Chapter 42: Preparations for an Arrest

The moment that brilliant idea struck, Chen couldn’t wait another second.

He needed privacy.

He needed to prepare.

“Let’s go!

Back to the hotel, now!” Chen made a snap decision, completely abandoning his original plan to wander the city and gather intel.

He spun on his heel and began walking briskly back the way they came, his steps betraying a evident eagerness.

“Huh?

Back to the hotel?” March 7th was stunned for a moment before scrambling to keep up.

“Why are we suddenly going back?

We just got out!

We haven’t even had breakfast yet!”

As if on cue, his stomach let out a loud, cooperative rumble.

“Chen, did something happen?” Dan Heng asked, his calm voice laced with curiosity.

He, too, found Chen’s abrupt change of plans unusual.

Chen flashed a conspiratorial grin, deliberately lowering his voice to create an atmosphere of shared secrecy.

“Hehe, that’s a secret for now!

Just let me get ready, and I’ll show you all something amazing!” He paused for dramatic effect.

“Trust me, it’s a huge surprise!

And it’s directly related to our next move!”

“A surprise?

What kind of surprise?” March 7th’s imagination was already taking flight.

“Is it about Young Master Bronya?

You didn’t steal his wallet, did you?”

“It’s so much more exciting than that!” Chen dangled the mystery in front of them, quickening his pace even more.

“Let’s just get back first, we’ll talk when we’re there!

I guarantee it’ll be an eye-opener!”

Seeing his confident demeanor, like a player about to unleash a fully charged Ultimate, Dan Heng remained skeptical but didn’t voice any further objections.

Qiong, sensing only Chen’s infectious excitement, obediently picked up his pace as well.

The group practically jogged all the way back to the hotel.

The lobby was still deserted in the early morning quiet, with only the front desk attendant dozing behind the counter.

Chen bolted up the stairs to the second floor first.

Reaching his room, he fished out the key but didn’t immediately unlock the door.

Instead, he turned to his three companions who had trailed him, his gaze landing on March 7th, whose face was practically radiating curiosity.

“You guys wait for me out here at the door!

I need to go in and prepare.

It’ll be quick!” he declared.

“And absolutely, absolutely no peeking!”

He delivered the line with theatrical solemnity, even throwing a playful wink at March 7th.

“So mysterious…” March grumbled, but the expectant gleam in his eyes only grew brighter.

“Hurry up, then!

Don’t keep us waiting too long!”

Dan Heng folded his arms, leaning his shoulder against the corridor wall with an air of detached amusement.

His calm posture seemed to say, ‘Alright, let’s see what kind of trick you have up your sleeve.’

Qiong stood quietly beside Dan Heng, his gaze fixed on the closed wooden door, also waiting in patient silence.

Chen took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and slipped inside, closing it firmly behind him.

The room was just as he had left it: simple, quiet, and unassuming.

This was exactly the privacy he needed.

He walked quickly to the center of the room, his heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation.

His consciousness sank into the familiar gray expanse of his game interface, his gaze locking onto the newly illuminated icon: the one belonging to Bronya.

The spirited young woman depicted in the icon bore a striking resemblance to the Young Master Bronya he had just met, yet she was distinctly different.

It was a face that blended a certain feminine grace with an unwavering, steely resolve.

Just as Chen locked the door and excitedly prepared for his first attempt at using the Bronya icon’s ability, a different kind of preparation was underway deep within the Qlipoth Fort of the Administrative District.

Young Master Bronya walked through the silent, echoing corridor that led to his father’s office.

Gepard had been summoned here immediately after the morning address and was likely delivering his report right now.

For him to be summoned next…

it had to be an important matter, almost certainly related to whatever Gepard had just reported.

It might even be connected to the sudden, city-wide security alert that had been issued that morning.

He stopped before a set of heavy wooden doors, carefully carved with the emblem of Belobog’s founding builders, and raised a hand to knock.

“Come in.”

A low, resonant voice answered from within.

It was the voice of his father, Supreme Guardian Cocolia.

Bronya pushed the door open and stepped inside.

His father sat behind a large, imposing desk, his back to the door, staring out the grand window at the eternally gray sky of Belobog.

Captain Gepard stood ramrod straight beside the desk, nodding in a crisp salute as Bronya entered.

“Father.” Bronya stopped at a respectful distance from the desk, his voice clear and formal.

Mr.

Cocolia turned his chair around.

His once handsome and majestic face was now shrouded in a deep, unshakeable weariness and a strange, indescribable gloom.

His gaze, heavy with a weight Bronya couldn’t quite decipher, fell upon his son.

“Bronya,” Mr.

Cocolia began.

“Gepard has already briefed you on this morning’s orders.

Now, I need you to personally take charge of a matter.”

Bronya’s heart tightened, but his expression remained a mask of perfect composure.

“Yes, Father.

Please give your instructions.”

“Yesterday, some people who should not be here managed to sneak into Belobog,” his father stated.

His tone was deceptively calm, yet it carried a chilling, murderous undercurrent.

“They are a variable potent enough to disrupt the fragile order we have left in Belobog, and to interfere with our great cause of fighting the Eternal Freeze and the Fragmentum.”

“Father, do you believe they are connected to the Fragmentum’s corrosion?” Bronya asked cautiously.

“Connected?” A strange, almost distorted smile twisted Mr.

Cocolia’s lips.

“Far more direct.

Far more dangerous.

Bronya, my son, the future of Belobog rests on your shoulders.

I will not allow any uncertain factors to threaten the fortress we have defended for seven hundred years…

to threaten the will of Preservation.”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, yet it was filled with a terrifying, cold fanaticism.

“Find them.

Once their identities are confirmed, take them into custody immediately, at all costs.

Then…

bring them before me.

I will personally…

interrogate them.”

Bronya’s heart sank.

‘Father’s condition…

it’s getting worse.

It feels as if something is clouding his judgment.’

His gaze flickered briefly to Gepard, who stood unmoving at his side.

The Captain of the Silvermane Guards met his eyes for a fraction of a second, but his expression held nothing but unwavering loyalty.

He had clearly accepted the order without question.

As a Silvermane Guard, obedience was their first and highest duty.

A thousand questions churned in Bronya’s chest, but in the end, he lowered his head, suppressing all his doubts and the deep unease coiling in his gut.

When he looked up again, his face had regained the unassailable composure expected of the heir to the Supreme Guardian.

“I understand, Father,” he responded, his voice steady and deep.

“I will personally deploy and mobilize reliable personnel to search for these four individuals within the city.

Once they are found, your orders will be executed immediately.”

“Very good.” Mr.

Cocolia seemed to sigh in relief, leaning back into the depths of his chair and waving a dismissive hand.

“Go.

Time is of the essence.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bronya saluted crisply, then turned and exited the office with Gepard at his side.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely: