Before Machi and Xiang Nan exchanged blows, it had only been a matter of a few breaths.
The speed was astonishing.
But from start to finish, the other three Troupe members had already recognized how dangerous this man from "Nameless Town" was—especially his nen ability.
First, in terms of pure technique, perhaps he wasn't as seasoned as Machi—since she'd managed to hide her threads from his perception and catch him off guard. Even so, whether it was Xiang Nan's rapid use of surgical blades to coil up and relieve the pressure of Machi's threads, or seizing the moment Machi approached to nail her with that elbow strike, both fully demonstrated that he was keenly alert to Machi's assault and could respond in time.
It showed the man was also a practical, combat-type Nen user.
He might not have as much battle experience as them, but certainly no shortage either.
But the most bizarre aspect…
—the one that led to Machi's current predicament—was the man's nen ability:
"His… that pair of gloves."
In Shalnark and the other two's eyes, it was clear from Xiang Nan and Machi's entire scuffle that Xiang Nan's gloves evidently had some effect.
Those gloves seemingly allowed him to inflict some sort of 'disease' upon whomever he touched—
But the specific mechanism was unclear.
"I do apologize… My friend here was a bit hasty. On her behalf, let me offer an apology. Could you please treat her?"
Shalnark's face had lost its earlier smile, eyeing Xiang Nan quite seriously now.
He'd already formed an "assessment" of Xiang Nan's strength.
One-on-one, he wasn't certain they could take him.
But three against one—if it came to that—the Troupe absolutely had enough power to send Xiang Nan to hell.
Still, this was just a routine little mission for their Troupe's small unit. There was no need to sacrifice Machi in the process. It wasn't worth it.
They did, after all, value their comrades.
Finished speaking, Shalnark glanced at the still-conscious but pallid-faced Machi. Her complexion had turned violet.
"Certainly no problem."
Xiang Nan smiled faintly.
Machi looked to Shalnark, then to Xiang Nan.
The next moment, she let go—retracting her threads.
Immediately afterward, her body slackened to the floor.
"Establishing treatment plan. Beginning surgery."
Xiang Nan's eyes flickered; the white gloves on both his hands gradually turned crimson, as if stained with blood.
He crouched down, carefully examining Machi's condition at close range.
Meanwhile, a faint swirl of nen gathered at his right palm.
"My apologies… would you three mind stepping away?" Xiang Nan said, smiling at Franklin, Shalnark, and Shizuku, who stood nearby.
"Rest assured, since I've agreed to treat her, I'll heal her properly. After all, we have no personal grudge—and if I didn't want to save her, I'd never have promised. Besides, with only so much space in this warehouse, if anything happened, I couldn't run far… right?"
Shalnark observed him, then with a small nod, turned away along with the other two members.
At that, Xiang Nan began pulling back Machi's clothing, making certain movements.
All the three Troupe members could sense was a shift in Xiang Nan's nen aura. They couldn't see exactly what he did.
Two or three minutes later, Xiang Nan straightened up again, announcing:
"The patient's out of danger."
This time, Shizuku rushed forward, quickly cradling the unconscious—but breathing normally, and color returning—Machi in her arms… verifying Machi truly was, as Xiang Nan said, no longer in crisis.
She pulled aside Machi's attire to check her body; there was no visible wound.
Franklin sprang over yet again, pressing the muzzle-like finger-joints of his hand right to Xiang Nan's temple.
Xiang Nan, hands in pockets, just gave Franklin a smiling glance, then looked toward Shalnark.
"This guy seems dangerous… should we kill him?" Franklin said, turning to Shalnark.
It wasn't surprising to Xiang Nan that the Troupe might flip on him at any moment.
"No point… If we kill him, we can't touch the other four anyway, and word's still going to get out… For one, he's proven he's not sent by an enemy. Judging by how he dealt with Machi's attack, he was simply acting in self-defense. If he had any hidden agenda, the other four would have made a run for it the instant fighting began—since by then they'd know they'd been exposed—rather than staying put like idiots."
"Also… he's clearly unafraid of our Phantom Troupe. Means he, much like us, has already put life-and-death aside. In a sense, he's a madman too. Additionally, I can't fully confirm what he did or didn't do to Machi. I'd rather not gamble on that."
Shalnark's words made Franklin glance at Xiang Nan, who stood relaxed, then he lowered his arm.
"Seventeen… do excuse us for being so cautious. If you already know about our Phantom Troupe, I'm sure you realize plenty of people are gunning for us, both openly and in secret. Plus your group's identity and the timing you took the job is pretty suspect, so…"
Shalnark offered Xiang Nan a brief explanation.
Xiang Nan similarly had no desire for conflict with the Troupe.
All of this was simply the system pushing events forward.
In truth, from the moment the mission started, Xiang Nan felt certain that unlocking a storyline event here wasn't worth the interference—
Dealing with the Phantom Troupe is complicated. Short of actually joining them, you can't guarantee your own safety. They're unpredictable and unscrupulous, unlike the Kakin Empire.
Hence better just to complete the quest and pass.
As for forging deeper connections with the Spider… forget it.
"Let's get to the mission now?"
Xiang Nan switched the subject.
Both sides calmly agreed not to delve deeper into Machi's earlier hostility.
Shalnark nodded. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel·fire·net
He walked to the small van in the warehouse, patting the side.
"You five need to drive this car to a certain destination within a set time limit. Once there, someone will meet you."
Xiang Nan guessed the location.
"Meteor City," Shalnark replied.
"Not exactly. One of our members will come along too, for insurance against any interference along the way. But since a skilled man like you is around… guess we have little to worry about," Shalnark said.
"They're not here yet, so we'll have to wait."
Xiang Nan's heart skipped a beat.
Shalnark gave him a curious look.
"What's your deal? You seem really interested in who from our Troupe is coming. Don't tell me it's someone you happen to know? Or maybe… there's some deeper connection?"
"No, just asking. Don't get paranoid."
Xiang Nan gave a light laugh.
Shalnark was a sharp one. Just by him casually asking "who's coming," the Troupe's tech-expert had sniffed out a trace of ulterior meaning.
After that exchange, Xiang Nan's group received a system prompt.
On Xiang Nan's screen, the mission details changed: they had ten days to deliver this vehicle to a coordinate in Meteor City.
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