Chapter 95: First Time a Bit Nervous

Shizuka Mami glared fiercely at the two people pouting in the back seat and shouted, "Dog couple, shut up! I'm about to start explaining the commission task details!"

Slap! It was fast. Uesugi Toru and Shizuku instantly returned to their respective seats without a word, quietly waiting for Shizuka Mami to continue.

This synchronization rate... are you two going to pilot an EVA...

Shizuka Mami watched, her eyebrows twitching.

However, her professional quality was still solid; in no more than two seconds she calmed down and said, "This task is a One-Star Commission with a relatively wide range, but low harm and not urgent."

"The target Yokai is most likely a 【Living Being】, a special type of Onryo. It won't have powerful aggression like ordinary Onryo, nor will it target people for murder, but it will drain people's souls bit by bit over a large area."

"After someone reported it in that area, the Special Affairs Division confirmed that many people simultaneously showed symptoms of Tiqi, but it wasn't serious, and no traces of other Yokai were found."

Shizuka Mami paused: "Therefore, the target is confirmed as a single Living Being between One-Star and One-Star Half."

Shizuku recited her words verbatim and firmly memorized the key points, then asked, "Any other precautions?"

Shizuka Mami started the panel van and said while driving, "Besides that, Living Beings don't like fire and sound much, their perception of other Yokai is also very sensitive, but light is fine."

"So be careful not to startle the snake before encountering it, and also..."

Before long, all precautions were finished. Shizuku listened nodding repeatedly, her hand resting on the Tachi hilt at her waist the whole time without letting go.

Uesugi Toru stared at Shizuku with her eyes closed for a while, discovering her feeling had changed again compared to before.

It was as if... the original King of Involution Shizuku who constantly cultivated had suddenly disappeared, leaving only an ordinary new Special Affairs Bureau Staff member.

Strange.

Uesugi Toru asked doubtfully, "First time facing a Yokai directly, are you a bit nervous?"

"Nervous?"

Shizuku countered, "Why would I be nervous? Uesugi-kun, you don't think I memorized everything Mami Precept said because I'm anxious, do you?"

She said blandly, "A lion uses full strength even against a rabbit, let alone against a soul-devouring Yokai. We can never be too careful. Uesugi-kun, you should understand this principle."

Then why—

"Ah, I get it." Shizuku opened her eyes, smiled at him. The Jing Shen in that smile was no different from Kitano Runa, that super shut-in JK.

"—You're wondering why I look so 'empty', right?"

That's it.

With her pointing it out, Uesugi Toru understood the abnormality.

It was that Shizuku's Jing Shen was too flat, even weak enough to be called frail.

This was a different aspect from Qi Fen before. Qi Fen is fixed for a person in a short time, but Jing Shen state can change anytime with mood, time, even weather.

The current Shizuku was completely an ordinary JK with Jing Shen so weakened it made one suspect if she was a shut-in.

"It's because I'm using a new trick I researched, I call it 【Unshinjutsu】." Shizuku glanced at Uesugi Toru twice, snorted, "Uesugi-kun, you're the same, aren't you?"

Uesugi Toru knew she must mean "Zanshin". Sure enough, she couldn't be fooled on mental state changes.

"Simply put, when operating it, one can gradually Accumulate and compress one's own Jing Shen, finally exploding in an Instant, thereby unleashing a strike much stronger than in Constant State."

Shizuku explained as if nothing happened.

Immediately after, she seemed to remember something and raised a finger: "And that previous little trick about Qi Fen, I named it 【Gyokushinketsu】."

"How about it, want to learn?"

Shizuku leaned her head toward him, blinked.

Uesugi Toru pondered briefly, discovering these two little tricks could actually link up. Use Gyokushinketsu first to converge the outwardly revealed Qi Fen, then use Unshinjutsu for better Efficiency.

Damn it, this Shizuku... she's a genius AND works this hard!

But this didn't stop Uesugi Toru from bowing his head in worship: "Toru has drifted half his life, only regretting not meeting a wise lord..."

Shizuku propped up his Hand Palms: "Beloved minister, please rise quickly."

Shizuka Mami sat in front, watching until her back molars nearly shattered. She felt if she let these two show off any longer her blood pressure would immediately explode off the charts.

So she interrupted stiffly: "Speaking of which, this Breathing Technique is really hard to cultivate."

The bread van fell into silence instantly. Uesugi Toru and Shizuku looked at each other.

Still, Shizuku comforted first: "It's only the first day. Breathing Technique just needs time to Entry Level. But Mami Precept, you mustn't find it troublesome and not cultivate, otherwise if you stay up late and die I'll have wasted time teaching you for nothing."

Shizuka Mami nearly suffered internal injury from anger: "Tokugawa Miss, I thank you..."

Shizuku replied seriously: "No problem, no need to thank."

It was precisely this serious reply without a single flaw that nearly made Shizuka Mami spit out a mouthful of old blood.

—How on earth did she say such a netherworld blessing with a straight face!

Not long after, the bread van arrived at the parking lot near the destination. Soon the lights were off and the engine killed.

Shizuka Mami took out two radios: "You both know how to use them."

The two nodded, then heard Shizuka Mami continue: "Although it's a simple and clear One-Star Commission, you must maintain scheduled contact. If you encounter danger outside the mission, just leave directly."

Uesugi Toru nodded, then looked around. He found almost no rooms with lights on nearby. The street was both dark and quiet.

He asked one more question,

"Then what about you, Shizuka-san? Staying here alone would be dangerous too, right?"

"Relax."

Shizuka Mami smiled, pulled open her clothes, revealing cold iron light under the white shirt.

At her waist, a compact pistol was conspicuously holstered, with three magazines inserted beside it.

Besides that, under the shirt, a Bodanso pulsing with faint Spirit Power was also revealed.

"SIG P230 modified, magazine capacity 8 rounds, effective range 80 Meters, total gun weight 550 grams, fires Hatsurei that deal special Harm to You Ling Ti and Yokai."

Shizuka Mami recited the pistol data like a family treasure. After she Confirmed the safety was properly off, she said: "Nanjo Shao Shu said special times require special treatment."

If it weren't for the First Wave approaching and Yokai frequenting, the Special Affairs Division would never have given a gun to a tender Rookie like Shizuka Mami who hadn't even been on the job a month, even with Nanjo Ai's guarantee.

Seeing her hand on the gun not shaking at all, Uesugi Toru set his mind at ease. Looks like Shizuka Mami has been to the shooting range after all.

Since that's the case, he'd better take it seriously too.

Manifesting the 【Prajna Mask】 in his left hand out of the other two's line of sight, Uesugi Toru hung it at his waist and set his copied talent to "Kishin (Jakku)".

Unless special circumstances arise, the copied talent "Kishin (Jakku)" is definitely far more versatile than "Tonjinchi (Weak)" and "Berserk".

Tonjinchi can easily deal extremely high damage, but only if the target has emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness; whether living beings like yokai even have independent thought is questionable.

Berserk goes without saying...

In an instant, Uesugi Toru felt his physical strength multiply several times over, and his five senses' range of perception nearly doubled—

【Uesugi Toru】

【Physique: 20→31】

【Will: 9→11】

【Charm: 9→5】

【Spirit Arts: 1→2】

But correspondingly, his entire demeanor became gloomy and ferocious, causing his charm to drop to 5 points.

Shizuku's nose twitched, and upon turning to see Uesugi Toru whose charm had become "5", she blinked, revealing a subtle expression.

But she didn't say another word, nor did she explain the situation to Shizuka Mami; she just patted Uesugi Toru's back to signal him to get off the vehicle quickly.

Clatter— the rusty car door was closed.

In the night where moonlight and starlight were both concealed, a cold wind blew.

Shizuku wrapped her trench coat around herself and asked in a low voice, "Uesugi-kun, what should we do next?"

Uesugi Toru understood that Shizuku was placing all command authority on him, the more experienced one.

He pondered for a moment, recalling that living beings were very sensitive to fire, sound, and the aura of yokai.

—So the Hundred-Eyed Demon's eyeball probably couldn't be used.

"Shizuku, how large is your perception range for yokai?"

"In such a silent dark environment, probably around three hundred meters in diameter." Shizuku quickly turned her head to gather information about the surrounding environment, while saying, "But if the other side looks at me even once, I can immediately lock onto its position."

What kind of human radar is this?

Uesugi Toru glanced at the corner of his mouth: "Then let's find a high ground and try waiting by the stump for the rabbit first."

A living being's nightly wandering range is very large, so as long as they stay at the high ground, Shizuku will definitely find it—it's just a matter of time.

Uesugi Toru was about to move his foot when he found his hand being pulled by Shizuku.

Hiss, so cold.

She's practiced the breathing technique for so long, why are her hands still this cold?

"Shh, don't speak."

"Quietly perceive the circulation of qi within my body." Shizuku caught up and spoke softly with her breath, "Your qi-concealing technique is too terrible; in this environment you're like a great furnace, very likely to scare the other side away."

So it was qi-concealing that caused his fingers to be ice-cold.

Uesugi Toru nodded and closed his mouth, doing his best to imitate while hurrying along.

【Your skill, proficiency in Corona Breathing Technique is increasing...】

After a while, the two arrived at the rooftop of the highest floor nearby.

Fortunately, the rooftop door was ajar, otherwise Uesugi Toru would have to climb up from the wall again, after all, the sound of prying open a door with a crowbar is relatively loud.

There were relatively few miscellaneous goods on the rooftop, apparently because someone often cleaned it; only an iron cabinet stood in the corner.

The two squatted down in unison, only poking out the part above their nose bridges from the rooftop wall.

After silently gripping Shizuku's ice-cold palm like that for about ten minutes, she asked softly, "If you've learned it, I'll go to the other side."

After urgently drawing a Soul-Calming Incense Ash (Minor) from the Half-Star Pool and snorting it, Uesugi Toru, who had learned it roughly, let go of her hand.

Then he saw Shizuku moving slowly toward the other side of the rooftop like a large crab.

The waiting time where nothing could be done always felt very long; after Uesugi Toru felt that over an hour had passed, he finally saw Shizuku come over and say,

"Coming, coming, Uesugi-kun, look—"

After she pulled him to change angles, Uesugi Toru looked in the direction the girl's finger pointed.

Under the dim street lamp, a blurry shadow slowly drifted into a household, and after not even ten seconds drifted out again, only becoming clearly visible to him under the next street lamp.

After the shadow repeated this several times, the other side's information finally popped up in Uesugi Toru's eyes—

【Living Being (One Star)】

One-star living being, appears at night; the task intelligence wasn't wrong at all.

Uesugi Toru whispered beside the girl, simultaneously using his hand to block so the sound wouldn't carry too far: "Wait until it goes to a more open place, then prepare to act."

Shizuku nodded: "Then do we have to change..."

Before she could finish, Uesugi Toru saw her complexion suddenly change, felt his hand being hastily pulled by her, and they silently rushed toward the iron cabinet at the rooftop corner.

In less than two seconds, the two squeezed into it together.

The iron cabinet originally held a not-small broom, plus the tachi at Shizuku's waist, so the originally not spacious space almost pressed the two tightly together.

Shizuku quickly closed the iron door, leaving only three or four thin seams through which to observe the outside.

At the same time she covered Uesugi Toru's mouth with one hand, making a "shh" gesture to him, causing the latter to swallow his questions and confusion back down.

After exhaling a slightly hot breath, Shizuku suppressed the violently fluctuating sound of her heartbeat, then quickly wrote in Uesugi Toru's palm,

'There's another living being.'

Another one?!

Uesugi Toru's eyes brightened—wasn't that another hundred-plus soul ash gained?

This trip was indeed worthwhile.

But Shizuku's complexion was somewhat solemn; previous Special Affairs Division investigations had not mentioned the appearance of a second living being.

Yet tonight it appeared.

No matter what, this is absolutely abnormal.

Were it not for seeing Uesugi Toru's fearless face beside her, Shizuku would have wanted to abandon the task first and foremost.

"Not far from us; it may drift over in a moment, so suppress your presence as much as possible and don't speak."

After Shizuku finished writing, she turned her body somewhat awkwardly, half her person pressing against Uesugi Toru.

Feeling his left arm continuously rubbed by soft-yet-firm contact, Uesugi Toru's heart held no fluctuation; he only wanted to cut down the two living beings in a moment and nicely harvest Soul Ash.

Women? They only affect his sword-drawing speed.

Shizuku also had no extra thoughts; she only felt the tachi was also very inconvenient — this sword hilt nearly stabbed through her waist; next time she'll bring an uchigatana instead.

"It's close."

Shizuku wrote again.

Uesugi Toru turned her palm over: "In a moment I'll act; you keep watch."

Nodding at Uesugi Toru, whose nose tip nearly collided with hers, in an unfamiliar domain Shizuku chose to trust the other party unconditionally.

Warm breaths intertwined inside the cold iron cabinet, making the cramped space gradually warm up, yet both placed all their attention on that unexpected living being.

After about half a minute, a blurry phantom shadow passed through the fence at the rooftop's edge, probably intending to go this route past the dense apartment buildings ahead.

Uesugi Toru patiently waited for it to drift to the rooftop's exact center.

Then, with the gentlest force, he pushed open the iron door.

Bursting forth like swift lightning!

(End of Chapter)