Chapter 22: Pato City_2

"Alright, go ahead." The boss shrugged, then laid back down. "Don't stand in the doorway if there's nothing else, you're disrupting my business."

"You have business here?" Cole, the apprentice thief, having slightly lifted his hood, sneered at him. Then, he turned to Motan and apologised with an embarrassed smile: "Let's talk upstairs."

Motan, unable to refuse, nodded and followed Cole upstairs of this shabby inn, entering a room at the end of the hallway.

"Let me confirm first, besides the boss just now..." After entering the room, Motan casually leaned against the wall. He gently asked the dutiful but anxious Cole: "Does anyone else know that Shu Lun is back in Pato City?"

The young apprentice thief looked somewhat terrified as he lowered his head: "No one else knows, sir. I am really sorry, I should have followed your instructions and not let anyone else know, but..."

"But the 'cheapest inn' where I asked you to stay, the owner happens to be someone you know." Motan chuckled and shook his head, "You stayed put because you were worried I wouldn't be able to find you, right? It's okay. It's my oversight, I won't blame you."

"Thank you, sir." Cole nodded and then asked with concern in his eyes: "How about Rona...?"

"The spirit of that elf girl is still intact." Motan cut him off: "I'm not unreasonable. What you need now is to remain calm. Only by staying calm can we avoid making mistakes. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Cole realized that he was indeed too emotional. He didn't respond right away. Instead, he clenched his fists. After a while, he looked into Motan's eyes and said: "I'm okay, sir."

This made Motan even more fond of him. After all, it's extremely difficult for someone to truly calm down in this situation, and even harder to do so in such a short period of time.

In Cole's eyes right now, Motan could no longer see the previous anxiety, longing, torment, and trace of fear. Or rather, they had been hidden in a deeper place, a corner that wouldn't affect his rationality and judgment...

"You're excellent." Motan nodded slightly: "Next, I will tell you two things. During this time, I hope you can keep calm and remain rational. Can you do that?"

Without any hesitation, Cole answered: "Yes, sir."

"Call me mister, don't be so formal~ I don't like overly formal people." Motan laughed. He knew that he wasn't the kind of man who could shake the world with a bare fist. The only reason this young thief was blindly trusting him was because he was holding onto Rona's spirit, using a bit of misdirection. That's why he didn't want Cole to treat him too rigidly; Otherwise, it would inevitably create a subtle barrier between the two. Although it might be advantageous in the short term, this barrier would gradually magnify over time...

At this point, Motan, who was putting himself in the position of a chess player, could not accept the potential danger of not understanding the 'pawns' in the future.

Cole wasn't surprised, he simply nodded and said: "Alright, mister."

"First of all, you should have heard by now. Only Dave from your team made it back alive." Motan said to Cole: "You know what that means, right?"

Cole nodded gravely. The answer was obvious: apart from himself and Dave, the other two had lost their lives just like Rona.

"In reality, only the male trainee with the heavy sword, I believe his name was Dona Rada, was killed. And the one who killed him..." Motan squinted his eyes and said gravely: "His name was Dave Sagel."

What!?

Despite being prepared to receive bad news, Cole had never imagined that their teammate hadn't been killed by the fangs and claws of Redback beasts, but by another teammate.

"That's not..." Cole shook his head vacantly, trying to say something, but was coldly interrupted by the man in front of him.

"That is the truth." Motan shrugged and spread out his hands: "By the time I arrived, Dave had already left. Your classmate named Rada was pierced through the chest with a spear and died on the spot. The priestess was seriously injured. I saved her and found out about the whole process of the incident. She's hiding somewhere in Pato City, just like you. If you don't believe me, you can sneakily find her and confirm this."

Cole, with a pale face, stood for a long time. Finally, he slowly shook his head: "No, I believe you. Please, continue..."

"Alright." Motan walked over to Cole and whispered into his ear: "Everything you've been through was orchestrated by Dave. Whether it's those abnormal Redback beasts or the barely surviving Warm Sun Team, they were all part of his plan. Clearly, you and your teammates have become victims of his plot... So, now, if you don't mind, can you tell me how you feel?"

Cole was silent, but his clenched teeth were stained with traces of blood...

"Your response, Cole." Motan asked, with a calm smile on his face.

"Kill him!" Cole shuddered as he shouted, his face beginning to twist with rage. "If this is all true, I want to tear him apart myself!"

Motan clapped his hands, "That's good~ Especially the precondition that 'everything is true', don't look at me like that, Cole, vigilance and suspicion are good qualities. After all, compared to Dave, who's known you for longer, I am a stranger and thus harder to trust..."

Cole seemed as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately he lowered his head and remained silent. The 'sir' had not been wrong in what he said. Perhaps Cole was even more suspicious of him, deep down. After all, compared to Dave, the mysterious man before him seemed much more like a conspirator.

He didn't want to believe that Dave had betrayed him and the other three companions that he had spent over a year with. If it was true, it would only make the death of the deceased even sadder.

But Cole likewise didn't want to believe that Motan was lying to him, because then Rona's already slim chances of revival would completely drop to zero!

So...

"Go find out the truth." Motan laughed at Cole who had just begun to speak, "There's a Priestess girl named Ai. Vanja. She should be in a place called 'Linju' right now, I'm not sure about the details, but you can go find her later."

Cole paused for a moment, then finally showed a bitter and reluctant smile to Motan, "Thank you for saving her."

"It was nothing." Motan shrugged nonchalantly, then patted him on the shoulder, "But now you have to tell me something..."

...

Seven o'clock sharp in the morning.

In a very spacious and warm-toned bedroom, two game cabins, lined up side by side, opened almost simultaneously.

"Good morning~ Xiaodao!" Ji Xiaoge was dressed in a cute goose-yellow pajama set. She greeted her twin sister getting up next to her and reached out to playfully tousle her sister's hair. "I've never seen you play a game so seriously."

Ji Xiaodao was a bit dazed and didn't react to her sister's antics. She just absent-mindedly replied, "Mm… Good morning, sister."

Noticing that her sister didn't push her away as usual, Ji Xiaoge paused, then pouted. Suddenly, she playfully tackled her sister onto the soft carpet, cheekily squeezing Ji Xiaodao's soft cheeks, "So cute! So cute! My sister, you've charmed me! Let me give you a kiss...Err..."

"What a waste of time!" Ji Xiaodao reddened and held her sister's face, ignoring her sister's flailing attempts to hug her. She bit her lip gently and said in a low voice, "Well... sister... I might not be able to join you for a while."

"Huh?! We're together right now, aren't we?"

"I mean in the game, you dummy!"

"Oh, why is that?"

"Nothing much..."

"Is there a boy?"

"Huh?"

".….."

"Where are you going, sister?"

"To find dad. When we were little, he said that anyone who tries to steal his daughters will get chopped by him."

"Hey!!!!!!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The End