Monday, October 6

Around 9 in the morning, I was lazing through the holiday with Qianxia when Lei Meow Meow called and summoned us.

“Yo, Xiao Kai? Sharo got a call from Rashomon — meeting’s at 3 this afternoon. If you haven’t changed your mind, get over to the hideout and get ready.”

She meant the plan where Lei Shan, Sharo and I would attend the Rashomon meeting together.

“So sudden? Got it — I’ll be there.”
I stood up to take the phone and Qianxia hit pause on the game, blinking up at me with huge round eyes.

I tried to keep my voice low, but Meow Meow still heard something was off from my voice.

“You’re…in girl-mode even at home?” Meow Meow asked.

Well, I guess it’s a tall ask to fool a singer using fake voices.

“No — it was Xiao Qianxia’s request.” I explained. She insisted on seeing the sister with breasts, so I used the Avatar Bookmark.

“Anyways, isn’t the notification period too tight? Informing about a meeting at 3pm now seems like a rush.”

“Nope. I’d do the same. For gangs in the Tianping district, it’s life or death right now — any delay just risks leaks.” Lei Meow Meow was blunt as always.

I patted Qianxia’s head. “Sister’s got to go out. I’ll be back tonight, if you leave remember to turn off the TV.”

“Okay!”

Since Dad was at home, leaving my main body there would be asking for trouble. Like last time, I pushed the real me in the wheelchair and took the secret passage from the boys’ campus to the hideout.

When I arrived the room had Lei Meow Meow, Sis Xi, Haitang, Tangerine, Qiaojue and Yang Qi — that’s it.

Haitang opened with the obvious: “Commander — this is a dangerous infiltration. Are you really okay with it?”

Is she really worried about me?

I gave her a thumbs up. “I'll be fine — I’ll think of it as courage practice.” She still eyed me like she didn’t quite buy it.

“Really, don't worry, I’m a god now,” I added for good measure.

“You’re the kind of god I could beat up by the truckload,” Haitang shot back.

“...”

Okay, a bit of truth, I did have cold feet a few days ago, but I have the Note Armor now. The notebook is a divine artifact and the armor mode comes with an indestructible tag — put on the notebook armor and you basically get three minutes of invincibility (on defense only).

“I’m worried someone might actually stab you! No—looking like you do, if something really happened, you’d probably get stabbed by a whole crowd…”

Eh? What… what kind of stabbing is she talking about?! I’m not the one with my mind in the gutter… am I?

Qiaojue threw over a bag: “Take this — give it to Lei Shan.”

Inside were spy toys: camera glasses, an in-ear radio, and a belt-buckle recorder — the old three from the Lose Moonlit op.

Only then did it hit me: the two people I’m supposed to go in with — Sharo and Lei Shan — aren’t here yet.

“Where’s Sharo? And Lü… Sis Shan?” I asked.

Meow Meow walked behind me and lightly tapped the back of my head. “They’re not coming here, you can stop looking around already. To avoid surveillance Sharo will wait at the Rakshasa base; Xiao Shan went into the commercial district already. Once you’re suited up, head there and meet them. You remember the plan, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then get ready to leave soon, make sure to be cautious in there, the area would be full of Rashomon’s eyes by now,” Meow Meow added.

Quick operation recap: Sharo, Lei Shan and I are the infiltration team — we sneak into the venue and scout.

Qiaojue and Tangerine are the intel team; they’ll use the reports we feed them to pin down the exact meeting spot. Those street cats scattered around the commercial district makes Tangerine the perfect set of eyes — and all it costs is just a few packs of dried fish.

Meow Meow and Haitang, both eager fighters, are assigned to the arrest squad. Since Uncle Lei suspects there are cops in league with the local underworld, he only brought officers he trusts; the manpower gap is filled by Meow Meow and Haitang. They’re tougher than ordinary police, there might only be two of them, but they’re more than enough to handle small-time goons.

On top of that, Meow Meow brought along several members of the “Lei Meow Meow Fan Club,” and they’re just as angry about their Chairman Lü Le getting stabbed.

Rinka, Yang Qi and Xiao Cangyu form the command center — brains in charge of coordinating the teams and dealing with unexpected risks.

Xiao Lei covered Sharo’s shift at work so Sharo could take part, hence Xiao Lei’s absence today.

Once our infil team confirms the venue, the intel team will survey the perimeter and identify anyone going in. When the meeting begins, the arrest team will close the net; they’ll storm the place together with Uncle Lei and sweep up the gang bosses gathered there.

From Uncle Lei’s point of view, he doesn’t want his daughter or anyone else in such a dangerous operation, but he’s short on trusted manpower. He also knows his daughter’s iron fists make it hard for those rotten thugs to get close. For those two reasons, he reluctantly agreed to Meow Meow’s request to join the mission.

【MOVING OUT】

Tianping Commercial District on a holiday — crowded doesn’t begin to cover it. The pedestrian street was packed; the maze like overhead walkways creaked somewhat worryingly; with loads of people pressed shoulder to shoulder.

Exactly as Meow Meow warned, the vibe was tense: since we paid extra attention, every now and then we could spot a cluster of thugs hanging about, eyeing passersby.

Those were almost certainly Rashomon lookouts or small crews working for them — any twitch and they’d be on the radio.

To avoid attention we split up. My job was to find Lei Shan and then she’d lead me to a Rakshasa base where Sharo waited.

“By the music fountain — but there’s so many people!” I muttered. The meeting spot was packed with tourists snapping photos; and since Lei Shan that fake-loli is so short, she’d be swallowed by the crowd.

I called — no answer, but heard a really retro ringtone, then felt a tug at my sleeve. Turns out Lei Shan had slid up beside me.

She’d changed her look: no mask, black-rimmed glasses, hair tied back. Still had that fierce three-white-eye glare, but she was low profile now.

“Miss Lingmeng,” she warned quietly, “this infiltration’s not the same as the bar op. Rashomon’s people have less moral restraint.”

“Don’t worry — we’ll be fine,” I said.

I noticed her phone was a tiny old nine-key brick. “Brother Lü…”

She shushed me and made a ‘quiet’ gesture: “Don’t make strange noises. Too many eyes. Just call me Sis Shan.”

“Sis Shan, that phone’s prehistoric,” I teased.

Her cheeks colored a little, but she steadied herself. “My old phone got smashed fighting Rashomon’s goons. I’m short on cash, so this’ll have to do for now.”

“You could’ve told Meow Meow and she’d have covered it…” I said.

She shook her head. “I can’t always trouble big sis.”

“Ha — she even made your surname hers. She won’t think you’re a bother. She and Sis Xi both think of you like a real brother — no, sister. Acting distant’ll just make them sad.”

“I still know that much… come on, let’s go.”

Not wanting to dwell, she turned and walked ahead; I hurried to keep up. Lei Shan threaded me through alleys between buildings. The lanes narrowed, the crowds thinned, and soon I couldn’t tell east from west. She finally stopped in front of an audio-video store.

“We’re here — one of Rakshasa’s bases.”