Chapter Seventy-Three: Knocked Down

"You actually dare to come here?" Ace set down the knife in his hand, looking in astonishment at the man approaching from behind. "If I were you, I'd have run as far away as possible without ever looking back."

"That's why you're not me." Xie Liu, with a lollipop of unknown origin in his mouth, strolled up behind Ace with a grin and even made a finger-gun gesture at him. "Someone as dashing, handsome, gallant, the very embodiment of courage and wisdom like me..."

"Enough. Just state your purpose." Ace interrupted Xie Liu's self-flattery without mercy; he had lost all patience for banter. Xie Liu rolled his eyes. "You're really no fun. Makes me not want to play with you at all."

He dropped his finger-gun hand as Angela, who had come up behind, handed him a small device. Xie Liu caught it, but his grip was unsteady and it nearly slipped from his hand—Angela quickly caught it and handed it to him again. This time, she placed it firmly in his palm, noticing the sweat on his hand and a faint trembling.

He was afraid too!

If he could, he truly wanted to turn and flee, the farther the better.

"Is that all you have to say?" Ace replied coldly. "I said I wouldn't kill you, but did you really think you could do whatever you pleased?"

"Of course not." Xie Liu tightened his grip around the device as Ace's gaze slid toward it. Xie Liu pretended not to notice. "A man of your stature, Lord Ace, surely wouldn't stoop to bicker with a nobody like me."

"But you see, I do have one flaw—I'm not very good at knowing my place. Last time, yes, last time you really beat me up. What was worse, there was a delivery hub near our battlefield, and the life-size pillow of Ruo Hua I'd just ordered online was destroyed there. The courier company refused to compensate me, claiming my parcel had been blown up. It was infuriating—no matter how I look at it, it's your fault. So today, with this rare opportunity, I want to challenge you until you’re on your knees begging my forgiveness."

Ace was left bewildered by Xie Liu’s rambling, and only after a while did he realize Wendy had disappeared from his side—slipped away right under his nose. But Ace didn’t care much; he kept his eyes on Xie Liu. "Is that all you have to say? If so, I won't play along."

"Wait." Seeing Ace about to leave, Xie Liu raised the little device in his hand. "Do you know what this is?"

Ace had been watching the device for some time. Now that Xie Liu mentioned it, he glanced at the unimpressive gadget. "Oh? Will you tell me what it is?" He wore a questioning look, tinged with a smug smile.

"Of course not... that’s impossible." Seeing the smile vanish from Ace's face, Xie Liu knew Ace’s patience had run out; he wouldn’t allow any more digressions. "This thing, I call it the Sonic Switch."

"As for its function, nothing too special—just a remote device that can stop that behemoth in its tracks." Xie Liu pointed at the advancing metal giant. Ace looked skeptical. "Are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I’m joking?" Xie Liu sneered, raising the device. "It can’t stop that thing for too long, but an hour or two is doable. By then, I imagine reinforcements from other branches of Fantasy City will have arrived."

Seeing that Xie Liu wasn’t bluffing, Ace’s expression grew grave, but soon he relaxed. "Then why don’t you use it?"

"That’s where you’re not so clever." Xie Liu laughed. "If I stop that big guy now, I’ll lose my bargaining chip with you. Isn’t that right?"

"Indeed. If you really did stop it, I’d kill you without hesitation—and very cruelly at that." Ace set down his knife. For the first time, he regarded the man before him seriously.

"Glad you understand. I want to be a hero, but I have no desire to be a martyr." Xie Liu laughed heartily, striving to maintain his composure. "I think I’m more suited to being a cunning merchant. Why don’t we make a deal?"

"Why should I make a deal with you? In fifteen minutes at most, that metal man will enter the Hokkaido branch’s city and destroy everything. We’ll achieve our goal as planned." Ace had no interest in bargaining. Xie Liu shook his head. "I may be unscrupulous, but if you really refuse, I’d rather die a martyr than be shot as a traitor." He raised the device. "Don’t try to attack me. I think I can press this button before you reach me."

Ace’s expression shifted rapidly. Xie Liu pressed on, "Well? I don’t have all day." His gaze kept darting to the metal giant now stepping onto the shore, feigning anxiety, then called over his shoulder to Angela, "Go check the jamming device."

Angela looked puzzled, but Xie Liu barked, "Go, quickly!" She flinched, spun around, and ran off, still glancing back at him.

It looked as if Xie Liu was ready for a desperate fight.

Ace was silent for a few moments, then raised his head. "Fine. State your terms."

Xie Liu let out a quiet sigh of relief, just about to speak, when Ace suddenly moved—in the instant Xie Liu relaxed, Ace struck! Like a phantom, Ace appeared beside him, slicing at Xie Liu’s right arm. Xie Liu’s reaction was quick—he jerked his arm back, but Ace was relentless, his left hand darting out to smack the device from Xie Liu's hand and snatch it up.

Ace sneered, and with a backward slap aimed for Xie Liu, who leapt away nimbly. "Quick reflexes!" Ace retreated with the device, examined it, and his face darkened instantly.

This was no jamming device, it was just a perfectly ordinary high-powered flashlight—something you could buy for a handful of points!

"I've been tricked!" Only then did Ace realize that everything Xie Liu had done was an act. He finally understood why Angela looked puzzled when told to check the jamming device—because it didn’t exist at all; it was all a show for him.

"You damned bastard..." Ace’s face twisted in rage and shock. Just then, Xie Liu clutched his right arm and suddenly shouted, "Now!"

At his command, countless blades of wind shot out from the woods. Ace raised his knife to block, but several wind blades struck him, forcing him back.

"It’s you!" Ace roared in fury, seeing a one-armed girl step out from the edge of the forest, supported by Uehara Shuichi—none other than Mochizuki Sayo, whose left arm he had just severed. Her face was pale, but her eyes still burned with fighting spirit.

"This time, you die!" Ace smashed through the wind with his blade, roaring in rage.

A whistling sound came from the forest—Zhao Yu, riding a makeshift flying device, burst out, shot across the beach, grabbed Xie Liu, and the two of them soared low, hurtling straight at Ace.

"You want to die too?" Ace, now truly enraged, watched as Zhao Yu and Xie Liu came at him in a blink. Without mercy, Ace slashed across Zhao Yu’s body.

But, to Ace’s surprise, Zhao Yu wasn’t cleaved in two. He was sent flying by the blow, but entirely unharmed.

"What’s going on?" Ace was baffled, and just before Zhao Yu was flung away, Xie Liu spun out from behind him.

"You—" Ace tried to retreat, but now Xie Liu’s left hand held a metallic rod—a device Ace had never seen before. This was the real tool Xie Liu had prepared to deal with him.

The instant he pressed the button, Ace’s face twisted in agony. His head jerked, revealing a temple hidden by hair, where a tiny metal chip exploded.

"How did you know?" Ace stared in horror.

But Xie Liu had no time to explain. He spun in midair again, and now Ace’s movements seemed a thousand times slower; he couldn’t track or counter Xie Liu at all.

In Xie Liu’s other hand appeared a Desert Eagle, with a small grenade tied to the barrel.

"Checkmate," Xie Liu sneered, crunching the lollipop in his mouth.

The gun fired—a flash of blue light—and Ace vanished from before him.

Xie Liu flipped several times in midair and landed, gazing at the bottomless, pitch-black chasm before him. He spat out the lollipop stick. "Well? The taste of that gravity grenade wasn’t bad, was it?"

...

"How did you do it?" Wendy trudged over carrying Tianhe, Miyuki, and Tita, looking as if she’d been gravely ill, barely able to walk.

Xie Liu caught his breath and replied, "Angela once told me that among Special Alliance body enhancers, their neural transmission speed is far inferior to ours. But during your fight with him, Wendy, his reflexes were almost monstrous. That leaves only one possibility: he had an external neural enhancement device."

"How could you be sure he had such a device?" Mochizuki Sayo, supported by Uehara Shuichi, slowly sat down. Her severed right arm had been roughly treated and was no longer bleeding.

"I’d met Ace before. I whispered something in his ear, but what I said wasn’t important—the point was, I confirmed he wore a neural enhancer. So I built this jamming device to target it." Xie Liu waved the gadget in his hand. "It's a simple design. I don’t remember the details, but thankfully Angela was there."

"Ace didn’t know Zhao Yu’s ability, so he’d definitely attack him, thinking he could cut both Zhao Yu and me down at once. That gave me the chance—to get close."

"Of course, even that wouldn’t have been enough. Even attacking point-blank, he could still dodge unless I disabled his neural enhancer. After that, no matter how strong he was, if he couldn’t react, he’d take my shot." Xie Liu shook the Desert Eagle, a shy smile on his lips.

"As for the fake device I used to trick him—well, I had no choice. If I hadn’t leaped out then, Wendy would’ve been beheaded." Xie Liu smiled wryly. "But honestly, my nerves were shot. If Ace hadn’t agreed to my terms, I’d probably have collapsed in fright." He gave an embarrassed laugh.

"You’re awesome." Wendy laughed and ruffled Xie Liu’s hair. "You deserve a reward kiss."

"I’ll pass." Xie Liu’s face turned cold as he looked at the still-advancing metal giant. "We still have work to do."