Chapter 53: Taking the Bait (Patreon)

After sleeping for an entire day, Ciel finally woke up.

Yet the lingering scent of incense still seemed to cling stubbornly to her.

She sat up from the soft bed and stretched, listening with satisfaction as her joints cracked one after another.

Then she let out a long breath.

After an entire day of recovery, Lady Ciel's NP had finally been completely refilled.

Scratch that.

"Back to full health. Time to go see how things are going on Ch'en's side. Wonder how far everything's progressed."

Ciel returned to her own room.

The moment she opened the door, she was unsurprisingly greeted by the same overpowering incense smell, which still hadn't completely dissipated.

She put on her vestments, then looked at the pile of shattered Originium sitting atop the Seventh Holy Scripture.

"I know you're awake. Get up. It's time to work!"

Without caring how the Seventh Holy Scripture felt about the matter, she strapped it to her back and headed outside.

It was already close to midnight.

Ciel left a note on the dining table explaining where she was going, then climbed onto her motorcycle and rode toward the LGD headquarters.

Half an hour later, inside the LGD's temporary command center...

Ciel casually pushed open the door.

Normally, there should have been personnel on duty around the clock.

Tonight, however, the command room was almost completely empty.

Only the lights in the surveillance room were still on.

As the situation worsened, both Hoshiguma and Swire had already taken teams to the front lines.

Only Ch'en and a few communications officers remained at headquarters.

With midnight approaching, Ch'en had taken nearly all the remaining work onto herself.

The usually imposing senior superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department stood with her arms folded.

A trace of exhaustion hid between her brows, yet her eyes remained firmly fixed on the divided surveillance feeds.

She didn't dare relax for even a second.

The intensity of her stare made it seem as though she wanted to crawl straight through the monitor.

Ciel silently walked up behind Ch'en and followed her gaze.

One of the surveillance feeds showed a hidden safehouse in Lungmen's lower districts.

An Ursus girl sat curled up in the corner of a sofa, hugging her knees and looking around nervously like a frightened rabbit.

Ciel leaned down beside Ch'en's ear.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk~"

The exaggerated clicking of her tongue suddenly sounded right beside Ch'en.

"Who would've thought the great Senior Superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department had a habit of secretly watching teenage girls through surveillance cameras?"

Ciel grinned.

"If one of Lungmen's tabloid reporters catches you doing this, tomorrow's headline is going to be amazing."

Ch'en jumped at the unexpected voice and spun around.

She glared irritably at Ciel.

"You're the creep! Can't you make any noise when you walk?!"

She sniffed.

"So you're finally awake? And what is that smell on you?"

Then her expression turned more serious.

"Judging by how lively you look, I assume that 'big present' you mentioned is ready?"

"Of course."

Ciel patted her clothes.

"This time, I've got more than enough."

Ch'en stared at her for several seconds.

No matter how hard she looked, she couldn't figure out where Ciel had hidden all those supposed weapons beneath her clothes.

Ciel walked over to the control console, casually pulled out a chair, sat down, and pointed at Misha on the screen.

"So? That's the girl you mentioned before, right? Misha?"

She tilted her head.

"Why exactly does the LGD need her?"

Ch'en's expression immediately became serious.

She pressed a button and brought up scans of several classified documents.

"Following the lead Kal'tsit gave us, we've already uncovered the truth."

"This girl's name is Misha. Her father, Sergei, was an Originium scientist involved with Chernobog's core systems."

"An Originium scientist?"

Ciel raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Sergei once led classified projects within Chernobog. Misha may be carrying some kind of 'key' left behind by her father."

Ch'en looked at the files on the screen.

"That's why Talulah sent her vanguard into Lungmen and ordered them to find Misha at any cost."

"I see. An innocent man becomes a target simply because he's carrying treasure."

Ciel nodded in realization.

Then she quickly picked up on Ch'en's tactical intentions.

"So that safehouse is actually bait?"

Ch'en glanced around.

After confirming that nobody else was nearby, she answered in a lower voice.

"Not just the safehouse."

"That girl herself is my bait."

"We've already coordinated with Rhodes Island. A large number of personnel are positioned around the safehouse."

Ch'en's lips curved into a cold smile.

"Now we're simply waiting for the enemy to bite."

Her finger moved rapidly across the tactical map.

"Reunion's infiltration teams are like rats hiding in the sewers. If we tried to fight them through guerrilla skirmishes across the entire slum district, we'd be putting ourselves at a severe disadvantage."

"So I deliberately had Lin Yühsia 'accidentally' leak Misha's location through the underground intelligence network."

After hearing the audacious plan, Ciel couldn't help whistling.

She gave Ch'en a thumbs-up.

"As expected from someone who plays with tactics. You people really are a bunch of—"

Ch'en's gaze sharpened.

Ciel immediately swallowed the rest of the sentence.

...

While Ch'en and Ciel waited patiently in the command room, two streets away from the safehouse, inside a dark alley in Lungmen's lower districts...

Step.

Step.

Step.

A chaotic series of heavy footsteps broke the silence of the slums.

Dozens of Infected Reunion members wearing white masks and carrying weapons silently gathered inside the alley.

At the head of the mob stood Mephisto.

The white-haired boy idly played with his staff, a sickening smile curling across his lips.

A scout knelt in a puddle and hurriedly reported.

"Lord Mephisto, we've confirmed the information."

"The intelligence we paid the local gangs for says the girl named Misha is hiding on the second floor of the abandoned freight yard ahead."

Mephisto sneered.

"A bunch of greedy idiots who value money more than their lives."

"Do they really think Reunion's rewards come without a price?"

"When Lungmen falls into our hands, I'll make sure they pay us back properly."

Faust, however, frowned.

He looked toward the white-haired boy, who was already visibly delighted.

He seemed about to say something when Mephisto spoke first.

"You heard that, Faust? Our prey is right up ahead!"

Mephisto excitedly spun in place, then turned toward Faust, who remained silently in the shadows.

"Once we capture her, Sister Talulah will definitely be happy!"

Faust raised the heavy Originium crossbow in his hands.

Behind his pale mask, he stared coldly at the freight yard building in the distance.

"It's too quiet."

"Even the homeless people who usually stay around here are gone."

He tightened his grip.

"This is probably a trap, Mephisto."

"A trap?"

Mephisto's grin grew even more deranged and cruel.

"So what?"

He raised his staff sharply.

Light from his Originium Arts began gathering violently at its tip.

"Even if it is a trap, all we have to do is kill everyone who set it and crush them beneath our feet."

He thrust his staff forward.

"My herd!"

"Go!"

"Tear apart everything standing in your way!"

"Bring that girl back to me!"

The eyes of dozens of Reunion rioters instantly turned bloodshot.

Like maddened beasts, they rushed out of the dark alley and charged toward the safehouse.

But every one of their movements was already being watched by Rhodes Island operators observing from a distance.

"LGD, this is Rhodes Island."

"The fish has taken the bait."

"You can begin relocating the target."

"Hoshiguma here. Relocation is underway."

"I've already informed Swire to move in and clean up the rest."

"Stay safe."