Chapter 315: Cat Turn!
It was as if Rei had eyes in the back of her head. She lowered her stance slightly, dodging a strike from Finn who swung a chair at her back. Quickly spinning around, she gripped her wooden sword and slashed it with force across Finn's abdomen.
Crack!
The crisp sound echoed as Finn felt a searing pain in his gut. He collapsed instantly, clutching his belly and rolling on the ground. "It hurts so much~!"
"I'll help you, Finn!" Ratso picked up the chair Finn had dropped, raised it high over his head, and smashed it toward Rei.
Seeing his chance, Chow grabbed a porcelain vase from a nearby shelf and shouted, "Ratso, let's pincer her from both sides!"
Rei glanced at the two men flanking her and allowed a small smile to touch her lips. Just as Ratso and Chow were about to strike, she leaped nimbly into the air.
Learning from Hak Foo's previous mistake, she didn't use too much force. She flipped her body mid-air, caught herself on a stationary ceiling fan, and hung upside down from the rafters. Unable to stop their momentum, Ratso and Chow stared wide-eyed at each other before—Bam!—they collided head-on, seeing stars.
Thud!
Rei released her grip and landed steadily on the floor, resting the wooden sword on her shoulder as she looked at Valmont. "Do you have any other subordinates left?"
"Dammit, they're all useless!" Valmont began to retreat in panic. He never expected his men to be taken down so easily by this one woman.
Rei saw through Valmont's intentions and lightly swung her wooden sword, preparing to take him down.
"Cat Landing!" Hak Foo, finally freed from the ceiling, dropped down. Rei immediately performed a backflip to dodge his descent.
Boom!
Hak Foo landed exactly where Rei had been standing, spun around, and lunged at her with open arms: "Cat Shakes Water! Cat Turn! Flying Crane Catches Shrimp!"
"What on earth is this?!" Rei couldn't understand a word of the nonsense Hak Foo was shouting, but she raised her wooden sword to parry the blows.
Hak Foo's arms struck Rei's wooden sword, and he immediately realized she was a fellow practitioner. "Watch this! Mantis Fist! Snake Step! Lotus Float!"
Hak Foo's attacks were complex and incredibly fast; Rei struggled to keep up with his rhythm.
"Again! Bear Palm Strike!" Hak Foo concentrated his inner energy into his palm and struck out violently.
Crack!
The wooden sword Rei used to block shattered with a loud snap, the pieces falling to the floor.
"Good job, Hak Foo!" Valmont felt much better seeing the sword break. At least Hak Foo was reliable.
Hak Foo struck a combat pose. "What other trump cards do you have?"
Wee-ooo—wee-ooo—
At that moment, the sound of police sirens drifted in from outside.
"Not good, the cops! Run!" Valmont turned and jumped out the window.
Finn and the others, who had been playing dead on the floor, scrambled up and followed their boss.
"Next time, you won't be so lucky," Hak Foo said before turning to jump. "Gazelle Jump!"
A Reluctant Parting
Rei let out a long breath as Hak Foo left, muttering, "What kind of freak was that?"
"Are you okay, Rei?" Frank rushed out of the back room upon hearing the sirens.
Rei waved him off, but she looked worried. "I've accidentally provoked the Dark Hand. I can return to Japan anytime, but Frank, what about you?"
"It's fine. I was planning to sell the shop anyway and travel the world looking for curiosities," Frank replied with a shrug. "It's easier to avoid the Dark Hand while traveling."
"I see." Rei felt a pang of guilt, but she tried tugging at the mask on her face again. It still wouldn't budge.
"Rei, you need to get out of here. If the police see you in that mask and ask for ID, you're in trouble," Frank warned.
Rei understood. She apologized to Frank and leaped out the window. Without legal documentation, she had to stay in the shadows.
Silas's Observation
Back at school, Silas smiled to himself. General Ikazuki was about to emerge.
Last night, while Jenny was watching Rei, Silas had also turned his attention toward her. A Japanese swordswoman—aside from her gender, she was the perfect fit for the General of the Samurai Khan. So, Silas had decided to bestow the Ika mask upon her. After all, wasn't Jenny, the General of the Mini Khan, also female?
The appearance of the Dark Hand was a surprise, though. Valmont? He recognized them from his memories. However, his Shadow Ninjas had confirmed this wasn't quite the same world. This "Dark Hand" was just a small Hell's Kitchen gang, and Valmont simply shared a resemblance to the character.
He learned they had mistaken Rei for a thief who had stolen a gem called the "Pink Lion." The irony was that Rei couldn't remove the mask to prove her identity.
Silas was impressed that Rei held her own against the thugs, even though she was no match for Hak Foo. The mask hadn't given her special powers yet—it had only healed her gunshot wound. Silas wanted to see her raw potential first.
Now, Rei was likely looking for tools to pry the mask off. Silas chuckled. She didn't know that unless one used a specific removal potion, that mask wasn't going anywhere—unless someone took her head off with it.
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