Chapter 144 Venice, date, newcomers to the group (asking for monthly tickets)

On July 22, over the skies of northern Italy, the plane carrying the three members of the brigade was very close to its destination and was expected to land at Venice International Airport in three minutes.

In the first-class cabin, Xia Pingzhou slowly opened his eyes and saw a piece of fruit wrapped in a napkin flying in the air. It was the kimono girl next to him who used her special powers to hand him the fruit.

He ate the cherry tomato in one bite and then bit the apple in his mouth.

Then the napkin floated away and fell into the trash can. He glanced sideways and saw Ayase Origami still looking down at the book, with her other hand holding an apple and taking a bite of it.

The roar of the engine gradually faded and turned into a low hum. The plane slowly descended among the clouds, the landing gear opened, and finally landed smoothly.

The lights in the cabin gradually dimmed, and a voice came over the broadcast: "The plane has arrived at Venice International Airport. Please be sure to take your personal belongings with you before getting off the plane, and confirm in advance whether your luggage has been taken away."

Xia Pingzhou stayed where he was, slowly eating fruit while switching time zones on his phone. Lijing time was 7 hours ahead of Venice time. It was only noon here, but it was almost evening on Unit 1.

The Ripper Girl stood up, walked to the middle aisle, turned her head and looked at Xia Pingzhou: "That's right."

"What?" Xia Pingzhou asked.

"Andrens asked me to thank you for him." The Ripper lowered his eyes and said casually.

"Thank you for what?"

"You healed his face."

"You're welcome." Ayase Origami answered on behalf of Xia Pingzhou while reading a book, her voice clear and light.

After saying that, she stood up, holding the haiku collection, and walked towards the exit of the cabin.

Xia Pingzhu looked at Ayase Origami's back, then looked at the Ripper silently, and asked her while putting on his coat:

"What about you? Don't you want to thank me?"

"Rather than thanking you for healing my face," the Ripper paused, "I'd rather thank you for knocking the young lady out."

She tilted her head slightly and glanced at Ayase Origami's back. Ayase Origami had been very quiet these past two days. It was better to say that this gangster lady was a man of few words to begin with, and her bad mood made things worse, and she became completely like a wooden man.

"Why are you thanking me?" Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly. "To be honest, I was worried that you would take your anger out on me, or even isolate me. As a newcomer, this is not a good outcome."

"If she wanted to attack the Lake Hunters at that time, none of us would have stopped her." The Ripper said, "Our chances of winning were slim at that time... It is not impossible to take him down with a desperate fight, but many people would die, and it is very likely that only the leader would be left."

"So, you should actually be thankful that I'm a newcomer and I don't have a close relationship with you, so I was able to make the most rational judgment at that time."

"Almost." The Ripper said, "We can exchange contact information. I'll let you know when the new member arrives in this city...if you want to meet him."

Xia Pingzhou shook his head: "No need, we can just communicate through hackers, it's safer this way."

The Ripper shrugged. "Alright."

"Can you tell me the name of the new member?"

"Come and see him later." Jack the Ripper looked up at him. "Are you curious?"

"Nothing." Xia Pingzhou shook his head. "I miss Lan Duoduo. I always feel that it is strange that she died not long ago and her position in the brigade was simply replaced."

"This is the rule of the brigade. If you die, someone will take your place. This applies to me, and even the captain... If you don't want to die, make yourself stronger."

The Ripper responded expressionlessly.

"But I have become stronger...and you will be the one who will die." Xia Pingzhou replied silently in his heart.

The two got off the plane one after another, and walked down the stairs from the exit to the airport lobby. Soon they found Ayase Origami. The airport's security equipment was completely hacked, so they left the airport without any obstacles.

The midsummer sun in Venice shone fiercely on the heads of the three people. Xia Pingzhou felt a little dizzy, but it was not because of airsickness, but because his consciousness was switching between multiple bodies at the same time. The sense of separation would turn into a mental burden over time, which was more than ten times worse than the feeling of airsickness.

After a moment, Xia Pingzhou raised his head with his eyes slightly narrowed.

Venice is truly worthy of its name as a "water city". The emerald waters sparkle in the sun. White bridges connect the islands, forming this city of a hundred islands.

The Ripper glanced at the two of them and said, "I'm leaving now. I heard that the new couple will be arriving tonight. You can come and meet them then."

Xia Ping Zhu and Ayase Origami were busy admiring the scenery under the scorching sun and just nodded slightly in response.

A piece of paper flew out of Ayase Origami's sleeve and turned into a small hand that gently pulled Xia Pingzhou's sleeve.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Go sit on that," she said.

Xia Pingzhou followed her gaze and saw a cruise ship floating on the water.

A moment later, the two men walked down the stairs to the shore, paid the boatman, and boarded a small sightseeing boat.

The boat drifted slowly forward, and at both ends of the river were streets, with shelves outside shops filled with a dazzling array of goods. Flowers dotted the wooden bookstore signs.

The wooden boat swayed gently, sweeping the clear water, and the reflections of the brick-red old houses on both sides of the river were broken into shimmering waves. The boatman paddled through the narrow alley with a long pole. On the mottled wall, a plaid apron was tied to the clothesline, and wisteria flowers hung from the balcony.

Occasionally, a coffee shop by the water opens its wooden windows, and the aroma of coffee mixed with the sea breeze passes over your nose.

Ayase Origami sat at the stern of the boat with the sleeves of her ochre-red kimono hanging low, the city scene reflected in her slightly empty eyes.

In the sunshine, the bell tower of St. Mark's Square pierces the clouds, and the statue of a golden flying lion stands on the dome of the Doge's Palace; the stone carvings of the Rialto Bridge have been polished to a shine by the years, and merchant ships and cruise ships are traveling back and forth under the bridge.

The boy and the girl sat at the stern in silence.

The sightseeing boat passed through the bridge holes one by one. The world was bright and dark, dark and bright. Every time it passed through the bridge hole, it was as if a new picture was slowly unfolding in front of my eyes.

"Have you been to Venice?" Xia Pingzhou suddenly asked.

"No."

“It’s my first time, too.”

"Let me ask you a question."

"What's the problem?"

"Takikage said... people shed tears when someone important dies."

"Then what?"

"But when he died... I didn't cry." Ayase Origami paused, "Why?"

"Isn't that normal?" Xia Pingzhou thought for a moment, "You make me feel like a puppet, wearing the same kimono every day, with the same bland expression and the same bland tone. I can't even imagine what you look like when you shed tears."

"No one has ever taught me how to be a human being." Ayase Origami lowered her eyes and looked at the blurry face reflected in the water.

"Why?"

Ayase Origami was silent for a while, and finally did not answer his question, but said:

"Enough shopping. Clothes shopping."

"Yes, you did say you wanted to buy clothes in Tokyo before." Xia Pingzhou said, glancing at the kimono on Ayase Origami.

"I've never bought one myself. Takikage always bought them for me."

"You're wearing the same kimono anyway, so what's the difference between buying clothes and getting regular stock?"

"...I'm angry."

Ayase Origami glanced at him and seemed a little angry... This was the first time Xia Pingzhou saw her frowning slightly. It was more like she wanted to show anger, but in the end, the expression on her face was just confusion.

She lowered her eyes and thought for a moment, then looked up at him again: "Is it weird for me to wear other clothes?"

Xia Pingzhou shook his head.

A flock of white pigeons were startled by the bow, and their white feathers fell onto the water.

Xia Pingzhu and Ayase Origami got off the boat and walked along the marble pavement. They found a modern fashion store in a quiet alley.

The clerk came over with a smile on his face and introduced the brand fashions in the store to them in standard English.

Ayase Origami was stunned for a moment. She obviously had no sense of dressing since she was a child, so every time the clerk introduced a new skirt to her, she would turn her head and ask Xia Pingzhou for his opinion.

Xia Pingzhou didn't pay much attention to her, but was thinking about whether he could find suitable diapers for Su Zimai in this place.

In the end, Ayase Origami simply tried them one by one. Xia Pingzhu stood in front of the dressing room with his shoulders folded, waiting. Every time this fair-skinned girl opened the curtain, she was wearing a different set of clothes, sometimes a Lolita skirt, sometimes a Gothic dress, and sometimes a high-necked windbreaker...

Only at this moment did Xia Pingzhou feel that she was not a puppet but a living person.

The girl's face was as cold and picturesque as a painting. Even in midsummer, her eyebrows and eyes looked like a piece of snow that would never melt.

Every time she raised her empty eyes to ask for his opinion, he would either spread his hands, shake his head, or put his chin on his hand as if in deep thought. But every time when he was halfway through his thoughts, Ayase Origami would decisively close the curtain, as if she wanted a set of clothes that would satisfy him at first sight.

The shop assistants were so adorable that they kept screaming in admiration the whole time. They said to her, "Miss, you will definitely be successful if you become a model," and started taking pictures with their phones. They even planned to print out the pictures to use as promotional photos for the store.

In the end, they found that the camera of the mobile phone was covered by a thin piece of paper, and the photos taken were completely black.

It was not until Ayase Origami changed into the sixteenth set of clothes that Xia Ping Zhou finally nodded with satisfaction.

"But...what's so special about it?" She raised her arms slightly and looked down at the British-style long dress she was wearing and a gray hairpin on her head.

"Actually, I think they're all good. I just want to see you change into a few more sets of clothes," said Xia Pingzhou.

"Why?"

"It's very novel. It's like the doll has come alive."

"Little cat, don't breathe..." When saying this, Ayase Origami's light and calm tone seemed to change, and it was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry.

She was always unpredictable.

In the end, Xia Ping Zhou bought all the clothes that Ayase Origami tried on. He had more money than he could spend from the hacker's bank card, not to mention that after he sold all the auction items, he would get an outrageous amount of cash.

There were so many clothes that Xia Pingzhou asked the clerk to deliver them to the hotel they had booked in the evening.

She changed back into her ochre-red kimono in the dressing room.

Just as he was about to walk out of the fashion store, Ayase Origami raised her slender fingers and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him back.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Buy clothes for the kitten." The girl in kimono spoke word by word.

Xia Pingzhou stopped, turned his head to meet her cold gaze, and then sighed helplessly:

"All right."

The two switched positions, and Ayase Origami picked out several sets of suitable clothes for Xia Ping Zhou, ranging from suits to shirts, hoodies, and pajamas.

Ayase Origami had a blank expression on her face and did not give any opinions from beginning to end. She just stared at Xia Pingzhou who walked out of the dressing room like a puppet.

Like an iron-faced judge.

Only when a barely visible smile appeared on her pale face did this overly strenuous fitting officially come to an end. Ayase Origami retaliated by buying all the clothes Xia Pingzhou had tried on.

It was almost dusk when they came to their senses. They found a seat in the nearest western restaurant and sat down. Just then, three figures pushed open the wooden door and walked in, approaching them.

Xia Pingzhou looked up and saw a woman in a red dress with long light blonde hair, a man in a white cape with a white cataract on his left eye, and a middle-aged man in western cowboy clothes.

The delicate blonde woman, who looked like a vampire, pulled the corners of her lips and showed a playful smile. She said:

“Say my name.”

"Long live the old woman who pursues love." "Old woman."

Xia Ping Zhu and Ayase Origami answered in unison, their tones as indifferent as if they were robots produced in the same factory.

The Blood Clan's face suddenly darkened, and he spoke word by word: "Go out and fight one-on-one."

"I say...please don't destroy this crappy place. I still want to have a drink." Andrew scratched his head helplessly.

"How childish." Bai Tanlang said expressionlessly.

The three of them sat down on the sofa opposite Xia Pingzhou.

"Could you please stop being so scary?" Xia Pingzhou asked. "I thought the police were here."

"Didn't I come here specially to find you because I heard that you had arrived?" The Blood Clan smiled.

Xia Pingzhou said: "I just heard that there are many demons here, so I came here to look for a contracted demon, and I will leave after I find one."

"Demons usually appear more often at night," said Bai Tanlang.

"Hearing the devil say this, it's quite convincing." Xia Pingzhou took a sip of whiskey.

"By the way, have you met the newcomer? The one who takes over position No. 5." The Blood Descendant held his chin, raised his red eyes and stared at Xia Pingzhou, and asked casually.

"Not yet." Xia Pingzhou shook his head. "What's the newcomer's name?"

The Bloodline thought for a moment and said, "I heard from the team leader that his name is 'Bernardo Edward' and he has a generation-level anecdote fragment on him." She paused and said, "I don't know what it is specifically, but the hacker said that we'd better be careful of this newcomer."

Bernardo Edward...

Xia Pingzhou was slightly startled. He obviously had some impression of this name. Not only had Xizel mentioned this person, but he had also seen this name when creating the game character:

——Bernardo is the leader of the Cult of the Black Death and the holder of the generation-level oddity fragment “Black Death”!

(End of this chapter)