Esper X Family – Chapter 72 – Undercurrents

“It’s almost time.”

Mu Luo looked up at the sky.

The moon hung in the air, partially hidden behind dark clouds.

The appointed time with Ye Yao had arrived.

Both Xia Lian and Wu Mi were eagerly looking forward to seeing Ye Yao again.

Although only three days had passed, it felt like three years to them.

It was unbearably long!

“I can finally see White Catty again!”

“I wonder if she missed me?”

“I just want to hug her tightly and nuzzle her the moment we meet~”

Xia Lian began to daydream.

She was feeling a bit cat-deprived.

Wu Mi shared similar sentiments.

Over the past three days, she had traveled to various cities with Mu Luo and the others.

Although each day was different, it always felt as if something was missing without Ye Yao.

“Can I come along too?”

Wu Mi suddenly had the idea to join Mu Luo in meeting Ye Yao.

After all, they had been together for the past three days.

It felt off to let Mu Luo go alone this time.

Xia Lian quickly chimed in, “I’m coming too!”

How could she miss out on picking up White Catty?

Mu Luo shook his head. “It’s too risky. This time, we’re not dealing with harmless low-ranking Sequence Espers, but a powerful S-rank Esper.”

He felt that he couldn’t recreate the previous scenario even if he brought Jiang Huashen along.

Such a strong opponent wouldn’t leave the same opening twice.

Bringing everyone along would probably be no different from handing them over to the enemy.

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Not only would they fail to retrieve Ye Yao’s clone, but they might also lose everyone.

Last time, Ye Yao hadn’t shared a new strategy before she left.

Mu Luo could only hope that she had come up with a suitable escape plan during these three days.

He had to trust her.

“Even if it’s risky, I’m going. As long as we’re not discovered, a mere Lou Wei is nothing to fear!”

Xia Lian spoke with the most brazen tone, uttering the boldest words.

It was like saying you wouldn’t worry about being hit by a truck as long as you weren’t on the highway.

It was just a small risk.

For the sake of being the first to touch White Catty, Xia Lian could completely ignore the danger.

Mu Luo suddenly felt a headache coming on.

If Xia Lian insisted on going, there was nothing he could say.

After all, she was strong, ranked at Sequence 009.

And her personality wasn’t exactly stable.

“Fine, but you’ll have to follow my instructions.”

“No problem, I won’t recklessly throw my life away.”

Xia Lian flashed a happy smile.

Just as Wu Mi was about to say something, Mu Luo cut her off with a gesture.

“Wu Mi, you stay in the courtyard and wait. We’ll be back soon.”

“Huh?”

Wu Mi widened her eyes.

She hadn’t expected to be left behind.

This is preferential treatment!

“The place we’re going to is very dangerous. We might not be able to look after you. If you get hurt, Ye Yao will be very sad.”

Mu Luo precisely addressed Wu Mi’s concerns.

The girl with long beige hair reluctantly nodded.

Her heart was filled with disappointment.

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She was too weak.

She didn’t even have the right to go and fetch Ye Yao.

She was too easily injured.

Always needing protection.

If she was always protected…

Wasn’t that just another kind of cycle?

Jiang Huashen yawned as he arrived in the courtyard. The dark circles under his eyes had grown heavier, as if he hadn’t rested for several days.

“I won’t go this time. Call me if there’s something you can’t solve.”

Who knew how much energy he had spent materializing his recent inspirations?

If he went to the school cafeteria looking like this, the lunch lady wouldn’t dare to skimp on his portion, fearing that he might drop dead on the spot.

Mu Luo nodded.

“Mm, fewer people are better. Xia Lian and I will be enough.”

It was better to not be wiped out entirely.

“Wait for us to return. If we don’t come back, don’t come looking for us.”

With a wave of his hand, Mu Luo and Xia Lian disappeared.

However, it wasn’t just them.

Another force was also stirring behind the scenes.

“What’s the deal with that ‘Sequence 0’? I’ve never seen such an arrogant organization before.”

In a pitch-black, enclosed space.

A purple flame burned fiercely at the center.

Over a dozen people surrounded the flame as if warming themselves, discussing matters.

Anyone could tell that this wasn’t a legitimate group.

A deep voice chuckled coldly.

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“Indeed, they’re arrogant. They’re even more high-profile than us. Their actions clearly mark them as our enemies.”

This was a mysterious organization formed by high-risk Sequence Espers.

Most of the Esper-related disasters in society were indirectly caused by them.

But to this day, they hadn’t engaged in large-scale activities.

They had only been recruiting talents for so long.

And spreading the word that all high-risk Sequences are welcome.

Joining the organization would grant them immense wealth and status.

In a way, they had increased societal instability.

They could be considered the Countermeasures Bureau’s number one enemy.

But they were like rats in the sewers.

While their deeds were filthy, they were also skilled at hiding.

They had never left traces of their core members.

“Sequences 099, 098, 097, and 096 were all easily killed by them. It’s said that their members are all Sequence Espers.”

A harsh voice spoke up.

“Hmph! We’re all the same, all enemies of the Countermeasures Bureau. Why are we killing each other?”

Someone sighed.

“It’s a pity about those low-ranking Sequences. They were all good seeds, worthy of being cultivated as potential members. Sadly, they were all killed.”

If Gu Wenxin were here, he would recognize this voice.

It was the person who had spoken with Sequence 096 over the phone.

“There was also a promising talent calling himself Flame Demon. We were about to approach him, but then he was killed by some mysterious black mist Esper.”

“That black mist Esper doesn’t seem to be from the Countermeasures Bureau either. They also didn’t leave any ‘Sequence 0’ mark at that time. Maybe there’s a chance to recruit them.”

At this, someone offered a different perspective.

“Even if they’re not from ‘Sequence 0’, it’ll be hard to recruit them.

The fact that they killed Flame Demon shows that they dislike that kind of person, and that kind of person…

Hmph, we have plenty of them here. Bringing them in is no different from planting a ticking time bomb.”

“As long as they’re not on the Countermeasures Bureau’s side, there’s a possibility.

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What if they just dislike trash like Flame Demon?

Maybe they’d get along with us.”

The topic shifted from “Sequence Zero” to the “black mist Esper”.

They had all learned from a certain channel that the mysterious black mist Esper had mastered advanced mental power techniques.

They weren’t an S-rank Esper yet but could already wield such abilities.

Once they grew to S-rank, they would be an absolute powerhouse.

Not only was the Countermeasures Bureau paying close attention to the black mist Esper, but even their organization wanted to recruit them.

It didn’t matter even if the recruitment failed. They could just kill the other party before they grew stronger.

Since the black mist Esper had killed Flame Demon, there was a possibility that they could become an enemy.

They didn’t want another Lou Wei to emerge in this world.

“Let’s go to the city where Flame Demon died. The black mist Esper might be hiding there.

If we find them, it’s best to bring them to our side. If not, kill them before they grow stronger.

As for Sequence 0, we’ll see if they cross paths with us later.”

A sigh silenced everyone.

“ Sigh —”

“None of this matters. Time is running out…

We need to hurry and create a fortress of our own.

The sanctuary must be completed.”

“When the time comes, disaster will always be one step behind us.”

Author Note

Why do I feel like the number of readers has decreased a bit? Don’t tell me you’re all stacking chapters ¹ Waiting for the novel to update a bunch of chapters before binge reading. It’s called 养书yangshu in CN, which literally means raising/growing book. I usually call it ‘stacking’ but I forgor why I called it that. No idea if there’s a proper term for that. . Yadaaa ² 亚达哟yadayo which is used to mimic the Japanese いやだ iyada that means ‘no’. ~ Please don’t stack~

Text: Powerless

Translator Note

Stacking chapters and then binging them does feel great, but authors don’t like stacking because there will be less active readers and less feedback.

Numbers are quite important since seeing high numbers will motivate the author.