Strike While the Killing's Good

The Misfit Squad Is on a Mission to Save the World >> 01. The bruises on his neck had not yet faded when Ying Shuici spotted Jian Dezhen, who had confessed her feelings to him before suddenly taking leave, in the subway car on the way to the mission site. She was still wearing her signature red hooded jacket. Colleagues from other regions who had come to assist with the mission recognized her and, assuming she was part of their group, quickly surrounded her. Ying Shuici was amused. Even though the bruises she had squeezed onto his neck still throbbed faintly, he found it delightful to see how troubled she looked. Jian Dezhen really was troubled. Of all the times to run into the person she least wanted to know about her past, it had to be just as she was preparing to return to the home she had not visited in ten years. What rotten luck. Ying Shuici drawled lazily in his deep, cello-like voice, “I signed you up for a course on workplace sexual harassment. Pay more attention to what people mean by boundaries.” Jian Dezhen’s round eyes curved into a smile. “Got it. Once I’ve completed the course, I’ll put it into practice with you, Captain Ying.” Their fellow gifted officers standing around them all sucked in a sharp breath. “Captain Ying, run! With Vice Captain Jian’s personality, she’ll absolutely beat you half to death under the pretext of BDSM!” They laughed merrily as they spoke, apparently still thinking the two were just engaging in their usual banter. After all, she was the strongest fighter on the team, with an unknown IQ and such overwhelming chuunibyou energy that no one could rival her except an actual eighth grader. Everyone who knew her suspected that she worshipped the three major manga magazines at her shrine and served as the divine avatar of JUMP’s gag manga protagonists. She would leap off her leader’s head to deliver a flying kick to a criminal, all while saying things like, “There is no need for words. Go to hell and reflect on your sins!” She was an eighteen-year-old genius, and everyone had always thought of her as immune to romance. What did a dumb, violent girl know about love? Captain Ying, the leader whose head she had stepped on, thought the same. Jian Dezhen could tease him, get annoyed with him, despise him, hate him, even perhaps loathe him, but she could not possibly like him. Having always given way to her, thinking himself much older, Ying Shuici was certain that this confession, delivered while she squeezed his neck, was just another prank brought on by her embarrassment. It had to be. 02. Jian Dezhen: “Let’s stop talking about ‘love.’ They say gag manga characters don’t have health bars, so why is this mission site of all places my ancestral home? Captain Ying, please take a look... “Is the health bar over my head glowing?” On the first day the doomsday prophecy appeared, the gifted emerged, blessed by heaven and charged with carrying out its decree to save the world. Jian Dezhen never thought that being gifted made her a savior. All she did was become strong enough to protect everyone standing behind her. She still thought so even after she fell. ...This mess, too, would have to be left for Captain Ying to clean up, just like before. She would not say she was sorry. After all, love means tormenting each other. ^ ^ ·Warning, warning! Pay attention to the age gap: A restless young man, quick to fall in love x an adult man who avoids love after considering every angle “Love isn’t the only source of dopamine for young people,” and “it isn’t the first thing working adults need to consider, either.” But you’re seriously underestimating “love”! *points* ·Includes folklore and legends of gods, with the tiniest hint of mystery and horror ·Warning: high concentration of chuunibyou dialogue and dark humor! Theme: Freedom above all