Chapter 73: Silver Fox Squad and the Terrorist Attack
Long Aotian stuffed the last bite of the steamed bun into his mouth, wiped his greasy hands on his training uniform, and looked at Chen Yu and Ling Yue with sparkling eyes. "The name's Long Aotian. You guys can just call me Aotian!"
He spoke with a simple, honest nasal twang, his round, protruding belly bouncing slightly as he moved.
"I've seen you before," Long Aotian said, looking Chen Yu up and down carefully. "You're Dragon."
"I sure envy your Devil Fruit ability, eh. It matches my name perfectly."
"My innate ability is the Munch-Munch Fruit," Long Aotian said, lowering his eyebrows in a look of pity.
"I can swallow things to convert them into stamina, and I can even swallow weapons to use them temporarily!" As he spoke, he reached out and patted a nearby stone pier, looking eager to give it a try.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. The Munch-Munch Fruit!
A fruit with immense development potential, but tragically wasted by Wapol in One Piece.
"Hello, I'm Chen Yu."
"Ling Yue."
The two gave simple introductions.
"We're all classmates from now on," Long Aotian said happily, insisting on treating the two of them to buns.
Just then.
Feng Qi's phone suddenly rang with a rapid, urgent tone. The screen flashed with the words "Emergency Contact."
Her expression darkened. She walked aside to answer the call, her usually crisp voice dropping low.
Moments later, she hung up and looked at the three students with a furrowed brow. "Regional temporary mission."
"I have to go meet up with the others. You three head to the Marriott Hotel to rest and reorganize. It's just two streets ahead."
"I've booked three adjacent rooms. Here are the keycards."
She pulled three silver keycards from her pocket and handed them over. "Remember, stay in the hotel and don't run around."
"Once I've handled matters, I'll pick you up tomorrow to head to the training camp. If anything happens, call me immediately."
She added one final instruction: "There are our people on duty at the entrance of the Marriott. Just give your names to get in."
With that, she turned and walked briskly in the opposite direction, the hem of her black combat suit snapping sharply in the wind.
Chen Yu took the keycard and watched the direction Feng Qi disappeared. Subconsciously, he spread out his Observation Haki.
In his perception, the auras of multiple Adept or Expert rank Awakened were converging toward a single location.
What kind of event requires so many Mid-Rank Awakened?
"Let's go, let's go! The Marriott here is five-star! I've never experienced a five-star hotel before!"
The fatty urged them on, and Chen Yu retracted his perception, deciding to ignore it.
If the sky falls, the tall guys will hold it up.
He jerked his chin towards the equally puzzled Ling Yue. "It's fine. Let's go to the hotel first."
Ling Yue nodded slightly, and the three walked away side by side.
Walking along the bustling streets, they soon arrived at the Marriott Hotel.
Sure enough, two men in black suits were standing at the entrance. Seeing Chen Yu and the others, they stepped forward to inquire.
After they gave their names and the information was verified, the guards respectfully ushered them inside.
The hotel lobby was luxuriously decorated. Crystal chandeliers refracted warm yellow light, and the carpet was so thick that footsteps made no sound.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Truly worthy of being a five-star hotel, eh?" Long Aotian looked around with curiosity.
This was a world of difference from that broken-down house he lived in back in Lanjiang.
...
Meanwhile, Feng Qi arrived at the designated assembly point.
It was an abandoned warehouse district on the outskirts of the city. The dilapidated tin roofs rattled and groaned in the evening wind.
Feng Qi looked around and realized that quite a few Mid-Rank Awakened had gathered.
Some wore standard combat uniforms and stood with proper posture; they looked like military personnel.
Others were dressed in various civilian clothes—some in small groups, others standing alone.
The empty warehouse area was occupied by nearly several dozen people. At a glance, it seemed that almost every Adept and Expert level Awakened in Haibin City, District 6, was here.
Feng Qi adjusted the collar of her black combat suit. Her rank within the Alliance was quite high; a general temporary mission wouldn't usually startle her like this.
Her gaze swept across the crowd, and suddenly, her pupils contracted.
Ahead, there was a figure with a straight, imposing posture, wearing a black cloak that hung to their ankles.
At the hem of the cloak, a minimalist fox pattern embroidered in silver thread was particularly striking—like a cold glint of light in the dimness.
Silver Fox Squad!
That fox embroidery on the cloak was the symbol of the Special Operations Unit, "Silver Fox"!
But rumor had it that Silver Fox operated perennially outside the Alliance's borders, specifically searching for lost Secret Realms, and rarely returned to the Alliance.
Why would they suddenly appear here, and take the lead in summoning so many Awakened?
"Hello. Alliance A-Class Action Personnel, Feng Qi. May I ask what has happened to warrant the sudden summons of so many Mid-Rank Awakened?"
Her crisp voice cut through the surrounding low whispers.
The cloaked figure slowly turned around, revealing a face with cold, hard lines. His gaze swept over Feng Qi as he smiled. "A-Class Action Personnel?"
"Here in Haijiang City for an A-Class mission?"
Feng Qi paused. B-Class missions generally weren't disclosed to outsiders, but the other party was a Special Squad; they had the clearance to know.
"The training camp has opened."
"What a coincidence." The man nodded in realization. "Rest assured, it won't get in the way. We'll talk once everyone is here."
The sun completely sank below the horizon, the last trace of afterglow swallowed by the night.
Night fell.
Seeing that no one else was arriving, the cloaked man on the high platform finally spoke. His voice was transmitted throughout the venue via an amplification device. "I am the Vice Captain of the Silver Fox Squad, Chu He."
As soon as his voice fell, the crowd instantly exploded.
"Silver Fox Squad? It's actually them!"
"Even the Vice Captain came in person? This definitely isn't a small matter!"
Whispers rose and fell, and the atmosphere, which had been relatively calm, suddenly became tense.
Everyone's face grew a few shades heavier. For the Silver Fox Squad to interrupt a Secret Realm mission and return to handle this, it was absolutely no ordinary trouble.
Chu He raised his hand and pressed down, and the entire venue immediately went quiet.
"Our people have been tracking them for half a month. We discovered that a cell of the evil organization 'Scarlet Carnation' is lurking in this city, planning to launch a terrorist attack tonight."
"The target is the civilian gathering area in the city center."
He paused, his gaze sweeping sharply over everyone. "We summoned you all to intercept them before they act and avoid civilian casualties."
"Scarlet Carnation? Them again! This new organization has been really jumping around lately!"
"Those lunatics want to launch an attack?"
Chu He took out a special communication Transponder Snail and pressed the call button. "Yining, what's the situation on your end?"
The Transponder Snail opened its mouth, and a female voice came out: "Captain Chu, I've tracked their movements."
"They are currently assembling towards the Marriott Hotel. There are about fifteen people, all carrying modified weapons."
Feng Qi's originally tense body suddenly went rigid. Her pupils shrank violently, and she cried out almost subconsciously, losing her composure: "The Marriott Hotel?!"
Those three words were exceptionally clear in the quiet warehouse area, and everyone's eyes instantly focused on her.
Chu He also looked over, his brows furrowing slightly. "You know this place?"
Feng Qi's face turned grim. "The three students participating in the training camp... I just arranged for them to rest there."
...
(Here it is, here it is. The author isn't dead. My head hurt too much last night so I took a leave. I owe two chapters which will be made up later.)
(To be Continued)
SPOILERS of Chapter 1169
Spoilers came early from our usual leaker. The leaks were correct for previous chapters.
– Harald decimates the castle guards
– Harald attacks Loki and Jarul with overwhelming power
– Loki stops Harald attack
– We get a Gaban panel
THERE IS A BREAK AFTER THIS CHAPTER, AGAIN.