Chapter 344: The Confession
A sudden spark of inspiration lit up Belle's eyes as she remembered the contents of the Chat Group's dimensional warehouse.
"Qingyi, wait just a second!" she called out, spinning on her heel and darting into the back lounge.
Closing her eyes, she mentally accessed the system interface. A soft, ethereal hum filled the air as a simple, elegantly carved wooden tea box materialized in her hands.
This particular treasure had been uploaded by Zhongli a while ago. According to the retired Archon, it was a premium, hand-picked blend from Qiaoying Village, Liyue's most prestigious tea-producing region. He had apparently taken advantage of a rather aggressive 'Ten Boxes for Half Price' merchant promotion. True to his generous nature, Zhongli dumped a massive surplus into the communal storage, insisting that the multiversal members experience the refined charm of Liyue's tea culture.
It was the absolute perfect gift to thank an android with an old soul.
Belle trotted back out to the storefront, balancing a pristine ceramic tea set and the wooden box. A faint, soothing floral aroma already wafted from the sealed container. "Qingyi, seriously, thank you so much for everything today." She carefully pushed the items across the counter.
Qingyi blinked, her mechanical joints whirring softly as she inspected the polished wood. The rich scent alone marked it as an extraordinary vintage. She looked up, taking in Belle's slightly clumsy but overwhelmingly genuine expression. A flicker of surprise crossed the officer's synthetic features, melting into a serene, knowing smile.
She made no move to politely decline, instead tucking the box under her arm. "Then I shall thank the shop owner for her immense kindness. I am looking forward to brewing this."
With the immediate crisis averted, the siblings wasted no time.
Belle grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the scattered debris across the video store floor. Wise, meanwhile, bolted straight for the staff room. He shoved aside a fallen stack of tapes and dropped into the heavy leather chair in front of the HDD system console.
His fingers flew across the mechanical keyboard. The massive monitors flickered to life, casting a deep, artificial blue glow across his face. Cascades of green and white data streams poured down the screens like a digital waterfall.
"Fairy, establish a hardline connection to the Eous signal," Wise commanded, his voice tightening with focus. "Access the Section 6 communication channel."
[Understood, Master. Bypassing local interference... Connection successful,] Fairy's synthetic, elegant voice chimed from the overhead speakers.
Static crackled over the headset before clearing, revealing the tense, waiting breaths of several familiar operatives.
"This is Wise. Sorry to keep you all waiting in the dark," he spoke into the mic, leaning back as a heavy sigh of exhaustion and lingering relief escaped his chest. "We had a bit of a situation at the shop. The HDD system and Fairy were hit by an unknown, coordinated network attack. We've managed to isolate the malware and debug the core systems. Hollow detection and path navigation are back online."
A beat of heavy silence hung over the comms. Then, Harumasa's voice drifted through the speakers, dripping with a mixture of genuine concern and his trademark teasing drawl.
"Oh? A targeted network attack? Sounds like the civilian sector isn't quite so peaceful today. Speaking of which..." Harumasa paused, the smirk practically audible in his tone. "Is Captain Zhu Yuan holding up alright? I get the distinct feeling that your little secret identity reveal hit her pretty hard..."
"Stop! Please, no more scolding!" Wise interrupted, burying his face in his free hand. "We are already reflecting on our life choices! One tiny lie snowballed into a massive disaster. We regret it so much my stomach is physically churning."
The sharp click of a mic activating cut through the banter. Miyabi's cool, detached voice filtered into the channel, offering a piece of advice so utterly naive it completely contrasted with her lethal reputation.
"It is fine, Wise. Zhu Yuan... despite her rigid adherence to protocol, is not an unreasonable person. In my personal experience, she is actually quite easy to coax."
"Oh?" Harumasa murmured, echoing the sudden spike of curiosity from everyone on the network.
Miyabi continued, her tone as placid and unruffled as a still pond. "As long as you step into her personal space, look directly into her eyes, firmly grasp both of her hands, and express your deepest apologies in a gentle, unwavering tone..."
"The closer your physical proximity, the higher the success rate. This is a highly effective tactical maneuver to... express emotional sincerity and dismantle psychological barriers."
Dead silence reigned over the Section 6 frequency. The sheer absurdity of Miyabi's deep relationship advice left a squad of elite combatants entirely speechless.
"That... sounds like a wild tactic pulled straight out of a questionable dating sim handbook," Wise muttered, his voice laced with incredulous dread. He leaned closer to the mic. "Miyabi... are you absolutely certain that if I try that, Zhu Yuan won't instantly execute a flawless over-the-shoulder throw and put me in a full-body cast for the next six weeks?"
"I feel like the gender dynamic here might result in a catastrophic reversal of your strategy's effectiveness..."
Miyabi's breathing hitched over the comms. When she finally spoke, her usually icy tone carried a rare, barely perceptible crack of embarrassment.
"...My apologies. I did not consider the variables thoroughly. I overlooked... individual biological differences." The foolproof method Zhu Yuan's mother had eagerly taught her was clearly a fatal trap for anyone else.
Wise rubbed his temples, exhaling a long, helpless sigh. Deciding to abandon a topic that was actively giving him a migraine, he pivoted to a far more pressing issue.
"Speaking of full transparency... there is actually one more detail I need to disclose to Section 6. Since you guys investigated the Outer Ring Tour de Inferno incident, you must have noticed the anomalies. Aside from the Sons of Calydon and the Triumphant Ones, there were a few... well, 'outsiders' involved in the clash. They provided heavy fire support."
He paused, carefully weighing his next words. "Truthfully, they are associates of ours. However, their origins are rather... unconventional. It isn't exactly convenient to explain their backgrounds over an open channel. If we survive this, I'll properly introduce them to you all."
Harumasa immediately pounced on the opening, his tone shifting into a playful, instigating drawl. "Oh? It seems our legendary Rope Master is a fast learner. Already taking the initiative to be 'honest' with us? Relax. Section Chief Yanagi and the rest of the brass are broad-minded. They aren't going to drag you into an interrogation room over a few unregistered mercenaries. But, since we're on the subject..."
He let the sentence hang, stretching out the syllables. "Isn't your sibling network just a little too extensive? Mysterious, heavily armed 'outsiders' whose digital footprints even Section 6 can't trace?"
"Harumasa," Yanagi's calm, authoritative voice sliced through the chatter. It carried a subtle, obvious warning before shifting her attention directly to Wise.
"The operational traces left by your unidentified 'outsiders' were scrubbed exceptionally well. We did take notice of the anomaly. However, since the Rope Master is willing to provide a full debrief in the future, Section 6 is willing to extend the corresponding trust. We can wait. Mutual trust is the absolute foundation of our continued cooperation."
Her tone sharpened, instantly dragging the focus back to the grim reality of their current operation. "But right now, office politics and background checks must make way for our primary objective: recovering the key witness, Perlman."
"Rope Master, the Hollow distortion surrounding the Balai Building is structurally chaotic. The ether environment is highly treacherous. We require you to act as our 'eyes'and our'guide'. Please initiate synchronization. Locate Perlman's real-time physiological signal and calculate the optimal infiltration route."
"Understood!" Wise snapped into a purely professional mindset, his eyes locking onto the scrolling data. "Fairy, synchronize Perlman's biometric signal to the Section 6 tactical map. I want real-time updates on all environmental ether scans. Simultaneously activate the pathfinding algorithm. Calculate the safest route with minimal enemy resistance. Keep them far away from high-ether concentration zones and structurally compromised load-bearing points."
[Data synchronization in progress...]
[Path planning complete. Transmitting coordinates to field operatives.]
Guided by the flawless, synchronized overwatch of Wise and Fairy, the elite operatives of Section 6 plunged into the dark, twisting, and utterly perilous depths of the Balai Building Hollow.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]