Lucian sensed the Originium Arts reaction and chased after it.
Whoever it was seemed to be hopping across rooftops, making Lucian frown. "Doing acrobatics in broad daylight downtown… are they trying to start trouble, or are they just stupid?"
Lungmen was packed with people; doing Spider-Man stunts in the middle of the day was guaranteed to get noticed.
Lucian didn't know yet whether the person was friend or enemy, but they definitely didn't know Lungmen's rules.
To prevent things from getting out of hand, he decided to help Swire out.
He focused, letting his Halo and Wings reappear.
The Light Wings floating behind him glowed faintly, illuminating the dust around him as he felt for traces of Originium in the air.
He reacted quickly. "This way."
The air of Terra was saturated with Originium trace particles—every breath any person took brought Originium into contact with their body.
If someone did a precise test, almost everyone on Terra had Originium in their blood, just in different amounts.
A small amount wasn't dangerous. But once it passed a certain threshold, cell structure became irreversibly assimilated, and Originium Crystals would form inside and outside the body.
But Lucian was an exception among exceptions.
Originium couldn't assimilate his cells—instead, it was assimilated by him.
This made him completely immune to Originium; he had none in his body at all.
And maybe it was Angel sensitivity, but if he concentrated, he could sense Originium reactions.
He could detect an Infected with a touch. And if someone used Originium Arts, the stronger it was, the farther away he could track it.
If Ch'en knew about this ability, she would absolutely refuse any physical contact with him.
Unfortunately for her, Lucian had copped a feel plenty of times and already knew all her secrets.
Setting aside that major embarrassment for the Lungmen Guard Department, Lucian wove through Lungmen's streets and alleys, tracking the person jumping across rooftops.
Her Originium waves were getting stronger. She clearly wasn't used to using Arts—she wouldn't last long.
Lucian kept his pace steady on the ground, maintaining just enough distance.
And sure enough, after barely ten minutes, he felt her use Originium Arts again.
"See? She fell."
Unable to control her energy, it dispersed chaotically into the air, and the moment she jumped, a wail echoed out:
"Yiiiiaaaah!"
Thud.
She crashed into an Alley not far from Lucian.
At least she had the sense to avoid crowded streets and chose an empty place to escape—otherwise she would've faceplanted in front of traffic.
Hands in pockets, humming to himself, Lucian prepared to draw his Guardian Gun as he stepped into the Alley.
And among old discarded furniture, he found…
Lucian: ".?"
He found… a moving cardboard box.
A beat-up box large enough to hide a person was flipped upside down on the ground, wiggling desperately as if trying to crawl away.
Unfortunately for the person inside, they thought they were hidden—but a fluffy tail poked straight out from the back of the box.
Most people on Terra had animal traits.
Having a tail made sneaking around a huge pain.
Even Exusiai complained that the "lightbulb" above her head kept her up at night. It was only because Lucian had standards that he didn't let her come running to him every night to make her Halo disappear.
Anyway.
Staring at this stupidly adorable scene, Lucian seriously considered letting her go.
Box girl: "Heave-ho, heave-ho.…"
The box, tipped up by the tail, crawled forward with great determination, completely unaware Lucian was standing right in front of her.
Lucian stroked his chin, admiring the shiny, soft tail.
With all his experience messing with Texas's tail, Lucian immediately judged that this fluffy tail belonged to a canine species.
But it wasn't a Lupo tail like Texas's—this one was softer, fluffier, the kind that made you want to wrap it around your neck.
His tail-identification skills were flawless. This was absolutely a fox tail!
And then, the slightly airheaded little fox bumped right into him.
Box girl: "Hm…? Heave-ho, heave-ho…!"
She didn't even realize she'd hit someone. Confused why she couldn't move, she pushed harder inside the box.
What kind of natural airhead was this?
Lucian laughed. "Hello? Anybody home?"
"Ggiiiii!?"
The box froze instantly.
But her tail kept trembling, shaking the whole box—so much for hiding.
Lucian lifted the box.
Just as her voice suggested, a very young girl crouched underneath, hugging her head and trembling. She muttered under her breath:
"You can't see me, you can't see me… you can't see me…!"
What, could her Originium Arts turn her invisible? Lucian was speechless.
He crouched before the little fluffball and lightly tapped her furry head.
She yelped. "Hauu! That hurts." she whimpered.
"Good. If it hurts, you're fine." Lucian poked her fluffy rear hair. "What's your name? Where are you from? What are you doing in Lungmen? Depending on your answer, I'll decide whether to hand you to the police."
"W-w-wait! Please don't hand me to the police!"
The little fox girl burst into tears on the spot.
For the first time, Lucian saw her face clearly.
Her big reddish-brown eyes were brimming with tears. Her baby-soft features showed she was definitely still student-aged.
Since she fell from above, her carefully styled fluffy curls and outfit were covered in dust—she looked pitiful.
Grabbing Lucian's leg, she shook her head frantically. "I'm not a bad person, I'm really not! I'm a courier from Siracusa! I'm just here to deliver a letter! Someone said they could take me into the city and even gave me a pass, so I came… but then the police spotted me right away…"
"So you got scammed. People like you are called easy marks. The Slums aren't full of saints, you know."
"Uu. uuuhhhh," she sobbed.
The fox girl bawled, tears dripping onto the ground.
So what now…? Lucian's heart softened.
She didn't look like she was lying. She was so young, working such a dangerous job—she was clearly an Infected.
He could hand her over to the police, but then she'd never get into Lungmen again.
He didn't know if she had anywhere to go. Leaving her adrift in the Wilderness felt…
While Lucian was still thinking, a voice sounded behind him:
"Sir! The sound came from over here!"