Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Clues

Editor: Noodletown Translations

(Wish everyone a happy May Day!)

A shabby blanket, a pair of shiny leather shoes, a comical little yellow duck mask.

Mu Fan appeared in the secluded corridor like this, without light, dim, winding and long. However, along the corridor, faint voices could be heard not far ahead.

This was an approximately one hundred square meter retro tavern, completely different from what outsiders might imagine. There were no resident singers or dancing girls. Looking at those mask-wearing individuals sitting in twos and threes around round wooden tables, was this just a primitive tavern?

Shadows enveloped the corridor. Beneath the mask, Mu Fan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he came in not for a drink. Some were loudly discussing, some were silently sipping their drinks. The aroma of alcohol and voices blended into a wave of sorts with a scent.

“What do you see?” Black’s faint voice came through.

“Tavern, a primitive tavern,” Mu Fan’s teeth gently clicked as he spoke softly, unnoticed by anyone.

“How many people?” Black inquired again.

“More than fifteen,” Mu Fan’s mouth movements were perfectly covered by the little yellow duck mask.

“No wonder there’s no surveillance. Act according to the situation. Notice the shoes, the new ones are from the villa,” Black, unable to function effectively in such an environment, gave a reminder before returning to silence.

Mu Fan responded with a nasal “hm,” indicating understanding. He had already stepped out of the corridor’s shadow, entering this relatively bright hall.

Upon entering, he felt several gazes land on him, but Mu Fan exerted control over his mind, showing no unusual signs.

Hmm? The person two tables away wearing a zebra mask had shiny shoes. Feeling the increasing number of gazes on him, Mu Fan maintained a calm demeanor as he walked toward the table he had noticed.

The zebra mask person also noticed Mu Fan approaching, his expression full of vigilance. When he saw Mu Fan plop down across from him, he tensed up even more.

Mu Fan’s extraordinary perception sensed that this person’s body was already in a highly tense state. He subtly glanced at a nearby mask-wearing individual loudly calling for a beer with a snap of his fingers, then forced his body to mimic similar actions.

“Your drink.” Nodding in thanks, Mu Fan picked up a large beer from the bartender’s tray, gesturing toward the zebra mask person across from him, and took a sip himself.

Almost choking, Mu Fan had never drunk beer before, but with great muscle control, he held back the urge to cough. To the person opposite, he seemed naturally forward-leaning with his head then retracting.

The zebra mask person relaxed slightly.

“BP,” two abrupt syllables rang out unexpectedly, then fixed his eyes on Mu Fan.

“MF,” Black’s voice simultaneously echoed in Mu Fan’s ear.

“MF,” Mu Fan replied without hesitation, leisurely taking another sip of beer.

The zebra mask person strained to recall hearing the code before. Mu Fan’s eyes shifted, speaking first, altering his voice to sound like a person in their thirties, and said something ambiguous, “Watch out tomorrow.”

Those who understood naturally understood, and those who didn’t might interpret it differently. At this moment, Mu Fan’s spontaneous performance received an A+ rating in disguise from Black.

“Really!?” The person across relaxed, whispering, “Why didn’t I see you earlier?”

“I was responsible for cleaning up loose ends,” Mu Fan indicated with his eyes toward his shoes.

The person glanced at Mu Fan’s shoes, then his own, then looked at some others around, suddenly realizing, casting an admiring glance. The organization had indeed considered everything thoroughly.

Seeing the unusual mask, he wondered if its level within the organization might be higher than his own.

Just about to ask more, they suddenly heard a hush from the crowd nearby, and both directed their eyes over. A slight person wearing a chimpanzee mask appeared in the tavern, clad in an oversized suit that seemed out of place.

“To the New Guardian Association!” The chimp mask person waved his right hand first, his voice resonating throughout the room.

“To the New Guardian Association!”… The crowd raised their glasses in response. A quick-reacting Mu Fan almost simultaneously shouted the phrase with the zebra mask person.

“Lockdown tomorrow, KT032, IU697, SQ124…” The chimp mask person, without any other words, listed a string of bizarre codes.

This lasted a full ten seconds or more, and when the sound ended, there was a commotion below.

“Don’t ask questions, those who have just returned report the situation.” The chimp mask person ignored their discussions and proceeded at his own pace.

A deer mask-wearing person stood up, “Safe, no anomalies.” He was the masked person who had just entered before Mu Fan, code-named HZ.

“Hmm.” The chimpanzee mask person nodded, then spoke with a small voice, but at this moment, everyone in the tavern held their breath to listen.

“I know you have many questions, but I won’t explain. You’d better comply. If someone loses their life, the organization is not liable.” The coldness in his tone sent shivers through many.

Mu Fan gently clicked his back molars. He was conveying sound to alert Black, as he completely didn’t understand what these people were talking about, but Black didn’t respond.

“Next, report the mecha units, hmm, from you.” The chimp mask continued to the next segment, casually pointing to someone on the fringe.

“Travel grade—civilian type S4 human-shaped mecha.”

“Spirit Cat D-level Tiger Type Mecha, travel grade.”

“Travel grade—Honor 2 Combat Machine.”

…

Voices rose one after another. Once more Mu Fan clicked his teeth. How should he answer? Soon, the zebra mask person across also spoke, “Travel grade—Knight II type close combat mecha.”

The chimp mask person’s gaze fell on Mu Fan.

“Travel grade—Rampant III Type Assault Mecha!” Black’s voice timely resonated in Mu Fan’s ear, which he echoed synchronously, without a pause.

The chimp mask person nodded, then motioned for the next person to continue. Present there were essentially all travel grade, without a single adventurous grade in existence.

Mu Fan involuntarily ground his teeth. Black always emerged at the most critical moment. Just now, I was prepared to grit out the EH01 model, and if discovered, charge out.

Hearing Mu Fan’s teeth grinding, Black guessed his thoughts and chuckled, his voice softly echoing in the ear, “I just found something interesting.”

“I found the individual issuing directives and matched the voice pattern, and upon multiple samplings and comparisons within the administrative network’s database, ultimately confirmed a 93% match with a voice belonging to someone named Matthew. Although he deliberately altered his voice, Lord Black perfectly restored it, hehe.”

At this point, reporting concluded, and Black’s voice paused.

“Very well. If you discover anomalies tomorrow, don’t panic. The models you reported will remain secure. Again, refrain from asking too much. Meeting adjourned. Follow the usual withdrawal protocol. Anyone wanting to relax may stay. I hope no one goes missing after tomorrow.” The chimp mask person chuckled, his words causing everyone there to fall silent.

“For the New Guardian Association!” Then, with fervent eyes, he raised his right fist and shouted.

“For the New Guardian Association!” Mu Fan, too, raised his hand in response.

The chimp mask person then looked satisfied, exiting through a side passage.

At that moment, Mu Fan saw the crowd finally erupting, but no one talked further. They murmured amongst themselves, heading to the opposite side where the slender person exited. A door opened, and dynamic music instantly filled the room.

Wearing the little yellow duck mask, Mu Fan followed the crowd through this door, and after a few twists and turns, entered a hall filled with deafening rock music. Crowds packed closely, splitting their previous group apart. People in the hall also wore various masks, their attire trendy and bizarre, and their earlier peers soon vanished into the sea of people.

“And then?” Mu Fan finally managed to convey sound.

“Matthew, the inner steward of Councilman Wen Yu of Loga Star, vanished from public view years ago. If not by examining a government reception record from eight years ago, even I wouldn’t discover this.”

“Councilman Wen Yu?” Mu Fan mused over the phrase.

“Wen Zheming’s father.”

The Wen family! They were behind the New Guardian Association!

“Then I delved further and analyzed those peculiar codes you just heard, discovering something even more intriguing…” Black intentionally paused.

***********

PS: Thanks to the book friends “Artistic Conception, Ren Xiaowei,” “Occupy a Her” for the 100-coin reward!

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