Tape #②: The Tape Recording About FE204863

[A·Side-- The Ultimate Insult]

After Wood Plark left the cabinet, Victor took several cassette tapes from his pouch and placed them on his desk.

BOSS: "What is this?"

Victor tapped one of the cassettes gently—the label had bright red characters written in marker.

[FE204863· Ultimate Insult]

Victor: "It's probably classified."

The Hunter King craned his neck curiously. "What secret?"

The boss immediately lost his temper, grabbed the cassette tape, pointed at the door, and yelled, "Get out! Get out!"

Hunter King: "What secrets can't I see? I have the highest authority."

Boss: "That's an order! Get out!"

Under Professor Victor's mocking gaze, the Hunter King, with a crooked mouth, walked out of the cabinet, feeling both resentful and gloating.

Ming De pried open the WALKMAN, inserted the cassette tape, but hesitated to press play for a long time.

Victor: "A little nervous?"

BOSS: "That's true, a little."

Victor: "Not ready?"

BOSS: "Hmm"

Victor: "Should I press it for you?"

BOSS: "No, no, no, no. No, no, no."

And so, the human and the cat faced off for two minutes.

After thinking for a very long time, the BOSS finally mustered up his courage and was about to press the dark red sapphire switch to listen to what terrifying recording was hidden in the tape with the sensational title.

As the Walkman started working, a rustling sound came from the broadcasting components.

It's like it's raining, and someone is walking towards the sky in the rain.

Why is it called the Sky Station?

Because the clock in Arthur Tower keeps rising and falling, the City of Tears regularly performs artificial rainmaking procedures to disinfect every corner of the city.

"Boss, are you surprised to hear my voice again?" Sixty-Three's voice was so loud and powerful, like a proud prince consort.

Ming De quickly pressed the pause button and abruptly turned to stare at Victor.

Where did you get this cassette tape?

Victor replied immediately, "After FE204863 disappeared, I found it in the tea table drawer of the terrace salon. It must have been a message for you."

The boss's expression was complicated, and he immediately asked, "Have you heard of it?"

Victor: "Of course I've heard of it."

The boss sighed, then continued playing the recording.

Sixty-Three's state was peculiar, like pacing back and forth on the platform of the Sky Station, the sound of his leather boots hitting the floor tiles making a sticky, wet noise, and the mental demeanor he deliberately displayed seemed to be mocking and ridiculing Ming De.

"By the time you find this cassette tape, I will have already left this world."

"I've tried 3,343 times to help you safely navigate the harvest season and win this knightly tournament."

"In the more than 17,000 attempts that followed, they were all devising escape routes."

"The quality of this batch of armed employees far exceeds my expectations. Unlike the lax people in FE204863, most of these guys have anti-loss lanyards, making it very difficult to seize or steal their guns."

"Do you have any clues? Could there be a notorious thief at the station who specializes in stealing weapons from these employees?"

"In short, it took me a lot of effort to escape through the emergency evacuation route on the terrace. I dared not engage in a direct duel with Jiang Xueming —he was in his prime at twenty-three, and his skills far surpassed those of this old man in his sixties. My only advantage was completely lost in the face of [Fragrant Dream]."

"I can deceive others, I can deceive myself, but for you, my dear Ming De —I will absolutely keep my word."

"In this unfamiliar parallel universe, I can no longer find a specific goal in life. My last wish is to inflict the [Ultimate Insult] on you—I must accomplish this."

"I succeeded, and I left this recording as evidence."

"Can you hear the rain in the background? I've once again crushed your Guangling Zhixi Special Operations Team, once again infiltrated the Nine Realms Station right under the noses of numerous VIPs, lured away the Hunter King, and stolen you, this weak and helpless Black Cat."

"I'll take you to visit some of the large cemeteries in the City of Tears. You know, there are many half-dead monsters waiting for you—they've been tortured to the point of wishing they were dead by the Lapis Lazuli Guards. If any lucky ones survive, they'll surely hate you and wish they could skin you alive and devour your flesh."

"Unfortunately, you're very lucky. During harvest season, almost all passengers stop traveling and camp out at major stations; you won't find any lucky survivors in the cemetery."

"I'll take you to the commercial street in the City of Tears. Do you remember a place called <Half-Circle Cat Cafe>? If you're interested in that place, you can try revisiting it. Have a bottle of chocolate milk there, and you'll immediately feel that familiar sense of déjà vu."

"I paid the boss to have four top female performers serve you. They are all strong and powerful, and they will hold you down in the cage and torture and entertain you."

"You might be wondering why this boss didn't recognize your handsome face? Because I've already poisoned you and rendered you mute."

"After three full hours, you were covered in cuts and bruises, like a limp rag doll. Judging from the broken teeth and bloodstains in the iron cage, I am very satisfied with the result."

"After doing all this, I only felt a profound emptiness inside."

"The chain of hatred snapped in an instant, and I had no other aspirations."

"Here I would like to offer you a few words of advice, Boss."

"The Hunter King has a bad habit. She likes to go to room B3620 on the 36th floor, where you can see portraits of the other four former kings. As soon as these portraits get stained or dirty from mud, she will immediately call for a waiter to clean them—she will leave for a while, walking away from you. This is an experience I've gained through repeated trials."

"Nine Realms Station is located between the two evacuation passages B6 and B7. There is a firewall there, which is now inoperable and needs repair."

"The old building manager likes to peek at the waitresses' legs in front of the women's restroom. Don't ask me how I know."

"Victor is very sensitive to spacetime disturbances, so he tries to use medication to control this anxiety. Don't let him take too much melatonin and vitamin C, as it can affect his intelligence."

"The lobby manager likes to have the two new waiters in the customer service department get him boxed lunches, which is wrong—these two newcomers will get inexplicably angry about it and then want to go to other trading hubs to have some fun, becoming members of the Madness Butterfly Sect."

"There are 57 staff members working in shifts at the general affairs counter. Fourteen of the young women are anxious because they can't find boyfriends, as passengers and waiters are always seen in pairs, making them extremely jealous."

"Three clueless young men have tried to extort protection money from JoeStar's new bar. They're from the Rare People Mansion, and they're all promising talents who will achieve excellent results in the next tournament. I recommend you change the rules and rewards of this ridiculous competition."

"Time is running out, so I'll stop here."

"Next time at [Still Wind Point], I will have everything sorted out and will abandon the idea of running away."

"I don't know what will happen, I don't know—but I am no longer afraid, no longer hesitant."

"Perhaps this kid, Ouyang Yan, can bring me new surprises. After all, he has a family, a wife and children. If we have a second child, this little guy will be a new life I created. Like Bu Liuxing, he's a miracle I created."

"Will Jiang Xueming knock me unconscious with one punch? And continue living like an immortal in this Fragrant Dream?"

"Perhaps I'll be arrested by an even more powerful soul force? And end my life?"

"I'm mentally prepared for either one."

"At this moment, I am absolutely certain that I have overcome the [Regret Pill], and I will not run away again."

"I'll arrange everything perfectly, do it flawlessly, then walk to the salon tea area by the terrace, find a suitable spot, and take a look at the stars and the moon."

"It would be wonderful to see Bailu again."

What awaits me? I don't know, and it's precisely this uncertainty that gives me a strange sense of peace.

"Boss, don't think you've won—"

"--Turn to side B of the tape, and you'll hear the entire detailed process of [Ultimate Humiliation]. Including my negotiation with the cat cafe owner, the weather forecast from Sky Station, your screams, your weak and powerless cries, and your hysterical wails."

"Little Kitty, you exude an irresistible allure!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

[B·Side--Wood and Wealth]

"Enough!" The BOSS stared at the WALKMAN with a chilling look; its A-side had finished playing. "Enough. That's enough."

Professor Victor remained silent, waiting for the BOSS to ask further questions.

Ming De kept glancing at the tape and then at Victor, his eyes shifting frequently.

Finally, it took out the tape, ready to extend its sharp claws to destroy it, but hesitated halfway because of its intense curiosity and couldn't bring itself to do it.

Its head finally turned around--

"--What is he thinking?"

The tape was then switched to side B and inserted into the Walkman.

Sixty-Three then began to applaud.

"Boss, you did a great job! You overcame your shame."

"As a reward, I will tell you some things you never knew, things that only a spirit like me, who travels through time and space in search of knowledge at different points in time, could know."

"I come from the parallel universe of FE204863, and I fully mastered the super power of the [Regret Pill] when I was twenty-six years old."

"After holding ten thousand weddings with 9527, she maintained close contact with me and secretly provided me with information about the station."

"I have many, many teachers because of the existence of the [Regret Pill], I can learn from many people at the same time and take the knowledge to another point in time."

"Simply put, it's like finishing a Chinese language class and then being able to go back in time to another classroom to complete another course."

"Of all my teachers, the one I care about most is Wood Plark."

"He seemed to know everything about time travel, and he taught me how to use chocolate milk to adapt to spacetime disturbances and perform gravitational acceleration."

"His Soul Power is called [Sexy Bomb]. Perhaps your understanding of him is limited to that of a train conductor who can create explosions, increase the energy utilization rate of pyroxene fuel by more than ten percentage points, and has extensive experience in underground travel. But what I want to say is—"

"--He is far more complex than you imagine."

"I served and trained in the SOG, KGB, and SAS. Unlike Jiang Xueming in FE33031, our fighting skills are vastly different, almost like two different systems. Jiang Xueming's fighting style is more like the competitive skills he learned from mixed martial arts, while I learned simple and direct killing techniques from the military."

"Especially SOG—this team has many CIA informants. During my meetings with these teachers and members of US Federal, I also learned about Wood Plark."

"He is very likely a key member of the [Philosopher Foundation], and a very important one at that."

"He and Ye Bei Wehha, who is with Brother Ye Bei, also known as Chen Fugui, are not brothers."

"Their DNA samples are completely different; they are from two different races, two completely independent individuals."

Jiang Xueming once asked Wood Plark why he looked exactly like Adams Wehrmacht.

"I have the answer here--"

"--Because one of them had plastic surgery, and it was a flawless copy from head to toe, one of them became the other's [shadow warrior], just like a president's double. Even if one of them dies in an accident, there is a backup president to take over."

"Boss, you often seek Wood Plark's advice because of his excellent administrative decision-making abilities. He has helped you a lot behind the scenes. I don't mean to sow discord between you two. I just want to tell you all this."

"These two are informants left behind by the [Philosopher Foundation] in the Abyssal Railway and Tian Shu—they look identical and have similar physiques, as if they were double agents arranged for a special period to carry out an intelligence mission."

"An unseen hand is helping you. They come from the [Philosopher Foundation], and they determine the order of the entire underworld, and the course of its future."

"We may be able to relax for now and bask in the joy of the harvest season, but let's not forget one thing: BOSS, everything you've done is for the sake of all humanity, temporarily binding us to a community of shared interests, to a high-speed train moving forward."

"If one day you harbor any improper thoughts, I'm afraid Wood Plark will be the first to press the detonator and detonate the bomb you can't see."

"The same applies to Tian Shu; these superhumans with abundant psionic energy also have a safety lock, with Adams Wehrmacht quietly guarding the Qiongqi beast."

"The only way to identify them is by the butterfly tattoos on their necks, much like the unit designations and insignia used to identify military affiliations."

"Good luck, Boss."

"My story is over, but your story is very, very long."

"FE204863, FE204863, FE204863."

What followed was a long wait--

--The sound of rain, bells, and music broadcast over the platform.

Two minutes passed.

Like a hidden recording on a cassette tape, Sixty-Three spoke again.

What are you waiting for?

"Are we waiting for the full details of [The Ultimate Insult], Boss?"

"Hahahahahahahaha! Haha..."

That concludes His Majesty the Demon King's message.

Ming De scratched his head and asked Victor.

Did he actually do it? Was the "Ultimate Insult" he mentioned to me true?

Victor: "You only care about this?"

BOSS: "Yes, Secretary Plark is a very mysterious guy to me. I have no hostility towards him. He's a great advisor, able to arrange everything perfectly, highly capable and kind-hearted. Even though he's a special agent with a complicated background, I trust him completely—I can guarantee that as long as my brain doesn't malfunction, I won't have the idiotic idea of going against all of humanity. But whether [The Ultimate Insult] is real is very important to me; it might become my inner demon."

"Not this time," Victor assured the BOSS. "At least this time, I couldn't read any hint of [the Ultimate Insult] in his mind."

The boss gaped. "This time?"

"Yes," Victor's gaze grew colder. "As I turn the pages, I can see many major events in his mind, including..."

BOSS: "Holy crap!"

Victor finally said.

"Perhaps Sixty-Three has long used you as a tool for venting his anger, and has had his fun countless times, but you just didn't know it."