Chapter Sixty-Six: Turmoil

“Thank you for everything today.” Wendy placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Xie Liu, who took it without hesitation. “Something about today’s incident was odd. Have they caused trouble before?”

Wendy shook her head, sighed, and said, “When my sister was here, no one dared stir up trouble under her nose. These people only started acting up because she left.” By the end, her frustration was evident. Xie Liu smiled at her words; though Wendy was powerful, she was still quite innocent at heart. “By the way, where are the Flame Enchantress and the Wind Guardian? I haven’t seen them return.”

“Those two? Don’t worry about them. They have their own business and rarely act together with us.” Wendy finished her coffee. “Say, Xie Liu, if you have time, you should come visit us more often.” As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the corner of the second-floor wall, where Angela quickly ducked out of sight.

“Gladly,” Xie Liu replied without hesitation. Wendy shook her head. “Honestly, for someone so smart, how can you be so clueless about these things?”

Xie Liu blinked innocently, picked up his coffee, drank the last of it, and set the cup down. “Well, coffee’s finished. I suppose I should get going now. Where are Tian and Meixue?”

“They’re probably out back chatting with the servants.” Wendy thought about it, then revised her answer, “Actually, the two boys are probably talking with the chefs.”

“I see.” Xie Liu stood and draped his black trench coat over his shoulders. “In that case, see you at the Hunter’s Tournament in a month.”

Wendy also stood to escort him out. “Ah, the tournament is starting again already? Time really flies. I don’t think we met you last year, did we?” Xie Liu laughed awkwardly. “We were the first ones eliminated last year, so it’s no wonder you didn’t see us.”

“So you’ve been last place all year.” Wendy burst out laughing as if she had made a major discovery, while Xie Liu’s face grew even more awkward. Her laughter faded quickly, and she patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, this year you’re sure to do better.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Xie Liu replied politely, turning to leave.

Just then, the lights in the living room flickered and then brightened again.

Xie Liu, who had just turned around, stopped in his tracks. Wendy’s face also grew serious after a brief moment of surprise.

After that brief flicker, the atmosphere became subtly tense. Both Xie Liu and Wendy paused instinctively. After several seconds, Xie Liu spoke, “Wendy, let me ask you something. Under what circumstances would the voltage in this room become unstable?”

“Normal electricity use wouldn’t cause this. There’s only one possibility—a massive energy-consuming object has appeared in the city, suddenly drawing a huge amount of power and causing the voltage to fluctuate.”

Xie Liu nodded. “Second question: is that thing still absorbing energy?”

“Very likely. Voltage instability would impact the visual distortion field, meaning the city would lose its camouflage. The control center would auto-adjust to supplement power output in a flash. Plus, the outer protective barrier needs a lot of energy. That recent dip might’ve weakened it. So…” Wendy trailed off, a suspicion dawning on her.

“Exactly. In that instant, the barrier was likely breached. That business with the Iron Fist organization and the riot among the powerless was just a distraction.” As Xie Liu spoke, a cold smile curled at his lips. “They actually dared play me for a fool. What’s laughable is that I really did fall for their charade.”

“Don’t you think things are getting more and more interesting?” Xie Liu turned, excitement gleaming in his dark eyes. “The enemy chose to strike while your sister Flanny is away—could their intentions be any clearer?”

Wendy couldn’t explain why a tinge of fear crept into her heart. For some reason, Xie Liu’s current expression unsettled her.

Just then, Tian and Meixue rushed from the back room. “Wendy, what just happened?” As an electromagnetic esper, Meixue was highly sensitive to such changes; the voltage fluctuation had not escaped her notice.

“Perfect timing,” Xie Liu said, pulling her over. “Use your powers to analyze where that energy surge originated.”

Meixue was puzzled but followed his instructions. She closed her eyes, sensing, then pointed northwest. “There! There’s a massive energy reaction coming from that direction.”

Xie Liu and Wendy exchanged a glance. “Let’s go!”

...

“Alice, contact all guards and United Strike Team members and have them assemble northwest—quickly!” Wendy barked into the comms. A weary Alice asked in confusion, “Miss Wendy, what’s happened now?”

“Don’t ask, just notify them—now!” Wendy tugged Xie Liu toward the door.

“Wait, I’m coming too,” Meixue insisted, stepping forward. Xie Liu shot her a glare. “Kids should stay home.”

“Who are you calling a kid!” Meixue snapped. “Listen up, I’m the Lightning Princess of the Divine Judgement Squad!”

“What?” Xie Liu stared at the girl—she couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen—in utter astonishment. The Divine Judgement Squad was a force to be reckoned with; rumor had it their leader was a level-ten powerhouse.

Wendy shrugged. “She’s right. Meixue is formidable. You wouldn’t stand a chance against her.”

Xie Liu eyed the little girl. “Alright, you’re with us.”

“And us too.” Uehara Shuichi and Zhao Yu rushed in from the kitchen. Xie Liu nodded. Though neither had much fighting ability, they were still level-tens—albeit rather unusual ones.

“And… me, too…” Angela poked her head out from the upstairs hallway, raising a trembling hand. Xie Liu winced, then looked to Wendy for confirmation. Wendy nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry. She may not look it, but Angela’s as dependable as they come.”

Xie Liu still seemed uneasy, but since Wendy insisted, he couldn’t refuse on her turf.

By now, the Hokkaido branch had sounded the alarm. As Xie Liu and the others stepped out of the manor, swarms of small flying vehicles streaked northwest across the sky. The maids brought out their own compact flyers. Wendy said, “Let’s go.” She stepped onto her flyer, and the others quickly followed suit.

But Xie Liu stared dumbly at the one-meter-wide disk before him, hesitant to step onboard. Wendy noticed and asked, surprised, “What’s wrong, Xie Liu? Why aren’t you getting on?”

“Uh… well…” For once, Xie Liu looked embarrassed. “I just think these are kind of unsafe. I mean, if we’re flying and we get shot down, there’s no protection—we’d just plummet to our deaths, right? Don’t you think so? Ha… ha ha…” His laugh was painfully awkward.

“Oh? Is that so?” Wendy, seeing his constipated expression, immediately understood, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Relax. These flyers have impact protection systems. Even if you’re shot down, they’ll cushion you before you hit the ground. Perfectly safe.”

“Uhh…” Sweat beaded on Xie Liu’s brow. “But there’s practically no shielding. Don’t these things make us sitting ducks?”

“Don’t worry about that. The energy shields aren’t super strong, but they can handle regular bullets and stray fire. So hop on already—these things are so simple, a three-year-old could operate one.”

Wendy grinned mischievously. “A three-year-old could handle it, you know.” Xie Liu’s face darkened as he eyed the disk. “But—but…” At a loss for excuses, his face turned purple.

Wendy smiled at his discomfort. Just then, Sayaka Mochizuki and Tita soared overhead. Sayaka yelled, “Wendy, if we don’t hurry, we’ll be too late!”

Wendy forced back her laughter and called out, “Alright, everyone, let’s go!” She took off first, followed by Meixue and the others, all grinning. Angela looked back at Xie Liu in confusion, unsure why he was stalling.

As each of his companions took to the sky, Xie Liu bristled, like an angry cat, muttering under his breath, “It’s just a basic flyer—what’s there to be scared of?” Spotting the maids snickering at him, he gritted his teeth—he couldn’t let them keep laughing. He nudged the flyer with his foot. “Hey, you big platter, can you move it already?”

The maids began to giggle aloud. Xie Liu wished he could smash the thing in half. “Move—go… aaaaah!” The white disk responded, shooting into the sky.

“Aaaaah! Somebody help me!” Xie Liu clung to the flyer for dear life as it shot upward like a wild stallion.

As the disk carrying Xie Liu zipped past, Wendy and the others gaped in disbelief. Wendy burst out laughing. “I never knew you had such skills!” Xie Liu tumbled, flipping wildly through the air, until, with a plaintive cry, he and the flyer plummeted earthward.

“Xie Liu!” Angela cried, chasing after him on her own flyer. Meixue gasped and prepared to follow, but Wendy grabbed her arm. “Don’t go making trouble.”

“But he—wait, oh! I see what you mean now.” Meixue’s expression shifted from worry to surprise. Wendy grinned, and Tita, dressed in her black sailor uniform, came up behind her. Her fiery eyes, devoid of emotion, watched Xie Liu and Angela fall. “Tita disapproves. But Angela likes, so I accept,” she said, her words stilted and clipped. If not for their long acquaintance, Wendy would have no idea what she meant.

“I don’t approve, either!” Sayaka joined them. “Tita, you can’t just accept him like that! No way. Someone like that isn’t good enough for Angela. I’ll find a chance to castrate him…”