Sitting beside your mortal enemy while they vow to kill you is... thrilling.
But Luoshu's focus was on "The God."
That earlier remark—"That's need-to-know"—hinted the old man knew his origins.
I don't even know who I am, but you do?
Irony.
Your enemy knows you best.
Luoshu longed to crack open "The God's" skull and dig out the truth.
But if even Barbie wasn't trusted with it, he'd never hear it voluntarily.
The Chase Continues
The van reached the Temple of Heaven.
"The God" opened a spatial tunnel to the New Atlantis lakeside castle, then another to Dushanbe Airport.
Luoshu shadowed them the entire way.
Dushanbe, despite being a capital, had an airport the size of a Chinese county bus station.
Four airlines. Handful of flights.
From the entrance, Luoshu could see most of the terminal—including Achilles' Heel operatives guarding every exit.
Now came the problem:
If Luoshu searched for Aeolus, he'd leave "The God's" Hume shadow, exposing himself to satellites.
So he stuck close, letting "The God" mask his presence.
Aeolus, if smart, would stay hidden.
Abnormal Lord's drawback: When borrowing a subject's power, they revert to normal.
Abnormal Friend was superior—allowing simultaneous ability use without weakening the source.
Maybe after this, I'll talk to Aeolus and IR1901 about friendship upgrades.
Hide and Seek
Aeolus's stealth skills were top-tier—honed as Achilles' Heel's intel officer.
"The God's" team scoured the airport but found nothing.
Good for Aeolus, but time was running out.
Luoshu's Unobservability and Perception Block wouldn't last forever.
He dialed Aeolus's payphone.
Across the terminal, a coin-operated phone rang.
No one answered.
"The God" zeroed in on it, marching to the service desk.
Luoshu hung up—lest "The God" hear his voice from thin air.
Aeolus was here.
But where?
The service desk had:
Two airport staff.
Aeolus sandwiched between them—invisible via Reverse Warping.
"The God" looked right at him but saw nothing.
Aeolus screamed internally:
"My Lord! Where are you? Save me!"
Luoshu, standing beside "The God," scanned the area—equally blind to Aeolus.
The farthest distance: Face to face, yet unseen.
The Master's Gambit
With the call trail dead, "The God" stalled—until Barbie consulted "The Master."
His advice:
"Redial the payphone. Trace the caller."
Aeolus panicked, nearly breaking stealth.
But Luoshu's phone was encrypted—no traces.
"The Master" pivoted:
"Encrypted call = Aeolus is nearby. Flush him out."
Barbie barked:
"Aeolus! Ten seconds to surrender, or I shred this place!"
Her body hazed—prepping spatial fragmentation.
Aeolus was cornered.
Unlike Luoshu, he couldn't dual-wield abilities.
Reverse Warping meant any sudden move = exposure.
As Barbie's countdown hit "5," she snarled at the staff:
"Scram if you value your lives!"
Then—
**The service desk exploded into pixels.