A Precious Gift

Unlike the anxiety and discontent hidden beneath the surface of the Nightless Sky Huo Le, this was different.

At this moment, President Paris felt a sense of calm, as if he already knew the Truth.

Although he was somewhat worried when he first heard the rumors that suddenly spread City That Never Sleeps during the initial deployment, he was still concerned that he might be exposed, and that he might be investigated and suspected.

But soon, this old fox, who had climbed his way up from the bottom to the top and was very familiar with City That Never Sleeps, was able to smell something special in those rumors.

These messages... were definitely leaked on purpose.

Although the motives of the person who leaked the information are still unclear, Paris knows full well...

The more chaotic the situation, the safer you are.

Even if someone were to report that they were planning to facilitate the assassination of Royal Nobles, it would be difficult to gain their trust immediately.

Paris even had some doubts...

"Could all of this have been orchestrated by that Sherlock?"

If that's the case, then this person's scheme is truly enormous.

The entire Noble circle within the Inner City that City That Never Sleeps is discussing this rumor, whose origins are unknown but which seems quite credible.

But regardless, for President Paris, who is already on the wrong path and knows part of the mystery...

These vague rumors, on the contrary, only strengthened his confidence.

As for the mysteriously disappeared Sherlock, Paris believed he was certainly plotting something.

"Your Excellency, Lord Nightless Sky Huo Le City, I don't think we need to worry too much about Mr. Sherlock. After all, his unconventional style is nothing new..."

"Besides," President Paris glanced at his watch, "Although he hasn't shown up yet, the gift he prepared should arrive soon."

Although the coming-of-age ceremony and banquet will begin in the evening, most guests will arrive in the afternoon.

However, the birthday gifts prepared by the powerful and wealthy for Nightless Sky Fire Apricot were often delivered by Servant in advance, partly to avoid trouble, and partly... naturally, for security reasons as well.

This was also a customary rule among the Noble —to prevent anyone from tampering with the gifts and using it to harm others.

After thorough security certification and inspection, the gifts will be stored in Warehouse or exhibition hall. There will be a special session for Nightless Sky Fire Apricot to "visit" some of the gifts displayed in the exhibition hall.

This is also a major reason why Nightless Sky Huo Ming plans to steal one of the gifts... With limited time, complicated procedures, and a large number of gifts that need to be moved around, it's easy for mistakes and opportunities to be taken advantage of.

After all, it was supposed to be Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's birthday party, and many of the gifts were presented to the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot Nightless Sky Family by Noble and company managers in Huo Xing's name. The quantity and number of these gifts were quite considerable.

Rare and precious, it showcases wealth and status, and is a way to cultivate relationships with the Nightless Sky Family...

Among all the criteria for gift-giving, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot likes it and is happy is the least important; just like the purpose of giving a gift, celebrating Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's birthday is also the least important.

Of course, if you still want to personally hand it over to the Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, you can inform the Nightless Sky Family in advance. In this way, after the gift has been checked and found to be correct, the Servant will return it to the guest when the guest arrives.

Judging from the current applications, it seems that only Saint Orchid Kui intends to do so.

The gift convoy from the Saint Orchid Family was also the first to arrive.

"The Saint Orchid Family's congratulatory gift has arrived."

"Fifteen Night Orchid Coral Trees, twelve bolts of Golden Silk Brocade, ten ornamental Alchemical Creation, one Black Marsh Blood Crystal, one Prison Mountain Blood Lotus..."

Boxes of gifts were brought in, followed by those from the Solence Family.

"Three sets of Complete Skeleton of a Savage Beast, thirty pieces of superior-grade Red Gold, thirty pieces of superior-grade White Copper, one bottle of Mist Island Manor Vintage..."

Mercury and the Autumn Family arrived almost at the same time.

After that, there were no more convoys of gifts sent in the name of the family. Instead, high-level gifts sent in their personal capacity by the Duke, Marquis and top Board Members and executives of the Three Great Corporations appeared one after another, delivered by their personal assistants or butlers.

Next, for Noble with the title of Count and high-ranking officials of slightly lower rank, their offspring or even their own children would come first to deliver gifts.

The strict hierarchical Order of the City That Never Sleeps was vividly displayed at this moment in the form of a queue at the side gate of the Nightless Sky Family.

While the stewards Servant of the Nightless Sky Family were counting the gifts in order...

A small pickup truck from the Truth Company drove straight in from the other side and stopped directly at the side door.

Nightless Sky Huo Le glanced at the bright orange pickup truck with the Truth Company logo on the front and two orange stickers next to it, then frowned and looked at Paris: "Why did you have someone drive this over here?"

Although this was the first time she had seen the Nightless Sky Huo Le, she could easily guess that this wild and flamboyant car belonged to Paris!

President Paris quickly interjected, "Your Excellency, although this is my car, I have already lent it out along with my subordinates..."

"Your Excellency, the Dignified Lord Nightless Sky Huo Le City, this carriage is now being used by Mr. Sherlock —in other words, his gift has arrived."

The car door opened at that moment.

Paris saw the figure coming down and quickly greeted it.

"Stiller, why did you park the car right at the entrance?"

Stiller stood there silently for a moment, then replied, "President, it's Mr. Sherlock's instruction—he wants me to deliver it as soon as possible."

Then, Stiller pointed to the huge box-like object covered by a black cloth behind the pickup truck.

The curt tone made Paris look embarrassed. He looked at Nightless Sky Huo Le and said, "Your Excellency, my subordinate has been working in the Security Department for a long time and has been in the Great Wilderness for a while. He is not very familiar with the rules."

Nightless Sky Huo Le shook its head. "It's alright. Since Sherlock said his gift needs to be delivered as soon as possible, let's give him priority..."

What was given as a gift?

Nightless Sky Huo Le spoke, two Servant stepped forward and lifted the black cloth.

Then, gasps of amazement rose from the surrounding crowd.

"That's a brilliant move!"

Even though the people around him were all Noble and confidants of the company's top executives, all of whom were well-informed, they couldn't help but marvel at the gift that appeared in the back seat.

Even the Nightless Sky Huo Le nodded slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

"That's really thoughtful of you..."

It was a huge landscape aquarium—complete with seaweed, reefs, and gravel.

In this world without a sea, ever since we began exchanging goods with Other Worlds, everything related to the "Ocean" has become a top-tier luxury item that best reflects one's status!

Ordinary Noble considered it an honor to own a specimen of an Ocean creature—and many Commoner would even tattoo Ocean creatures they had seen or recognized on their bodies to show off their extensive knowledge.

The most powerful and wealthy individuals, on the other hand, would own aquariums filled with seawater and Ocean life!

Aquariums like these, which contain seaweed, are already extremely valuable.

But this was not enough to arouse the astonishment of those around them.

Because in this aquarium, everyone saw a live, tiny Octopus swimming happily inside.

Of course, most people present didn't recognize it as Octopus; they only knew it as some kind of magical and beautiful Ocean creature.

Only a few Noble knew what it was—but most of them had never seen a live one, and even if they had, they had never seen such a beautiful Pink Octopus.

At this moment, even without the words of the Nightless Sky Huo Le, no one was dissatisfied with the gift that Sherlock had sent "by surprise".

Such a precious gift should be placed before my mundane possessions!