The afternoon atmosphere inside the "Titan Plaza" shopping district was still bustling with tens of thousands of people pouring in to shop and spend. The sound of chatter, music from shops, and public announcements mingled together, creating a headache-inducing noise pollution.
For an ordinary person, finding a single individual in such a vast and chaotic sea of people was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Especially if the target was deliberately hiding, the possibility was practically zero.
However... those rules did not apply to the group of three hunters currently walking mingled among the crowd.
"The Boss is truly vicious..."
Viper, a young woman with a buzz cut wearing a denim jacket, remarked casually while chewing gum with a relaxed demeanor. Although on the outside she looked like a typical teenager out for a stroll, the eyes scanning the surroundings were sharp and emotionless, like a reptile's.
"The plan to call and threaten the victim to make them warn each other... no matter how I look at it, it's a damn smart plan," she turned to say to her two teammates. "Common thugs would probably choose to lie in wait quietly along the victim's usual route and hope they walk into the trap. But the Boss chose to 'create a situation' to make the job easier himself."
Grizz, the giant, muscle-bound man walking beside her, nodded in agreement. A ruthless grin appeared on his face. "Because fear... is something that cannot be hidden."
In the world of the Awakened, battles weren't decided by destructive power alone, but by "Information" and "Psychology."
Their team leader (the one who called Owen) had calculated everything precisely in advance. The moment Owen knew Jessica was in danger, the first thing he would do was call her and order her to "flee" or "hide." And that was exactly where the trap functioned perfectly.
That's right... this wasn't just a threatening call for satisfaction. It was a "strategy."
When humans perceive a threat creeping in, their survival instinct kicks in. The body releases massive amounts of chemicals like Cortisol and Adrenaline to prepare for a "fight or flight" situation. This process results in a drastic change in body odor.
The smell of sweat caused by heat might be musty... but the smell of sweat caused by fear has a unique, potent scent that predators can sense.
And that was the stage for the third man in the group... Baton.
Baton, a tall, thin man with an abnormally prominent nose wearing pitch-black sunglasses, didn't join the conversation. He walked with his chin slightly raised, all his concentration focused on the tip of his nose.
He was a C-Rank Enhancement-Type Awakened with the ability [Sense Enhancement: Olfaction].
His ability wasn't limited to just smelling perfume or food. His nose had evolved to distinguish chemical components in the air at a molecular level. Within a 10-kilometer radius, no scent could escape his nose.
Sniff... Sniff...
Baton took a deep breath, rapidly filtering out the smell of garbage, food, and thousands of cheap perfumes... He was looking for the "specific scent" the Boss had prepared.
Amidst the tens of thousands of people walking past with normal emotions... happy... bored... or rushed... their auras blended together until they were indistinguishable.
But suddenly... his senses twitched!
There was "one spot" in this shopping district that was emitting the "Scent of Fear" with abnormal intensity! It was as strong and concentrated as black smoke billowing from a factory chimney, cutting clearly against the bright sky.
In the eyes of ordinary people, that woman might be just one in the crowd... but in Baton's nose, right now she was shining brightly like a "lighthouse" amidst the darkness. She was "shouting" her location through the body odor of fear she couldn't control!
"Found her..." Baton smirked at the corner of his mouth. His slender finger pointed precisely in one direction.
"400 meters, to the East. Her scent is very strong..." His voice was full of confidence. "Looks like our prey is absolutely terrified."
Viper laughed with delight upon hearing the report. "Hahaha! Excellent! Who would have thought that trying to hide out of fear would turn into dropping a pin for us to follow and slaughter her right there?"
"Let's go pick her up..." Grizz cracked his knuckles loudly, Crack, his eyes shining with hunger. "Before her 'hero' arrives."
The three of them quickened their pace. They moved through the crowd agilely like fish swimming upstream, heading straight for the "Lighthouse of Fear" that was unknowingly signaling them.
The Boss's cunning plan, combined with the specialized abilities of his subordinates, turned Jessica, who should have been safest in the crowd, into the most conspicuous target instantly.
…
At a public restroom located separately in a corner of a small garden within the shopping district...
Its atmosphere was completely different from the bustling chaos outside. Silence covered the narrow square space. Only the sound of water dripping from a loosely closed faucet outside broke the silence rhythmically.
Drip... Drip... Drip...
Jessica sat on the toilet lid in the innermost stall of the women's restroom. Her arms hugged her knees tightly to lift her feet off the floor, preventing anyone looking through the gap below from seeing her.
Cold sweat drenched her body until her thin white shirt clung to her back. Primal human instinct was screaming a warning of the creeping danger, making her heart pound so hard her chest hurt. Her hands gripped the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white... but she wouldn't cry.
She pressed her lips together into a tight line, trying to suppress the fear that was gnawing at her mind as deeply as possible.
'I won't cry... I definitely won't show weakness to anyone except Owen!'
Jessica repeated to herself in her mind. She was Owen's woman... the strongest man she knew. If she gave up here, she wouldn't be worthy of standing by his side. She took a deep breath, turning fear into anger.
But her fear wasn't imaginary...
Clack... Clack... Clack...
The sound of heavy boots hitting the tiled floor rang out at the main entrance of the restroom... It wasn't the sound of a woman rushing to use the toilet, but a slow, steady, and threatening rhythm.
Bam!
Followed by the sound of the "Cleaning in Progress" sign she had placed to block the door being kicked away nonchalantly.
"That stupid sign won't work, little girl..." Baton's deep voice rang out. His nose twitched. "The scent of your fear is even more concentrated than the smell of the cleaning fluid, you know."
"Hehe~ Must be the innermost room..." Viper's giggling voice followed. "My, my~ Playing hide and seek, are we, beautiful? Come on out. Don't make us break the door down."
Jessica heard the conversation clearly, but she didn't make a sound. She simply gripped the phone in her hand tighter, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. Her eyes, once trembling, began to harden.
When there was no response, the patience of the giant hunter, Grizz, ran out.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He stomped in annoyedly and stopped in front of the last stall door. His looming shadow cast a terrifying silhouette.
"Playing hard to get!"
BANG!!
Grizz kicked the door just once, and the lock exploded! The door swung open and slammed against the wall with a loud crash!
The image that appeared before the hunters' eyes wasn't a woman sitting and crying, trembling in the corner as they had expected...
But it was Jessica sitting and gritting her teeth on the toilet lid, staring back at them with vengeful eyes! Even though she was trembling from the pressure of the three hunters, she held her head high unyieldingly.
"Go to hell... you scum," she forced the words through her teeth, her voice trembling but firm. "If you touch even the tip of my fingernail... Owen will hunt you down and tear you to pieces, guaranteed!"
The threat made the group of hunters pause for a moment, before Viper burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! What a sharp tongue! I freakin' love a fighter," Viper smirked ruthlessly, then stepped into the room. "But sorry... your hero probably won't make it in time."
Those insulting words cut into Jessica's heart. Fear began to devour her strength until almost nothing was left. And in that second, the second Viper's dirty hand was about to reach her... the pent-up frustration she had accumulated condensed into a single clear tear, flowing from the corner of her right eye uncontrollably.
It wasn't a tear of weakness, but a tear of resentment that she couldn't do anything but wait for someone else to help...
'I'm sorry, Owen... I...'
And in the split second before Viper's fingertips touched her skin...
WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
The high-pitched sound of a massive object tearing through the air at high speed roared in loudly from the sky overhead!
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The concrete ceiling above their heads exploded into pieces!
A massive impact crushed down into the center of the circle! Debris of concrete, wood, and roof tiles rained down as if the sky were falling! A violent shockwave blasted the bodies of Viper, Grizz, and Baton, sending them rolling in different directions before they could react!
Amidst the grey smoke of concrete debris and dust that billowed throughout the restroom until almost nothing was visible...
The mysterious silhouette that had fallen from the sky slowly moved... It straightened up from the pile of rubble in the middle of the room, which just seconds ago had been a perfectly solid roof.
And when the dust began to settle, it revealed a young woman in a black, skin-tight workout outfit, covered in white dust. Her twintails were slightly messy. She was kneeling on one knee, one hand resting on the pile of debris in a perfect "Superhero Landing" pose, as if she had jumped right out of an action movie.
This person was none other than... Talia.
Jessica, who had narrowly survived being crushed by the collapsing roof, slowly opened her eyes. Her heart was still pounding with the panic that hadn't faded. But when her eyes focused clearly on the image in front of her... a truth even more shocking slammed into her!
The spot where Talia had landed and created a massive crater... was less than half a meter away from the tips of her toes!
Jessica could only swallow hard. Her eyes glanced at a chunk of concrete the size of a fist that had fallen with Talia. It was embedded deep into the wall behind her, missing her head by a hair's breadth!
If Talia had aimed even a tiny bit off... or if the impact had shifted direction just slightly... the person who killed her wouldn't have been the three hunters, but this "help" that fell from the sky!
"Ouch..."
Talia's murmuring complaint broke the silence. She stood up to her full height, dusting off her shoulders and chest casually. Her sharp, beautiful face was scrunched up slightly in frustration.
"The recoil from the 'Elastic Slingshot' move is so hard to control... almost couldn't brake in time," she grumbled to herself as if reviewing a new ultimate move, before turning to Jessica and grinning widely until her eyes formed crescents with pride.
"But the GPS coordinates you sent were really accurate, Ms. Jessica! Landed right on the target, see! You're safe now! Because Express Delivery Talia has arrived!"
Jessica looked at that beaming smile with indescribable feelings... Her emotions swung violently like a roller coaster. From 'extreme fear' a moment ago, shifting to 'extreme shock' at the reckless landing, and finally... it became 'extreme relief' until her knees went weak.
In that second, the fear and strength she had tried to build as a shield collapsed instantly. She no longer cared about the sharp concrete scraps cutting her skin or the dust staining her clothes.
"Waaah... Talia!!" Jessica lunged to hug Talia's body tightly, burying her face in her strong and flexible shoulder, sobbing openly without shame.
"You idiot! You almost crushed me to death, you know!" she shouted mufflingly through the clothes, both hitting and hugging her. "But... hic... thank you... thank you for making it in time... thank you so much!"
Talia paused slightly at the force of the hug, before her playful smile turned gentle. She used her hand to pat Jessica's head lightly to comfort her. Her rubbery arms wrapped around Jessica tightly like a protective shield.
"There, there... Don't cry, don't cry... Talia is here now."
But the touching moment lasted only a short while... because their enemies hadn't disappeared.
Sounds of coughing echoed from the piles of rubble behind them. Viper, Grizz, and Baton, who had been blown away by the explosion earlier, began to scramble up to regain their footing. They were covered in dust, but their eyes were filled with intense rage and confusion.
Seeing this, Talia slowly pushed Jessica behind her...
She looked up at the three Awakened. The playful and affectionate smile from a moment ago vanished completely. Her beautiful eyes narrowed, changing into the eyes of a "Beast" ready to maul its prey. The atmosphere around her shifted from a cheerful girl into a fighter who had been through hellish training with Nova.
Talia cracked her knuckles, Crack. Her body began to stretch, expand, and twist, preparing for battle.
"Alright..." Her voice was cold and low.
"Anyone who dares to bully Master's lady... prepare to become a punching bag!"
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