Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

"Kill..."

As Kazama entered the dog enclosure, a human voice emerged from the monster's mandibles. Immediately following, accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound, two slender black shadows shot out from under the monster's jaws.

Kazama felt a needle-like sensation on his body and immediately dodged to the side.

The shadowy figure missed its target and hovered in mid-air. Only then could its true form be seen: hardened tentacles resembling scythes.

After rolling over and regaining his balance, Kazama pulled out his pistol and fired at the parasite more than ten meters away.

This pistol was the very one Chen Jie had previously overlooked—the Glock 17.

The bullet was fired, hurtling towards the parasite, but it missed, hitting the iron cage behind it and scattering sparks.

It's normal for the gun to be empty; after all, this is Kazama's first time handling such a weapon.

But in the next moment, Kazama subtly adjusted his posture and fired a second shot.

'Recoil...trajectory...'

In an instant, Kazama adjusted his aim based on his experience from the previous shot. And this shot struck the parasite's body precisely.

However, with a sharp impact, the spent cartridge fell to the ground.

The shot ultimately failed.

After Kazama fired the first shot, the parasitic beast's petal-like membrane closed up in front of its body, firmly protecting it.

The surface of that membrane was a hardened gray, with only a shallow, recessed pit on it.

"What a pity..." Kazama sighed inwardly.

When he saw the parasite harden, Kazama seemed to have already guessed the outcome.

Based on the information shown in the anime, it is true that a small number of parasites can withstand bullets by hardening themselves.

When Kazama fired the first shot, he actually had a chance, because the opponent was completely unprepared for a hardening attack.

But there was no other way; lacking experience, Kazama needed to use the first shot to make corrections.

"As expected, we still need to use this..."

Kazama reached into his bag, preparing to take out "Fairy Door".

However, at this moment, the parasite opposite Kazama made a sound again:

"Guns...danger!"

As it uttered these words, the parasite opened its fleshy membrane, fanning itself to float in the sky, before flying out through the skylight at the top of the warehouse wall.

Without a word, the parasite chose to run away.

Although Kazama reacted quickly, taking his hand out of his bag and raising his gun to fire, the parasite was even faster, having already slipped out of the skylight by the time Kazama fired. Only one of the shots hit the parasite's hind leg.

Cerberus popped out of Kazama's pocket again; there were no security cameras in the dog kennel. But before it could speak, Kazama pressed it back down.

"Stop fooling around."

"We need to catch up quickly."

Chapter Thirty-One: Tracking

Parasites possess powerful camouflage abilities; if they escape from here, they will be difficult to find again.

Therefore, this problem must be completely resolved here.

With that thought, Kazama deactivated the effects of the Fighting Card and Shield on his body, replacing them with the 'Skip Card'.

As the card was activated, white magical wings appeared on Kazama's ankles. Then, Kazama leaped towards the skylight above, instantly traversing a height of nearly eight meters and landing on the roof outside the skylight.

The parasite escaped from here.

The view here is excellent, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding factory area.

However, Kazama wasted more than half a minute. When he stood on the roof, even with his excellent eyesight, he could no longer see the parasite.

"Did we lose them?" Cerberus poked half his head out of Kazama's pocket.

"Ah."

Kazama nodded slightly.

"But we can still catch up."

"When the parasite escaped, I shot it in the right hind leg. It couldn't have gotten very far."

“But it can fly!” Cerberus couldn’t help but say.

It witnessed the parasite fly away with its own eyes.

The difference in maneuverability between those that walk on the ground and those that fly in the sky is enormous.

"That depends on how it flies."

"If you say it like that, even chickens can fly."

"But the chicken will still land after flying a certain distance."

"Although the parasite used tentacles to simulate the state of 'wings,' the body it occupied was still a dog. Both its shape and weight were obstacles to the act of 'flight.'"

Although parasites are creations pulled from fantasy by superpowers, their logic still follows the rules of physics.

In this situation, Kazama didn't believe the other party could fly very far.

As he spoke, Kazama looked down at the factory area.

"I discovered the true form of that parasite before, so it shouldn't run towards places where there are people."

"The police have now almost completely surrounded the factory, except for the south side..."

The factory is adjacent to another factory area to the south, so a complete lockdown would require more police force.

However, since the operation was initiated by police officers drawn from a neighboring city, the number of officers was not large, making it unlikely that the area could be completely sealed off.

Once Kazama reached the rooftop, the first thing he did was to observe his surroundings, naturally noticing the police car blocking the road below.

The license plates on those police cars started with "Tiannan B" instead of "Tiannan A," which represents Xinghai City itself, clearly indicating that the police came from a neighboring city.

'They're probably afraid there's a mole within the city's police force leaking information,' Kazama thought.

After all, this underground casino has been open for almost three or four years now, and the fact that it hasn't been shut down yet speaks volumes about its size.

However, the police's elaborate operation raises questions about their true intentions—it could simply be to take down an underground casino, but that would be giving them too much credit.

Kazama thought of the silver briefcase again, and the desperate criminal he had fought before but who was killed by the parasite.

Is that the reason...?

Kazama had a guess in his mind.

However, on the surface, he was still continuing to explain his analysis of the parasitic beast's tracks to Cerberus:

"In this situation, the parasite will most likely choose to escape to the south of the factory area."

"But for the parasites, even the back factory area is not safe enough."

“For them, a sufficiently safe place would be the more remote areas.”

"Further south of this factory area is a wasteland, and across the wasteland is the national highway leading to the next city, so that guy will most likely choose that side."

Kazama had done his homework before coming; he had at least gotten a basic understanding of the surrounding environment.

"And since the other party is injured, it is entirely possible to catch up with them."

As he spoke, a sealing key appeared in one of Kazama's hands, while a golden card appeared at the tip of his other finger.

[thefly]

Xiang brand.

Unlike the parasites' flight, which is constrained by the laws of physics, Kazama's ability to fly comes from the mysterious and extraordinary side.

As long as you have enough magic power, there are almost no restrictions.

“I see…” Cerberus nodded:

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

But Kazama shook his head.

“I can go alone, Kruberos, you have another mission.”

Before Kazama fully masters the Earth and Fire elemental cards, Cerberus, the sealed beast, can only serve as a cute accessory and cannot play a significant role in direct combat.

Therefore, it makes no difference whether or not you bring Kerberos to track down the Parasites.

Rather than letting it continue to be just a decorative accessory, I'd rather use it to help me handle something else.

"Wh...what is it?" Kerberos paused upon hearing Kazama's words.

"If it's going to be a fight, I can't be of any help right now," Cerberus said guiltily.

"Don't worry, it's just a simple errand," Kazama said.

“At the dog farm before, there was a silver briefcase left next to the body of the person I fought. Go back now, retrieve that briefcase, and then come back to me.”

After arranging for Cerberus, Kazama watched as Cerberus flapped its tiny white wings and flew back down. At that moment, Kazama also withdrew his gaze.

The key transformed into an eagle-headed staff, which Kazama held in his hand, and then the Flying Card was activated.

A pair of snow-white wings appeared behind Kazama.

That's right behind you.

Although Sakura in the original work basically used the Flying Card to transform the Eagle Head Staff into a flying tool, the Flying Card can actually be used by attaching it directly to the body.

As for why Kazama used it that way, it wasn't because of any sense of shame.

In fact, Kazama has always been a pragmatist, and when necessary, he wouldn't mind moving around on a pink 'broom' like a medieval witch.

Kazama simply felt that relying on specific implements for flying magic was too restrictive. When flying while holding a staff, both hands had to maintain a holding posture.

Conversely, if one directly adds the wings of the Xiang brand to oneself, not only will one's limbs be freed, but one can even use more flexible and varied movements in the air.

Of course, using the Flying Talisman on oneself has its drawbacks compared to using it on a staff.

For example, it is extremely difficult to control.