"All set? Now you know everything you should—and shouldn't—know, right?" Kevin had already started packing up his gear, a portable modified computer.
Jiaoqiu watched Kevin thoughtfully and nodded. "You actually have such impressive programming skills? Our company has a hacker, you know. If you two ever met, I bet it'd be interesting."
"Hacker? Who's that?"
"Who she is doesn't really matter. But what's up with your hair volume? Are you wearing a wig or something?"
Kevin shot Jiaoqiu a look. "Keep talking if you want. I'm done packing. Let's go."
Soon after, Kevin slung his backpack over his shoulder and followed Jiaoqiu out of the control room.
However, just as Kevin locked the door, he noticed Jiaoqiu standing motionless.
"What's wrong?"
Jiaoqiu was smiling at someone ahead—a scruffy-bearded, burly man. Despite the smile, he didn't look particularly approachable.
"Excuse me, honored guests, what were you doing in the server room?"
Kevin, unfazed and calm, replied coolly, "I was hired by Mr. Sunday to upgrade the hotel's systems. It's done now. Just make sure the payment hits my account. Bye."
As he moved to leave with Jiaoqiu, the man deliberately stepped forward, blocking their path. In an instant, Kevin's gaze locked with the man's, a faint killing intent simmering in the air.
As the tension grew palpable, Jiaoqiu quickly stepped between them. "Come on, why can't we just talk this out? Sir, may I have your name?"
"Gallagher. I'm the head of security at Dreamscape Grand Hotel."
Jiaoqiu offered a polite smile. "Mr. Gallagher, I have a question, if I may?"
"I'm all ears."
"Here's the thing. You and I both know you didn't show up before we went in. But now, after we've learned everything we needed to, you suddenly block our way? Isn't that a bit too convenient?" Jiaoqiu fanned himself with his feather fan, continuing slowly, "Doesn't it make sense? If you feel you can't explain yourself to your superiors, why don't we help you put on a show? I've got some prop blood in my bag. Smear some on, and no one will suspect a thing."
Gallagher was silent for a few seconds, eyeing Jiaoqiu with interest. "You're clever. Clever like a pink-furred fox. But can't I just be working two jobs? I can give you the info, but I still have to take you in."
Jiaoqiu nodded solemnly, putting on an understanding expression. He turned to Kevin. "Sorry, I did my best! It's up to you now!"
With that, he stepped back.
The next moment, Kevin glanced at Gallagher and suddenly launched a kick. Gallagher barely reacted in time, crossing his arms to block the strike, stumbling back several steps before steadying himself.
Kevin retracted his right leg, brushing dust off his trench coat. "Sorry, I've never lost a fight, though I'm no good at trash-talking."
Seeing Kevin wasn't an easy opponent, Gallagher loosened his tie. "Then I'll have to offend you!"
At the same time, Su Chen and Sparkle were searching the hotel for Sunday's whereabouts.
Sparkle was hopping along cheerfully. She glanced at Su Chen and burst out laughing. "I just have to ask—what's all this about?"
Su Chen looked down at her. "What do you mean?"
"I can't wrap my head around the cause and effect of all this."
Su Chen chuckled. "Come on, you're Director Sparkle. How could there be anything you don't know?"
"Hey, I'm just giving you a chance to shine!" Sparkle raised an eyebrow at him. "So, what's your take on it?"
"Alright, alright, Lady Sparkle, here's my humble opinion," Su Chen said in a steady tone. "First, the hotel's going under. It's a done deal—it's been bleeding money for a while. The shareholders are desperate for a way out, but they don't want to lose control of the hotel while also wanting a big cash injection for free."
At this, Su Chen clicked his tongue. "Truly living up to the hotel's name—dreaming big! So they came up with a filthy plan: make money through the casino."
"Ta-da! Not bad, Boss Su Chen. But can you tell me something I don't know?" Sparkle teased with a playful tone. "So why did Sunday ask for your help? What's he doing all this for?"
Su Chen's face grew serious as he pondered her words. Broadly speaking, he had his guesses. Since Sunday sought his help, it couldn't be for something as trivial as saving the hotel. For Sunday, even the sky falling would be a minor issue. The only thing that mattered—Robin. If that's the case, was his goal to have Su Chen take Robin away? And how would he do it? By using these secrets as leverage? Everyone knows the casino's secrets are a gray area. No matter how powerful miHoYo is, they can't cover everything. That approach wouldn't work. So there was only one possibility. To confirm this theory, they had to act this way.
Suddenly, Su Chen felt his phone vibrate. He checked it and saw a message from Sampo. "The guy's here~ Be careful, boss. So, is my job done? Can I head back now?"
Su Chen flashed a pure smile, tapped a button, and replied, "The user you're trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later. Contact."
Sampo: "???"
He pocketed his phone and looked at Sparkle. "You know who you need to handle, right?"
"Got it, got it," Sparkle said with a charming smile. "You said as long as I get it done, it doesn't matter what methods I use or what fun I have, right?"
Su Chen replied coolly, "Right."
Then, Su Chen stepped into the elevator, while Sparkle waved goodbye.
Su Chen watched the floor numbers tick up on the elevator display. Soon, the doors slid open, and Sunday was standing outside, as if he'd been waiting for a while.
"Hello, Mr. Kevin. Everything went smoothly, I presume?"
"No issues, Mr. Sunday."
"Good." Sunday nodded in thanks, then gestured toward the entertainment room. "There's a rather noisy peacock in there. Since you're here, why not test the system upgrades?"
"Kevin" gave a faint smile. "How thoughtful, Mr. Sunday."
…
Before long, under Sunday's lead, "Kevin" arrived in front of Aventurine.
Aventurine looked up. "Su Chen?!"
"Su Chen?" "Kevin" shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I'm the person you're talking about."
"Really? Can there be someone who looks this similar?" Aventurine frowned slightly, then shook his head, letting it go.
"Kevin" glanced at Sunday. "Who's this Su Chen he mentioned?"
"Su Chen? You know Honkai: Star Rail, right?"
"I've heard of it but never watched it. Funny enough, some pink-haired girl kept bugging me to check out that web drama, but I'm not interested."
Sunday smiled faintly. "You should give it a shot. The production quality is top-tier, and it's quite affordable. It's a good way to pass the time." He cleared his throat, steering the conversation back. "I've met this Su Chen that Mr. Aventurine mentioned a few times. I wouldn't say you're identical, but you're strikingly similar. Almost like…"
"Like that moment back then?"
"Something like that." Sunday glanced at Aventurine. "Mr. Aventurine, you're on quite a hot streak today. And since Mr. Kevin is our esteemed guest, how about this? I'd like to invite Mr. Kevin to play a round on my behalf. If he wins, he takes it all. If he loses, I'll cover it. What do you think?"
"I don't care either way," Aventurine said, glancing at the seven or eight grim-faced dealers around him before smirking. "I'm just worried your stakes won't be enough."
"I told you, no need to get physical." Jiaoqiu pulled some medical supplies from his bag, tending to Gallagher. "Look at you now. I said I had props—splash some fake blood, and we're good."
"Ow, ow, ow! Hiss…" Gallagher sucked in a sharp breath. "Kid, how old are you? You hit that hard?"
Kevin, unscathed, leaned against the wall and said slowly, "How old are you?"
"I'm 13?"
Kevin: "Uh… are you serious? Fine, I'm older than you."
"See? If you didn't have the age advantage, could you have beaten me?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're the best!"
"By the way, Mr. Gallagher, we got off on the wrong foot, but we're cool now, right?" Jiaoqiu interjected suddenly. "I have a question. Besides the hotel shareholders, who else is your boss?"
Gallagher gave Jiaoqiu a suspicious look. "Why do you want to know?"
"Well, Mr. Kevin and I happened to come across some information, so we'd like to confirm it through you."
"Alright." Gallagher looked up at the ceiling. "The old man said it's fine to tell if asked. His name's Mikhail."
"Mikhail. It really is him." Jiaoqiu fell into thought. Before leaving, Su Chen had specifically instructed him to keep an eye on Mikhail's movements. But what was Mikhail up to? How did Su Chen know about Mikhail? Even with all his cunning, he couldn't see through Su Chen! It seemed Su Chen was even more cunning than him!
Knock, knock, knock…
Outside a hotel room, a service worker tapped on the door.
A gentle voice came from inside. "Who is it?"
"Room service! Miss Robin."
"So early today?"
"Sorry, I've got some things to handle today, so I wanted to clean your room first."
"No need. You can come back tomorrow to clean."
"No, no, that won't do! If the manager finds out, I'll be in big trouble, miss!"
The voice inside went quiet for a few seconds before footsteps approached. Soon, with a creak, the door opened, and Robin poked her head out. The worker's eyes widened briefly upon seeing Robin's appearance. There was a terrifying scar on her throat.
The worker shook their head, steadying themselves, and pushed the cart into the room. Robin closed the door and said softly, "Just do a quick clean. If you have something to do, it's better to head back early."
But when she turned around, her face was full of disbelief. "You are?"
"You can call me Director Sparkle! Ta-da!" Sparkle had already shed her service worker uniform.
Robin, recalling the worker's appearance from moments ago, could hardly believe it. "Your voice, your look just now—how could they be so similar?"
"Oh, it's just a little trick, no big deal." Sparkle gave a helpless smile. "I came here with good news and even better news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Uh… whichever makes you happy."
"Then I'll start with the good news. The hotel's about to go under."
"What?! That's good news?"
"Hey, don't get worked up. If the hotel goes bust, you won't have to work yourself to death singing, right?" Sparkle winked at Robin.
Robin's expression turned serious. "If that's what you came to say, please leave."
"Is that so?" Sparkle pulled out a phone—Su Chen's phone. "What about this?"
Robin looked closely and saw a text message sent from Sunday's number.
Sparkle tucked the phone away and plopped onto the sofa. "So, don't we owe it to ourselves to sit down and have a proper chat?"
…
Not long after, Robin and Sparkle sat at the coffee table. After Robin took a few pills, she sat beside Sparkle. She handed Sparkle a cup of hot tea. "Whatever you want to know, just ask."
"I know it's rude, but what's with the scar on your throat?"
"It's my vocal cords. A slight issue, but no need to worry. After surgery, I'm slowly recovering. It doesn't affect my singing anymore."
Sparkle let out a rare sigh. "Miss Robin, I just don't get it. Why are you and your brother working yourselves to the bone for this hotel?"
"We lost our parents young. My brother and I relied on each other. Mr. Gopher Wood took us in, so everything we do is to repay that debt."
"Sniff…" Sparkle wiped away fake tears. "I'm so touched! So I promise you, I'll definitely save your brother!"
Robin's voice rose. "Save my brother?"
Sparkle feigned surprise. "Yes, didn't you know? Your brother plans to sacrifice himself to save everyone."