Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, and Eta, the Seven Shadows, have all turned 18.
Beta and Gamma spent a lot of time preparing this specialty store, bustling about and hiring many employees.
When night fell, all the employees went home, leaving only Gamma and Beta guarding the store.
This bicycle business made many merchants extremely envious.
Hearing the commotion outside, Xi Nuo prepared to go deal with it.
"Phantom-sama, I'll handle it!" Gamma said.
"Then you go!"
The thief who broke in intended to steal the core data of the bicycles. Most of the bicycle parts were produced by other factories; only the core components of the rear wheel were made by Gamma and Beta.
Gamma, who possesses the Magic Hand, taught this skill to Beta.
The two of them could then efficiently produce the core bicycle parts.
The thief headed directly for Gamma's specialty store's production workshop.
The secret he sought must be there.
Upon reaching the production room door, the thief began to pick the lock.
"It's very impolite to enter someone's home without their permission!" Gamma said from behind him.
"When did you appear behind me, you scoundrel!" The thief stared at Gamma and said.
"Since you've discovered me, I won't be polite. Instead of searching for information, why not ask the person directly? And while I'm at it, hehehe!"
Although the thief had his face covered, Gamma could feel his lewd smile.
"How vulgar! Too bad you don't have the strength for it!"
Gamma stood still, and her Magic Hand directly choked the opponent's neck.
The opponent tried to speak but couldn't make a sound.
"Do you know? People choked to death like this won't bleed, making it very easy to dispose of the body!"
Gamma explained.
A minute later, the opponent stopped struggling, but Gamma still didn't let go.
Gamma and all the Seven Shadows had learned a skill from Xi Nuo: Magic Perception. They could tell at a glance if someone had magic.
Unless the opponent's strength was exceptionally high, this skill would not misidentify.
After playing dead for a minute, the opponent saw that Gamma still hadn't released him, opened his eyes, and struggled again.
But he only struggled for a moment before passing out completely. This time, he was genuinely unconscious.
Gamma only released the opponent after confirming that the magic within his body had dissipated.
Xi Nuo suddenly appeared behind Gamma.
"Ah! Phantom-sama!..."
Gamma's face flushed slightly, and she was extremely flustered, wanting to gesticulate and explain, but because Xi Nuo appeared too suddenly, she was a little nervous.
In her panic, the Magic Hand couldn't condense, and she was about to fall on the spot.
Gamma looked at the ground her face was about to hit and gave up.
"It's over! I'm going to embarrass myself in front of Phantom-sama again!"
But at that moment, a pair of hands caught Gamma, who was about to fall.
"Are you alright, Gamma!"
"Phantom-sama is holding me! My life is complete!"
Gamma had a nosebleed, not from falling, but from seeing Xi Nuo so close.
"Gamma, you're bleeding from your nose!"
Gamma immediately used her Magic Hand to steady herself, then took out a handkerchief to wipe her nosebleed.
"Phantom-sama, I feel a little dizzy, I think I'm anemic!" Beta stood behind Xi Nuo, looking as if she was about to collapse.
After Xi Nuo's assessment, Beta was faking it.
But Xi Nuo still flashed over and supported Beta.
"Beta, are you alright!"
"Phantom-sama, I feel much better being held by you! You're amazing!"
"What about this body then?" Gamma asked.
"Gamma killed the body, so you can just throw it outside the city!"
"Beta, you just want to be alone with Phantom-sama!"
"I did not!"
"Alright, don't argue over such a small matter. I'll do it!"
Xi Nuo grabbed the body and instantly vanished.
He returned not long after.
"What does Phantom-sama want to ask?" Beta inquired.
"I think this bicycle should be very easy to imitate. The opponent only needs to buy a bicycle, disassemble it, and they should be able to learn how. Why hasn't it been copied by others?"
"This was the result of my discussion with Eta. We added a special device to the core bicycle parts. As soon as the outer casing is removed, the parts will be damaged on the spot," Gamma explained.
Beta said nothing; she hadn't thought of this at first, it was Gamma who pointed it out.
Beta had to admit that Gamma was indeed smarter than her.
"Then have you found out who is targeting you?"
"Well, because Beta and I often have to hand-make parts, so..."
"I found out. I just found some clues from that body. As the saying goes, it's rude not to reciprocate! Since the other party wants to cause trouble, we can't be impolite either!"
"As expected of Phantom-sama!" Beta and Gamma said in unison... In a manor, a very obese man with a huge belly was anxiously waiting.
"This is the seventh time. This time I found a super-strong guy. I hope he can bring back what I want!"
"This Mitsugoshi specialty store really has no vision. I told them that if they became my women and handed over the bicycle business to me, they would enjoy endless wealth and glory!"
"They actually refused me three times! Once I know the core technology, I will definitely make you lose everything! Then I will expand the bicycle business nationwide, and I will definitely make a huge profit!"
At this moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in quickly!"
The newcomer was the thief who had just broken into the Mitsugoshi Company.
"You've finally arrived! How did things go!"
"I didn't find what you wanted. I just tied the two of them up and brought them here!"
Xi Nuo lifted the bound Gamma and Beta.
"Hehehe, you have your day too!"
"You go out. Let me interrogate the two of them myself!"
"What about the promised reward?"
"I'll give it to you tomorrow!"
"I want it now, otherwise I won't hand them over to you!"
"You bastard, do you still want money or not!"
"I originally wanted to tease you, but forget it, it's boring!"
Magic surged around Xi Nuo, transforming him into his true appearance, wearing a black military uniform and a black cloak.
Gamma and Beta also easily broke free from their ropes.
"You! You! Guards! Guards!" The fat man shouted.
But no one responded to him.
Outside the house, there was no one left alive.
"Hand over all your property, and I'll spare you!" Xi Nuo said coldly.
"Dream on if you want all my property!"
Xi Nuo unhesitatingly thrust his sword into the opponent's heart.
"You!"
The fat man never expected that the other party would act directly and didn't want his money.
Xi Nuo used healing magic to pull this dying man back from hell.
"My patience is limited! Speak! Speak, or die!"
"I'll speak, I'll speak!"
The opponent revealed his treasury, and Xi Nuo took a look, finding only a few million Zeny.
The house alone was worth more than a few million Zeny; he was lying about his property.
"Phantom-sama, leave this to me!" Gamma said excitedly.
Beta and Xi Nuo both disliked overly bloody scenes, so they temporarily left the room.
Not long after, the opponent confessed everything.
By the time Xi Nuo saw him again, he was already covered in wounds.
"I've told you everything I can, please let me go!"
"Alright then, I'll let you go!" Xi Nuo left. Before leaving, he gave Gamma a look.
Gamma understood.
One must keep one's word. If Gamma didn't obey, Xi Nuo would have no choice but to righteously spank Gamma's backside.
Gamma picked up her slime sword and walked towards the fat man.
"He just said he'd let me go! What else do you want to do!"
"What Phantom-sama said is true, but I don't intend to listen to Phantom-sama. Keeping you alive is a menace."
Before dawn, Xi Nuo, Gamma, and Beta returned to the Mitsugoshi Company with 300 million Zeny.