Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Hoping We Get Closer (5)
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The van bumped and jolted along the straight road. Carmen stared stubbornly out the window, as if she had no intention of glancing my way even on this long haul, while I eyed the back of her head, locked in a bizarre battle of wills.
When we entered the tunnel, our reflections shone clearly in the window. Carmen sensed my gaze through the glass and flinched, her shoulders twitching as she turned to look the other way. As if she wouldn't even allow our eyes to meet in the reflection.
At her obvious efforts to show she disliked me, I shook my head and looked straight ahead.
"Wooow~."
Contrary to his cool, sly demeanor, the white long-haired man loved old pop tunes. He cranked up songs straight out of the '80s and '90s, humming along as he drove, making it impossible to imagine we were off on a secret mission.
For two kids heading out to nab some evil syndicate thugs, he didn't seem worried at all, which suggested he was pretty capable himself. But since I'd never seen his face in the original story, I had no clue what kind of guy he was.
Was he really the ability user who made this mask?
Or some character who vanished before the original timeline for mysterious reasons?
Either way, getting tangled up with him was a wildcard for me.
"What's up? Carsick?"
"No. It's nothing."
The long-haired man hummed along to his tune, playing oblivious, but he caught my stare like a ghost and whipped his eyes over. They flashed through the car window's glass. His gaze held a leisurely smile, but there wasn't a shred of amusement in it.
It felt like facing a sharp-eyed interviewer, so I dodged his look and turned back to Carmen. She shot me a displeased glare, as if to say what are you staring at, and looked away again. I eyed her nape, then flicked my gaze back to the man.
In this awkward exchange of glances, we made our way to the kindergarten tucked away in the mountains.
"Looks straight out of a horror flick."
Stepping out of the van, I grimaced at the rusted sign. [New Heart Kindergarten], dented and reeking of old iron. They called this a 'disguise' for a daycare? Talk about phoning it in.
Carmen tilted her head at my words and scooped up her mask. She smirked openly, like she was mocking me outright.
"So, scared? If you're too chicken, just sit back and watch. I'll go in and wreck the place."
"What if they've got guns inside?"
Carmen let out a scoff at my question. She glanced at the sign, then clenched her fist lightly.
The sign crumpled like tissue paper. Carmen turned back to me.
"Metal junk like that's no threat to me."
The long-haired man smiled at Carmen's cocky attitude.
"From our intel, they're not big enough to smuggle guns. At worst, they're packing baseball bats or chains—no real dangerous ability users. They're rowdy locals, but they bit off more than they could chew. Alright, masks on. I'll back you up from here. Don't sweat it if things get dicey."
With that, he pulled a folding chair and a pole from the trunk. He plopped down on the chair—straight out of a fishing trip—fiddled with the pole, and up popped a parasol with a round table attached. Sunglasses on, legs crossed, he poured himself some juice and said,
"Off you go."
Watching Carmen throw down right here might've been more fun, but no dice. To bond with her and earn the syndicate's trust, we had to wipe these guys out.
Problem was shining in front of metal-shredding Carmen. For now, tail her and figure it out.
Ah, I wanted to play nice.
Guess fists it is.
"Really feels like a horror movie set. Way too half-assed, right?"
As the entrance sign made clear, these gang goons lacked even basic common sense. The iron gate was rusted to hell, oozing menace, and the building peeking through had smashed windows and was half in ruins—no way kids lived there.
Through the bars, a few guys shot the breeze around a burning drum barrel. Piles of nail-studded bats and iron pipes nearby, with motorcycles lined up right beside them.
Time for some grown-up strategy. I turned to Carmen.
"First, scope the situation, count heads..."
"You just watch."
But Carmen cut me off. She slipped on her mask and swiftly swapped her crutches for prosthetic legs. The perception jammer mask at work? The heat haze around her made her look properly villainous as she reached out.
Carmen strode forward and swung her hand. The iron gate blocking our path crumpled in an instant, shattering with a deafening crash.
"What the hell! What's going on!"
"Fuck! Ability user! Told you not to poke the bear!"
"Don't wuss out—we got ability users too! Expensive hires!"
Ability users? That guy earlier said they had none.
But Carmen just tilted her head at the word, unimpressed, and swung her arm. The guy charging with an iron pipe watched in horror as it snaked around like a serpent, binding his limbs.
"Uwaaaak! Mercy! Don't break my bones!"
Carmen trussed him up tight with the pipe and rolled him aside. Another thug rushed her with a nail-studded bat.
"Uwaaaaa!"
But this caveman screamer had a hefty chain dangling from his waist. Carmen gave her hand a casual twist, and the chain began constricting him on its own.
"Kuaaaaaak!"
Staggering under the chain's wild grip, he dropped his bat and rolled across the ground, howling.
"R-run!"
"Aaaak!"
Another thug lunging at Carmen got smacked by a stray rolling pipe and bounced away. One trying to peel out on a bike got pinned under the bucking machine, flailing helplessly. The rest huddled in front of the kindergarten, shaking like leaves.
The [New Heart Kindergarten] sign overhead looked downright hilarious.
"Ah, it's over already."
And that's why I had no opening. Carmen's power was too overwhelming, the punks too pathetic. They couldn't even handle an ability user.
Carmen tilted her head, all casual.
"Quit the annoying resistance and surrender. If I wanted you dead, you'd be gone already."
But her polite warning didn't faze the thugs. They gritted their teeth, scanned around, and bellowed.
"Wh-what the hell are our ability guys doing! Get out here!"
What ability users? Carmen scanned the area, head cocked; I checked from a bit back—nothing. As she opened her mouth to retort, a voice rang out from thin air.
"Underestimate the Invisible Brothers, and you'll pay big time."
It came from right behind Carmen.
Carmen startled, starting to turn—just then, sparks flew from her side.
!
"Uwaaaak!"
Carmen's body shuddered violently before she crumpled to the ground. At the same moment, a slick, glassy shimmer materialized in the air, morphing into a human shape. A lightly dressed man appeared clutching a stun gun, yelling his head off.
"Don't you dare look down on us! Huh? Think telekinesis makes you hot shit? I hate bitches like you who strut on powers alone!"
"Nice one! Invisible Brothers!"
Ah, dangerous.
The thugs whooped and drew their weapons. Carmen was down harder than expected, unable to rise. Her prosthetic metal bits had disassembled into useless scraps. The guy calling himself one of the Invisible Brothers drew a knife from his belt.
"Stop!"
I bolted forward in shock. Invisible Bro smirked at me.
"Biiig sis. It's Invisible Brothers. Bros!"
Bros?
It took a second to click.
Meaning two invisible guys.
One took down Carmen. The other...
A presence stirred behind me.
A black shadow bloomed suddenly on the ground. I whipped around—a guy built like the first one stood there, bat raised.
He hollered cheerfully.
"Night-night!"
And swung the bat at me with everything he had.
Was I about to go lights out too?
I hunched reflexively.
!
The bat shattered with a crisp snap.
It felt like getting tapped by a wooden chopstick. I winced.
The guy gawked at the splintered bat, then me. Alternating.
Thugs. The other invisible. All staring blankly.
I glanced between the wood chips on my clothes and the guy, then lightly grabbed his hand.
"Uh, u-uhh!"
Finally clocking it, he shrieked and tried to bolt. I gave his hand a casual twist.
!
"Kuaaaaaak! Aaaaaak!"
Am I a little strong too?