At night, in the slums of Lungmen, inside a certain building.
"…I already know what happened, so are you all planning to act together?"
Dressed entirely in black, Lin Yuhsia looked at Shirou and the group of four behind him, her expression extremely calm.
"They will not. They just came out of curiosity… besides, Exusiai is not suited for infiltration work."
Seeing that his employer's expression did not look too pleased, Shirou coughed awkwardly and explained.
After receiving the message today, and remembering the promise he made to them before, Shirou had informed them in advance that there would be an operation tonight.
As a result, they all followed him here, which made things rather awkward.
Fortunately, Lin Yuhsia did not seem to mind too much. Ever since he met her, her expression had hardly changed and she always appeared composed.
In simple terms, she was probably the same type as Texas.
However, the others had already told him that they were only here to observe and would not interfere.
Of course, if the situation became urgent, they would still take action. But with Shirou around, that possibility was quite low.
If even Shirou found it troublesome… then them stepping in would only amount to throwing their lives away.
"And why exactly am I not suited for infiltration work!?"
Hearing Shirou's remark, Exusiai immediately stood up and pointed at him in protest.
Then she drew everyone's attention.
Strictly speaking, their attention was on the halo above her head.
"…Alright, I guess I am not suited."
Glancing upward, Exusiai sat back down.
Well, Sankta really were not suited for stealth. After all, she had both a halo and wings acting as light sources.
"We will provide external support, such as drones. And when it is time to retreat, we can also drive you out."
After Exusiai finished her antics, Texas finally explained their purpose.
"That works. Then I will leave it to you. Also, Shirou, you are not wearing the clothes I gave you?"
After hearing them out, Lin Yuhsia quickly understood the situation.
More manpower was always better; there was no reason to refuse.
Especially since they were from Penguin Logistics, a well-known armed group in Lungmen.
"I am."
Pulling down his jacket zipper, Shirou revealed what he was wearing underneath.
It was a black suit, somewhat similar to what some gang members in the slums wore, though the quality of his was clearly much better.
In addition to that, Lin Yuhsia had also given him a pair of black gloves and a mask.
"Put this on before going in. Acting under the identity of a gang member makes it less likely for you to face retaliation."
After confirming that Shirou was indeed wearing what she had given him, Lin Yuhsia went to prepare other things.
This was a safehouse she had specifically arranged, stocked with drinking water, dry rations, and a small amount of weapons.
She took out several small transparent bottles filled with sand. With those, she could use her Originium Arts.
Meanwhile, Shirou also took off his Penguin Logistics jacket. After moving around a bit, he felt that the suit was somewhat tight, so he removed the suit jacket as well.
What remained was a white shirt and a black vest.
Still a bit tight… probably because the size Lin Yuhsia provided was slightly small.
But it was still within an acceptable range.
"Oh? Shirou, you actually look pretty good in that outfit!"
Watching Shirou put on his gloves, Croissant stepped closer and examined him carefully.
Shirou usually wore loose tops or jackets, so seeing him in a fitted suit like this was rare.
It even felt like his physique had improved compared to before.
Shirou: "…?"
Was something wrong with him, or was this bread girl acting a bit too weird?
He also noticed that Croissant seemed about to reach out and touch him, so he decisively slapped her hand away.
"Do not touch."
"Touching you will not make you lose a piece of flesh! I am just checking your physical condition!"
Croissant protested after having her hand slapped away.
Then she was dragged off by Texas and Sora.
Stop embarrassing yourselves! There are outsiders here!
Meanwhile, Exusiai was constantly taking photos with her phone. Although it was somewhat dark here, that was not a problem for her.
She herself was an excellent source of light.
"Keep in contact."
After dragging Croissant away, Texas pointed to her left ear.
Although there was nothing on her ear, Shirou had a miniature earpiece on his left side.
That was a communication device used by Penguin Logistics. Aside from the one on Shirou, Lin Yuhsia also had one, while the others had a larger receiver on their side.
"Mm."
Nodding, Shirou followed Lin Yuhsia, who had already finished preparing, and left the safehouse area.
"You seem to get along well with people."
The two of them, dressed in black and white, walked along the streets of the slums.
Even late at night, there were still a few people moving about, but most avoided them as soon as they saw what they were wearing.
Shirou had been wondering why people were avoiding them because of their suits, when Lin Yuhsia suddenly asked that question, catching him off guard.
Well… what she said was not wrong.
Still, was this really the right time to talk about something like that?
After thinking for a while, since she had spoken, it would feel strange not to respond.
"The people at Penguin Logistics are all quite nice."
In the end, Shirou gave a polite and somewhat tactful answer. After all, the communicator was still active.
"…"
Lin Yuhsia had only wanted to ease the tension before the operation by making small talk, but it seemed she had made things more awkward instead.
"Ahem… let us go over what we need to do."
Noticing the atmosphere becoming strange, Shirou coughed lightly and changed the subject.
Lin Yuhsia had not gone into much detail about the operation before. He only knew that the main objective was to destroy the machines in the factory that produced the inhibitors.
This operation could not be too conspicuous, so Shirou's initial idea of using a projected Caladbolg to blow the entire factory sky-high had been immediately rejected.
In addition, Lin Yuhsia seemed intent on gathering internal data from the factory, so infiltration was necessary.
"More or less what I told you before. I will handle collecting the internal data. You just need to watch out for anyone approaching. Also… are you the type who fights unarmed?"
Facing Shirou's question, Lin Yuhsia explained patiently.
In the upcoming operation, Shirou would be responsible for a very important role.
Originally, there had been no plan to collect data. However, information from an insider suggested that unfamiliar people had been entering and leaving the factory recently.
That was why Lin Yuhsia decided at the last minute to gather internal information.
At the same time, she noticed that Shirou seemed to be empty-handed. The last time she saw him, he had been carrying dual blades.
Why was he not holding anything this time?
"This? I can just create one with Originium Arts."
After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Shirou projected a short blade into his hand, spun it twice, then let it dissolve back into magical energy.
It was just a simple demonstration to show that he was not truly unarmed.
If he applied reinforcement magecraft properly, fighting barehanded would not be a problem.
But… that would consume more energy. It was more efficient to rely on the enhancements granted by projected weapons.
After all, among those who taught him magecraft, there was one who was particularly skilled in this area.
"The dual blades I saw last time were the same?"
Lin Yuhsia fell silent for a moment, trying to analyze what she had just seen, but with too little information, she chose not to comment further.
She had similar Originium Arts, though hers required sand as a medium.
As for Shirou's… she could not quite figure it out.
"Yeah, I mostly use dual blades."
"In that case… can you use other weapons? I mean, try not to use your usual fighting style. That way, if the Guard Department comes asking, it will be easier to explain, and easier for me to handle."
After getting his confirmation, Lin Yuhsia thought for a moment before making the request.
From an ordinary perspective, what they were doing was clearly criminal activity. That was why she had prepared disguises, clothes and masks and gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.
"That will not be a problem."
Understanding her intent, Shirou thought for a moment and then projected a blade he remembered, it was the sword of Assassin Sasaki Kojiro.
Compared to ordinary swords, it was longer, almost approaching the length of a spear.
For a normal person, it would likely be quite burdensome, but it was still within Shirou's capabilities.
Just in case, he also projected a shorter blade and fastened it at his waist.
"…"
This time, the projection was more noticeable than before, so Lin Yuhsia saw it clearly.
It resembled her Originium Arts in some ways, but Shirou's did not seem to rely on any external material…
It was quite intriguing.
The two continued toward the factory and successfully entered through a back entrance opened by one of Lin Yuhsia's planted contacts.
The factory was extremely quiet in the dead of night, with no light sources, giving it an eerie atmosphere.
That was from Lin Yuhsia's perspective. For Shirou, visibility at this level was not an issue.
So, at his suggestion, he took the lead.
"It is hard to believe that some of the infected in Lungmen's slums used to rely on the inhibitors from here…"
As they stepped inside the factory, Shirou saw grimy machines, along with trash and filth scattered everywhere.
In this kind of environment… let alone being a pharmaceutical factory, it would not even meet the standards of an ordinary factory.
"I came here for an inspection before. I did not expect it to turn into this."
Although her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the dim lighting, Lin Yuhsia's field of vision was still limited.
But she did not even need to see clearly just the smell alone was nauseating.
Still, she had seen environments far worse than this, so she remained composed.
Shirou was the same. After briefly surveying the interior, the two continued deeper inside.
Now was not the time to destroy the machines. They needed to go further in and find the office.
After walking a bit deeper, the amount of trash on the ground decreased significantly, and the smell became more bearable.
However, both Shirou and Lin Yuhsia began to tread much more lightly.
There were people here.
After sensing their presence earlier, Shirou had lightly tapped the communicator twice to signal that something was wrong.
He could hear many footsteps and voices, but they were all above them for now, not interfering with their infiltration.
They just needed to avoid making too much noise and attracting attention from those upstairs at least for the moment.
There were simply too many people above. If it turned into a direct confrontation, their only option would be to immediately turn back, destroy the production machines, and leave.
Unless they wanted to make tomorrow's Lungmen headlines something like a bloody massacre at an inhibitor factory.
Neither of them wanted that, nor were they interested.
That was why they moved so carefully.
When they reached what appeared to be an office, Shirou placed his hand on the door and used magecraft to confirm that no one was inside. Only then did he use the blade at his waist to break the lock.
Though the sword was not at the level of a Noble Phantasm, breaking a door was effortless.
"You keep watch here. If I cannot find anything within five minutes, we leave immediately."
Watching Shirou move with such smooth efficiency, without any hesitation, Lin Yuhsia could not help but feel that if she did not already know he worked with the Guard Department and was a genuinely good person she might have wanted to slap cuffs on him right then and there.
That was far too practiced!
"Mm. There are no windows in this room, so you can turn on the light. The only camera is in the upper left corner, it would be best to disable it first."
Shirou had no objections to her plan and even offered a bit of guidance.
"Mm."
Hearing his words, the corner of Lin Yuhsia's usually composed expression twitched slightly, though Shirou did not notice as he kept watch down the corridor.
After entering, she switched on a flashlight and began searching, while also using sand to cover the surveillance camera.
"Hoo…"
Letting out a quiet breath, Shirou kept watch ahead and behind while reflecting on what he had seen.
Along the way, he had noticed clearly though dried, those stains were unmistakably blood.
This factory… seemed far more complicated than it appeared.
Just as Shirou was thinking about this, a sudden sense of danger surged through his mind.
His eyes widened as he saw thick smoke rapidly approaching them.
"We are leaving."
Drawing the blade from his waist, Shirou carefully guarded their surroundings while calling out to Lin Yuhsia inside.
Now that they had been discovered, there was no need to worry about making noise anymore.
But this smoke… where was it coming from?