Chapter 142 Xia Pingzhou's Heart, Dinner, Wang Ting Team (asking for monthly ticket)
In the early morning of July 22, the human trafficking boat had already docked.
Xia Pingzhou closed his eyes, and for some reason his face felt a little itchy. He opened his eyes and found that it was Ayase Origami who scratched his cheek with the edge of a paper, waking him up from his drowsy sleep. Ayase Origami tilted her head slightly, looking out of the cargo hold.
Following her gaze, Xia Pingzhou turned his head and looked out the window. The first rays of morning light illuminated the gray sea, bringing a glimmer of hope to the port of this small country. Several fishing boats were parked on the shore.
"Are we there yet?" He looked at Ayase Origami.
"We're here." Ayase Origami said expressionlessly, "Kitty, don't you want to get off the boat?"
"Why do you say that?"
“Cats like to eat fish.”
"It's not just the sea that has fish."
After getting off the boat, he and Ayase Origami headed straight to the local airport, and soon they boarded a plane to Venice. In the first-class cabin that the hacker had arranged for them, Xia Pingzhou saw a figure that surprised him:
——Jack the Ripper.
The Ripper is still wearing the black and white school uniform today, with long black hair draped behind his head, reaching his waist.
She was playing with her phone quietly with her eyes downcast. On the screen was an old-fashioned game called "Ninja Cut Watermelon". With a swipe of her slender fingertips, the watermelons on the screen would burst one after another.
"Number 2?" Xia Pingzhu muttered, turning his head to look at Ayase Origami, "Why is she here?"
"Can't she be here?" Ayase Origami said slowly, standing up and finding an empty seat to sit down.
[Hacker: No. 2 said she didn’t like being crowded with people, so she took another human smuggling boat.]
[Xia Pingzhou: The auction is over, why are you still monitoring me 24 hours a day? ]
[Hacker: We haven't confirmed who the traitor is yet, but the team leader said it's possible that we don't have a traitor at all, it's just that the black pupa has a special ability.]
Xia Ping Zhou sat down next to Ayase Origami while looking at the information. The first-class cabin was empty, with only Xia Ping Zhou, Ayase Origami, and Jack the Ripper - you don't need to look to know that it was the work of a hacker. With this little brat's level, it would not be difficult to prevent other passengers from booking first-class seats.
Without even looking up, the Ripper said, "Newcomer, don't you want your heart anymore?"
"If you don't tell me..." Xia Pingzhou said expressionlessly, "I thought you were just refusing to return it."
"How could that be?" The Ripper Girl raised her eyebrows. "If I don't do this, someone will be angry with me."
"who?"
"Who is it? It's hard to guess..." The Ripper glanced at Ayase Origami out of the corner of his eye.
After she finished speaking, a beating heart appeared on her right hand.
As the heart disappeared from her palm, Xia Pingzhou was slightly startled. His chest seemed to be full again, no longer as empty as before, but he could hear the heartbeat. For a long time, he felt that the heartbeat seemed to come from the other side of the world, so he would have auditory hallucinations in the middle of the night.
At least the heart is back... Xia Pingzhou thought, then the next thing to consider is how to improve his strength, and then, try to kill the Ripper before she reaches the third level.
Xia Pingzhou was silent for a while: "I understand. You went to Venice to win the heart of the new member."
The hacker had previously told him in a text message that he would meet the new member No. 5 in Venice, who would replace Lan Duoduo; and the Ripper's appearance on this plane was naturally for a self-evident purpose.
It seems that even during the brigade's "holiday time", new members must abide by the rules and temporarily hand over their hearts to the Ripper for safekeeping.
"What else?" Jack the Ripper lowered his eyes and slid his fingers across the screen. "The captain is now quite concerned about the traitors. He is not as casual as before."
"But...what if you are the traitor?"
"If you want to fight, just say so. There's no need to find excuses." The Ripper glanced sideways and gave him an unfriendly look.
Xia Pingzhou didn't take it seriously and sat down quietly beside Ayase Origami. Although his face was expressionless, his behavior vaguely showed the meaning of "beating a cat depends on its owner".
Ever since the death of Oda Takikage, Ayase Origami has been reluctant to speak, even when the two people with whom she had the best relationship in the group were around.
Xia Pingzhou did not dare to disturb her. The girl in kimono beside him remained silent, either looking down at the haiku collection or glancing at the glasses case in her sleeve.
He thought that Oda Takikage was more like a family member to Ayase Origami than a butler, and she might be experiencing the feeling of losing a family member for the first time in her life.
But after he killed the Ripper and used the clues to lead the Brigade to the Savior Society base, Unit 2 no longer had any value to him... If he destroyed this unit one day, would she come all over the world looking for him?
The plane took off soon after. Xia Pingzhou put his fist against his cheek and slowly closed his eyes in the bumpy cabin, synchronizing his consciousness with the perspective of the No. 3 machine.
The rumbling sound of the engine disappeared, replaced by a deep silence as if immersed in the sea water.
With a "splash", Yagubaru opened his eyes from the sea and looked outside through the crystal ball.
In the bedroom, Cesar was already awake. He stood in front of the wardrobe and changed into a set of noble clothes. He smoothed his straight white hair in front of the mirror, then returned to the bed and said to the little shark in the crystal ball in a low voice:
"We're going to a dinner party soon, Yagubaru. This is my first time attending a royal family dinner party."
"Why? Haven't you been there before?" asked Yagubaru.
Xizel shook his head: "No, I'm not feeling well, and my father won't let me go."
"Then why is it possible now?"
"Father is ill." Xizel smiled, "Now many things are decided by my two brothers."
"Then I'll go with you."
"I thought so too. I'd get panicky on my own, but not if you came with me."
After saying that, Xizel took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes, as if preparing himself mentally, then opened them and quickly walked out of the bedroom with the crystal ball.
"Let's go, Ikar."
At this time, the butler named "Ikar" had been waiting in the dim corridor for a long time. The butler took a look at the crystal ball held by Xizel and said respectfully: "Your Highness, there is no need to bring Nobel Shark with you to the dinner party."
"Ikar, I want to take it with me. This way I'll feel more at ease." Xizel lowered his head, "Otherwise I'm afraid I'll be too nervous to speak. And think about it, if no one talks to me, at least I can chat with it."
Ikar was silent for a while, then nodded: "Okay then."
With the help of the butler, Xizel left the floating castle. The butler Ikar crushed the common-level wonder fragment - "moving stairs" on the edge of the floating island, and then a suspended staircase was generated in the dim sky.
Xizel stepped onto the floating stairs and walked towards the palace with the butler. With every step they took, the front end of the floating stairs would extend by one meter, while the back end would shrink by one meter.
Yagubaru observed the dome quietly.
Just as Cesare said, there are only dusk and night in the whale's box garden, and it is dusk now. Under the blood-like sky, schools of fish are swimming like birds, and the tide hits the transparent whale's belly, breaking into pieces of white waves.
Sometimes you can see shipwrecks, jellyfish, and giant marine creatures on the seabed through the whale's belly.
Soon the butler brought Cesare to the palace, and they walked up the marble steps.
The guards at the entrance of the palace nodded and bowed to them, and at the same time looked at the crystal ball in César's arms in surprise. They looked at each other with sarcasm in their eyes, as if they were laughing at this sickly prince who was indeed of low mental age and could bring toys to such an important occasion.
César passed by them carelessly, walked through the brightly lit corridor, and entered a magnificently decorated hall, where about a hundred members of the royal family gathered. This was a dinner party held once a month, and César finally caught up with it.
Since he was a child, he had wanted to attend dinner parties with his two brothers, but he could never get his father's permission.
Xizel held the crystal ball and looked up. What caught his eye was a rectangular dining table that was both too long and too wide, and it was filled with elegant and noble people. As he entered, the royal family members cast strange glances at him.
"Isn't this the Third Prince?"
"I haven't seen him for a long time."
"He has been hiding in his castle and has not come out. How can we possibly see him?"
"I've never seen him at a dinner party. What day is today?"
"What is he holding?"
"Nobe Shark, it seems to be a birthday gift from the king."
"This stupid prince is really not ordinary... Just like what others said, he is kept in the castle every day. He is obviously twelve years old but has the mentality of a seven-year-old."
For a moment, the hall was filled with the sound of small discussions. Xizel held the crystal ball and walked forward confidently, casting glances at the eldest prince and the second prince who were sitting farthest away.
The eldest prince "Lorenzo" has a feminine face, sunken eye sockets, and a high nose bridge. His temperament is quite gentle, like a wise scholar;
The second prince "Cosimo" looks more aggressive than the eldest prince. He has handsome and upright features. At first glance, he looks like a peacock standing among chickens, but his temperament gives people a sense of distance that is not easy to approach.
The common point is that both of them inherited their father's blond hair and blue eyes, which is completely different from their brother with white hair and blue eyes.
Lorenzo gave Cesare a gentle smile and waved to him from a distance; Cosimo lowered his head and took a sip of his wine without even looking at Cesare.
Unexpectedly, César was not arranged to sit near his two brothers, but was pushed to the corner of the dining table and sat with the unfamiliar royal family.
He blinked and looked at his two brothers again, only to find that they were ignoring him, so he had no choice but to sit down quietly in the assigned seat.
He placed the crystal ball on his legs, looked down at the little shark in the crystal ball, and seemed to feel a lot more at ease.
"Then I'll go back first, Your Highness the Third Prince." The butler greeted and left the hall used for the dinner.
"I'm so nervous, Yagubaru. It would be great if my brothers were willing to sit next to me..." Xizel muttered softly.
"It's okay, I'm here." Yagubaru whispered.
Xizel took a deep breath and slowly raised his head from the crystal ball. A hundred pairs of eyes were staring at him. Most of them had hypocritical smiles on their faces, but their eyes were emotionless or contained hints of sarcasm, like a group of fake people.
"I really want to escape." Xizel lowered his eyes and stared quietly at the little shark in the crystal ball.
"Didn't you say this was your first time attending a royal family dinner?" Yagubaru said, "It would be a shame to escape."
"But my brother and I are so far away, I just want to talk to them." Xi Ze paused, "I can't talk like this, and I don't know anyone else."
"Okay, stop complaining. Are those people from the Royal Court Team?" asked Yagubaru.
Xizel was stunned for a moment, and followed Yagubaru's gaze, only to see seven figures walking in from the entrance. They had indifferent expressions, and their eyes exuded a murderous aura.
Yagubaru immediately spotted Li Qingping among these people, because only Li Qingping was wearing a black suit, instead of a white robe with the "White King's Cane" logo like the other members of the Royal Court Team.
Li Qingping had a blank expression, like a crow standing among a flock of pigeons.
Xizel's eyes immediately lit up: "Li Qingping!"
Hearing someone calling his name so loudly in such an occasion, Li Qingping couldn't help but be stunned.
He immediately raised his head, slowly met the Third Prince's gaze, curled the corners of his lips at him, and then sat down on the remaining seat at the dining table with the other six members of the Royal Court Team, filling the last vacancy.
"Are these the members of the Royal Court Team?" Yagubaru thought to himself, and glanced at the six people around Li Qingping, "It's time to think about how to defeat them one by one."
(End of this chapter)
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