CHAPTER 361: CHAPTER-361.

Kaya really sometimes wondered how the hell he even survived. So now, she had zero expectations. She wasn’t going to ask.

But seeing this, Sparrow suddenly closed his eyes, transformed into his human form in a swift motion, put one leg up on the table, and sat down. "Why are you not asking me anything?"

The sparrow wasn’t too small, but in front of Veer and Cutie, he really looked like a child throwing a tantrum.

Kaya looked at him, her tone cooler than ice. "Get down from the table."

Her eyes were vacant, completely empty. Seeing this, Sparrow felt a cold sweat form on his back. He hurriedly lowered his leg and looked at Kaya, who was glaring at the spot where he’d put his foot.

He hurriedly wiped the table clean.

Kaya looked at him. "Speak."

Sparrow straightened. "You—why are you not asking me anything? I also saw something!"

Kaya looked at him. "Oh, is that so?"

She wasn’t actually that interested. But Sparrow’s next words shocked her.

"I saw the person who hired the spies," Sparrow said, his voice suddenly serious. "And I know where they’re going next."

The room went silent. Even Veer stopped chewing. Cutie’s eyes sharpened.

Kaya stared at Sparrow, her expression unreadable. "What did you say?"

Sparrow grinned, finally proud of himself for something that actually mattered. "I followed one of them. All the way back. I saw who gave them orders."

For the first time that evening, Kaya looked genuinely interested. "Tell me everything."

The sparrow crossed his arms, looked at Kaya and the others, and said with a smug smile, "Why should I?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a grin and slightly closed his eyes. Now he was waiting for Kaya and the others to beg him to tell them.

But then—’click’.

He heard that familiar, dreadful sound. He slowly opened his eyes and, trembling, raised his head. There was Kaya’s gun, pointed directly at his forehead. Her finger was on the trigger. Half-pulled.

Seeing this, the sparrow went pale. Kaya looked at him, her expression cold. "Speak. You have five seconds."

The sparrow trembled. "The lemon! I went, and then the—that—the—I saw him, and then I followed—followed—and then the snake—"

Kaya looked at him and his jumbled words with an irritated tone. "Wait. Say it clearly."

The sparrow gulped. "So, at the morning, I came back to show you the lemon—" He pointed at the table.

Kaya said flatly, "Those are mangoes."

The sparrow gulped again. "Yes, yes, the mangoes. I wanted to ask you if they were lemons or not. But then I saw some beastmen. You know, the small birds that came last time? Some were similar to them. I saw them outside our hotel. They came near, but then they saw the vultures and talked among themselves. One of them flew away. I heard what they said."

Kaya raised her eyebrows, the gun still steady. "And?"

The sparrow took a deep breath. "The bird said, ’Go and tell the master that the mission could not be done today.’ And then—" He exhaled. "And then I followed the bird."

Kaya lowered the gun slightly, listening now.

"After some distance, I saw it. I saw the bird entering the department. You know, the big buildings—that wooden building, the big mountain-like buildings where the department heads live. I saw him entering there. I also entered while hiding. Some guards could see me, but I avoided them."

He paused, then continued. "When I entered, I saw him entering the department office. That person transformed into his human form and talked to the guards. The guards let him go inside. I could not go inside because the guards were too strict, and I did not dare to let them know I was there. I could not see who he met with, but I am definitely sure it was one of the department heads."

Kaya nodded slowly, lowering the gun completely. "Is that so?"

She went into serious thought. She’d suspected someone from the department was involved, but she hadn’t been sure. And the building he was talking about—the "mountains"—he must mean the wooden houses and the one or two stone buildings. They were nice, very livable. The problem was, not everyone could enter. She couldn’t just walk in and start investigating.

Kaya took a deep breath. Looks like she needed to get back to work.

She looked at Sparrow. "Good work."

Sparrow’s eyes widened in shock. Did she just... compliment him?

"Don’t get used to it," Kaya added flatly. "You still brought mangoes instead of lemons."

Sparrow deflated immediately.

Veer was grinning. Cutie looked impressed despite himself.

Kaya stood up. "We move tomorrow. Early. I need to get into that building."

"How?" Cutie asked.

Kaya’s smile was cold and calculating. "I’ll think of something."

The next day at night, Sparrow stood there, absolutely dumbfounded. He was wearing lipstick—’lipstick’—and fake hair made from real human hair that looked like it had been glued on by a drunk toddler. And he was still in his bird form. A tiny, ridiculous, dolled-up bird.

He slowly turned his head to look at Kaya and the others hiding behind a tree, then at the guard at the door—a massive, hulking man who looked like he bench-pressed mountains for fun and could crush Sparrow with his pinky finger.

Sparrow’s tiny bird legs trembled so hard he nearly fell over.

’This bitch,’ he thought bitterly. ’I’m the biggest fool in the entire world. Why did I think she was complimenting me without a reason?’

Behind the tree, Kaya looked at him and waved her hand urgently, gritting her teeth and mouthing, "Just GO!"

Sparrow looked back at her with the most betrayed expression a small bird could muster, his beady eyes screaming, ’I TRUSTED YOU.’

.

.

.

Just a few moments ago, Kaya had pulled him aside with that dangerous smile of hers.

"Do you know who that guard is?" she’d asked innocently.

Sparrow and Cutie had shaken their heads. Veer had a knowing smile that should’ve been a warning sign.