Fu Hua • Formal Dress, Parts One, Two, and Three

It's exactly 3 PM.

A black RV drove silently down an empty street. The afternoon sun shone into the back seat, and the girl looked out the window. Her profile was bathed in soft light, and her fair skin seemed almost transparent for a moment.

Her pupils, beneath her eyelashes, were the color of the deep blue sea, like a Presius opal gradually sinking into clear lake water, shifting with a strange and beautiful radiance.

Fu Hua had just put on colored contact lenses, and they looked surprisingly good on her. She glanced at her reflection in the car window, turned her head, and with a slight smile, asked the person next to her:

Is this appropriate?

Su Qing'an looked up and carefully observed the shimmering light in her pupils, and said:

"It's very beautiful."

The girl nodded without reacting to the comment, but the upward curve of her pale pink lips deepened slightly.

She continued to look out the window at the road conditions, and Su Qing'an could hardly guess what she was thinking.

Wraith skillfully steered the wheel, while secretly glancing at the interaction between the two through the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.

Normally, this kind of driving job wouldn't be hers, an A-rank Valkyrie. There were other colleagues at the base who specialized in these kinds of odd jobs, but out of her curiosity, Wraith took the initiative to do all the work.

This vehicle is a product of Schicksal's design; aside from some features that make it feel safe and reliable, various thoughtful weapons appear along with some strange buttons.

Wraith used it on many missions, and after almost every mission she would spray-paint it with a different shell as a trivial cover-up. In fact, it was more like using the guise of cover-up to get reimbursed funds to paint it with her favorite designs.

Simply put, this is Wraith's beloved car.

But compared to its former days of charging into battle, this car now serves only as a tool for Wraith to read gossip.

After calculating the distance, Wraith slowed down and said:

"We're almost there, you can start changing your clothes now."

Upon hearing this, the two tacitly took out clothing from their bags, which were part of the mission's items.

They are a butler's outfit and a formal dress that exudes the air of a young lady.

Theoretically, the two weren't attending a very formal banquet. As an auction that exuded an eerie atmosphere, dressing so formally would have been rather strange. They only chose to dress this way to fit their personas as much as possible.

Furthermore, the trench coats and school uniforms they are currently wearing are rather out of place; changing into the clothes prepared by Schicksal would naturally be interpreted as the reserve of nobles.

Su Qing'an took the clothes and walked to the front seat. Then, he thoughtfully pulled the curtain that came with the car, covering the girl in the back seat.

Wraith glanced at the boy's figure in the rearview mirror. The body revealed after he took off his clothes had smooth, angular muscles. His overall full frame was lean, and his excellent proportions were pleasing to the eye. But what was most eye-catching was the incredibly eerie, mysterious vermilion pattern on his straight back, which was as tall as bamboo.

Artificial Stigmata...?

The image of Su Qing'an's mind. She silently rolled down the rearview mirror, her gaze returning without a second thought, and looked straight ahead.

Perhaps, we all share the same fate.

This might be the barrier that exists between those two people.

After all, what right do people with no future have to have any expectations?

Wraith sighed inwardly.

Only by burning brightly... and completing what you want to do before dying an ugly death, will you have no regrets.

But... if one's heart truly flutters with emotion, how could one bear to see her destined to be sad?

Ten minutes later, dozens of vehicles of all kinds parked around the building.

The black RV slowly followed the crowd and parked on the desolate roadside. Su Qing'an had already changed into her butler's uniform, looked at the vehicles outside that had tacitly avoided entering the building's underground parking lot, and she understood somewhat about these people's attitude towards this auction.

Obviously, even if they are treated like fools, very few people who actually go in are complete idiots. The outcome of rushing in is unknown; no one knows whether they will be greeted with polite and thoughtful service or with all sorts of open and covert attacks.

What if this so-called auction is actually a large-scale kidnapping disguised as an auction?

If you want money, you can do the same thing without paying any price.

Furthermore, the other party chose such a remote location, and those who were willing to come even so all had reasons why they had to come.

Perhaps they coveted the power that weapons could bring, or perhaps they had a seriously ill family member in bed, or perhaps they were simply seeking greater profits.

In any case, the current situation is clearly one where everyone is in a wait-and-see mode.

If no one shows up to break the deadlock, this gathering will become a joke.

But this is clearly not the outcome the other party wants.

"Su Qing'an, take a look."

Fu Hua drew back the curtain, clearly indicating that she was now dressed in the gown.

This garment, designed to fully showcase feminine charm, is completely different from the androgynous clothes she usually wears. It unleashes the feminine charm that was previously neutralized by her clothing choices.

The information inside the purse indicates that this dress has a very romantic-sounding name.

The Moonlight in the Fairy Tale symbolizes that beauty is everywhere.

The girl's dress is made primarily of soft tulle.

The silver-gray tulle skirt is decorated with delicate patterns of stars, moons, and pegasus, with translucent rhinestone beads peeking through the layers of tulle.

The intricate textures on the fabric give a sense of tranquility and gentleness.

To create the visual effect of moonlight cascading down the skirt, the designer also made extensive use of a slightly pearlescent silver-gray fabric, which is very romantic.

Her shoulders were like those of a sculpted figure, and her waist as slender as a silken thread.

The young woman's ethereal beauty and otherworldly charm perfectly complemented the gown.

But this was completely different from her usual attire, making it difficult for Su Qing'an to express her amazement at her true appearance for a moment.

"It's very beautiful."

After offering her dry praise, before the young man could even feel annoyed, Fu Hua continued:

I was referring to the invitation.

After handing over the invitation, she leaned closer and placed her slender hand on the paper.

The slender, pale fingertips lingered on the sentence above.

[We are delighted that you accepted our invitation. However, this is not the proper place for us to meet; this is to prevent any minor accidents. We apologize for the inconvenience, Miss Anastasia.]

Su Qing'an frowned and asked:

When did this phrase first appear?

The girl responded softly:

"Just now, this must be some kind of instantaneous technology; this message will appear at a fixed time."

Her alluring fragrance as she approached, the clearly defined lines of her collarbone, her slender and supple waist, and the subtle, taut curves of her gauze skirt against her hips and back—all these should have been deadly poisons. Yet, when one looked directly into the girl's limpid eyes beneath her drooping eyelashes, all desire naturally vanished.

For Su Qing'an, this mission was just beginning, and he seemed to be gradually witnessing a side of Fu Hua that had never been shown before.

This made him feel very happy; the things that had sprouted in his heart were gradually branching out and growing, but what would the final result be...?

No one can understand whether it will be bitter, sweet, or the loneliest emptiness.

Su Qing'an nodded to indicate that she understood, but a smile appeared on her face.

The girl didn't see the smile on his face. She glanced at the extra square pattern on the invitation and continued:

"And this is the QR code that indicates the actual address of the auction."

"In a sense, we really were tricked, but given the results of our previous reconnaissance, this situation is understandable."

"The lax defenses and security here, along with the emptiness outside the auction hall, all seem reasonable now that I think about it."

"This is still a cautious approach; we'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way."

The girl scanned the QR code, looked at the resulting address, and murmured:

"Downtown, huh? That's really bold."

"Wraith, go to this address."

"This mission is probably not as simple as we thought."