Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Black takes such inquiries as a signal that he has accepted the commission.

It was only for a very brief moment, but a glimmer of light appeared in Zihe's dark eyes.

"...Of course, a mansion? Or money? As long as it doesn't harm Siesta's demands, I'll agree to them. Even if I don't do a good job, the mayor will definitely thank you for your help and then do his best to satisfy you."

"Oh, you wouldn't...?"

At this moment, Frostnova seemed to remember something, turned to Tomat, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

Skadi, however, did not react and seemed indifferent.

"How about this, we'll help with finding the people, but let's put the hotel and road issues on hold. Don't let our bosses or colleagues know, or their vacation will be canceled."

"no problem."

Hei agreed very readily, seemingly without paying any attention to the conditions proposed by the other party.

Following that, after providing information such as Ceylon's clothing when he disappeared, Black also gave the group a photo of Ceylon so they could compare his appearance.

"You absolutely must return the photos to me later...!"

"I'll definitely pay you back, as long as you don't run away... Why does this photo look like it was taken secretly? Your eyes aren't even looking at the camera."

"You're mistaken. Miss is always photogenic."

Hei left because these helpers might not be enough for her.

Those who serve Kronin are not eager to obey orders to find the young lady.

After all, it was impossible to directly tell those people that "the young lady has disappeared"—who could blame them when their superior, Kronin, was not a good person? It wouldn't be surprising if he were the culprit behind Ceylon's disappearance. Revealing information to him and his associates would be too risky.

It's more reliable to ask these people who take money to do things for you.

"Although we have found a way to solve the problem, the question is where to find this missing young lady. Whether it's for money or political purposes, there are plenty of suspects."

Thomas, who volunteered to take on the task, is now the most troubled person. He doesn't know what Ceylon's aura is like—and even if he does know her aura, in Siesta, where the population is terrifyingly large, it's not something that can be done easily. And she doesn't look like a strong person whose aura is enough to stand out from the crowd.

"The disappearance of children of politicians is most likely related to political conflicts, and we can try to investigate from this point."

Frostnova, on the other hand, got into the swing of things very quickly, and seemed to know more about this kind of politically charged scheme than Tomat.

"Let's eliminate the options that don't make sense, since they can't be on Rhodes Island anyway."

Skadi joined in, but she said something of little value. Perhaps she wasn't really thinking about doing this kind of mental work of eliminating suspects, and just casually mentioned the name of Rhodes Island.

[Main Text] Siesta's Hottest Holiday: Chapter Thirty-Nine: Holiday Destroyer

—Siesta City Hall—

To ensure a safe working environment, most of the events during the Obsidian Festival will not take place in the surrounding area.

The city library and other places that require quiet are also located here, so tourists or locals who are not used to noise can choose to spend their Obsidian Festival in this area.

However, this year's Obsidian Festival seems to be a bit special.

There are actually more men in black suits patrolling this area than tourists.

The vast expanse of people gave off a feeling that strangers should stay away.

It might be alright for the locals, who know that in Siesta, these black-suited officers controlled by the government are the main personnel maintaining order, rather than traditional law enforcement officers. Although there are military police or combat personnel in the conventional sense, in most cases, they are the ones who get involved in all matters, big and small, in Siesta.

Even so, the number of these people is much greater than usual for the locals.

Tomorrow is Obsidian Festival...

In the mayor's office, the silver-haired, bespectacled Liboli stood in front of the electronic calendar, staring intently at the holiday marker illuminated by a dim breathing light.

Then, he pulled open the blinds and peered through the light at the crowd outside.

The building was surrounded by men in black suits serving as security guards, while further away, tourists thronged the area.

They mingled together regardless of nationality or race, and there was no distinction between infected and non-infected individuals.

"A pointless, reckless party...you can all just enjoy it to the fullest."

It wouldn't be surprising if this statement came from a racist or other "ordinary person" that is commonplace on Terra.

But when applied to the mayor of a tourist city that symbolizes freedom and equality, one might exclaim that he is "all show and no substance"—even though he is only an acting mayor.

He returned to his desk, where on one side lay a pile of complex surveying records and monitoring reports of various data, while on the other side were numerous opened mineral exploration reports.

The topographical map drawn on it is exactly what Siesta looks like, and various markings are also marked in some places.

The former has a very recent date, while the latter is already covered in dust, and even the paper has turned yellow and wrinkled, as if no one has opened it again since the day it was recorded.

—But Siesta has never had a history of Originium mining.

There has never been any record of Originium being exported. In fact, even the Originium needed by Siesta itself was all imported from neighboring Columbia.

Those who conduct research on Originium must know very well what this mineral exploration report represents.

Unfortunately, the acting mayor of Siesta, Kronin, who was sitting at his desk at that moment, happened to be a messenger of natural disasters and a scholar of Originium who had "returned" from Colombia.

Therefore, he certainly understood that these few thin sheets of paper might represent tons of pure gold, the same amount as the text on them.

It can even bring more wealth than that.

This is incomparable to the profits one can make from running a tourist city.

The former brings limited benefits and may even require significant expenditures on operation and construction, or the handing over large sums of money to artists or musicians.

But the latter...

All they need to do is purchase and maintain the facilities, and then, like Ursus, "hire" cheap labor that's practically an expense, and they can export the hottest minerals in Terra to all parts of the world.

And the money, naturally, all went into his own pocket.

Using his academic knowledge, along with secret exploration and technical support from Columbia V3 Corporation, he has confirmed that the rich Originium deposits located beneath Siesta, as recorded in these mineral reports, are accurate intelligence.

Thinking about this, Kronin felt his pockets become heavy.

But before that, he still has a lot to do.

For example, how to get the mayor who is overseeing the construction of the mobile city platform to step down as soon as possible, so that he can become a real mayor.

Or, how about turning the entire city into a ghost town, leaving no one alive, then having your partners mine the veins, and then embarking on a path to wealth and success, completely "curing" your past of wandering the streets with countless amounts of money.

And how to deal with Rhodes Island—he was plotting all sorts of shady money-making schemes and didn't believe that the group of guys who arrived in Siesta with such a grand display of their mobile platform were really just here for tourism.

Rhodes Island has recently become a hot topic in various countries.

It wasn't Rhodes Island's victory over Reunion in Lungmen or their arrest of Talulah in Chernobog that drew their attention; they simply didn't care about the situation of an infected organization.

Rather, it was due to the recent public release of information about the giant ape and a secret weapon that was "clearly a weapon of mass destruction."

Despite being turned away, the Colombian messenger spread the news throughout the country that Rhodes Island was "concealing dangerous weapons."

They visit Siesta at this time, saying they're just taking their employees on vacation...

Kronin isn't that naive!

Until it is confirmed whether Rhodes Island will affect his plans, other plans are temporarily suspended—including the plan to blow up the volcano to trigger a massive eruption that would engulf Siesta.

"Rhodes Island... Don't think I'm easy to deal with. I won't give myself away because of your lame lies."

While adjusting the plans in his mind, Kronin seemed to remember something else.

"Where did that guy Black go? And that noisy young lady... why didn't she mention anything about the volcanic eruption today...?"

Meanwhile, on the Rhodes Island main ship, which was docked near the construction area of ​​the Siesta mobile platform.

Ceylon was repeatedly apologizing to Provence and the others with a deeply apologetic expression:

"I'm so sorry... You all came here on vacation, but now I've made you analyze this data with me... Although nobody wants this to be true, if it is, it has still wasted a lot of everyone's time..."

Ceylon had changed into clothes she bought from Berkeley, and the torn dress she had worn earlier had been mended by the logistics staff who stayed behind at Rhodes Island.

"It's alright. We're all messengers of natural disasters, and we can't just sit idly by. If sacrificing our holidays can ensure everyone's safety, we don't mind. But Miss Ceylon, it's really too much of a burden to have you participate in such a long meeting."

This is a meeting room that the disaster messengers temporarily applied for. From yesterday until now, except for a few hours of sleep last night, they have all gathered here to analyze the data.

This is no small matter, so it should be taken seriously. And because there are still various possibilities in the data analysis, they have not yet reached a relatively safe conclusion.

"Please don't mind me, everyone. Being able to listen to the discussions of you seniors is an experience I never had in university. I should thank you for giving me this opportunity, and for your willingness to make sacrifices for Siesta..."

Ceylon's impressions of the messengers of natural disasters he had seen mainly came from Cronin, the Colombian messenger of natural disasters hired by his father.

But she never felt she could learn anything from this person. On the contrary, the people of Rhodes Island, in just over ten hours, made her feel that she had been enlightened in terms of both knowledge and character.

"If I can make the results more accurate, I'll stay here forever!"

Meanwhile, Hei, who was still running around the city, sneezed loudly.

[Main Text] Siesta's Hottest Holiday: Chapter Forty There's nothing to fear anymore.

The streets were unusually noisy today, almost a complete celebration for musicians.

If the past few days could be described as a mix of food and entertainment, now the scene is filled with independent musicians and music groups from all over Terra chasing their dreams and hoping to make their mark at the Siesta Obsidian Festival.

After all, tomorrow is Obsidian Festival.

Although all bands could participate in the main venue, they all knew very well that the real competition and showdown was between those three bands.

A mysterious, masked, all-around musician active in Siesta, popular with locals and whose records sell as far as Ursus—"Demon Destroyer DDD".

The "Sunset Fades" band, composed entirely of Agorians, performs throughout Terra.

And the "Rap Emperor. The Great," who has dominated the Colombian rap scene for many years and is also the owner of the armed escort company Penguin Logistics.

These are all legendary figures in the Terra music scene, and every musician who has tried to challenge them has been utterly defeated.

However, the first two are usually musical duels, while the last one usually involves a lot of physical conflict.

This also means that the Emperor's waiting room is usually heavily guarded. Although the Emperor himself said that such security measures were unnecessary, the officials still chose to keep him in a luxury suite deep inside the main venue in order to avoid causing a lot of trouble before the performance started, so that he could prepare for the performance that was about to start the next day.

"Manuscripts? Preparations? I never need those things! My inspiration will always be as unstoppable as diarrhea or a volcanic eruption!"

That being said, to prevent it from being rammed by a dump truck driven by a fanatical competitor's fan, just like last year, the organizers politely made the Emperor stay put for a while.

Even in this almost completely sealed luxury suite, Blackie managed to sneak in unnoticed.

—Then a cold blade was pressed against Hei's neck, and she reflexively used her crossbow to stop the ambushers behind her.

Those were regicides hired by the emperor.