196: Gentiana Kobayashi

The girl's reaction was startlingly fast.

Almost the instant she saw the suspended bullets and the back of the man standing before her, she was like a small animal that had finally found sanctuary after being startled, scurrying behind the man and tightly clutching a small piece of his clothing.

The spicy and fierce attitude from a moment ago vanished instantly, and her voice suddenly became soft and urgent, carrying a perfectly timed tremble:

“Kind big brother! You—you must not believe them! They... they run an illegal Casino, they want to steal my things, and... and they want to kidnap me...” She peeked out half her face; her golden eyes were misty, looking terrified and innocent, completely devoid of the ferocity she had shown when swinging the sack earlier.

“Kid!” The scarred leader of the thugs suppressed the chill rising in his heart from that bizarre scene and shouted with false bravado, his gun slightly raised but not daring to pull the trigger again, “I'm warning you, if you're smart, get lost! That little broad took something from our Casino, it's in black and white... uh, anyway, we're in the right! This might be Guitar, but there are damn rules here too!”

His gaze was fixed on the man's hand hanging casually at his side—the three suspended bullets had, at some point, fallen into the man's palm. They were silently melting into dark red, glowing molten iron between his fingers, slowly writhing and changing shape like living creatures before finally condensing into an unremarkable small iron bead. He casually tossed it onto the ground, making a soft 'clack' sound.

The large man's Adam's apple bobbed violently as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva that tasted of rust.

This technique was unheard of; this was definitely not a character to be trifled with.

The thugs behind him also showed fear, subconsciously taking half a step back. The machetes and iron rods in their hands seemed to become heavy.

However, what made the scarred man's heart sink was that the man before him was completely indifferent to their threats of 'rules,' not even bothering to lift an eyelid. The other's silence was more oppressive than any threat.

Above the man's other partially closed palm, several light fragments, thin as a cicada's wing yet flowing with a cold, chilling glow, were bobbing up and down silently, as if they were just a few points of suspended starlight.

He casually crooked his finger and gave a light flick.

Whoosh—

A blade of light suddenly vanished, turning into a flowing shadow almost impossible for the naked eye to catch, skimming across the ground past the group of thugs.

“Ah—!”

“My hair!”

Exclamations and cries of fear rang out simultaneously. More than a dozen fierce-looking men felt a chill on the tops of their heads and instinctively scurried away in panic, checking each other frantically—they saw that in the center of everyone's head, the originally thick hair had been shaved off at the root, leaving a smooth 'Middle-Aged Baldness' patch. The edges were as neat as if measured by a ruler, yet the scalp wasn't harmed in the slightest.

This terrifyingly precise control over power made everyone's hearts skip a beat with fear.

“Spare—spare our lives! Great one! We're leaving! Leaving right now!” The scarred man no longer had a shred of ferocity. He dropped his handgun, then hurriedly picked it up, leading a group of subordinates with ridiculous hairstyles as they scrambled and crawled toward the other end of the alley, vanishing in the blink of an eye, leaving only a few strands of cut hair swirling on the ground.

The crisis was resolved.

The girl hiding behind the man poked her head out, and after confirming those guys were truly far away, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She immediately stepped out from behind the man, the fear on her face gone, replaced by a lively and somewhat admiring expression. She familiarly reached out and patted the man's back—the action was as natural as if they had known each other for a long time.

“Wow! Amazing, big brother!” Her golden eyes were sparkling as she sized up the mysterious and powerful man before her. “A few swishes and you scared them shitless! This hair-cutting skill... uh, no, this special move of yours is too cool!”

“Oho, I see an acquaintance.” The man seemed completely unbothered by the girl's patting and compliments. His gaze swept over the alley entrance where the thugs had disappeared, and he chuckled to himself with a hint of playfulness. “I didn't touch them, but... it seems like I've been 'caught' by an acquaintance.”

Only then did he turn around to face the girl, who was still in an excited state, and calmly called out her name: “Kobayashi Rindō, come with me.”

The smile on the girl's face froze instantly, as if she had been doused with ice water. Her golden pupils constricted suddenly, and her body instinctively tensed up. The familiar closeness from a moment ago vanished, replaced by a beast-like vigilance.

He knows my name!

This thought exploded in her mind like an alarm bell. Without any hesitation, she shoved the man's chest hard, intending to use the force to bolt in the opposite direction—this was a near-instinctive crisis response she had developed surviving in Guitar: stay away from any stranger who knows your background!

However, her movements were fast, but the man's were faster.

Without even seeing how he moved, she felt the collar at the back of her neck tighten, and her entire person was hauled back by an irresistible force.

Rippp—!

The fabric, already fragile from previous tearing, completely disintegrated under this sudden pull, exposing a large patch of fair skin to the cool air.

“Eek—!” The girl cried out, no longer caring about escaping. She hurriedly crossed her arms to cover her chest and looked up at the man with shame and anger, her golden eyes almost spitting fire. “You! Bastard!”

Lin Luo hadn't expected the clothes to be so flimsy. He gave a light cough and looked away, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment: “Sorry, I didn't mean to.” He paused and added, “My name is Lin Luo. I came here... specifically to find you. We are fellow countrymen, trust me.”

As he spoke, a white light flashed in his palm, and a neatly folded set of high-quality girl's school uniforms appeared—it was the iconic style of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy.

Kobayashi Rindō, who was about to burst into a torrent of abuse, saw the familiar uniform, and her insults got stuck in her throat. The anger in her eyes faded slightly, turning into suspicion: “Eh? How... how do you have a Tōtsuki uniform?”

“Oh, this belongs to Erina.” Lin Luo gave a simple explanation, and with another flash of white light, the uniform disappeared. Next, he took out a large unisex coat, shook it open, and handed it over. “Put this on to cover up for now.”

Kobayashi Rindō hesitated, seeing that the other person indeed seemed to have no further hostility, and then looked at her own disheveled state. She bit her lip and finally took the coat that carried an unfamiliar scent, quickly throwing it over her shoulders and wrapping herself up tightly.

“No way...” Just as she followed Lin Luo out of that chaotic alleyway, Kobayashi Rindō's gaze fell upon a group of people on a nearby street corner.

When she clearly saw the man surrounded in the middle—his face covered in crisscrossing scars and possessing a fierce aura—her heart skipped a beat. She instinctively shrank her neck and quickly pulled up the hood of the coat Lin Luo had given her, tightly covering her conspicuous red hair, only revealing a small part of her face. Her eyes darted around, clearly showing her guilt.

Lin Luo keenly noticed her small movements. He glanced at her sideways and asked in a low, slightly surprised voice: “What, that guy... you know him too?”

“I don't! I don't know him at all!” Kobayashi Rindō shook her head frantically, her voice pressed extremely low, wishing she could hide her entire body in Lin Luo's shadow.

Lin Luo raised an eyebrow and didn't press further. Instead, he called out toward that direction: “Machi!”

At the street corner, the scarred man known as Machi had his hands in his pockets, expressionlessly watching his subordinates efficiently tie up the group of thugs that had surrounded Kobayashi Rindō—including the 'Middle-Aged Baldness' leader—like a string of rice dumplings with thick rope.

Hearing the shout, he turned to look. On his originally stern and cold face, a genuine and restrained smile actually appeared the moment he saw Lin Luo.

He gestured for his subordinates to continue while he stepped forward to meet them.

“Mr. Lin Luo,” Machi's voice was deep and raspy, but it carried obvious respect, “I didn't expect to meet you here.”

His gaze then naturally fell on the tightly wrapped figure behind Lin Luo, who was trying hard to minimize her presence, feeling she looked a bit familiar.

“Ah! It's this person!” One of Machi's underlings behind him, who was sharp-eyed, suddenly pointed at the hooded figure behind Lin Luo trying to stay hidden and shouted indignantly.

Lin Luo's brow twitched as he looked at Kobayashi Rindō: “You know each other?”

The underling rushed to complain, his face full of heartache: “More than just knowing! It's her! She stole an entire truck of our food supplies! That was food we specifically collected to distribute to the children who are starving in the northern slums!”

Machi raised his hand, stopping his subordinate from continuing to shout, and said calmly: “That's enough.”

Lin Luo was somewhat surprised. He turned to look at Kobayashi Rindō, who had buried her head even lower, and teased: “Life's been that rough? You've been reduced to stealing food meant for children?”

“What do you know!” Kobayashi Rindō suddenly looked up, her golden eyes wide under the hood as she retorted huffily, “In this hellhole, food is the hardest currency! It's the most precious thing! Besides... I didn't steal it for my own enjoyment!” Her voice carried defiance, but also a trace of hidden stubbornness.

Machi nodded, confirming her statement: “She's telling the truth. We checked, and the majority of the food she took was indeed distributed to the orphans and drifters near her area of activity.”

The underling next to him, however, looked like he was about to cry, clutching his head and wailing: “Boss! The point is... the point is that on that truck, there was also a small jar of 'century soup' that I worked so hard to get and hid so well! This person... also dug it out and drank it!”

Hearing this, Kobayashi Rindō tilted her head and reminisced for a moment. Under the hood, she seemed to lick her lips and muttered: “Oh... that soup in the pretty box. It was indeed... super delicious. Thinking back on it now, I still miss the flavor.”

“You—!” The underling was so angry he started jumping, his face turning red, but Machi swept a glance over him, and he could only swallow his words, looking as aggrieved as a two-hundred-pound child.

Lin Luo couldn't help but laugh at the scene and said to Machi: “How about this, I'll settle this 'debt' for her. As for that century soup...” He paused, “I'll have Erina prepare some more later as compensation.”

A flash of understanding crossed Machi's eyes. He looked between Lin Luo and Kobayashi Rindō, deep in thought: “The two of you are...?”

Lin Luo smiled and said succinctly: “Fellow countrymen.”

Machi nodded and didn't ask further. He turned to Lin Luo with a more serious expression: “Did Mr. Lin Luo come to the Guitar Kingdom for something important? Our 'Gourmet Gang' has some Foundation here; perhaps we can help.”

Lin Luo waved his hand: “Nothing major, I just came to find her. Now that she's found, things are basically settled.”

“I see.” A smile appeared on Machi's face, carrying the characteristic boldness of a man of the Jianghu. “Since you're here, as the host, I must show some hospitality. Mr. Lin Luo, and this... Miss Kobayashi, why not let me make some arrangements so you can properly 'experience' the 'local customs' of Guitar? The safe parts, of course.” He added specifically, his gaze carrying a hint of sincerity that was hard to refuse.