Chapter 262: with translation of chapter title

NO. 24: D passed is just pushed over; pushing over doesn't require seeing.

Police cars, riot armored vehicles, the special light-frame throne of the Blessing Gospel Brigade, and transport vehicles bearing the logo of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. together surrounded the exhibition hall entrance, leaving no gap.

Besides that, there were also plenty of onlookers and reporters.

Beyond the alienation barrier, passersby around the exhibition had the chance to witness that grand fireworks display, as well as, earlier, the 'performance' of two giant dragons suppressing that mechanical behemoth.

——Although one might want to call it a performance, given how big the incident grew, there really was no need to keep insisting, especially since both criminals had been genuinely apprehended.

The person in charge of the exhibition, namely Manager Xing Jiali, was forced to receive batch after batch of law enforcers with grim or unfriendly expressions, and naturally also brought Red Kai along.

After all, the latter was the cause of the situation becoming this serious.

The mages didn't think much of it, and Xing Jiali merely notified the police to come later to 'pick up the person,' but who knew that suddenly Kai's ambulance phone call would be placed.

The hospital contacted the police, the police contacted the general bureau, and the bureau's AI analyzed the audio record, concluding that 'the scene posed a danger requiring even Ultraman to apply for medical assistance.'

Thus the three of them became exceptionally busy.

Yes, the three of them.

Xing Jiali, Kai, and——one of the parties involved in the case, Aomo Lindun.

Aomo's busyness was no less than Xing Jiali's; although he didn't need to accept media interviews like the latter, aside from the police taking his statement, he also had to receive thanks from the forces belonging to the 'kidnapped person.'

The action team from the same-city organization Rhodes Island Company arrived first.

After all, they had received a report from Raffhini, aka Miss Yan Yingwei.

Dr. Luo Xia immediately dispatched a small team, intending to personally command the rescue of the staff, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Thanks were naturally indispensable, and more than half of the rescue team members had heard of Aomo—Rhodes Island's forum is just like Umastagram, spreading certain information truly too quickly.

At that moment came a bunch of platitudes like 'seeing is better than hearing a hundred times,' or the formulaic 'Thank you very much for your assistance to the Tianhuo staff,' also mixed with the parties' thanks, including things like 'repaying kindness,' which Aomo didn't particularly expect.

This was still good, after all, Miss Tianhuo, although she shares exactly the same Jidong accent as Miss Rin Tohsaka, her personality isn't particularly awkward; her thanks were very sincere, and her communication style was very natural, giving the impression of first verbally thanking now and later preparing a generous gift to visit.

But when it came to Miss Rin Tohsaka knocking on the door to thank him, she was quite awkward.

If one were to call her tsundere, that would be a bit unfair, given that Miss Tohsaka is not so young as to act haughty toward her lifesaver, and the 'dere' part… Aomo is clearly not that kind of target.

He had long noticed that she held some unfounded prejudice against him, and when she came to talk with the intention of thanking him, he also felt a bit embarrassed, talking around the subject.

But at least saying 'thank you' wasn't difficult.

Moreover, because the Clock Tower didn't place much importance on this mage's safety, merely sending remote thanks via communication, Rin Tohsaka's dignity was somewhat compromised, so she immediately asked for the office address, saying she would later send a gift to formally thank him—this point actually showed the two were quite in agreement.

But there's no need to go that far, right?

It was originally just a casual thing; I didn't expect that checking the scene's abnormality would lead me to find Bi Ze and Dong Shangbian, as well as the two of them, and I hadn't anticipated any reward.

Bi Ze didn't consider repayment, but instead sent him a message—later he would give him the resources about Kai and 'Ultraman Orb' to look at.

This might be the best repayment; Aomo cares quite a bit about Kai and the 'Jia Gu La' he calls himself, and Bi Ze's action, roughly speaking, also counts as an important information provider.

Although the protagonist of the video himself is here, and Aomo has never heard the term 'Ultraman Orb,' this proves that such resources haven't circulated on the market, but these transmigrants always find a way.

Even if they directly extract memory fragments for processing, they can restore the resources, though they might end up being found by the original person.

So, private distribution, huh!

Just like in the Jiemen district, there are also people selling horse-girl doujinshi at comic conventions, and even a famous horse-girl personally draws them, but it's also not appropriate to put them out in the open.

If it's R18, one must be even more secretive, otherwise they'll be hit hard with a heavy fist.

The problems faced by public figures are always similar; just like the member of Penguin Logistics who is an idol in Tianmen City, Miss Kong, also has to deal with the common issue of inserting oneself into celebrity stories in trendy web novels.

Cracking down on it is really troublesome; Aomo has seen that girl complain about going crazy on Penguin Logistics' channel.

But now, Penguin Logistics' channel only has the boss, the Great Emperor, mentioning himself, criticizing Aomo, this new employee who has new fun but doesn't bring other staff to play, lacking team spirit!

What a team spirit—it made Aomo raise his brow and open the screen.

On one hand, he felt there was nothing good to respond to about the topic; on the other hand, he heard footsteps.

After experiencing visits from the police, Rhodes Island, Tianhuo, and Rin Tohsaka, he is now especially sensitive to footsteps.

Stride and frequency—quite familiar; this set of footsteps is data he had noted not long ago, and can be called up at any time.

"The door is open, Miss Dong Shangbian and Miss Zhen Qiling."

Before the other party could knock, the voice had already come from outside; Aomo watched the embarrassed little witch pushing the door open, and beside her, Zhen Qiling poking out half her head, smiling then retreating, and realized the latter was merely accompanying her, unwilling to continue interacting with him.

At least for now, she has no intention.

So he lightly laughed at Dong Shangbian as she approached: 'I hope you won't also express your thanks in an overly complicated way like Miss Tohsaka and Miss Meng Beirán.'

"I can only thank the trainer for now," the little witch said, embarrassed, raising her hand to scratch her face; she was also honest, just unfamiliar with how to express thanks, "When school starts, I'll send you a few bottles of potion, how about that?"

"That's fine," Aomo, who only wishes to end this busyness soon rather than receive gifts, said, his current state could be called indifferent, "But did anyone at home say anything?"

"Grandma told me to go back and study diligently," the embarrassed girl pulled her cap brim to shield her eyes, the tea-colored horse girl's ears on her head also drooping slightly, "She also hopes I convey her thanks to you."

"Tell her you're welcome," Aomo replied, "Training is always good; it can bring you closer to an excellent witch."

"Yes!" Upon hearing the goal of an "excellent witch," the little witch's spirits lifted, but then she slumped like a wilted plant, "But this is summer vacation!"

"Will training take up the whole vacation?"

"Not really; Grandma still dotes on me a lot."

"That doesn't sound at all like the party's description."

"What I'm saying is the truth!"

"Then that's settled—play hard when you play, study hard when you train; the roads of life and dreams require vigorous effort, that's what a horse girl is."

Aomo patiently comforted.

"Hmm! Hehe, after thinking about it, once summer vacation is over I'll also be able to scare my friends!"

"The comforting effect was good; Aomo also gave a slight nod: 'Exactly so, go give them a surprise.'"

"Then, will the trainer also get to see it at that time!" She lifted her hand, flipped up her cap brim to reveal her purple pupils, the revived Dong Shangbian, full of pride, declared, "My witch's magic! I originally planned to show it to future attendants!"

"Attendants…… probably refers to the trainer, right?"

"The academy girls have their own unique term for their trainer, just like Suzi's guinea pig, and Bourbon's master."

However, Aomo hearing this title still felt a subtle flutter in his heart, thinking that Miss Eastern Commerce might be able to team up with Bopang.

I suppose Miss Yuanshan would be able to understand.

However, what needs to be dealt with right now is still this special invitation.

"I am very much looking forward to it, Miss Eastern Commerce Reform." Aomo nodded warmly.

Then Miss Eastern Commerce Reform appeared, staring at him blankly.

"Miss Eastern Commerce Reform?"

"Um, sorry, I'm a bit unaccustomed."

Getting the little witch to apologize is also rare; at the academy, many classmates know this headstrong little witch's stubbornness, but here, aside from a certain person standing at the doorway—Zhenjiling—there are no other classmates.

"The cute Ka Lian Jiang naturally wouldn't point this out, so the little witch could continue to maintain that rare frankness: "When I think of the trainer's attitude when he turns into a demon, and then look at now, I feel…" "It feels somewhat unreal?""

"No, it's just that I remembered my grandmother."

"Oh?"

"I've seen her be especially cold toward other visitors, but she's always gentle with me."

"Perhaps it's because their visits inherently carry a strong purpose."

"That doesn't matter either; the point is I've always thought my grandmother was cool since I was little! This witch also wants to become someone like that!"

"... I guess your grandmother just wants you to be yourself."

"The trainer also said that?"

"These words apply to anyone who wants to follow another's path, like a common saying."

"Eh? Did the trainer cast a spell on me?"

"No, not really. When you find a servant next year, let him cast a spell on you."

"Okay!"

Rather than saying it's thanks, it's more like idle chatter, and this is also the most relaxed of the three visitors for Aomo, after all she's just a junior high school girl, and she soon realized she shouldn't stay too long; Ka Lian Jiang was still waiting at the door, and the pickup time her grandmother had arranged wasn't very ample either.

She still had to rush to the magic shop and witch club that satisfied her most in the Junction Gate District, so she quickly waved goodbye, but also emphasized the appointment to witness magic.

"I won't forget, then goodbye, Miss Eastern Commerce Reform, Miss Zhenjiling."

"Goodbye, goodbye! Trainer."

The little witch waved her hand decisively.

"Goodbye, Mr. Trainer."

The selfie-taking angel nodded slightly, and his gaze at parting reminded him of the conversation he had before going to rescue Bi Ze and Eastern Commerce Reform on that floor.

That was a question, about why their compatibility was so poor yet they still endured the conversation.

And the other's reply was, however, a counter-question:

"Do you still remember the provincial capital racetrack from four years ago?"

Aomo certainly remembered; that year he had only been there once, the spring imperial prize, Qianming's final battle, and also Ludaofu Xiangzheng's championship battle.

And besides that…

Then the scene's developments left him no time to examine closely, so he stepped forward toward the two people he had already seen as dangerous.

And now, as he watched Zhenjiling leave, he also saw her mouth opening and closing silently:

"Ka Lian wants to challenge, and also wants to find someone."

"You're quite similar, but perhaps it's not him."

"……"

"That probably isn't it."

Astonishment, doubt—thanks to the aid of the crystal core, he could replay the entire memory of that day in his mind, but even on the first pass he saw no sign of the gray-haired little girl.

"Was it that I didn't see her back then?"

"Or perhaps the other party simply made a mistake."

"Just saying "find someone" without giving any traits—what could you possibly find?"

Aomo wondered, and also felt that perhaps he should change his approach.

If it's not direct contact…

"Mr. Lin Dun, what are you thinking about?"

A familiar voice pulled his thoughts back to the present; he turned his head and saw Xing Jiali approaching, with Mr. Kai beside her.

He temporarily set this matter aside, revealing a subtle smile:

"I'm wondering whether I can keep my three cards and two staffs."

"Don't worry! My move is absolutely fine!"

"It's as if Kai were a transparent person; the two of them, upon meeting, launched into a big discussion about "waste disposal"."