Chapter 131

Twenty minutes later, a bar in the Southern District of the Foreign Land.

Twenty minutes later.

"Good! Cheers to the great success of this reconnaissance operation!"

Thus: 【2】 "Good! Cheers to the great success of this reconnaissance operation!"

But we need to keep the exclamation inside quotes. We'll do: "Good! Cheers to the great success of this reconnaissance operation!"

"Cheers."xn

But we need to keep the quotes. So: "Cheers."xn

There were enthusiastic tones, calm tones, perfunctory tones, and some didn't even respond, vividly showing the Edge Runners Agency's outward unity but inner division.

But we need to be concise. Let's produce: "There were enthusiastic tones, calm tones, perfunctory tones, and some didn't even respond, vividly showing the Edge Runners Agency's outward unity but inner division."

"Where's the great success? We didn't even retrieve the client's belongings directly."

"Isn't this too dangerous? Who knows if there's a follow-up to monsters suddenly disappearing? I've been studying monster videos lately - those that vanish out of nowhere are really troublesome."

"But they usually don't last more than one episode, so we still go for a quick finish."

"We forced the monster out, had the consultant confirm and explain its source and weakness - that counts as a great victory! Still a quick finish? Can we really handle that monster? First see if the client plans to hire more people; anyway, we're not easy to deal with..."

【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to chase updates, switching sources, many voice options,. yeguoyuedu works on Android and iOS.】

Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to chase updates, switching sources, with many voice options—. yeguoyuedu works on both Android and iOS.

We need to keep the brackets 【】? The Chinese uses 【】. We'll keep them as is? Probably we should keep the brackets as part of the text. We'll output: 【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to chase updates, switching sources, many voice options,. yeguoyuedu works on Android and iOS.】

"Speaking of which, who called for the support team? Man En, we haven't cooperated with Luodedao, have we?"

Thus line: 【Honestly, I've been using Wild Fruit Reading to chase updates, switching sources, many voice options,. yeguoyuedu works on Android and iOS.】

"That Black Wolf from Penguin Logistics was summoned by Aomo, right? Otherwise we'd really have trouble getting out - that monster is just too conspicuous."

Outwardly united but inwardly divided, or just strong personalities?

Thus line: "Speaking of which, who called for the support team? Man En, we haven't cooperated with Luodedao, have we?"

But we need to keep the quotes. We'll output: 【10】 "Speaking of which, who called for the support team? Man En, we haven't cooperated with Luodedao, have we?"

Aomo, holding his wine cup, silently stirred the fire element, conducting a quiet, incomplete combustion in the cup.

At the same time, he observed his surroundings.

But we need to keep the quotes. We'll output: 【11】 "That Black Wolf from Penguin Logistics was summoned by Aomo, right? Otherwise we'd really have trouble getting out— that monster is just too conspicuous."

The short-haired woman sitting to Dawei's left, with a cold expression but who nodded at me at the start, is the team's other cyber hacker, Dawei's girlfriend Miss Luxi.

But we need to keep the line as a single line without extra punctuation? We'll keep as is.

As for Dawei's right side, setting aside Reibeika for now, the tall, sturdy woman sitting with Man En, whose relationship seems quite close, is the team's number two, Duoliuou.

But we need to keep the Chinese punctuation? We'll just translate.

Thus: 【13】 Aomo, holding his wine cup, silently stirred the fire element, conducting a quiet, incomplete combustion in the cup.

Then there's Qiwei, who, like me, was off in a corner, and after taking off her mask turned out unexpectedly plain.

Matching each person's face with my original understanding made them clear, and that's one of the pleasures of Aomo's observation. It's just that he had intended to stay a mere observer, but the gathering's talk inevitably turned to him.

We need to keep the line as single line.

"Thanks, Aomo - you really came through this time. I'll raise the weight of your contribution later."

We need to keep the line as single line.

Compared to the smooth investigation elsewhere, Aomo, the meritorious one who pulled through despite the danger here, would naturally get a few pats on the shoulder from the agency's senior brother, and then be introduced to each member--.

Matching each person's face with my original vague understanding made them clear, and that's one of the pleasures of Aomo's observation. It's just that he had intended to stay a mere observer, but the gathering's talk inevitably turned to him.

"Thanks, Aomo—you really came through this time. I'll raise the weight of your contribution later."

--Although Aomo had already confirmed all of this earlier.

We need to keep the em dash? We'll keep as is.

The Edge Runners is a relatively traditional mercenary-style agency; Aomo once heard Dawei say the original team was simply called Cyberpunk, with many members, intending to develop into a mercenary corps, but after some unmentionable changes, the group ended up here.

Some concepts also changed, resulting in the agency of the Boundary Gate District; its original name was Edge Walkers, but after Man En saw a horse race, it was changed to "Edge Runners".

Including the agency head, the team currently numbers no more than six.

It's basically a family-run outfit that practices nepotism.

I heard there's a driver named Faerek who makes Dawei nostalgic, but since he didn't show up either, it's not like we can curse him to die, right?

Although death isn't the only way to transmigrate, Dawei's remark is somewhat presumptuous.

As far as Aomo knows, everyone in this mercenary team can be called a chosen one.

Because ordinary transmigrants who die are soul-transmigrants, and their spacetime-reversal healing effects are one in a million. What they can bring in terms of systems or cheats can only be called cyber psychosis, or being ensnared by some mental-fraud organization.

These days, systems designed to swindle transmigrants are often tailor-made, targeting their preferential benefits; some even make a few lifestyle systems look legit, crafting player-type cyber psychosis, and so far new hideouts keep getting busted - soon to be mocked as the police force's profit-making industry chain.

Better download the anti-fraud program soon.

So normally, most of such a team are people who've come back from death, which inevitably brings some soul-transmigration element; looking at these lively folks now, there's a hint of a lucky-ones gathering place.

It's just that Aomo isn't someone whose mood swings with luck, so he naturally exchanged pleasantries with these people, was even toasted by everyone - Reibeika even gave him several glasses - and after getting a bit tipsy he showed off the flashy functions of his prosthetic arm, playing the part of a stunt-woman, which drew hearty laughter from Man En, cheerful laughter from Dawei, and polite chuckles from a few others.

It's rather warm, yet also rather subtle in atmosphere.

Let's re-evaluate from line 31 onward.

We have:

Please download the anti‑fraud program as soon as possible.

Normally, most members of such a team have literally come back from the dead, so it's bound to have some soul‑transmigration flavor. Right now these guys are all lively and energetic—giving the gathering a hint of a "lucky emperor" hangout.

Aomo isn't the type to lose his mental balance over good or bad luck, so he naturally exchanged pleasantries with them—everyone even raised a glass to him, and Rebecca did so several times. Feeling a bit tipsy, he then showed off the flashy functions of his prosthetic arm, playing the "skill sister" for a moment, which drew hearty laughs from Mann, cheerful laughter from David, and polite chuckles from a few others.

The atmosphere is quite warm, yet also somewhat subtle.

It's lively, but not exceptionally so—there's even an undercurrent of something inexplicable.

Aomo, whose drinking capacity far exceeded everyone's expectations, showed no flush or shortness of breath as he continued to watch them.

One could see they were genuinely happy, yet also a bit wistful, as if recalling something special; this inexplicably led Aomo to think Rebecca ought to have a brother who could correspond to some goofy character David once mentioned from the past.

Also don't know if there's any relation.

Back then, Aomo only thought that such a character coming to the Federation might possibly go to the precinct first, but whether they actually showed up or not, he didn't feel comfortable asking further.

Looking back now, it also seems there might be another reason.

It's clear that, aside from a certain Falco who didn't transmigrate, the team seems to have other regrets. But since he isn't a member of the team, it's not proper to interject too much; he simply went along with their goodwill to the end of the celebration.

Rebecca, snoring loudly, lay in Lucy's arms; Lucy was whispering something to David, occasionally glancing at Aomo, who pretended not to hear David's 'action report' to Lucy.

Màn'ēn and Duǒlì'ōu left their seats midway, unknown where they went; Qíwēi continued sitting in the corner playing with the terminal, seemingly raising a Digimon pet.

The team's atmosphere at this moment was surprisingly natural, making the earlier awkwardness seem like an illusion.

Meanwhile, David, standing to the side, said to Aomo, who was bidding farewell to everyone, 'You're leaving? Then let me see you off.'

What a 'seeing me off'...

He spoke in the language of the Ambe District, but even after translation the meaning still left Aomo silent for a moment; he glanced at Lucy, who was gently waving at him, and Rebecca, who had a snot bubble in her arms, then looked at Qíwēi, who gave him a slight nod, and he also gave a slight nod in return.

Indeed, although Màn'ēn is the leader of the mercenary team.

But David is also a well-supported successor; his actions are backed by the teammates' gaze, and he also represents their expectations.

In other words, at this moment he is seeing himself off on their behalf.

Having experienced a cooperation that was quite satisfying, Aomo, both emotionally and logically, should not refuse such goodwill.

"Good."

He nodded, then walked out of the exotic bar's private room together with David, moving along a path with various demi-humans, artificial beings, and human-featured customers and staff, and then slipped out of the crowd at the doorway.

"It must be pretty uncomfortable for you, right?"

As they walked out of the bar to meet the daylight that should have been there at this time, David suddenly spoke, turning his gaze to Aomo beside him.

He saw the other's nod.

And there was a reply fitting the other's usual style: 'But in the end, one has to get used to it; this still counts as ideal, and you and Màn'ēn must have spoken up for me quite a bit.'

"That's not the case; it's only natural," David said, rubbing his head. When interacting with Aomo and Bi Ze, he would temporarily take off the mask he once wore as team leader, revealing the youthful inexperience and vitality he ought to have. "Besides, it's mainly Màn'ēn who told everyone not to make things difficult for you, saying you're a rather special mercenary kid."

"Having laid down the leader's burden, have you ever felt wistful?"

This slightly risky question, given the closeness between him and David, wouldn't be overthought.

"No, on the contrary, he let out a long sigh." Dawei then showed obvious sorrow, walking with Aomo on the streets of the foreign land, scanning the scenery.

He still smelled of alcohol, his throat twitched, his lips slightly moved, a faint pursing, and a light bite.

These all indicated that the other party had fallen into some kind of sorrow, which reminded Aomo of the sorrow of the horse-eared monster.

But those were two different kinds of sorrow; at least now he knew Dawei just had something on his mind.

Moreover, he didn't need to prompt anything; the alcohol plus his own feelings were enough to make the other party talkative.

"I've long felt that everything happened too suddenly, whether it was Man En and Duo Li Ou's affairs, or my having to hold up cyberpunk..." He didn't care about the many pedestrians on the street they were walking along, and Dawei spoke up.

He didn't go into more detail about the story of the original world; he merely mentioned how he forced himself to sustain the organization at that time, feeling fatigue and numbness, as well as the pressure.

Sometimes even sleep required a special injection of additive; occasionally reaping teammates' encouragement, newcomers' admiration, and friends' expectations, it was that tangled mix of joy and sorrow.

There can be many reasons for a person to give up their rights, but for Dawei, he liked the days when everyone was around, and he liked the feeling of working under Man En; that was enough.

By the time he finished saying that, the two had already arrived at the station; compared to the outer layer, the station scenery in the foreign land only had a few more hovercars, and the greater difference was that there were many more passengers openly carrying weapons.

Among these people, merely carrying a briefcase, Aomo appeared rather ordinary.

It's a shame the weapons in the briefcase weren't used.

Aomo's side, Dawei didn't notice this, feeling a bit embarrassed: "Sorry, I went on and on about my own affairs."

"I'm used to observing and also enjoy listening; if you have anything else to say later, feel free to come find me," Aomo chuckled, "I won't tell a second person."

This is no excuse; after all, in his early part-time jobs he often listened to colleagues' complaints, even to the grumbling of children dissatisfied with household chores.

These are things inconvenient to spread about.

"Of course, you can also go to Bi Ze; don't look at his unserious appearance—when it comes to keeping friends' secrets, there's no problem, but if it were him speaking, he'd probably flowerily say this is brotherly paternal love."

"... and that really is what he'd say," upon imagining that overly vivid scene, even Dawei felt a mix of laughter and tears; replying, when he looked at Aomo again, he still solemnly said: "Thank you."

"When I recommended you, I clearly hoped to help you, but it seems you're helping me instead."

"Then I say, if there will be a time when you need help in the future, could that put you more at ease?"

"Really?" Dawei felt such a thing was rather distant; although his mindset had somewhat regained youth, his experience remained, and he could see that with Aomo's ability, perhaps soon he would leave himself and others behind.

"There will definitely be, and moreover, that negative-energy... horse-eared monster we saw this time has already been enough to help me; I'm very interested, for this I need more information, so please keep an eye out."

After he finished speaking, a sudden buzzing sound came from above; both simultaneously looked up and saw the high-altitude tram that could adhere to light rings, with passengers boarding.

"Paying attention to information is certainly no problem; if there are follow-up commissions, Man En will definitely look for you," Dawei said at extremely fast speed, patting Aomo's shoulder, "Get on the tram; if you want to return to the surface, you need to hurry to the station, otherwise the next one is half an hour away."

Obviously, the edge runners still had some business in the foreign land; they didn't propose a dedicated car to send them back, but Aomo had never intended to go home.

Moreover, these people never even asked, so even if he noticed the other party had misunderstood at this moment, he didn't say anything, just waved and boarded.

Boarding and lifting off, he casually paid to open the terminal, switching on the communication that had been cut off for half an hour.

Yuehuanshe: 【Do you still have free time? Are you still on North District Hongduo Street?】

Yuehuanshe shared the commission number.

Penguin Logistics: 【Yes】

The other party shared your location coordinates.

【The target is still being pursued by the police】

Yuehuanshe: 【I'll keep real-time watch; I'll arrive within twenty minutes】

【Great, you're a guest】

The tone sounded like a different person's reply, but as a corporate account, this detail isn't particularly worth worrying about.