Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

[Main Text] Dragon Gate Chronicles: Chapter Six Texas, what are you doing, Texas!?

Texas was the only one who followed the furious Tomat to the casino. The others had gone back to their cars to get their weapons, while Ja stayed at the stall because Tomat had told him to "prepare another bowl of noodles for me."

As for why Texas was the one accompanying her, it wasn't just because she was serving as a bodyguard on this trip. Another reason was that she wasn't someone who specialized in any particular weapon or martial art. Even without her most frequently used dual swords, she could handle other types of weapons, whether it was short swords and daggers, long staffs and broadswords, pure fist fighting, or bows, crossbows, or Originium guns. She had a smattering of any technique for knocking down or killing.

"You think she only knows how to use those Originium swords? I know Texas killed three people with a pencil in Syracuse." — This was the first rumor spread by the boss, Emperor, within Penguin Logistics.

Earlier, when Tomat stormed into the casino, which was in chaos due to the explosion, shirtless and menacing, most of the casino thugs were focused on the building, but some still spotted Tomat, a suspicious individual.

The first person to step forward to stop Tomat and attempt an attack was instantly kicked to the ground by Texas, who was right behind him. Texas then grabbed one of Tomat's arms, pressed down on his back, and broke his shoulder and elbow joints. The sound of bones breaking replaced the poor guy's screams.

Texas took the street fighting knife that the man carried, for later use in combat.

In that brief moment of respite, Texas shifted her gaze away from Tomat, whom she needed to protect. As she looked for Tomat, who shouldn't have gone far, she found him already near the casino entrance—along with a bunch of thugs who had been turned upside down.

"...Does he really need a bodyguard?"

However, having questioned the meaning of his journey with such thoughts, Texas headed to the casino, but now he has other headaches to consider.

For example, there's the "old acquaintance" who inexplicably appears at the Old Street Casino—a white-haired Lupo girl named "Lappland".

Although the grudge between the two was enough for her to use phrases like "omitted," "omitted," and "omitted" to deflect blame from anyone and not want anyone to be interested in delving into it, her presence here meant that there would be a lot of trouble to come.

However, the most important issue now is what reason would be most convenient for her to be hospitalized.

Is it "Oripathy leading to coma"?

Or was it "his head was smashed into the concrete floor, causing him to lose consciousness"?

This is a question Texas should seriously consider, firstly because Lappland's legs now have more crystals than when he last saw her, and secondly because Lappland's current condition is the latter.

Her head was buried in the ground, with only her long white hair reaching past her shoulders showing. Her body was in a tiger-like... no, it should be said that she was kneeling in a "wolf-like landing" position. Her snow-white tail drooped behind her raised buttocks and twitched occasionally. The weapon she was holding had been released and had fallen to her sides.

As for Tomat, he kept his right fist clenched and suspended in the air, smoke still rising from it. His calm and collected expression seemed to show a refreshing relief, as if he had just vented his anger. He looked at Lappland in front of him and said:

"It's okay, with doctors like Gavial and Warfarin around, she can still survive."

He then added, "By the way, just say it's an Oripathy attack."

Tomat had already decided on his reasons.

As for Texas, in addition to its troubles, it also experienced unexpected shock.

Leaving aside how Tomat took care of everyone else while she was subduing one person, knocking Lappland down with a single punch was a huge surprise to Texas.

She knew Lappland's strength very well. Even if she had been exhausted from fighting others before, she shouldn't have been able to be instantly killed the moment she raised her hand to swing her sword.

Moreover, based on her own understanding of Lappland, the other party was never "drained".

"...Let me pull her out first."

"Then I'll go back and wait for the noodles. If I can't pull it out, I'll do it after I finish eating. Let her bury it for a while longer as punishment."

Without turning his head, Thomas turned to the stall where Jie was. He saw that the other person was focused on the cooking station and was not disturbed at all by the "minor disturbance" in the casino. The slight annoyance that remained after beating him up was quickly extinguished.

"You're back, customer? The noodle soup isn't even hot yet." Jie didn't ask about the situation across the table. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he continued to immerse himself in cooking the fish ball noodles. "It's better to have less of this commotion, otherwise business will be completely ruined."

"Why not work on Rhodes Island? I remember there are operators who run shops and stalls in the Rhodes Island residential area. It's not convenient to work anywhere at this time, so why not give Rhodes Island a try?"

Although he hadn't frequented the area much, Tomart still vividly remembered seeing the rustic vendor stalls inside the Rhodes Island, a building with a futuristic overall architectural style.

"Oh, well... Sister Croissant mentioned it to me, but I grew up around the Beihai Market area, and I have a lot of people who took care of me in Lungmen. Suddenly going to another place..."

But Jie hesitated, and his stammering words were enough to show how much he cared for Longmen.

"Beep beep beep beep————"

"Make way, make way! Penguin Logistics is coming! Get out of the way!!"

The car horn and Exusiai and Croissant's loud shouts interrupted their conversation. A black luxury car sped up and stopped near the stall, from which two people, already equipped with rapid-fire guns and heavy hammers and shields, quickly jumped out.

"Did someone just mention my name?"

Croissant slammed his hammer against the shield, making a loud clanging sound.

"Never mind that, where's Texas? Why is it just you, boss? You sent her off alone without any weapons?"

When Exusiai saw that Texas was not by Tomat's side, she subconsciously spoke to Tomat in an anxious, interrogative tone.

Of course, she wasn't worried about Texas's safety. With her skills, even a bunch of thugs couldn't do anything to her. Exusiai was a little anxious because she found a box of chocolate chips in the car and planned to give it to Texas, because she felt that it would be more motivating than giving Texas weapons.

"Everything's packed, but I ran into an acquaintance in Texas... They haven't arrived yet, they're probably still working on it?"

Tomat meant that Texas might still be trying to find a way to bring Lappland out.

However, this explanation was too incomprehensible to the two who were not present at the time, but it made it clear that Texas was now in the casino. Exusiai and Croissant headed there to look for Texas.

But Croissant, who had gone in first, quickly retreated in less than a second, using her shield to block the already destroyed casino door, and said to Exusiai, who had not yet entered, with a panicked expression:

"Exusiai! Don't come in yet!"

"Croissant, what are you doing? Come in and help! Exusiai is here too? Let's lend a hand."

Texas's voice came through, but what she said made Croissant look incredulous.

"What?! You actually want all four of you to go together?! Hurry up and finish this already!"

"Croissant, why are you blocking my way? Wasn't Texas calling us?"

Exusiai stepped forward anyway, nudging the unyielding Croissant while craning her neck to see what secrets the casino might hold that she couldn't see.

"Clap."

Then, the box of chocolate cookies that Exusiai was holding, as well as the Originium Sword she brought, fell to the ground after seeing what was inside.

Because she saw Texas at that moment, with her front legs pressed against a white-haired Lupo girl, her buttocks sticking out high, while she was hugging the girl's waist, looking like she was pulling hard back and forth.

"Texas, what are you doing?!"

Everyone present felt that the color of Exusiai's halo had undergone a strange change.

[Main Text] Dragon Gate Chronicles: Chapter Seven - A Tragedy Triggered by a Bowl of Noodles

"This noodle dish is really delicious."

"Thank you for the compliment. There were gunshots coming from the casino just now. Shouldn't we go check it out?"

"There are probably some remaining rabble; they'll be fine."

The huge basin was now empty. Thomas got up, still feeling unsatisfied, and went to a thug who was standing upside down on the road nearby. He took off the thug's Western-style jacket and casually draped it over his shoulders as clothing. Although he had torn the jacket to vent his anger, it wasn't a good idea to keep doing it like this.

"You treacherous dog! You heartless wolf! I've only been gone a short while and you're already with some random...wait, isn't she Lappland?"

"What nonsense are you talking about... drag her out of here."

No one knew whether Exusiai had shown mercy or Texas's dodging skills were superb. The bullets fired from the still-smoking rapid-fire gun all hit Texas's feet. After calming down and realizing that it was just an acquaintance with his head stuck in the ground, Exusiai also calmed down. But why would there be an acquaintance with his head stuck in the ground here?

"Croissant, you stopped me and made me misunderstand!"

"If I hadn't stopped you, you would have riddled Texas with bullets... even though I misunderstood too."

Although there were things to be curious about, the two who arrived later immediately stepped forward, each grabbed Lappland's hand, and together pulled hard to lift Lappland's dusty head out of the floor.

"Whew—I'm alive!"

However, she, who had been motionless in the field before and was only recently pulled out, still spoke in the same high-pitched tone as before, wiping the dirt off her face with a cheerful smile, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Clearly, Lappland was conscious beforehand.

"Hey...when did you wake up?"

Feeling like she'd been tricked, Texas's face darkened. Instead of waiting for an answer, she took the twin swords and chocolate cookies from Exusiai and walked out of the casino.

"Around the time when your lower abdomen touched my butt and you started twisting your waist back and forth?"

This mocking tone doesn't sound like something someone would say after being punched into the floor.

"Shut up... The boss is here, hopefully he's calmed down by now."

As the group left the casino, they encountered Tomat, who had come to check on the situation after having a hearty meal.

"Miss Rupert with white hair."

Thomas looked Lappland up and down, who seemed completely unaffected except for some dust on her face and a disheveled appearance, and then greeted her.

It wouldn't be surprising if the other party attacked again because of what she had done, but Tomat had no such concerns, unless she wanted to feel the underground temperature again.

"That punch just now really hurt."

Lapland, however, waved his hand decisively, closed his eyes, and bowed slightly in a rather masculine ballroom greeting, while introducing himself:

"I'm Lappland." Lappland laughed heartily, lowering her previously high-pitched tone and adopting a calmer one, while glancing at Croissant and Exusiai who were already present. "In Penguin Logistics, there are quite a few people who have complaints or don't give me a good look because they often see me 'entangled' with Texas."

“But you’re the first guy to choose to throw a punch.” Lappland picked up the twin swords that had fallen to the ground and sheathed them at her side, not as if she was about to attack. “You’re a pretty good guy. You seem to care a lot about Texas. I didn’t expect to see a man like you after not seeing you for a while.”

Lappland and Texas have some grudges, which is no secret in Penguin Logistics, but her colleagues, out of respect for Texas's choice, do not actively ask about the past that she does not want to talk about.

Therefore, they did not want Lappland to trouble Texas because of those past events, which is why they were critical of her or treated her coldly.

However, since Lappland has maintained a friendly attitude towards other Penguin Logistics personnel so far, and is usually as polite as a well-bred lady, like a mafia heiress who likes to make cruel jokes, they can't just rudely drive Lappland away. They can only maintain a delicate relationship of not interfering with each other.

Rather, it's precisely because they had no leverage to drive Lappland away that they considered Lappland a very troublesome problem.

Nobody wants someone whose motives are to be their colleague, yet they can't find any fault with them, to keep appearing around them.

Of course, taking direct action and openly opposing Lappland would only make things more complicated.

Lappland knew this all too well, which is why she had a strange impression of Tomat, who didn't hesitate to beat her up.

"Avenging Texas, can anyone else do that?"

The previous indifferent tone gradually faded, and Lappland's expression was filled with pleasure.

"But there are countless people who would oppose me. I'll give you a chance to see if your reckless courage is just hot-blooded bravado or genuine confidence... Hey, what are you whispering about?"

Lappland, who had subtly challenged Tomat with her words and even subconsciously regarded Tomat as some close associate of Texas, suddenly saw Tomat glancing at her while whispering in Texas's beast ear.

“...The boss asked me, ‘What is this guy talking about? Did he break his brain?’ Sigh.” Texas sighed, then turned to Tomatt and said in a long sentence that she wouldn’t normally use, “Don’t worry, boss, she does have some problems with her head, but it has nothing to do with you hitting her head into the floor for a bowl of noodles. It’s just an old problem of hers.”

"That's good. If I know a neurosurgeon, I can introduce her to her. I just don't know if there are any on Rhodes Island."

Ignoring Lappland's frozen expression after hearing Texas's words, Thomas snapped his fingers, seemingly reminding them that they were there for tourism, not to reminisce.

"Let's go quickly. A lot of people have died here. Although they all seem to have dirty pasts, the local authorities will probably deal with it soon. I don't want to spend the rest of the month in the detention center."

Lappland looked energetic and lively, so there was no need to bring her to the Rhodes Island—he had thought she would be unconscious for much longer.