Spacious, quiet, and sensibly laid out, it was not far from the bus stop either. Aside from lacking most daily necessities and furniture because no one had lived there, it had no flaws at all.
But for Eden, that actually counted as an advantage.
It meant Eden could freely DIY her own little nest.
Honestly, rent in the central area of Sky Dome Zone was only two thousand a month, with utilities completely covered... It felt a little unreal.
Well, maybe that was part of the investment too?
"I'll take this one." Eden pointed at the door marked 103. "As for the deposit..."
"Ah, two thousand a month is enough. No need to worry about all the miscellaneous stuff."
Liu Bai was not relying on this to make money.
"I'll register your information first, and we can handle the paperwork tomorrow. Does that work for you?"
"You're already bringing girls home?"
When Yelan came downstairs, she saw Liu Bai and Eden as well. She could not help giving Eden an extra look before greeting them.
"Be careful lately, okay? Bye~"
"...?" Liu Bai had been about to explain something, but Yelan's follow-up left him completely baffled. All he could do was watch her leave.
"Was that... a threat? Or a warning of a crime to come?"
For some reason, Liu Bai felt a chill run down his spine.
"She is..." Eden frowned slightly. Even from an observer's perspective, that woman's words had been rather unpleasant.
"Maybe she meant safety in another sense?" Guinaifen's thoughts took an unexpectedly quick turn.
"You're not getting dinner tonight."
"Eh! I was only joking!"
"Ahem, if that is the case, I don't think that lady needs to worry." Having caught the dirty joke, Eden coughed lightly, her face flushing a little.
Come to think of it, even as an investor and the one being invested in, the two of them had grown a little too close.
Though that had been predictable.
After all, social interaction was unavoidable. It was not as if she could avoid all contact with men entirely. The real key was how to maintain distance.
"I'll go back and pack my things first. Once the paperwork is done tomorrow, I can move in."
Eden left as well.
"Oh, isn't that the beauty from the library before? You moved fast, kid."
Natasha leaned over the second-floor railing, looking at Liu Bai and Guinaifen.
"She's just a tenant."
Natasha merely shrugged at Liu Bai's explanation. Asked about it, she simply did not believe him. Did finding tenants require him to go out and find someone himself, then bring her straight to the door?
Anyone who did not know better would think he was a headhunter for some celebrity company.
"My bottom line is that you don't do anything naughty anywhere besides the bedroom. I don't want to see any unidentified fluids on the floor or coffee table."
Natasha teased him, then her expression turned serious.
"You heard what Yelan said, right? That woman might not have been making a dirty joke. Try not to go out unless you have to lately... Tch, why do you have to stir up so much trouble?"
Natasha suddenly thought of Rita again.
The kid was Rita's informant now. If Rita asked him out, he would have a hard time refusing, or rather, he could only refuse once or twice at most.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Liu Bai remained fairly calm.
It was not as though he had no cards up his sleeve. He had a squad of Shenling troops, Sweet Dew Celestial, and, if it came down to it, Firefly. Even wielding the Salted Fish Blade made him a fighting force.
"I'm heading out. You two, don't cause trouble."
Natasha felt slightly irritated by Liu Bai's calm demeanor.
She still had to report Yelan's intelligence.
"Rita, has there been no progress in the search operation for the alien?"
On the screen before Rita, a blond man asked unhurriedly.
"There has been progress, Bishop." Rita lowered her head and replied respectfully. "Although World Serpent has obstructed the operation, I have already caught hold of their trail. I merely need a little more time."
What should have been a swift operation had now dragged on for nearly a week. If she had not happened to encounter Liu Bai, Rita would have had no choice but to admit defeat and return to headquarters by now.
"Do you need support?"
"There is no need to trouble Durandal for the moment."
"Then I shall look forward to your good news, Rita." Otto nodded slightly. "Also, Cecilia's daughter is in Sky Dome Zone as well, correct?"
"...Yes, and Theresa is accompanying her." Rita hesitated slightly before answering.
It was no secret that the Far East Branch and headquarters did not get along.
"I see..." Otto raised his brows, an interested expression appearing on his face. "What exactly does she intend to do... Rita, keep that girl under surveillance and await my further orders."
"...Understood."
As the screen went dark, Rita let out a long breath.
Ha... Things were getting troublesome.
She had to fight World Serpent on one side while acting as a mole on the other...
This job was truly awful.
Especially when she still had no idea what her own bishop was trying to do.
No, in truth, she could not figure out what the Far East side was doing either.
She could not make sense of any of it anymore.
That was not good news for Rita—she had always lacked a sense of security.
The feeling of being treated as a chess piece was unbearable.
That was also why she did not want Durandal involved.
Her captain was undoubtedly strong, but while open attacks were easy to evade, hidden arrows were difficult to guard against.
She could handle the dark and dangerous matters herself.
"...Maybe I really should have listened to Lady Ragna a few years ago, taken over her position, and become the captain of the assault squad. That doesn't sound too bad either."
While grumbling, Rita opened her wristband contacts and stared thoughtfully at the two pinned chats.
One belonged to Liu Bai, and the other to Theresa.
"...I should start with World Serpent."
Rita wanted to probe what the Far East side was thinking, but after considering it for a moment—
Mm... Forget it. She did not think Theresa would know anything at all.
Theresa was actually smart enough, but she had no filter.
A couple of coaxing words from someone close to her, and she would spill everything like beans from a bamboo tube. So long as Kiana's mother, Cecilia, had a functioning brain, she would not reveal any truly meaningful intelligence to Theresa.
So it would be better to breach the "Snake" stronghold. Perhaps she could obtain everything she wanted there.
At worst... losing a small battle would give her an excuse to withdraw and rightfully remain on the sidelines.
But no matter which option she chose, Rita did not want too many casualties among her team, which was why she had been trying every possible way to recruit Liu Bai.
Otherwise, the best way to lure the snake from its hole would be to seize Liu Bai as leverage.
Of course, once she did that, the two sides would truly become mortal enemies. If something happened to Liu Bai, the conflict would not end until they had beaten each other bloody.
Rita was not slow-witted. She had noticed the strange decisions from the Far East side and Yelan's ambiguous attitude. On top of that, this was not Schicksal's home ground. If anything happened, she could not count on support at all.
The strange atmosphere in Sky Dome Zone had made every one of Rita's decisions lean conservative. She had placed the option of taking Liu Bai hostage at the very bottom of the list.
Just muddle through. If it really came down to it, she would go back, submit her report, and take the punishment. Whoever wanted to step into this quagmire could do so themselves!
After all, as an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, Rita knew very well that even if she were punished, it would amount to a reprimand or confinement. Anything more severe was impossible.
All she had to say was that World Serpent had hidden too deeply, her subordinates had pursued them with all their might, but the enemy had always been one step ahead, and in the end, their efforts had fallen short.
As for the Valkyries below her who had simply followed orders, they were even less at fault.
Of course, if she could do the job well, no one wanted to be punished. Besides, Rita did not think World Serpent was a legitimate organization.
For such a furtive organization, if Rita found an opportunity to eliminate it, she would not hesitate.
Although she had quite a few objections to some of her bishop's decisions, she had absolutely no objections to the Valkyries' duty of protecting the people and resisting the Honkai.
Rita: Mr. Liu Bai, have you found out where your sister works?
"What is Rita doing in the middle of the night?"
Liu Bai had just closed his eyes when he heard his wristband buzz.
"...Is she starting to get anxious?"
Liu Bai did not reply immediately. He put on his pajamas, got out of bed, and went to knock on Natasha's door.
"The door isn't locked. Come in."
Natasha was still awake. After Liu Bai pushed the door open and entered, he saw her wearing pale yellow pajamas.
"..."
"...What are you staring at so intently?" Natasha pursed her lips.
"No, it's just... Mm, those cute-style pajamas really don't suit you."
"You came to my room in the middle of the night just to mock me?"
Natasha's face reddened, and her tone turned unfriendly as she prepared to throw him out.
"No, this is serious."
Liu Bai showed Natasha the chat record on his wristband.
"Look, what should I say?"
"You're selling her out right away?" Natasha glanced at it, then looked at Liu Bai with an amused smile.
"That's the best choice."
Liu Bai spread his hands. He did not have many options before him.
Either he sold out Natasha or he sold out Rita—not that there was no middle ground.
But the so-called middle ground was really just helping Natasha.
And trying to compromise would easily leave both sides dissatisfied.
Besides, Natasha had no reason to make things difficult for Rita, but Rita had reason to make things difficult for Natasha.
"You..." Natasha chuckled when she heard that. "Tell me what you think first, our little strategist."
Working with Liu Bai was much more pleasant than working with Jackal.
When she worked with Jackal, Natasha not only had to use her own brain, but also guard against Jackal using hers.
But with Liu Bai, their cooperation so far had been simple: leave everything to him, and he could handle it all himself while she still got a share of the benefits.
"Make her retreat in the face of difficulty. Taking action would be pretty hard for you too, right, Sister Natasha?"
"That depends on where. If it's at Shencheng Pharmaceuticals, she's dead."
Natasha was quite confident. There were plenty of monsters lurking beneath Shencheng Pharmaceuticals.
"But if she wants to run anywhere else, I really can't stop her."
Before you continue