Chapter 31: The Terrifying Assassination Unit
A group of black-clad men approached, led by a fat, greasy-faced man adorned with gold and jewelry.
"Who the hell are you? Get the hell out of the Flower Street. I'm telling you, even if you have a grudge, you can't settle it here. Do you know who owns this business? Get lost. What a buzzkill tonight, the damn guard team actually sealed off the street, affecting my business."
The fat man's attitude was domineering as he pointed at Su Xiao's nose, his ten fingers covered in various rings. He had clearly made a lot of money off women.
A flash of blade light, and a fat head flew into the air.
If others were polite to Su Xiao, Su Xiao would be polite in return. If someone came up and pointed at his nose, he would make sure their head left their shoulders.
"Ah!!"
Screams of women rang out.
"The Assassination Unit is conducting business. Unrelated parties, leave the scene."
The group of black-clad men, who had been sneering moments before, now trembled like sieves. They were just thugs from the slums, while the Assassination Unit was an organization that killed for the Empire. There was no comparison between the two.
"Yes, yes, sir. We'll get out of here right now."
"Hurry... run."
Even if these thugs dressed flashy in neat black suits, it didn't change their nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
With a murder happening in the street, the surrounding customers scattered like birds and beasts. They came for pleasure, not to die.
The lively Flower Street turned into a ghost street in less than two minutes.
Su Xiao searched for bloodstains along the street, but the traces began to thin out here.
Giving up on finding bloodstains, Su Xiao had been feeling something strange all along, as if he could sense Akame's location.
Considering that the Flower Street was crowded with people, finding Akame after she concealed her aura was very difficult. Akame had once been an assassin trained by the Empire's Dark Division, and her skills in this area were formidable. Otherwise, Su Xiao wouldn't have had to track her by following bloodstains. Compared to Akame, Leone was much easier to track.
Yet, amidst all these people, he could vaguely sense Akame, as if there was something of his inside her?
Don't overthink it—he had only fought Akame before...
Moreover, as he continued the pursuit, this feeling grew stronger. He could also sense that the part of him inside Akame was gradually dissipating.
A thought suddenly flashed through Su Xiao's mind: the energy of the Cyan Steel Shadow!
The energy of the Cyan Steel Shadow was converted from mana through a special method. Mana originated from his body, and the energy of the Cyan Steel Shadow was also energy from within him. Ultimately, it was his thing, so it was only natural to have a faint connection.
Closing his eyes and standing on the street, the panicked screams and fleeing sounds around him gradually faded. Perception, a perception so fine it reached the extreme.
Three hundred meters to the left front, in a three-story building, Akame was there.
Su Xiao quickly rushed toward that building, but a large group of axe-wielding men appeared on the Flower Street.
Although these people were dressed differently, each one was a thug who had seen blood.
If an ordinary person saw this scene, their legs would go weak. Su Xiao just turned his head to glance at these minor soldiers.
"Which Assassination Unit are you from? I am the Minister's nephew, the boss of the Flower Street. State your affiliation, friend, so we don't harm the harmony of 'one family.'"
The newcomer was a dark-skinned middle-aged man with sinister triangular eyes and heavy bags under them, clearly drained by wine and women.
"Three."
Hearing Su Xiao's answer, the Minister's nephew's expression changed. The Third Dark Division was Esdeath's direct subordinate unit.
"Haha, one family then. My name is Carlos. If you ever need women, come to me. Any figure, any age, I have them all."
Carlos's attitude did a complete one-eighty, the gloom on his face gone.
"I'm on official business now. See you around."
Su Xiao quickly walked toward the building where Akame was.
Carlos's heart tightened at this sight.
"Wait."
Su Xiao turned to look at Carlos.
"You can't inspect here. Not even Esdeath-sama's Dark Division can do that unless Esdeath-sama herself comes. The Flower Street is the Minister's business. I'm just a errand boy, don't make things hard for me."
Carlos's attitude was firm.
"Are you trying to stop the capture of a Night Raid member?"
Carlos's outstretched arm stopped abruptly. Even if he was the Minister's nephew, he wouldn't dare to obstruct the capture of a Night Raid member, and besides, he was just one of the Minister's seventeen nephews.
"Brother, you're joking."
Carlos signaled his subordinates with a glance, and a bag of gems quickly appeared in his hand.
"Brother, you've worked hard maintaining order on the Flower Street. This is a token of appreciation."
Carlos discreetly handed over a bag of gems. The value of these gems was enough for a commoner to live comfortably for decades.
Su Xiao took the gems. Not accepting would bring more trouble. This was essentially hush money—the scene inside the room might not be pretty.
Entering the three-story building, Su Xiao headed straight for the innermost room on the first floor. The energy of the Cyan Steel Shadow inside Akame had already dissipated; he could only pinpoint her location from a minute ago.
While the identity of the Assassination Unit brought many conveniences, it also had its drawbacks.
For instance, if Su Xiao hadn't had the Assassination Unit's identity, he wouldn't have bothered to waste words with Carlos.
Reaching a door, Su Xiao pulled it open.
A puff of purple smoke drifted out from the room, carrying a unique fragrance.
Hallucinogenic drugs, Su Xiao judged immediately.
Holding his breath, he entered the room. It was a spacious two-hundred-square-meter room with nothing else but women—women lying all over the floor, at least several dozen of them.
These loosely dressed women lay on the yellow floor, their faces wearing dull, foolish smiles.
Using addictive hallucinogenic drugs to control women was a common tactic on the Flower Street.
"Hahahahaha."
A disoriented woman grabbed Su Xiao's leg, her body exposed, her smile vacant.
The purple smoke filling the room severely obstructed visibility. Akame might be mixed in among these women.
"Open the windows, turn on the lights."
Su Xiao observed his surroundings warily. Carlos immediately had his men comply.
The room lit up brightly, and the night wind dispersed the purple smoke. Su Xiao stood still with his blade, ready to intercept Akame if she suddenly tried to escape.
Fresh air flooded the room, and the women gradually regained their senses.
"What's going on? Is it time already?"
"Ha~, that was fast. I wasn't satisfied yet."
These yawning women sat up, all looking listless.
"Everyone, get up. Line up in a row."
Carlos shouted. These women were all afraid of Carlos and obediently lined up.
Su Xiao examined each woman's face one by one. He couldn't just check for bloodstains on their clothes; Akame could have changed into their garments.
Holding a sharp blade, Su Xiao clearly made these women a bit scared. They shrank back, heads lowered.
After five minutes, Su Xiao had checked all the women's faces and found no sign of Akame.
This puzzled him. Had Akame jumped out the window?
Checking the three windows in the room, he found no abnormalities on the windowsills. He then examined the surrounding walls.
"Everyone, get out."
The women in the room filed out one by one, and Carlos's men also left.
"Brother from the Dark Division, why not let it go for tonight? Let me find you a woman to relax? We just got a new batch today, absolutely clean."
"No need. You can leave too."
Carlos coughed awkwardly, turned, and walked out of the room. He couldn't afford to offend Su Xiao.
Carlos had become the boss of the Flower Street, which meant he was far from brainless. After Su Xiao revealed his identity, Carlos never showed any hostility.
Su Xiao searched the room thoroughly. Akame had escaped right under his nose, which left him somewhat unwilling to accept it.
Just as Su Xiao was about to give up after checking the room a dozen times, he suddenly noticed a faint red trace at the joint of the floorboards in the corner.
He touched the red trace with his finger—it was blood!