August 16th, 14:30 Japan ti, in a café in Tokyo.
It was a cozy and warm afternoon, the sunlight passed through the wooden window fras and poured into the café, illuminating rows of mahogany tables and chairs, casting dappled shadows on the floor, and lively jazz music was echoing inside the café.
At this mont, a boy in blue overalls was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone; in the kitchen behind the counter, a handso young man was quietly making coffee with his head down.
"Have you heard?" the man playing on his phone asked.
"Heard what?" the man making coffee replied.
The hacker slowly said, "It seems that about half of Rainbow Wings died in the extermination operation by the Light-Eating Bees. The source of the information is very reliable, apparently, we can already pop the champagne."
"Really?" Xia Pingzhou asked without turning his head, making coffee in the kitchen.
"Why would I lie to you?" The hacker shrugged, "That Black Cocoon also seems to have died on the island, but that’s just hearsay, I have no evidence."
He paused: "Moreover, the leader suddenly told yesterday that he is going to Osaka to et Black Cocoon, making wonder if he was joking with ."
"So, where did you ’hear’ this from?" Xia Pingzhou added a few spoonfuls of sugar, asking expressionlessly.
"I monitored that Prince from Terrarium’s phone, he has been operating with Shark during this ti," the hacker sighed, "It’s a pity they didn’t bring their phones during the operation, otherwise I’d know what exactly happened on that deserted island."
"Don’t be too shady, kid. Peeping into others’ privacy every day is not a good habit."
"Hehe, I call it gathering intel on the enemy, and the leader asked to monitor them," the hacker said, "Anyway, from the tone of their conversation, it seems true that half of Rainbow Wings was wiped out, which is good news for us."
"Good news, huh?"
Saying this, Xia Pingzhou took out two cups, then leaned closer to the coffee machine to pour two cups of coffee. The sound of water mingled with the jazz music, and the rising steam sprayed onto his face.
"Of course, at least in the short term, Rainbow Wings will be busy recruiting new mbers, instead of sending people to bite us," the hacker said flatly, "So we can focus on the issues with Nian Beast and Lake Hunting, without worrying about ’the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.’
"However, for half of them to be wiped out by a swarm of bees, it doesn’t seem like Rainbow Wings were all that strong after all."
After saying that, Xia Pingzhou took a sip of freshly brewed hot coffee.
"Hey... Forget about Rainbow Wings for now, let’s consider how to deal with ’Lake Hunting,’" the hacker propped his chin, tilted his head, and muttered, "That Zhou Jiuya is as strong as a freak, yet he only ranks third in Lake Hunting, our action this ti has to be extrely, extrely cautious, otherwise, soone might end up like Lan Duoduo and Uncle Takayama and kick the bucket..." At this point, the hacker suddenly fell silent.
He nervously narrowed his eyes, picked up his cup to cover half his face, and clicked his tongue.
Seeing the hacker suddenly quiet down, Xia Pingzhou looked up from his coffee cup and glanced around the café, spotting a girl in a reddish-brown kimono descending the wooden staircase with a creak, wearing clogs on her feet.
"Takayama, what’s wrong?" she asked the hacker.
"Nothing, uh... I an, the coffee made by the little cat love saint isn’t as good as Uncle Takayama’s." The hacker shifted his gaze, changing the subject, "Right, little cat love saint."
"Then don’t drink it," Ayase Origami said, as the gaming magazine on the sofa suddenly shattered into fragnts and flew up, taking the coffee cup from the hacker’s hand and pouring it into the sink.
"Can’t you stop being so protective? Just because I said his coffee isn’t good, I can’t drink it?" The hacker was speechless, sighed, and continued to play on his phone with his head down.
Xia Pingzhou ca out from the kitchen with two cups of coffee, handed one to Ayase Origami and kept the other for himself.
"When are we leaving for China," he asked.
"Tomorrow," Ayase Origami accepted the coffee cup with both hands, the rising steam blurring her plain white cheeks.
"So soon."
"Oh, right... Besides a few people from Rainbow Wings kicking the bucket, I have another explosive piece of news," the hacker suddenly said.
"What news?"
"Wasn’t Jack the Ripper hanging around in Li Jing a couple of days ago? She seems to have killed Swallowing Silver."
With a "crack," Xia Pingzhou crushed the coffee cup in his hand. The scalding liquid spilled all over his hand.
Fortunately, at that mont, Ayase Origami quickly manipulated a piece of paper to wrap around his hand, otherwise, Xia Pingzhou might have been burned sowhat.
"Little cat, it’s steaming," the kimono girl said expressionlessly, glancing down to confirm his hand wasn’t injured.
Xia Pingzhou slowly lifted his gaze, coldly staring at the hacker.
"Why are you reacting so strongly, don’t tell you’re a fan of Swallowing Silver?" The hacker was puzzled.
"A fan for ten years," Xia Pingzhou said, "Tell Jack the Ripper to be careful, I’ll be avenging Swallowing Silver in a few days."
"Crazy."
The hacker was completely speechless, marveling at what divine beings he’s been dealing with day in and day out.
....
....
One day later, 17:30 China ti, Hai Fan City, the sky was near dusk, the sunset as red as a persimmon cast its afterglow, illuminating the mountain forest.
The sea breeze blowing from the bay carried the red sunlight, brushing past every shadow in the mountains, making the maple trees rustle.
There was a cetery on the mountain, usually very quiet and rarely hosting burials, let alone visits, but at this mont it was gathered with a large group of people, including Ke Qirui, Xu Sanyan, Lin Yilong, Gu Qiye, Gu Zhuo Case, Su Zimai, Su Wei, and Cezar.
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