Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Breaking News
Editor: Noodletown Translations
“Which tailor shop are you from?” The man seemed to want to show off in front of his female companion and asked condescendingly.
Mu Fan ignored him, but the man, feeling slighted, raised his voice, “I’m talking to you!”
Really not in the mood to deal with this kind of person, Mu Fan lifted his eyelids slightly and said, “Clothes Sand!” Sure enough, the clothes were indeed from their shop.
“Clothes Sand?” The pair seemed a little confused, but a tailor shop that could attend a Fowen Consortium banquet must be a big name. Could there be a new upscale shop in town we don’t know about?
The man was somewhat embarrassed, coughed, and pretended to be thoughtful, “Oh, Clothes Sand, go on in then.”
He didn’t notice that in the gentle light and shadows, his female companion’s expression was also slightly embarrassed but seemed to suddenly understand.
Mu Fan acknowledged with a hum and walked forward, his eyes brimming with confidence, striding with his chest out, unaware of the whisperings that followed him.
“Miss Anse, how about we go to Clothes Sand together tomorrow? Would I have the honor of accompanying you?”
“Of course, I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”
“Ahahaha, you’re killing me, this place’s people’s thoughts are really on another level, I hope you won’t be brought to such heights.” Black seemed to be in a taunting mood tonight, as if the days spent inside the network had driven it crazy.
“Even if you don’t speak, I know you’re there.” Mu Fan’s lips moved slightly as he controlled his volume.
“If I don’t speak, I’ll be lonely.” Black suddenly adopted a melancholic tone, “Don’t you know that intelligent life is lonely?” Of course, Mu Fan didn’t know that Black had browsed through entertainment news from planets several light-years away and could now easily tell the color of high heels a certain actress wore on stage.
“I didn’t notice,” Mu Fan replied honestly, thinking one-third of Black’s words was enough to listen to—black with sullenness, unreliable black, talkative black—who knows what other prefixes will appear in the future.
“Alright, I feel you don’t believe what I say,” Black suddenly regained its sly tone, “Pretending to be melancholic doesn’t suit me; such people would be flamed dead on forums and last at most two episodes in TV dramas.”
Mu Fan nearly stumbled.
“Mu Fan, one day you should dig up my previous vehicle. I want to fly. I want to spin around in the air. It’s boring to live only in the virtual world.” Black casually threw out this line, reminiscing the model in the PO Battle Net, that perfectly sleek metallic orb, simply too cool!
Unexpectedly, this time Mu Fan didn’t refute Black but agreed with certainty, “Sure!”
Black was immediately moved, deciding to be nicer to Mu Fan on the PO Battle Net. Their banter came to an end as Black grew serious, “Mu Fan, I’ve infiltrated the network of this manor.”
Finally getting down to business, Mu Fan had grown accustomed to Black’s erratic thoughts, and his lips moved slightly, “What’s up?”
“You know what date it is in the Federation today, right?”
“I have no idea.” Why should Mu Fan care about this?
“Do you know what day the Federation exam is?” Lord Black wouldn’t stoop to such a basic back-question and directly threw out the trump card.
“June 10th.” Mu Fan answered without hesitation.
“Uh-huh, how many days left?”
“Nine days.” Mu Fan replied without thinking.
“Ah, the wise Lord Black~ ah,” Black congratulated itself with a wave of advanced compliments, then informed Mu Fan, “During my invasion of the Loga Star’s administrative network, I discovered some very interesting stuff, encrypted fragments from the military network. These folks seem pretty cautious, though, with only half the content available; I reckon they’re transmitting the other half by unknown methods in reality. Unfortunately for them, they met me, the most comprehensively integrated presence on the Loga Star Network.”
“What is it?” Mu Fan lowered his head slightly, dressed plainly with the concealment of night, walking intentionally towards less populated areas of the lawn.
“June 2nd!” Black’s voice carried satisfaction, “It seems related to Broken Axe, and according to database sorting and calculation, there’s a 72.9% likelihood that Broken Axe has communication with Loga Star’s administrative personnel. Currently, there’s military and governmental information flow appearing simultaneously at a single time point and directing towards the future, examined through the government schedule records on Loga Star. June 2nd—meaning tomorrow—has no special arrangements, and compared to the past five years’ scheduling patterns, the anomaly is at 92.7%, combined with the Broken Axe incident, reaching a final probability of 72.9%.”
Mu Fan frowned, mouth slightly opening and closing, voice conducted through his cheekbones, “June 2nd, Broken Axe?”
“Correct! Lord Black has seen through everything, a big event is going to happen on Loga Star tomorrow,” Black felt proud for Mu Fan’s answer, the host finally showing some smarts, continuing to add, “There’s a concealed military warehouse in District 2, with three RX-16s, five RX-25s, two RX-33s, located in the northwest district, 4.7 KM in a straight line from where you are, hidden inside a hill. I’ve already managed to effectively intercept military signals. So—”
“So, action tomorrow!” Mu Fan clenched his fist and pounded it forcefully, what was bound to come had finally arrived. Why was there an inexplicable restlessness within his blood, a subtle thrill coming from the deepest part of his brain?
The first step in the blueprint of dreams starts here!
Black uncharacteristically fell silent, truly a wasted anticipation. Smart thoughts were indeed limited, and the key was that this information was from an administrative network, meaning there was a mole. Who’s the mole wasn’t clear yet, and this hot-blooded host only knew how to hit; oh well, better make arrangements myself.
“The banquet is about to begin, please be seated promptly, I’m Wayne, thank you all.” Suddenly the magnetic middle-aged male voice resounded within the manor’s banquet hall, catching Mu Fan’s attention that it was only ten minutes before six o’clock.
“You go ahead, follow the situation, I’m always here.” Black’s voice sounded, Mu Fan nodded, then straightened his clothes and headed towards the manor’s entrance.
Security personnel noticed the young man nodding towards them, hurriedly returning the greeting, flattered. Guests coming here tonight were either rich or noble, this must be a young master of some family—an extraordinary aura and courteous manners.
Wait, why did this young master look a bit odd? It was hard to describe, yet there seemed to be a difference in his outfit compared to others around. More than one security personnel thought the same.
Quite a few guests lounging outside began making their way to the banquet hall upon hearing Family Head Wayne’s voice. Mu Fan slowly followed behind, taking the opportunity to send a message to Fatty via Sky Communication, “I’m here, strolling around first.”
Fatty was probably busy, so no need to disturb him for now.
Passing through two arched wooden doors, Mu Fan followed the flow of people into the banquet hall, where a sense of luxury swept over him. The gilded columns held up the hall, divided into upper and lower levels, a red carpet extending from the entrance up to the second floor. Occasionally, servers with trays of drinks weaved through the crowd, offering beverages. Under the bright yet gentle glow of the hall, the ladies’ assorted accessories formed a sea of light, and the gentlemen appeared as Mu Fan had seen before, dressed in sharp formal wear—each one affluent or noble.
At this moment, the first floor of the hall was filled with many clusters of people, their whispered conversations blending into a murmur, harmonizing with the music played.
Fatty still hadn’t replied, seemed very busy.
Huh? Where was that fragrance coming from? Mu Fan’s nostrils moved, suddenly catching a pleasant scent, the aroma was sweet, creamy, the scent of muffins, so rich, interspersed with some fruity freshness.
“Gurgle,” Mu Fan’s stomach growled with hunger, and he followed the source of the smell with his gaze.