"Ah!"
The clothing store owner had no time to react. Before her eyes, like a dam bursting, shards of glass surged toward her at an overwhelming speed, threatening to disfigure her.
If her face were ruined, it wouldn't just be her appearance—her future in the clothing business would be over as well.
Click-clack, click-clack—the sound of mechanical gears interlocking rang out as the flying glass shards were blocked by a cloak.
The young boss of Kowloon Stronghold glared at the unexpected intruder. "Who the hell is ruining my fun?!"
It was a young girl. She wore the standard disguise issued by the Mad Hatter organization—a steampunk-style mechanical evening gown. She raised her head, revealing a rusted top hat. The mechanical clicking sound came from it.
"A warrior of Mad Hatter—Inori."
Inori politely introduced herself.
Anyone who had dealt with Mad Hatter long enough would instinctively recognize that familiar mechanical clicking sound and immediately realize—Mad Hatter had arrived.
In some regions, the moment that sound was heard, many small organizations would quietly withdraw rather than interfere with Mad Hatter's operations.
Because, true to its name, Mad Hatter was truly insane. They used heavy weaponry during operations and even dared to assassinate high-ranking officials.
By now, any organization with even a basic intelligence network knew about Mad Hatter—and its conflict with MOTH.
Faced with such a terrifying organization that combined madness with overwhelming strength, smaller groups naturally chose to avoid them and wait for MOTH to deal with it.
Especially recently, the conflict between the two organizations had grown increasingly intense.
When gods fought, who would dare get involved? The few small organizations that had tried had already become "nourishment" for Mad Hatter.
Inori had intended to scare them off with her name, but a small-time gang leader trapped in the closed environment of Barcelona naturally knew none of this. "What the hell is Mad Hatter? Never heard of it!"
The young boss drew the blade from his back and pointed at the girl with his other hand, shouting, "With that pretty face of yours... heh, you're of Shenzhou descent too, aren't you?"
But this wasn't an attempt at small talk—it was meant to distract her.
The underlings in front of him understood immediately. They raised their guns and opened fire at the girl.
The girl neither dodged nor avoided. When the bullets struck the mechanical evening gown, they bounced off with metallic clangs.
The mechanical evening gowns worn by Mad Hatter's elite combatants were naturally masterpieces recently designed by the Expert.
Vill-V took great care with the equipment of those who worked for her. Unlike MOTH, which had an endless supply of recruits, Mad Hatter only had a handful of capable fighters—so every elite had to be protected.
As Mad Hatter expanded, it now had its own processing factories. The equipment it could produce was no longer comparable to what it had two years ago.
For example, the mechanical evening gown worn by Inori used the lightest composite materials to achieve defensive capabilities comparable to heavy power armor.
As a top graduate of St. Freya Academy, Inori was elite among elites and naturally qualified to wear such a uniform.
Watching the girl walk through the hail of bullets, even casually blowing a bubble the size of a fist with the gum in her mouth, the young boss flexed his muscles and swung his alloy blade down at her.
This blade was no ordinary weapon—it was an inertia heavy blade. During a swing, its internal mechanism amplified inertia threefold, giving it the power to split mountains and shatter stone.
The young boss of Kowloon Stronghold had used this blade to cleave through countless reinforced doors, barging in with ease. It was practically the perfect tool for debt collection.
Yet this once-invincible weapon failed to display its former glory before a Mad Hatter operative.
Two slender fingers, unhurried and light, casually caught the heavy blade.
Caught—not gripped or clamped.
As if it wasn't a massive weapon carrying tremendous force, but merely... a sheet of thin paper.
The underlings of Kowloon Stronghold were stunned. "How is that possible? Are her fingers made of steel? There's not even any blood!"
"That means the kinetic blade's momentum was completely stopped the moment it touched her fingers!"
"How much strength would that require?! Impossible! She must be using some trick!"
A trick? Don't joke around. Against mere lackeys, there was no need for tricks.
Anyone who graduated from St. Freya Academy could accomplish something like this.
If they couldn't even subdue ordinary humans, how could they possibly subdue Honkai Beasts?
Those towering monsters had strength measured in tons.
Pop. The bubble gum burst as the girl exhaled. "Now you know—I'm from Shenzhou. I live at the Shenzhou Web Novel Orphanage!"
Being from Shenzhou didn't make someone Kryptonian!
Considering the shop owner was still nearby, Inori couldn't go all out. If she used her full strength here, the entire building would likely collapse.
Her other hand, hanging by her side, slowly rose. Her fingers curled into a fist, then she lightly pressed it against the young boss' sturdy abdomen. The fist wrapped in a mechanical glove sank effortlessly into his body.
Thud—crunch!
Hm? That didn't feel right.
Instead of the expected spray of flesh and blood, countless fragments burst out from the man's back.
As if nothing had happened, the man snorted coldly and pulled out an electric gun with his other hand, aiming it at his own abdomen.
Danger!
Zzzzt—crackle!
Inori's arm was stuck in the man's body, leaving her no time to pull it out.
The moment her forearm touched the stun gun, violent arcs of electricity burst across her body. She collapsed to her knees, powerless.
The gears on Inori's body emitted discordant grinding sounds.
"What kind of bullshit Mad Hatter? Just a rookie after all. When I was crawling through the mud, you were still sucking milk somewhere—oh right, you're an orphan!"
The man arrogantly lifted his clothes, revealing a metallic torso.
The mechanical body was covered in tiny gears, steel, and pipes. They slowly rotated and twisted, glowing with a cold, malicious green light.
Compared to the elegant, almost musical sound of gears on Inori's body, this man's mechanical frame was filled with harsh metallic clashes and grating mechanical noise.
"My body's been replaced with machinery long ago. In this city, if you want to survive, you have to be prepared to give up everything."
Modern technology had already reached the level where all organs except the brain could be replaced with mechanical components.
That was also why his subordinates joked about his incompetence in that regard—because he no longer had that part.
But he didn't care. This half-mechanical body had allowed him to turn the tables countless times and rise to his current position. That was what mattered.
"Mm, I won't kill you. With your looks, you should fetch a high price on the dark web."
In Barcelona, the slave trade had become an emerging industry. Although the "Company" prohibited openly capturing people, those with unknown identities—or those forced into such a state—were exceptions.
Making someone "unknown" was simple. All it took was disfiguring them, or targeting those who had abandoned their identities due to massive debts.
But disfigured slaves didn't sell well. And those burdened with huge debts were still under the Company's watch, forced to repay.
A beautiful girl from an unknown organization like this was an exceptionally rare commodity.
However, the young boss' smugness didn't last long. Once again, a cheerful, melodious sound of gears interlocking rang in his ears.
What met him next was the girl's sweeping kick, her thigh strap flashing as her leg lashed out.
Orphans weren't easy to deal with—especially those from the Shenzhou Web Novel Orphanage.
When one's parents are sacrificed, one's power becomes boundless.
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