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墨書 Inktalez
"Did you enjoy your meal?" Tiger trembled as he glanced at the other five, his tone weak.
"Yes, yes," the others nodded in unison, ignoring Tiger's state.
One minute earlier...
"What is this?" Holding the bill, Tiger pointed at the numbers in disbelief.
It was still the same Mixed-Race Beauty, who smiled and said, "The tip is determined by the customer, so we left it blank."
That's not what I meant! Tiger forced a smile, roughly calculating the amount before writing down three Arabic numerals: 8.
It wasn't that Tiger was extravagant; it was just that tipping was customary in America and carried significant cultural weight. They were having dinner, and typically, the tip accounted for 15% of the total price. Since there were more than five diners, according to the party of five rule, the tip had to be at least 18%. Moreover, dining at a high-end restaurant usually required tipping over 20%.
The Mixed-Race Beauty quickly wrote down some numbers on the total and handed the bill to Tiger, smiling as she asked, "Will that be cash or card?"
Tiger pulled out his wallet and jokingly asked the Mixed-Race Beauty, "How about Alipay?"
Seeing him joke, she teased back, "Any method that can make a payment is fine!"
With a sigh, Tiger took out a Platinum Card from Bank of China. It displayed the red, blue, and green logo of UnionPay along with a white background and blue letters of Visa Double Lg. The letters glowed brilliantly under the lights, with white light radiating from the end of the letter P illuminating the Great Wall.
One minute later...
"You all really enjoyed yourselves! Do you know how much that meal cost? Including tax and tip, it was over three thousand dollars! That's nearly twenty thousand Renminbi!" Tiger looked at the indifferent group with tears in his eyes, wishing he could tear them apart. This money didn't come from public funds; he had reluctantly used his own bank card because Chen Rui frequently used that account and would raise suspicions.
Although twenty thousand Renminbi wasn't too much for Tiger and certainly not worth crying over, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken at the thought of spending that much on a single meal.
"Alright, since we've finished eating, let's continue with the next plan," Elephant General said with a smile, patting Tiger on the back, showing no hint of guilt on his face.
"What plan..." Fox and Tiger asked in unison. Although their emphasis was different, both were undoubtedly feeling a bit of fear about the upcoming activities, especially Fox, who was very reluctant to follow Elephant General into any unexpected situations, like what was happening now...
The six of them walked down the street, laughing and joking. Four of them appeared carefree and happy, one wore a bitter smile, while the other followed along like a kidnapped child, helplessly trailing behind the five larger figures. Their path led directly toward a shopping center.
***
"Alright, I should probably head back now; otherwise, they'll start to worry if they can't find me," Chen Rui sighed helplessly. He set his teacup down on the table and stood up to stretch a bit. Sitting for several hours had made his backside and waist feel quite sore.
"You've already slacked off for three hours; you should be marked absent. Unfortunately, the boss isn't here to reprimand you," Xiong Kai said irritably.
Chen Rui pointed at the time displayed in the bottom right corner of the computer screen and laughed, "Come on, it's only been a few hours! If we were counting dream time, I'd be nearly sixty or seventy by now."
Xiong Kai looked at him and sighed lightly, choosing not to engage further. The more he tried to reason with Chen Rui, the more rebuttals he would receive; Chen Rui just loved to argue.
With nothing else to discuss, they had to get back to work. It was indeed a bit excessive to have no news after all this time. He quickly crossed the cabin to the center and looked at the six people sleeping soundly, smiling helplessly.
In the dream:
"It's already noon; why haven't we seen him yet?" Tiger said as he gazed out the window at the sparse crowd hurrying along the straight road. With temperatures clearly starting to drop, not many people were willing to stroll outside anymore—only a few tourists and those overwhelmed with work remained.
Elephant General was far less anxious than Tiger. He patiently sat on the couch in the living room watching television. "Even if it's just a little late, it's still today. Just like when I called him; he always answers at the last second."
Lion Brother opened a bottle of red wine and poured it into a goblet, swirling it around to aerate. "This is just for peace of mind; after all, he's been an old spy for so many years."
"Knock, knock." As Lion Brother's words fell, two knocks echoed at the door, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
"No way, I haven't seen him come down this road at all. Did he take a detour? That's just ridiculous," Tiger said with a bitter smile. He had been perched by the window since morning, watching the road, and had not seen a trace of Chen Rui. But spies should indeed operate like this; they couldn't take a straight path, or else they would be too easily followed.
Tiger walked to the door, confirmed through the peephole that it was Chen Rui, and opened the door, teasing, "How far behind are you? This obvious doorbell is right here, yet you chose to knock?"
Chen Rui placed his hat on the rack by the door and shot Tiger a glance. "This kind of doorbell leaves a record at the security center."
So that's how it is; no wonder he's an old spy!
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. To think he would consider even such details—truly deserving of being a top-level spy who had infiltrated the FBI after years of lurking in America.
Chen Rui scanned the living room but did not see any sign of the fox. Knowing full well, he asked, "Where's our beautiful comrade?"
Upon hearing "beautiful comrade," everyone in the living room couldn't help but laugh. The big dog shook his head and pointed toward the bedroom while teasing, "Our female comrade is still in her room."
"You bastard!" A pillow was thrown out with precision, hitting the big dog squarely on the head, causing laughter to erupt once more in the living room.
Chen Rui looked up and down at the fox. If it weren't for that "you bastard" remark ruining the mood, he might have mistaken her for Yuki Chiba.
At that moment, the fox was still dressed in her outfit: a trench coat, a shirt, sneakers, and jeans. They had all stayed indoors waiting for Chen Rui. In the past few days, they had changed her into four different outfits for outings, but this one suited her best. Although other clothes might better reflect her identity, they completely clashed with her temperament and didn't seem to fit Yuki Chiba either.
The most important point was that after trying on various skirts and shorts, wearing anything else outside still made the fox feel somewhat embarrassed. Only this more neutral outfit allowed her to appear more natural.
"Not bad; this is much better than an evening gown. After all, I know that person would never wear an evening gown," Chen Rui thought to himself as Yuki Chiba's image involuntarily surfaced in his mind. When they met before, she had only worn a white shirt and hot pants, fully embodying what kind of girl she was.
The Elephant General nodded slightly. "We have cleaned up his fur and various issues over the past few days. There shouldn't be any problems in the short term, unless we reach a level where things get... complicated."
The Fox shot a glance at the Elephant General, who smiled and continued, "So, the biggest issue now is the sound problem. However," he paused, suddenly becoming very serious, "if it turns out to be a lifelong issue, then after our joint decision, we will abandon this plan and come up with another solution."
Chen Rui walked over to the Elephant General with a half-smile, looking into his eyes. Suddenly, he delivered a swift kick, cursing, "Nonsense! This is a national matter; how can it just be changed?"
The Elephant General was kicked against the wall. Anyone could tell that a spy who had been lurking for over a decade and an active FBI Security Chief would have some skills. Yet no one expected that he could be knocked down so easily; the Elephant General hadn't even managed to defend himself.
He coughed a few times, clearly affected by the impact. The others stopped moving under his gaze because they knew that Chen Rui was not someone any of them could challenge. He hadn't intentionally let his guard down; he had meant to defend himself, but Chen Rui's speed was too fast—so fast that he couldn't react in time. This was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
Typically, an ordinary spy's most important traits are versatility and an unremarkable appearance. While skills don't need to be exceptional, they should be well-rounded enough to cover basic requirements. Even in combat, they wouldn't reach the level of active special forces members. However, the person before them was clearly an exception!
The Elephant General stood up, looking at the furious Chen Rui and slightly bowing. "I apologize."
The Fox's expression shifted continuously but ultimately settled down as he let out a heavy sigh. "Chen Liaison Officer is right; for the country and the people, sacrificing my voice is nothing."
Chen Rui walked over to the table and picked up the bottle of red wine in front of Lion Brother. He glanced at the label and couldn't help but chuckle. "You certainly know how to enjoy yourself."
Lion Brother's face turned red with embarrassment; he shouldn't have been drinking at such a time, yet he felt quite uncomfortable and had just been caught in the act. Chen Rui stopped teasing him and shifted the topic to the Fox, asking, "Now that relations between our two countries are becoming increasingly tense and war could break out at any moment, if there were more time, I would have considered giving you gender reassignment surgery so we could discreetly get the equipment out. But there's no time left."
Upon hearing "gender reassignment surgery," the Fox was instantly filled with rage and felt like tearing Chen Rui apart. However, after finishing his sentence, he finally sighed; he had managed to escape this calamity.
"You are all talents cultivated by the state; I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. In this operation, you are all very likely to perish—no, it should be said that survival is nearly impossible. So it doesn't matter what you become now because you won't have any chance to return home and face your families!" Chen Rui glanced at everyone present as he laid out the harsh truth.
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