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He wasn't there to pick up Zero; he was there to steal the gun and, incidentally, to take the old ninja hostage.

"It seems that not everyone in your school is such a person of integrity," Fuma Kotaro said, raising his head.

Chapter 846 Su Enxi's Face

Fingel, his face radiating roguishness, gestured towards Zero in his arms: "Excuse me, this is Xinyi from our headquarters. As for me, I'm the sleazy one. Enough with the nonsense! We finally managed to kidnap you, and you think you can just leave like that? Do you think I'm that wasteful?"

"What do you want?" Fuma Kotaro glanced down at the Desert Eagle on his chest, which remained motionless in the rain.

“It’s raining so hard, we’d like to invite you inside to talk!” Fingel gestured with his chin toward Takamagahara behind him. Caesar had to admit that Fingel, this mad dog, was right. Rather than trusting the resolve of the Snake Clan, it was better to hold an old patriarch hostage.

As long as Fingel's finger is on the trigger, the Snake Clan will not dare to launch a direct attack on Takamagahara.

"What's there to talk about in a brothel?" Kotaro Fuma asked, gazing at the extravagant building with its towering neon sign in the rain, a genuine sense of bewilderment in his voice.

“How can you call this a brothel? We are a new type of health club for high-level working women to relieve stress and relax!” Fingel said, shoving him towards the gate of Takamagahara with his shoulder.

"Doesn't your establishment never serve male guests?" In his decades-long career as a ninja and head of his clan, Fuma Kotaro had experienced countless assassinations, poisonings, sieges, and hand-to-hand combat after negotiations broke down. But this was the first time in his life that a fugitive host, reeking of ramen and fried garlic, had a gun pointed at his back and dragged into a nightclub.

"We're not offering you companionship, but having a drink is no problem!"

Fuma Kotaro stopped bothering with this shameless guy.

He slowly raised his right hand, his palm open in the downpour, his five fingers pointing towards the sky.

On every rooftop, in every alley, and behind armored vehicle bunkers along both sides of the long street, hundreds of metallic clanging sounds of gun bolt handles being pushed and pulled back and forth rang out simultaneously.

Hundreds of guns were loaded simultaneously. He waved his hand again, and all the gun barrels' sights shifted in unison, all aimed at the same target: himself, and Fingel, who was pressing a gun to his chest.

The red dot moved back and forth between the old man's heart and Fingel's stubble-covered face.

“When I wave my hand a third time, they will open fire and pulverize you and me. You don’t know the Snake Clan nearly enough. No one will disobey the head of the clan’s orders, even if my order is to shoot me,” Kotaro Fuma said slowly. “Now, do you still think I’m a meaningful hostage?”

The situation has reached a stalemate.

Fingel was unwilling to let go of this old man whose bones were as hard as steel bars, but he also couldn't drag him even half a step further.

Caesar placed the whiskey glass on the step railing, and pressed his right hand back onto the grip of the Desert Eagle, not pointing it at Kotaro Fuma, but simply because his fingers needed to touch something that could calm him down.

In fact, there was nothing to talk about between the two sides to begin with.

The Snake Clan wants Genjiro, but the academy will never hand her over. Their positions are irreconcilable on this matter, like two locked alloy gears; either side taking a half-turn back would cause the entire transmission system to collapse instantly.

"It's closed, why aren't you going to sleep? Are you planning to greet guests with dark circles under your eyes tomorrow, you worthless brats!" An extremely impatient roar suddenly burst out from inside the gate of Takamagahara, making the rain curtain tremble.

The door was kicked open from the inside.

Bathed in the glow of the crystal chandelier, a girl strode out, arms crossed, looking down at everyone on the street, who were on the verge of exchanging hostility.

She wore a sharply tailored gray suit skirt and black high heels, and the single diamond pendant on her right ear bounced wildly in the light, drawing everyone's attention to the earring that swayed left and right, repeatedly refracted by the neon lights.

The store manager, a humpback whale, stood respectfully behind her, carrying her bag, trench coat, and a black umbrella that hadn't yet been opened. The image was as vivid as a completely tamed brown bear carrying its tamer's suitcase.

Lu Mingfei was completely stunned behind the bar.

Su Enxi was completely without makeup today, her long hair hanging down naturally, without any blow-drying or puffing up the fluffy curls that could hide a magpie.

Her face and figure could easily grace the cover of a fashion magazine if photographed casually on the streets of Ginza, but her clear complexion, which doesn't require any expensive cosmetic enhancements, makes her look more like the managing director of a new bank than the owner of the largest host club in Kabukicho.

"What's all the commotion at the door?" Su Enxi frowned her pretty brows. "Hey Heracles, why are you sticking so close to an old man?"

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "Boss lady, you call me by my nickname quite smoothly, but aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to? There are hundreds of guns and hundreds of knives outside, even a blind person could smell the gunpowder in the air that's about to explode."

"It has nothing to do with the shop's business. It's just that we gangsters came over to get some rain and chat." Caesar tossed a strand of his still-dripping golden hair, his voice regaining its usual lazy and relaxed social tone. "You want to watch?"

"A friend?" Su Enxi gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear, revealing her small, delicate ear, and smiled slightly. "Then I'm sorry, I'm not wearing my glasses tonight, so I can't see clearly. It's raining so hard outside, since we're friends, please come in and sit down."

She reached into the inner pocket of her blazer and pulled out a pair of heavy, black-rimmed glasses.

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "Oh no, the landlady hasn't figured out the situation yet. Once she puts on her glasses and sees all the knives, guns, and infrared aiming points on the street, she'll probably scream, shrink back, and throw herself into the humpback whale's arms."

He took a step forward and opened his arms to block Su Enxi: "It's okay, it's okay! Good friends can chat outside! It's cool outside! Everyone's clothes are already soaked, so don't get the sofas in the store dirty—you should go to sleep, early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy and energetic!"

He winked frantically at the humpback whale, as if to say, "With your past as the most popular young man on the streets of Shinjuku, surely your eyesight isn't failing you? Quickly escort this young woman of questionable condition upstairs!"

The humpback whale remained expressionless, its hands clasped in front of it, completely still, like a giant organic robot that had not received any movement commands. It was as if it could stand in the downpour until dawn, wearing its gray suit, unless the landlady gave the order herself.

Su Enxi warmly opened her arms and pulled Lu Mingfei into her embrace, patting his back like a young mother encouraging her child who had ranked last in the class at a parent-teacher meeting: "Little Sakura is such a considerate child."

Lu Mingfei was completely overwhelmed by the faint, warm scent emanating from her, a blend of white musk and lily of the valley, as if he were floating on clouds.

The proprietress was soft and warm to hug, and her shirt collar smelled of expensive perfume.

In comparison, the girls at Kassel College were like fully drawn bows, and Nono and Zero could easily send a grown man flying and slamming him against the wall with a single side kick.

This greatly aroused Lu Mingfei's surging protective instincts, and revived his courage, which had been limp after seeing the long guns and cannons filling the streets.

He was about to lower his voice and utter some grand and imposing lines like, "Don't be afraid, boss lady, I'm here and I'll never let those guys touch you," when he heard Su Enxi also squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth.

"Idiot! What are you standing there for? Trying to take advantage of me? Get out of the way! Let me deal with that old scoundrel!"

She shoved Lu Mingfei back into the humpback whale's arms, then steadily placed her black-rimmed glasses on his nose. Those exquisitely beautiful eyes slowly opened behind the lenses. In an instant, she seemed possessed by a divine being, exuding absolute majesty.

Su Enxi completely ignored the dark gun barrels. Her gaze went past the half-collapsed shoulder pads of Fingel's suit and looked straight down at the white-haired old ninja below the steps.

The reflections from hundreds of sharp blades simultaneously illuminated her face, casting a shimmering, cold light on her glasses.

"So their friend is you, Mr. Fengmo. I never expected that such a distinguished guest as you would grace me with your presence so soon after I bought this women's stress relief club." Su Enxi suddenly smiled, a smile so sweet it was cloying, like a cup of black tea with double the syrup but cyanide hidden at the bottom.

Lu Mingfei nestled in the humpback whale's arms and muttered to himself, "What a 'women's stress relief club'." In an instant, the host club's location was changed, and the proprietress must have been hiding behind the door, eavesdropping on the entire confrontation without missing a single word.

"Susan, this shop is under your name? This old minister truly did not expect it." The moment Fuma Kotaro saw her face, he was visibly shaken. The shock lasted only a moment before he forcibly suppressed it, and his voice returned to politeness and solemnity, even more respectful than when he confronted Caesar.

Caesar and Chu Zihang exchanged a quick glance in the rain.

They always had a vague feeling that something was protecting them in the dark. The Michelin three-star restaurants they couldn't book suddenly became available, the supercars they couldn't rent had mysterious clients paying their deposits, and every time the underworld blocked the roads, they could always find a small alley that wasn't blocked to escape.

The answer now lies at the top of the steps, a smiling figure in a grey suit, facing hundreds of gun barrels. What kind of person could command such respect from the patriarch of the Fengmo family, treating such a young girl as if she were a teacher?

They don't know. But the answer seems about to be revealed.

"I just took over the property not long ago. I've always hoped to have my own little shop to run carefully, watching it grow and thrive day by day from behind the window. I feel that life is much more exciting than trading US stocks in the office before. And there are so many handsome young men around me."

Su Enxi raised her arm and swept it over all the members of the Caesar Group with an air of grandeur, looking just like an empress calmly inspecting her legion of male favorites at her coronation ceremony. "I feel that my life is very fulfilling right now."

"I just joined Susan's ranks myself!" Fingel, who was at the very end of the crowd, spontaneously sprang up from beside Zero, awkwardly tying his haphazardly tied purple bow tie, and squeezed to the back of the line, puffing out his chest.

“That’s great. I also think the shop needs some fresh blood with a sense of humor, someone who can casually crack a joke or something while serving drinks to customers,” Su Enxi nodded elegantly.

"Is Su Sang personally coming forward to protect these people?" asked Fuma Kotaro.

“It’s not a matter of ‘protection’,” Su Enxi said, taking the handbag from the humpback whale and gently hanging it on her wrist. “It’s just that these people are all legally employed, full-time staff. As the store manager, of course I have to take good care of them.”

"When the identity and personal safety of one of your store's employees directly involve the life and death of the entire Snake Clan, and these people refuse to hand him over, although we should give Susan the utmost respect, this old minister absolutely cannot use your store's employment contract to make any deal with you in this matter. This old minister's duty is to seal off this building and ensure that the people inside cannot move this person out."

“I have no intention of doing business with you on this matter.” Su Enxi’s voice was not loud, but every word was firmly pressed against the row of gleaming gun barrels below the steps, reaching the eardrums of everyone present without missing a single word.

"Neither side is willing to back down, and continuing this stalemate is not a solution. Once violence begins, bloodshed becomes contagious. Tokyo is still experiencing torrential rain, and too many innocent people have already died tonight. How about we temporarily suspend our dispute? I guarantee with my personal integrity that these people will not flee Takamagahara. What do you say?"

"You mean we should retreat now?" Fuma Kotaro's two snow-white eyebrows suddenly twitched.

"Let's just leave like this." Su Enxi took out a plain black phone from her handbag, unlocked the screen, dialed the number that she had kept in her contacts for years but had never pressed, and then handed the still-ringing phone to Fuma Kotaro.

The old man took the phone with his hand, which was white from being soaked by the rain, and slowly brought it to his ear.

Hundreds of gunmen on the street were watching this scene: a white-haired family head, dressed in a kimono and jinhaori, stood ramrod straight, holding a cell phone that didn't belong to him for his opponent in the pouring cold rain.

The voice on the other end of the phone was extremely deep; only the ear pressed tightly against the receiver could hear it clearly.

Fuma Kotaro listened silently, without arguing or defending himself. Only a large, throbbing blood vessel in the corner of his eye, which had been trembling for countless years, pulsated slightly with the volume of the voice coming from the other end.

The phone hangs up.

When Kotaro Fuma handed the phone back to Su Enxi, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he took a step back.

“Susan’s suggestion is excellent. Susan’s trust is a guarantee, so there will be absolutely no problem.”

"Mr. Fengmo is truly magnanimous." Su Enxi took the phone, didn't look at it again, and put it back in her handbag.

"I apologize for disturbing you all so late at night and for making you spend so much time here for nothing." Fuma Kotaro slowly stepped back, straightened his old body, raised his hands above his head, and clapped them heavily.

Gun muzzles pointed straight down to the ground, and longswords, drawn from their sheaths, were sheathed one after another. Hundreds of golden pupils gradually dimmed in the darkness.

The iron-gray human wall that had surrounded Takamagahara for most of the night began to retreat silently, like the black seawater receding layer by layer beneath the embankment during low tide.

He clapped his hands again, and from east to west, the streetlights and neon signs along the entire length of Shinjuku-dori went out one by one. The last thing to go out was the giant LED screen that stretched from the sky to the ground at the entrance of Takamagahara.

In the darkness, only the sound of torrential rain pounding the ground could be heard. For a moment, the long street was completely silent; even the stray cats curled up on the rooftops dared not breathe.

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that he hadn't been able to see clearly because the lights had been on, but now that the lights were off, he could finally see clearly.

Those weren't hundreds of men with guns; they were clearly hundreds of ferocious beasts slowly retracting their fangs and crouching back at their master's feet under the cover of night.

Within hours, the Snake Clan had gathered nearly a thousand hybrids, effectively sealing off the entire Shinjuku district like an iron barrel.

If Su Enxi hadn't pushed open that door, there probably wouldn't be anyone still standing on this long street right now.

Chapter 847 The Death of Herzog (True)

The lights along Shinjuku's main street went out one by one, and the human wall in front of Takamagahara Gate was receding into the rain like a receding tide.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Frillie was walking alone deep in a dark alleyway where no neon lights could reach.

Her long, silvery-white hair was wet from the rain and clung to the shoulders of her dark green trench coat.

The wand didn't light up, and her footsteps were silent; she had already locked onto her target the moment she stepped into the alley.

In her eyes, the trajectory of the soul was like an extremely thin, deep red thread, extending from the two cold, empty shells at the top of Tokyo Tower, passing through underground pipes and abandoned subway tunnels in most of the city, and finally disappearing into the basement of this warehouse locked up by layers of old-fashioned explosion-proof roller shutters.

That spirit once said something on Tokyo Tower: "I can make mistakes too."

She had been standing in the invisibility spell, listening to Tachibana Masamune and Herzog confiding their arrogant plans to be the only true successors to God by the alcohol lamp. Now she knew that the soul wasn't even at the top of the tower.

It was crouching in this safe house at the time, using the mouths of the two puppets to leave itself a final escape route.

Frillie raised her left hand to brush her wet hair behind her ear, and at the same instant, her right wand silently tapped the ground.

A cold blue magical ripple spread outwards from the surface of the puddle, forcibly unlocking all electronic locks, combination locks, voiceprint locks, iris locks, and spare mechanical bolts hidden in the wall's internal structure at the same instant.

The explosion-proof roller shutter door rises section by section from the bottom, the steel teeth rubbing against the guide rails and emitting a sharp groan.

Behind the door was a concrete staircase leading downwards, with the emergency lights still casting a ghastly green glow.

She walked down the stairs, turned the third corner, and pushed open the half-closed blast door.