After confirming the girls had gotten out safely, I aimed at the laser guns at their root, and shot.

Unfortunately, the impact wasn't enough.

Damn it...oh wait, I know!

I purposely moved in front of the laser gun's base, and the robots all aimed their guns for me. I waited for them to shoot, and when they finally did, I didn't absorb the projectiles but instead dodged out of the way. The bullets hit true, and the barrage was enough to destroy the laser gun.

Level Two Blessing Magic - Shield of Life.

I slammed my palm into the ground, and a dome of green light arose around me as the initial laser gun's explosion caused a chain reaction - and like dominoes, the laser guns all exploded one after another, while I remained safe within my Shield of Life. I had to input quite a bit of mana to keep the shield up, but alas, I survived unscathed. With the laser guns out of the way, I immediately ran, leaving the robot soldiers and one pissed mad scientist behind.

As an aside, on the way out, a logo I didn't notice on the way in caught my eye. It was painted on the side of the wall inside the room with the large robot head, and it read 'Exurtra Labs' in some fancy font. There was also a string of smaller text below, but I was running too fast to read what it said, unfortunately. Luckily, the mask I was wearing, as explained before, was in fact a recording tool, so hopefully we could identify what the line of words were later, using some sort of video playback program.

*****

After meeting up with the girls back in the stall, I pressed the button hidden beneath the toilet's float once again, and the trapdoor closed shut. With that done, I let out a deep breath.

"...That was close," I muttered.

"Mou...don't do something like that again..." Feng Mian murmured quietly, and I noticed tears on her eyes.

Geez, it's not like I died or anything...

Unable to stand watching her like this, I moved closer to her and gently wiped the tears away from her beautiful purple eyes.

"Alright alright...just stop crying, okay?" I said, patting her head.

"Hmph! I want a headpat too!" Qing Yue pouted, placing her hands on her hip angrily.

"Me...too..." Yu An Xue whispered almost inaudibly while blushing.

"H-Hey! What's up with you all?" Yu An Yan asked, looking around in confusion. "We can ask for headpats later, okay? Let's get out of here for now..."

'We'...huh.

"Grr....fine! But Big Brother Xuan Kai, you gotta headpat me first when we get back!" Qing Yue demanded.

"Yeah yeah, whatever..." I muttered, and went to unlock the stall door. Luckily, no one was within the bathroom just like when we entered the secret lab below, so we just all headed out the female bathroom normally. I was still in my female getup, so we could do this just fine.

Man, come to think of it, this is my second time having to pretend to be a girl...last time it was just my voice, but this time I had to change my whole appearance as well...speaking of, I hope Xiang Peng doesn't bring it u-

"Oh yeah, Xuan Kai, remember back when the Midnight Syndicate invaded Shenzhen, and you joined my protection team under the alias of Zhang San? Oh man, that was sooo funny. I'll never forget the scene of you pretending to be a girl and pissing behind the tree."

"You damn girl what are you tellin-" I began, but it was too late.

"Wait, what? When did this happen?" Feng Mian asked, having now recovered from her crying earlier.

"Uh...don't listen to what sh-"

"Oh, he hasn't told you all this story? Aw baby, this is going to be a blast!" Xiang Peng exclaimed, once again, before I could finish my protest. "Okay, so basically, what happened was..."

And so, on the entire way back to Old Man Leng's wife's gadget shop from the movie theatre, I was stuck listening in embarrassment at the humiliating events of my own past while the girls tried desperately to hold in their laughter.

*****

- Old Man Leng's Wife's Gadget Shop -

By the time we arrived at the gadget shop, it was pretty much morning - 6 AM, to be particular. When we entered, the lady smiled, and welcomed us back.

"Good work," she said, patting on the PC in front of her. "I got all the evidence you recorded transferred over to this computer. With this, I can possibly acquire some more information. But that aside...how did you bypass the female bathroom? I can't help but wonder."

"No thanks to you," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I had already taken off my wig and washed off all my makeup, and also put my original cloak on top of my dress, so I was more or less back to normal again, on the surface.

"Heehee, Xuan Kai had to dress up as a girl," Xiang Peng said, not even trying to hide her laughter. "It was quite amusing, if I do say so myself."

Old Man Leng's wife tilted her head. "Ho...sounds interesting. Well, I don't really care what method you use, as long as it works - and that it did. So I'm going to have you try the same thing next tim-"

"Wait, next time?" I asked in surprise.

She blinked. "Yes, of course. Oh, my dear boy, you couldn't have thought all you had to do was just that one trip, right?"

"Hey, that wasn't the deal," I muttered. "You said as long as we go investigate this facility for you, you would give us what we wante-"

"Uh uh uh," she interrupted, wagging her fingers disapprovingly. "I said you had to investigate it. And as of right now...I can't say your investigation is complete. I have some video evidence of what the inside looks like now, but I still can't come up with a final conclusion on what exactly is going on down there in that lab. Therefore, your investigation is not done yet."

"Oh hell no, I'm not going down there again," I replied immediately. "I barely got out alive this time, and I'm not looking forward to another encounter with armed robots and giant laser guns."

"But you got out fine this time, didn't you?" the woman said with a chuckle. "I trust you can do it again, yes?"

Old Man Leng...I pity you. This woman is your wife? Can't imagine what life must be like for you at home. I...sort of understand why you referred to her as your 'good friend' now, instead of 'lover' or 'spouse'. Hell, she probably forced the marriage.

"I-" I began, trying to deny what she said, but she cut me off before I could even utter out a single word.

"You still want those gadgets, don't you?"

After a long, uncomfortable silence, I sighed, then glared at the woman. "Fine. We'll head in there one more time. But after that, if you still can't deduce a conclusion...we're done."

"Amazing!" the woman exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I'm sure you all must be tired, so come with me. I'll book a room for you all at the nearby hotel."

Now you're acting considerate, huh?

"Two rooms, please," I said exasperatedly.

"Hm? Two? Can't you guys just all sleep in one? 'Cause I'm only paying for one," the lady argued defiantly.

Jesus Christ, she's so picky when it comes to money...whatever.

"Then we'll pay for the other one ourselves. Where's the hotel?"

"Right down the street. I'm closing up the shop anyway, and the hotel is on my way home. Follow me," the lady said, before coming around the counter and heading out the door.

Once we were all out of the shop, she locked it up, and began walking to our right. We turned and followed her.

"So, while we're walking...what are your guesses as to what that facility is researching?" Feng Mian asked the lady. No strangers were around, which I confirmed with my Third Eye. Therefore, it was safe to discuss this here.

"Hm...from the data I recovered from your masks - by the way, you can take them off now if you want - I saw that you encountered lots of...robots and mechanical suits, dead or alive. My guess is that whatever that scientist down there is researching, it has something to do with robots.

"Do you know that scientist?" Yu An Yan asked.

"Not particularly, no. If I'm not wrong though...he went to the same university as me. And he's always been a little bit of an oddball."

"Let me guess...'science is greater than magic', all that?" I muttered.

Old Man Leng's wife nodded. "Indeed. He's always been unhappy with the fact that he was born with only one innate element, even though that was the norm for us humans. Unfortunately, Shanghai - or rather, The Fortress - is a place where everyone from all around the world can enter and compete in, regardless of race, gender, or age. The only rule? Once you enter, you can't leave...unless you successfully make it in to Fragment, of course."

"Yeah, I figured..." I said with a sigh.

In any case, we arrived at the hotel, and Old Man Leng's wife paid for one room like she said she would. The girls took that room, since it was - unexpectedly, considering how much of a prick she was - big, so I had to book another...well, more accurately, Yu An Yan had to book another.

I-I'll get to work soon...I promise.