The handsome man’s smile widened as he took in Kailin’s discomfort.
“What’s wrong, Ms. Sharp?” he asked. “After our last meeting, I’d have thought you’d be thrilled to see me.”
His voice carried a light, teasing warmth that didn’t reach his eyes.
“After all, I felt so terribly bad about leaving you with that little disaster I sold you.” His smile sharpened. “Didn’t I even offer to cover your debts to the Alchemist’s Guild?”
Kailin’s face had gone pale. One hand tightened around the edge of her sleeve, but she said nothing.
The man’s smile never slipped.
“So imagine my surprise when I checked in with the Guild and learned those debts had already been paid.” He raised both hands in a helpless little gesture. “Then, wouldn’t you know it, I started hearing rumors that you were working with some new players.”
He gave a small shake of his head, as though the whole thing genuinely saddened him.
“After all my generosity, you still refused me.”
The look he gave Kailin somehow managed to look both genuinely hurt and still send a shiver down Alpha’s digital spine.
“I can’t express how disappointed I was.”
Kailin took half a step back.
The man’s grin returned, warm on the surface, but there was still nothing kind behind his eyes.
“Of course, I’m a magnanimous man,” he continued, “so I felt I had to be certain this mysterious new employer of yours wasn’t…”
His gaze flickered over Kailin, lingering just long enough to make her shoulders tighten.
“…taking advantage of you.”
Around the shop, the few remaining customers had gone quiet. Several adventurers lingered near the field supplies, their heads angled toward the counter. A laborer by the potion shelves held the same bottle in one hand and hadn’t moved for several breaths. A pair of customers paused at the top of the stairs leading down to the basement range, leaning close as they traded whispers.
The handsome man either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
He and his two armored shadows drifted farther into the shop, unhurried, until they stopped only a few meters from the counter.
Only then did he turn his attention to Hugo.
“And you,” he said, letting his gaze sweep over the big man behind the counter, “must be this mysterious benefactor.”
His mouth curled.
“Tell me, shopkeep. What clan is so bold as to snatch away the Xi family’s property so blatantly?”
Crack.
The countertop splintered beneath Hugo’s grip.
Several customers flinched, and one of the guards shifted a hand toward his weapon.
Hugo didn’t seem to notice. Every bit of him had gone still, locked on the man in front of him with a glare so hot it seemed to burn the air between them.
“Jintao…”
The name came out low, forced through clenched teeth, more growl than word.
Xi Jintao paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly, then brightened with interest. “Oh? You know of me?” He gave a soft laugh. “Well, I suppose my reputation does precede me.”
The laugh was light, almost careless, but his gaze had sharpened.
“Wait. That face…”
He studied Hugo more closely, head tilting as one finger tapped against his chin.
His smile faded for half a breath.
Then his eyes widened with delight.
“Oh my,” he said. “Hugo? Is that you?”
He laughed again.
Alpha was certain Xi Jintao meant for the sound to seem friendly. From the man standing in front of them, it sounded like anything but.
“Oh, this is rich,” Xi Jintao said, shaking his head as he wiped at one eye. “The heavens truly do smile on me this day.”
Hugo’s eyes flashed, and he moved to step around the counter.
Before he could take another step, several thin nanite tendrils slipped up from beneath the counter and locked around his legs and waist, pinning him in place.
Hugo’s gaze snapped down.
For one dangerous second, the storm in his eyes turned its fury on Alpha instead.
Alpha’s health monitors reported a burst blood vessel in Hugo’s right eye. A second later, they noted a cracked molar where his jaw had clenched too hard.
Then another.
The [Wasp] on Hugo’s shoulder slowly shook its head, and Alpha spoke through their private comms.
“Leave this one to me, Hugo. We can use this.”
A GIF appeared in the corner of Hugo’s vision. Boarslayer stared back at him in crude caricature, her tusked grin widening by degrees, becoming more devilish with every passing second.
Hugo stared down at the drone for several long seconds.
He ground his teeth, and the health monitor flagged a third tooth.
Then, slowly, the snarl on his face shifted. It twisted, sharpened, and became a grin that mirrored the image still playing in his vision.
By the time Hugo lifted his gaze back to Xi Jintao, his expression had settled into something almost pleasant.
“Welcome to the Nexus Hub,” Hugo said evenly. “Feel free to browse at your leisure.”
Xi Jintao’s laughter stopped.
His brow furrowed.
For the first time since entering the shop, uncertainty crossed his face. It lasted only a heartbeat before his mouth curled into a sneer.
“So you want to play that game, then…” he said, voice low.
Then he turned slightly, spreading his arms as though addressing the handful of remaining customers watching from behind the shelves.
“What’s wrong, Hugo?” Xi Jintao called, raising his voice so it carried easily through the shop. “Can’t greet an old friend? Or do you not want your new boss hearing about your shameful past?”
A few customers shifted. One whispered something to the woman beside him. Another glanced toward the door, then back again, as if debating whether leaving was worth drawing attention.
Xi Jintao’s smirk deepened.
“Tell me, is it true you started working with Icefinger’s men after the Guild threw you away?” he asked. “Though from what I hear, you weren’t anything special there, either.”
Hugo’s expression didn’t change.
Xi Jintao stepped closer, eyes brightening.
“Is that how you ended up here?” he continued. “Behind a shop counter, pretending at respectability?”
His brow lifted as something bright and ugly entered his eyes. “Or could those two things be related?”
He tapped his chin, pretending to consider it. “Perhaps this shop is just a front for moving stolen goods. That would explain some of the rumors I’ve been hearing.”
The customers’ murmurs intensified, and Xi Jintao’s grin widened.
The corner of Hugo’s eye twitched, but his expression held.
It helped, Alpha suspected, that Hugo could see the [Wasp] crawling beneath the edge of Xi Jintao’s robe. The drone moved carefully through the folds of fabric, a small clay token secured to its back.
“Sir,” Hugo said, voice even, “if you’d like to make a purchase, please do so quickly. The store is about to close.”
Xi Jintao’s smirk fell.
For a moment, the polished mask cracked just enough to show the anger beneath.
Then he clicked his tongue.
“As if anything in this place could be worth my time.” He turned his attention back to Kailin. “I’ll take what I came for and leave you to your dump.”
His eyes flicked back to Hugo.
“But don’t think I’ll forget this slight.”
He stepped forward and reached for Kailin’s wrist.
Kailin stiffened and took a step back, but Xi Jintao’s fingers never reached her.
A black droid moved between them. Its hand closed around Xi Jintao’s wrist, stopping him cold.
Xi Jintao froze.
For one breath, no one moved.
Then Hugo spoke from behind the counter, his voice now flat, stripped of every trace of customer service.
“I’m afraid Ms. Sharp is an important partner of the store,” he said. “She’ll be remaining where she is until she decides otherwise.”
Xi Jintao’s mask crumbled, and his face twisted into an ugly snarl.
“How dare you,” he hissed. “Unhand me, you cheap puppet.”
He yanked his arm.
The droid didn’t move.
Xi Jintao blinked.
He pulled harder.
Nothing changed.
His eyes widened.
The droid holding Xi Jintao’s wrist tilted its head.
“Dear customer,” it said, its voice smooth and polite, “this shop maintains a strict no-shoplifting policy. Please return all goods currently on your person. Failure to comply will result in corrective action.”
Xi Jintao only stared at it.
For one stunned breath, the shop fell silent.
Then one of his guards drew his blade.
The second followed half a breath later, both men moving with practiced coordination, only to freeze as a dozen black droids stepped out from between shelves, doorways, and display aisles. They moved without hurry, spreading into a loose circle around the trio.
Xi Jintao’s expression twisted from disbelief into fury.
“I said, unhand me!”
His aura burst outward.
Early Shackle Breaking pressure rolled through the shop, sharp enough to make several nearby customers stumble back. Bottles rattled on the shelves. A hanging sign swung on its chain.
Xi Jintao wrenched his arm backward with enough force to tear free from the droid’s grip.
The droid staggered.
Its arms pinwheeled in an exaggerated flail before it toppled backward, struck the floor, and clutched one leg with both hands.
“My leg!” it cried mournfully.
Every other droid in the shop paused, turned, and looked down at it.
Then, as one, they looked back up at Xi Jintao.
“Suspect is resisting,” one said.
“Moving to restrain,” another finished.
The droids advanced.
Xi Jintao’s guards reacted instantly. Their own auras flared, stronger than Alpha had expected, both hovering just shy of the Second Realm. The pair moved with the smooth coordination of men used to fighting together. Their swords swept out in crossing arcs, one high, one low, aimed to carve the nearest droid apart before the others could close.
The blades struck.
Then bounced off with the clear ring of metal.
For a fraction of a second, the two men stared, their expressions caught between disbelief and alarm.
That was all the time they got.
The surrounding droids surged forward and dragged them to the floor. One guard made it halfway back to his feet before three droids landed on top of him. The other tried to retreat, but two more caught him by the shoulders while another swept his feet from under him.
They vanished beneath a wave of black metal.
Fists rose and fell with brisk, mechanical efficiency. Armored feet hammered down. A knee drove into one man’s back. Another droid used its weight to pin a sword arm, twisted until the weapon clattered free, then joined the pile.
“Stop resisting.” “Stop resisting.”
“Stop resisting.” “Stop resisting.”
“Stop resisting.” “Stop resisting.”
The droids’ calm, polite voices overlapped even as the storm of blows rained down on the hapless guards.
Xi Jintao watched, mouth open, as his two guards disappeared beneath the swarm. Horror flashed across his face, then humiliation, then rage.
With a flick of his wrist, a spear appeared in his hand, long and bright, its polished shaft catching the shop lights as he thrust toward one of the droids crouched over his guards.
The spearhead struck the droid’s shoulder… and bounced off.
The droid paused with one fist still raised, then slowly turned its head and looked up at Xi Jintao.
“New challenger detected,” it said. “Escalating response.”
Xi Jintao’s expression twisted. “What is wrong with these mad pupp—”
A bolt of lightning dropped from the ceiling and struck him squarely on the top of the head.
The crack split the room. Xi Jintao went rigid, every muscle locking at once as pale light crawled over his robes and snapped between the ornaments in his hair. Several customers cried out and ducked behind shelves.
To Alpha’s mild surprise, when the light cleared, Xi Jintao remained standing.
Barely.
Smoke curled from his long, carefully arranged hair. His eyes had gone unfocused, swimming in their sockets, while his mouth worked around words that never formed.
Some form of self-preservation must have taken hold, because the man staggered, then took a shaking step toward the door.
A second bolt caught him before he could take another.
Xi Jintao dropped to one knee.
His spear clattered to the floor, rolled once, and vanished. He tried to rise, failed, then tipped forward with a heavy thud, looking considerably more charred than he had when he arrived.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then Hugo silently stepped out from behind the counter.
He walked slowly, each step measured, until he stood over Xi Jintao.
The man on the floor forced his head up. Bloodshot eyes met Hugo’s glare, and his jaw tightened hard enough that Alpha heard something crack. He coughed, spraying blood across Hugo’s boots.
Xi Jintao looked as though he wanted to speak, but no words escaped his cracked lips.
Hugo stared down at him for a long moment, as if considering something. Then he sighed.
He crouched and began rifling through the folds of Xi Jintao’s robes.
A moment later, he drew out a single clay MUD token.
Xi Jintao’s eyes widened.
“Gasp!” a scandalized voice cried from one corner of the shop. “Who could have imagined it? Xi Jintao, caught stealing from an honest business!”
Hugo’s brow lifted.
He looked toward the voice and found a droid crouched between two empty potion displays. The droid met his gaze and raised its thumb.
“For shame,” another voice called from somewhere near the field supplies. “For shame. Has the Xi clan fallen on such hard times?”
A third voice chimed in from behind the counter. “Ew. Does anyone else smell that? I think he soiled himself.”
More whispers emerged from the shadowed corners of the shop.
Soon, the customers took them up as well.
The two near the basement stairs exchanged looks of open disgust, while a broad woman with the look of an adventurer broke into laughter at something her companion said. The laborer near the potion shelves turned and quickly made his way for the exit, taking the long way around the scene as if avoiding something particularly offensive.
Xi Jintao’s gaze crawled weakly from one group to another.
His fingers scraped against the floor, nails dragging over polished stone.
His mouth opened, closed, then opened again. Still, nothing came. His face, already flushed from the lightning, darkened further as the whispers grew.
Something in him seemed to give.
His eyes rolled back, and his head dropped.
Hugo watched him for a moment, then shook his head.
Behind him, the pile of droids began to separate.
The two guards lay unconscious beneath them, stripped down to their underclothes and covered in bruises. Their armor, weapons, storage pouches, and anything else that looked even vaguely valu—suspicious had been sorted into neat piles beside them.
Two pairs of droids lifted the guards off the floor. Another picked up Xi Jintao and slung him over one shoulder.
“Don’t kill them,” Hugo said, his voice oddly flat. “It’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.”
Alpha laughed through the nearest droid.
“No worries,” he said. “They’ll be very well taken care of.”
Hugo’s mouth curved into a thin smirk.
He turned back toward the counter and froze when he realized Kailin was no longer there.
His gaze swept across the shop floor before catching a flash of dark robes vanishing through the doorway to the back rooms.
His eyes snapped toward the nearest droid.
It shook its head.
“I’ve got this handled,” Alpha said. “Go.”
Hugo nodded once and hurried after her.
——————————————————
The noise of the shop faded behind him as he passed through the rear hallway.
Hugo paused only long enough to peer into each room: first the storage room, then the small office, then the side hall leading toward the stairs. Each empty space tightened something deeper in his chest.
Then he heard her.
A quiet, broken sob came from the kitchen.
Hugo slowed as he approached, stopping in the doorway.
Kailin stood hunched over the sink, both hands braced against the counter. Her hair was damp, her face pale, and her eyes fixed on the bottom of the basin. The sharp smell of bile hung in the air.
Her breath came in ragged, uneven gasps between dry heaves.
Hugo took a step into the room, then stopped, unsure what to do.
Kailin didn’t look up. Hugo wasn’t even sure she knew he was there. A tremor ran through her arms, then the rest of her, and she fumbled inside her robes for something.
He moved closer, slow and careful.
Kailin drew out a small bottle with a shaking hand and fought with the stopper until it slipped from her fingers. It dropped into the sink with a hollow clink, and she let out a silent scream, her face twisting.
She didn’t even react when Hugo stopped beside her.
For a brief moment, he hesitated.
Then, carefully, he lifted a hand and rested it on her shoulder.
Kailin flinched as if struck, and her head snapped toward him.
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence.
Hugo opened his mouth, searching for something useful to say.
Before he found it, Kailin’s face crumpled, and she lunged forward, wrapping both arms around his chest. A sob tore out of her, raw and sudden, muffled against his shirt.
Hugo went rigid.
For a heartbeat, he stood there stunned, one hand hovering uselessly in the air.
Then, slowly, the tension drained from his shoulders.
His arms closed around her, careful at first, then firmer as she clung to him and cried into his chest.
He closed his eyes and held her.