Chick 208

208

Chuen, who had been enduring the pitiful gaze pouring from Groo, finally managed a single word.

“Thank you, Han Groo.”

“I’m called On Groo now,” Groo replied, squirming a little as if she was embarrassed.

“Ah, that’s right… I’m glad to hear it.”

That’s right?

It was as if she’d known Groo very well for a long time.

Finding this odd, Groo cautiously asked,

“How do you know about me…?”

A faint sigh escaped Chuen’s indifferent face as she tilted her head.

She only knew about Groo because of a request from On Joorim.

‘The person who brought Han Groo to Milal Orphanage has already died.’

…Best not to mention that.

“The ‘spirits’ tell me everything. All of it.”

No sooner had Chuen finished speaking than colorful goldfish flew through the air and spun in circles around her.

“Whoa…! These goldfish tell you things?!”

Amazed by their beauty, Groo stared in wonder, and Chuen replied slowly,

“Yes. For example… That seedling you carry was raised by your actor friend. The same one who grew the potatoes with you.”

“Gasp!”

So that’s what it was? She really does know everything! Groo covered her mouth in astonishment.

Chuen lowered her eyes, watching Groo lose even the power of speech in shock.

“……”

Was it uncomfortable for her, knowing so much?

Most people found Chuen unsettling, sometimes even repellent, precisely because she seemed to know everything about them.

Perhaps the child would also find her creepy or want to avoid her.

She’d gotten used to it and thought she didn’t mind anymore, but now her mood soured a little.

As Chuen fell silent, her face again masking any emotions, Groo suddenly cheered,

“You’re super awesome!”

Groo piled on the praise, calling her the greatest, the coolest, and the most amazing, and Chuen, having never before heard such a superlative, grew flustered and bashful.

“I wouldn’t say I’m super anything…”

A hesitant but unmistakable smile crept across lips usually pressed in a straight line.

When she’d only peered at the child from outside the boundary through the spirits, she’d never felt this raw, genuine emotion before.

The enthusiastic reaction of a real child’s presence made her heart skip a beat.

“…This feels nice.”

She thought, perhaps this was why everyone loved her.

This realization barely passed her lips, as Chuen suddenly sprang up and turned toward the stove.

At the same moment, as one of Chuen’s goldfish opened its mouth, a bubble popped out.

‘Hm?’

The bubble grew larger and larger, floating gently until it captured Groo inside it.

Groo, trapped without warning inside the bubble, gaped open-mouthed.

“Eh?”

---

‘If I sing one more song tomorrow, maybe the production crew will at least give us some rice.’

Well, suspicious woman or not, first things first: feed her, then call the police or wake the others.

Eyes brimming with tears, Romi turned with a rice ball in hand—only to find a man standing unexpectedly close.

Startled, Romi met his eyes, and he spoke.

[“You’re up surprisingly late.”]

Chinese?

Chik!

In a split second, the man sprayed a mysterious liquid into Romi’s face.

“Ah…”

Thunk.

Romi toppled to the ground like a puppet with strings cut.

The man reached out to her, but a white arm appeared from the side and blocked him.

[“Chuen.”]

[“You didn’t come here for me, Zhang Wei?”]

[“You might be mistaken, but you’re not entirely wrong. In any case, you’re part of my target as well.”]

Zhang Wei, his wrist gripped by Chuen, shook her off in irritation and stepped away.

A palpable tension filled the air between them.

Zhang Wei clenched his fists, fixing his gaze on Chuen, his breath coming faster.

“Huff… Huff…”

As his harsh breathing subsided, even the sound of it faded into silence.

[Activating skill: ‘Night Parade of a Hundred Demons’.]

During that time, Chuen activated her skill, and as a goldfish merged into her body, the spirit’s will and power infused her.

Her eyes opened as she slid her feet shoulder-width apart, lowering her center of gravity.

Her hands slowly and deliberately clenched into fists and released, gathering energy from within.

Sss—

Her breathing regulated, deep and controlled.

The tension in the air made Zhang Wei tense his muscles, ready for a fight.

At this moment, Chuen was a master of martial arts.

But Zhang Wei himself was also a Hunter with a background in martial arts. Subduing her shouldn’t prove troublesome.

‘Still…’

He sensitized his perceptions, searching for Joorim’s aura.

Night after night, Joorim would wander far afield. That suited Zhang Wei’s plans, but the risk was that he could return unexpectedly at any moment.

If Joorim happened to return earlier than expected—

‘I have to finish this quickly.’

All he needed was to stick a tracking device to On Joorim’s belongings, subdue Chuen, and bring her to Zhou Shu.

The tracker would dissolve on skin contact—it was impossible for anyone, even Joorim, to detect it. With this, not only would Zhou Shu uncover the true identity of “Fake Claws,” but China could gain access to Orchestra’s deepest secrets.

That was the mission assigned to Zhang Wei, an agent of the Ministry of State Security.

Shuat—!

As Chuen struck first, he instantly widened the distance between them.

Then, ensuring his spell concealed any magical activity nearby, he produced an item handed to him by Lee Soyoun.

[Metallic Armor Changer (S)]

A round sphere containing viscous liquid centered on a magic stone.

As he set it to his chest, mana began swirling, and Zhang Wei’s body slowly transformed.

With metallic sounds, something began to encase his frame.

Fine metal strands wrapped his skin, layering over him like new muscle fibers.

Chuen moved to stop him, but in an instant, the newly hardened ironclad arm blocked her blow.

The armor formed along his arms and legs, each joint flexing in harmony with his movements.

His head rose slowly to face Chuen.

Now the full outline of the armor was visible: a helmet shaped like a skull, and his whole body covered in sleek metallic fibers.

[“Hoo—so this is how it feels. I could get addicted to this.”]

[“What is that…?”]

[“A gift, personally bestowed by Zhou Shu.”]

Seeing Chuen’s wavering gaze, he grinned in satisfaction.

He failed, however, to realize that his transformed appearance was provoking someone else.

As Zhang Wei took a step forward, the clash began anew.

Pushed back by his overwhelming assault, Chuen barely kept her wits.

Thunk—

From behind, a thick, bullet-shaped sponge struck Zhang Wei’s shoulder and bounced off.

“…?”

He glanced in disbelief at the source of the attack, to see a child aiming at him with a toy Nerf gun straight out of a magical girl cartoon.

[Crystal Magical Nerf Gun (E)]

A totally harmless friend to children. Its sponge bullets recharge infinitely.

The owner’s accuracy is increased by 100%, and each hit has a low chance to inflict a 2-second slow debuff on the target.

“Ha—!”

Zhang Wei burst into a snort of laughter as he looked at the cute, pastel-purple toy.

Swsh—!

Then, at a speed his eyes couldn’t follow, another bullet flew and struck his shoulder.

Glancing down in haste, he saw a dent forming in his shoulder plate.

Crackle!

Zzzzt—

Sparks of electricity arced from the bullet hole, and his armor began to split apart.

[“What the…!”]

While he was thrown by surprise, yet another sponge round came flying.

Zhang Wei easily swept that one aside with his other hand.

But the attack wasn’t over.

A chick-drone opened its beak toward him.

From the puffed-up, dandelion-like chick drone—

Swsh—!

A Mach 7 electrically-guided bullet was fired.

[“Krggh!”]

He had no chance to dodge.

No matter how much Hunters surpassed human limits, evading a round at this speed was plain impossible.

In an instant, the metallic fiber armor around his left and right arms was shattered.

Zhang Wei was more flustered than ever.

If it had happened in the exchange with Chuen, he wouldn’t have felt so humiliated.

But from a toy’s bullet?

There were no words for the sheer absurdity of it.

At that moment, Groo holstered her Nerf gun and, brandishing her fork in both hands, began to advance with light, rapid steps.

No matter how anyone looked, she was just a cute little girl, but Zhang Wei took a step back, flustered.

With those drones possibly firing again at any time, a child advancing with a fork was the very picture of terror.

[“Am I dreaming? Why does that kid have a drone…?”]

Even if it was Orchestra, did they really entrust such dangerous weapons to a five-year-old?

As he stood speechless in disbelief, Chuen, now standing between Groo and Zhang Wei, let out a small laugh.

‘That’s because the child herself is the owner of the drone.’

And the master of the Mephisto Series Prototype Mk.1, utterly exhilarated by the battlefield unfolding before her, was charging in at full speed.

‘Why is it here?’

Chuen and Zhang Wei were both unsettled, if for different reasons, but right now, there was only one thing reflected in the child’s eyes.

‘Miracle Change!’

The eyes of a five-year-old craftsman sparkled.