“Joseph, I heard things have been a bit chaotic in the King District recently. You should really get it under control.”
“Indeed, it’s ultimately in your jurisdiction. You need to put more thought into it.”
“I think you’ve been spending too much time and energy on participating in the Cold Island Project, leaving no time for your main job. There have always been many people vying to participate. If you don’t have the energy, you could give up your spot to someone who needs it.”
……
At the semi-formal, semi-private cocktail party, well-dressed members of high society mingled, moving back and forth through the crowd with polite smiles on their faces.
As one figure after another approached and then walked away, leaving behind comments either sarcastic or gloating, Joseph Houston, a member of the Chenxing Empire’s parliament and administrator of the King District, gradually grew darker in expression.
The veins on his hand gripping the wine glass bulged.
At this moment, a middle-aged man of medium build, slightly overweight with a balding forehead, walked over with a wine glass and consoled him. “Hey! Joseph, don’t be angry. This time, for the Cold Island Project, we in parliament have swallowed the biggest piece of the pie. The cabinet also got quite a few benefits. Those pedantic royalists only got a few scraps. It’s normal for them to be unhappy, but we’re the ones who’ve profited anyway.”
“I understand,” Joseph took a deep breath and sneered, “They can only bark a few times to vent their dissatisfaction!”
He was well aware of who had really profited greatly, and wouldn’t normally lose his composure over a few sour comments. What truly upset him was…“Shit! King District really had a mishap!” he cursed inwardly, slamming his wine glass down on a nearby table. “Those mad dogs are starting to get out of control!”
Joseph’s gaze swept over the balding middle-aged man in front of him, then toward the crowd mingling at the lively party, his thoughts sinking slightly.
— Everyone probably thought there was just a bit of small unrest in the King District, but no one took it seriously. In such a chaotic place, every so often some hotheads would emerge, but after being dealt with, they would obediently follow the rules and no longer attempt to challenge the system.
In the Chenxing Empire, the line between black and white had never been so clear-cut. Otherwise, incidents like an innocent parliamentarian accidentally caught in a gang shootout while passing by, an arrogant and domineering royal family member gunned down by a civilian vigilante, or a well-respected cabinet elder caught up in a drug trafficking gang sweep and exposed for buying and using drugs… all of these would just be accidents.
Therefore, for the big shots, a place like the King District — a city of sin and chaos that ordinary people would instinctively avoid — was nothing more than a kennel for raising hunting dogs. Usually, these hunting dogs could tear at each other in the kennel or prey on innocent lambs that strayed into their territory. When the crucial moment came, the big shots would pull on the leash, and the hunting dogs would obediently pounce on their enemies.
— After all, there were always things that the glamorous big shots wouldn’t do themselves, always some dirty work that needed to be done.
Although the commotion in the King District was larger this time, the big shots merely thought these hunting dogs were tearing at each other too fiercely. A few strikes as warning would suffice. At worst, if a few dogs died, they could always be replaced with new ones.
But Joseph knew it wasn’t like that.
This was merely the result of his efforts to suppress the news.
The real situation now was that things had spiraled out of control.
The hunting dogs were no longer obedient, and even the kennel had slipped from his grasp. The people he sent to discipline those hunting dogs disappeared into the kennel, their fates unknown. It was as if the place had become someone’s independent kingdom, and he himself was being blackmailed with leverage against him!
— God knows how it felt when he woke up at 3 AM in his mistress’s bed with a gun pressed to the back of his head!
— He didn’t even see what the person looked like.
This could happen a second time, a third time. As long as he didn’t give a clear answer, choosing to submit, he would have to live in constant fear. After all, he wouldn’t be let off so easily every time.
Who wouldn’t be nervous with someone elusive, constantly threatening your life, hiding in the shadows?
The agitated Joseph no longer had the mood to drink and chat, and was about to go up to the terrace for some fresh air.
At that moment, an elegant and soothing piano melody sounded behind him.
It was as if soft moonlight was spilling onto a tranquil lake, with flocks of white swans flapping their wings in the night; ripples spread across the azure waters, just like the music rippling through the air, unconsciously relaxing one’s mind.
Joseph couldn’t help but turn his head, and saw that a piano had appeared near the corridor at some point. A slender figure sat at the piano, fingers beautifully brushing the keys.
From his angle, he could see the person’s light golden, shoulder-length hair, half of the side profile visible beneath the hair strands, eyes as clear as lake water, and the perfect curve at the corner of their lips.
Seeming to sense someone watching, as the piece ended, the man at the piano elegantly stood up, placed one hand on his chest, and gave a slight bow in this direction.
His gaze fell on Joseph, the corner of his lips lifting.
Joseph read his lips—
“We meet again, Mr. Joseph.”
Joseph’s pupils constricted.
The next second, gunshots rang out!
The lights of the party suddenly went out, plunging everything into darkness.
In the instant the lights went out, the ornate chandelier on the ceiling plummeted, sending shards flying everywhere.
Many people cried out in the darkness.
Then, another gunshot.
This was followed by even more piercing screams.
The next moment, light returned to the hall. A large group of security personnel had rushed in, all within just three seconds.
The chaotic crowd quickly regained composure. After all, they were all important figures, and at least maintained outward calm once they settled down.
Everyone began moving like clockwork.
“No trace of the perpetrator’s whereabouts! No other clues found!”
“Several gentlemen and ladies have cuts on their arms from the shards!”
“Sir Leonardo has been shot in the chest, needs immediate medical attention!”
“Other than that, no other casualties!”
“A bullet of unusual material has been found at the scene…”
“Where’s the pianist? The pianist who was just playing has disappeared!”
“He couldn’t have escaped in such a short time. Lock down this building, don’t let anyone get away!”
“A person was found locked in a bathroom on the first floor, he claims to be the pianist for this party…” someone rushed in, speaking urgently, “He was knocked unconscious from behind just half an hour ago!”
“My God, I can’t believe it! How did your security let a criminal waltz in here posing as the pianist…”
Angry rebukes, timid responses, authoritative commands… countless chaotic voices swirled around Joseph, seeming both near and far, as if separated by a barrier.
He stood rigidly in place, his expression dazed.
Fortunately, there were others more distraught than him at this moment, so his reaction didn’t draw any attention.
“It’s… it’s that person…” Joseph clenched his teeth tightly, the muscles in his face tensing.
Although he hadn’t seen the person’s face when he awoke in his mistress’s bed last time, he clearly remembered the first words that person said: “Nice to meet you, Mr. Joseph.”
He remembered even more clearly what that person said before leaving: “Third time’s the charm. Next time we meet, you’ll make the right choice, Mr. Joseph.”
“It’s him, it must be him!” he screamed inwardly.
His body trembled slightly, whether from excitement or fear.
He heard voices drifting over from the hall again.
“—This is a terrorist attack!”
“—We absolutely, absolutely, absolutely cannot let the culprit escape!”
“This is a plot against the royal family!” someone shouted angrily, raising their arm. “Unforgivable, unforgivable!”
Simultaneously with this voice, Joseph’s violently trembling inner voice cried out. “This is a warning, a warning for me!”
Using a human life to warn him, and the life of a noble sir with blood ties to the royal family at that…
He leaned against the pillar behind him, his body slowly slumping.
“The Shadow Council…”
Joseph’s head slowly lowered, completely hidden in the shadow of the pillar, while a deeper shadow silently enveloped his heart, thoroughly consuming him.
At an unknown distance from here, under some eaves, a figure slowly materialized. He wore a long black trench coat, holding a long black umbrella like a cane planted on the ground, his composed posture like that of an old-school aristocratic gentleman from the last century.
“Ah, I seem to have accidentally made quite a commotion. My apologies, I was just a bit excited. When I encounter a rare stage, I always can’t resist wanting to perform,” the light golden hair strands fluttered gently in the night breeze as K smiled slightly. “So I just picked an unlucky fellow with the most turbid spiritual fluctuations.”
“But, although the commotion was a bit big, I suppose I’ve fulfilled your request, haven’t I?”
He gazed with amusement towards the distant streets filled with blaring sirens.
“—The Shadow Council has expanded smoothly, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has expanded smoothly.” Another voice echoed from the deep shadows. “And as you wished, it has become a terrorist organization in the eyes of certain people, quite conspicuously.”
K’s smile didn’t waver. “You should have been prepared for this from the moment you chose to cooperate with me.”
The voice in the shadows didn’t argue, only sighing lightly. “This world is undergoing drastic changes. The coming era no longer allows me the luxury of ten or twenty years to weave a large web imperceptibly…”
“To leverage enough power in a short time, we may have to resort to some extraordinary measures,” the voice from the shadows calmly stated. “That’s why I sought you out.”
“Then, let’s continue. I’ll always be ready to appreciate your performance, my one of the Four Pillars. If you need, I can help you set up the perfect stage.”
K smiled and asked in return. “Oh, does that include the stage for ascending to the position of the Shadow Council’s president?”
“—If you can manage it, yes.”
****
Bright lights illuminated the second floor of the apartment.
At the desk, Bai Yi slowly closed the notebook, his fingertip spinning the pen quickly twice before putting it down.
“La la la la la…” He stood up, humming a cheerful tune with completely meaningless lyrics.
At the same time, he extended both hands, index and middle fingers pointing straight down, tapping merrily on the desktop. The tapping frequency of his fingers perfectly merged with the rhythm of the tune.
At a glance, it looked like two long-legged little people were dancing happily on the desktop to the beat.
Occasionally they would dance together, with the right hand’s middle finger parallel to the desktop, as if one little person was bending forward being embraced, one leg raised behind, performing a difficult ballet move.
Finally, Bai Yi made the two little people “bow” and exit the stage.
—The performance slowly came to an end.
He clapped “pa pa”, with a face full of admiration, praising himself without the slightest shame. “A perfect performance!”
“—You think so too, don’t you?”
Bai Yi slightly raised his head, his gaze falling outside the window.
A small fluffy black furball had somehow perched on the second-floor windowsill. Its round big eyes met Bai Yi’s through the glass window, as if in thought.
“…It seems I haven’t seen a stray cat since I moved here.” Bai Yi opened the screen window and pinched the cat’s ears. “Are you new around here?”
Looking at it from all angles, it seemed particularly similar to the cat he had petted bald in the instance. Bai Yi vigorously petted it, quite righteously. “Hmm, consider this the ticket for watching the performance.”
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