Chapter 52
Inside the meeting room of the Special Abilities Division in Yokohama.
An elderly American man in military uniform, a cigarette dangling from his lips, stared at the group of people in front of him with dead fish eyes.
The old man exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "What are you ASA people thinking? You received news weeks ago that the UN might come to Yokohama, but you didn't react at all. Now that they've done their bad deeds and probably run away, you're only coming now... Are you sure this isn't just a show?"
Behind the old man, a man wearing the same military uniform stared blankly ahead, glancing at the old man slightly to the side.
He seemed to be considering whether to remind his boss to be mindful of his image.
"That's what I wanted to ask you too."
Across from the old man, a man in an ASA uniform stared with equally deadpan eyes: "What's the 'gatekeeper' from North America doing here? Does the UN not commit any serious crimes over there?"
The old man rolled his eyes dismissively: "Have you selectively forgotten whose territory Yokohama is? Do you think we'd let you run around Yokohama like that without anyone watching?"
"You guys don't usually get involved anyway!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. The moment those words left his mouth, the old man's expression changed drastically: "This is a matter of principle, you know that?! Besides, it's me who's working overtime! It's me!"
The man with facial paralysis behind him raised his hand and punched the old man on the head.
It was unclear how much force was used, but the old man's head slammed into the table in front of him with a loud thud.
The man with the expressionless face withdrew his hand.
The old man raised his head expressionlessly, leaving only the outline of a face in the empty space on the table.
The old man turned back, still expressionless: "Kasimov, tell me the truth, do you want to kill me so you can take over?"
Kasimov maintained his expressionless face: "When the captain was killed, the team members were reassigned rather than directly promoted. So your death, captain, does me no direct benefit."
Old man: "Is your brain made of solid clay?"
Kasimov continued, "Reporting, Captain, the structure of my brain is approximately..."
Shut up!
The man in the ASA uniform watched the farce unfold before him, his lips twitching violently.
Behind him, a person wearing a strange hat was whispering with the people around him.
"Why do I feel like this scene looks familiar?"
He had a slight stutter when he said this, but strangely, it didn't affect the transition in his tone.
Beside him, a man carrying a pile of bottles and jars also spoke in a low voice:
"I think it looks familiar to you because the style is similar to our usual way of interacting..."
"Now that you mention it, it really is..."
Perhaps he heard the voices behind him, for the veins on the man sitting at the table were bulging, his arms were swelling, and several strange dents had appeared.
The two people behind him immediately fell silent. Across from him, the old man, who had just tidied his appearance, glanced at the strangely behaving man in front of him and calmly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, where are the people from China? Didn't they say there would be a three-way cooperation? Haven't they arrived yet?"
"Not yet." After changing the subject, the man's condition improved significantly, and the abnormality on his arm gradually disappeared. "We had an appointment with the Chinese side for 7:00 PM sharp."
Kasimov took out a pocket watch and handed it to the old man.
"It's...6:59 now?"
The old man snorted and tossed the pocket watch to Kasimov behind him: "Still no news. Looks like they're planning a show of force this time..."
Suddenly, just as everyone was reacting, an old-fashioned wooden door appeared inside the conference room.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed everyone's attention had vanished from that direction. When everyone looked back, the door had already appeared there.
Aside from the style, there is not a single discordant element between the door and the wall, yet it somehow appears extremely eerie.
The old man with a cigarette in his mouth rolled his eyes, while ASA exchanged glances with varying expressions.
The person wearing the peculiar hat almost burst out laughing.
"The teahouse... I bet it's only because there's a 'gatekeeper' here that things are played this way."
The person next to him looked helpless, but nodded in agreement.
As they were speaking, the wooden door opened, and four people walked out, none of them wearing uniforms.
The most normal-looking pair was a middle-aged man dressed in black and a young man dressed in a fashionable style.
The other two were a pale-faced, thin young man and a "child" who looked to be only a teenager.
Although it looks very similar, people are hesitant to send a child out, given that China would not send a small child.
Maybe it's a problem with the supernatural ability.
Everyone present stood up. The old "gatekeeper," with a stiff face, stepped forward and shook hands with the person walking at the front.
"Hello, I'm the person in charge of this collaboration from the North American 'Gatekeeper' unit."
He spoke in English.
The person walking at the front was a middle-aged man dressed in dark black clothes. He seemed to have a serious expression, but he readily shook hands with the man.
"Hello, I am the head of the investigation team from China this time."
He was speaking in Chinese.
The two people, who were speaking different languages, inexplicably communicated very smoothly. They looked at each other and smiled at the same time.
"Nice to meet you." x2
The man in the hat muttered, "Just looking at it makes me tired, so tired..."
His companion glared at him and said, "I'm tired of listening to you talk. You won't die if you just shut up."
The old gatekeeper introduced the head of the investigation team to the person in charge of ASA's side—the same person who had been rolling his eyes at the old man earlier—and the three of them chatted amiably before sitting down together at the conference table.
During this time, several people who had not been assigned to mutual flattery were looking at the wooden door that was still on the wall.
Behind the door, you can see an old-fashioned building with equally rustic decorations; judging by the interior alone, you might mistake it for just an ordinary restaurant or similar building.
This is one of the most famous supernatural abilities in modern China: "Teahouse".
According to known information, it is a spatial teleportation ability that allows one to open "doors" at will in any region or location. It is said that even opening a door on the other side of the Earth would not be a problem.
For surprise attacks and troop transport, it's a truly fantastical superpower.
Currently, the holder of the special ability should still be the first generation, Shu Qingchun.
Of the three leaders who were seated, the old man spoke first: "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting."
"First, let me introduce myself again. I am Ernest Miller Hemingway, the officer in charge of this operation for the U.S. 'Gatekeeper' unit."
The man in the ASA uniform sighed, sounding quite listless.
“I am Honoré de Balzac, the ASA’s leader in charge of this operation—we have one member who is not present yet, and I will call him if there are any specific discussions about the operation later.”
The middle-aged man in black nodded to Balzac, then looked behind him.
There was indeed a spot deliberately left empty.
"I am the person in charge of this matter in China. You can call me Zhou Shuren."
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