Colonia Storm Tour

"But this way we won't be detected. Those guys outside haven't noticed yet, and you've all calmed down. So, let's start answering your questions one by one. Shall we begin?"

Lin Haiyuan ignored the two tails slapping against his arms and back and said seriously.

"Speak up, you perverted lecher."

Chun and He Ye spoke in unison.

Unfortunately, the prototype of the misleading technology in the past was based on the incorrect assumption that the speed of nerves inside the neurotoxin tank was wrong.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Trip to the Cherry Blossom Islands (Part Twelve)

"When you first appeared in the suite, judging from your abnormally obedient behavior, I concluded that you had been drugged. I used this as an excuse to bring you into this secluded room. The guy who's meeting me now thinks I should be happily doing 'that' with you, but actually, I did this to figure out the situation and counter his little scheme. The bitter-tasting stuff I just fed you is a drug to keep you awake. It doesn't taste good, but it works very well."

When Lin Haiyuan vaguely mentioned the part about Harmony-Syzine, Chun's fox tail increased the force of slapping his arm.

"Oh my, you perverted lecher, you're surprisingly kind, not doing those shameless things to us to satisfy your base desires."

Chun touched her still bitter throat and hummed softly. She did feel more awake than ever before.

"So, you want us to fight the sedatives and regain our senses with medication? It seems like that, surprisingly kind of you... Why would you do that?"

He Ye asked, puzzled. In her opinion, Lin Haiyuan was not related to them and had no reason to go to such lengths for them. They were not so naive as to think that a man taking advantage of someone in distress was limited to taking a little bit of liberty. Lin Haiyuan's help to this extent seemed very strange to He Ye, who had experienced the ways of the world.

"Who am I? My name is Lin Haiyuan, a guy from outside the Dieying Islands, from the Qubi Islands. You probably wouldn't believe me if I said I was an ordinary person. I'm responsible for taking lives, so you can think of me as an assassin."

Lin Haiyuan believed that based on the skills he had demonstrated in front of the black-haired fox girl, even interstellar players wouldn't believe him if he said he was just someone who longed for a peaceful life like a plant.

"Lin, Hai, Yuan... a slightly strange name. So you were born in the Dieying Islands. But you speak Dieying language strangely well. Since you are an assassin, no wonder you are so skilled. You can catch my attacks with your bare hands and dodge them repeatedly. So you are that kind of professional."

Judging from Lin Haiyuan's attire and the fact that he never took out any long-handled weapons, Chun tentatively concluded that he was an assassin.

"Being able to walk down the street dressed in such an understated yet stylish assassin outfit is quite eye-catching, but it's also a testament to one's confidence in one's own abilities."

He Ye didn't think any ordinary assassin would dare to wear such conspicuous assassin attire and walk down the street.

"So the questions are basically answered. If I didn't bring you in here with two girls in my arms, I wouldn't be able to hide it from the monitors. As for why I did this... consider it my apology to you. Asking a girl how she got to a place like this, and asking if you could bring me here, is indeed very rude. I will get you out of here safely, but only after I finish my work, otherwise we will still be in danger."

Lin Haiyuan didn't think he was the kind of person who would get excited over such a situation, like Wang Lansi. To say that it was an apology wasn't entirely true; it was mostly just out of good intentions.

"Hmph, well, I'll forgive you this time for asking such a shameless question out of ignorance."

Faced with Lin Haiyuan's sincere words, Chun felt embarrassed to continue calling him a perverted lecher, though she still seemed a little arrogant.

"Then we're truly saved. I've heard about the intricacies and darkness of Pleasure Town, but is the so-called danger just meeting with those underworld bosses or something?"

Kazuha was puzzled and asked what kind of danger he was talking about.

"Well, to be honest... I want to see how you answer first. You don't look like the kind of depraved women who would sell your bodies for a living in a place like this. So why are you here? Or what reason do you have to step into a place that you consider shameless?"

Lin Haiyuan did not think he lacked any sense of secrecy and could casually reveal that he had contacted and held talks with the Astoria Empire's officials through their intelligence organization.

"This is related to the investigation commission we accepted by the guild. Recently, there have been frequent cases of missing women and girls in various districts of the Eastern Prefecture. Some victims have already posted commissions in the guild or reported to the police. The police currently suspect that it is the work of a foreign criminal gang lurking in the Anle District. Kazuha and I are both wandering knights, so of course we can accept this commission and investigate. You know, the living expenses of wandering knights come from activity funds, just like when you are an assassin, you kill the person designated by the employer and get paid after the job is done."

Tsubaki gave a preliminary explanation of why they came to Huanle Town, located on the north side of Anle Ward.

"After Chun met Lin Haiyuan, you asked that kind of question. After Chun chased you with a knife and you quickly jumped over the crowd to escape, I followed to see if Chun had gotten my wallet back. Because of the commotion you and Chun caused, the guards naturally came. Later, when I was talking to Chun and asking her about Lin Haiyuan, I found you very suspicious. The suspicious point was your overly standard Dieying language. You know, even we who live in Dongtaishou can't speak standard Dieying language. We all have a certain local accent. And you even asked a girl on the street how to get to Huaxiaolou."

He Ye stopped there, feeling that Lin Haiyuan should understand most of what was going on and there was no need to say more.

"So you suspect me of being a member of that women and children trafficking ring, or someone connected to it? And that's why you followed me all the way to Huaxiaolou in Huanle Town?"

Lin Haiyuan already knew from reading He Ye's mind that the fox and the cat were likely drugged and transported to Huaxiao Tower to be forced into prostitution. They were just lucky to run into Lin Haiyuan, who was here today. Soshar Craig was just following the coded message to find him some black-haired wandering swordswoman for fun. Otherwise, Lin Haiyuan wouldn't be holding one of them in his arms and having this serious conversation.

"I can't say for sure. I don't have any memories of entering Huaxiaolou. Instead, I remember chasing the shikigami bird into an alley... The only memories I have since are from when you gave me the potion and it was awakened... In this situation, could it be that Chun and I were ambushed by someone?! Could it be that the person who ambushed us was that criminal gang?!"

Kazuha widened her eyes and covered her mouth.

"No wonder. It was strange that I didn't have any memories of entering Huaxiao Tower. It must be those criminal gangs who drugged me and sold me to Huaxiao Tower! Those despicable guys."

Chun didn't suspect much before concluding that the guy who drugged her and her friend and sold them to Huaxiaolou was that foreign criminal gang.

Dirty = obscene.

Back home, playing a few rounds of co-op, the arrival of Tall-nut's Death Fleet is always so enjoyable. However, recalling Tall-nut's Death Fleet and the Death Fleet that appeared in the initial promotional video, I completely missed the heat ray guns that swept from all directions when the mothership appeared...

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Trip to the Cherry Blossom Islands (Thirteen)

“I think that your reckless entry into Happy Town made you an ideal target for any of the local underworld forces. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that so-called foreign gang. With a little training, it’s not surprising that those gang members could do something like this to you when you weren’t on guard.”

Lin Haiyuan knew that such a place, where the sex industry was highly concentrated, was practically a den of iniquity for outside women who had no precautions or protection. The fact that the two wandering knights had fallen here was due to the abilities of these local thugs. However, the risk of kidnapping and abducting women to force them into prostitution was extremely high.

However, this also confirms that this fox girl and the cat girl have absolutely no official relationship; she's just an ordinary ranger accepting quests in the guild. Now, let's answer the question about danger.

"To answer the question of why it's dangerous, the person I arranged to meet here isn't a member or leader of the underworld, but someone from the Astoria Empire's intelligence agency. We're going to have a secret meeting in the suite just now. Anyone else who overhears will be beheaded... Understand?"

Lin Haiyuan lowered his head and looked at the two beast-eared girls, pondering, to make them understand the seriousness of the matter.

"The Empire's intelligence agency?!" "The Astrea Empire's intelligence agency, meow?!"

Upon hearing his words, Tsubaki and Kazuha immediately bristled, their two pairs of beast ears standing up alertly as they stared at him, whose face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, with wary heterochromatic eyes—they had never imagined that one day they would have to face the intelligence agency of the Astoria Empire, and that their first contact would be at the risk of losing their heads.

"But don't worry, you haven't heard anything of any substance yet, and you're just ordinary rangers who haven't colluded with the foreigners you're talking about. As long as you don't spread this around, no one will care about you afterwards. However, I don't think any of you want to be monitored by the Astoria Empire's intelligence agencies, so you'll have to cooperate with me from now on."

Lin Haiyuan also took this opportunity to bend his arm and soothe the fox girl and cat girl's heads. This head pat made them squint their eyes slightly in comfort.

"So, Lin Haiyuan, how do you want Chun and me to cooperate with you to ensure that we are not monitored by the Imperial intelligence agencies as potential criminals?"

While Kazuha felt comfortable being patted on the head, she wouldn't ignore such a life-or-death matter.

"Hmm... Could it be that they're planning to do something vulgar like touching or groping our breasts, which doesn't involve physical contact with those areas?"

Chun herself blushed when talking about these erotic topics, and her originally fierce, beastly glare became cute as her face gradually turned red.

"Don't think of me as such a bad person, okay? What you're talking about isn't something that can be done in a meeting place. I'll have to bring you into the meeting place so I can have a legitimate reason to take you out of Huaxiao Tower. You need to know that you were sold here as contract slaves and are part of the private property of Huaxiao Tower. If you escape and disappear, and are found on the streets of the Eastern Prefect, your lives won't be easy. Someone could catch you and take you back to continue doing that kind of thing at any time."

Lin Haiyuan first patiently explained to them the reasons why they should cooperate with him.

"Tch, these despicable and shameless bastards actually violated people's will and sold them as street merchandise. Does the intelligence agency of the Astole Empire think they can ignore such illegal activities?"

Chun wasn't completely stupid; she figured that since the Astoria Empire's intelligence agency was here, the illegal activities happening here must be related to them.

"When have those law enforcement agencies ever been reliable? They always arrive late after we, the Rangers, have already done the job."

Kazuha wasn't as excited as Tsubaki. They had seen similar things before, but the fact that it involved the Imperial intelligence agency still surprised them.

“I know your hearing is very sharp, so it will be difficult to keep the conversation from you. Would you be willing to be knocked unconscious to avoid hearing confidential conversations, and then be taken out unconscious? This way you will be very safe, and you can also ensure that you will not leak information or say it out loud due to some issues.”

Lin Haiyuan felt it was best if they were willing to accept this method of avoiding hearing confidential conversations, saving him the trouble of using his mental powers to create false memories that confused his true ones.

“I’m curious, what could an assassin like you possibly talk about with the Imperial intelligence agency… And I’m still worried about you being knocked unconscious again. But I can assure you that I won’t divulge a single word of the classified conversation, Lin Haiyuan.”

Kazuha was worried that nothing would happen around her after she was knocked unconscious, and like many girls, she was also concerned that Lin Haiyuan might make unwanted advances.

"I'm just as curious as Kazuha about what you, as an assassin, would talk about with the Imperial intelligence agencies... As for secrecy, don't worry, Kazuha and I are both very tight-lipped."

Chun didn't want to be knocked unconscious again and be completely unaware of her surroundings, and she was also worried that Lin Haiyuan might do something inappropriate.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Miss Tsubaki and Miss Kazuha... But judging from your appearance, you don't intend to be taken out unconscious by me. Then you must do as I say, which is to crawl under my coat when someone calls me out, then hug my waist and press your face under my clothes, trying to hide as shyly as possible under my clothes, so that they don't find out that you are actually awake. I will take care of the rest. Can you do it?"

Lin Haiyuan also needed to work on confusing their memories afterward.

“You can definitely do that, but you need to understand the significance of this behavior. Don’t get any wild ideas.”

Chun felt uncomfortable and ashamed of this silly couple's public display of affection by hugging.

"There's no problem with that, but the smell would give it away. Whether it's a male or a female, they'll give off a certain smell when they do that kind of thing. We and Lin Yuansang haven't done anything unclean or shameless, so it's impossible for us to give off that kind of smell."

Kazuha still feels a certain amount of shame when using those very obscure words.

"The fact that demi-humans have such keen senses of smell is a problem, but you should just stay hidden under my coat. I have a way to solve the smell problem in another way."

Lin Haiyuan's solution to the smell problem was simple: manipulate the airflow in the room to repeatedly circulate and spread the scent of the good deeds that Soshar Craig had done, making them believe that the scent was coming from Lin Haiyuan's side.

"Are you sure everything's okay?"

Chun looked at Lin Haiyuan with a suspicious gaze.

"I've never heard of assassins knowing any magic in this area, and does such magic even exist?"

Kazuha's mind worked quickly, and she immediately thought of magical spells/magic.

"Of course, no problem. Leave it to me."

Lin Haiyuan certainly didn't think there would be any problem; he could simply use his mental power to resolve any mishaps.

The Death Fleet has been nerfed beyond recognition. To be honest, I don't have a big problem with Blizzard nerfing the initial three attack and three defense stats. It's just that it's not as effective as before as a tank. The main reason is that I personally use the Death Fleet in conjunction with the Offering to deal red-dot damage. Now the Death Fleet's attack is really... weak, and the cooldown time is still so long. If the cooldown time were reduced accordingly, it would be acceptable. However, the Death Fleet still managed to save its usage rate with its high-class image.

If the Death Fleet's cooldown were to finish every time a red dot appeared, that would be great; the Nut's mobility would then be compensated for by the Death Fleet.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Trip to the Cherry Blossom Islands (Part Fourteen)

In the time before the negotiators arrived, Lin Haiyuan, Chun, and He Ye had an emergency rehearsal to ensure that their posture would not reveal that they were awake, and to curl up their bodies as much as possible to pretend to be very shy, so as to perfectly match the image of a girl who had just experienced "good things".

Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock! Just then, a rhythmic knocking sound came from the sliding door of the hidden room.

"They should be here by now. Just like we practiced earlier, make sure there are no more mishaps and don't say anything more."

As Lin Haiyuan spoke, he stood up from the tatami mat. The two beast-eared girls, Chun and He Ye, each hugged his waist and buried their faces in the flexible nanofiber part of his Altaïr armor.

Instead of rushing to open the door, he transformed his mental power into a probe wave and launched it forward. Based on the object the wave touched and the mental fluctuations he sensed, he confirmed that there were two more people inside the room, which should have only been occupied by three. These two people were undoubtedly the negotiators that the Astoria Empire had actually sent to negotiate with him.

Their timing was perfect; don't dwell on this rehearsal activity, which is essentially just killing time.

Lin Haiyuan took a few steps and slightly opened the sliding door. The female fox-girl attendant in a kimono bowed when she saw Lin Haiyuan and the fox-girl who was hugging his waist and looked shy.

"Guest, I apologize for disturbing you. Lord Craig asked me to tell you that the relevant personnel have arrived. Please prepare to participate in the negotiations."

After the kimono-clad fox-girl waitress finished speaking, she bowed and left. Lin Haiyuan also noticed out of the corner of his eye that another kimono-clad fox-girl waitress opened the door to suite number 11 and left.

It seems they are already clearing out unrelated personnel. I guess the two fox and cat girls beside me will also be asked to leave the venue temporarily.

Thinking this, Lin Haiyuan continued to pull open the sliding door and stepped inside. He led Chun and Heye in, meeting the gazes of the bear-headed and bear-like Soshal Craig and the other two fox-headed negotiators. At the same time, he began to manipulate the surrounding airflow with his mental power, slowly and secretly blowing the room's scent onto their faces. Meanwhile, the airflow around Lin Haiyuan blew backward, minimizing the possibility of the "fresh" air being inhaled into their noses.

[This strangely dressed, lecherous guy is the negotiator sent by Azur Lane? That's great! As Soshal arranged, the video of this guy having fun with these two girls was filmed. If necessary, we can use it as a weapon to threaten him into agreeing to our demands and exposing his bottom line.]

[The people in this Azur Lane organization are really strange. They could have sent people here so efficiently, but they chose to send this lecherous lecher dressed as an assassin to participate in the negotiations. I really don't know what they were thinking. Fortunately, Soshal has already arranged for him to be lecherous, so the negotiations should go smoothly from here on out.]

The two male fox-like orcs, each harboring their own schemes against Lin Haiyuan, remained silent.

"Ahem, hehehehe, this gentleman seems to really like these two ladies, bringing them to the negotiation venue. However, women must stay away from this kind of occasion."

Soshar Craig's forced smile subtly hinted that Lin Hai should let go.