CHAPTER 339: CHAPTER 214: THE PLAN, THE FINAL TEA PARTY

July 29th, it was a sunny afternoon, Bergen’s fishermen were tanned dark by the sun, with a row of seagulls perched on the fishing boat’s railings.

A warm summer breeze blew in from the horizon, carrying a salty, moist scent.

Xia Pingzhou was in a restaurant’s private room at the time, waiting for the other group members to arrive. Bored, he started playing Gomoku with Ayase Origami.

Not long after, a boy dressed in a blue jumpsuit pushed the door open and entered.

With dark rings around his eyes like black coffee, an irritating expression, an innocent face, he was unmistakably the 8th member of the White Crow Travel Brigade—the Hacker.

"Long time no see." The Hacker rubbed his eyes, looking at Xia Pingzhou with dead fish eyes, "Miss me?"

Xia Pingzhou sipped some orange juice and then looked at the Hacker, asking, "Has the leader arrived?"

The kimono-clad girl mimicked his tone, turning her head slightly, and asked expressionlessly, "Is the leader here yet?"

The Hacker pursed his lips, "Where’s your sense of warmth? Can’t you greet people without jumping to the leader? I arranged all your flights and hotels, working tirelessly without a word of thanks... Ah, the coldness of human relations; ah, capitalism, you win."

"So, has the leader arrived?" Xia Pingzhou continued to ask.

"So, has the leader arrived?" Ayase Origami also asked.

"The leader is with the carrot heads, they’ll arrive the night after tomorrow." The Hacker sighed, "Am I really so insignificant to you?"

Xia Pingzhou mocked, "You stalk us intensely 24/7, do we really need to miss you?"

"Little brat... annoying." The kimono-clad girl chimed in lukewarmly.

While the three were chatting, Jack the Ripper, wearing a black and white school uniform, walked in from outside the private room, ruffling the Hacker’s hair in passing.

The Hacker was playing on his phone while flipping the bird at Yanmo Lin’s back. Jack the Ripper drew his Tachi without turning back, and the Hacker lowered his middle finger, switching to a thumbs-up:

"Nice sword, worthy of our long-haired black Jack the Ripper, being promoted to the third rank is different indeed."

"Good boy." Jack the Ripper retracted the Celestial Driver.

"So you’re the team pet." Xia Pingzhou turned to look at the Hacker, "Not surprising, being everyone’s electronic pet, full of emotional value."

"A cat spirit is saying that to me?" The Hacker sat down puzzled, unable to drink alcohol as a minor, so he poured himself a glass of milk to drink.

"The little cat isn’t the group pet, the little cat is mine alone." The kimono-clad girl said.

After a while, the 5th member, Bernardo Edward, walked in. His complexion was as pale as a Vampire that hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time, yet his face exuded kindness and intellect, his white hair tied into a ponytail.

At the moment, he was wearing a pair of white gloves and a white trench coat.

"Number 8, the Hacker, right? First time meeting." Bernardo smiled, extending his hand to the jumpsuit-clad young boy being ignored by others.

The Hacker was stunned, shook his hand perfunctorily, and curiously asked, "Why is it that you, a ’Black Death’ fragment holder, are dressed in all white?"

"Is there a conflict between these two?" Bernardo asked.

"Well, no." The Hacker said.

Bernardo sat down, speaking slowly, "The leader wants me to tell you about the abilities of the seven people in the Royal Court Team, and then have Mr. Hacker use the internet to convey it to the other group members, to facilitate the division of enemies after entering the Terrarium."

"Okay." The Hacker said as he put on his earbuds and fiddled with his phone, "I’ve already activated the voice-to-text function."

"Go ahead."

Jack the Ripper put his legs up on the table, folding his arms as he looked at the white-haired man.

"Let’s start by talking about the member I think is the most threatening in the Royal Court Team," Bernardo paused, adjusting his Single-sided Mirror, "The vice-captain, Red Dragon, Li Qingping."

...

...

At the same time, in one of the corridors of the Imperial Palace.

Cezar walked ahead, with Li Qingping holding the Crystal Ball following behind, conversing quietly with the Little Shark.

"To be honest..." Li Qingping said expressionlessly, "We might as well turn around now, head to the King’s chamber, capture the Empress, and find a way to take the White King’s Staff."

"Now I know why the Third Prince thinks you’re a pig too," Yaguba sighed, "If you want to die, don’t drag Shark Shark along, let me down, Shark Shark can swim back by itself."

"Why not?" Li Qingping shrugged.

"The Empress daring to summon us like this means the Royal Court Team must be nearby."

Yaguba explained logically, "The Legendary Whale hasn’t landed yet, if we act now we’ll just be sitting ducks. Even taking a step back, if we manage to capture the Empress, do you have the confidence to hold off the Royal Court Team in the Terrarium for a full four days? By the time the Whale’s Mouth opens, our bodies will be stone cold, won’t they? Shark Shark doesn’t want to become fish jerky."

"Doesn’t matter, as long as Cezar gets the staff." Li Qingping said.

Yaguba sighed, "But we might not be able to break the barrier protecting the King in a short time, and neither the Empress nor the Royal Court Team can do it; otherwise, why haven’t they taken the staff?"

Li Qingping pondered for a while, "That’s true... the White King’s Staff is really troublesome, even putting aside the ’Disarming Legend’ that only protectors can wield, its other abilities are already very strong."

"Otherwise, how could the King of the Whale Terrarium rightfully rule this country?"

Talking, Yaguba lifted his head, giving Li Qingping’s chin a disdainful glance.

"So what are you planning to do?" Li Qingping asked, "If we can’t obtain the White King’s Staff, we have no chance of winning."