(Nangong’s point of view)
It was quitting time, and Nangong Xiwang timed her exit perfectly.
Because she had already worked overtime last night (actually, she’d been drinking at the author’s house), so today she refused to work any extra.
But just as she stepped across the threshold of the Publishing House Building, her phone rang like a time bomb.
“Tch, the editor-in-chief?”
She pulled out her phone with a look of disgust and glanced at the caller.
But it wasn’t the editor-in-chief calling her to work overtime—it was Blue Cavalier.
Her brow furrowed even tighter.
The moment she answered, she snapped in a bad tone:
“Hey! Do you really have to call me every single day to rush me? And you call the second I get off work—are you stalking me?!”
“No, Miss Kamui.”
Blue Cavalier quickly denied it, then explained:
“I just noticed through your location that you left the office building, so I figured you were off work.”
“Isn’t that stalking… Wait, I didn’t turn off my location?!”
“That’s right. It’s been on since last night,” Blue Cavalier replied.
“And you didn’t bother to remind me?!”
“I didn’t think it was necessary.”
“Tch, ‘not necessary’…”
Rage ignited in her heart. Nangong Xiwang wished she could reach through the phone screen and slap that blue rabbit silly.
But even the miracle of gem magic had its limits—it couldn’t cross the screen to fulfill that beautiful wish.
Still, was Blue Cavalier still using a female voice?
This time, Nangong Xiwang didn’t bother to remind her. Now she was more than happy to watch the joke unfold.
Hopefully, when the mark covered her completely, she’d forget about this and never change back, remaining a blue rabbit forever.
However, the other party wasn’t as anxious as she was. Instead, she calmly said:
“Actually, I got a warning from the Hero Association today.”
That caught Nangong Xiwang off guard.
She stepped into the crowded subway car and leaned against the connecting passage between cars.
“Why? Because of last night’s commission?”
“Yeah. They weren’t happy that I subcontracted the commission to a third party. Apparently, it goes against their original design philosophy.”
“The association might take measures to register you and Miss Clara as members of the Hero Network as well. The program flaw I exploited last night will probably be patched too.”
Blue Cavalier paused briefly, then replied:
“Actually, I wanted to suggest that you also register for the Hero Network. It wouldn’t do you any harm.”
“Huh?”
“Then our plan can’t go forward?” Nangong Xiwang asked.
‘The hero network’s unreliability was common knowledge in the industry. Was Blue Cavalier trying to drag her into this fire pit?’
“Think about it carefully… Even I could find your real information. If the organized crime companies put their minds to it, there’s no way they couldn’t find you.”
“So registering for the Hero Network would definitely be more beneficial than harmful for you.”
Even though Blue Cavalier was giving sincere advice, to Nangong Xiwang it sounded like a pyramid scheme.
“…No way. I can’t hand over leverage to them, can I?”
Since she was on a public subway, Nangong Xiwang had to be careful with her wording.
She was an Independent Hero, with no Hero Company to back her up. If her real identity were exposed, she’d have to be on edge commuting to and from work, and her life would be full of danger.
After getting drunk, she could no longer lie down on the street curb carelessly.
For Nangong Xiwang, who only did part-time work to earn some extra cash, being outed as a hero would mean the end of her career.
So she would never hand her secret over to the association.
“Actually, registering now has another extra advantage.”
Like a patient and meticulous salesman, Blue Cavalier continued to persuade gently.
“The Hero Network has an independent rating system. Early registrants get a first-mover advantage. For those of us who were demoted from Quasi-A Rank, this is a whole new track.”
“Like the rating system for delivery drivers and ride-share drivers?”
“Exactly.”
Kamui thought it over and finally decided to refuse.
“Until I have solid proof that this system is safe, I won’t consider registering. And don’t try to convince me. If the plan can’t go forward, then let’s put it on hold for now.”
“…I understand. Are you going to see Miss Clara today?”
It seemed Blue Cavalier had finally given up.
Nangong Xiwang replied:
“No. That girl’s busy with other stuff these days. She doesn’t have time to meet me… Let’s talk again in a few days. Bye!”
Nangong Xiwang hung up and turned off that damn location.
Clara had been busy with the comics website thing lately, so she probably didn’t have time to see her. Even if she asked Clara to come to the city center, it wouldn’t be very meaningful.
Maybe taking a few days off would be the better choice?
Besides, the updated rules of the Hero Network had already blocked the loophole. Even if they continued, the efficiency probably wouldn’t be high.
【Blue Court Station has arrived.】
Nangong Xiwang exited the subway station, took a bit of a detour, and headed to the dried meat shop she frequented to buy some dried squid for her evening drinks.
“Yo, Nangong Sensei! Here again? The usual?”
The dried meat shop owner came up cheerfully to chat.
Nangong Xiwang’s eyes roamed over the giant dried squid hanging on the wall, and she licked her lips.
“No, today I’m going big!!”
That was a giant squid specially farmed at the Space Fishery Near the Moon.
By the way, a giant squid is actually a type of squid.
Raised in clean, pollution-free seawater, with plenty of exercise—they sparred with their keepers every day to keep their flesh firm. Sometimes they even ate their keepers as a snack.
“Give me one of those! A whole piece!”
When she said “whole piece,” she meant one slice from a whole giant squid that had been cut into portions.
Even though it was thin, a single slice was about two meters long—longer than Nangong Xiwang’s height—and cost over 1,000 points. The visual impact was obvious.
The dried meat shop owner usually bought one whole piece and then cut it up to sell…
“A wh-whole piece? Did Nangong Sensei strike it rich?”
“Hehe, you could say that~”
“Dried squid can get soggy if you don’t finish it…”
“I’ll finish it. Just pack it up, no worries!”
Nangong Xiwang had indeed earned a bit of money.
The mutant she defeated last night was a pretty high level—seemed to be an Executive-level monster on the association’s wanted list. She should get a decent bounty.
With that, she didn’t need to go out patrolling for the next few nights.
She’d just drink at home and eat giant squid!
In that sense, the Hero Network did offer a lot of exclusive commissions. At least during this blue ocean phase when most heroes hadn’t registered yet, there might be more commission tasks than heroes…
Thinking about it, Blue Cavalier’s suggestion actually made some sense.
“Hey… Nangong Sensei, want me to tear it into strips?”
The dried meat shop owner interrupted Nangong Xiwang’s thoughts, and she laughed, waving her hand.
“No, just pack it whole. I’m going to gnaw on it like this!”
Big bites of squid! With booze!!
“Uh, that might be a bit big? Not easy to carry…”
“It’s fine! I’ll carry it on my back!”
The customer is king.
The owner smiled wryly and packed up the thin, giant dried squid slice for Kamui.
Thus, Nangong Xiwang hoisted the huge oil-paper-wrapped squid onto her back. As she left the shop, she bumped into the door frame—it was like she was carrying the shop’s own door panel…
She had been craving this giant squid for a long time.
“Hmm~”
Humming a cheerful tune, carrying the giant squid on her back and two cases of beer in her hands, Nangong Xiwang returned to the Smart Apartment near the subway station.
But at the entrance, she met an unexpected person.
Clara was sitting on the stone steps, chin in hand, staring at her.
And at the massive dried squid behind her.
“Miss Nangong, this is…”
“A giant squid.”
Clara’s face seemed a bit pale.
Nangong Xiwang didn’t catch the subtext and just nodded.
“Miss Nangong, you really are the natural enemy of squid.”
“Yeah, you could say that. After all, my favorite food is squid.”
She even hugged the giant squid slice and rubbed against it.
Clara started to worry that she might get eaten…
Nangong Xiwang then asked:
“So, what brings you here today?”
“Actually, I came to see Miss Kamui.”
Nangong Xiwang’s expression froze for a second, but thanks to the improvisation skills she’d developed from chasing deadlines, she quickly recovered.
“At this hour, Kamui should already be out on patrol.”
“Eh? Then when will she be back?”
“I’m about to go out for my part-time job too… How about you come in and sit for a while?”
No matter how long she waited, Kamui wouldn’t come back.
But if Nangong Xiwang went to her part-time job, Magical Girl Kamui might just appear.
“Hmm, okay…”
Clara stood up, brushing off her pants, but she kept her distance from Nangong Xiwang and the giant squid in her hands.
“Speaking of which, what did you want to see her about?”
“Oh, I wanted to ask if she’d be willing to come with me to register for the Hero Network at the association.”
“You too?!”
Nangong Xiwang felt like she was being surrounded.
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Poor kamui