Tokyo, Japan. July 20th, 11:30 PM. Inside the auction house of the Mirror World.
There was a final thirty-minute countdown until the underground auction officially began. Beneath the magnificent crystal chandeliers, row upon row of seats were completely packed.
A total of about a hundred guests had already taken their places.
Every single guest was a prominent figure in the yakuza, representing their respective families in the bidding war, though the true leaders in power would never show their faces at such a gathering.
Black Cocoon controlled his Restraining Band Avatar, resting his elbows on the armrests as he quietly observed his surroundings.
Soon, his gaze locked onto a young man with slicked-back hair, dressed in a traditional tunic suit.
The youth wore sunglasses, resting his cheek against his fist as he dozed with his head tilted to the side. He had been sleeping for a solid hour now. Compared to the other guests present, this young man in the tunic suit looked completely out of place.
Black Cocoon vaguely rembered that this young man had entered an hour and a half ago—aning he had spent more than half his ti at the auction sound asleep.
Moreover, he showed no signs of waking up, looking as though he had passed out dead in his chair.
'Could this be the guy Ke Qirui ntioned who could slaughter half the brigade all by himself?'
Black Cocoon scratched his jaw, pondering inwardly.
He controlled the Restraining Band Avatar to stand up, ignoring the gazes of the other guests as he walked toward the young man in the tunic suit.
He then feigned a stumble, hurriedly raising a hand to grab the youth's shoulder for support. Pitch-black Restraining Bands shot out from his cuffs, striking toward the young man's neck like venomous snakes.
Suddenly, a faint golden light rippled across the surface of the young man's neck, deflecting the Restraining Bands entirely.
"What the hell..."
Black Cocoon raised an eyebrow, stabilizing the Restraining Band Avatar. He glanced at the bands retracting into his cuffs, then looked up to re-evaluate the youth.
The young man's face remained utterly peaceful, sleeping soundly without the slightest reaction.
Watching this, Black Cocoon thought to himself, 'That pretty much confirms it. This is the person Ke Qirui was talking about.'
'But this is too ridiculous. He can defend against my Restraining Bands while sleeping like a log. Is he from Lake Hunt, or the Salvation Society? Should I sacrifice the Restraining Band Avatar here to see if I can break through his defenses?'
'Forget it, I will just sit back and watch for now.'
With that in mind, he controlled the Restraining Band Avatar to walk over to a woman in a cheongsam, grabbed a bottle of coconut water from her tray, and returned to his seat.
Just as he sat down, a man in a floral shirt wandered over and took the seat next to him.
The man in the floral shirt grinned and whispered to the Restraining Band Avatar, "Mr. Fujimoto, things have been really lively these past few days... So big figures we normally never see have all co out of the woodwork."
The Restraining Band Avatar adjusted the details of its throat and coughed twice. "Indeed..."
The man in the floral shirt tapped his fingers against the armrest, speaking with a beaming, animated expression.
"The last underground auction was held three years ago, on July 21st, just like this year. Back then, the Eight Great Yakuza Families also heard rumors that the White Raven Brigade would make a move, so they were fully ard. But in the end, absolutely nothing happened, leaving the elders to endlessly mock that so-called bandit troupe."
At this point, the man snorted twice. "This ti they made such a massive fuss and even invited Blue Arc. The higher-ups all believe the White Raven Brigade will chicken out again, just like last ti."
The Restraining Band Avatar scratched its chin thoughtfully. "Do you think... the White Raven Brigade might have had their eyes on sothing else during the last auction?"
The man chuckled, utterly disapproving of the notion.
"How is that possible? Those bandits only have eyes for money. There were so many priceless items on stage, and they did not touch a single one. There is no way anything else could have tempted them."
The Restraining Band Avatar nodded. "That is true. Those greedy, low-IQ bandits only have that much ambition anyway."
He glanced up at the auction house's clock. The minute hand had moved another quarter turn; there were only fifteen minutes left until the auction officially comnced.
Black Cocoon ntally categorized the defensive forces of the two auction houses:
Real World Auction House: Fifty Esper bodyguards and fifty ard bodyguards. They were disguised as key mbers of the yakuza families, sitting inside the auction venue waiting for the White Raven Brigade to appear.
Besides them, six mbers of the Core Bodyguard Team were currently inside the Real World Auction House: Sakura Bud, Ke Qirui, Su Zimai, Xu Sanyan, Lin Zhengquan, and Fuyuyama Nobunaga.
Mirror World Auction House: A hundred high-ranking mbers of the yakuza families, the dozing youth in the tunic suit (suspected to be a mber of Lake Hunt or the Salvation Society), and the Red Dragon, Li Qingping.
Then there were three mbers of the Core Bodyguard Team: Blue Arc, Kyomori, and Haihara Ritsu.
What made Black Cocoon rather curious was: Where was Old Man Ghost Bell hiding right now?
Ghost Bell could not possibly have sneaked in among the guests; if a fight broke out, he would not even have his combat suit to wear.
Furthermore, entering the auction house required a rigorous physical search and a smart iris scan. Unless the yakuza gave him a ticket, he would be blocked at the door no matter what.
anwhile, in the Real World Auction House, Ke Qirui, clad in a trench coat, stood leaning against the wall near the entrance with a pipe dangling from her lips. Su Zimai stood right beside her.
Seeing Sakura Bud slowly approaching, Ke Qirui removed the pipe from her mouth and addressed her.
"Miss Sakura Bud, Xu Sanyan has already deployed Mist Figures in every corner of the fifth floor. He did not even spare the restrooms. If his Mist Figures spot any suspicious individuals, he will inform
imdiately, and I will relay it straight to you."
"Understood."
Sakura Bud nodded, hugging her sword hilt as she headed out the door.
Su Zimai watched her retreating back and remarked, "Why do I get the feeling the White Raven Brigade will not fall for this smokescreen?"
She frowned, continuing, "What if they bypass this entirely and head straight for the Mirror World? There are only a handful of guards in the mirror. What do we do if they just brazenly snatch the goods?"
"Relax." Ke Qirui lowered her head toward her pipe, took a soft drag, and calmly stated, "One of the guests in the Mirror World is an acquaintance of mine."
"Your acquaintance?"
Ke Qirui nodded. "The old President contacted
a few days ago. He played coy, but ntioned that an old acquaintance of mine from Lake Hunt is attending this auction."
"Lake Hunt?" Su Zimai murmured. She imdiately raised her eyebrows, a flash of astonishnt in her eyes. "You an the world's number one Exorcist organization, the one on par with Rainbow Wing?"
"Yeah, and I guessed who it was right away. After all, among the four mbers of Lake Hunt, only one greedy little kitten would be interested in the items at this auction."
As she spoke, Ke Qirui tucked away her pipe and tugged at the corner of her lips. "One of the four mbers of Lake Hunt: the Forger, Zhou Jiuya. His Celestial Drive is the Tonggu Compass. He is the inheritor of the Northern Song Dynasty's chanical arts, and his surface identity is a black market antique counterfeiter in Hong Kong."
"Zhou Jiuya has always had a deep interest in antiques. There must be sothing on the auction list that caught his eye, otherwise that bastard would never have traveled all the way to Japan."
Su Zimai stood stunned for a mont before saying, "Then aren't the White Raven Brigade completely screwed? Didn't you say everyone in Lake Hunt is on par with Rainbow Wing? He must be at least Calamity-Tier."
"If it hadn't rained today, the White Raven Brigade would indeed be finished." Ke Qirui shrugged.
"What do you an?"
"Because of the President... I have known Zhou Jiuya since we were kids; we are basically childhood friends. His Celestial Drive is very unique—it is heavily influenced by the weather. Ever since he was young, whenever it rained, he would suffer from severe narcolepsy. In serious cases, he can end up paralyzed in bed, sleeping for a day or two straight."
At this, Ke Qirui sighed. "Today just so happens to be a stormy day. I imagine Zhou Jiuya has already dozed off in his seat by now."
"So what do we do?"
"If the White Raven Brigade attacks, he will naturally wake up." Ke Qirui smiled. "If he wakes up, I reckon the Brigade will face a high probability of total annihilation. If he doesn't wake up, we proceed as planned."
She paused. "In the event we are no match for them, I will have the Train Demon and Film Demon buy us so ti, allowing Blue Arc to evacuate you all imdiately. Blue Arc is fast enough; among Near-Calamity Tiers, there is probably no one faster. So even if we can't gain the upper hand, escaping the venue will be more than enough." "But what if Blue Arc doesn't want to run?"
"Mr. Blue Arc is not the type to be overly attached to a fight."
"Speaking of which... that Zhou Jiuya you just ntioned is way too bizarre!" Su Zimai exclaid in awe. "Transforming into a sleeping pig the mont it rains? What kind of weirdo is that? How could soone like him be chosen as a mber of Lake Hunt?"
Ke Qirui explained unhurriedly, "A powerful Celestial Drive is inevitably accompanied by imnse restrictions. Everything cos with a price. The price Zhou Jiuya pays is that his physical condition is drastically affected by the local weather."
"Alright, I get it. Also, Captain..." Su Zimai looked up, staring right at her. "Why didn't you ever ntion to
that you knew soone of that caliber?"
"You never asked."
Ke Qirui took a drag of her pipe and patted the top of Su Zimai's head without even turning around.
Su Zimai rolled her eyes at her, then glanced up at the giant clock in the auction house.
"Ten minutes left..." she muttered.
"Stay close to ," Ke Qirui said calmly. "Xu Sanyan and Lin Zhengquan are grouped together. They have coordinated with each other for many years; they know when to advance and when to retreat in the face of danger. We don't need to worry about them."
At the sa ti, inside an abandoned building several hundred ters away from the Amamiya Building.
The mbers had previously ntioned that five minutes before the operation began, the Captain would outline the action plan for them.
But even at this very mont, Xia Pingzhou had yet to see the Captain anywhere inside the abandoned building.
Turning his head to look around, he saw the other mbers doing their own things. They were so relaxed it felt like just another perfectly ordinary night, with nothing more than the rain outside falling a little heavier than usual.
Bored out of his mind, he continued to play Gomoku with Ayase Origami, taking turns with a pencil. They had played no less than ten matches so far, with Ayase Origami winning the vast majority of them—though Xia Pingzhou had intentionally gone easy on her.
Just then, Jack the Ripper suddenly spoke up, shattering the silence blanketing the abandoned building.
She looked at Xia Pingzhou and said, "Right... newbie, about that 'contracted demon' thing we discussed earlier. You can ask the Captain about it; he'll give you so advice."
Xia Pingzhou, who was right in the middle of his ga with Ayase Origami, looked up upon hearing this and asked,
"But isn't the Captain an Esper?"
"The Captain is an Exorcist," Jack the Ripper replied decisively.
Xia Pingzhou blanked, turning his head to glare at Ayase Origami in a questioning tone. "Then let
ask you: Is the Captain an Exorcist or an Esper?"
Yesterday, Ayase Origami had clearly told him that the Captain was an Esper whose abilities were related to 'crows'. Yet today, he was hearing a completely different version from Jack the Ripper.
Ayase Origami pondered her next move seriously, manipulating the newspaper beside her to form a line of text in mid-air:
"Can't the Captain be both?"
"Both?"
Staring at the sentence pieced together from paper, Xia Pingzhou froze for a second.
"Yes." Jack the Ripper flicked her dark red knife into the air, expertly catching the spinning hilt. "The Captain is a one-in-a-billion anomaly. He is an Esper... but also an Exorcist."
She paused. "It was the Captain who told
my Celestial Drive didn't need a contracted demon, which is why I couldn't be bothered to go get one."
"As expected of a veteran mber, getting personal guidance from the Captain," Andrew sighed in admiration as he wiped down his sniper rifle.
Lan Duo Duo rolled her eyes at him. "Please, with the Captain's personality, it doesn't matter how long you've been in the Brigade. As long as you ask, he will definitely give you an answer."
"I was just making a joke..." Andrew blew on his sniper rifle.
How long they had been in the Brigade?
Xia Pingzhou murmured in his heart. Suddenly, his expression shifted, as if he had just rembered sothing crucial. While drawing an 'X' on the Gomoku grid with his pencil, he turned to Ayase Origami and asked,
"Speaking of which, when did you join the Brigade?"
"Three years ago, on July 21st." Ayase Origami remained expressionless. "Takikage joined at the sa ti."
"July 21st... three years ago?"
Xia Pingzhou kept a straight face, but his heart violently jolted.
Wasn't that...
The exact date of the last underground auction in Tokyo!
In other words... at that ti, Ayase Origami was still a mber of the yakuza, and she had attended the auction alongside her family.
And then... the mbers of the Brigade made contact with her at that very auction?
With this thought, a terrifying conclusion swiftly ford in Xia Pingzhou's mind. 'The mbers of the Brigade infiltrated the last auction, but their target wasn't the auction goods at all. It was the eldest daughter of the Ayase family!'
'The Captain wanted to use that auction to approach Ayase Origami and recruit her into the Brigade—and he actually succeeded. So, the reason the White Raven Brigade didn't launch an assault on the last auction was because... they had already gotten exactly what they ca for.'
'And the Captain... most likely infiltrated the bodyguard team of that last auction.'
In that instant, Xia Pingzhou suddenly recalled the conversation he had overheard in the conference room yesterday while occupying Black Cocoon's body.
Ke Qirui: "How can you be certain that mbers of the White Raven Brigade won't slip in among the guests and bodyguards?"
Sakura Bud: "You can rest easy on that front. Every single bodyguard present at this auction is a veteran who participated in the security detail for the last Tokyo auction. We can verify every single one of their historical resus in our real-world database. There is absolutely no possibility of forgery."
Xia Pingzhou froze for a second before clarity hit him like a lightning bolt. He thought grimly,
'I was wondering why the Captain hadn't shown up yet at a critical ti like this. It turns out he's been hiding in the auction's bodyguard team this entire ti!'
Realizing this, he quickly synchronized his consciousness back into Black Cocoon's body.
Black Cocoon opened his eyes inside the Maybach. He picked up his mobile phone and simultaneously sent a ssage to both Blue Arc and Ke Qirui.
[Black Cocoon: There are only three minutes left before the auction begins. Let
reveal an interesting truth for you.]
[Black Cocoon: The Captain of the Brigade is hiding right among your people.]
[Black Cocoon: The Captain is not only an Esper, but also an Exorcist. He used his identity as an Exorcist as a cover, along with his security credentials from the last auction, to pull the wool over Sakura Bud's eyes.]
[Black Cocoon: And the reason the Captain didn't attack the last auction was because he had actually already obtained what he wanted—the eldest daughter of the Ayase family, who attended that auction: Ayase Origami.]
[Black Cocoon: From the very beginning, what the Captain wanted from the last auction was never the goods, but to recruit Ayase Origami into the Brigade. He found an opportunity to contact her during the event. Afterward, both Ayase Origami and Oda Takikage defected from their family.]
[Black Cocoon: I've helped you this much, so you should be able to guess who the Captain is.]
[Black Cocoon: Best of luck, Mr. Blue Arc.]
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