"Sir, the traces of that Ability User are becoming increasingly clear. Based on her trajectory, her destination is likely the hotel run by this gang."
A muffled voice rang out from within one of the armored freaks, explaining the current situation to the young man.
"Understood. Continue the pursuit."
After speaking, the young man turned and looked curiously at the iridescent bubbles floating in the alley.
"By the way, what are these bubbles? Analyze their composition."
At the young man's command, one of them stepped forward. A blue light shot out from the armor's eyepiece, scanning the drifting bubbles. Soon, the blue light flickered out, and the armored man turned to report:
"Sir, existing analysis devices cannot determine the composition of these bubbles. Suspected new element."
"A new element?" The young man frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that simply tracking an Ability User would lead to the discovery of a new element. Could the Ability User have created them?
"Collect these bubbles first. We'll send them to the lab for research once we return. Our primary task now is to continue following the target."
"Received."
Following the young man's orders, the armored man deployed a capture net made of what looked like plastic film, preparing to trap the bubbles inside.
However, during the process, several bubbles gently brushed against the armor and burst silently.
The moment the bubbles popped, the armored man's body stiffened. He suddenly spun around and threw a heavy punch directly behind him.
Clang!
"B154! What are you doing!"
Seeing the unit assigned to collect the unknown bubbles suddenly turn hostile, the other armored man guarding the young man quickly moved to block the strike.
"I *&%#@￥..."
The only response was a string of completely unintelligible gibberish, followed by another strike directed at his own teammate.
"What's going on?" Watching the suddenly crazed B154, the young man's brow furrowed. "Is it the influence of those bubbles?"
"B155, isolate all external gases. B154 likely inhaled a portion while capturing the unknown substance."
As he spoke, the young man retrieved a full-coverage gas mask from his spatial storage. The moment he donned the helmet, yellow material emerged from beneath it, rapidly forming a fabric-like layer. Within moments, the young man was completely encased in a protective suit.
Hearing the order, B155 decisively activated his protection mode. A new layer of material slid over his faceplate, completely sealing off the internal air from the outside environment.
Both had prepared to face B154's assault, but to their utter surprise, after those two punches, B154 inexplicably... punched himself.
What followed was a series of bizarre movements that neither of them could comprehend. He performed backflips, crossed his arms over his head while rolling, and even started spinning in place.
"Has he... caught a virus?"
Watching B154's various enigmatic maneuvers, the young man felt his intellect being put to the test.
"Sir, it's unclear. But this confirms one thing: this incident wasn't a deliberate ambush set to attack us."
After all, who would use such a... strange method to attack someone?
"Forget it. Restrain him first and cut his armor's power. We'll investigate this later."
"Understood."
At the young man's command, B155 raised his heavy hammer and approached the glitching B154.
Just as B155 lifted the hammer to force a power shutdown, disaster struck. B154 seemed to sense the danger. While mid-frog-leap, he suddenly grabbed the film containing the captured bubbles and hurled it at B155.
B155 tried to dodge, but the distance was too short. The film hit him squarely. Upon impact, the film tore open, and the bubbles trapped inside rained down onto B155's armor.
"No—"
Sensing the contact, B155 realized something was wrong, but he only managed a single word before his body froze in place.
The young man, watching from the sidelines, also felt a surge of unease. When he heard B155's "No," he knew he should probably run.
Sure enough, in the next instant, the previously normal B155 also began to lose his mind, flailing his arms and legs wildly.
"What the hell is this?! How is it infectious even with a full seal?!"
The young man immediately turned to flee, cursing the bubbles with every step. However, he had only taken two steps when he realized with horror that a shadow was rapidly expanding beneath his feet.
"Wait... this sha—"
Thud!
Before he could finish, a heavy hammer slammed down from the sky, hitting the young man squarely on the head with a dull thud. He collapsed onto the ground instantly, falling into a peaceful sleep.
Now, in the alley, only two armored freaks remained, performing mysterious glitch-like movements amidst a few scattered iridescent bubbles.
As for the pink-haired culprit behind it all, she had no idea that the few shots she had fired just for fun had directly spared her from some upcoming trouble.
[Defeated B155, Stellar Jade +20]
[Defeated B154, Stellar Jade +20]
[Assisted in defeating Xu Zhe, Stellar Jade +10]
"What's going on?"
Seeing these three system notifications pop up out of nowhere, Hyacine tilted her head in confusion.
"When did I defeat these people? I haven't lifted a finger this whole time."
Though puzzled, Hyacine didn't dwell on it. She had arrived at her destination. A moment later, she stopped in front of a hotel.
"Here we go. This matches the map," she murmured happily after confirming the information.
Then, under the weird stares of the people in the lobby, she trotted up to a burly man with a face full of scars and said with a bright smile:
"Hello! If I want to check in here, how many Credits do I need?"