Chapter 183: Coincidence (8)
Chapter 183: Coincidence (8)
Sitri, who had been momentarily flustered, quickly regained her composure.
She was a veteran of countless shadow wars and battles. While the unexpected turn of events had startled her, the situation had actually shifted in a favorable direction.
This guy seems pretty strong…
Sitri had watched Han Shin take down the Triad members in an instant. His punches and kicks weren't wild swings; they were incredibly precise and efficient.
He’s no ordinary person…
She was certain he wasn't a civilian but at least an Awakener. Naturally, Sitri began to scrutinize him.
His face was remarkably average, and his physique didn't look like that of a warrior at all. He was, quite literally, a plain, unremarkable man.
Sitri felt a nagging sense of incongruity.
Regardless of race, it was common knowledge that the bodies of Awakeners with supernatural abilities were optimized for combat. This trait was most prominent in humans, and Sitri had faced many of them while leading the vanguard for the Evil God.
Because she knew the clear difference between an ordinary human and an Awakener, the man before her eyes felt far too normal. He seemed to have no muscle to speak of, and his presence felt so mundane that it left her with a lingering, peculiar sense of unease.
Han Shin, seeing Sitri staring at him without calling for Public Security or the lobby staff, wondered what was going on in her head.
Is she just in shock? Hmm… but she’s staring right at me. What is it?
It was a bit overwhelming to have such a stunningly beautiful woman staring intensely at him.
Well… I’m using a Perception Distortion Artifact, so there’s no way she’ll figure out my identity.
Grace had told him that he would appear as a perfectly ordinary person to others and that their memories of him wouldn't linger. Grace had never been wrong before; she was practically his mentor, and having experienced the artifact's effects several times already, his trust in it was immense.
However, neither Grace nor Han Shin had anticipated this specific situation.
The person staring intently at Han Shin was Sitri, one of the highest-ranking demons serving under Asmodeus. Although her current condition was poor—having lost her Dark Mana and her physical strength—her instincts remained sharp.
Sitri felt a sense of incongruity from Han Shin despite the Perception Distortion Artifact.
Because they were standing close and facing each other, and because Sitri had already recognized Han Shin’s powerful presence, the artifact’s effect failed to work on her.
Han Shin had experienced no one paying attention to him or Kang Yujin while scouting downtown Shanghai earlier that day, but the Perception Distortion Artifact was certainly not infallible.
He had used force to save Sitri from what he perceived as an urgent crisis. Since Sitri had witnessed the entire fight, she clearly recognized Han Shin as an Awakener with great power. It was only natural for her to find it strange that he looked like a complete civilian.
Unaware that the purple-haired woman before him was a demon or that she felt a sense of unease regarding him, Han Shin reached a mistaken conclusion: that Sitri was simply terrified.
I guess she’s scared and wary of me because of what just happened…
It felt a bit bitter to be met with wariness when he had stepped in out of pure goodwill, but he understood.
"If you're uncomfortable with me being here, I'll wait outside the door."
"Oh, no. You helped me; how could I think that? It's just that it's my first time here, and I wasn't sure what to do…"
Han Shin found Sitri’s flustered reaction somewhat cute. Her waist-length purple hair swayed as she shook her head, her panic evident.
Since I’ve already stepped in, I might as well see it through. She did say it’s her first time here…
Han Shin immediately called the hotel to report the situation.
Before long, hotel staff rushed upstairs. They found the Triad members sprawled from the hallway into the room, along with their fellow employee, Tsushuan.
It was a major incident: a hotel employee had conspired with outsiders to attempt the rape of a guest. An emergency was declared, and the hotel management held an urgent meeting to decide how to handle the fallout.
Off-duty employees and even the owner rushed back to the hotel, receiving reports and inspecting the scene personally.
Their first move was to relocate Sitri to a different floor. It was obvious she couldn't stay in that room anymore, and as a victim who had narrowly escaped a horrific crime, the hotel provided her with their finest suite.
Coincidentally, it was Room 809—right next to Room 808, where Han Shin’s group was staying.
After a brief meeting, the hotel management decided not to involve Public Security. They knew all too well that even if they reported it, the Triad would likely bribe the officials, making it difficult to secure real punishment.
Furthermore, if they handed these men over to Public Security without notifying the Triad, the organization might ignore the fact that their own members had disgraced them and instead harass the hotel out of spite. If Triad members started loitering in the hotel and causing trouble, business would plummet.
Instead, they contacted the Triad first. They informed them that their members had conspired with a hotel employee to break in and attempt to assault a woman, only to be caught.
The Triad immediately sent people to collect their men. They expressed gratitude to the hotel for coming to them instead of Public Security. For the Triad, it was best to bury such matters quietly.
Having heard that their men were neutralized by a single individual, the Triad assumed they had simply been unlucky enough to run into a powerful Awakener and quickly settled the matter to avoid further complications.
They brought a briefcase of cash to Sitri as hush money. Sitri, who happened to need cash, accepted it.
During the process, the Triad executive who negotiated with Sitri understood why his subordinates had tried such a thing.
Stupid bastards. They should have handled it properly.
Even he was struck by the woman’s beauty. He cursed inwardly, not because of the crime, but because his men had been pathetic enough to get crushed by an Awakener and lose such a high-quality woman. If they had succeeded, he might have been able to enjoy her himself.
Vowing to deal with everyone from Zhang Wei to Tsushuan once he returned, the Triad executive withdrew. He felt a surge of greed to do something to Sitri himself, but since a powerful Awakener—one his men couldn't even describe properly—was involved, he reluctantly gave up on the idea.
★ ★ ★
The hotel staff and the Triad members eventually finished their business and left.
Sitri lay on the bed in her new room, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Unexpectedly, she now had Earth currency, so she didn't have to worry about hotel expenses. She had also been worried about her identity being discovered, but the hotel hadn't made any such demands yet.
The hotel was currently in an uproar over the employee's misconduct. Their top priority was ensuring the incident didn't leak to the outside world while they re-vetted their internal staff. For one of Shanghai’s top hotels, such an event was a disgrace and would be a major weakness if their competitors found out.
Sitri thought about how to use this situation to create an identity, adapt to this world, and contact other Demonic Humans.
Hmm… but how do I create an identity…
Sitri hit a wall at the very first step. She agonized over it, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the man who had just helped her.
She had reached the conclusion that he was an Awakener hiding his identity despite his ordinary appearance. She had seen through the fact that his face wasn't his real one and that he was using an artifact to deceive others. Initially, this had made her wary.
Could he have planned this whole thing to get to me?
However, Han Shin hadn't tried anything. As soon as the hotel took over and the situation was being handled, he had left immediately.
Sitri realized her final suspicions had been a mistake, and she felt a sudden pang of guilt toward the man who had saved her.
Sitri had never really felt "sorry" toward anyone before, but after losing the subordinates who followed her in the dimensional rift, she had begun to experience such emotions.
Realizing she hadn't even properly thanked him—and that she didn't know his name or his real face—Sitri couldn't shake the feeling of regret.