Arriving in their neighborhood with a couple minutes to spare, Lin Songmei leaned against a wall, closing her eyes and concentrating on her breathing as everyone else did their own recovery process.
Yan Mingqing, Han Youhong, and Zhao Liying, from what she could see, were in pretty good shape. Wang Taigang, on the other hand, seemed to have died a little inside during their run. Songmei wasn’t sure though, of course—maybe Taigang’s preferred recovery position was the splayed-out-on-the-ground starfish.
Cracking her eyes open, Songmei looked around. Like many of the contested neighborhoods where battles took place, everything was falling apart. The buildings were cracked and tilted, the windows devoid of any glass, and the roofs and walls were caved in.
And... for some reason, Songmei couldn’t see a single door. Maybe they were just too inefficient. Maybe people preferred a more direct connection to the outside world...
With a long street all to themselves, Songmei stretched a bit, pulled out her now well-worn bow, strumming the string a few times as everyone else went through their own pre-fight routines. Walking over to Taigang, Songmei helped him off the ground, asking “What’s the plan? Are we just going with the usual?”
“Yeah, it’s tried and true, I don’t see why not. Just be on alert, I don’t like what the mayor hinted at.” Taigang nodded, talking loud enough for everyone to hear. “Everyone got it?”
Crossing his arms and nodding as everyone replied with their confirmation, Taigang shrugged. “Alright, let’s get going then.”
Jogging off to her customary position, Songmei looked around for a stable building near the center of the street. Channeling Qi into her legs, Songmei, still in stride, leapt up without much difficulty, camping out as she loosened up her arms.
Taigang did have a good point, the mayor seemed... vindictive. Today, for one reason or another, Songmei felt, was going to change the course of many lives in the city. A day of reckoning.
Still, even after Avarice’s failure, not even the people from the sect managed to do anything major. Avarice was still up and about, running without a care in the world. Songmei couldn’t see how the mayor and Wrath were going to achieve a different result...
Snapping an iridescent, crystal arrow into existence, Songmei grinned. Her crystal generation practice had begun to bore its fruit. No longer would Songmei ever need another quiver. Her arrow supply, at least, was now just powered by her Qi.
Twirling the arrow in her fingers, Songmei looked around, beginning her job as the scout as Mingqing, Youhong, Taigang, and Liying took their own positions near the edges of the neighborhood.
“Anyone have any sightings?” Mingqing’s voice buzzed to life through the call everyone was connected to. “I don’t see anyone.”
“I don’t see anyone either,” Songmei added, speaking into the terminal on her wrist as she scanned every direction and dimension around her. “Taigang and Youhong, anyone on your side?”
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“Not yet,” Youhong reported as the distinctive sound of footsteps crunching against gravel was also passed through the call. “Just stay alert I guess...”
Sighing as the neighborhood seemed deserted, Songmei tapped her feet, cycling her Qi into her legs, preparing to run towards whichever side reported an enemy first. Tugging her jacket forward, Songmei stared off into the sky, bow still in one hand, arrow in the other.
Just as her mind began to wander back towards lunch plans, Songmei was yanked back into the present as Mingqing and Liying’s voice came through the call, reporting a swarm of land bound enemies—both human and machine.
“Alright, alright, let’s get this party started,” Songmei laughed, spinning on her heel and breaking into a run. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Songmei channeled more Qi to strengthen her legs and keep in stride as she burst forward with superhuman speed.
Being the first wave of reinforcements, Songmei whistled as arrived, unlike usual, she could spot a couple of actual cultivators at the back of the pack, directing its movements to try and wear down Mingqing and Liying.
“Reporting, some cultivators in the back, not usual underling help, but hired help like us.” Songmei reported, coming to a skidding stop and planting her feet.
Pulling her bow back until it was taut, Songmei let loose a crystal arrow, lasering it towards the back of the pack. Snapping another arrow into existence, Songmei chuckled as Taigang’s voice came through the call. “Today’s really important then, if Avarice is willing to spend money to hire attackers not just defenders.”
“Yeah, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised if we’re called to support another neighborhood once we’re done here.” Youhong added with a long sigh. “We’ll be there in a couple of seconds.”
Letting loose another couple of arrows from her rooftop, Songmei shook her head as the cultivators in the back noticed her presence. Jumping down from the rooftop, Songmei disappeared from her spot as a couple of long range attacks landed where she was just standing.
Making her way across the street to leap onto the other rooftops, Songmei paused for a second, watching as a shining golden and an inky black figure bolted past her eyes. With Taigang being able to use his primary sun technique across most of his body now, Songmei whistled as she watched a golden sun bulldoze its way deep into the enemy lines.
Leaping up onto the rooftop, Songmei let loose another couple of laser beams—well, arrows, but same difference—as she watched Youhong’s figure blend into a haze and disappear.
Clenching her hands, Songmei focused up. It was her job to occupy and distract the party in the back so they didn’t direct the army with manual directions. Songmei was... pretty sure she knew them too. They were from the Flame Ocean Palace who kept trying to get with her or Mingqing.
Peeling back the restriction Xueli had placed onto her eyes just a touch—to the safe levels Xueli had allowed her to—Songmei confirmed their identities with their Qi signatures.
“What are they doing here...”
At least they’d be easy to beat. Tracking them with the Qi steaming off their bodies, Songmei squinted her now amethyst-colored eyes, letting loose arrow after arrow towards the idle party in the back.
Reinforcing her arrows to enhance their strength, piercing power, and speed, Songmei grinned as she tore through the lines of machines guarding the party.
Sigh.
With her arrows now scattered across the ground deflected by the party, Songmei could only spare a thought of remorse. She had fought them before, had they forgotten?
Channeling a whirlpool’s worth of Qi into her fist, Songmei clenched it, pressing her lips together as she detonated the scattered arrows. Sending crystal shards beaming out in every direction, Songmei channeled more Qi into the distant arrows, tucking herself behind a wall as she left herself vulnerable for a moment.
By using more Qi, Songmei could keep her arrows non-lethal. The shards, instead of piercing, with the addition of her Qi, melted upon impact, expanding into larger blocks of crystal to immobilize, distract, and slow down the opposing party.