Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The sudden gust of wind swept through the market street, causing the citizens to scatter like startled beasts. Some squinted their eyes, trying to locate the source of the wind, but all they could see were several golden shadows above them. Unbeknownst to them, the "instigator" of this strange wind had already landed in a place they had overlooked.
Taokalanphiel's three-dimensional human form appeared before the Celestial Warriors, her foot stepping on a decaying cabbage leaf in the corner. She pouted and forcefully kicked away the leaf stuck to her shoe, saying, "Why are you hiding in a place like this? It took me five seconds to search this entire country and I still couldn't find you... Never mind, it looks like you need my help?"
Five seconds? The entire country? Ever since this woman with the codename Light Shuttle appeared, every encounter with Taokalanphiel had left Lu Sha dumbfounded.
Jiao An pulled Taokalanphiel into a darker corner. Now the four of them huddled together like roaches in the shadows, but Taokalanphiel's golden appearance was too conspicuous; even walking down the street, it was hard for anyone not to turn and look at her. With no other choice, Jiao An handed his brown coat to Taokalanphiel while he donned a purple and black uniform.
"Listen, we don't know if anyone is following us, so let's hide here for a bit," Jiao An said to Taokalanphiel, using the coat as cover to pull out a map. "Later, we need to go to the end of this street and find this tavern where we'll meet our target. All we know about him is that his name is A, according to someone from the Embassy."
"No need for such details; I'm just here to assist you. So what do you need me to do?"
Jiao An glanced outside at the bustling crowd and whispered into Taokalanphiel's ear. From Qin Weishan and Lu Sha's perspective, it seemed Taokalanphiel understood and replied with a "Okay" before transforming back into light and shooting up into the sky like a rocket, tracing a beautiful golden arc in midair.
"What did you say?" Qin Weishan asked Jiao An.
"You'll find out soon enough," Jiao An called to the others. "Let's go; it's just a few steps away."
The tavern they were looking for was an "elder" establishment on this market street. It was said that its existence predated Mauritius' declaration of independence in 1968 by quite some time. On the wall by the entrance hung a black-and-white close-up photo of a man, beneath which was inscribed in elegant script both in Creole and French:
"In memory of Sir Clément, founder of Little Youth Tavern, 1944."
To avoid drawing attention before entering, Jiao An smeared a lot of yellow mud on his sniper rifle case and on Qin Weishan's equipment box containing mechanical gauntlets, making them look as if they had just been dug out of mud. Lu Sha simply bought an oversized coat from the market to cover her chain spear below her wrist while tightly wrapping her cuffs with tape to make herself look like a weary young girl.
"Do we look too shabby?" Lu Sha began to speak just as Jiao An pushed open the door. She quickly stood beside Qin Weishan, trying to shield him from view with her body.
It was evening now, and the tavern wasn't ready for business yet. Behind the front desk were neatly arranged tables surrounded by four chairs each. The lighting was dim; scattered rays fell across the glass windows and onto the floor. In the depths of the tavern, a girl wearing a maid's apron with white tassels quietly wiped glasses.
The entire place felt isolated from the outside world; despite the noisy crowd outside, it seemed that during daylight hours, no one besides the Celestial Warriors showed any interest in this tavern. Jiao An thought there was no one at the front desk and was about to step onto the stairs leading to the second floor when that girl suddenly spoke up in a soft and gentle voice: "Sister, we’re not open during the day."
She approached them with a glass and cloth in hand, smiling politely.
"But we have an appointment here at seven."
"But it's not seven yet. Could you tell me your reservation name? I can arrange seating for you."
"Well, we don't know his real name; he referred to himself as A."
This was indeed how their contact from Diplomat had instructed them to refer to their appointment. Jiao An expected the girl would say something like "That's hard to register," but her expression changed subtly. The previously nodding and smiling girl now wore an ambiguous smile that made both Jiao An and Lu Sha feel an unsettling femininity.
What surprised them even more was that after Jiao An mentioned A's name, someone rose from behind the front desk as if he had been lying down there all along—a man wearing lace-trimmed glasses sat up straight. Qin Weishan jolted slightly, nearly unlocking his equipment box in preparation for battle.
The man scrutinized the three newcomers with an assessing gaze before suddenly asking, "Is that girl outside also with you?"
The three turned around but saw nothing—only lingering golden trails and wind chimes swaying back and forth at the entrance due to the breeze. Jiao An smiled knowingly but then turned back with a cold expression and said to the man, "No one is there; you must be mistaken."
"Haha, that's true," the man couldn't explain it either; perhaps he really was hallucinating. He stepped out from behind the front desk and called to the girl, "Go get the things."
As they followed the man up to the second floor of Time, there was no need for further introductions. The series of reactions had already made Jiao An aware. The two people in this tavern were clearly followers of the Miracle Sect. The fact that the shop was closed during the day but still had two people inside indicated that it had ulterior motives. Moreover, their actions suggested they were aware that the three would be appearing and had been waiting for a long time. Jiao An's biggest suspicion now was whether this place was a regular gathering spot for Miracle Sect members, meaning their leader likely resided here.
Jiao An believed the man shared her thoughts; otherwise, he wouldn't have silently led them upstairs.
The second floor was a dark VIP room, and they merely glanced around before continuing to follow the man to the third floor. To their surprise, there were lights on the third floor, and entry required the man to unlock a large door with a key. The entire third floor was a vast reception area illuminated by three white energy-saving lamps hanging from above. As they stepped inside, their eyes were immediately drawn to a target riddled with dents from rubber bullets on the front wall and various art pieces like jade ivory and blue-and-white porcelain displayed in the southeast corner of the hall. From the marks left behind, Jiao An estimated that many had attempted to meet with high-ranking members of the Miracle Sect, though she wasn't sure how many succeeded.
The girl who had been ordered by the man appeared behind them, holding a Revolver. However, this gun looked very crude and old; Jiao An suspected it might have been homemade, with less lethality than a toy gun. The girl handed the gun to Jiao An and removed the bullet chamber, explaining rules almost identical to those she had heard at the Embassy. What she didn't expect was that each person—herself, Qin Weishan, and Lu Sha—would need to fire five bullets from this gun, and if the last bullet left in the chamber was a Pork Bullet, they could meet with the leader of the Miracle Sect.
Exchanging glances with her companions, Jiao An realized that now Qin Weishan and Lu Sha could only hope that her unknown method would work. Qin Weishan felt that this problem would likely have to be resolved by force.
"Shall we begin?" the girl asked Jiao An, who nodded while pressing her communicator by her ear.
The man could never have imagined that what he saw at the door was not an illusion. Just like common intuition in this world—if something feels right but lacks evidence, after going through twists and turns, it will eventually prove true without needing additional proof. A flash of light suddenly appeared in their line of sight but vanished in less than a second; there was no evidence in the room to suggest a strong wind had swept through.
Neither the man nor the girl noticed her appearance; they only knew that after a golden light flashed by, Jiao An, Qin Weishan, and Lu Sha each fired five rubber bullets without exception, leaving that most special Pork Bullet in the chamber.
The man's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is this possible?! This luck is unbelievable! Only one percent of those who took the test could pass!"
"Haha, when luck is on your side, there's no stopping it," Lu Sha chuckled while rubbing his head.
However, at that moment, the man did not look convinced despite what had just happened; he sensed something was off. He wanted to mention seeing a beam of golden light but couldn't connect it to the fact that "they all left a Pork Bullet."
Yes, these people were suspicious. At 0.3 times the speed of light, it was enough for his brain to lose track of time. Jiao An cleverly utilized Taokalanphiel's abilities to reset what had already been predetermined in the chamber at that moment. Each time before shooting, it seemed as if it was set up by the girl; however, it had actually been handled by Taokalanphiel before being given to them. Her speed was beyond what human eyes could perceive.
The man knew nothing but was convinced these individuals must have some undisclosed request to meet with their leader from the Miracle Sect.
"I'm sorry, but although you passed the test, our leader is currently not in Mauritius."
"What?!" Qin Weishan immediately showed signs of impatience. "Then what was the purpose of making us complete this test?"
"We will reserve positions for you."
"But you need to explain why we weren't informed about this before starting!"
Comment 0 Comment Count