He tore through the Holy Grail War, and you still call him a dragon?

The orders given to these men were simple: guard the perimeter and make sure no one from the Chen family escaped. Also, follow the command of the person appointed by the Wamiko.

Command... but what was there to command? At most, they'd just be reminded not to let anyone slip past.

The clan heirs on duty chatted casually among themselves. The gunfire inside sounded odd, but in this country it could easily be mistaken for fireworks or a car engine explosion—nothing that would cause panic.

And even if someone recognized gunfire for what it was, the clans had already cleared out nearby civilians and organized major promotional events at shopping centers several blocks away. Loudspeakers blared nonstop, rattling windows.

The events promised free gifts for anyone who attended. Come and take it, the crude but effective lure. Faced with such offers, the locals were all too happy to ignore the noise—whether it was gunshots or fireworks.

"Why does it sound like the shooting's getting closer? Is someone from the Chen family trying to break out?"

"Is there really infighting going on? Could this all be staged to trick us?"

"No way. If they wanted to trick us, wouldn't they have stayed quiet and suddenly rushed us? Firing first defeats the purpose."

As the gunfire grew louder, the heirs abandoned their disguises and took cover, training their weapons on the estate gates.

Suddenly, a crisp female voice rang out across the command channel.

It was Su Enxi—the commander appointed by the Wamiko.

"All units, be advised. Regarding the estate blockade: aside from the Chen patriarch's car and the daughter pursuing him, everything else must be contained. Repeat—Chen-dono is in a black Pagani. License plate…"

"…?"

Chen family head… being chased by his own daughter? That was a lot to process.

These weren't fools. Most had heard rumors of Chen and the Gattuso family working closely. Some had even seen foreign faces coming and going from the estate.

So now the father-daughter fallout made sense: a scumbag dad selling out his daughter to Westerners, and a virtuous girl rising up in rebellion.

At once, their imaginations fired up. Like idle housewives watching soap operas, they instantly filled in all the drama—the betrayal, the tragedy, the revenge.

Truly, the drama in the Chen mansion is delicious beyond words…

A tale of fatherly cruelty and filial fury… how could we not give it our all to support this unfolding act?

"Old Tang is missing!?"

Emiya's team had nearly cleared the warehouse. To put it plainly, they'd used an entire bag of pseudo-Noble Phantasms and a round of Gensō Hōkai to flatten the entire area—including several sublevels.

As they prepared to regroup at the inspection center, they received word that their primary firepower operator from the other team had vanished.

"Yes. He didn't show up when we regrouped at B1," Zhou Minhao responded over the comms. "We're close to clearing B2 now. No sign of him here either."

Sakegami Mai raised an eyebrow. "We can't abandon the mission just to search for someone who got lost."

"Old Tang really is unreliable..."

Emiya was already used to this. Honestly, he wasn't that worried. Old Tang always seemed to have absurd luck—no matter how dangerous the place, he'd survive.

"Let's hope he's fine. We'll proceed to the target site first. You guys good without Old Tang's firepower?"

Zhou Minhao's voice was calm. "We'll manage. The number of Shinshi here isn't high, and we've found valuable documents. Too much firepower might damage them."

Hmm. Rude to say, but… was the mission actually going better without Old Tang around?

When Emiya's team reached the inspection center, they were surprised—no enemies blocked their way.

Following Sakegami Mai's guidance, based on earlier reconnaissance, they passed through a corridor lined with high-ceiling lights.

Emiya and Mai led the way, with Zero at the center, ready to deploy Mujin no Chi (Dustless Zone) for protection.

They moved cautiously, but encountered no traps. Emiya wasn't expecting Resident Evil laser corridors, but at least some automated turret defenses?

"Don't let your guard down," Mai said grimly. "There's definitely something deeper in."

She remembered how Nono had been captured here during their first infiltration.

Her veteran ninja instincts screamed: There's no way this place is undefended.

Then Emiya pushed open a thick metal door—revealing a wide open stairwell with no obstacles.

"See? Not even locked."

He shrugged.

"Hell… is that supposed to be reasonable?"

Good news or not, Mai's frustration spiked. She clenched her fists but eventually calmed herself and led the way in a sulky silence.

"…"

Turns out, her caution paid off.

As the team passed a corner into a narrow corridor, the sound of frantic crawling echoed in the dark.

"Alert! Possible Shinshi!"

Hissss!

A screeching cacophony—like babies wailing—rattled their eardrums, accompanied by thuds of heavy movement. The shrieks got louder by the second.

They were coming fast. Too fast. Something was pushing the Shinshi into a frenzy.

Without hesitation, everyone drew their weapons.

Emiya grabbed a sword bag from a Zhou clan member and drew projected versions of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. With practiced ease, he launched black-and-white short blades into the corridor.

No explosions—Gensō Hōkai was too risky underground. One wrong move could bring the whole place down.

The slicing of flesh echoed as blades struck.

Emiya listened—some Shinshi had fallen, but more charged forward, fearless.

As if something far worse was driving them from behind.

(End of Chapter)

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