Eric's team awkwardly stood without disguises the next morning as the emperor talked to a group of Immortals.
"You don't want us to mention we saw these guys?" A lanky brown-haired man asked, pointing his thumb at the team.
"Correct." Kaze smiled flatly.
"Even the girls?" Larkin clarified.
"Correct." The emperor replied dryly.
"Like, forever?" The jester asked.
"Correct." Kaze frowned.
"Can I get one of their numbers if they're about this life?" Larkin asked, dabbing.
"No." The emperor replied dryly.
"Yooooooou got it, Emperor Scrawn!" The jester replied cheerily, turning the guys, "It's a damn shame, but what you say goes. ATTENTION!"
All the soldiers felt their hearts pulse, nearly having a heart attack.
"I didn't see ya'll muthafuckas, but I'm sure you're cool as fuck, so let's get it." Larkin smiled like a cheeky idiot.
"Is it really okay that Larkin's getting a confidential mission?" Rein asked with dead eyes, looking at the jester rile up the confused soldiers, "He's terrible at keeping his mouth shut."
"Truer words have never been spoken." Kaze chuckled bitterly, "However, that clown is immeasurably valuable, and I must test whether I can trust him to sensitive operations."
"I suppose you're right." Rein frowned, turning to Steve, "But why him? He's not a mercenary and is already a master at keeping his mouth shut."
The Asian man frowned but kept silent, also interested.
"Sooner rather than later, this man must accept the fate that all people of talent must face." Kaze smiled mockingly, "I figure he could get used to it while he had agreeable company."
"I can't handle you right now, Emperor!" Rein blushed furiously, grabbing Steve and Aaron, and dragging them away, "Come on, everyone. We have a stupid amount of pink and black hair dye to find for the princess, so let's get started."
Steve hated his life as he got hauled away, followed timidly by a team of Lainwright soldiers with framed backpacks.
The only person who was stoked was Immortal Skye's jester, jogging into the city with a stupid smile.
???????????
"So I says to him, Emperor Scrawn, I'd take a Qi bolt for you." Larkin said merrily, chatting non-stop, "And you know what this legend says to me?"
"What!?" Jackson asked excitedly, engrossed in the story.
"Do you think a simple Qi bolt could reap my life?" The jester scoffed with a manly impersonation, "Cease such simple-minded rabble, you fool!
If one day you save my life, you will fall to the jaws of a Spirit Beast familiar on the Transcendent Plane. So get strong, Larkin Downs. If you wish to be worthy of a life debt, you must fight at my side like a true Immortal."
"No way!" The blonde-haired teen gasped, gripping his hands excitedly, "Contracted familiars! What a badass!"
"Suck his dick, why don't ya." Chen scoffed, disgusted by the ass-kissing.
A tiny bolt of Qi shot through a broken street in Meridian City. While it was only the size of a pen, it weaved left and right, cutting through three zombies' skulls before curving into the sky.
No one even noticed the attack until their heads exploded, and Rein turned to them. "Pay attention; we're here to scavenge, not talk about Kaze Lexicon.
I'm risking my life to get a personal room next month because I'm sick of his harem life in the female dorms 24/7."
"Did I just hear the word [harem]?" Denzel asked with wide eyes.
Before Larkin could volunteer an enthusiastic explanation, Layla spoke up. "Why didn't your bold hit that building? Is it because it's small?"
"I curved it up before breaking the connection." Rein sighed in resignation, "It's more important not to alert others than to conserve your Qi.
Qi-control isn't about the quantity you release. It's a matter of getting the Qi to do what you want it to do without having unintended consequences. Regulation is only one aspect of that."
The soldiers could only nod in a haze, getting outclassed in multiple dimensions.
"Trans~lation." Larkin said sassily, "If you make Qi your bitch, it'll love you long time."
Chen burst into laughter, hearing the teen's offensive Asian accent, leaving Rein and Steve smiling wryly. After all, Chen was a blunt Chinese man who cared less about social politics than Larkin did.
"Small arrow, curve up." Rein ordered dryly, "One practice, and then you're on your own with training. If you fuck it up, we'll dump your asses."
The Lainwright soldiers froze, their faces turning serious.
Lalya immediately created a bolt of Qi with full concentration. It was half the size of the usual, the size of a baton instead of a broom handle, so it greatly improved.
She then waved her hand and looked up, curving it.
"Yes, like that." Rein replied, "Remember that you still have to hit your target first. So get used to that."
Denzel gulped, determined to improve and rebuild his reputation with the quiet blonde who cut the window. "I'll go."
The buff black man got into position and created an arrow, larger than Lalya's, but still an improvement.
WHooOOOoSH!
"Oh, shit!" Denzel yelled, forgetting to look up until the last second.
The bolt shot into the sky erratically, following the man's panicked eyes. It was a comical sight, looking like a cartoon plane out of control.
"Bro, relax." Chen said, pulling back his hand and creating an arrow the size of Laylas, "You just have to look up."
However, when he shot the arrow and looked up, he forgot to break the connection. As a result--
"See?" The Chinese man smirked proudly, turning to Denzel with a smug expression.
BOOOOOM!
--the arrow followed him back to the ground, shooting at the black man!
Dirt and debris exploded in the area, stunning everyone's senses as it hit right next to them.
When the dust settled, everyone expected to find a dead body. However, they saw a confused black man staring at a hole and a Chinese man gripping his stomach with a pained expression.
Rein was just as stunned as everyone else, confused about what had happened.
"It seems everyone's okay." Steve said, hands in his pockets, "So can we stop talking and start finding hair dye? I don't want to be here till dark."
"Y-Yeah...." Denzel said in a daze.
Cold sweat dripped down Chen's back. Only he knew what happened--a small, marble-sized object slammed into his lower abdomen, forcing him to look down at the last moment. "Y-You got it....."
???????????
WhooOOooshHhh!
CRACK!
"This is going so smooth...." Eric said in a haze, snipping sick on top of a rooftop in the commerce district.
Whoooosh!
THUD!
"We're lucky." Steve countered dryly, "Kiera's attack killed a lot of zombies and destroyed the hearing of countless more. It shouldn't be this calm.
Still, keep your eyes out. We can't let anyone get into this building."
Eric, Jackson, Steve, Larkin, and Lalya stood on the rooftop of a drugstore building, snipping zombies on all sides while the rest of the team scavenged inside.
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"This one's busted, too." Rein scoffed, throwing a box of pink hair dye streaked with dried dye.
While supplies like hair dye got ignored in supply stores, scavengers thrashed the store. The shelves were on their sides from fights and scavenging, and bodies lined the food isles.
As a result, most of the hair dye bottles were smashed.
"Is she okay with red?" Denzel asked, "That's close, right?"
Rein shook her head calmly. "Kiera's favorite color is pink; she won't dye her hair any other color."
"Why the hell's she still dyeing her hair?" Moe asked bluntly, "It's the apocalypse. It seems kinda offensive that we're risking our lives so she can look special."
"We're not risking our lives so she can dye her hair." The brunette scoffed in annoyance, "You're here for training and I'm here to make more money so I can live in an apartment next month.
Kaze is paying me to get hair dye to reward Kiera for teaching. She earned this dye, and it acquiring it benefits both of us. Drop the victim complex already."
Moe opened and closed her mouth, realizing she had the wrong perspective. "I'm...."
"ShhhhHHh!" Rein shushed abruptly, listening to their environment.
-
"We're the rulers of Meridian City, bitch! That's who [we] are." Larkin said proudly, yelling from the rooftop, "The real question is, who the fuck are you?"
-
"Che!" The short-haired brunette clicked her tongue, hearing the man starting shit with other humans, "We're in this shit district to avoid people!"
"Wait...." Moe whispered in shock, "Isn't that....."
-
"We're the Maltian Military! Now answer my question--are you cultivators?"
-
"Do you know that man?" Rein asked sharply, "Answer me!"
"Y-Yes, he's with us... he's...." Moe swallowed nervously.
"Leo!" Denzel cried, "He's got an anger problem, but he's a good guy! He's your supporter; we need to stop this right now!"
"You're not going anywhere!" The brunette snapped, releasing her cultivation base and dropping all of them to the ground, "If they die in this city attacking us, that's a personal issue.
If they die and [you're] there, then it's an international issue. That's what we're trying to avoid, you idiot! Aaron, keep these people in this building!"
Aaron nodded silently, turning to them with a cold, threatening gaze.
"Rein...." Denzel's stomach sank as she walked to the door, "He's Immortal Skye's supporter... well loved... he probably thinks you're Sky Plane cultivators."
Rein took a deep breath in annoyance and walked out the door.
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