Chapter 4: The Game, which Ended at the Beginning
"Young man, it's you again?"
"What a coincidence."
After purchasing the necessary tools, Alister naturally hailed a taxi, and once again, he encountered a familiar face.
The black taxi before him was the same one that had taken Alister to the A City bus stop earlier.
"Why are you wandering around A City so late at night? Aren't you going home?" The driver expressed concern.
It seemed like Alister was being mistaken for a runaway.
In situations like this, Alister had a practical method to dispel any suspicion. It was simple and effective.
Alister sat in the back seat, focused on the notifications on his phone, and calmly said without missing a beat:
"This world harbors the illusions of darkness, and we, the guardians of the night, shall..."
Alister put on a performance, mimicking someone with a severe case of chuunibyou.
After hearing the young man's explanation, the driver hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but chuckle, no longer harboring suspicions.
"Hahaha... Well then, where do you want to go this time? I'll give you a discount."
The light from the phone screen shone on Alister's calm face, making him appear mysterious and inscrutable.
Alister raised his gaze and responded indifferently, "The undeveloped area of A City."
He immersed himself in the perspective of the player he was tracking.
If he wanted to shake off the pursuit of the official forces, he first had to induce the deployment of personnel to protect the civilians in the urban area, continuously weakening the pursuit...
"Are you sure about that? It's not a good place to fight against the illusions of darkness," the driver joked.
...and then, at the right moment, escape through the underdeveloped area with limited surveillance. That would be the most effective way to flee.
"Sure."
Alister replied calmly as before, then changed the topic and asked, "Uncle, do you play games?"
"I do, why?"
Alister put away his phone, propped his chin, and smiled lightly as if he was looking at his prey. He spoke with a steady voice, "In games, the outcome is determined at the beginning, right?"
"Definitely. Last time, that jungler kept feeding..."
The car played popular instrumental music, and the uncle told his story nonstop.
As he listened, Alister silently watched the system interface in front of him, where the rankings were changing once again.
"Current player rank: E-tier, 15,200,008th place."
That's right...
"Taking high-risk actions really does increase my rank..."
Alister seemed to understand the rules of the ranking system and appreciated the rainy night outside the car window with interest.
The game... it ended at the beginning.
...
...
Boom!
A massive blast erupted from a skyscraper towering nearly 900 meters high. A formation constructed with blood roses and golden phoenix patterns unleashed a barrage of eighteen classical firearms, pointing directly at the shadows in mid-air, while the night wind howled!
"Puh—" A man named Serad coughed up blood.
Upon seeing the eighteen bullets, transformed into fiery infernos, perfectly hitting their target...
The black-haired girl with crimson eyes crossed her arms, her black dress untouched by a single raindrop, standing elegantly on top of the skyscraper. She yawned gracefully.
"This lady is tired of chasing. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Understood."
As soon as she finished speaking, a white-clad Yumikou with a sharp demeanor took long strides, covering hundreds of meters in an instant. Her eyes exuded an icy coldness.
In an instant, flashes of sword light flickered, and the ethereal sword resounded!
Yumikou appeared behind Serad in the blink of an eye, slashing with a sword filled with spiritual energy and sword intent!
Serad's pupils contracted.
He immediately realized that he couldn't defend against this attack and decisively commanded the multitude of shadows to surge forward, taking the form of giant spikes, thrusting toward Yumikou like a ravenous shark!
Normally, such an attack from an A-tier shadow manipulator like Serad would cause massive destruction and panic...
"Damn it?!"
...Yet, the shadow spikes burst apart like arrows shot in the middle, unable to withstand the pressure even from the aura of Yumikou's sword!
"Even if I'm bound by restrictions, will a player ranked 78th among A-tier really be hunted down by two lower-ranked A-tier players?!"
As this thought flashed through his mind, Serad gritted his teeth, forcefully withstanding the pressure of the sword, and used the momentum from the slash to slide along the vertical surface of the 900-meter skyscraper.
Bang! The sound of sonic boom filled the ears!
Friction against the soles of his feet shattered the reinforced glass!
While realizing Serad's change in escape route, Yumikou furrowed her brows and compressed her spiritual energy to its limit, pointing it in a specific direction.
"I won't let you escape."
In the next moment, her spiritual energy erupted, granting her an enormous acceleration. Her dress fluttered as she swiftly ran on the vertical surface of the skyscraper.
The distance between the two rapidly closed before the naked eye.
"Ha..." Serad sneered. "I'll escape tonight."
Even if the defenders of the S-tier arrived, they wouldn't be able to stop me from leaving A City!
After eluding the pursuers in the commercial district of A City, all the pursuers below the A-tier had been left behind. Now, only Yumikou remained.
"The night is beautiful. Farewell."
In a state of freefall, Serad spread his arms wide, embracing the night sky with a mocking smile. His figure blended into the shadows between the buildings, ignoring the architecture, and swiftly moved a kilometer in a straight line!
The A-tier ability Shadow Domination, within the limits allowed by the spiritual energy, allowed the ability user to manipulate anything related to shadows.
It was a high-risk ability just below the S-tier.
Buzz. The spiritual sword spun, casting a magnificent sword dance in the air.
"...Damn."
Yumikou's eyes exuded spiritual energy as she observed Serad's escape route. Holding a three-foot spiritual sword, she pursued him expressionlessly.
...
...
The undeveloped area of A City.
There were no towering skyscrapers here, only slightly crowded two-story residential buildings and a deserted park filled with lush vegetation.
In the rain, under the dim streetlights, a stray cat sat drenched, leaning against a wall, emitting a weak meow that grew fainter and fainter.
Plop... A splash of water landed.
Did the rain stop? The stray cat trembled as it weakly opened its eyes.
Alister held up his umbrella, crouched down, and shielded the stray cat from the wind and rain in the illumination of the dim light.
"Why aren't you seeking shelter under the eaves? Are you too weak from hunger?"
"Meow..." The stray cat looked at him.
Unfortunately, Alister couldn't understand cat language.
"Wait here."
Saying that, Alister took out a bag of soft bread from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and gave a piece to the stray cat.
He had bought the bread at a convenience store, but he didn't know if cats ate bread.
"Meow!" The stray cat's eyes sparkled.
The cat immediately grabbed the bread, gathered its strength, and darted away in a burst of speed, disappearing in an instant.
It didn't look like a starving cat at all.
"..." Alister felt like he had been tricked.
He had been scammed out of a piece of bread.
But there was nothing to fuss about.
Alister watched the stray cat disappear around the corner, one hand holding the umbrella, the other in his pocket, waiting for the opportune moment to hunt.
After all, he was here for law enforcement.
The undeveloped area of A City couldn't compare to the prosperity of the commercial district. In this world of fences, lampposts, streetlights, and public benches, there were only occasional passersby carrying umbrellas.
It was the perfect area to elude pursuit.
Apart from the sound of the drizzling rain and the occasional barking of a pet dog from a residential building, everything was quiet.
Thus, under the puzzled gazes of passersby, Alister began to kill time by playing games on his phone in the rain.
Infiltrating the undeveloped area with limited surveillance was akin to playing hide-and-seek with the official personnel. Naturally, he couldn't afford to make any noise. That was a simple principle.
In other words, the hunting method he had used at the A City bus stop would be employed once again.
Life or death, the psychological game could not afford any mistakes.
Of course, luck played a significant role.
Alister casually played Landlord, skillfully navigating through the game. This round started with a heavenly hand, with both kings in hand.
"Call landlord."
Even so, as long as he held onto the most important point, even if he failed, Alister had no regrets.
"Your cards are too good."
"Make me a cup of cappuccino."
The two opponents saw the system deal three terrible cards to the landlord, and they also held small bombs in their hands, so they began to mock him.
Alister sent an emoji of "make me a cup of cappuccino" to both opponents, then decisively executed his next move.
"Super double."
"Show cards."
...That point was confidence.