Chapter 190: Countermeasure

Sizar’s prediction turned out to be wrong. That seemingly ordinary son of a colonel wasn’t a nobody after all. Or maybe he was connected to something really troublesome. The expected “sweeping it under the rug” and secret pursuit didn’t happen. Instead, the Federation launched a massive, public hunt.

The day after that guy got skewered with the radish, the outer areas of Whitehall City were sealed off by the Royal Pineapple mech corps. They started rigorously inspecting passing vehicles. Yet inside the city, the festive atmosphere for the preliminaries remained completely unaffected. The Corps’ slogan was, “Crack down hard on terror activities! Maintain normal tournament order!”

Seeing the huge number of mech troops appear, the clueless public erupted with wild enthusiasm. They rushed forward to take group photos. This was because every Royal Pineapple mech had promotional slogans for the “Maid Wars” painted on their surfaces. Faced with crazy tourists, the mech pilots didn’t get annoyed either. No exciting news about them accidentally stomping oblivious tourists appeared.

The Royal Mech Corps seemed able to roughly locate Sizar. Several steam airships mobilized together, blanketing the suburbs where Sizar was fleeing with thousands of wanted posters and tourist notices for the preliminaries.

Seeing a colossal hunk of metal blotting out the sky, trailing a plume of steam, pass low over his head before showering down countless colored slips of paper, Sizar exclaimed, “So that’s a steam airship! Way better than civilian airships! How does it even fly? Ceylon’s black tech truly reigns supreme in the universe!”

Having been at Black Molar too long, Sizar felt like he’d returned to some fantasy world. Since arriving in the Central Territory, with its ferris wheels and airships, he finally felt back in the modern world. Now, seeing the legendary steam airship with his own eyes, he suddenly felt like he’d stepped into a sci-fi world. Especially since this airship was mobilized specifically for him. His ego just couldn’t feel any better.

He picked up a leaflet from the ground. There were two types. One was for the general tourists. White Hall’s visitor numbers had peaked, and several fraud and theft cases had occurred inside the city. It warned visitors to be vigilant and helpfully listed various scam techniques to avoid being tricked. Additionally, it urged people to beware of heavily wanted criminals hiding among the tourists.

The other one made Sizar feel both flattered and troubled. It was a wanted poster. His picture and his sister’s picture were printed on it, along with a massive bounty below. The crime? Two extremely dangerous serial killers who had undergone plastic surgery to look like teenagers, lowering others’ guard to commit serial murders. Report sightings via the hotline. If verified, they offered a high reward.

His wanted poster was mixed with dozens of other criminals. Overall, it still stood out quite dramatically because it took up at least one-fifth of the space, marking him and Dorothy as the most vicious “criminals”!

Staring at the wanted poster, Sizar grumbled, “How annoying! Sis, come look. Why does this picture make me look nowhere near as handsome as I really am? But you? You look just as pretty as ever!”

“The angle of this portrait has problems. It deliberately makes you look dark and ugly. A photograph would be much better,” Dorothy replied.

“Good point. I should find an opportunity later to visit them for a chat, leave a set of photos. That way, next time I’m on a wanted poster, they won’t draw me this ugly.” Sizar wholeheartedly agreed with Dorothy’s words. He was a man destined for the “Hazard Investigation Assessment List”! How could he showcase his charisma without leaving some stylish photos?

“Bro, this isn’t normal. That radish guy only died yesterday. Today, so many airships appeared, the roads are sealed, and even pictures of us are printed. Was he really just a colonel’s son? Even colonels don’t get this kind of treatment!” Dorothy asked, slightly panicked. She’d escaped the Blood Clan with Sizar before and only felt excited. Now, facing this massive official search, she was finally scared.

Today’s Sizar was practically battle-hardened. The constant running had given him keen instincts like a human rat–if he wanted to escape, no cat could catch him. But his experience was completely unsuited to this search.

Back when Zero Ring chased him, they only did it half-heartedly. They sent Byron, an Affliction Level peripheral hireling, not even a single core member. The Demonic Virus had good prospects, but it wasn’t essential. Even if it got away, it didn’t matter. Zero Ring had more important, promising projects to work on. To them back then, Sizar was just a slightly meaty little mouse. Catch it if possible, forget it if not.

As for the Blood Clan pursuit? It felt more like a game. The Central Territory wasn’t Clan Ventrue’s turf. Their only family member there was also weakened from “birthing monkeys,” plus Nicole was dragging things down on their side. How could Rex get a chance to chase Dorothy? Benjamin’s family had enough power to catch Dorothy. But they chose to wait and see, intimidated by the Augustine background, just sending their subordinate gangs to put on an act. As a result, the dwarf Necromancer ran into the shady merchant Sizar and lost his life.

This pursuit was utterly different. It was serious. After searching the corpse yesterday, Sizar instinctively left White Hall with his sister. Early this morning, the city outskirts were locked down. The Royal Pineapple Corps used the excuse “tourist capacity saturated!” to strictly limit visitors while secretly searching for Sizar.

Later, the Sizar siblings abandoned their car and fled into the forested suburbs, thinking Dorothy’s ribbons would let them shake off pursuit. Sadly, Sizar was too naive. Those magical ribbons could block low-level predictive tracking but couldn’t stand against a large military-style sweep. After most of the day, the Corps had pinpointed Sizar’s rough location. They air-dropped tons of leaflets, both pressuring Sizar with psychological stress and stirring up the enthusiasm of the masses. With such a high bounty, just a phone call away, who would pass it up? Thus, Sizar became submerged in an ocean of civilian reports. He could only flee deeper into the forest, straight into their prepared encirclement.

“This time we’ve stumbled into something really messed up. I think we’re caught in pure bad luck. If you hadn’t gotten curious and explored, you wouldn’t have met that radish idiot. We wouldn’t be sucked into this vortex either. Milk! Go fetch some water. The bottles are empty.” Sizar threw his backpack on the ground and sat on it. He pulled out two empty bottles and sent Milk off.

“I also sense a conspiracy! Did we do anything that warrants the Federation sending out several airships? Oh, no! Mom knows we came to White Hall! If she sees the wanted posters, she’ll definitely worry! Plus, grandpa will send someone to grab me!” Remembering this, Dorothy finally grew truly anxious.

“Don’t worry. Your grandpa coming might actually be good news. You going back to the clan is better than being caught by the Corps, right?” Sizar answered soothingly.

Compared to the overwhelming threat of the Corps, whose motives were unclear, the Blood Clan and Zero Ring seemed much friendlier. Getting caught by Zero Ring just meant becoming a cow with no freedom, producing virus for their research. Falling into the Corps’ hands? Probably just death – buried alive as sacrifices for that radish guy.

“What the heck is going on? We’re law-abiding citizens! We donate to the Church every year! We haven’t committed any big crimes! Why hunt us relentlessly? Even sending airships to drop leaflets!” Dorothy protested angrily.

“You’re a foreigner now!” Sizar rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, so annoying! My prelims and finals!” Dorothy covered her head and plopped down on the dirt, whining and grumbling.

“I think it might be related to this!” Sizar pulled out the mech key. “My ribbons are low-grade stuff, but they have some effect. This group pinpointing us immediately probably links to this. The energy inside the key? I’ve never felt anything like it. Totally different from the Supernatural Power leaking from the World Vein. It belongs to a tech system I don’t understand. That radish guy got shot multiple times yesterday. Clearly a revenge killing. Too bad he didn’t die outright, leaving us the ‘benefit’. Suppose the killer knew his colonel’s son identity already? Dared to shoot him anyway? Must be something incredibly priceless involved! Radish only carried this key. Combine that with Royal Pineapple’s background? It probably connects to some ancient super mech. We picked up the leftover and got mistaken for killers. Look at these wanted posters. It’s not just us. Others are here – likely the real killers – because they have photos! Only we get drawings! Ugh, drawn badly!”

“Purely bad luck! Think there’s any chance we can return the key? Never mind, definitely can’t settle it nicely.” Dorothy gave up hope. She opened her backpack, pulled out a big bag of marshmallows, and started devouring them.

“Sigh, this visit was meant to let you have fun for a month, see the Championship Tournament properly before parting, spending this time together nicely to strengthen our sibling bond, leave some beautiful memories. Seems impossible now. Brat, you caused this disaster this time. When you regret missing the tournament later? Don’t blame me.” Sizar said.

“What are you about to do?” Dorothy looked up, her eyes fixed on him, tense.

“Why so nervous? I’m not going to kill myself. Just feel like playing with them. The last two times, wasn’t everything because of you forcing me to run all over? Felt so frustrating. Now that you’re well? I’m finally reassured.”

“Hey, stop sounding like you’re giving last words!” Dorothy became wary.

“Crow! Shut up! Your big bro plans to go big this time! Wipe out all our worries in one move. Held back for so long, gotta let off some steam. Good chance to test my Affliction Level strength too – see my limits.” Sizar rubbed his hands together. Tiny snake scales surfaced on his skin as his face lit up with excitement.

“You’re going to fight them head-on? To create an escape chance for me?” Dorothy’s eyes welled up, touched.

“Half-right. I am drawing attention to create the opening for you to flee. But fighting them head-on? No way. Young master here plans to outwit and outplay! Challenge the Royal Pineapple!”

“That’s suicidal!”

“Relax! I’ve got a solid plan. Not just escape safely. I’ll test my limits, make a fortune on the side, ditch Zero Ring’s pursuit completely, and make a name for myself. Though… there’s one tiny drawback.” Sizar’s enthusiasm soared, his grin turning nastier by the second. Dorothy, sitting beside him with distorted aesthetic sense, actually found her brother quite charming.

“What drawback?”

“Won’t be able to contact you for a period. After you escape? You’ll hear news of my deeds soon. Then? Don’t panic! Focus on your training adventures. Wait for my signal. We have that three-year promise? I will contact you within three years. Then, we siblings team up again – travel and explore the world!” Sizar stated.

“You’re certain you won’t be in danger?” Dorothy looked at Sizar intensely.

“I promise, absolutely not! This group underestimates me WAY too much. Ability Users are nothing like these cookie-cutter cannon fodder. We’re the pinnacle of the power system. Mechs are strong? Yeah, great for head-on battlefields. Still, strength isn’t just about power. My Talent has limitless possibilities!” Sizar flicked his fingers confidently. Countless Demon Flies swarmed out from his Fly Nest, scattering into the deep Forest to hunt and reproduce on their own.

“You’re not lying to me?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you! What kind of person am I? You should know best!” Sizar hugged Dorothy.

“Humph! I know your nature perfectly! When the Dark Ring attacked, you alone held back those monsters so I could run.”

“This time, I’m not tricking you! I’ve changed. Got power and brains now! Can handle them in no time! Besides? I promised Elsa. To live well! I might fool you, but I’d never deceive her.” Sizar responded with utter sincerity.

“Humph! I’m jealous! Fine, I believe you one last time. Next time we meet? We fight side by side for sure!” Dorothy jumped up and planted a kiss on Sizar’s cheek.

“Good girl. Didn’t spoil you for nothing. Come, seize the chance! Let big bro steal a few more kisses. No opportunities later!”

“Eeek! Don’t tickle me!”