Amane and I returned to the gadget shop soon after that. And...uh, I didn't manage to get her off of me in the end, and when the girls saw the scene of Amane latching onto my arm lovingly, I was met with various dead, slightly disappointed gazes. Seeing the awkward look on my face though, they realized I probably just ended up like this against my will - as usual, so they just sighed in understanding and didn't ask, thankfully.

"So? This catgirl beat you in a fight?

" Feng Mian asked skeptically.

"Did you let her win on purpose or anything? Because knowing your strength...

"

"Okay...first off, she has a name, and it's Amane,

" I replied.

"Didn't she not like being called that?

" Yu An Yan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nya, that was only because it was my myother saying it,

" Amane answered in my stead.

"I dyon't mind the name itsyelf.

"

"Huh...

" the two girls murmured quietly.

"Alsyo, about the fight...Xuwan Kwai actually beat me,

" Amane continued nonchalantly.

Xiang Peng tilted her head.

"Oh? Then...how are you still here? Didn't your mom say-

"

"Yes, but...uh, she changed her mind at the last second after seeing how close the match was,

" I cut in, desperate to hide the truth. I wasn't about to reveal the fact that Amane and I were technically betrothed. I sent Amane a glare to let her know my intentions, to which she responded with an ok-sign with her hand and a wink.

The girls narrowed their eyes suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

I cleared my throat and turned to Old Man Leng and his wife.

"So? About those reinforcements you had been talking about earlier...we got ours. What about your side?

"

"All good to go. They're already on their way here to devise a plan, in fact,

" Old Man Leng replied smugly.

"But...ya sure just one person counts as 'reinforcements' over on yer side?

"

I turned to Amane, who was smiling innocently.

"Believe it or not...this girl is actually insanely powerful. Besides, numbers are what your guys are here for, right? As for the people actually going deeper inside the labs to retrieve Mei Gui...the fewer the better, no?

"

Old Man Leng thought about it for a second, and appeared to arrive at a conclusion.

"Yeah, that's fair. We'll go along with your idea, then. But as for the specifics of the plan...

"

"Let's wait until your guys arrive,

" I replied.

"Alrigh...actually, they're already here,

" Old Man Leng said, pointing behind us.

I spun around, and saw a single hovercar that had parked by the roadside, with a man walking out of it. He looked to be about as old as Old Man Leng, and was also battle-hardened, with plenty of scars all over his body and a rugged look on his face. His right eye appeared to be wounded, as there was a massive scar over that side of his face, and he was only looking out with his left.

The man slowly walked towards us, and pushed open the door. Upon seeing Old Man Leng, he chuckled and headed directly for him, ignoring the rest of us completely.

The two men shared a short embrace, before pulling away from one another.

"Long time no see, Old Xia,

" Old Man Leng said with a grin.

"Yeah, likewise, Old Leng,

" the newcomer - Old Xia - replied.

The two of them did some kind of bro handshake sequence, and then both laughed.

"Surprised ya still remember that pattern,

" Old Man Leng chuckled.

"Yeah, you too,

" Old Xia snickered.

"So? You wanted me to help these young lads and lasses?

" he asked, looking around at us.

"That's right,

" Old Man Leng responded.

"Ya don't mind, do ya?

"

"Nah. It's rare for ya to call in a favor from me. I'll help out, gladly - me and my army of one thousand.

"

"O-One thousand?

" the girls and I echoed, jaws dropping.

"E-Er, isn't that overkill, maybe?

" Feng Mian murmured hesitantly.

"Huh? Overkill? There ain't no thing like that in war, young miss,

" Old Xia scoffed.

"Ya best get rid of that mindset if yer lookin' to survive in this place. Ya want to make sure the enemy is dead - always.

"

"Um...okay then,

" she whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Anyway - who's the enemy this time 'round? Some evil cult? A gang, perhaps?

"

"Neither. We're going up against a lone scientist,

" Old Man Leng's wife answered.

"One single man? Oh c'mon, ya really need my help for that?

" Old Xia asked skeptically.

"No no - here's the catch,

" Old Man Leng continued in his wife's stead.

"This man has this army of robots defendin' him. That, and...uh, what was it again? Yeah, laser guns.

"

"...Ok, so he has a bunch of scrap metal put together. Yer point?

" Old Xia continued, unfazed.

"On top of that...he has a hostage. And if that hostage gets killed...

" Old Man Leng began.

"Don't worry, he won't kill her. He's using her as a test subject - far too precious to just kill,

" I cut in.

"That being said...I still wish to save her as quickly as possible.

"

"If that's the case, then it's just ya against a bunch o' robots,

" Old Xia scoffed.

"Can't even handle them?

"

I snorted.

"You haven't even seen them, and you're already talking **?

"

Old Xia glared at me, and was about to grab my collar by the looks of it, but Old Man Leng stopped him. Old Xia backed off, but still kept his angry gaze locked on me.

"Kid...I've seen far worse than whatever you ever have. Don't try me now,

" he muttered.

Yeah? Then you shouldn't be underestimating your enemies like so. What a joke.

But of course, to prevent any further conflict, I didn't say that out loud. I secretly knew I won this argument, and that was enough.

"In any case...it's not just the robots that are the problem,

" Old Man Leng's wife said with a sigh.

"The most troubling part is that there is someone else - a woman who seems to be in a business partner relationship with the scientist man. And she...is a Holy Emperor.

"

Old Xia widened his eyes at this, and I noticed sweat begin to form on his forehead.

"A Holy Emperor...how the hell did ya even find out? Don't tell me you fought a Holy Emperor and survived, 'cause I ain't believin' that **.

"

"Well, whether ya believe it or not...these young 'uns really did,

" Old Man Leng said with a shrug.

"I dunno how they did, but they did.

"

Old Xia looked at us once again, this time in a new light. His eyes were slightly amused...impressed, even.

"Huh...interestin'.

"

"Anyway - now that everyone is present, let's begin talking about the actual plan,

" Old Man Leng's wife suggested.

"First of all, we have a little bit of information on what the interior of the lab looks like - and I have created a map out of it.

"

She twisted her computer screen to face us, and on the display was indeed a map of the interior layout of Exurtra Labs, from a bird's eye view. This info was all deduced based on the video footage we have of the inside from our first expedition there, of course, and there could be far more rooms deeper in where we didn't get to.

"This is the entrance,

" she continued, pointing at a little red X marker at the bottom of the screen.

"And this...is the deepest part explored the last time these guys went in,

" she said, moving her finger up, pointing at a large rectangular room - bigger than all the rest.

Old Man Leng's wife took a deep breath, then continued.

"There may be - and probably are - more rooms beyond this one, but we have no way of ascertaining that as of now. As for the defense mechanisms in place...the known ones so far are massive robots with guns, and laser beam cannons all around the walls, floor, and ceiling. And...of course, that Holy Emperor woman, though with any luck, she may not be there when we make our move.

"

"And if she is there?

" Obsidia asked - always the pessimist.

"In that case...me, my husband, and Old Xia will take her on. There's no chance we will win, but at least we can buy some time,

" the woman replied.

"But let's hope for the best, and just assume she won't be there. We will first all have to infiltrate the movie theatre and enter the lab - to do so, we need someone to dress up as a custodian, putting up a sign in front of the female bathroom to prevent anyone from entering. We'll need a girl to fit this role, if possible.

"

"I can do it,

" Lan Xiao Su immediately raised her hand.

"U-Um, I'm kind of useless in actual fights, so...this is the least I can do!

"

Old Man Leng's wife nodded.

"Okay. We'll sneak people inside whenever no one is around. Once that is all done, getting through the actual defense mechanisms should not be too hard - with a hundred people flooding the facility, you can easily take care of the robots. As for the laser cannons...

"

"You can destroy the laser cannons by shooting at them with a powerful attack - most bullets won't work, but grenades and for example, sniper shots, probably will,

" I interrupted.

"I've done it once before by using one of the robots' shots to destroy the laser cannons.

"