Chapter 9: The Spy Who Came Knocking
The enemy had fallen into the water. Su Xiao quickly ran to the edge of the waterway and plunged his head into the sea.
His vision turned a deep blue. Beneath Water Seven, the seabed was littered with abandoned buildings, the terrain complex and tangled, with a considerable number of fish gathered there.
In the dim seawater, Su Xiao spotted the distant figure of the revolver man swimming away. His swimming style was bizarre—one hand clutching his lower abdomen, his legs kicking in small, feeble strokes as he headed for the distance.
Just as Su Xiao was about to submerge his entire body, a searing, burning pain erupted from all his wounds. Contact with seawater was like pouring salt into open cuts, especially since his gunshot wounds were deep.
The pain made Su Xiao's vision flicker and darken. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the Shattered Elf, leaned his upper body into the sea, raised the gun, and fired several shots at the revolver man.
Bang, bang, bang.
The gunshots were muffled underwater. To Su Xiao's surprise, the bullets only traveled a few meters through the water before stopping and slowly sinking to the seabed.
Unwilling to accept this, he fired three more shots at the revolver man. The same thing happened—the bullets lost momentum after a few meters and sank.
This puzzled him. Considering the water's resistance, perhaps firing a gun underwater worked this way. He had just learned a new fact: you can't shoot underwater. The water's drag would stop the bullets after a few meters. However, firing from above the surface into the water was different—the bullets still retained strong kinetic energy.
The revolver man's figure vanished. Escaping through the complex underwater structures was far too easy, which was why Su Xiao hadn't pursued him.
Still, there was good news. Having driven off the revolver man today, the enemy wouldn't reappear in Water Seven for a short time. Otherwise, Su Xiao had the means to keep hunting him down.
He couldn't sense anything in the sea, but if the enemy landed, Su Xiao could detect the Azure Steel Shadow energy within him and chase him until he regretted ever being born.
Su Xiao closed his eyes to sense. The Azure Steel Shadow energy didn't appear nearby, meaning the revolver man was still swimming through the sea. Seawater interfered with Su Xiao's ability to pinpoint that energy.
Confirming the enemy had fled far enough, Su Xiao plopped down onto the ground. He was nearing his limit—a few more hits and he wouldn't have been able to hold on.
The earlier explosion had drawn the attention of nearby residents. Some notified the city government, which promptly dispatched the Galley-La Company to handle the situation—or rather, Galley-La was responsible for Water Seven's security.
With such a major explosion in Water Seven, Iceberg quickly arrived with his people. Behind him were two individuals: Galley-La's shipwright, Paulie, and his secretary, Kalifa.
Paulie was dressed like a typical shipwright, nothing special, but he was no weakling. In the original story, he fought using ropes.
The other person was more noteworthy: Kalifa. She had her long blonde hair tied up, wore tinted glasses, and was dressed in a sexy, cool office outfit.
Secretary wasn't Kalifa's true identity. She was a member of CP9, the World Government's secret intelligence organization.
CP9 was a direct intelligence agency under the World Government, specializing in assassinations, sabotage behind enemy lines, and stealing intelligence.
As a member of CP9, Kalifa's strength was average—at least by CP9's internal standards. In Water Seven, someone like Paulie would be dealt with by Kalifa in under three minutes.
Behind Iceberg and the other two were a large number of shipwrights, who immediately spread out to investigate the area.
Iceberg walked up to Su Xiao, looking at his bullet-riddled body.
"What happened?"
Iceberg's expression was grim. Su Xiao had only been in Water Seven for a day, and already there was such a massive explosion.
"A group of pirates infiltrated from the inner harbor and tried to tow away that ship."
Su Xiao sat on the ground, pointing to a relatively intact ship in the ship graveyard.
"More people trying to steal ships? How many?"
"Three. I wounded two, and they jumped into the sea to escape."
The large bloodstains and signs of battle on the ground were proof enough. Su Xiao was now a member of Galley-La. He had driven off thieves while doing his job. Iceberg couldn't keep interrogating him—that would only demoralize his other subordinates.
If you do work for someone and they just grill you with questions, no one would follow that boss.
Iceberg pondered for a moment. Considering Su Xiao had only been in Water Seven for a day, it was unlikely he had enemies here, so personal vendettas were ruled out.
"Good work. Kalifa, give White Night some emergency treatment. He's losing blood."
Kalifa stepped forward gracefully, her high heels clicking against the ground. When she saw Su Xiao's gunshot wounds, her pupils contracted. To be so severely injured and still alive, and to remain calm—this made her wary.
When Su Xiao heard Iceberg tell Kalifa to treat his wounds, he was alarmed. Kalifa was a spy. If she poisoned him while treating him, that would be disastrous.
"Thank you, Mr. Iceberg. These are just minor wounds. I can handle them myself."
"Mr. White Night, please don't move. You're badly hurt."
Kalifa pressed a hand on Su Xiao's shoulder. Su Xiao's expression darkened further. This woman definitely had ill intentions—he could sense the faint killing intent.
Seeing Iceberg had walked away, Su Xiao whispered in Kalifa's ear, "So eager to treat my wounds?"
His warm breath brushed against Kalifa's earlobe, and her expression clearly turned uncomfortable.
"This is sexual harassment."
Rip~. As she spoke, Kalifa tore off Su Xiao's tattered shirt, revealing ten gunshot wounds across his chest and back.
"Mr. White Night, don't move. I'll treat your wounds now."
Kalifa's voice was soft and sweet, like a kind nurse. But from her sleeve, a tiny glass vial slid into her hand. Just then, her body suddenly stiffened.
"What are you doing?" Kalifa's tone turned hostile, losing all its previous gentleness.
"What did I do?"
Su Xiao gave a faint, mocking smile, looking at the gap between Kalifa's fingers. Her hand froze mid-air.
"Isn't it rude to treat a lady like this?"
Though her tone was harsh, Kalifa didn't dare move. Unbeknownst to her, an extremely thin metal wire had slipped into her sleeve, winding through her clothes and coiling around the skin of her chest and abdomen. She could clearly feel the cold, sharp touch.
"Go ahead, 'treat' my wounds. Is that bottle in your hand some kind of family secret remedy?"
Su Xiao had silently wrapped Kalifa with the Realm Severing Thread. If she tried anything, he would give her a lesson she'd never forget. With a single tug, the thread would not only slit her throat but also drastically reduce her cup size—she'd become flat as a board in under three seconds.
"Who are you?" Kalifa's slender fingers dug into the wound on Su Xiao's back, forcefully prying out a bullet.
"A wandering swordsman. My hobby is killing people. So don't provoke me. Hiss~."
Su Xiao winced in pain. Kalifa had done that on purpose. He immediately tightened the Realm Severing Thread. Kalifa's face flushed, her body trembled, and her breathing quickened.
"If you dig another bullet out of my wound with your fingers, I'll strangle you into a sausage."
Since his strength was already exposed, Su Xiao didn't care about revealing other things. If he didn't restrain Kalifa, this spy would definitely poison him. CP9 agents killed all strong individuals who joined Galley-La. At this point, he had no choice.
Even if he hadn't exposed himself, the Special Trio wouldn't have let him go.
Su Xiao studied Kalifa's flushed face. Even in this situation, she chose to endure. It seemed she was even more afraid of exposure than he was.
The better news was that he had taken Kalifa hostage. He never imagined he could so easily capture a CP9 agent.