"Really adds to the atmosphere."
But... V's tendency to argue with anything and everything had given Leo such a strong impression of her that he couldn't even picture her putting on makeup.
However, the good news was—he might get to see it eventually.
He turned on the faucet.
The cool stream of water, tinged with a faint hint of chlorine, helped ease the discomfort in his right hand.
After washing his hands and face, Leo stared at the towel rack with a bit of a dilemma.
Four towels... which one's for drying hands?
He didn't want to ask and look foolish, so he settled for the traditional "flicking water off" method while moving on to investigate the rest of the bathroom.
Since it was called a bathroom, it was, of course, just a simple shower and a place to take care of personal hygiene.
These two areas hadn't changed in decades—no high-tech toilets or any interesting new gadgets.
As he walked over, V's unique scent—something like gunpowder and a trace of mysterious cosmetics—became more noticeable.
He desperately wanted to take a deep breath but restrained himself, figuring it would be impolite.
"Still not ready?"
V's voice cut through his thoughts, sparing him from his indecision.
Time to escape...
Leo quickly exited the bathroom, only to find that V had already tidied up the bed—though the sheets were still wrinkled, and the pillows were scattered in all directions. The only improvement was that the clothes lying around had been shoved into some corner.
"I'm going to wash up too. If you want something to drink, grab it yourself."
She casually slapped the side of the vending machine by the bed, and a soft "thunk" echoed.
As she walked off, Leo took an interest in the beverage machine.
Honestly, putting something like this in a personal room—what a brilliant invention!
If only there were a snack machine too. He could stay indoors for a week without stepping out.
After a quick scan of the available drinks, he bought two bottles of soda water.
Unscrewing the cap, the slightly bitter taste jolted him awake.
When V returned, she found Leo lying on the couch, his eyes scanning the room like a radar.
"You're really at ease…"
"Drinking water!"
Leo interrupted her mid-sentence with the drink.
V took the soda water, glanced at it, and shrugged. "I prefer something with flavor, not plain water. This is just hard to swallow."
"It's good for you."
"Fine…"
V hesitated, then sat on the other side of the couch.
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. After finishing her soda, V put the empty can on the table and urged, "Come on, let's go. I'll take you back, and then you can rest."
Leo was reluctant to leave. He still hadn't gotten a good look at all the details of V's place…
But seeing V's conflicted expression, he couldn't help but ask, "Why the rush? It's just a little after 3 PM."
V pulled out her handgun, fiddling with it for a second, but her frown didn't fade.
"I have a bad feeling. I think we're being watched."
Leo froze. "By who? ...Those guys from before?"
"Not sure. There are too many people here, even I can't pinpoint where the danger is coming from."
"Well then, no reason to stick around. Let's move."
Leo knew full well that he was still weak, and if danger presented itself, the best option was to get the hell out of there.
"You call the car. Once we're outside, stick close to me. Hopefully, it's just a false alarm."
A few minutes later, the DeLaman car arrived.
The automatic door opened, and they rushed out of the room.
"Whoa, that was quick?"
A woman on the street joked, but no one responded.
Now, Leo could see the issue with the place—there were "eyes" everywhere. You couldn't tell who was a regular and who was watching them.
They made it into the elevator with no problems, and as they reached the first floor, V led him briskly through the hall. Her cyber-eye flickered with light, scanning the surroundings.
The DeLaman car was parked by the building's exit, not far from the two police cars.
V let out a quiet sigh of relief and murmured, "Lucky us. Looks like we got away this time."
They got in the car, verified their identities, and set the destination.
Everything went smoothly... or so it seemed!
"Shit—!"
Just minutes later, V cursed loudly, unlocking the safety on her handgun.
"These bastards are just waiting for the cops to leave, or for us to head out on our own!"
"DeLaman, can you go any faster?"
"Dear customer, we are already exceeding the speed limit. Further acceleration will increase the risk of a crash."
Unlike V, the AI driving the DeLaman car was cool-headed.
Leo couldn't help but glance back at the black van trailing them.
"Don't look up! Don't draw your gun! You're a rookie—don't make things worse!"
V pressed him down, forcing him to stay low in the seat.
Leo knew she was right, but now that he couldn't see anything, he felt even more uncertain.
The engine's roar grew sharper, and the pressure from the centrifugal force became more intense.
As he was about to contact Shironeko for a remote hack of the pursuing vehicle, the DeLaman car spoke to him: "Dear guest, please rest assured. The DeLaman car is fully armored and will safely take you to your destination."
Leo was suddenly struck by an idea. "Does your car have cameras? Feed the footage to the display, let me see what's going on."
"No problem. Your request will be fulfilled."
In the next instant, the screen angled towards the back, showing the situation clearly.
The black van was roaring across the shoulder, barely maintaining control, but it stayed glued to their tail.
Through the window, Leo could see two black guys in the front seats, one of whom looked vaguely familiar.
A quick flash of memory hit him, and he realized it was the guy who had been trying to start trouble in the elevator earlier.
"Holy crap! They started tailing me the moment I got on the elevator?!"
V licked her lips, her eyes filled with a bloodlust, "Scavengers... like hyenas. They hunt people down for a living, sizing you up the moment they see you. As soon as they spotted us, they locked on. There's no getting rid of them now."
"Fucking organ traffickers... Watch out!"
Leo's curse was cut short as the car swerved violently.
The scavengers had caught up and were now getting desperate.
The front passenger window rolled down, and two armed scavengers leaned out, aiming straight at the DeLaman.
"Warning: High-level threat detected. Please fasten your seatbelts. An attack is imminent."
The DeLaman swerved the wheel sharply, zigzagging through the firestorm of bullets.
The sound of impacts echoed as bullets skimmed the bulletproof car's surface, and the whole vehicle shook under the force.
"Shit… these guys really are like a pack of bloodthirsty hyenas!" V kept her eyes on the target, quickly finding the button to control the windows. But when she pressed it, nothing happened.
"No... DeLaman, stop locking the windows! We can't just sit here and take hits!"
---
Read Up To 30+ Advanced Chapters in pat/reon.com/KyokaSuigetsu