As soon as they entered the amusement park, Bai Cha could see the huge and magnificent castle standing in the center of Sky Island from a great distance. Even though they had just entered, the castle still appeared immense and splendid from afar, towering over all the trees and being taller than any church.
Bai Cha became truly curious about how massive the castle would be if she were to stand right in front of it.
Seeing the hint of surprise in Bai Cha's eyes, Lucifer smiled with a touch of pride.
Look, his master wasn't omnipotent after all. He knew Bai Cha had never been here before.
It was just past noon, and the sun was fierce. Even walking on the tree-lined path, they couldn't escape the oppressive heat, and even the wind felt warm.
As expected, the moment they stepped onto Sky Island, they were spotted.
Bai Cha could feel the subtle turns of the cameras, the deliberate targeting, and the faint, purposeful gazes.
If this amusement park really paid no attention to Bai Cha, she wouldn't have minded, but such deliberate attention definitely indicated something was amiss.
Bai Cha took out her tablet and began to sketch and draw on it. The screen displayed a three-dimensional image of Sky Island. Bai Cha had somehow managed to hack into all of Sky Island's systems, bringing up all the information with crystal clarity.
Each camera's wiring led to a different monitoring room. These few monitoring rooms needed to be investigated thoroughly.
This tablet was exclusive to Bai Cha. Only those who had undergone special eye surgery, like her, could see what was displayed on it. Otherwise, even if a camera were pointed directly at it, it would only capture a blur.
Just as Bai Cha was sending the compiled clues to Meng Qinghuan and the others, a sudden chill approached from her left, carrying a sweet scent. Bai Cha was a little surprised. As she looked up, she saw Lucifer standing beside her, holding a three-scoop ice cream.
"I don't like sweet things," Bai Cha instinctively refused, her fingers still swiping on the tablet. She added, "You eat it."
"But you haven't tried anything like this before, my Master," Lucifer didn't retract the ice cream. He smiled gently, "I asked for coffee and plain flavored ice cream scoops. Coffee is slightly bitter, you can try that."
"Also, since we're acting as bait, it's better for us to appear natural. Think of it as a rare moment of relaxation," Lucifer said with a smile, then put away Bai Cha's tablet. "You can't always worry about your subordinates; they need to learn to be independent."
In fact, Lucifer had always known that although Bai Cha spoke of the Shadow faction easily succumbing to death and falling into danger, only the latter part was truly the case.
It was because Bai Cha was there.
While the missions were unpredictable and dangerous, easily leading to injuries and crises, the probability of death was very small for everyone except Bai Cha. At least, there had been no casualties in recent years.
He had long realized that his Master was very soft-hearted, always doing her best to protect everyone, meticulously overseeing everything, ensuring no subordinate fell into mortal danger, yet she always fearlessly threw herself into peril.
The members of the Shadow faction dared to undertake missions with their hands unbound precisely because of this; they had a protector.
"While you protect the world, please allow me to protect you appropriately, how about it?" Lucifer said with a smile. "Work and rest go hand in hand. You should rest now, my Master."
With the tablet taken away by Lucifer, Bai Cha was momentarily dazed. The brown coffee scoop, slightly melted due to the hot weather, dripped down like a tear, reflecting the sunlight brilliantly. It felt as if a shooting star had pierced a certain part of Bai Cha's heart, causing her to pause her breathing for a beat.
Who was protecting whom, anyway? It wasn't even clear which of them was stronger.
Bai Cha felt a little amused in her heart, but she knew that saying it aloud would ruin the mood. Her gaze softened, and she helplessly took the ice cream from Lucifer and continued walking.
Slightly bitter, slightly sweet, not overly cloying. With icy bits, it could lift the spirits of even someone who didn't like ice cream on a hot day.
It had been a long time since Bai Cha had walked so peacefully under the shade of trees, with no particular purpose, just pure relaxation.
Or rather, it had almost never happened.
Without the burden of purpose and missions, Bai Cha felt a bit lost and helpless, wandering aimlessly under the shade of trees. The forest wound endlessly, its end out of sight.
If there ever came a day when the world was at peace, without conflict, without missions, what would become of her? Or rather, what would become of them?
This thought inexplicably surfaced. Perhaps when people have nothing to do, they tend to overthink and worry about things that might not happen. Bai Cha knew this scenario was highly unlikely; as long as there were living beings, there would be conflict. Yet, when she truly considered this question, Bai Cha felt a sense of confusion.
She wished for no conflict; her missions represented sin. But if these disappeared, what would she do? Would she have to thank conflict and sin for providing her with work?
"Master."
Lucifer's hand gently rested on Bai Cha's shoulder, rousing her from her inexplicable thoughts. Lucifer's smile held a touch of helplessness, a mix of amusement and exasperation, as he said, "Can't you ever stop thinking?"
"Cough, unexpected," Bai Cha blinked, awkwardly taking a large bite of the ice cream. The cold made her teeth ache, and she quickly used her tongue to help chew.
Well, even with her modified body, her teeth were original. A sudden cold would still make them sensitive.
Lucifer watched her, wanting to laugh. He bowed slightly and naturally took Bai Cha's hand.
"Come, my Master, we've reached the end."
Bai Cha froze and looked up. The seemingly endless forest had indeed come to an end. Here was an amusement ride, the most striking of which was a giant carousel. The soft, sweet warm-toned color scheme, the realistic pure white steeds, the elegant classical music, and the projected virtual scenery.
For a child, this would likely be love at first sight.
It wasn't until she sat on a horse with Lucifer that Bai Cha came back to her senses. She immediately cupped her forehead in exasperation and looked at Lucifer with a strange expression, "Is this why you insisted we start playing from the left when I wanted to go from the right when we first came in?"
"Of course," Lucifer admitted with perfect composure.
"Putting aside the fact that this is a ride for children, why do you have to ride the same horse as me?" Bai Cha grabbed the balance bar in front of her and shifted forward. It was a bit cramped, but the horse was large enough, which was good.
"You're not an adult yet either, my Master," Lucifer reminded her with a smile. He always seemed to smile like this, unhurried, with only a clear sense of distance and detachment to remind different people of their intimacy. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Bai Cha: "..."
Oh, she forgot.
She had never paid attention to her age. She was used to working with older men.
The main reason was that age didn't matter. No one treated her like a seventeen-year-old. Not treating her like a seventy-year-old was already giving her credit. In the eyes of those people, she was incredibly cunning and old-fashioned.
Although she wasn't entirely sure why, everyone seemed to be quite cunning and old-fashioned, a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
"I just saw a sentence online that I found very insightful," Lucifer's voice was gentle, sounding softly in Bai Cha's ear, making it tickle slightly.
Bai Cha tilted her head slightly and asked with some confusion, "What sentence?"
"If she is naive and inexperienced, show her the wonders of the world; if she has experienced much, take her for a ride on a carousel," Lucifer said gently. "Also, sugar provides energy faster than fats and proteins, helping the brain resist bad moods and prompting the secretion of large amounts of dopamine, making people feel happy."
Was the latter an explanation for why he insisted on giving her ice cream? Then what did the former mean?
Bai Cha's emotions were a jumble, and she could only continue to ask, "Then you didn't need to ride the same horse as me, did you?"
"This," Lucifer said, wrapping his arms around Bai Cha from behind and gripping the balance bar in front of her, "is because I dislike one of the meanings of a carousel. Two horses are forever chasing each other, but their distance remains the same, never changing. I dislike the feeling of never being able to catch up to you, no matter how hard I try."
Bai Cha: "..."
Lucifer's words were quite impactful. Bai Cha had never heard such things.
When Lucifer said these words so casually, Bai Cha could clearly sense through telepathy that he was saying them sincerely and casually.
The more casual he was, the more Bai Cha felt unsure of how to respond. She only knew how to reason logically; when had she ever heard such emotional words?
In fact, Lucifer had also seen another sentence.
If her love is just beginning, then undress her; if she has loved many, then stay by the hearth.
Her Master had definitely loved many. As for staying by the hearth, Lucifer felt he had already achieved that; he had been acting that way from the very beginning.
It was just that, undressing her... Lucifer felt he couldn't do that anytime soon, and making his Master fall in love for the first time seemed rather difficult.
The music slowly began to play. The surrounding virtual projectors shifted the environment, sometimes projecting a jungle, other times an underwater world.
It was very dreamy, making Bai Cha feel as if she were searching for a childhood she never had.
The warmth of the person behind her, embracing her, gave her a sense of security she had never experienced before, as if she could truly entrust her back to this person in the future.
Besides the sound of the wind, there was only the beating of her heart, making Bai Cha's ears feel warm.
The atmosphere here was wonderful, almost emitting pink bubbles, but on the other side, it wasn't so good.
This was the third time Cang Liu had returned to the same spot. He was hiding in a blind spot of the surveillance, silently staying out of sight.
"Brother, are you lost?" After being led back to the same spot for the third time, Gu Mingze, who could no longer stand the heat, cautiously asked.
Cang Liu remained silent for a moment, not responding.
"Brother, I have a map," Gu Mingze looked at Cang Liu's clear blue eyes and somehow understood Cang Liu's dilemma. As if presenting a treasure, he sent Cang Liu the holographic map on his phone, smiling ingratiatingly. "I hacked into the map of this place beforehand when I was planning to come here to play, so it just came in handy."
Cang Liu lowered his head and carefully examined the map Gu Mingze sent. He finally confirmed the route and looked at Gu Mingze with surprise.
It was known that Sky Island's information technology was world-class. He never expected that Gu Mingze would hack it simply to plan for an amusement park visit.
Bringing Gu Mingze this time had inadvertently saved him a lot of trouble. Although Gu Mingze's combat ability was a bit lacking, this was still a great help.
【Sizzle——】
【Cang Liu, how is it? Have you started investigating your situation?】
Yun He's voice came through the earphones. This time, the overall supervisor was Meng Qinghuan, who had stated beforehand that he would not intervene unless absolutely necessary.
This mission was not easy, but Bai Cha and Meng Qinghuan had requested that they conduct the investigation independently, and both were exceptionally serious.
"Arriving in twenty seconds," Cang Liu said, dragging Gu Mingze as he moved quickly through the jungle.
To avoid the sweeping surveillance cameras, Cang Liu inevitably had to take some secluded and difficult paths. The branches scratched Gu Mingze painfully. Gu Mingze knew they were on a mission, so even when scratched in the eye, he didn't utter a sound.
【Cang Liu, you might be in trouble over there. I've heard news that someone called Boss Tu seems to be in the area you're responsible for, and you're with Gu Mingze.】