Chapter 234: Announcer |
While Guan Shan and White Night were chatting, in the café, Lu Hai and Kou Ruonan, both wearing waiter uniforms, were standing inside and outside the counter, fiddling with the coffee machine and cups.
Kou Ruonan rested her chin on her hand, peering through the glass at the two men talking outside. She asked Lu Hai, "What do you think the president is up to this time? And who is that guy? If he's a client, we shouldn't need to avoid them, right?"
Lu Hai shrugged while wiping a cup. "Who knows? The president is always mysterious. We just need to cover for him."
One of the key reasons White Night chose this café for his meeting with Guan Shan was that today, the café was staffed by "their own people."
Kou Ruonan and Lu Hai were actually members of White Night's detective agency.
Moreover, they were also Espers.
Kou Ruonan had telekinesis, while Lu Hai had enhanced intuition.
But they were only D-rank, and Kou Ruonan had even risen from E-rank...
Finding these two small talents had taken White Night great effort, searching throughout the entire university, highlighting how rare Espers were, and those with combat abilities were even rarer.
She glanced at Guan Shan, observing him for a while, then said, "But this guy doesn't seem particularly special."
Lu Hai rolled his eyes. "We're Espers too, but we don't have three heads and six arms."
Kou Ruonan shook her head, countering, "But our levels are low. Look at the president; he's not normal at all!"
Lu Hai didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.
But the worst part was, he couldn't argue with it!
White Night... or rather, Bai Da Zhuang, was indeed quite abnormal in his actions. His excessive sense of justice turned him into a super good guy who would even help old ladies cross the street.
Kou Ruonan, bored, watched for a while but saw nothing unusual. Suddenly, her gaze focused on a boy walking towards Guan Shan and White Night's table.
The boy was thin, wearing a simple down jacket and trousers. He seemed distracted and absent-minded, but his expression changed when he saw Guan Shan, and he quickly walked over.
"Isn't that... Zhao Keji?" Kou Ruonan was surprised. "I remember he was involved in an Esper incident. His two roommates disappeared... He's the only survivor."
Officially, those two were said to have transferred schools, but in reality, they were most likely dead.
In Esper-related incidents, if there was any commotion, it usually meant casualties.
If no one heard anything, the situation wasn't too serious.
This was a rule summarized by White Night.
Lu Hai was initially casually turning his head but suddenly his expression changed. "Someone is following him, and they don't mean well."
Kou Ruonan's face darkened. Lu Hai's intuition ability was highly accurate, so his words were likely true.
But who would be following Zhao Keji? Using her telekinesis, Kou Ruonan slightly enhanced her cognitive abilities, quickly scanning the surroundings and identifying a suspicious person.
A woman not far behind Zhao Keji on his left, wearing a beige trench coat and with permed hair, looked like a fashionable and beautiful female student. However, she kept pace with Zhao Keji.
When Zhao Keji quickened his steps, she also sped up, heading in his direction.
Kou Ruonan turned and asked, "Is it her?"
Lu Hai immediately nodded. Kou Ruonan was about to push the door open and go out.
Lu Hai tried to stop her. "Wait, notify the president first!"
Kou Ruonan pursed her lips. "They're right outside. If I talk to them, won't it alert the other side?"
Lu Hai was stunned. "Then what should we do?"
Kou Ruonan confidently smiled. "Leave it to me."
——
"Yes, 'Heavenly Curtain.'"
Guan Shan nodded gravely. "I obtained this card because of certain events. I only know it's from 'Heavenly Curtain,' but I don't know its purpose. So, I wanted to ask you."
"Heavenly Curtain" was a real international criminal Esper organization.
Its history dated back to the Middle Ages, and its reach spanned from the North to the South Pole. Its influence was so great that it could manipulate the political landscape of some countries, even replacing their leaders at will.
Even the Special Security Group could only ensure the country's internal stability against it but couldn't eradicate the threat.
As its name suggests, it's like a curtain covering the entire sky, casting a chilling shadow.
Compared to it, "Death Hive" was merely a swarm of slightly toxic bees.
The encrypted document Guan Shan obtained detailed the shipment list entrusted by "Heavenly Curtain" to "Free Logistics."
If the information was accurate, even the rise of "Death Hive," controlled by "Drone Bee One," was pushed by "Heavenly Curtain." The so-called "Ascension Candy" didn't awaken abilities but "bestowed" them.
This was something Guan Shan realized after seeing "Queen Bee's" data in the simulator.
"Queen Bee's" blood contained the concept of "Connection," and "Drone Bee One's" "Ascension Candy" was actually a gene fragment of an ability provided by "Queen Bee's" blood, acting as a stable container.
When "Ascension Candy" was ingested, the dissolved container released "Queen Bee's" blood and the gene fragment. The "Connection" concept activated, permanently merging them with the user's genes.
Thus, a new Esper was artificially created! However, the ability wasn't truly theirs but a "prosthetic" snatched from someone else.
Where did so many different gene fragments for "Drone Bee One's" experiments come from? The answer was "Heavenly Curtain."
White Night, looking shaken, sighed in relief upon hearing this and forced a smile. "Next time, give me a heads-up. When you suddenly took it out, I thought you were revealing yourself as a 'Heavenly Curtain' spy here to kill me..."
Guan Shan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I am?"
White Night froze. "…Don't scare me."
Guan Shan stopped joking. "Seriously, what does this card represent? I got it from someone in 'Free Logistics.'"
White Night was stunned, then said seriously, "This is an 'Announcer' identity card from 'Heavenly Curtain.' There are only a hundred of them, representing a qualification."
"With it, you can make one request to 'Heavenly Curtain,' and they will fulfill it. But it also means you must join them, becoming one of their members. Think of it as a fancy recruitment tool."
Guan Shan turned the card over, frowning. "How do they ensure it won't be exploited?"
White Night shook his head. "I don't know. I only heard about it and never saw the card."
Guan Shan was about to speak when the café door suddenly opened, and a female server came out, shouting at someone behind them, "Zhao Keji, you dare bring your mistress here!"