Chapter 142: Chapter 136: The Eve of Battle (1) Chapter 142: Chapter 136: The Eve of Battle (1) By the time he returned to the hotel, it was already nine in the evening.

Lin Fei’s mind was still filled with Gao Ge’s solitary and indifferent figure.

Inside the opulent hotel, the golden lighting starkly contrasted with the subdued silence from earlier. A male waiter at the door seemed to have been specially arranged by Feng Biao to wait there. When he saw Lin Fei coming back, he took the initiative to greet him.

“Mr. Feng instructed me to leave you a message, ‘If you have time, you can go to 471 Fenglin Road, where an old friend will be waiting,'” the waiter said respectfully. He sneakily glanced at Lin Fei with the corners of his eyes and upon closer inspection, Lin Fei just seemed like an ordinary teenager, about eighteen or nineteen years old.

Perhaps it’s a powerful family background, the waiter speculated.

“Got it,” Lin Fei nodded and headed straight into the lobby, about to take the elevator. But then he noticed a small figure sitting against a corner wall.

Seeing this figure, Lin Fei’s gaze suddenly softened. He gestured for the waiter to leave him alone and quietly approached the corner.

At nine in the evening, the hotel lobby was sparsely populated and rather quiet.

The figure in the corner, Shuang’er, had her face buried in her knees, sound asleep and oblivious to her surroundings.

Without thinking, Lin Fei knew she must have been watching for his return, sitting by the door so she could be the first to know when he came back.

He gently picked Shuang’er up.

“Hss!” Shuang’er’s eyes snapped open, the grey evil aura on her body fiercely preparing to explode. But when she saw it was Lin Fei, she immediately relaxed, rubbed her eyes, wrapped her little hands around Lin Fei’s neck, buried her small face in his chest, and fell back to sleep.

The two of them entered the elevator, Shuang’er’s long hair draped over the back of Lin Fei’s hand, cool to the touch and emitting a faint scent of milk shampoo.

Ding.

The elevator doors slowly opened.

The figure of Jiang Nan leaning against the wall came into view.

“Sorry for making you worry,” Lin Fei approached, smiling as he ruffled Jiang Nan’s hair.

“No… it’s nothing,” Jiang Nan answered shyly, looking down but still showing signs of relief. “I’ll go back to sleep, okay?” Lin Fei nodded, watching her walk into her room with a slightly flushed face.

Lin Fei and Shuang’er’s room was located beyond the corridor and around a bend, directly across from Lin You’s room. As Lin Fei was walking over, he unexpectedly saw that Lin You’s room was left open, with the black cat Feil squatting in the hallway and yawning. Perhaps sensing Lin Fei’s return, the black cat leisurely entered the room. Then, with a bang, the door was forcefully shut.

It wasn’t hard to guess Lin You’s thoughts.

“What about it? Is she back?” Lin You asked the black cat softly.

“She’s back. You do realize you’re really troublesome, right? You could have easily waited for her yourself. I am a cat, you know. Do you even know what cats are supposed to do? Eating fish, sleeping, and playing with yarn—that’s the normal life for me,” Feil yawned again.

“That would be an abnormal life for you,” Lin You said dryly, though she would never directly admit it. “Alright, since she’s back, I can rest easy. Let’s go meet those people you mentioned.”

Feil had previously mentioned that someone would come to meet her, but because Lin You had been waiting in the hotel for news from Lin Fei, the meeting was delayed.

“Such a hassle. When will you ever learn not to be so capricious, little You?” Feil grumbled.

**************

Coastal City Music Fountain

The fountain, illuminated with colorful lights, continuously surged upwards, dispersing countless mists and droplets, then gently falling back into the pool. The soft music playing was the classic ‘Les Rêves D’Amour’ (Dreams of Love). Amidst the sound of the water, there was a wide-open plaza surrounding the fountain. On the casual benches at the edge of the plaza, couples snuggled together from time to time. The air was tranquil and sweet.

Holding the black cat, Lin You stood at the edge of the plaza, across from a statue garden opposite the music fountain. Behind her was a bronze statue of a former high official who once combusted narcotics in Coastal City, surrounded by a circular garden hosting orchids that bloomed even in winter. A sea of white, it was refreshingly beautiful, almost enchanting. A faint, pleasant fragrance lingered at Lin You’s nostrils.

“Why haven’t they arrived yet?” Lin You said impatiently. “We’ve been waiting for over ten minutes.”

“Do you think everyone is as idle as you?” Feil said, voiceless. “People are busy.” As he spoke, suddenly a young man with brown hair stepped out quickly from the shadows. He wore a long brown trench coat, a hat, sunglasses, and a scarf, wrapping himself up tightly from head to toe.

“I am from Odland. Are you Feil’s Contractor?” The man’s voice sounded a bit muffled, but his Mandarin was fairly standard.

“Yes, I heard you have the information I want,” Lin You got straight to the point.

“As agreed, we’ll provide the data, but this isn’t the place for it,” the man said directly, “I’ll give you a communicator later, and you’ll receive the information you need inside. After that, we are no longer involved. OK?”

“OK,” Lin You nodded.

“We prefer not to get too involved in the affairs of Blenders like you. But in this world, no one wants to pass up money. So, that’s all,” the man looked around and turned back toward the shadows, tossing a spherical object to Lin You as he went.

Lin You hurriedly caught it and examined the object. It was a transparent glass sphere, about the size of a fist. It appeared to be quite heavy, but it was actually very light in hand, almost like plastic.

“Tuck it away quickly,” Feil said from the side. “That sphere is expensive.”

“How expensive?” Lin You asked curiously.

“A hundred thousand pounds.”

“You’re actually that rich!” Lin You said in disbelief, pointing at the black cat.

“It was just an exchange of similar value. By now, I’ve almost used up all my belongings,” Feil said indifferently. “So, before the person behind the Tower of Glory finds us again, you must quickly find companions who have merged with the Energy Scepter as well. Without the protection of your family, aside from a very few organizations that aren’t interested in us, all the rest see us as fat prey.”

“Is it that serious?” Lin You was surprised.

“Of course, if you didn’t have me as a Blender and hadn’t found Xilan Saersi to help conceal your Aura, you might have ended up in a situation not too different from the one that guy you’ll meet later is in,” Feil said calmly.

The two watched as the man’s figure fully merged back into the shadows.

“He’s gone,” Feil said, turning around.

“He’s just going to leave like that? What’s the use of this sphere?” Lin You asked, carefully stowing the sphere away.

“It’s for communication and data transfer. You can think of it as a long-range information transmitter with the added ability for brief communication. But it’s single-use,” Feil said nonchalantly.

“A hundred thousand pounds for just this little thing? And it’s single-use?” Lin You said, feeling his tongue tied as he touched the sphere in the small bag.

“The rantings of an inexperienced girl,” Feil said with disdain.

“There goes dinner,” Lin You turned his head toward the musical fountain.

“My most sincere apologies, I misspoke,” Feil said, prostrating himself.

One person and one cat returned to the hotel, the whole trip taking no more than fifteen minutes.

All the way, Lin You was exchanging information with Feil. He also learned about the grim situation of the Energy Scepter Contractor who needed rescue.

“According to the information we’ve received, after Chris and her Scepter Blender arrived in Coastal City, they were supposed to look for traces of her relatives for protection. However, she was too late. The remnants of her family’s influence retreated to Coastal City and then immediately moved again due to pursuit, now their whereabouts are unknown. So, Chris, having arrived a step too late, now faces the full-force hunt of pursuers that have followed her to Coastal City.”

“How strong are the pursuers?” Lin You now knew there was no other choice. The path Feil had chosen, to ally with the enemies of their enemies, was indeed the best strategy. He had no choice but to accept it.

“Actually, the so-called pursuers, most of them have retreated because they could not track down the family’s influences. Most forces know that the Energy Scepter is tied to the Holy See behind the Tower of Glory, so they have backed off consciously. The rest is just a minor family subordinate to the Holy See. The main chasing force, or rather the only pursuer, is them. For specific information, you’ll need to check the sphere in your hands. They’ll transmit data to it later and someone will contact you through the sphere. You can ask them for whatever you need then,” Feil explained.

“I see,” Lin You said, feeling the sphere in the small bag, a mix of anticipation and panic rising in his heart. After all, this was his first major action since leaving the care of the heretics. Although there had been some minor harassment before, it had always been easy to handle due to the vast difference in strength. But what he was about to face was an enemy who was likely far more powerful than himself. Naturally, he was nervous.