Chapter 57: Settling Scores (Part I)

While the small faction’s members were locked in battle, others in Sky City were far from at ease. A certain mastermind had not only engineered Ming Ke’s actions but also prepared a contingency plan to disseminate malicious information across the entire city via the network. After being contacted by the authorities, Mo Yuan Kai and Reina Cecil— the latter the owner of Cecil Laboratories and a neurotic female doctor—scrambled desperately to counter the threat. When the unfortunate Miles arrived at Mo Yuan Kai’s residence, what he witnessed resembled a scene ravaged by fire.

The disheveled blonde doctor shouted at the screen, “I told you! I told you! We can’t find a countermeasure in this little time. Bring Experimental Subject 293 here! Initiate forced information interference through the city-wide broadcast!”

The overweight young man wiped his sweat and retorted, “Calm down, Cecil. Bringing her here won’t help! The mastermind knows her abilities better than you. If we connect her to the city’s entire network now, I guarantee she’ll be corrupted immediately. Then, it’ll be hopeless!”

“Where on earth did this second information lifeform come from?!”

“You’re asking me? I want to ask you the same thing!”

After Miles nervously explained the situation, it took a turn beyond his comprehension.

“You’re one of the first escapees? You managed to break free from the information interference? Great! Lie down here, I’ll run an urgent scan…”

“Done in 30 seconds! Extracting preliminary counter-information after identifying the specific interference method! Have we located the original source of the malicious information?”

“There should be backups of those few pieces of music on the computer I brought.”

“Leave it to me!!”

If one were to elaborate, it would rival the intensity of a battle among superpowered beings. Ultimately, with comprehensive official support and the intelligence urgently delivered, the two super hackers finally thwarted this invisible conspiracy.

The intelligence broker collapsed onto the sofa, looking as if he'd just been pulled from a pool.

“I’m exhausted. Cecil, look at the mess you made.”

“No! It’s all because of me! Have I been resting all these years just to make your brain as useless and bloated as your belly?! Even my junior high craft assignments were 2.76 times better than this shoddily concocted information pollution source!”

“Alright, alright, you’re smart and capable. So you’re saying that Skeleton Head and his subordinates created this thing?”

On the screen, Dr. Cecil grabbed her hair. “...At least the possibility isn’t zero.”

“I trust your laboratory has no issues, and I’m sure the authorities trust you too. I’ll head to Cangshou District now and brief Director Liu.”

“You *&%$#@! This time it really wasn’t me!!”

“You’re fine, but what about your subordinates? I remember your recent project was cyberspace—a personalized virtual world built on the information network. The principle is environmental information manipulation. Sounds awfully familiar.”

“That was the official cover project for Experiment A-293—damn it!”

Dr. Cecil unleashed a stream of colorful curses, vastly enriching Miles’s vocabulary. The sheer variety and vividness of her expressions led the middle schooler eavesdropping to think that mastering just a third of them would grant invincibility in any future verbal battles.

“This one’s on me.”

Dr. Cecil abruptly ended the call.

The intelligence broker sank back onto the sofa, utterly drained.

“Bad woman running a bad lab, sigh…”

Miles reminded, “Mr. Mo, your phone is ringing.”

“Thanks.” He answered. “Hello, Ah Ce. Everyone’s okay, right? Good... I know someone’s plotting against us. We just finished dealing with the mastermind’s backup plan... The officials aren’t slackers, rest assured.”

“...Thanks for your hard work! Still got some fight left? ...Half a life is enough... No need to detour to the hospital, I’m sending a doctor over. Cecil will cover the expenses this time. Roast chicken, pizza, ramen, sushi, steak, and a few stir-fries. Okay... again, my treat? Fine, fine, I’ll cover it. Come and eat.”

After hanging up, the intelligence broker started ordering food via a delivery app, forcing a friendly smile. “Young man, thanks again for your help. What would you like to eat?”

“I’ll have fish and chips—oh wait, never mind, anything’s fine!” Miles waved hurriedly, nervously pressing his lips together. “Mr. Mo, I’m worried about retaliation.”

The death wing of Skeleton Head, the laboratory behind the dust explosion, and the true culprit hidden in the shadows who set all this in motion with bizarre powers—thinking of their terrifying abilities sent chills down his spine. Gongsun and the others needn’t fear retaliation, but what if an ordinary middle schooler like him became a scapegoat?

Mo Yuan Kai had seen plenty of such worries. He ordered a large portion of fish and chips and reassured the unlucky child with practiced ease.

“Don’t worry. No matter how chaotic Sky City gets, there are rules. The fights are fierce, but once they’re over, it’s done.”

“Do you think the authorities will make sure it ends?”

“Exactly. Rest assured, professionals will handle the aftermath. Experts you can trust.”

“No one escapes.”

·

“Phew...”

Skeleton Head drifted in a fog, unable to form a coherent thought.

Meticulously planned, secretly arranged. He gathered detailed data on various powered individuals from loyal subordinates, traded with Dust Explosion for precious information... After long preparation, he created the malicious information encoded in music. He secretly hired the external grim reaper disguised as a tourist to enter the city. Simultaneously, he contacted the Mutual Aid Association and the Light Core, exploiting the chaos following the Dragon Disaster to incite unrest citywide. Using the malicious information to trade with the authorities, he planned to smuggle people out under the cover of the turmoil...

A grand scheme, long in preparation, known in full only to him.

But on the eve of execution, a mysterious dual-blade wielder stole his portable player.

Without the negotiation materials, all arrangements fell apart.

He had no choice but to accept Dust Explosion’s commission. Though he defeated the Red Lion, he still lost. After this, how many more would abandon the organization?

“Boss...,” “Boss!” “Boss.”

His subordinates’ voices echoed faintly, unintelligible. Memories of arriving in Sky City flashed through his mind.

Being forcibly brought to this airborne city. A world of chaos. Powers activated only through followers.

Only violence could secure status. Defeat the enemy. Ascend to the top.

An inescapable prison. An unbeatable adversary.

Driven by that stubborn obsession, Skeleton Head rasped, revealing a truth even he barely realized.

“To catch a break...”

“What a joke. What dignity does a gangster have?”

A sharp female voice came from beside him.

His vision blurred, vaguely seeing a blue-haired woman emerge from the shadows.

“Who are you...?”

“I’m the cat’s tenant,” she said, a flicker of black light in her hand. “Here to collect the rent.”

A short arrow flew. He lost consciousness.

·

Central District, Central United University.

During the fierce battle this afternoon, many citizens had taken refuge in the academy. After the fighting subsided, they emerged, discussing who had won, whose house might be wrecked, and which favorite shops would need urgent rebuilding or had narrowly escaped disaster.

Except for a few newcomers in recent years, most faces among the citizens were calm—they had seen worse. Many had even endured the Dragon Disaster two weeks prior; this was nothing.

A purple-haired woman hid in the shadows. Once she confirmed the idlers had left, she approached the laboratory building step by step.

“Damn it... damn it...!”

She was covered in dust, blood leaking from her mouth, bruised all over, with a conspicuous contusion on her face—utterly disheveled. She should have reported back to the lab immediately. But for Dust Explosion, who was haughty and looked down on ordinary people, being seen in such a sorry state was more agonizing than severe injury... utterly intolerable.

“I’ll remember you all... just wait...”

She engraved the humiliation of today’s defeat deep in her heart.

She would never forget. She would reclaim this loss one by one. First, she’d eliminate that talkative middle schooler, then Experimental Subject 293, subjecting him to lifelong torment. Finally, she’d destroy everything treasured by the demon, forcing that man to weep and beg on his knees!

“...Just wait!”

A sophomore boy emerged from the building. Their eyes met briefly before he quickly turned aside without a word.

Dust Explosion snorted and a wisp of purple smoke enveloped him.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to... ah!”

Boom! A small explosion sent him flying several meters. The poor student rolled on the ground several times, panicked and fleeing.

“The Greatest Minister of the Ming Dynasty.”

“Tch.”

She dragged her weary body into the building. Cecil Laboratories were on the fourth floor. The researchers-only elevator was further inside, so she took the regular elevator to the fourth-floor corridor, stopping before an iron door plastered with exaggerated warnings: [High Risk], [No Entry], [Strictly Forbidden to Peek], [Certain Death], [Dangerous Biochemical Weapons].

Dust Explosion knocked hard on the door.

“Doctor, it’s me! Please send a doctor to help, I’m injured.”

The iron door silently opened inward as a grayish-blue haired woman stepped out.

Her short hair was neat, her thin lips lightly tinted, dressed in a fitted black dress with a white lab coat over it.

Though beautiful, she inspired no warmth. The aura of unapproachability stemmed not only from her cold temperament but also from the lab coat—long a symbol of researchers, and a source of fear and prejudice among citizens.

Dust Explosion paused, smiling and raising a hand.

“The doctor is here~ Rare to see you so proactive! Please, treat me~”

The doctor’s eyes flicked toward her, voice as cold as ever.

“Good evening, Miss Yun Yinglang. Dr. Cecil asked me to inform you that you’ve been dismissed.”

“...What?”

Dust Explosion’s hand froze mid-air.

Dismissed? Even this cold woman joked? Unheard of. Since meeting her, she hadn’t uttered a word unrelated to work. Wasn’t she hired by them? She was the strongest level superpowered individual. Just one failure—how could the lab discard her...

Shock and disbelief turned into uncontrollable rage.

“That lazy woman made me handle this!!”

There are many ways to deal with an escaped experimental subject, and she had chosen the worst.

The doctor didn’t bother to elaborate. They weren’t friends or seniors, just colleagues. Dust Explosion had been dismissed; their connection was severed.

“I’m on duty now. Please step aside.”

In an instant, purple smoke filled the narrow corridor, and the furious purple-haired woman nearly attacked.

“You—!”

What stopped her was the doctor’s right hand.

When her slender fingers rose, Dust Explosion’s clothes silently split down the middle, revealing pure white skin marked by a red line — as if a sharp surgical blade had sliced her chest open. Muscles, bones, organs all intact, except one red organ was missing.

The heart, held in the doctor’s hand, throbbed softly.

Dust Explosion froze. The purple smoke dissipated. The doctor released the heart, letting it return to its place.

The wound on her chest sealed seamlessly, leaving no trace—only the still-tattered clothing bore witness to what had occurred.

“Please refrain from fighting on school grounds.”

The purple-haired woman collapsed weakly onto the floor. The doctor stepped over her body and exited the cramped corridor.

The elevator doors opened, and a blue-haired woman in hunting attire stepped out. They passed without meeting eyes.

Shiyu Ling approached the iron door, weary. “No action permitted.”

Dust Explosion remained motionless. Shiyu Ling grasped her purple braid and vanished into the shadows.

“Yawn~ Recovery operations complete.”

The aftermath concerning the superpowered individuals was over.

But some matters required another expert’s attention.

·

Time rewinds to shortly before.

After learning that Ming Ke had retreated and the network dissemination was stopped, Director Liu in Cangshou District finally breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed Ming Ke’s movement records and, eyes sharp, traced routes on the map.

The bespectacled man cautiously asked, “Director, what are you doing?”

Pencil lines densely covered the map, encompassing every area of Sky City. This was Ming Ke’s path over three days. Liu Zhongwu had spent an entire afternoon evading electronic surveillance to meticulously chart it out, now adding the final stroke.

The focal point of Ming Ke’s journey overlapped with a clothing store in the Central District.

“Time to settle accounts.”

Liu Zhongwu jabbed the pencil upward. A slowly moving bright spot appeared on the map in the Thorn District.

The portly middle-aged man rose from his chair, gave a few orders to his subordinates, and stepped outside with the map.

He muttered fiercely, “Since they came, they won’t leave.”