Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

Both of their situations were quite similar; they both fought over a complete meal box in the beginning.

Gleid said he saved Valke, and while this is true, it isn't the whole story. Since they were young, when facing adults who were similarly destitute and nefarious, they had no choice but to band together. They saved each other several times, so it was hard to say who owed whom. However, since the other party had spoken up today, Valke wouldn't refuse or deny it.

Soon, a sleek and high-end hover car came speeding from the sky, then descended and hovered in front of Valke.

The car door opened, revealing the empty seat inside. Valke leapt from the ground, stepping onto the frame of the hover car, pushing it down slightly, causing it to wobble a bit before stabilizing.

After closing the door, Valke entered a rough location, and the hover car began to make its way to the destination, shuttling through the bustling city of South First District, passing by numerous similar luxury hover cars, as well as the ubiquitous advertisements and signs.

Darknight Electric Shock Block, Lane 13, South Street No. 8.

In the dim alleyway, a semi-spherical Autonomous Unit lay overturned, its side ripped open, its internal components sparkling with sparks. Across from it, a young man in a black T-shirt clutched a violet ionized short blade, his gaze sweeping around, his body slightly crouched, ready for the imminent attack.

Above the alley, three hovering quad-winged drones with flashing lights focused and locked onto the young man below with their cameras.

[Target spotted, beginning verification...]

[Verification complete, confirmed as Thief No. 1721, commencing capture operation]

[Requesting support, net deployment ready]

[Fire!]

One of the drones launched a net with hooked ends, enveloping the youth on the ground, electricity coursing through the mesh net, producing bursts of electrical sparks when it came into contact with objects in the alley.

"Dammit!" The young man in the black shirt cursed and dodged with all his might, waving the short blade in his hand, slicing through the ropes in front of him, and continued to run forward. Halfway through, however, he slipped on trash on the ground, taking a nasty fall.

Seizing the moment while he was incapacitated, a second drone swooped down and approached, spraying another net and ropes.

Despite the young man's efforts to dodge, he was still ensnared by the net. Subsequently, an electric shock made his body tremble, his teeth clattering, emitting a painful groan.

Bearing the electric current, he swung his ionized short blade, cutting through the net around him, crawling out once more. However, after a few steps, due to the pain and weakness, he collapsed. At that point, he could only hide behind an abandoned and obsolete vehicle to prevent being ensnared by the drones hovering above.

The drones bore a uniform emblem on their flanks: three inward-pointing arrows surrounded by the outline of a gear.

'Three-Pointer Workshop' was a well-known company in the Jade Skirt's South First District. While not large in scale, its production of Time-Delay Devices was exceptional, capable of slowing the flow of time around the device, finding myriad applications in specialized fields.

It was because of this that the modest workshop profited greatly, attracting many to covet the company's patents and technical secrets. Had it not been for the Three-Pointer Workshop's Time-Delay Device's limit of only slowing time by 20%, it could have even joined the ranks of giant corporations with this proprietary technology.

Within the Rose Federation, the real master of time technology was the colossal company 'Alice's Pocket Watch Craftsman,' identified by a hat adorned with rabbit ears, flowers, and a pocket watch. Its 'Alice Pocket Watches' could bring time in the surrounding space to a standstill.

"Valke, if you don't get here soon, I'm going to die here," the young man muttered to himself as he swallowed several stimulant capsules that suppressed pain and boosted his energy. After catching his breath, he dashed out again, avoiding capture by the hovering drones overhead, leaped onto an interfering Autonomous Unit, plunged his blade into the Autonomous Robot's head, ripping it open, damaging the internal components, and continued running forward.

Finally, he burst out of the narrow alleyway. Just when he was ready to take flight again, a series of blinding lights shone directly in front of him, followed by stern shouts.

"Stop! We are members of the Raincoat Agency with legal firearms permits. If you attempt to flee, we will shoot you under video surveillance!"

Hearing this voice, the young man was forced to halt his run, shielding his eyes with his hands. It took a moment for him to adjust and clearly see the six Raincoat Agency members dressed in uniform, bulletproof vests, tactical sunglasses, and earpieces. Each one had a pistol with automatic targeting in hand, the red dots converging on the young man.

These agents all possessed Sequence 4 abilities. While their professional evaluations rated only as Superior or Excellent, their high-quality gear made it extremely difficult for ordinary people to contend with them.

Due to the existence of Transcendent abilities and the advancement of industry, it was not difficult for individuals to possess firearms and violent capabilities. Given the vast territories and complex conditions within the Federation, it was impossible for official police to be omnipresent, thus allowing local authorities to maintain some law enforcement forces as well as the existence of certain agencies.

These agencies, employed by large corporations, provided security forces to ensure the safety of company employees and to protect commercial secrets from theft, among other things.

Though the original intentions were good, due to their proximity to the grey zone, there were agencies that, lured by huge profits, assisted large corporations in undermining their competitors, stealing their secrets, and so on.