"In three days, you will head to London to carry out your first external mission on behalf of our Salvation Society."
As he spoke, the Tutor pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his white lab coat.
"London, huh..." Ji Minghuan murmured to himself.
"Exactly."
The Tutor nodded in response while using his fingertips to tear open the cigarette case's wrapping. He flipped the lid and pulled out a cigarette.
Resting his chin on one hand, Ji Minghuan glanced at the cigarette in the Tutor's hand, then at the plastic wrapper on the table. "I have lived for over a decade and never been abroad once," he noted casually. "To think my first trip overseas would be with you guys keeping
on a leash. How boring."
He lowered his gaze to his overly long fingernails. 'Ke Qirui's intelligence was correct: Red Traffic Light will appear in London... Did her clues co from the sa source as the Salvation Society's?' he pondered.
'If it is the sa source, then the Salvation Society's influence must have already infiltrated the Exorcist Association. That is not entirely surprising, though. After all, they have already infiltrated Rainbow Wing, let alone the Exorcist Association.'
'Looking at it this way, the only major faction that likely hasn't been infiltrated yet is Lake Hunt.'
'An organization like Lake Hunt, ford by strict lineage and ticulously selected from ancient families, surely wouldn't allow outsiders like the Salvation Society to slip into their ranks.'
The Tutor retrieved a lighter from his other pocket. Placing the cigarette between his lips, he leaned down to the fla, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.
Pinching the cigarette between his fingertips, he remarked casually, "Honestly, there's nothing particularly great about foreign countries."
"So does that an the Salvation Society's base is dostic?" Ji Minghuan asked, posing his daily probing question.
"Who knows?"
The Tutor pushed up the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, offering a noncommittal reply.
"Sigh... Let's get one thing straight. I can't do anything. In a fight, the most I can do is throw a couple of pebbles at soone," Ji Minghuan stressed. "Just in case—on the very off chance—that you guys place too many restrictions on the other kids and this operation goes south, you can't bla ."
He averted his eyes. "After all, I'm just a M-M-M-Muggle. Muggle, understand? I won't be of any help."
"That's fine." The Tutor smiled faintly, entirely disapproving of the boy's excuses. "You only need to observe. We will ensure that absolutely no accidents occur during this mission."
"Oh, that's good then." Ji Minghuan tilted his head to look at the cigarette in the man's hand, asking with genuine curiosity, "You actually smoke? I thought you were the type of refined beast who didn't touch cigarettes or alcohol."
"We are adults; we all need a way to vent our stress. Sex, smoking, and drinking are all similar in that regard. Everyone knows they aren't good for you, but in life, it's hard to avoid needing them to dispel your worries."
Suddenly, the Tutor coughed twice. He took a sip of warm water from his thermos cup, then screwed the lid back on. "I only recently learned to smoke," he added.
"Seems like you're under a lot of stress."
Ji Minghuan, the very source of that stress, comnted dryly.
The Tutor slipped the lighter back into his white lab coat pocket, sighing with a hint of amusent in his voice.
"Being assigned by my superiors to manage a child who could destroy the world at any mont—how could my stress not be high?"
Ji Minghuan tilted his head. "Since you're so pitiful, why don't you let your superiors talk to
directly? I promise I'll chew them out for you. Let's see if I don't spit right in the faces of those brain-dead morons."
"It is inconvenient for them to see you." The Tutor shook his head. "But one day, when you can stably control your power, they will et with you to congratulate you on 'graduating' from the Salvation Society."
"I almost believed you there. Let's talk about sothing else..." Ji Minghuan pondered for a mont. "How many kids are going on this mission in total? Just the four of us?"
"There are five in total."
Hearing this, Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at the Tutor. "Five?"
He counted them off on his fingers.
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