As Japan's capital, Tokyo had already begun to show the shape of a city that never sleeps, even in 1997.
So though it was already past eleven at night, neon lights of every hue still competed along the broad streets, painting everything in fantastical color.
But that was the prosperity of the center. Once you crossed the border to the outskirts, it was as if the world lost its color and turned black-and-white all at once.
Su Tang stood on that dividing line.
Fifty meters farther lay his destination.
Not the farthest distance at which the Shadow Corps could operate, but the best for now.
It ensured timely intel without getting spotted too quickly.
As he thought, the shadow under a street lamp ahead rippled like water.
He checked his watch—twenty seconds. He could live with that speed.
A Shadow Ninja emerged and went to one knee before Su Tang.
"As for what's inside that factory—I'll ask, you answer."
Hands clasped behind his back, Su Tang spoke coolly.
He didn't think the local gang could pull anything fancy; at the end of the day, it was just a fake license. But he never judged villains with a gentleman's heart. When he needed to be cautious, he was.
It wouldn't take long anyway—one or two minutes would do it.
Given the youth edition Shadow Corps' IQ problem, Su Tang decided to keep things simple.
"I'll only ask yes-or-no questions. Nod for yes; shake for no."
The ninja knelt, motionless.
Su Tang took that as understanding.
He thought a moment and asked, "Are there people in the factory?"
The ninja moved.
But Su Tang couldn't read it.
He nodded… then shook his head?
Meaning what? Both people and no people?
Schrödinger's people, huh.
Frowning, Su Tang hadn't expected the first question to snag. He wasn't sure if he'd been unclear or if the Shadow Ninja had simply bugged out.
He tried again. "Is there a devil in the factory?"
This time was smooth—the ninja nodded directly.
Hand at his chin, Su Tang rubbed his temples.
He'd asked just to be safe, but he'd actually turned up a big one.
What did a deal with a gang have to do with a devil?
Both people and not—had the gang been killed by a devil? Or possessed into fiends?
Waving the Shadow Ninja away, Su Tang paced two steps and decided to leave it to the professionals.
He remembered Aki Hayakawa saying he was on duty tonight.
He pulled out his phone and, in the faint white glow, found Aki's number and dialed from a different handset.
"Bee-bee-bee…"
The call was picked up on the third ring. Aki's faintly weary voice came through: "Hello, this is Public Safety Devil Control Division 4, Aki Hayakawa. May I—"
A man used to late nights.
Su Tang checked the time—six minutes to midnight—thought to himself, "No more all-nighters," and said, "There are signs of devil activity at the West City derelict factory."
"Understood. We'll depart immediately. Please move away from—" hurried footsteps sounded on the other end.
As expected of a mom-type man—he really inspired a sense of safety.
Su Tang mused and was about to hang up when a gust roared past his ear.
So sudden. So fierce.
Like a thunderclap.
His face hardened. Before he could react, something like a blood-red intestine snapped around his waist and yanked—hard!
He went soaring!
Like a white snake flicking its tongue, the "whip" arced up and down through the air. In one instant, Su Tang found himself dragged into a clearly derelict, broken-down workshop.
The whole process took less than a second.
Crossing nearly fifty meters.
The speed and violent bobbing churned his guts.
What churned him more was the familiar voice beside him.
"Heh-heh. Mr. Su Tang, what took you so long this time? I had to look all over to find you."
The white-bearded, white-haired old geezer shuffled toward him.
His movements were halting, one step at a time—clearly the afternoon's injuries were still in effect.
"This is how you welcome me?" Su Tang pointed to the blood-red intestine uncoiling from his waist.
"Don't take it personally. I simply couldn't wait, so I had it go pick you up early."
"It?"
Su Tang raised an eyebrow, and before he could say anything he heard the gang boss continue, "Mr. Su Tang, may I ask—did your Black Hand rise step by step because you contracted with a devil?"
You're asking me that? Go to San Francisco and discuss your great gangster enterprise with Valmont!
Su Tang was speechless for a moment. He looked at the rust-stained bricks on the floor, and his brows knit slightly.
Those viscous, blood-colored fluids… that's blood, right?! And definitely a fatal amount—and not long ago!
There were drag marks, too.
Following the trail with his eyes, it ended at a junk bin.
Seeing that Su Tang didn't answer, the gang boss wasn't bothered; he just kept talking to himself. "Yeah, who doesn't want to go a step further. So we chose to sign a contract with a devil as well…"
"It's a very powerful devil, and I even went to great lengths to get 0.06 kg of the Gun's meat—oh… that's what you devil hunters call it, right—so now it's even stronger…"
After those two lines, the boss's urge to show off seemed spent. With a mysterious smile, he said, "Guess what our contract is? Here's a hint: the Zombie Devil hates devil hunters the most—ah!"
That last "ah" wasn't an interjection. It was simply the gang boss's final word.
"You idiot, I've already said I'm not a devil hunter."
Watching a Shadow Ninja with a kunai pass before the old geezer's chest, Su Tang narrowed his eyes and said softly:
"—Fire, Barrier!"
Searing, violent, blazing!
Boundless flame surged up from the ground and, like a man-eating beast, in an instant spread behind Su Tang, propping up a two-meter-tall wall of fire!
"Bang—!"
That familiar rush of wind drove a familiar blood-red intestine forward, only to slam into the wall of fire.
Light flared and flooded the whole factory!
The pressure wave ruffled Su Tang's short hair. He turned, raised an arm, and thrust his entire right hand into the wall.
Flame climbed up his sleeve, and in a heartbeat engulfed his right arm.
Grinning, Su Tang ran his tongue over his parched lips and chuckled:
"Found you!"
"Boom—!"
A blood-red intestine, thrashing in the flames, was wrenched out by brute force!
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