Emperor chattered on and on in front of Lucas Reeve.
It was a fitting reflection of his hip-hop street RAP style attire; his mouth never stopped from beginning to end. And perhaps due to it being an occupational hazard, even when Emperor spoke normally, his words carried an unshakable rap flavor. Paired with the rhythmic heavy metal music in the office, he could probably break into an impromptu RAP on the spot.
Emperor assumed Lucas Reeve knew everything, so he spoke on his own.
In reality.
Lucas Reeve and Surtr knew nothing.
Only after listening to Emperor's "rap" did they learn that the item Exusiai and the others had been escorting was a shard of the Ancient God of Flame, a fragment of Laevatain. The Laevatain in Surtr's hands was not complete. Although it was a large fragment, it was still just a fragment. If she could fuse with more fragments, she might be able to awaken Laevatain's even greater power.
And it seemed that the real reason Surtr had been wandering Terra all these years was to find Laevatain's fragments, though Surtr herself was unaware of it.
The long-lived often knew many secrets of the past. Although in theory, Lucas Reeve had also lived for a long time, it... was useless. He had been 'holed up' inside a divine statue, knowing nothing, single-mindedly studying scriptures, and turning a deaf ear to the outside world. In reality, he couldn't 'hear' even if he wanted to.
From Emperor's words, Lucas Reeve got a general understanding, and then, feigning profundity, he asked.
"Why are you returning the fragment to me so easily?"
Emperor shrugged his penguin shoulders, the large gold chains around his neck trembling.
"Because it's useless to me. The only reason I had the girls bring it back to Penguin Logistics was to take a look. And we and that fellow from Minos aren't the only ones after that blade fragment. Don't forget, the waters of this world run deep in the shadows. Since Yan has a place like the Sui Regulator Commission that specializes in researching Gods and Behemoths, other countries surely have something similar. To them, a divine fragment without consciousness is more precious and rare than a small mountain of High-Purity Originium."
"If things go as expected, my girls would have had a hard time completing this mission, so I entrusted someone else to meet them midway. I never expected the original owner to show up in person. This can already be described by what Yan calls 'fate'."
"I'll allow you to go with the girls. However, whether or not you can retrieve your own fragment depends on your own ability. But, I have only one request: protect my girls' safety and bring them home safe."
Lucas Reeve gave Emperor a deep look, then asked.
"Since you're worried about their safety, why did you let them take on this commission?"
Emperor smiled, leaped onto the desk, took off his sunglasses, and said, "We're Penguin Logistics. If we refused every dangerous job, we might as well change our name to Penguin Idols and debut together."
"An excellent decision. I think you could debut with Miss Sora and form a four-member girl group."
Emperor laughed. "I didn't expect you to have a sense of humor. Indeed, time is the most potent weapon of attrition, even for the ancient gods. The more arrogant the ancient gods once were, the closer they are to ordinary people now. Just like that little girl in our Lungmen who eats hot pot all day."
"One last question. This commission seems to have been entrusted to you by Minos, right?"
Emperor paced back and forth on the desk and said, "You think Minos wouldn't send their own people, and would rely solely on us, Penguin Logistics? Besides, as I said, whether you can get it back depends on your own ability. You're not part of Penguin Logistics yourself, just tagging along. If you can get it back, it's your own skill. But if it falls into the hands of Minos or some other power, there's nothing I can do."
"Alright, that's all for today."
Emperor clapped his flippers.
"I wish you success. I'm entrusting my girls to you."
As Emperor clapped, the office door was opened, and Texas walked in.
"Boss."
Emperor said, "This young lady will be joining you on that commission this afternoon."
Emperor's words stunned Texas for a good while. She hadn't expected the boss to actually agree. Did the boss know her?
However.
Since the boss had spoken, Texas had no reason to refuse. Besides, although the other party was a bit dangerous, and even though they hadn't fought together, her strength should be quite formidable. This mission was dangerous; having one more strong person increased their chances of success.
Exusiai happily ran over and, with her usual familiarity, patted Lucas Reeve on the shoulder.
"Yay, we've got a new member! We can fight side by side now."
Such an intimate gesture, it was a good thing Lucas Reeve was in control of the body now. If it had been Surtr, her scalp would probably be crawling.
Since Emperor had already agreed.
The others naturally couldn't say anything.
Everyone except Texas was quite happy. After all, an extra person to help meant an extra person to share the pressure.
The last transport commission, the sudden appearance of enemies of unknown origin had nearly caused Texas and Exusiai to capsize, and they barely escaped.
Since there were only a few employees.
The work environment was naturally relaxed.
There was no need to clock in and out.
Since the mission was this afternoon, they decided to have a simple lunch before setting off. They had originally planned to eat out, but after some thought, they decided to get takeout from a street food stall in the city center and eat at Sora's place.
Why always at Sora's place?
Because Sora's apartment was the closest to Penguin Logistics, centrally located among where the others lived, which was much more convenient.
They chatted and laughed along the way.
Although Exusiai appeared carefree and thoughtless, in reality, working for a high-risk company like Penguin Logistics and needing to complete so many high-risk missions, one couldn't survive by being too naive. Exusiai was full of clever little thoughts. Along the way, she asked many questions, trying to find out Lucas Reeve's origins and strength, but...
Lucas Reeve just laughed it off the whole time.
Lucas Reeve knew that Exusiai wasn't actually asking about Surtr, but about him.
They must have already guessed something.
After all, they weren't just ordinary people, but people who walked in the shadowy side of the world, who had seen far too many things that ordinary people would never see in their lifetime. The difference between Lucas Reeve's personality and Surtr's own was too great, so it was natural to arouse suspicion. Lucas Reeve didn't want to hide it deliberately either. Anyway, I won't say it myself; you can guess whatever you want.
As the group, carrying large and small bags, was about to reach Sora's apartment building, they happened to run into Lin Qingyan in the hallway, carrying large and small bags of luggage.
At this moment, carrying all kinds of luggage, with "I'm moving" written all over her face, even though Lin Qingyan had received a good education since childhood, the thousand words in her heart converged into a single one.
DAMN!!
Why!!
Why is it so coincidental!!
Why did I run into him again!!
Lin Qingyan had once again met the person she least wanted to see in Lungmen.
The moment she stepped out of her apartment and saw Lucas Reeve's group walking over from the other end of the hallway, her pretty, serious little face could barely maintain its composure. And... since this apartment building wasn't very large and only had four floors, there was no elevator at all, only a staircase on the east side.
And Sora's room happened to be to the east of Lin Qingyan's.
So.
If Lin Qingyan wanted to leave, she would have to brush past Lucas Reeve.
Earlier.
After running into the red-haired girl downstairs, Lin Qingyan had immediately returned home to contact her master. And according to her master's instructions, since the other party had explicitly said they meant no harm, then she should stay away as much as possible. So, after getting her master's instructions, Lin Qingyan had started packing her few belongings almost immediately. As for the one month's rent, of course, she couldn't get it back. After all, the contract clearly stated a one-month lease.
She never expected.
Lin Qingyan thought she had been very fast.
But the moment she stepped out the door, she ran into Lucas Reeve again. This kind of coincidence really was!!!
As for the issue of the bracelet.
Lin Qingyan had also asked her master, but her master hadn't given a complete answer, saying she could handle it as she saw fit. Lin Qingyan herself was a person full of justice and integrity. The reason she had worn this bracelet before was because the bracelet was a pure soul fragment with no consciousness. But... now that the original owner had appeared, it seemed a bit... inappropriate for her to continue wearing it.
With Lin Qingyan's strong personality, she disdained using other people's things.
But...
This bracelet was indeed a great help to her.
For the past six months.
With the help of the faint divinity in the bracelet, her comprehension of thunder magic had indeed improved somewhat. Although it was only a little, over a long period of time, even if she improved by one percent more each day than before, after a year, she would have comprehended much more.
So.
When she was packing her things.
Lin Qingyan had also thought.
If she didn't run into that red-haired girl again, she would keep this bracelet for the time being. But if she did run into her, it meant that the bracelet was not fated to be hers, and she would choose to return it to the other party.
However.
The moment she made that vow and walked out of the apartment.
She immediately saw Surtr.
That's why Lin Qingyan was on the verge of breaking down.
"Hey! Miss Qingyan, what's this?!"
Seeing Lin Qingyan carrying large and small bags, Sora immediately ran over. This posture... it seemed like she was about to leave...
That was too fast.
Sora remembered that Miss Qingyan had just moved in the day before yesterday, right? Leaving so soon?
"I'm sorry, Miss Sora, something suddenly came up at home, I need to go back."
Lin Qingyan made up a random excuse.
"Oh..."
Sora was a little disappointed, but since they had just met, she couldn't say much else.
"Well... I hope we can meet again next time, Miss Qingyan."
"Mhm.."
Lin Qingyan smiled and nodded.
She had a good impression of this little idol, but unfortunately...
This time she was planning to move to a place quite far away, and after a half-month or one-month investigation, she would return to the capital of Yan. They would probably never have the chance to meet again in this lifetime.
As Lin Qingyan brushed past Surtr, she suddenly stopped.
And then..
She took her bracelet out of her pocket and returned it to Lucas Reeve.
"This was originally your thing. Before, I just thought it was ownerless. Now that the original owner is here, I'm returning it to you..."
Lucas Reeve didn't even have time to react.
Lin Qingyan had suddenly thrust the bracelet into Lucas Reeve's hand.
"???"
This time it was Lucas Reeve's turn to be stunned.
In reality, he had never really cared about this small soul fragment. If it was gone, it was gone. It didn't matter, like an ordinary person losing a small piece of skin. It didn't have much of an impact.
I...
I don't think I asked for it back?
What...
Lucas Reeve looked up and met Lin Qingyan's gaze. From the sharp and reluctant look in her eyes, Lucas Reeve somehow got the feeling that he had taken it by force.
It was very strange...
Just as Lucas Reeve was about to say something.
The other person had already turned and left, leaving Lucas Reeve standing there alone in bewilderment.
After Lin Qingyan left, Sora asked in a low voice.
"Miss Surtr, did something unpleasant happen between you two before?"
Lucas Reeve shook his head repeatedly. "No, I don't know her at all."
And outside the apartment.
When Lin Qingyan came down from the fourth floor, she let out a huge sigh of relief. A divine fragment was truly worthy of its name. Even though she was one of the most outstanding young powerhouses in Yan today, just a simple brush past, that pressure still made her heart tremble with fear.
However...
Now that the bracelet had been returned to the other party.
Lin Qingyan also felt a complete sense of relief.
She didn't like to owe others.
In that case.
She would most likely never have anything to do with him again in this lifetime. In half a month, she would return to the capital of Yan.
She felt much more at ease.