Chapter 62
Sitting in the conference room, Xu Zhimo and Wan Jiabao, who had finally been released, sat upright, their posture even more standard than Zhu Ziqing's.
Zhu Ziqing looked at the two people in front of him with a complex expression.
So, you two were actually discussing romance novels in the "Wandering" section...?
After all, according to Zhou Shuren, the reason they were released early was because the two of them were discussing romance novel plots in the [Wandering] room, which was annoying and didn't contribute to the meeting, so it was better to just release them...
Zhu Ziqing felt great admiration, after all, among his peers in the study, perhaps only Xu Zhimo could so happily jump around in Zhou Shuren's minefield...
Wan Jiabao is too easily swayed by his surroundings. So I won't discuss it with him; I guess he just joined in the discussion without thinking much after Xu Zhimo said a few words.
And that's the truth.
In short, Xu Zhimo, who had once again successfully courted death and would have been smeared in the face with "The Outcry" if Zhu Ziqing hadn't stopped him, has temporarily behaved himself, demonstrating his spirit of "courtly courting death within limits".
"Brother Zhou, you're the commander-in-chief for this operation. Do you have any operational guidelines to share?"
"What is there to say?" Zhou Shuren, still holding a book, calmly looked up at Xu Zhimo who had asked the question: "The Book of Changes has already made it very clear that we're just here to make up the numbers and save face. Even my position as team leader is based on the reason of 'studying in Japan.' What kind of action plan could we possibly have?"
As he spoke, Zhou Shuren lowered his brows, looked at the book in his hands, and uttered the last sentence in a calm tone:
"It's best not to cause trouble out of nothing."
To put it bluntly, there is absolutely no need to design any action plan in the current situation. The group from the study, who were just there to make up the numbers and show their importance, only need to finish the tasks assigned to them by this loose alliance and that will be their job.
Xu Zhimo understood this principle as well. After confirming with Zhou Shuren, he slumped onto the table, feeling somewhat dejected, and looked around at the gray walls of the conference room with a hint of frustration.
After being released, Wan Jiabao, who had been quietly nestled in his seat, looked around to make sure the two were no longer discussing the matter. Then, he quietly took out a romance novel.
His movements were very skillful, and he made very little noise; he was clearly a seasoned and experienced offender.
Just as Wan Jiabao had successfully taken out the book, turned the pages, and was about to read it, Xu Zhimo suddenly jumped up from the table, startling Wan Jiabao so much that he shoved the book under the table.
Yu Guang had already spotted Zhu Ziqing: ...We're not students and teachers, why is reading a novel like it's a guerrilla war?
Ignoring Wan Jiabao's conditioned reflex, Xu Zhimo looked at Zhou Shuren with a serious expression and a slight frown.
"Brother Zhou, tell the truth, is this just a matter of filling in the numbers? No other requirements?"
Compared to Xu Zhimo, who suddenly became serious, Zhou Shuren remained very relaxed, as if he were experiencing a rare vacation rather than carrying out a mission.
"This was just a simple, meaningless, and extremely simplistic act of filling a quota."
Seemingly somewhat annoyed by the constant explanations, Zhou Shuren used three words in a row to describe this task in his answer.
Seeing that Xu Zhimo still looked somewhat skeptical and Wan Jiabao and Zhu Ziqing were puzzled by the game, Zhou Shuren thought for a moment and added a sentence.
"This was less of a siege and more of a 'game' between Holmes and UN Secretary Christie."
"Hmm..." Xu Zhimo looked at the ceiling and pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhou Shuren, "Is the layout difficult?"
Without hesitation, Zhou Shuren replied, "It's not difficult."
Xu Zhimo: "So, Brother Zhou, are you just going to watch? Aren't you going to get involved and put on a show yourself?"
Why should I bother?
Xu Zhimo: ...
Xu Zhimo: Did Brother Zhou just openly declare his intention to slack off again?
"They're just playing a 'game' right now. But if I get involved, I'll have to take it seriously, and that would be difficult to handle and troublesome."
Xu Zhimo: ...Brother Zhou, you don't need to say such a long thing. We all know that trouble is the main reason.
Wan Jiabao & Zhu Ziqing: ... (nod)
"It's not too difficult to get involved in this game, and it's not even difficult to get a position as a player... but there's no need for it and no benefit to it, so I don't really want to get involved."
When he said this, Zhou Shuren showed an obvious look of disgust.
"Anyway, the Book of Changes says that this encirclement will be fruitless, so why should I bother?"
Xu Zhimo, Wan Jiabao, and Zhu Ziqing: ...
Yes, that's definitely something Brother Zhou would say.
Meanwhile, aboard the Nautilus, which was anchored at sea, the UN personnel were also holding a meeting.
The main issue is to identify the personnel who came to raid them this time, so that we can make preparations in advance.
Of course, the main providers of information were Vladimir and Defoe. Apart from the two of them, everyone else basically just circled around the enemy stronghold buildings (sitting in the submarine) and didn't see anything.
Oh, Roland also saw a Xu Zhimo.
Now, inside the Nautilus's "living room," Vargrave has somehow brought out a bunch of chairs, and most of the UN members have taken their seats.
As for why it's the majority of members instead of all members...
Dante was still sleeping in his coffin, Barry was floating in mid-air, half-lying down, and Exupéry was looking up at Barry and then running after him.
The scene was quite harmonious and joyful.
Vladimir sat cross-legged in her wide-backed armchair. Although her posture was odd, she looked quite comfortable, as she was rather petite.
The relatively reliable Defoe has just described their experiences, and now Vladimir is describing the people he met.
Unfortunately, because the other party was also keeping it a secret—Christie said Holmes must have thought of this as well—Vladimir didn't actually see many people.
"Monument Valley" features Balzac and two "gatekeepers." Aside from these, only two ASAs (Associated Assistants) were visible.
"I recognize one of them, he's 'Mad Rider' Lewis; I haven't seen the other guy before."
After Vladimir finished speaking, Defoe, who was basically just there to make up the numbers, also spoke up.
"Naturally, I don't know him either...and I can confirm that I can't even describe what he looks like right now."
After all, he was tied up while unconscious, and after waking up, Vladimir kept jumping around on the rope, making him feel uneasy and dizzy. Being five stories high, Defoe didn't know if his dizziness was due to Vladimir's jumping around or because of his fear of heights.
In this situation, it would be a bit much to ask him to observe what a person on the ground looks like...
So the current situation is that Vladimir, the only one who has seen the person in person, cannot identify the ASA member. Meanwhile, Christie and Roland, who have broader knowledge, do not know what the person looks like.
A very awkward situation.
But actually, that's not something to worry about, because...
“Vladimir, could you please provide me with a portrait?”
"Leave it to me!"
Vladimir's special ability is quite outstanding outside of combat.
Vladimir jumped up from the heavy, high-backed chair and pressed down on the chair he had been sitting in.
"Hmm, let me think..."
With his eyes closed, Vladimir frowned, trying hard to recall the appearance of the previous ASA member.
"It's probably... like this!"
A flash of light appeared on the chair, and the originally huge and heavy high-backed chair shrank continuously. When the light dissipated, a finely crafted wool felt appeared in front of the UN members.
The felted wool sculpture is a bust of ASA, and it's very realistic.
Upon seeing the wool felt, Christie nodded in satisfaction: "Indeed, it's Fabre."
"Fabre?" Vladimir tilted his head and thought for two seconds after casually tossing the wool felt he no longer needed on the ground and deactivated his ability. Then he curled his lip in disdain: "Never heard of him. He's just cannon fodder."
“It’s not surprising that you haven’t heard of Fabre, because Fabre’s area of activity and your area of interest have virtually no overlap.”
The person responsible for the explanation was not Christie, but Romain Rolland, who nodded in satisfaction after seeing Vladimir's wool felt.
Vladimir jumped back onto the chair and sat cross-legged, making Cervantes hesitate to speak.
Pu Songling patted Cervantes on the shoulder reassuringly, indicating that he shouldn't worry about it.
Vladimir has been around for a while now, there's no need to dwell on his actions—you can't care about them all.
"Fabre was not a full member of the ASA, but rather an 'external member' who was frequently invited to participate in activities. His primary profession was entomologist, and in that field, Fabre was probably more famous than you are in Russia."
As he spoke, Romain Rolland gestured with his eyes to Jules Verne, who was standing beside him.
"To put it another way, Fabre's reputation in the field of entomology is about the same as Jules Verne's reputation in the field of geology."
Shelley, who was still holding a snack in one hand, suddenly raised her hand when she heard this: "Aren't you going to mention Stevenson?"
Two people in UN were former researchers: Jules Verne and Stevenson.
“Hmm…” Romain Rolland paused, then looked somewhat troubled at Stevenson (currently Louis), who was sitting quietly, and said with some difficulty, “But judging from the actual situation…”
Although Stevenson is considered one of the leading experts in the field of neuroscience, he is still just an expert.
Verne and Fabre, on the other hand, were leaders who practically dominated their respective fields, and Stevenson was indeed incomparable to them.
Even without Roland saying the second half of his sentence, everyone could understand what he meant.
Louis: An awkward but polite smile.jpg
Standing on the chair, Shelley patted Stevenson on the shoulder reassuringly: "It's alright, Stevenson. It's just that your achievements can't compare to others. I won't look down on you for being useless."
Louis Stevenson: ...Don't finish me off.
On its own, my achievements are quite remarkable, okay?
"An entomologist?" Barry, who was aimlessly floating in mid-air, drifted over Roland's head, causing Exupéry, who was following Barry, to bump into Roland. "Does this Fabre have a very strong supernatural ability?"
Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why an entomologist would be invited by the ASA to participate in such "activities" multiple times.
Roland rubbed his waist, which had been bumped by Exupé, without making a sound, and nodded without changing his expression.
To be honest, being bumped by the completely rigid, invincible body of the "Little Prince" actually hurts quite a bit...
"Hmm, it's a very special ability."
"【A Tiny Epic Army】, 'Insect Tales'."
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