The thunder vanished without a trace.
It was as though even the rain had retreated outside.
Within the cramped space by the window, there was utter silence for that brief instant.
Yet unmistakable confusion and helplessness surfaced in those cloudy eyes.
"I knew you would have doubts. Among everyone I've dealt with, your paranoia ranks near the top. You question everything at every moment—but what could I possibly deceive you about?"
His fingers moved, tapping a key. "Trick you into refilling an oxygen tank for me?"
"Who knows?"
Ai Qing rested a hand on her umbrella and answered decisively. "Perhaps part of what you said is true. But there must be rules you haven't told me.
Don't ask me for evidence. I'm merely suspicious of you. I can't give you my trust."
She said, "You must be hiding something from me."
"You want to raise the stakes?"
The Scapegoat blinked and sighed helplessly. "What do you want to know? The specific rules? Those are irrelevant. I can tell you now: you may not interfere with London's operations, may not use forces outside the Unified Bureau, may not cause irreversible damage, and may not harm innocent lives..."
Ai Qing lowered her eyes and listened. After a long while, she nodded in understanding.
"It sounds convincing enough."
"It is exactly as convincing as it sounds," the Scapegoat replied. "I am at your mercy, but you'd best not get greedy."
"No, don't worry. I don't like taking excessive advantage of others, nor do I doubt the rules you mentioned."
Ai Qing seemed to smile as she spoke unhurriedly. "What I doubt is the plan itself—the Regeneration Plan you spoke of—"
His raised finger twitched for an instant.
"No need to rush into explaining."
Ai Qing tapped her umbrella with a finger and slowly