Poseidon in Arknights

"The side with chocolate is long, and the tail is short. That's the code, Kong once said."

Croissant looked surprised: "What? Were you serious back then? Or was it a joke?"

“I just noted down what Sora said,” Texas replied casually. “Suspicious person,” well, Sora might have gone after him.

"Let her be, it's already past closing time," the Emperor said indifferently. "Today is Requiem Night, no overtime, no capitalist oppression, otherwise even the dead won't rest in peace."

"Anyone want to grab a drink tonight?"

Croissant immediately chimed in, "Ah, is the boss treating us? We just got a batch of expensive vintage wines last time!"

The Emperor grinned: "No problem at all, anyway, you guys have plenty of salary to deduct."

Yuzuki looked at Croissant and said, "If you want a drink, I can treat you. In return, remember to drink with me..."

"Never mind then!" Before Yuuki could finish speaking, Croissant immediately lost interest and turned her head away.

Was she trying to risk her life by drinking with Xi Yue? She just wanted to take advantage of the boss, not risk her own life.

Seeing that the topic was gradually veering off course, Bison quickly said, "Wait! Um... don't we have any countermeasures?"

"unnecessary."

"Are we just going to let these Mafia members run rampant?" Bison looked at the indifferent crowd, and it seemed like he was the only one who was anxious.

"Just take a step and see."

"...Won't the Lungmen Guard Bureau get involved?"

After thinking for a moment, Exusiai said, "Probably not. They're probably used to it. As long as we resolve this before they question us, it's not a big deal."

"Uh..." Bison really wanted to smash something now, this was completely different from what he had imagined!

"Since you're here, make the best of it and don't overthink it. Once you join Penguin Logistics, dealing with the Lungmen Guard Bureau will be a daily routine."

Hearing Texas's words, Bison nodded resignedly. "So, what about the usual work?"

"Deliver the goods as ordered, then fight. If you want to fight, fighting is preferred... Ouch." Before Exusiai could finish speaking, a candy hit her on the head.

"Don't listen to her nonsense. Focus on completing the work first. If the employer has problems... then we'll talk about it."

Looking at Yuuki, Bison thought, 'Is it possible that what you mean and what he means are similar?'

The Emperor slapped the table to attract Bison's attention: "Hey, kid Bison, your father entrusted you to us, even if it's only temporarily. You're now a member of Penguin Logistics, understand?"

"I understand, uh, I guess so."

Bison thought he had made all the possible preparations, but it was clear he was not ready.

"Then you must remember the first important rule for Penguin Logistics employees: 'Don't be bothered by trifles.'"

Exusiai, who was standing nearby, raised her hand and said, "Wasn't it 'amusing ourselves to death' yesterday?"

Croissant recalled an earlier rule: "I remember it was 'live for the moment'."

"...More or less." The emperor, who had been repeatedly criticized by his own employees, was also a little embarrassed and shifted his position. "There are quite a few criminals who want to kidnap young masters like you. According to our rules, we take them down one by one. It's that simple."

"Wait a minute, something feels off about my butt. Is there something under my perfectly ergonomic sofa chair?"

"Hmm? Let me see." Exusiai walked over, picked up her boss, and lifted the cushion.

"Ah, what an adorable candy box! Boss, you've been hiding snacks under the chair!"

"Nonsense, why would I be stupid enough to hide snacks in this...candy box?"

Exusiai nodded, picked up the tin box, and pointed to the words on it: "It's a candy box, it says 'Victoria Fruit Gummies' on it..."

As Exusia was speaking, she was about to open it when Texas quickly said, "Stay away, Exusiai! That's probably a trap. Don't open it..."

"Eh?"

Texas sighed, "Ugh, get down!"

Chapter 35: Requiem Night (Part 3)

Exusiai immediately threw the bomb onto the table, and Croissant and Bison nervously stepped forward with their shields to protect everyone.

Immediately afterward, an explosion rang out, but Croissant and Bison were both puzzled as to why they hadn't felt any thrust.

Yuzuki's calm voice rang out: "What's the rush? And Exusiai, you should really get rid of your habit of fidgeting."

"Could it be a joke, or a warning from them?" Bison nervously lowered his shield and looked at the table where Exia had just thrown the bomb.

A transparent marble, about the size of several fists, is floating on the table.

Through the outside, you can see a black iron box whose outer shell has begun to twist, curl, and break, and the word "candy" can still be faintly seen on the iron box.

The twisted and shattered objects encased within conveyed the sense of that moment's explosion, while the white, transparent substance enveloping this dazzling ball of fire made the entire bomb look like a giant, transparent marble.

Xi Yue walked over, picked up the sphere and tossed it up and down: "Don't be nervous, I've frozen this bomb. It's a trap, a trap that only a clumsy person would trigger."

As Yuuki finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Exusiai.

"This...this isn't my fault." Exusiai wanted to argue, but the incident was caused by her own carelessness, so her explanation seemed so weak and powerless.

"Alright, just remember the lesson." Yuzuki tossed the ice puck up and down. "As for this thing, it can be a nice decoration. For example, we can put it in Exusiai's room to remind her not to be so careless."

The Emperor nodded, his gaze following the ice puck that Xi Yue was tossing up and down in her hand: "Not bad..."

Originally, he wanted to thank Xiyue for saving his records. After all, his records were placed under the table, and if the explosion had occurred, that whole pile of records would definitely have been lost.

When people are nervous, they tend to overlook certain things, such as background music that suddenly stops. And now the Emperor realized that the jazz music that was playing in the background had stopped.

"Here you are, boss."

Texas pointed to the ground beside her, where a phonograph, smashed to pieces, lay quietly. Of course, it wasn't just the phonograph that was smashed, but also the vinyl record on it.

"No!!!" The indescribable scream of the penguins echoed throughout the entire base.

Exusiai immediately nudged Croissant next to her and whispered, "Hey! Was that box of vinyl records the boss bought from the black market, a Colombian collectible?"

Croissant thought for a moment and nodded: "It seems so. I was so sad because I hadn't seen the boss for a while."

With her sharp ears, Yuuki overheard Croissant and Exusiai's whispered conversation. Smiling, she said to the heartbroken Emperor lying on the ground, "Boss, take it easy. Luckily, I froze the bomb, otherwise I don't think you would have been able to keep any of those records today."

Upon hearing Xi Yue's words, the Emperor immediately turned around and glanced nervously at the record box placed under the table.

Fortunately, thanks to Yuuki's intervention, there was no loss except for the piece on the gramophone on the table.

But the lack of losses doesn't mean the Emperor can ignore the trampling of his records by others, especially the crisis that has already occurred.

It was so close, so very close. Even if Yuuki were here, if she had acted even a little later, those precious records might have been damaged by the bomb.

Those precious vinyl records are not so fragile that they can be damaged by impacts; even a slight crack can ruin their perfect sound quality.

Thinking of this, the emperor calmly stood up and dusted himself off.

Just then, Exusiai shouted from the doorway, "Ah! They're on the bus! Those guys in black!"

Having just experienced another explosion, Bison was even more tense: "Wait! But if they set a trap from the beginning, why didn't they ambush us? This is strange; we should devise a concrete plan before we go..."

“Texas!”

Before Exusia could even yell, Texas had already dashed toward the car parked outside.

"Listen up, all of you," the Emperor's calm voice rang out, "All traffic tickets issued tonight will be reimbursed."

"I'll make them pay with their lives for my vinyl records!!!"

Xi Yue picked up the Emperor and put him in the car, then used water to drag the still-dazed Bai Song into the car as well, adding fuel to the fire by saying, "The sooner we resolve this, the more time I'll have to make desserts."

As Yuuki finished speaking, Bison felt as if a flashbang had been thrown into the carriage, followed by Exusiai's mournful cry.

Texas withdrew her hand and sighed. This angel next to her, who gets obsessed with desserts, is really a troublemaker.

After smiling, Xi Yue said to Hong, who was standing next to the car, "Hong, could you please go find Kong and remind him? Oh, and as always, no one is allowed to die."

"Understood, Mom." Hong nodded to show she understood, and then disappeared into the warehouse in a flash.

------

"I see it! It's that car up ahead!" Exusiai shouted, pointing to the vehicle in front. The group of men in black they had just seen got into that car.

"Exusiai! Bring me my old buddy!"

"Yes, sir!" Exusiai opened the storage compartment next to the car door, took out a gun, and handed it to the Emperor behind her.

"That's a gun!?"

Bison was somewhat surprised to see what Exusiai handed him. It wasn't surprising that Exusiai had a gun, after all, she was a Sarkaz. But if others wanted to have one, they would have to pay a considerable price. But Bison didn't have time to dwell on that. He remembered something else.

"Mr. Emperor, how are you going to pull the trigger...?"

"Ah ha! You've got quite the eye, young master. Let our firearms expert give you a tour!"

Exusiai immediately said seriously, "A total of forty-two layers of transport cardboard, seamlessly glued with industrial adhesive, driven by high-quality rubber bands, hmm, it's quite a nice gun."

Bison paused for a moment, then said, "...You mean, toys?"

"Actually, it's just a slingshot," Exusiai had barely finished speaking when the Emperor behind her tapped her on the head with his slingshot, and she quickly added, "No, it's a peace gun!"

The Emperor calmly stated, "Live ammunition is not permitted in Lungmen City; that's the rule."

Texas said calmly, "I always think that the boss only follows the rules at times like this."

"If even we don't follow the rules, Lungmen will be blown to bits, understand? Open the top, Texas!"

Texas glanced at Yuuki through the rearview mirror: "That's true, be careful. Don't crash into a traffic light like last time."

Am I that tall?

"Sniper position number two is ready, boss~!" Exusiai also switched her weapon to a rubber bullet and gave the Emperor, who was sitting in Yuuki's arms, an OK sign.

Bison suddenly realized what they were trying to do: "Wait, wait, there are other vehicles on the road, are we just going to...?"

Before Bai Song could speak, the two of them used the water from Xi Yue to lean out of the car.

------

"Those guys opened fire! Hey, fire back!" The gangster in the passenger seat yelled at the back of the car, looking at the rearview mirror that had been shot off.

"Are you kidding me? How can you aim when the car is bouncing like this!"

The gangster, who was driving, nervously glanced back in the rearview mirror and was shocked to see blood slowly trickling down the head of one of his accomplices in the back seat: "You...you've been shot!?"

Hearing his companion's reminder, the gangster belatedly touched his head: "Blood, I'm bleeding, quick, give me a bandage, wait, what's this, an eraser?"

He pulled a blood-stained bullet from his hair, squeezed it, and found it was made of rubber.