Reporter Tan's face was still frozen in fear and despair. When he heard the girl's voice, he slowly raised his head from between his arms.
When he opened his eyes, he saw two strangely dressed girls.
The one in front wore a slightly revealing, off-shoulder light purple dress, its hem drifting like soft clouds.
On her head sat a pointed witch's hat, decorated with dangling star ornaments that shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
Vill-V smiled brightly, the corner of her lips curling into a clever grin as her nimble fingers spun a crystal ball.
"If we're going to perform divination, how could we possibly do it without the greatest fortune-teller of the Twilight Era?"
The other girl, however, was wearing a mascot costume. Hugging the rabbit headpiece in her arms, she complained to the witch girl, "Vill-V, this suit is really stuffy."
"Oh, right, sorry, Hua. This thing is too heavy, so I didn't install any cooling system inside. How about we switch outfits?"
Hua glanced at the witch robe with its generous chest area, then at her own slender figure. Clearly, if she wore it, it would hang loosely and sag with even the slightest movement.
"Mm... never mind."
Hua didn't even think about it—though in reality, she could have just not worn the mascot suit at all...
Vill-V looked down and said apologetically, "My robe really is a bit too big. It probably doesn't suit you."
"You didn't have to say that..." Hua felt a little dizzy, as if she might be getting heatstroke.
"Mm, I'll use the core device to cool you off."
Hearing the voices, Madam Ma turned her head and narrowed her eyes, examining the two young people who had suddenly appeared.
She knew about the two that Granny Tao had mentioned. At first, she hadn't cared at all—planning to "educate" them later and then keep them under her control.
"Hmm, just two people. No big deal. Killing two won't provoke any gang retaliation. That so-called Kowloon Stronghold wouldn't bother protecting outer members anyway."
With that thought, Madam Ma steadied herself, a mocking smile forming on her lips.
Vill-V also smiled sweetly. "Your next line is: 'Heh heh heh, so you don't believe in divine arts?'"
"Heh heh heh, you two must be outsiders, right? Judging by the look of you... you clearly don't know my reputation. Heh heh heh, so you don't believe in divine arts—... how did you know what I was going to say?"
Madam Ma's pupils trembled. She hadn't expected Vill-V to repeat her words exactly—down to the tone and filler sounds.
"I told you, I'm a fortune-teller. Predicting what you're about to say isn't strange at all, is it?"
Vill-V spun the crystal ball at her fingertips, as if it were revealing Madam Ma's upcoming words.
"Sure, some people do know mysticism—but that doesn't include you. I'm the true master of divination!"
By now, Madam Ma had calmed down. "Hmph. A psychological prediction program? Brain implants aren't rare these days."
She had seen the technology of Heliopolis Life Sciences. If it were their neural implants combined with predictive programs, it would indeed be possible to anticipate human behavior.
"I'll give you a chance. Kneel and kowtow thirty times, and since you're just kids, I might spare you."
Of course, she had no intention of sparing them. Girls this fair and pretty were top-tier goods—how could she let them go?
Now that she had gradually established connections with the Ghostfire Syndicate, calling in a few people was easy.
If Kowloon Stronghold really came knocking, she could simply summon reinforcements.
While secretly contacting her subordinates, Madam Ma tried to stall them with words. She couldn't let herself be provoked.
Time was on her side.
But her attempt was met only with Vill-V's cold mockery. "What fortune-teller? Madam Ma? Never heard of you, don't want to hear about you either. Ever heard of Kowloon Stronghold? If you have, then get lost while you still can."
As she spoke, Vill-V displayed an identification badge she had taken earlier from a Kowloon Stronghold underboss.
Seeing such blatant disdain, Madam Ma's face twisted.
She was deeply insecure, yet arrogant at her core.
What she hated most was being looked down upon—people mocking her appearance, her background, her "profession."
Ever since she gained the gang's support, hardly anyone dared treat her with such contempt. Even Old Hans and Reporter Tan had only shown fear, not scorn.
She had grown quite fond of that feeling.
Now, being belittled again, her face flushed red with rage.
"You little brat! I'll deal with you myself! Do you even know which gang I belong to? I'll scare you to death if I tell you—how dare a small fry like Kowloon Stronghold provoke the third-ranked major gang—the Ghostfire Syndicate?!"
This was no empty boast. The Ghostfire Syndicate held a notorious reputation in this twilight city.
They were like living demons, committing every imaginable crime—burning, killing, looting wherever they went.
More than half of the city's missing persons had been abducted by them, and more than half of the victims had died at their hands.
The entire city lived under the shadow of their roaring motorcycles—so much so that people would wake up from nightmares just hearing the sound.
Compared to them, other infamous gangs almost seemed friendly.
Vill-V let out a cold laugh and pulled Hua in front of her, peeking over her shoulder as she pointed at Madam Ma. "I'm saying it right here—you worthless fraud! If you provoke Kowloon Stronghold, you're going to have a very bad time!"
Your presence is strong, but could you stop hiding behind me?
Hua scratched her head inside the mascot suit.
"You've got a death wish!"
Madam Ma suddenly waved her hand, and eerie phosphorus flames ignited all around.
"Go!"
These ghostly white flames were nothing more than her trick. Invisible threads were attached to them.
At the beginning of combustion, the temperature wasn't high enough to burn through the threads, allowing her to control them freely.
And their destructive power was very real. White phosphorus munitions were banned weapons in warfare.
Once they stuck to the body, they couldn't be shaken off. Water couldn't extinguish them—they would burn until the fuel was completely consumed.
"Watch out!" Reporter Tan shouted as he stood up, placing himself in front of Vill-V and Hua.
Facing the ghostly flames, he closed his eyes, his legs trembling.
Even so, he couldn't stand by and watch the children who had helped him be burned.
His own body was tough—if he got burned, so be it.
However, what he didn't expect was that the flames, once ignited, were no longer under Madam Ma's control.
Vill-V raised her hand and made a slicing motion in the air. The phosphorus flames that had been flying toward her suddenly changed direction and surged toward Madam Ma instead.
"How... how is this possible? What did you do? What kind of technique is this?" Madam Ma staggered backward in terror. It was the first time she had ever encountered such a situation.
She had clearly been in an advantageous position—that was why she had used this move without hesitation. How could the flames turn against the wind?
As the ghostly fire clung to her body, she was engulfed in flames. She tried to pat them out, but nothing worked—it was a perfect case of reaping what she had sown.
"Hmph, see that? Compared to the immortal arts of Azure Empyrea, you're far inferior!"
Vill-V shouted arrogantly from behind Hua and Reporter Tan.
When did this turn into immortal arts again?
Weren't we talking about divination just now?
Hua saw Vill-V blink at her, subtly gesturing toward Reporter Tan's still-recording camera.
She immediately understood.
Ah... so the performance is about to begin.