Night Journey

Chapter 108 Cheating

“There are still some remnants of chaos on the west bank of the river, and we need a group of scholars to deal with them.”

"Scholars? There are no scholars left. They're at the incinerator 24/7 now, processing tons of corpses."

"The city hall asked us how the water purification of the Huahe River is going?"

"Water purification? This has nothing to do with our city sanitation bureau, does it?"

As soon as Ciri entered the city guard post, he heard shouts rising and falling, occasionally mixed with a few curses.

Early in the morning, everyone in the city sanitation department was in a very bad mood.

"Emergency! Chaos has occurred in the West District. We need a team to come with me to handle this!"

A team leader, carrying a sword and a gun, gathered his staff, got into a car at the door without stopping, and sped away.

"Damn it, what's wrong with these bastards?"

Behind a desk piled high with documents, an employee began to rant. His hair was disheveled, his face was etched with fatigue, and there were several empty coffee cups beside him.

Clearly, he had been working overtime all night.

"what's the situation?"

Cillian came closer; the two weren't exactly acquainted, but they weren't strangers either.

"What else could it be but those Chaos believers!"

He complained loudly, "They were all hiding so mysteriously before, and we couldn't dig them out no matter how hard we tried. But after the vertical farm incident, they seemed to have given up and started taking action all at once."

"Several chaotic incidents have occurred in various districts. They are not very threatening and are just some ordinary chaotic believers, but they have seriously depleted our manpower."

During his work over the past few days, Cillian had become aware of the situation; he had even killed several lost Chaos cultists while patrolling alone at night.

But he didn't expect the situation to have deteriorated to this extent.

Are the evil creatures preparing for a full-scale counterattack?

No, it's more like they're using these ordinary Chaos believers to deplete the City Guard's resources and divert attention.

Cillian walked around, stopping occasionally to glean the latest information from the staff's casual conversations.

Good morning, both of you.

Cillian arrived at his workstation and greeted everyone.

Elton had clearly worked all night; fatigue and drowsiness were etched on his face. When he saw Cillian, he simply raised his head, too exhausted to even speak.

"Good morning."

Meifuni's voice was still full of energy.

No matter how arduous or dangerous the work of the city guards may be, it has little to do with this little princess of the Lof family.

“My family said that Hull City is not very safe recently and hoped that I could stay at home for a while. I protested for a long time before they let me out to continue working.”

Not long ago, Mefuni said this.

Ciri guessed that if the situation in Hel deteriorated further, a fully armed brigade would escort Mefuni out of Hel.

Whenever he thought of this, no matter how much Cillian believed in the power of swords and blades, he couldn't help but marvel at the convenience of power.

If the timing is right, Cillian would very much like to hitch a ride again.

"Oh, Cillian, you look quite energetic today."

Maefuni noticed the change in Cillian. Her clothes were the same as usual, but her overall demeanor had undoubtedly improved a lot.

"Is this the one I gave you?"

Meifuni reached out and fiddled with the sunflower brooch, her eyes sparkling.

"I think sunflowers and I are a good match."

Cillian glanced down and smiled, "Just as sunny and cheerful, right?"

"Can you even call your cheerfulness cheerful?"

Mefuni straightened the crooked sunflower. It was just a small gift, and Cillian wore it to make her feel valued.

"However, it's really good, very good."

Cillian glanced sideways at the office behind him; it was empty, with a coat hanging on the back of the chair.

Where is Dai Lin?

"He should still be dealing with the chaos events, right?"

Meifuni flipped through the files on the table and explained, "After the Reverse Falcon destroyed the vertical farm, it was like knocking over a cockroach nest. All sorts of chaotic events started popping up in the city every day."

"Most chaotic events are not very threatening, but no one will ignore them."

As Maefuni continued talking, the topic returned to Cillian.

"It's been several days since I last saw you. How was your night shift?"

Cillian has been working the night shift lately, and the little time he has during the day has been taken up by other departments to take on all sorts of work, leaving him with only a few hours to rest and sleep.

After being busy all day, Cillian was finally able to have a normal day. Coupled with some ulterior motives, he arrived at the City Guard Bureau early.

"And how are you, Mafone?"

Cillian asked with concern.

Are you exhausted?

Maefoni thought she had misheard, paused for a moment, then stiffly turned her head, staring intently at Ciri, making her feel uneasy.

She hesitated for a long time before speaking with difficulty.

"Are you really going to borrow money, Cillian? All I have is pocket money, and it probably isn't much..."

Cillian interrupted sharply, "Borrow money? Why do you say that!"

"I can't think of anything else that could make you suddenly care about me except borrowing money!"

"Really? Am I that goal-oriented?"

So you're admitting it?

Cillian was skilled at killing enemies with swords, but when it came to verbal sparring, he couldn't even beat a naive young girl.

He fell silent, feeling deeply resentful. The feeling of being so bluntly called out by Maefoni was truly unpleasant. Seeing Cillian's embarrassed expression, Maefoni laughed.

Having known her for so long, this side of Ciri is extremely rare; not only is she precious, but it also greatly surprised Maefoni.

Who could have imagined that Cillian had such a human side?

"It's obvious that your purpose is clear."

Mephoni pressed her advantage, recounting Cillian's past crimes.

"You usually completely ignore me!"

Since the Valerie incident, Maefanie has considered Cillian a true friend and often invites him to various events, but Cillian either declines or leaves quickly once he arrives, leaving Maefanie often feeling disappointed.

After a while, she got used to Cillian's behavior; after all, you can't expect too much from someone who seems to have antisocial personality disorder.

Cillian wasn't really ignoring Mefone on purpose. After the Valerie incident, he was busy investigating the location of the vertical farm and plotting a raid with Dalyn.

If it weren't for Meifuni's repeated requests, he hadn't planned to go even once.

That's it, things have stalled.

It's a shame that Cillian even rehearsed what would happen in front of the mirror this morning, and it turned out to be a complete mess.

I can't blame myself for this. I can count the number of men I've met in my life on one hand, and Ava is the only one with whom I've had a deep emotional connection.

Oh, it's all over.

Memories briefly gripped Cillian, his gaze momentarily unfocused.

Soon, Cillian rallied and whispered.

"Okay, now that I've taken the initiative, you're not happy about it, are you?"

“You don’t understand, Cillian.”

Mei Funi said smugly, "The easier something is to get, the less you care about it; the harder it is to get, the more you value it."

Cillian's handsome appearance and aloof personality already piqued Mefuni's curiosity.

After the Valerie incident, Cillian's restrained and rational demeanor in the face of beauty and the threat of chaos made Maefoni feel extremely reliable, as if as long as Cillian was there, he could solve any problem.

Therefore, Maefuni wanted to explore Cillian's inner world even more, but she repeatedly ran into obstacles.

Now, finally...

"I see. The closer you are, the farther away you seem. It sounds contradictory, but it makes sense... I understand."

Cillian nodded, his smile fading as he resumed his usual cold demeanor.

He sat upright and began flipping through the books on his desk.

This is a geography book about the outer frontier, with limited content, only introducing a few city-states around Hel and some special landforms.

"What do you know?" Meghanie asked.

Cillian ignored her, turning the pages of his book with a rustling sound.

“Cillian?”

“Cillian…”

“Cillian!”

Mefuni grabbed Cillian by the neck and shook him violently.

"You little rascal, trying to use what you've just learned, huh!"

"Isn't this what you taught me?!"

"Don't use it now!"

After a not-too-intense struggle, Mefuni released Cillian with a fierce glare.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Are you trying to scam me out of money?"

Cillian shook his head. "I'm borrowing, not cheating."

"What's the difference between these two?"

"Borrowing sounds more respectable."

"puff."

Cillian's serious demeanor when uttering such shameless words created a wonderful contrast, making Maefuni laugh nonstop.

After the laughter subsided, Meifuni's eyes sharpened, and she said coldly.

"And what's the price, Cillian?"

Because of her noble status, Maefuni is always surrounded by people who claim to be her friends and ask her for money. Of course, none of these people disappear after getting the money.

At that time, Maefuni was still very young, and this was a big blow to her. Her family did not comfort her, but instead felt relieved that she had come to see a part of reality.

Cillian spouted a string of perfectly coherent nonsense.

"Price? I don't think a girl as virtuous and kind-hearted as you would use something like this to blackmail someone else."

I agree with the first half of the sentence.

Meifuni nodded, then changed the subject, "But you can't just try to swindle money from me without making any promises."

Cillian corrected him again, "It's a loan!"

"Ah……"

Meifuni appeared indifferent, but inside she was overjoyed.

Once, Dalyn said the following to Mefnny.

"I really wish Anya were a money-grubbing woman, so that I could keep her by my side as long as I worked hard to earn money, but unfortunately, she doesn't care about such things."

Nothing could bind Anya; she was so free that even though Dalin tried his best, he could only accompany her, but could not possess her.

Cillian is different.

From the first day the two met at the City Guard Bureau, this guy was very concerned about money; giving him money might really be the way to keep him in check.

Mefuni narrowed her eyes, like a cunning fox.

(End of this chapter)