"Welcome back,

" Old Man Leng said as we entered his shop. It took us a while to get out of the slums and back to District A, but eventually, we made it, after I took several opportunities to fly up in the air just to make sure we were still on course.

"How was yer first time usin' a gun fer real?

"

I sighed.

"Well...it didn't impact me much, but...

" I turned to look at the girls.

"I'm still getting used to it,

" Feng Mian replied, sensing my gaze.

"Yeah, it's not too difficult, I'll get the hang of it soo-

" Yu An Yan added, but Old Man Leng cut her off.

"No no...that ain't what I meant,

" he said, shaking his head.

"What I mean is...how was it? The feelin' of killin' someone.

"

"...

" the girls fell silent.

"Well, I've done a lot of killing before, so this doesn't affect me much,

" Xiang Peng spoke up.

"They were bad guys anyway, so I don't really feel any remorse in murdering them.

"

"Yeah...it'll take me a while to get used to this type of life, but since I made the decision of coming along with Xuan Kai, I'm going to have to grow accustomed,

" Feng Mian said.

"Mhm...it's kill or be killed, after all,

" Yu An Yan added.

"It's certainly not a pleasant feeling, taking lives...but I know that if I hesitate, it'll be my life that will be taken.

"

"Mm...

" the other sister agreed with a faint nod.

"Hm? Is it really all that bad?

" Qing Yue asked, looking around.

"I mean, it's just a bunch of villains, right? They deserve to die anyway. We're just moving up their expiration date.

"

Everyone present all turned to look at Qing Yue in shock. She literally just described human lives as if they were grocery items.

I-I mean, it's good that she's adapting to this harsh environment pretty well, but...isn't this a little too well? Goddamn...

"What about you, Lan Xiao Su?

" I asked. She was the most concerning one of the group. Being a receptionist and overall frail girl, she wasn't much of a fighter, much less killer.

"U-Um...I'll be fine! I can just immobilize them, not actually kill them!

" she yelped nervously in response.

Old Man Leng sighed.

"Well...that's good enough fer now, I suppose. But just remember...in the annual test comin' up to decide who can enter Fragment and who can't...just being able to immobilize ain't goin' to help ya.

"

"R-Right...

" Lan Xiao Su murmured meekly.

"Anyway...

" I interrupted.

"Where's Flaria?

"

"Oh, the little girl? She went to sleep. Over there,

" Old Man Leng said, pointing at the couch near the back of the room. There we saw Flaria, lying peacefully with a sweater draped over her. I assumed it was Old Man Leng's.

"Huh...well, let's leave her be,

" I decided.

"Before we get into anything else, I'm curious. Why did you want us to wipe out that gang in particular?

"

Old Man Leng chuckled.

"A good assassin doesn't ask his customer questions, ya know.

"

"...Okay then,

" I muttered.

"Then can you tell us about that shield the leader of the Bloodthirsters was using? Our bullets couldn't get past, no matter how much we shot at it.

"

"Those are called DOPs, short for Dome of Protection. They're a type of gadget that blocks all incoming attacks, gunfire and magic alike, for a certain amount of time depending on how much mana the user has,

" Old Man Leng explained.

"So...if you kept shooting at the shield, he probably would've just ran out of mana and it would've broken down.

"

"Not really, since he still would've teleported away with his Space Magic,

" Qing Yue argued.

"W-Well, perhaps ya may have been able to land a headshot on him before he could teleport away, ya know?

" Old Man Leng said, trying to defend his point.

"A-Anyway, those things are called gadgets. There are different kinds, of course...but I don't sell 'em here. I only sell guns. If ya want gadgets and grenades and stuff, I can introduce ya to my good buddy down the street.

"

"Sure, might as well,

" Feng Mian said.

"If we're going to be fighting against these gadgets or whatever, we should get some ourselves.

"

We all agreed, and so, Old Man Leng sent us over to his 'good buddy's' shop. It was around a ten minute walk from where we were.

"This...should be the place,

" I said, looking up at the sign. The lights were on inside, despite it being like 4 in the morning. That wasn't surprising, considering everyone in the Fortress were pretty much nocturnal creatures. Certain operations went smoother at night, after all...

We stepped inside, and saw that the layout was similar to that of Old Man Leng's shop. Behind the counter sat a relatively young lady who looked to be around her thirties.

"Welcome!

" she said enthusiastically.

"Er...hi,

" I replied awkwardly.

"We're here to buy some gadgets and grenades.

"

"Oh, yes! My husband gave me a call just now telling me to expect you all,

" the old lady explained.

"Wait, husband?

" Feng Mian asked.

"Hm...? Yes! He calls himself Old Man Leng,

" the lady replied.

"Why are you so surprised? Are you not the people he was talking about?

"

Oh my god...Old Man Leng did not tell us this.

"No no, we are,

" Yu An Yan answered.

"But, you see...well, we weren't really expecting this. Old Man Leng...

"

I shot Yu An Yan a glare. Don't expose the guy, Yu An Yan!

"What is it?

" the old lady raised an eyebrow.

"E-Er, nothing,

" I quickly lied, covering it up. There was no way I was telling this woman that her husband referred to her as nothing more than a 'good friend'. That would get him the whip treatment. By the looks of it, this woman isn't someone to mess with. She looks just as battle-hardened as Old Man Leng, and he was already scary enough - judging from appearances alone, that is.

"Anyway, can you tell us more about gadgets and stuff?

"

"Sure!

" the lady complied, and I let out a deep breath sensing the topic change. The girls looked at me curiously, unsure why I answered in Yu An Yan's stead, but I would explain this to their insensitive brains later.

"Gadgets are essentially an extra tool to help you out in fights, you see,

" the lady explained.

"There are many different kinds of gadgets - some for offense, some for defense. It all depends on the type of fighter you are and your companions as well. All gadgets are one-time use items, so most people stock up on them once every month just to save time, avoiding the trouble of having to come back to buy more whenever they run out.

"

"I see...

" I murmured.

"Any gadgets in particular that you would recommend?

"

"Recommend, huh...well, for starters, my husband told me about the Dome of Protection you all ran into on your mission earlier. Would you like to hear about that?

"

"Sure,

" I replied. The Dome of Protection would certainly be useful in sticky situations where we had to buy time for whatever reason.

The woman clapped her hands together.

"Very well! The Dome of Protection is a gadget that, upon activation, creates a...well, dome of protection around the user! Based on the amount of mana the user puts into this gadget, the strength and duration of the dome will vary. For reference, the average Advanced Mage, if they put all their mana into a DOP, will end up with a dome that can block any gunfire and spells below Level Three with ease, lasting around half an hour or so. Spells above Level Three and things like Rocket Launchers and Grenade Launchers may be able to break through.

"

"So it isn't completely invincible...good to know,

" Feng Mian noted.

"Well, it could be, depending on how powerful the user is,

" Qing Yue argued with a shrug.

"Alright, would you all like to purchase some DOPs?

" the lady asked, looking around at us.

I sank into thought.

"Uh...how much do they cost?

"

"Hm...my husband gave you some weapons in return for you completing a task for him, correct?

" the lady pondered.

"I'll do something similar then. All you have to do is complete a very simple task for me, and I'll give you a bunch of the gadgets here in this shop for free! Deal?

"

"Well...we'll have to hear what the task is before deciding,

" I replied after some hesitation.

"Oh, don't worry. It isn't anything too difficult,

" the lady reassured.

"I just need you to breach and investigate a certain facility for me.

"

"Breach and investigate a certain facility?

" I echoed.

"Er...I'm guessing this facility has guards and proper security measures?

"

"Of course! It's a top-secret lab, after all-

"

"Wait, if it's top secret, how the hell did you find out about it?

" Xiang Peng asked, pausing the conversation.

"Hm...tell you what, if you can accomplish this mission successfully, I'll tell you the answer to that question. Trust me, whatever's in that facility, it will be worth my - and your - time. Because hey, the stuff you're going to find out inside that facility will be information for both of us. It's a win-win situation, no?

"

After thinking about it for a second, I sighed.

"Alright, fine...we'll take your offer.

"