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A Date with Swire When Kai returned to the hotel, Amiya’s small face clearly displayed her displeasure.
Glancing at the two imposing bodyguards flanking her, Kai understood that while their meeting with Lungmen had likely yielded some results, the process itself had been far from pleasant.
“So, what conditions did Wei Yenwu demand?” Kai asked.
“Huh?!” Amiya blinked in surprise.
“Kai, how did you guess that old dragon made demands?” “It’s pretty simple.
Since he agreed to meet with you, it means there’s room for negotiation.
But given his status as the Chief Executive of Lungmen, and considering the massive disparity in scale between your two factions, this was never going to be a fair negotiation.
Most likely, he wants to use Rhodes Island as Lungmen’s mercenaries—the kind of mercenaries who can cleanly extract Lungmen and Yan from the Chernobog incident while solving the underlying problem.” “…You have a very sharp political sense, Kai,” Amiya admitted with a sigh.
“Wei Yenwu is indeed using Rhodes Island, but he offered a price we simply cannot refuse.” “You give me too much credit, Dr.
Kal’tsit is smiling over there,” Kai said, gesturing slightly.
“I just analyzed the situation based on the obvious facts.
Anyone could see it.
Anyway, tell me about his conditions.
If he wants to use us as his gun, we’ll have to see if Lungmen can handle the recoil.
During the second round of negotiations, Amiya, demand whatever you want from him.
He’ll give it to you.
As the leader of Rhodes Island, you need to recognize one thing: as long as you wield a power they cannot ignore, you hold the right to choose.” Truthfully, Kai didn’t consider himself a political mastermind.
As a child, his grandmother had simply told him a lot of stories.
He had listened carefully, internalized the lessons, and thought deeply about them.
According to his grandmother, once you truly understood those stories, you would never have to worry about being tricked out in the real world.
“His first condition is that Rhodes Island must assist the L.G.D.
in eliminating the Reunion threat to Lungmen, which includes the forces both inside the city and at Chernobog,” Amiya explained.
“He demands that we completely halt the Reunion riots before they breach Lungmen’s borders.
Wei Yenwu kept his second condition to himself; he won’t reveal it until we complete his first commission.” “Exactly as expected,” Kai nodded.
“If the gun doesn’t work the way he wants, he’ll cut ties immediately to keep his hands clean.
Plus, if Chernobog physically crashes into Lungmen, it’ll spark an all-out war between Ursus and Yan.” “The Doctor and Amiya will handle the internal issues within Lungmen,” Kal’tsit noted.
“Kai, I would like to ask you to stop Chernobog.
If possible, try not to cause too much structural damage to the city itself.
Since Ursus abandoned it to the Infected, there is no reason we can’t seize it and make use of it ourselves.” “So, this is the stage you’ve set for me?” Kai mused.
“Sure, why not?
Nobody is going to complain if that patch of wilderness gets a little shattered, right?” “You are free to handle it however you see fit,” Kal’tsit replied.
“I’ll bring Chernobog to a dead stop tomorrow.” ….
Image: Swire When evening arrived, Kai walked out to his date, pointedly ignoring the Doctor’s resentful, jealous glare.
Amiya had practically dragged the Doctor out the door to investigate the Lungmen slums, while Dr.
Kal’tsit headed off to Penguin Logistics to find a local fixer to guide them.
Stepping out of the hotel lobby, Kai immediately spotted Swire.
She was sitting in the driver’s seat of a sleek convertible sports car, dressed in her crisp L.G.D.
uniform.
His favorable impression of her instantly skyrocketed.
Since Kai was entirely unfamiliar with Lungmen’s layout, Swire had taken the initiative to pick him up right at Rhodes Island’s doorstep.
“Let’s go, pretty boy.” A luxury sports car, sheer black tights, and a beautiful woman!
Though Kai, hailing from a medieval fantasy world, didn’t quite understand the modern cultural milestone he had just achieved, he absolutely understood the envious, hateful glares shot his way by the male drivers waiting at the red light.
Without missing a beat, Kai flashed them a perfectly natural, highly provocative smirk.
It really was a gift.
The ensuing symphony of blaring car horns behind them felt like the soundtrack of destiny itself, thick with enough frustration and rage to take physical form.
Kai felt a little bad about it, but he genuinely couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“You’re in a pretty good mood,” Swire chuckled, glancing at him.
She hadn’t expected Kai—who looked every bit the refined young master—to do something so openly petty.
It suited her tastes perfectly!
“I just remembered a short video I watched on my terminal earlier and did it on instinct,” Kai grinned.
“Didn’t expect it to actually be that fun.” “Alright, I can tell we have similar personalities,” Swire said with a bright smile.
“Let’s change up the dinner venue tonight!
I was originally going to treat you to a meal at one of my family’s luxury hotels based on your refined look, but this saves me a fortune.” With a beautifully executed drifting U-turn, Swire effortlessly showcased her excellent mood.
As they sped past the pedestrians Kai had just provoked, she playfully honked the horn a few times just to rub it in.
Unsurprisingly, the foul Lungmen curses hurled their way were even louder than the engine, but the chaos only made Swire laugh harder.
Because of the sudden detour, Swire’s sports car quickly sped away from Lungmen’s central district.
They arrived at a bustling street located just two blocks away from the slums.
The architecture here looked a bit weathered and old, but the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
The entire street was brightly lit, packed with people eating, drinking, and chatting around small tables set up right on the pavement.
“Uncle Don’s fishballs are universally recognized by the L.G.D.
as the best in the city,” Swire introduced enthusiastically.
“And the barbecue from Uncle Burton next door is amazing too.
If you’ve got a big appetite, there’s a roast meat shop right beside them.
I’ll get you a whole roast goose later—I promise it’ll hit the spot!” “This is great.
It feels like I’m completely surrounded by good food…” Kai paused, his nose twitching.
“Wait.
Swire, do you smell something rotting?!
What the hell is that?
Is that supposed to be food?!” Endowed with exceptionally sharp senses, Kai picked up a deeply discordant scent cutting through the savory aromas of the street.
It was, without a doubt, the most aggressively offensive smell he had encountered in his entire life.
Following the stench, his eyes locked onto a group of people sitting around a small table fifty meters away, happily slurping down bowls of noodles.
The unholy odor was wafting directly from their bowls and a massive vat inside the storefront.
“Oh!
You’ve got a good nose!” Swire laughed.
“That’s Auntie June’s luosifen stall.
Her noodles are an absolute masterpiece.
The worse it smells, the better it tastes, and the hungrier you get!
When Hoshiguma first dragged me here, I honestly thought I’d offended her and she was trying to punish me.
But after two bites, I was completely hooked.
Want to give it a try?” “I…
I think I’ll pass.
I really can’t handle that smell,” Kai politely declined, taking a step back.
Swire finally found a spot to park—though “parking space” was a loose term here.
You just wedged your car wherever there was room.
She killed the engine, yanked the handbrake, and eagerly hopped out, rushing straight toward the fishball stand.
Seeing her bounce around so excitedly, she looked completely different from the stern, authoritative police officer he had met that morning.
Struggling slightly with the unfamiliar seatbelt mechanism, Kai finally unbuckled himself, stepped out of the car, and followed close behind her.
“Uncle Don, two large bowls of fishballs!
Add shrimp roe and seaweed, completely non-spicy!” “Officer Swire, welcome!” The older man greeted warmly.
“Oh, brought a handsome young man with you today?
Is he your boyfriend?” “No, no, just a regular friend.” “Well, handsome, judging by your clothes, you look like a wealthy young master,” Uncle Don teased gently.
“Think you can stomach an old man’s street food?” “I’m no young master, Uncle Don.
You’ve got terrible eyes,” Kai joked back smoothly.
“Oh, and Uncle Don?
Can you make my bowl extra spicy?
Like, heavily spicy.” “You got it!” “Kai, take a seat here at Uncle Don’s table,” Swire instructed.
“I’m going next door to grab some barbecue.
Oh, and by the way~ Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to try the luosifen?
They’re incredibly delicious.
Plus, they’re spicy, which you clearly love.” “No, no, seriously, I’m good!” That was the one thing Kai absolutely refused to touch.