Chapter Sixty-Four: Iron Fist

Xie Liu and Wendy stood on the bloodstained street, gazing at the girl whose lifeless eyes refused to close. Both of them trembled ever so slightly.

“This is outrageous,” Wendy fumed, stepping forward to gently close the girl's unyielding eyes. Xie Liu, meanwhile, turned his back to Wendy, staring at a crimson mark on the pavement—a symbol drawn with fresh blood: a lightning bolt and a clenched fist.

“It was Iron Fist,” Wendy said, rising and ordering the armed officers who had arrived with them to collect the girl's body. “They drained her blood.” Wendy clenched her fists, her entire body shaking with rage. “Right under my nose, how dare they!”

Compared to Wendy’s barely contained anger, Xie Liu appeared far more composed. He looked over the autopsy report handed to him by a nearby officer. “The autopsy is in.”

“Time of death is estimated at three hours ago, cause: exsanguination,” Xie Liu frowned, analyzing the data. “But before that, the victim suffered significant internal organ damage and massive internal bleeding, likely from a powerful impact.”

He recalled the scene. “Yet there are no visible signs of trauma on her body. That’s strange.” He glanced at Wendy. “Is there a way to injure someone’s internal organs through impact without damaging the surface?”

“If the impact came from a fluid rather than a solid, it’s possible,” Wendy replied after a moment’s thought. “If you fall from a great height into water, and your body isn’t positioned correctly, the force of the impact can pass through the surface and damage your organs directly.”

Xie Liu nodded, flipping through the report. “Strange, very strange.” He showed it to Wendy. “This girl’s name is Yuko Takenaka, seventeen, a student of North Sea Division’s Third Secondary School. All standard details. But look here,” he pointed to a section beneath her identification.

“She was a level six esper, with the ability to compress air. Judging by her injuries, it’s likely she was hurt by her own power.” Wendy refuted, surprised, “You can’t be serious. Who would use their own ability against themselves?”

“You’re mistaken. It can happen—with careful planning, good coordination, and a moment’s carelessness, even a powerful esper can be brought down.” Xie Liu’s frown deepened as he pondered. “Superpowers are formidable, but not invincible. Our bodies, unlike our powers, are still vulnerable.” He shot Wendy a wry smile. “Not everyone is a monster like you, after all.”

Wendy bared her little tiger teeth, feigning a bite at Xie Liu. “What’s the point of all your talk? We still can’t catch the Iron Fist people, can we?”

Xie Liu flipped to the last page of the report and tossed it to a staff member. “You know why you can’t catch them? Because you’re too dim-witted.”

“Me, stupid?” Wendy jabbed a finger at her nose. “Explain yourself, or I’ll beat you so badly even Angela wouldn’t recognize you.”

Xie Liu ignored her threat, gesturing to the assembled staff. “If you were the culprit, what would be your first thought after the crime?”

“Hiding, obviously. Or escaping,” Wendy snapped, and Xie Liu snapped his fingers. “Exactly. But you sealed the exits the moment you learned of the crime, right? That makes escape unlikely. So hiding is the only option.”

He walked a few steps and pointed to a street lamp’s camera, which had been thoroughly destroyed. “See, these cameras were taken out before the attack. That means this location was chosen and planned in advance. If they’re capable of such a perfect scheme, don’t you think they’d have a hiding place lined up, too?”

“So I’m certain—they’re hiding nearby, studying how to strike their next target. And with all the noise you made, bringing in so many people to catch them, you might as well have announced your plans to their faces.” Xie Liu shot Wendy a mocking look. “If you were them, would you show yourself?”

“So what would you do instead?” Wendy felt his logic was sound, but she would never openly agree with him—not in this life.

“To truly catch them, we must wait for them to act again. But that risks another victim, and we don’t know who their target will be. This passive stance, I can’t accept.” Xie Liu watched the body, shrouded by a white sheet, being carried away, his eye twitching. “We must seize the initiative. First, we must know their purpose.”

“They’re likely part of Iron Fist,” said a woman in a black police uniform, approaching with a notebook. “Hello, I’m Alice, Captain of Squad 117, Metropolitan Guard, Hokkaido Branch.” She extended her hand.

Xie Liu shook it. “Hello, Alice. I’m Deadeye from the Hunting Team’s Doom Unit. I know a bit about Iron Fist, but could you give me more details? I’d appreciate it.”

Alice, a mature woman with sharp, intelligent eyes, nodded after spotting the hunting team’s insignia on Xie Liu’s chest. “Technically, you outrank me, so there’s no need for thanks. Iron Fist emerged in recent months, following the ‘Non-Espers’ Rights Restriction’ conference held at headquarters three months ago.”

“I know of it,” Xie Liu nodded. “The city’s population has boomed, and with that, social order issues. Especially at headquarters—public safety has become a major problem.”

“Exactly. That’s why the city’s leaders started discussing the non-esper situation. More and more people are pouring into headquarters. I remember, ten years ago, the population was just over fourteen million; now it’s nearly forty million and still climbing. The city can’t sustain this—public security, transport, everything is buckling under the strain.”

“So the leadership decided to relocate people from headquarters. Their investigation revealed that most of the newcomers were low-ability or poorly educated, taking up urban space and resources.”

“Ten years ago, eighty-seven percent of the city’s population were level three espers and above. Now, that’s dropped to forty-two percent,” Alice analyzed. “So, they convened that meeting to discuss moving non-espers and low-level espers out of the city center.”

“Which sparked their protests, didn’t it?” Xie Liu nodded, stepping to the bloody emblem. “Of course—wherever there are people, there’s discrimination.”

“You may think the policy harsh, but it’s reality,” Alice replied. “You haven’t seen the underground black markets in the city. Nano-robots for augmenting esper abilities are fetching astronomical prices. Some people even hunt espers, extracting the robots from their blood. They don’t create wealth or value; they only take—they’re parasites. Expelling them is the only right choice.” Alice caught herself and continued. “It was then that Iron Fist formed, claiming to protect non-espers. They attack espers, extract the nanobots from their blood, and use the rewards to recruit more followers. We didn’t expect their reach to extend here.”

“I see.” Xie Liu raised a finger. “Their goal is to attack espers. That makes things easier. You see, though their numbers are great, attacking an esper isn’t simple—they’ll select their targets carefully, analyze and plan, then strike.”

“What’s your point?” Wendy asked. Xie Liu’s eyes lit up and he turned to Alice. “Do you have a database of espers here?”

“Yes, it’s usually on the city’s official website,” Alice replied.

“Take me to the information center,” Xie Liu said, nodding.

...

“First, we need information on Yuko Takenaka,” Xie Liu tapped at the virtual screen, pulling up the data. “Check how many people have accessed her profile in the last week.”

Wendy’s eyes brightened. “I get it now—you want to find their location this way, don’t you?”

“If their brains were as limited as yours, we’d have caught them by now,” Xie Liu remarked. Wendy’s face fell; if not for their work, she’d have flattened him on the spot.

“Seventeen visits in a week. Good. Narrow it down and log the IP addresses. See if any of those also accessed other espers’ data.” He issued his commands, and soon only one IP had browsed multiple espers’ profiles. “Found it! Let’s catch them!” Wendy shouted, waving her fists and about to rush off.

Xie Liu grabbed her. “Maybe you should drink something to boost your IQ. If this caught them, I’d give you my head.”

“Still not enough?” Wendy protested.

“They wouldn’t use just one IP. This one accessed twelve espers’ files this week. Now, check these twelve espers’ profiles for other overlapping IPs.”

Soon, they had nine more IP addresses. Xie Liu repeated the process: filtering, expanding, and narrowing down the addresses for several hours until over twenty IPs remained.

“What’s the point of this?” Wendy grumbled, watching Xie Liu meticulously match and cross-check. “Are these all their hideouts?”

“We’re seeing repeats now. These twenty-plus addresses keep reappearing. They likely don’t use a new address each time, so this helps us pinpoint their most frequently used spots.” Xie Liu marked each location on a map with a red dot.

“Notice a pattern?” he asked.

“Yes,” Wendy replied, her initial surprise fading. “Their activity is concentrated in the western district, near the mountains—a rougher area.”

“And after repeated checks, no new IPs have appeared for some time. This means these are almost certainly all their hideouts. Now, we need to know what these places are.”

Xie Liu hopped off his seat. “Let’s get to work—check every one of these locations!”

...

Two hours later, Xie Liu tossed a handful of photographs to the floor. “Most of these places are bars or coffee shops. They’re smart—not using a fixed location to look up information.”

“So what next?” Wendy asked. Xie Liu grinned mysteriously. “Now, it’s time to reveal the answer.” He donned his black trench coat. “Come with me—I’ll need your help.”

Wendy still didn’t understand. “Hey, what do you mean? Have you found their location?” But Xie Liu was already out the door, ignoring her. She hurried after him, muttering curses. “Hey! Explain yourself! Hey…”

...

On a pedestrian bridge in the western district, a cold wind swept past. People hurried along, eager to escape the biting night air—save for two. Xie Liu and Wendy stood at the edge, gazing at the camouflaged sprawl below.

Wendy spoke first. “How do you know where they are? And, is it wise for just the two of us?”

“Too many would alert them,” Xie Liu shook his head. “Two are enough. I need your strength, but remember—don’t kill anyone.”

Wendy thought of Yuko’s tragic end, her eyes burning with fury. “I'd love to skin those beasts alive.”

Xie Liu didn’t argue. He felt the same anger, recalling the dead girl’s face. He pulled a small metal rod from his pocket, pressed a button, and a holographic map appeared, displaying the red dots.

“You haven’t told me how we’ll find them,” Wendy pressed. Xie Liu caught the urgency in her voice. “Remember how I had Alice make a big show of the investigation? The bigger, the better.”

“Yeah—press conferences, police mobilization—you nearly had the whole world know we were chasing them. If we don’t catch them, you’ll have a lot to answer for,” Wendy rolled her eyes, still not understanding his plan.

“Didn’t I say, the more noise we make, the less likely they are to act?”

“Yeah, thanks to you, we’ll never catch them,” Wendy snorted, clearly unable to guess his next move.

“There are three reasons for this. First, the more prominent Alice’s team is, the more hidden we are—the enemy won’t notice us. Second, if Alice is bold, the enemy stays put, and there won’t be another victim.” Wendy raised an eyebrow, finding his logic persuasive, then frowned. “But then how do we catch them?”

“That brings me to the third point,” Xie Liu smiled mysteriously. “If they can’t act, what will they do?”

“Hide, maybe do some research, look for the next target… Wait, is that it? You mean, they’re looking up information right now.”

“Exactly. But that alone isn’t enough to pinpoint them. I have another plan.”

“Before we left, I had Alice inform the information center to post a message: due to a database update, the data hub would be offline for thirty minutes. Now, by my watch, it’s nearly time to reopen.” Xie Liu checked his watch. Wendy was still confused. “What does that have to do with finding them?”

“Everything. Tell me, would a normal person be desperate to access esper data? If the database is down for thirty minutes, who waits for it to reopen? This isn’t some shopping festival.” Xie Liu explained.

Wendy blinked. “What’s a shopping festival?”

“Uh, never mind. Even if someone’s waiting for the data to come back, we’ve narrowed the search to about twenty locations. So, when the database reopens, who will be the first to eagerly log in and search for esper information?” He gave her a triumphant look.

Wendy’s eyes widened. “You mean, of these twenty spots, the first IP to log in is the one they’re currently using?”

“Exactly—and I expect it to show up soon.” Xie Liu confirmed. Wendy’s mouth opened in surprise. “But what if they’re eating? Or not checking? Or out?”

Xie Liu shook his head, gazing up at the starry sky. “No one can guarantee a hundred percent success. We do what we can—success is up to fate.” He looked at his watch. “Now, the database is live!”

Both of them focused on the electronic map in Xie Liu’s hand.

As soon as the data center reopened, a red dot turned gold, blazing on the screen. Xie Liu let out a breath. “Looks like luck is on our side.”

“Let’s go!” he barked. Wendy was already moving, grabbing Xie Liu by the collar and launching them through the city’s night sky. “There!” Xie Liu pointed to a small bar ahead. Wendy nodded, and the two shot forward, shattering the bar’s window and bursting inside.

“Well, well, Iron Fist thugs, how do you do?” Xie Liu picked himself up, brushing glass from his coat, and stared at the group gathered around a battered old laptop.

The group looked up in shock at their dramatic entrance.

“How… how did you find us?”