White Clouds Close Behind

"I understand, Natsu... Mori no Natsu Kuri-san," Yugawa Mao corrected herself under Mori no Natsu Kuri's steady gaze.

"Natsu, do you have any club activities after school?"

Mori no Natsu Kuri gave up on trying to correct the girl's nickname for her. She tore open the wrapper of a bitter-gourd-flavored lollipop, popped it into her mouth, and absentmindedly played with her curtain, not even looking up. "No. The equipment for the Kyudo club is broken and needs replacing. There won't be any activities there for the next few days."

"There are some parts of the textbook I'm still not quite clear on. Could you accompany me after school today, Natsu..." A glimmer of hope flickered in Yugawa Mao's eyes.

"I can't. I have things to do later. I don't have time today." Mori no Natsu Kuri's blunt refusal cut off the girl, whose voice was already soft. Mao froze for a moment, a deep look of disappointment spreading across her face.

"Alright, I understand."

"Some other day," Mori no Natsu Kuri added.

After Yugawa Mao left, Mori no Natsu Kuri checked the time on her watch. Her watch was set exactly three hours and fifty-seven minutes faster than normal. To prevent the chat contents on the curtain from being intercepted, the members of the Night Walkers discussed most matters offline. Whenever a sudden emergency required them to gather, agreeing on a time was a hurdle they couldn't avoid, so they came up with this method as a smokescreen.

Even if someone with ill intent intercepted their curtain chat logs and learned the specific time they agreed upon, they would have actually gathered and settled everything three hours and fifty-seven minutes earlier. This was a method Mori no Natsu Kuri herself had devised.

As for location tracking, the talents of the Mountain Crow family couldn't bypass the high-level permissions of Kowloon Information Enterprise, and no one would be foolish enough to forcibly break the technical lock of the curtain—unless they wanted to be blown into the sky or twisted into a screaming lunatic by contaminated knowledge.

A criminal syndicate known as the Eight-Spider had recently appeared in Dragonfly Town. They were involved in human trafficking, smuggling prohibited psychotropic drugs, arms dealing, kidnapping, extortion, and murder—essentially every evil deed imaginable. According to intelligence, they came from Dickvido City, the prototype for the City of Sin in Oasis, a city where violent crime was the main theme. The leader of the Eight-Spider was known as Roman due to his brutal methods.

As the little family head of the Chi family, Mori no Natsu Kuri naturally knew more about the hidden underbelly of Red Heaven than ordinary people.

In Dickvido City, the surface was incredibly prosperous as it was an important trade port, but it was occupied year-round by private armed forces. Gangs were in a state of constant civil war, and it was a paradise for drug lords and addicts. Even now, she knew that many of the Chi family's illicit dealings were carried out there. With interests so deeply entwined, no one wanted to touch that hot potato. Everyone knew the shiny apple was riddled with worms, yet everyone chose to look the other way, unwilling to invite trouble upon themselves.

At five o'clock this afternoon, the Eight-Spider would be conducting a moon sugar transaction inside a steel mill in Dragonfly Town. There were only two and a half hours left until the deal. The Night Walkers certainly wouldn't tolerate such a rampant criminal force. This was their first confrontation, and they had to give that Roman a severe warning.

Mori no Natsu Kuri reached into her desk drawer, where an N1911 pistol loaded with anesthetic rounds lay reflecting a dull, bluish-black light. Just looking at the black iron body of the gun made her feel a surge of nervous excitement. This was her first time handling a firearm. Previously, she had been under her brother's strict supervision, forbidden from leaving the main house or making contact with the outside world, and certainly not allowed to touch any military industrial equipment. Her goal in grinding her way to Dragonfly Town was precisely for this.

The girl was at an immature age, exploring the world with curiosity. The items she admired in games seemed to have materialized in reality, giving her a sense of unreality. Just as she was about to reach out and touch it, Yugawa Mao's voice came from behind her. "Natsu, your lime tea."

Mori no Natsu Kuri nearly jumped like a startled cat. Her knee bumped against the desk drawer, sliding the gun back into a hidden compartment. Such things weren't uncommon in Red Heaven, but if she were discovered here, it would be a major incident. If it reached her brother's ears, he would surely send a few burly men covered in Gallant Deeds tattoos to drag her back to the main house. She didn't want her leisurely high school life to end just as it was starting.

"Eh? Natsu, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Mori no Natsu Kuri said, waving her hands repeatedly.

Yugawa Mao tilted her head, looking confused. She placed the lime tea on the desk and turned back to bury her head in her own books. Seeing that the girl hadn't noticed anything unusual, Mori no Natsu Kuri let out a sigh of relief. "Help me request leave from that old bald teacher."

After saying that, Mori no Natsu Kuri quickly stuffed the gun into her shoulder bag, pulled open the window, and jumped directly from the second floor amidst the gasps of countless students.

The school bell rang. The middle-aged teacher who had just entered, Chengcun Yi, sighed helplessly and began the last lesson before club activities.

In the Mint Green Leaf Shop, Xu Xiaoyou was yawning in a luxuriously decorated lounge while watching television. A liquid crystal screen covering half the wall was playing Sharknado. The blonde girl lay lazily on a long sofa, wrapped in a mink blanket, boredly nibbling on an apple. There was still half an hour until her afternoon meeting time. She planned to finish watching this epic trash movie and then spend some time studying how to play a full game of chess by herself.

In the monitoring room, Ivy and Tiger Tail Orchid were closely watching her every move, both assuming a posture of deep thought with their arms crossed. "Don't you feel that the Dark Gold Rose's behavior isn't very steady? Compared to the Pale Green Sage..."

"Compared to that Deep Blue Tide brain-dead, she's already very steady."

"I'm talking about her mindset."

They had been observing Xu Xiaoyou for these past few days. Except for private rooms like the bedroom, bathroom, and hot spring room, they had set up pinhole cameras throughout the Mint Green Leaf Shop with no blind spots.

"Her behavior looks just like a nineteen-year-old girl in the prime of her youth, perhaps a bit more mature."

"Who knows what's inside the heads of these people?"

Suddenly, the blonde girl in the monitor moved. Xu Xiaoyou stood up, sighed, and looked directly at the location of the pinhole camera. "How much longer do you two plan on secretly watching me?"

The two were shocked. Those pinhole cameras were very well-hidden; had she noticed them long ago?

With a snap of her fingers, the screen in front of them turned into static, emitting the noise of electrical interference.

"Cough, cough. Our apologies, Lady Dark Gold Rose. We only wanted to ensure your personal safety. Oh, by the way, your next guest has been waiting downstairs for a long time. She looks a bit impatient..."

"It's not my working hours yet. I'm not going." Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers again, manipulating a subtle current to blow out the listening devices in the room.

Now things were finally quiet, Xu Xiaoyou thought as she took another bite of her apple.

In the monitoring room, Ivy and Tiger Tail Orchid looked at each other. The man hadn't finished the second half of his sentence.

"That guest looks a bit short-tempered. After asking around, she's already headed in your direction..."

Xu Xiaoyou yawned, but then she suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. "I'm sorry for intruding on your personal rest time. I'm just feeling a bit troubled, and my schedule is tight. I have many doubts I'm anxious to resolve. Could you open the door?"

Xu Xiaoyou felt the person's clear voice was strangely familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before. Since the guest was already at the door, it would be improper to keep using excuses to turn them away. She stood up reluctantly and opened the door.

The silhouette of a black-haired girl came into view. The moment she saw clearly who was standing outside, Xu Xiaoyou's pupils shrank, and she subconsciously murmured, "Youyou?"