An old and almost broken-looking car stopped on the side of a street in a small town with fairly densely distributed buildings, beside a tree with crooked branches and dark green leaves. The streets were dirty, the weather was cold, and the air reeked of some kind of rotting smell combined with a “spicy” scent, which made it quite an annoying and unpleasant place for normal people to be around.

“This smell is definitely a nice touch.” Josephine Wong got out of the car, dressed in a civilian T-shirt with  the Chinese phrase “I love Tofu” written on it, a pair of jeans, combat boots and a pair of extra dark sunglasses: “This looks like the right neighborhood I would use. And it seems we are under surveillance already.”

“See? What did I tell you?” Jianmen got out of the driver’s seat, also with a pair of sunglasses on his face and adjusted his worn canvas jacket and his T-shirt with a Shiba Inu logo on his chest: “I did a quick divination on this place - the defences are not that hard to break, even our students can do what we’re about to do with some careful planning.”

“Hmm, what about potential hidden powerhouses stationed here that cloaked themselves?”

“I suspected we might have at least one here. That’s why we’re here, aren’t we?” Jianmen smiled: “And don’t forget, stealth is still key, primary objective first. But, don’t forget to have fun.”

“Sometimes your reactions to things are so relatable that I forgot you used to be a god.” Josephine Wong chuckled, shaking her head and closed the car door: “I mean, lives are still at stake.”

“Welp.” Jianmen adjusted his sunglasses and said: “I promised to try. I didn’t promise that it would be done perfectly as she would’ve expected. And what’s that saying about snitches? They get switches?”

“Stitches.” Josephine Wong almost laughed out loud, gently clutched her pink purse and extended her hand towards Jianmen.

Jianmen took Josephine Wong’s arm, and they walked down the road from where Jianmen parked down the street.

The distinct smell was present throughout the whole area, and it stuck to both their clothes like it was from vaporized oil in the air. But neither paid much attention, and they just kept walking, while pretending to be bothered by it.

The entire neighborhood was full of old but classic looking buildings that were seemingly built with bricks and concrete, instead of commonly used wood. The streets and roads were quite dirty and uneven, one could see stains everywhere on the roads and the walls around. This rough and rundown look, combined with the bad and cloudy weather, the smell, and the narrow streets where there was basically no place to park, had made the entire town quite unwelcoming. But from the looks of the local residents, they didn’t seem to mind it at all.

“Hello?” Jianmen and Josephine Wong went inside of a small motel with an almost entirely broken billboard and doors that looked barely functional, and Jianmen asked the old man standing behind a counter reading a stained newspaper with a crooked eye and a horrifying scar on his bald head in a nervous tone: “We need some help. I - I was wondering if there’s a mechanic shop somewhere nearby?”

“No.” the old man took a brief look at Jianmen and said.

“Please, our car broke down - ”

"No." the old man said and sucked his teeth, making a loud and unpleasant sound.

“Hi, excuse me, Mister.” Josephine Wong laid down a 5 dollar bill on the counter and said: “We really need some help. Our piece of crap car broke down by the side of the road, and we tried calling our insurance but they said it will take them hours.”

“Rooms are 25 dollars per night.” the old man pointed at a wooden board on the side.

“Okay, then we’d like a room.” Josephine Wong put three more bills on the counter, making it 30 dollars: “And keep the change.”

The old man stared at both Jianmen and Josephine Wong for a short while, long enough to make any unsuspecting civilian uncomfortable and creeped out, before sliding the bills down into a drawer: “No, ain’t no mechanic shops around here. If your car broke down in this fucking town, you’re shit outta luck.”

“Then can you at least tell us where to rent a car?” Josephine Wong took a look at Jianmen then her phone, and said.

“You can go across the street and ask Jimbo.” the old man said: “He might have a car you can use. But it’s gonna cost ya.”

“Alright, thank you.” Josephine Wong said and tried to drag Jianmen away.

“Wait.” the old man stopped them.

“Huh?” Jianmen turned back looking worried and even a little frightened.

“Your keys, Room 313. We don’t have any rooms on the first two floors.” the old man tossed a key with a cracked and slightly greasy plastic keychain onto the counter and said.

“Thank … thank you.” Jianmen took the keychain and went out with Josephine Wong.

“Alright, I owe you a drink now.” halfway across the street, Josephine Wong said to Jianmen with her mind: “Looks like the ‘Overly Needed Influencer’ persona is not necessary. How’d you know they would let us stay?”

“We’re civilians to them.” Jianmen replied: “If we’re power wielders - then they will more likely try to shoo us away to prevent us from finding out anything. But since we’re civilians, I’d imagine they would be less cautious and would not hesitate to torment us for a bit, or even try something nastier.”

“So, Jimbo’s car’s gonna be really expensive, isn’t it?”