Poseidon in Arknights

“In that case…” Xi Yue took out three more crystals from her trench coat and tossed them to the Rat King, “Consider this a small expense I’m covering for the performance.”

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

“It’s just a small thing.” Yuzuki shook her head. “Alright, I should go now. Exusiai and the others are being chased quite hard.”

"Should I call them and tell them to stop, or should I have someone take you home?"

"No need, I'm actually quite happy~" Yuzuki waved her hand, "Besides, I'm not even here."

Before the Rat King and Mostima could ask any questions, Yuuki waved to them and disappeared in front of them in a cloud of mist.

-------

Bison hid behind his shield, deflecting the thrown bricks: "Haa, haa, are those guys also members of the Mafia? How much longer do we have to run?"

Exusiai dodged the baseball bat the opponent swung at her and knocked him down with the butt of her gun: "Obviously not. Maybe they're just some thugs we've had a grudge against before. There are too many of them. If we don't want to remember them, we can just run away. We can always shake them off."

Bison pointed behind him: "But I just saw a guy rush out with a rolling pin in his hand..."

"That's how fights usually go, you rarely come to the slums," Exusiai chuckled mischievously. "Because you're so careless, you sometimes roll your teeth and blood into the dough, and then get terrible reviews from customers, especially when you bite someone's teeth..."

Bison quickly interjected, "There's no need for such dramatic flair!"

"Hmm." Texas kicked away a scavenger who rushed at her, then shook her head as she watched him struggle on the ground.

Croissant glanced over there: "Did you overdo it?"

"No problem~" Kong dodged a rolling pin and then knocked the man down with the short stick in his hand. "This is self-defense, no problem!"

"Yuzuki, can you stop looking so relaxed every time? Why don't you try to lend a hand?" Exusiai dodged a brick and flashed behind Yuzuki.

"It's not an emergency~" Yuuki patted Exusiai's head.

"I think this is a very urgent situation!" Exusiai followed closely behind Yuuki. "But why aren't you getting attacked?"

"Who knows~"

He clutched the spot where he'd just been hit by a water bottle: "Instead of this, we should focus on dealing with the new enemy first..."

"So what exactly is going on?" Croissant blocked a brick. "Could this be retaliation for our loud noise disturbing the peace before?"

Exusiai nodded seriously upon hearing this: "That's possible."

Hearing their discussion, Bison almost slipped: "Is that even possible?! Are slums really such violent places?"

Croissant looked at Bison's exaggerated reaction and laughed, casually saying, "No fight, no friendship. Fist to fist is the oldest and most effective means of communication."

Suddenly, everyone around stopped moving and scattered to the side. The person who was using everyday items as weapons simply wiped the dust off them and took them back.

"Oh, looks like you've calmed down?" Croissant looked around to make sure everyone had left, then put down her hammer and shield and stretched her shoulders, which were quite tired today.

Texas pulled her phone out of her pocket: "There's been a call, it's the boss."

"Hello~?" The Emperor's voice came through the phone, "Did you have fun? Did anyone lose an arm or a leg or anything?"

“However, with Yuuki by your side, this shouldn’t be a problem.” The Emperor paused and continued, “Alright, listen to me.”

Bison glanced at the phone in Texas's hand and muttered to himself, "...Mr. Emperor, did you buy a lot of insurance?"

“The best insurance is here~” Yuzuki raised her hand in response to Bison’s comment.

The Emperor ignored the two clowns and continued, "There's a Requiem Festival carnival on Gulu Street tonight. It's just a bunch of low-brow marketing events."

"But I suddenly decided to participate in that event, as a great musician."

"Bringing some classy noise to Lungmen. They're so grateful they're already kneeling downstairs in neat rows." Cheers seemed to come from the background of the Emperor. "As for your task, just follow behind me and wipe out those idiots who claim they're going to solve Penguin Logistics."

"Do you understand? Do you understand? Good! That's it!"

"...He hung up." Texas silently put away the phone.

Croissant stroked her chin: "Why does this feel so familiar?"

He coughed twice: "...Anyway, we should go to that party, right?"

"Okay, let's go!" Exusiai didn't care about anything else and seemed very excited. She probably only heard the word "revelry" in her ears.

————The alleyways of the slums————

Capone sat on a trash can, cleaning sand from his crossbow: "Sand, Originium Arts, magic, humph."

Capone shook his head, finding his previous thoughts laughable: "That makes sense. A monster that controls the dark side of Lungmen can't just be a pretty face."

"Does Mr. Capone mean...?"

Capone looked at his men: "Of course, they're the people we shouldn't mess with, what else?"

"The Rat King? But wouldn't we have to deal with the leader, Penguin Logistics, and... all at the same time?"

Capone looked up, smiled, and sighed. "There's still half a Lungmen to go. That's right, the situation is not optimistic, so we can't afford to make a single wrong move."

Capone seemed to have finally cleared the sand from his crossbow, lifted it up, nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring, and pointed it at the gangster who had just asked the question.

The gangster pointed at, seeing the cold arrow, quickly retreated: "Mr. Capone, what are you doing? Please put the crossbow down!"

Capone stared coldly at the person before him: "Do you really think betraying your family is a trivial matter?"

“Those who were willing to follow me and settle down in Lungmen, those who were prepared to betray Gambino to survive, I remember every single one of their faces.” Capone pulled the trigger. “And you are not among them, Gambino’s lackey, die.”

Looking at the man who had been stabbed, Capone calmly drew back the bowstring and looked to the side: "Get out here."

Gambino glanced at the gangster who had been shot dead, then looked at Capone, who was pointing a crossbow at him: "I thought you were just an ungrateful bastard, but it seems you're quite good at winning people over."

Capone looked at Gambino: "Speaking of which, you're the one who taught me this."

Gambino raised an eyebrow: "How come I don't remember?"

Capone took a deep breath: "You once won my loyalty, but if you disappoint me again, I won't repeat the same mistake."

Gambino's gaze toward Capone grew increasingly fierce: "You should understand what betrayal means."

Capone took a deep breath as he looked at Gambino’s fierce eyes, and said seriously, “Betrayal is Syracuse’s most sordid crime, but unfortunately, the honor you uphold is worthless in Lungmen.”

Gambino tossed something to Capone from his clasped hands: "Take this."

Capone reached out and caught a glimpse of the object from the corner of his right eye. After seeing it clearly, he frowned: "The Jack of Spades?"

“I told you, you’re too slow at hiding your cards!” Gambino said as he pounced on Capone the moment his attention was slightly diverted.

Capone watched as Gambino dodged Gambino's sword strike and then kicked him away: "Your sword has become duller, Gambino. Were you injured in the battle with Penguin Logistics? Or has an old wound reopened?"

Gambino grabbed the wall and stood up: "Your cowardice chills me to the bone. I'm just considering what kind of bloody end is appropriate for a traitor."

Capone looked at the stubborn Gambino and raised the crossbow in his hand: "Now, you are the superfluous card."

Capone looked at Gambino, who had dodged the arrows with a roll, and asked, "And then? What are you planning to do? Defeat Penguin Logistics, defeat the Rat King, defeat the Lungmen Guard, and then defeat Wei Yanwu?"

Capone's voice gradually rose: "Since we're going to dream anyway, might as well not wake up!"

Gambino stared intently at Capone, whose face was contorted with rage: "Don't worry, at least I'll send your ashes back to Syracuse. Or, let your homeland grind your remains to dust."

"Try it if you dare, and maybe I'll do the same to you!"

Just then, a gangster shouted from the alleyway entrance: "Halt! Who are you... ugh!!!"

Just as Gambino turned his head, a figure flew over: "What?!"

Capone glanced at the gangsters groaning in pain on the ground, then looked up at the alleyway entrance: "Looks like someone's causing trouble."

Gambino stood up and looked towards the alley entrance: "...It was my fault for not killing you sooner, but let's welcome the outsider first."

Chapter 45: The Law of Noise (Part 8)

———Longmen City, Square, Open-air Party———

Bison looked at the crowded streets around him: "We followed the instructions, but why... is it an open-air party?"

Exusiai carefully placed the gun down and pointed to the huge candle in the distance: "See that candle? It's huge!"

"Exusiai, be quiet." Texas patted Exusiai's head and sniffed. "The air smells too sweet, it's a little uncomfortable."

Croissant looked at the huge crowd around her and said, "Hmm... if I apply for a stall here next time, I should make a lot of money."

Kong leaned closer to Texas: "Texas, is there any news from the boss?"

"Not yet, maybe he's just drunk somewhere." Texas shook her head, then suddenly fell silent, looking at Exusiai with a wicked grin on her face.

"...Exusiai, take that thing off my head."

"Why?!" Exusiai smiled at Texas's tall party hat, pointing to the halo on her own head. "I can't wear such a tall party hat because of this fluorescent light, you know? I'm so envious!"

Sora looked up at the dazzling halo above Exusiai's head, and out of curiosity, she took one from the person distributing them next to her: "What would happen if I forced myself to wear it?"

Exusiai looked at the hat in her empty hand, took a step back, and pointed to the halo above her head, explaining, "It's like waking up from a hangover and finding yourself riding along in the passenger seat of Texas."

Croissant stroked her chin: "...That's really something."

Kong put down the hat in his hand: "You know so much about it, you haven't actually tried it, have you?"

Exusiai coughed twice, pretending to look around: "So, where is the boss?"

Looking at the massive crowd around him, Bison's expression turned worried: "There are too many people here. If the enemy catches up here, they'll drag the ordinary people into it..."

Looking at the floats in the distance, Xi Yue casually replied, "It's alright, don't worry, no ordinary people will get hurt."

"what."

"...It's you, Penguin Logistics."

Texas turned around at the sound and looked at the little tiger: "I remember you are... the part-time worker at that detective agency..."

Exusiai also turned her head and saw Jie standing to the side: "Is this the legendary branch leader who travels the docks alone with a sword?"

Jie quickly waved his hand and said, "No, uh, how can there be such an exaggerated version..."

"I'm just an ordinary small vendor, and tonight I'm also working part-time as a fish ball maker."

"You're Texas?" Huaihu stared intently at Texas. "Don't tell me you don't know what happened tonight."

Jie tugged at Huaihu: "Huaihu, there's no need to be so aggressive. They're probably just..."

Huaihu nodded: "I know. But these kinds of incidents happen so often it's almost comical."

"If it doesn't involve others, that's fine." Huaihu stared intently at the Penguin Logistics group in front of him, "By harming innocent people and causing them to suffer property losses, don't you have any sense of responsibility as law-abiding citizens?"

Texas just ate her Pocky without saying a word.

Compared to Texas, who stood by with an indifferent expression, Bison looked somewhat embarrassed: 'It seems I have absolutely no way to refute this!'