I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

My physical abilities are still no match for those martial artists, and I can't handle high-intensity one-on-one combat. I need Li Cheng or the team leader to launch the frontal attacks while I provide support from the sidelines; that's the fighting style best suited to me.

Although his mind was racing, Kiritsugu Emiya's feet didn't stop moving. He ran quickly down the second-floor corridor, reloading the two submachine guns that had previously run out of magazines. The entire second floor was deserted; clearly, everyone had fled because of Kiritsugu's battle with Souren Araya. Many doors were open, probably because the people had fled in such a hurry that they hadn't had time to close them. Kiritsugu randomly chose a door, slipped inside, and pulled out the single-shot pistol from his pocket to reload once more.

A violent impact erupted from the ground beneath his feet, sending Araya Souren flying. He punched Emiya Kiritsugu in the chin, sending him soaring high into the air, crashing through the second-floor ceiling, and landing on the third floor. Before he could even swallow the blood in his mouth, Emiya Kiritsugu drew his gun, scrambling to his feet and moving backward while firing relentlessly at Araya Souren, attempting to force him back.

The golden patterns that lit up again, though only two layers remained, still effectively blocked the onslaught of bullets raining down on him. Araya Sōren pounced forward like a tiger, instantly closing the distance between himself and Emiya Kiritsugu. But then, Emiya Kiritsugu began chanting a spell, his body accelerating in an instant.

Fists, elbows, feet, knees. The two engaged in extremely fierce close-quarters combat within a few seconds. Relying on his taller stature, Araya Sōren firmly suppressed the already injured Emiya Kiritsugu, relentlessly striking him. Emiya, who initially attempted to take the initiative, was quickly forced into a defensive posture and soon became disheveled, forced to fight and retreat, gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

There's no chance of turning the tide now. Let's finish him off here. As for the others in Group Six, let's think of a way to deal with them later, be cautious, and consider how to eliminate them then.

Araya Sōren's offensive became increasingly fierce, clearly aiming to defeat Emiya Kiritsugu in one fell swoop.

A bullet flying from afar, with extremely strong penetrating power, pierced through the glass wall next to the two people and flew towards Araya Sōren.

Sensing the attack, Araya Souren had no time to dodge and could only instinctively activate the barrier around his body in an attempt to defend himself. However, this bullet was clearly a specially made armor-piercing bullet, extremely powerful, and the hastily activated barrier was mercilessly pierced through. Immediately afterward, the bullet pierced Araya Souren's leg, exited from the other side, pierced through his other leg, then pierced through the other side of the barrier, and directly penetrated the floor.

A thug on the second floor, who hadn't had time to escape, peeked out from his hiding place and was shot in the head through the wall. He fell to the ground dead before he could even make a sound.

"Well!"

After staggering back several steps, barely managing to stand by contracting his powerful muscles, Araya Sōren finally revealed his disheveled state. The sudden attack had been incredibly powerful, not only destroying his barrier but also piercing through his legs. The man was now finding it difficult to maintain his balance and sustain his previous high-intensity output. Opposite him, Emiya Kiritsugu, who had endured the attack for a long time, stood up, panting heavily, and walked towards him, spear in hand.

We can't keep fighting like this.

Araya Sōren made a decisive decision.

Since the opposing team has a foreign sniper, there's a possibility they have a second or third. To put it in the worst-case scenario, it's not impossible that the entire Sixth Team is here. Right now, injured, he might not even be able to defeat Kiritsugu Emiya in front of him; if a few stronger opponents join the fray, defeat is inevitable.

It seems the objective is unattainable; retreat is necessary. Thankfully, at least we now know that Kiritsugu Emiya's combat prowess is significantly stronger than his acknowledged abilities were a few years ago when he was still an assassin, which prevents major miscalculations in the upcoming plans.

Having made up his mind, Araya Sōren stopped lingering and quickly turned to flee, disappearing into the darkness in no time.

Only after confirming that the other party had completely disappeared did Kiritsugu Emiya collapse to the ground, covered in cold sweat, clutching his chest, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

With fractured ribs, a cracked jaw, and multiple internal organ damage, coupled with the physical damage caused by the forced, prolonged acceleration, I realized I was indeed no match for these monsters.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with trembling hands, and then took a deep drag. Emiya Kiritsugu leaned against the dilapidated wall behind him, covered in fist marks, pondering the identity of the person he had just encountered. Although it was a simple exchange of blows, there was plenty to analyze.

I'll tidy it up a bit, and then give it to Heitong tomorrow so he can help me investigate.

Regardless, since this cult has actively sent people to try and kill them, it's clear they're not going to let them off so easily. Several fierce battles are likely to follow for the members of Group Six in the coming days.

Unable to resist recalling the mysterious number Wuming had given him some time ago—a number he refused to reveal—Emiya Kiritsugu pondered in silence for a moment, deciding to deal with the enemy on his own first. If he were to ask his son for help simply because he had been beaten up, he, as a father, would truly lose face.

Surprisingly, Kiritsugu Emiya still holds onto some principles in certain aspects.

The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder as a capable-looking woman with short black hair, carrying a gun, rushed towards them. Kiritsugu Emiya closed his eyes, removed the cigarette from his lips, and began to ponder his next move.

In any case, one old man will be unable to sleep tonight.

…………

Thank you to reader Binglingtan for the spicy snack.

Thank you to reader Bai Xiaoye for the monthly ticket and to Feng Yongsuiyoufei for the knife.

Thank you to readers ww.ww, Bai Xiaoye, I'm dying without my senior sister, miu, Le Yinghan Shang, and Feng Yong Sui Youfei for their recommendation votes.

First update of the day, a long chapter of 4000 words, please vote!

Section 27, Chapter 5: Recruiting for the Action Team (Part 1)

The next morning, Li Cheng arrived at the sixth group's branch, which was a small five-story office building, and was severely reprimanded by the group leader.

"I'll let it slide if you picked up a child, like Emiya suddenly had a change of heart. But to be beaten to the point of hospitalization by an A-rank martial artist is just too much. Li Cheng, you're disgracing the Sixth Group."

Because it was during work hours, Ryougi Shiki, dressed in an office lady outfit, frowned as she looked at Lee Seung, who was bowing his head in apology, and spoke rather bluntly. Incidentally, even though Lee Seung was bowing his head in apology, Ryougi Shiki still had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.

"What's done is done, there's nothing we can do about it. Team leader, didn't you say you received instructions from higher-ups? Tell us what happened."

Sitting in the corner, Kiritsugu Emiya, whose face was wrapped in gauze, coughed twice, trying to change the subject.

"If I remember correctly, when we were dealing with that A-rank opponent, you were knocked unconscious right at the start, weren't you?"

Ryougi Shiki's gaze toward Kiritsugu Emiya was filled with contempt.

"Alright, Shiki, there's no need to worry about this. It's good that everyone is alright," in the end, it was only Kokutou Mikiya who had skipped work to come here who stepped forward to smooth things over. "Let's talk about what's going on next."

"Well, it's nothing big. It's just that our group isn't full, so they gave us a list and asked us to choose a new member from the candidates. In other words, we need to recruit new people."

Recruiting?

Li Chengwei was slightly surprised.

Why issue the recruitment order at this time?

Emiya Kiritsugu lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

The original fifth member of the sixth group was Emiya Kiritsugu's eldest son, Emiya Mumei. He did not inherit his father's assassination skills, but instead became a powerful warrior who forged a unique path by constantly strengthening himself through the training of basic magic.

According to a currently internationally unified complex calculation method, below the "Transcendent," individuals possessing great power are divided into five levels: A, B, C, D, and E. Level E represents ordinary people and is not considered; it's merely a designation. Levels C and D typically don't have a significant gap in power compared to ordinary people, and can occasionally be defeated by ordinary individuals with no power. Some movies and TV series also like to use Levels C and D as villains, having the ordinary protagonist defeat them as a plot climax.

Rank B represents a level that ordinary humans can hardly contend with. Rin Tohsaka, a member of the group, is Rank B; in the last incident, she single-handedly defeated over twenty cultists without sustaining any harm. In contrast, Kiritsugu Emiya is Rank B+. While his abilities, at least in terms of quantifiable basic abilities, fall within the Rank B range, his combat record shows he has indeed defeated more than one Rank A, hence the extra "+".

Level A, the highest level humans can reach below the Transcendent level, is known as a powerful being capable of taking on an entire army single-handedly. Currently, there are only about two thousand recorded surviving Level A individuals worldwide. The Tokyo branch of the Supernatural Abilities Bureau has only five members.

Normally, a group is led by one or two B-rank members, with the rest being C or D-rank members. However, Group Six was different due to some special reasons. Initially, it consisted of three A-rank members: Ryougi Shiki, Li Cheng, and Emiya Mumei; one B+ member: Emiya Kiritsugu; and one B-rank member: Tohsaka Rin. It was an unparalleled super team, and coupled with Emiya Kiritsugu's ruthless attitude towards criminals, the entire Tokyo underworld, no, the entire Japanese underworld, was extremely afraid of this group. This five-person team did indeed stir up a storm of bloodshed among those living in the shadows.

However, all of this happened a year ago. Emiya Mumei left the Supernatural Abilities Bureau and went to the Middle East, where, in his words, he found a very generous patron. Meanwhile, Team Leader Ryougi Shiki seemed to have run into some kind of trouble with her mysterious family, which had been dismantled by the government. She was frequently away on business trips, sometimes for one or two months at a time. Although Team Six, now with only three members, was powerful, many missions couldn't be carried out due to the lack of personnel, so they rarely went out.

Upon her return, Ryougi Shiki made it clear that she would be taking no more business trips, meaning the leader of Group Six had returned to duty and the position was no longer vacant. Adding a new member would completely restore the operational group to its full structure. Headquarters had always disliked Group Six for causing trouble, hadn't they? In the skinning case two years ago, the evidence was conclusive, and the enemy was indeed killed after "resistance," yet because of some disturbances, they were simply suspended. Now, they're having them recruit new members—what are they thinking…?

"It's probably not that simple, team leader. What exactly happened?"

Kiritsugu Emiya looked at Ryougi Shiki and asked.

"Headquarters provided a list and required that one person from the list be selected to join."

As she spoke, Ryougi Shiki tossed the list on the table to Kiritsugu Emiya. Emiya caught it, glanced through it briefly, and quickly frowned.

"All of them are D-level newcomers? Hmm, there are still some C-level ones, but very few... I see, is that what headquarters means?"

After looking at the list and thinking for a moment, Kiritsugu Emiya figured out the problem.

The tasks assigned to an action team are related to the team's own capabilities. Because of its formidable strength, Team Six frequently faces various major and heinous cases. In these situations, Team Six's unwavering commitment to eliminating criminals has a significant impact. A C-rank or even D-rank rookie would inevitably diminish the overall combat effectiveness of the already powerful Team Six. Therefore, this could be used as a reason to refuse Team Six's participation in major cases.

Kiritsugu Emiya shared his speculation, and everyone fell silent for a moment.

"Isn't it unnecessary to target us like this?"

Rin Tohsaka, who had been lurking for a long time without speaking, raised her hand and whispered, indicating that she had popped up.

"No, something doesn't seem right."

As he continued flipping through the list, Kiritsugu Emiya's expression changed once more.

"So that's how it is. They even need to use these tricks on us?"

"What did you find, Emiya?" Ryougi Shiki asked, frowning.

"If we just randomly pick someone to fill the quota, then Group Six will indeed be sidelined. However, that's not the headquarters' real purpose. This is the consequence of us ignoring their instructions and pretending not to understand their intentions by deliberately picking someone randomly."

Kiritsugu Emiya picked up a pencil from the table, circled one of the names on the list, and pointed it out to everyone.

"This person is their real target. Headquarters wants us to select this person and add him to the sixth group for training."

The others gathered around, all looking at the name that Kiritsugu Emiya had specifically circled.

"Kamijo...Touma?"

Li Cheng slowly uttered the name.

"Ability level C, tentative? Ability principle, unknown?"

...It was afternoon, around lunchtime.

Li Cheng went back to cook for Yakumo Shio. Tohsaka Rin had also left. As for Kokutou Mikiya, he wasn't originally part of the Sixth Group, so he naturally went back to the Intelligence Division.

In the empty meeting room, only Kiritsugu Emiya and Ryougi Shiki remained.

"So, tell me about the injuries on your body."

She drew back the conference room window, instantly darkening the room. Ryougi Shiki turned and looked at Kiritsugu Emiya, who was seated in his seat.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not a brainless idiot like Li Cheng. I won't be fooled by a lame lie like 'accidentally falling down the stairs'."

“Li Cheng isn’t an idiot. He just understands that this matter doesn’t require his attention,” Kiritsugu Emiya said with a hint of helplessness, taking out a file folder from behind him. “However, sometimes he does trust me too much, which is a bit of a headache for me.”

"Why? Because you're not trustworthy?"

After taking the documents, Ryougi Shiki couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.

“That’s true,” but Kiritsugu Emiya was quite frank about it. “Whether it’s my resume or my personality, I’m not a trustworthy person.”

"Alright, shut up, deputy team leader. I didn't stay here to listen to a thirty-year-old man's self-praise."

Ryougi Shiki gestured for Kiritsugu Emiya to shut up and began quickly reviewing the information he had given her.

"...Is that how it is?"

Half an hour later, after putting down the documents, Ryougi Shiki's expression turned stern.

While Li Cheng's actions didn't cause significant damage to "Happy Heaven," for these mentally unstable individuals, the loss was secondary; the provocation was the key issue. Clearly, they had been actively preparing for retaliation, and Emiya Kiritsugu had already single-handedly wiped out three waves of cultists attempting to harass Group Six.

After their repeated attempts to eliminate weaker enemies failed, the opposing side clearly realized that Group Six was no ordinary unit and began sending stronger individuals to confront them. However, they were still defeated by Kiritsugu Emiya, who, along with a former partner, sometimes did not even need his partner's intervention.

Therefore, the leader of this organization, or at least the second-in-command, an internationally wanted criminal named Araya Sōren, arrived in the New Tokyo Special District some time ago.

"Araya Sōren, you actually managed to injure him and force him to retreat. It seems you've really improved."

"As expected, you've fought him before."

“Yes, but when I fought him, he wasn’t some random cult leader,” Ryougi Shiki said with a troubled expression. “Based on my impression of him, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing.”

Although it was just a simple exchange, and she didn't have any deep impression of her opponent, Ryougi Shiki roughly knew that the ascetic-like man was someone who would dedicate his life to a lofty ideal and shouldn't have joined such a strange sect.

It didn't matter; if they were enemies, they would be eliminated. She was never afraid of invaders; on the contrary, thinking of their considerable strength, she felt a faint sense of anticipation. After all, such people were worth killing.

"So, what you mean by giving me this information is..."

Looking at Kiritsugu Emiya before her, Ryougi Shiki asked expressionlessly.

“I’m already injured, and I’m no match for that guy anymore, so I’d like to ask for your help. I’ve already given more information to Kurogiri,” Kiritsugu Emiya said in a deep voice, looking up at Ryougi Shiki standing in front of him. “I don’t want Li Cheng to know about this, so I hope you can track down the attacker. Right now, only you in the Sixth Team are capable of doing this.”