The Runaway

"Ying! You're here!" Shun yelled upon seeing Yami outside his gate. They talked about hanging out after two days as Shun planned to tour Yami around the city.

"Yes, I'm here," Yami muttered and yawned. It was 8'oclock in the morning, and he was still sleepy.

Shun went out of his house and looked at Yami from head to toe. "Your clothes..."

"These are the cheapest ones I can buy," Yami muttered and shrugged. He was wearing the same set of clothes but in black color.

"Ying, you..." Shun trailed off as he looked at Yami with shyness. "You told Senior Liqin to give the credits of the last Raider's hunt to me."

"Ah yes, I don't need it. The recognition can help you get unpunished for violating the rules," Yami shrugged. He wasn't thinking much about it but rather what Liqin had told him.

"The punishment was lifted, and senior Liqin even helped me push in ranks because of the recognition you have given me," Shun stated softly and gave a soft, sincere smile to Yami. "Thank you."

"No problem," Yami smiled back at him. Both of them started walking toward their destination.

All the way, Shun was busy texting on his phone while they were walking, and Yami got curious about who it was, which Shun noticed. "Ah, I must have forgotten to tell you, but I invited Mei to hang out with us. Is it okay for you?"

"Sure," Yami agreed. It doesn't matter to him whomever he would hang out with. He went along with Shun's plan since he was getting bored and needed to go around the city to kill some time and get some quests to level up.

"Mei is already there. Let's go," Shun exclaimed in shock before walking faster, leaving Yami behind.

"Teenager's energy sometimes drained me," Yami muttered, chuckled with amusement, and followed Shun from behind. After all, he was an older man in his world.

The two of them arrived at the mall and saw Mei sitting on one of the benches while waiting for them to arrive.

'Mei," Shun called out and ran towards her.

"You two seemed very close," Yami stated as he observed their bonding.

Shun and Mei laughed awkwardly upon hearing what Yami had said.

"Nice to meet you again, Ying," Mei greeted with a smile.

"You too, Mei," Yami smiled and glanced at Shun. "So, what are we gonna do?"

"We'll go to the mall and shop, then we can head to the other location after we eat some food," Shun stated and gestured towards the entrance.

"I think I need to buy some clothes," Yami muttered, looking at his attire. His clothes made him appear younger than his current age.

The three of them spent all morning going to stores and finding something that could fit Yami's little frame.

"Ah, I'm tired," Yami grumbled as he sat on the chair inside the food court. He still didn't like the idea of shopping since it drained so much of his energy.

"You two stay here. I'll buy us some food," Shun stated and went to one of the food stalls.

"You must be tired too," Yami muttered, referring to Mei.

"Ah, no. I'm okay. I enjoyed our time together," Mei stated and wiped the cold sweat on her forehead.

Yami had noticed that Mei had been anxious for the past few minutes. She couldn't also stop fidgeting with her clothes.

"What's the matter, Mei? You have been —"

Yami couldn't continue what he was about to say when Mei stood up and ran out of the food court in a hurry.

"Mei!" Yami called out, but Mei waved at him goodbye. He looked at Shun but was too far and busy ordering meals.

Yami's instinct told him to follow Mei, and he did. He knew there was something wrong with her. Yami stepped out of the mall's exit but couldn't see Mei's figure.

"Tsk! I lost her," Yami gritted his teeth. At the same time, an alarm was heard on the speakers, indicating that a portal had opened nearby. "I got a bad feeling about this."

Yami ran in the direction of the forbidden area as fast as his legs could take him. It took him a while before he arrived, and he immediately noticed a cloud of smoke in the distance.

Yami didn't have a choice but to use 'Shadow Shift' to teleport at a given distance, and there he saw one soul beast, Nivi, blasting on the buildings.

"Ahh!"

A scream was heard, and Yami saw Mei's figure running out of the building in a hurry.

"Mei!" Yami yelled, but Mei didn't hear his voice.

Yami looked at the Nivi that was preparing itself to blast another attack. He looked back at Mei and didn't hesitate to use his skill again, and grabbed her body. Yami dashed to the side and jumped at the roof's top to have a good view of the Nivi.

At the same time, the soul beast Nivi fired an energy blast along the way. If Yami didn't save Mei, she would be dead or captured.

"Mei, what are you doing here!?" Yami snapped after putting her down. The soul beast Nivi was still searching for them, and no Combatant was in sight.

"I—" Mei looked down while clenching her bag.

Yami sighed heavily and turned his back against her to calm down. "Stay safe and wait for the Combatants."

Yami jumped away to defeat the soul beast secretly since it was a low-level one, but before he could, Shun arrived at the site in his new Combatant suit.