Chapter 79: Capture

The Photographer wasn’t in a good mood today.

As an owner of a mysterious item, he was considered among the elite within the Association.

Even if the item’s rank wasn’t high, how many people possessed one like his?

However, ever since joining the Association, while he might appear impressive in front of ordinary members, the Photographer was always overlooked among other owners.

“Feels useless.”

That was the captain’s evaluation after he introduced himself in a small team within the Association.

Indeed, the effect of Heavenly Superstar was too weak.

It only worked on people without a purpose, and there was no need to talk about mysterious resistance.

Even a grocery-shopping auntie on the street was unlikely to be affected, because she already had a purpose—going home to cook.

Aimless wanderers were always the minority.

More importantly, even if it was effective, its practical use in combat was questionable.

To put it bluntly, everyone knew that if you weren’t ruthless, you couldn’t stand firm.

Even if you summoned a few street punks, so what?

The kind-hearted ones would just knock you out, while the ruthless would take you down together with them.

So for a long time within the Association, the Photographer was a silent, invisible person.

Until recently, when the Baiyuan City Subbranch sent a request for help.

The targets were the Three Beautiful Girls, one of whom was an especially attractive Ordinary Big-Breasted Girl.

Finally, the Photographer had a chance to prove his worth.

And on his first attempt, he succeeded brilliantly, scaring the target so much she hid at home and didn’t dare come out.

At the following meeting, the Photographer played with his Artistic Long Hair for the first time, becoming the center of attention and feeling incredibly happy.

Then, during the second operation, he suffered a crushing defeat.

“Damn it, how did I get discovered?”

Sitting in his room changing clothes, the Photographer cursed quietly.

He knew that lying on the overpass to take photos was indeed quite conspicuous.

The operation failed, and his location was almost exposed.

Mocked again by others, the Photographer, feeling depressed, borrowed a Membership Card from the Leader and came to the Bathhouse next door to relax.

After changing, the Photographer walked out of the room, then stumbled, nearly tripping.

“What the hell is this, a towel?”

There was a White Towel on the floor.

He remembered that when he walked in earlier, there was nothing there.

He didn’t know who threw things around during that time.

“No manners.”

Grumbling, the Photographer went to take a shower.

But in another room not far away, three Girls sat together, all staring at the Pocket Watch in the hands of the black-haired Girl on the left.

“It’s moving! It’s reacting!”

Bai Xiaoya exclaimed in surprise.

“There’s activity!”

Color began to appear on the dial—this was the psychological color belonging to the Photographer.

As for the towel, of course Bai Xia had placed it at his door.

It was a disposable towel provided by the Bathhouse.

After opening the package, it became Bai Xia’s personal item.

She wiped her hands and tossed it there, successfully triggering the Pocket Watch usage condition.

“Almost half is a mix of gray and brown,”

Su Qingyu said curiously.

“What does that mean?”

Bai Xia spat out two words.

“Irritated.”

It was obvious he was really annoyed.

“Then, what about this?”

Su Qingyu pointed at a small yellow area.

“Could it be what he wants?”

Wasn’t the Bathhouse supposed to be a proper place?

Bai Xia pulled at the corner of her mouth.

“Yellow isn’t that kind of mood.”

Pink-white is.

Don’t ask her how she knows.

“Then what is yellow?”

Bai Xia didn’t answer.

She just pressed the minute hand’s blade, slowly scraping away the yellow part.

At that moment, in the small bath pool of the room, the long-haired Photographer was enjoying the bath while thinking about the Leader’s instructions.

Because today’s operation had failed, he didn’t dare argue, so he did whatever the Leader said.

Although he came to the Bathhouse to relax with the card, he also had a task: to install a Micro Camera in the Underground Parking Lot.

Strictly speaking, only after completing the task could he relax.

Coming to the Bathhouse was just a cover; after bathing, he had to go.

But for some reason—maybe the hot water in the bath was too soothing—the Photographer’s mind grew increasingly relaxed, and he even began to yawn.

Though there was a mission, he thought there was no need to rush.

Even though the operation was discovered today, he was confident he had scared the other side.

Like last time, the Girls would be frightened and hide at home, not knowing how long they would stay away.

After a while, even the irritation was washed away, and comfort and ease gradually welled up.

On the Girls’ side, since the color representing leisure on the dial occupied only about a quarter, Bai Xia had to scrape off other colors with the minute hand while pointing at the leisure area with the second hand to indicate a vote.

“Next, he’ll lower his guard,”

The Girl said to the blonde loli.

“The rest is up to you.”

The Pocket Watch affects a person’s subjectivity, while the Magic Flute forcibly controls the body.

So in the “kidnap and interrogation” phase, the latter was more necessary.

Her actions now were just to ensure the target had no suspicion.

Su Qingyu took out a white jade flute from her small backpack and held it in her hands.

“No problem, everything’s ready.”

Only Bai Xiaoya sat nearby, tilting her head as she wondered what she could do.

After thinking for a long time, she realized she couldn’t do anything, so she decided to just enjoy the cool air.

Before long, the long-haired man staggered out of the small bath.

When he had first arrived, he’d been in a bad mood and grumbling, but his body was still tense—not loose like it was now, as if he’d been thoroughly relaxed.

As he walked, he noticed a guest room door was open.

Only then did he realize there were other guests besides himself.

No wonder the kitchen was working.

Who comes to the Bathhouse at this time of day?

The Photographer was a bit curious.

Holding a Cocktail Glass in one hand, he staggered closer, peeking inside.

The moment he poked his head in, he heard the sound of a flute and saw the Three Beautiful Girls.

Among them, the white-haired one was especially well-endowed.

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on the long-haired man’s body.

The colors on the dial of Bai Xia’s Pocket Watch were completely scrambled.

In just a few seconds, tension, fear, and anxiety drowned out all previous colors.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

It was too late.

“You… mmph.”

Within the Magic Flute’s music, he first lost the ability to move, then couldn’t speak.

He could only watch helplessly as his body, beyond his control, stepped into the room, locked the door behind him, then reached into his pocket and tossed his phone far away.

A series of fluid actions, executed as if he were a game character controlled by voice under Su Qingyu’s increasingly skillful flute melody.

Bai Xiaoya finally discovered something she could help with.

She quickly picked up the phone and pressed the power button.

“Turn it off, right?”

Bai Xia nodded.

“It’s best to remove the SIM card too.”

She handed over the Metal Toothpick she’d brought from the meal, letting her use it to open the phone’s SIM slot.