Harem Streamer System: Every Crime I Broadcast Wins Me a Superheroine - Chapter 260

Chapter 260: Before the Dawn III
Vixen shuffled forward on her elbows.

Her thick, bushy tail swished back and forth behind her like an annoyed cat as she crawled through the vent.

It was a very narrow one.

The metal creaked lightly under her weight.

Her shoulders were sweating.

Her hair was sticking to her neck.

Her breath puffed back into her own face.

“I’m moaning out so much steam it feels like mo cap for a Japanese porn game!”

The whole place felt like someone shoved a sauna inside a microwave.

“God— it’s so hot in here!”

She hissed like an annoyed fox as she wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist.

“Why is it so stupidly hot in this vent? Did they install heaters for fun?”

Judy’s voice crackled instantly over the comms.

[Of course it’s hot you busty idiot. You do know this is a rescue mission, not an air-conditioned tech expo with finger foods and fancy music.] (¬_¬”)

Vixen’s eyes went half-lidded.

Her tone flattened into deadpan disbelief.

“You were at the event, weren’t you?”

[Maybe, heh.]

“Hrmm…”

She could practically hear Judy’s smug smile through the comms.

[And I also saw how you were all over Scott.]

Judy mumbled with a playful hum.

[So what’s so hot about him anyway?]

Vixen froze up a little.

Then rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle the vent didn’t rattle.

“Oh please, don’t even try to act like you don’t have the hots for him too.”

She already had a smirk on standby for Judy’s yelp.

And no surprise, it happened.

[I DO NOT! And that’s— by the way!] (,,¬﹏¬,,)

Vixen snorted.

“Sure.”

[Don’t “sure” me!]

The fox lady could already picture the reporter waving her fists angrily at the monitor.

She shook her head and chuckled at the thought.

“Look, we’ll fight about which of us wants to climb the fuck out Scott like a tree later. Right now I’m in a scorching metal tube the size of my coffin. I’d rather not get unalived while we’re arguing.”

She grunted and crawled deeper.

The vent hummed under her movements.

Then—SCHLK!

Her hips jammed.

She tried again.

Stuck.

All she could hear was the creak of her tight leather super suit rubbing and stretching as she squeezed through the narrow gap as her delicate ass cheeks jiggled with every hard grunt she pushed out.

She wriggled. Still stuck.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” ㅤ/ᐠ – ˕ -マ

She pushed back, pushed forward, wiggled, twisted.

And somehow got stuck even more.

Her entire lower half wasn’t budging.

Judy’s voice floated in.

[Jeez, what’s wrong now? Why’d you stop? Are you near the room yet?]

Vixen groaned strenuously.

“The vent is too tight.”

She paused.

“For my butt.” ₍^. .^₎⟆

Her ears were silent for a moment.

Then Judy exploded.

[That’s what you get for getting a BBL like every other influencer celebrity!]

“EXCUSE ME!?”

Vixen barked as her fluffy ears flattened.

“I did not get a friggin’ BBL! It’s called genetics!”

She wiggled her butt in the vent.

“NATURAL! Same with my sister!” (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

Judy hummed thoughtfully.

[Hm. I guess that would explain why Scott kept staring at your ass so much.]

Vixen froze.

Her cheeks flushed pink.

A slow, radiant smile bloomed on her face.

“He… was?” ( ˶o˶˶o˶) !!

[Don’t get excited— focus!] Judy snapped.

Keyboards clacked furiously in the background.

“Okay— I’ve got a shorter route for you. If you can just squeeze backwards and—”

KRRRRRRAAAAASH!!

A violent air-shattering SLASH ripped open the vent wall like it was cardboard.

Vixen barely had any time to gasp, let alone think, as she threw herself backward just in time to avoid the powerful slash wave that almost took her head.

“OW—!”

She didn’t get off scot-free, her elbow was bleeding.

The vent peeled open.

Its metallic walls curled like shredded foil.

Vixen’s heartbeat went berserk.

She peered through the torn gap and saw Kaede Kazama standing below.

Sword unsheathed and dripping with killing intent.

Her expression was flat stone.

Across the room, Emma stared up from her chair with the most exhausted, unimpressed look imaginable.

She shook her head weakly.

『Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no! Tell me this isn’t who Scott sent to save me. If I somehow manage to survive I swear I’m gonna kill him myself.』

Judy’s worried voice burst through the earpiece.

[What was that!? Vixen? Vixen, talk to me!]

Vixen sighed regretfully. It was long and suffering.

“Seems we weren’t as sneaky as we thought.”

[Bitch, please! DON’T lump me into this!] (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )

Judy shot back instantly.

[What’s with the generalization! This is YOU. Singular. You messed up— not me!]

Vixen wanted to argue.

But there was no time for that.

She reached quickly for something on her utility belt.

—SHWIP!

Kaede slashed up at the vent again.

Vixen moved backward in a tight, awkward back-roll that scraped her tail but saved her life.

A razor-thin arc of displaced pressure ripped the vent’s metal shell like paper.

Kaede looked up with those same dead eyes.

“Be a good little pet and surrender. Otherwise, I’ll go for your head next.”

A threatening pause.

“I don’t miss.”

Vixen groaned.

“Yeah, yeah… let’s not ruin my pretty face. I’ve made way too much money off it.”

She let out a defeated sigh as she sluggishly crawled out through the torn opening.

“Hm?” 𐔌՞. .՞𐦯

She saw Kaede’s grip on her sword loosen.

“SIKE!”

Then propelled herself into a somersaulting flip.

Mid-air, she slipped on sleek fox-themed steampunk goggles over her eyes.

Vixen landed behind Kaede with feline grace.

Kaede spun as her blade sliced toward her neck.

CLAAAAAANG!!

Sparks exploded.

Vixen and Kaede clashed stares.

Vixen’s supercharged plasma claws had somehow blocked the strike.

“It worked!?”

She blurted out, sounding more relieved than confident.

Kaede’s grip trembled.

“What— how did you— that shouldn’t be—”

Vixen didn’t let her finish.

Her tail snapped forward like a prehensile whip to coil around Kaede’s sword arm and lock it in place.

Then Vixen twisted her hips—WHUMP!!

Her punch connected cleanly.

Kaede was blasted backwards.

She slid across the concrete floor until her shoulder smashed into a support beam.

“GAAAAHH—!”

She let out a sharp grunt of pain.

Emma blinked.

Her brain stalled for a full second.

『How the hell…? Kaede moved slower? No that’s not even a possibility. I still couldn’t see her move, but somehow the fox chick did? What changed? What’d she do?』

Vixen turned to her with a bright smile and knelt to tear apart her ropes with her plasma claws.

Emma stood but her legs wobbled.

Vixen immediately steadied her with gentle hands.

“You okay?”

“Yeah…”

Emma muttered, embarrassed.

“I’ve just been sitting my ass for so long I forgot how to use my legs.”

“Happens…” Vixen said with a soft laugh.

Their eyes met.

They shared a tired but warm smile.

Then—SCRAPE!

Kaede pushed herself up.

Blood dripped from her lip.

Her eyes were flashing fury.

Vixen refocused instantly.

She flicked a pair of sleek lightning-themed goggles to Emma who caught them clumsily.

“You should probably put those on.”

Emma slipped them on.

“What do they do?”

Vixen’s smirk widened.

“I have to say, Scott’s a genius. He figured out your little trick in one fight.”

Kaede stiffened.

It didn’t sound like Vixen was bluffing.

“Looks like your power isn’t speed. Not exactly.”

She folded her arms under her bouncing breasts.

“It’s just shitty perception control.”

“When someone blinks, you can accelerate the world around them in order to slip into the gaps. That’s why you’re perfect for killing speedsters.”

Emma’s mouth fell open.

“That… that makes sense!”

Kaede’s jaw clenched.

Vixen tapped her goggles.

“When we blink, Scott’s design fills the gap.”

She flashed a mocking grin.

“No lapses. No missing frames. No openings.”

There was nothing to exploit.

Kaede’s fingers tightened on her hilt.

“You— shouldn’t have told me that.”

Vixen placed a hand on her curvy hip.

Tilted her head.

Smirked like a smug dog.

“Oh please.”

She stretched her fingers until her knuckles popped.

“You’re absolutely screwed.” ᗜ⩊ᗜ

══════

Grave dashed in a blur.

He lunged straight for Nightwatch before the corner could become an escape route.

He didn’t want to give him any breathing space.

Two hook punches tore through the air.

Nightwatch tilted his head left whoosh! then right whoosh! as each fist grazed past his cheek by a hair.

The third strike was a brutal palm straight for his face.

Nightwatch ducked low.

The palm skimmed his hair with a sharp slap.

Grave growled under his breath.

“Stop hiding.”

His follow-up came instantly… an uppercut.

A violent one.

So strong the shockwave visibly rippled out of his fist.

Nightwatch had to lean back hard to press into the cracked concrete wall behind him.

His breath hissed through his teeth.

『Too close—』

He didn’t wait for the next blow.

Using the momentum of leaning back, Nightwatch kicked both feet upward in a drop kick.

『Straight for the legs!』

It was sudden enough to surprise Grave.

WHUMP!!

Grave’s stance buckled.

Nightwatch landed cat-like and charged.

He immediately grabbed Grave around the torso to lock him in a crushing grapple.

But Grave wasn’t some rookie.

THUMP!!

His fist slammed into Nightwatch’s chest with such force the whole sound echoed.

Nightwatch staggered back two steps… but the look in his eyes said he wasn’t done.

He lunged again.

“No running. We’re not done!”

Grave pulled his arm up to break the hold but before his brain even registered the counter…

CRUNCH!!

Nightwatch’s knee rocketed straight into the face.

It landed so hard Grave’s neck snapped back, and his vision blew white for a heartbeat.

“GHH—!!”

He stumbled, disoriented.

Nightwatch didn’t give him a second.

Another grapple. Another knee.

This one was even harder.

CRRACK!!

Grave’s nose flattened.

Blood sprayed as his head whipped back violently.

He lost vision for half a second… just pure darkness.

He couldn’t even see Nightwatch’s expression.

Just the pain.

He swung in a wide pattern—loose, desperate attacks.

Not meant to land.

Just meant to push him away.

The flurry wasn’t pretty… but it worked.

Nightwatch moved back half a meter.

Grave wheezed and wiped his mouth as the blood dripped down his chin.

Nightwatch exhaled sharply and rolled his shoulders.

“Well? Come on then.”

His smirk stretched slowly.

It was a confident and vicious one.

He stepped forward leisurely, swagger in every step.

Like the fight bored him.

Like Grave was beneath him now.

Grave stayed calm.

His stance didn’t break. Fists up. Shoulders square.

『Mind games won’t work on me…』

His eyes studied.

『He knows I can be light on my feet, so he’s hoping to exploit that again… I’ll make him regret it.』

But Nightwatch wasn’t looking at his fists.

He was staring intently at the thin red trail running down Grave’s forehead.

『Thought that knee didn’t land… guess it did.』

Nightwatch’s eyes narrowed further.

It seemed Grave was just so durable that he made even fatal knee strikes look weak.

Nightwatch walked closer.

Step.

Closer.

Step.

Grave’s blood dripped.

Fat, warm droplets sliding between his brows.

Plip. One of them slid right into Grave’s eye.

“NGHKKK──!”

He winced.

Just a tiny flinch.

One that was less than half a second.

Against anyone else it wouldn’t have been a window of attack for them.

But Nightwatch had been waiting for it.

This was like a predator seeing his opening.

『There. There it is. Come on…』

Nightwatch flash-stepped.

A motion so fiercely quick the wind cracked from the burst of acceleration.

His right leg swelled.

『Gather my strength for one hit!』

His muscles ballooned with blue slime energy.

THOOM—it contracted harder than steel.

A contraction so fast and lethal that the air around his muscles went “pop” from the force.

Grave wiped the blood from his eye.

Too late.

Nightwatch reappeared right in front of him.

A devastating hook kick whipped at Grave’s temple.

KRAK!!

Grave’s skull snapped sideways and his vision blinked out completely for a second.

Pure black.

But somehow… unbelievably… he still didn’t fall.

He strengthened his posture through sheer stubborn instinct and years of experience.

Nightwatch’s jaw tightened.

『How the hell does he fight through this? One good head shot puts me out. He’s taken five…』

He didn’t let doubt linger.

He charged.

Two punches right into Grave’s face.

SMACK. SMACK.

Two palm strikes — straight to the jaw.

THWAP. THWAP.

And then a hook punch to the side of Grave’s neck.

CRACK!!

Grave choked brutally and coughed blood and spit all over the ground.

He could barely keep one eye open.

But he still managed to raise his forearms in order to block the descending elbow from Nightwatch.

If only Nightwatch hadn’t faked it.

“What—!?”

Grave’s guard opened for a fraction of a second.

Nightwatch’s fist soared upward.

BOOM!!

The uppercut landed with merciless force.

Grave’s jaw blew open as his head snapped back.

His body slammed against the wall like a crashing car.

SLAM!! He collapsed.

Nightwatch staggered back a step and panted hard.

He spit blood from the corner of his lips.

But Grave… was still somehow moving?

Well, barely. He was crawling desperately.

He dragged himself across the floor toward a handgun lying several meters away.

“Nhh… just need… to…”

His trembling fingers reached out.

CRUNCH.

Nightwatch stomped his hand hard.

Grave let out a broken groan.

Nightwatch flicked his hand and fired a stream of blue slime from his palm that latched onto the gun and pulled it into his grasp like a hooked fish.

He pointed it down at Grave’s face.

“It’s over…”

Grave gave a sick, blood-smeared smile.

“So what now…?”

He rasped like a sickly old man.

“You really gonna finish it? Or don’t you wanna ask me anything? Who sent the attack? Why?”

He chuckled.

“Don’t you want answers…? Unless—”

He chuckled weakly.

“Unless you’re just gonna kill the messenger.”

Nightwatch kicked him in the face.

SMACK!!

Grave’s smile collapsed into a twisted gurgle.

When Grave blinked up…

Nightwatch’s expression terrified him.

『Nghh—!』

It was a switch so sudden he jerked back.

Those blue eyes had gone cold and empty.

His voice sunk into a chilling tone.

“Here’s the thing… you can take from me.”

He crouched down as the gun tightened in his grip.

“But that means I get to take from you. That’s the law of equivalent exchange. Some wise man wrote that down a long time ago.”

Grave trembled under his boot.

But Nightwatch didn’t stop talking for even a moment.

“I don’t want your silly life. Keep it. I want to give you something instead.”

He leaned in.

“Something you’ll remember.”

Nightwatch tilted his head and smiled faintly.

It was a sweet smile, a disturbingly sweet one.

“Something to remind you of your mistake.”

Grave swallowed, shaking.

Nightwatch wagged the gun at him like a parent scolding their unruly child.

“You thought you were strong. You did whatever you wanted because you saw me as nothing, just another bum in a costume, right? But I put a little fire to you… and you melted like a shitty little candle.”

His voice went lower.

“You’ll scream. You’ll beg for it to stop.”

He squeezed his foot against Grave’s fingers.

“But it won’t.”

CLICK.

The gun cocked.

“You don’t get off that easy.”

KA-BLAM!!

A bullet ripped through Grave’s kneecap.

The pain forced him into a wide-mouthed cry.

He barely got half of it out before—

WHAM!!

Nightwatch punched him in the mouth so hard his fist sank inside to shatter teeth and split gums.

Grave whimpered.

“Mmm—whhhump—huuummmp!”

He couldn’t talk with an entire fist in his mouth.

Nightwatch leaned over him and smiled like a demon wearing a human face.

“I believe in harming the messenger.”

He leaned even closer.

“You know why?”

Grave shook his head violently as tears rolled out.

Nightwatch put the gun under his chin.

“Because it sends a message.”