hotter by the second.
Ellen reached out to touch her cheek, and Ruby instinctively flinched away, only to see Ellen shaking her head with mock regret.
"What a shame. If I'd known your body temperature could rise this much, I would've brought some eggs along. We wouldn't go hungry on the road."
"Mmmph..."
Ruby's face burned brighter. Tears welled in her eyes as she yelled, "Ahhh!!! Stop talking about me already!!!"
She balled her tiny fists and swung at Ellen in frustration.
Ellen rolled her eyes, not even bothering to dodge. Instead, she pulled three lollipops from her bag, unwrapped one for herself, and popped it into her mouth before holding another out to Ruby.
"Hey, want one?"
Ruby froze mid-punch, blinking. Within a second, she snapped out of it and snatched the candy away, muttering, "Of course I do!"
She tore off the wrapper and stuck the lollipop into her mouth, her cheeks puffed contentedly as though all her anger had vanished in an instant.
So easy to please.
Ellen twitched her lips in exasperation, then held the last unwrapped lollipop toward Phaga, hovering it near his neck while she looked away. "Here. Take it."
"Oh, thanks."
This time, Phaga didn't refuse. Tilting his head, he took the lollipop into his mouth, then crouched down in front of the helmeted thug, thoughtful.
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before... Hey, friend, mind lifting your head?"
The helmeted man, still fuming over being abandoned, had lost all composure. Consumed by anger, he forgot his situation entirely and snapped his head up, shouting:
"Watch your mouth, kid! Back when you were in diapers, your old man here was already running this town—gahhh!!"
Unfortunately for him, Phaga had no patience for being insulted. Before the thug could unleash his well-practiced street curses, Phaga pressed him down with a burst of Nether Flames.
Phaga smiled faintly, his narrowed eyes gleaming with sharp light. The plastic stick of his lollipop snapped between his teeth and fell to the ground, rolling to a stop beside the thug's bleeding thigh.
At that moment, Phaga's left hand—wreathed in blue-black Nether Flames—was already pressed against the wound.
The fire boiled through the man's veins, searing pain straight into his bones. His muscles twisted and contracted, spasming rhythmically like a grotesque dance.
Unable to endure it, the helmeted thug screamed, collapsing backward, nearly fainting.
But Phaga wasn't about to let him pass out so easily. He instantly withdrew the flames, the pain subsiding just enough for the man to regain consciousness—only for Phaga to draw his blade and aim it at his face.
"From now on," Phaga said coldly, "I ask, you answer. Clear?"
"N-no problem! Ask whatever you want, young master!"
The helmeted thug nodded frantically, his voice trembling with fear and fawning submission.
As expected, a good beating always worked wonders.
Phaga lowered his blade slightly, his tone calm. "About a week ago, did you happen to surround a maid café?"
Since joining Victoria Housekeeping, Phaga's most lucrative assignment had been a fourteen-million yuan commission from the elderly owner of that very café.
The request: investigate who had sent multiple gangs after him.
It was a long-term job—not urgent, but Phaga had kept it close to heart. After all, it was work.
Vision Industry had once been a lead, but they'd played with fire and burned themselves right into New Eridu Public Security's hands, cutting the trail short.
Now, with a new clue right in front of him, Phaga's pulse quickened.
This time, he wasn't letting it slip away.
The helmeted thug thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. But there were lots of other gangs there too."
"They all ended up in New Eridu Public Security, yet you got away?"
Phaga chuckled softly. Back then, he'd handed all the gang locations to New Eridu Public Security through Rina—and somehow, these idiots had still escaped.
"Heh, the Mountain Lion Gang's never been caught by the Public Security. We survive by knowing when to run."
He scratched at his helmet awkwardly, half-proud, half-embarrassed.
"You seem a little too proud of that. Fine—who gave you the job to surround that place?"
Phaga's tone deepened, his eyes narrowing.
The thug flinched at the intensity, stammering, "I—I don't know! I'm just a grunt! Our boss handled the contacts!"
"Then how did you make the deal? The client must've paid a deposit, right?"
Phaga expected a cash payment—simple, safe, and untraceable.
But the man replied, "They paid, of course! How else could they get us to move? They transferred the money."
Transferred...?
Phaga froze for a moment, staring hard at the thug. The man shivered under his gaze, unsure what the reaction meant.
But Phaga wasn't interested in clarifying. He blinked twice, pacing slowly as he muttered to himself.
"A bank transfer. If one gang got paid that way, then the others must've too."
"Did they really not consider these gangs might get caught? To use bank transfers like that... aren't they afraid of being traced?"
"Unless..."
Phaga narrowed his eyes, looking toward the drifting smoke—his gaze piercing through the haze toward where the law officers fought beyond it.
There was an undercover among them.
"Well then..."
He was about to press further when suddenly, a figure burst through the smoke.
The man's ears twitched as he looked around anxiously. When he saw Ruby, Phaga, and Ellen all unharmed, he finally exhaled in relief.
"Thank goodness," he said, his voice warm with relief. "You're all okay."