Raymond

"What big event?" Luo Qiusheng still didn't look up, his eyes fixed on the old book in his hands.

Qilan leaned close to Luo Qiusheng's ear and said with a grin, "They say it's a trip to Siberia, but really, it's a mission assigned by the College. You have to pay for the activity expenses yourself, but if you take part in an Execution Department mission along the way, all the expenses are waived, and you might even make a profit."

Luo Qiusheng paused at Qilan's words, picked up the phone issued by Kassel College, and opened the college forum.

He scrolled down and, sure enough, found the event Qilan had mentioned. It just wasn't happening until a year later.

"You have to sign up this far in advance?"

"Yeah. It's freezing there, after all. Even though we're all Hybrids, they still need time to prepare."

At the mention of Siberia, Luo Qiusheng immediately thought of Black Swan Bay. Siberia, an experimental base—wasn't that where Zero had come from?

His fingers tightened abruptly around the page.

He looked up at Qilan. "What are the rules for forming a team?"

"You can team up freely, with no more than three people per team. The teachers won't assign anyone. They say there are traces of faint dragon energy lingering deep in the ruins. The College suspects there may be remains of low-ranking dragons, and students are allowed to collect dragon bone fragments for alchemy and forging." Qilan scratched his head. "I was planning to ask you along, but judging by your reaction, you want to go too?"

As far as he could remember, the original story hadn't mentioned this mission... event.

But in a year, they'd be third-years, more or less, wouldn't they?

"Is there a deadline to sign up?" Luo Qiusheng asked.

Qilan looked at his phone and replied, "A year. Anyway, very few third-years sign up. The third-years who came back said it's no place for humans to live, and the casualty rate's pretty high."

A glimmer of understanding flashed in Luo Qiusheng's eyes. Was Zero following him around today because she had her eye on next year's practical mission?

Black Swan Bay held all the shameful memories of her past, and it also concealed the dragon materials left behind by Herzog's experiments. She would have to go back to look for clues. Meanwhile, he needed dragon bone. Their goals aligned, so it made sense that she'd come looking for him.

"I've already got someone in mind for my team. Find someone else to go with," Luo Qiusheng said, calmly turning him down as he began to work out a plan.

Qilan didn't press him. He left the dorm with his chocolate, and silence fell at once. Only the deepening night beyond the window remained. In the distance, the clock tower at Kassel College struck eight, its low toll echoing across the campus.

Luo Qiusheng slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed at the moon. He let out a long sigh. "Have you ever been lonely?"

The next day, Luo Qiusheng was the first to leave the dorm. After saying goodbye to Headmaster Angers, he strolled out of Kassel College. As he waited for the train, he happened to notice a man beside him who looked familiar. It seemed the man had been following him the whole way.

Secret Party surveillance? Or had that guy already taken an interest in me?

After that, they boarded a train, got off, and caught a plane. The man stuck to Luo Qiusheng like a plaster, and Luo Qiusheng amusedly noticed that whenever he looked his way, the fellow would suddenly start doing something else.

Pretending to sell newspapers, hawking pancakes, asking for directions, getting lost as a tourist...

But the more Luo Qiusheng looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. When they got off at a Beijing subway station, Luo Qiusheng grabbed him outright.

"Finger? How long were you planning to follow me?"

Finger von Frings slapped Luo Qiusheng's hand away, attempting one last excuse. "Well, fancy meeting you here! You're visiting China too?"

Luo Qiusheng made up an excuse on the spot. "I'm visiting relatives. Besides, even if I were traveling, that's something I'd do after graduation, right? The College hasn't given us a break or a day off."

Finger: "???"

Young man, how did you manage to lie through your teeth with such a straight face?

The Secret Party had shown him Luo Qiusheng's file. How could an orphan have relatives?

"Well, damn, then I guess I'll just have to squeeze in at your table, junior."

What followed was Finger's one-man show. He let himself go completely, while Luo Qiusheng walked ahead, leading the way like an old nanny.

"By the way, where'd your relatives come from?" Finger blurted out. Luo Qiusheng hadn't expected that question at all.

It didn't sound like something Finger would say. Luo Qiusheng gave him a strange look. "Don't think I don't know the Secret Party sent you to keep tabs on me. I won't stop you or get in your way, and I don't need you to pull strings for me. But could you at least be a little more polite?"

Had the butterfly effect nudged the main plot of Dragon Tribe off its predetermined course? Would Fenrir still be beneath the Beijing train station? Would Jormungandr enroll at the College at this crucial moment? All of it was uncertain.

Finger grinned carelessly. "Visiting relatives? Or did you take a fancy to some girl?"

"Tell your senior all about it. I'll give you some pointers!"

Luo Qiusheng slapped away the hand Finger had suddenly draped over his shoulder. "Keep your distance. I'm not into guys."

"A girl... Hey, actually, there is one. But she belongs to Chu Zihang. I've got to find a way to bring her back."

"Heh heh heh! Want your senior to help?" Finger smirked. "I get it, I get it. She belongs to Chu Zihang, definitely not you."

Luo Qiusheng's face darkened. He looked at the irritating Finger and calculated their fighting strength.

Luo Qiusheng, stay calm. He's the kind of man who can cleave an overpass in two with one slash.

Luo Qiusheng, you have Constantine's dragon bone. Your full power is practically that of a First Generation. Why be afraid of a Hybrid? Just hit him!

It was as if two little figures were arguing in his mind, one an angel and the other a devil.

"You... I... Ah..."

Finger still seemed determined to fan the flames. "Hey, junior, what's wrong?"

"Let it all burn..."

At a proper Beijing roast duck restaurant, while the owner was serving the dishes, Luo Qiusheng searched for a location on his phone.

At the same time, he added Raymond, the agent with the codename B007, Deep Sea Cod.

As soon as Luo Qiusheng had landed in Beijing, Hilbert von Ange had sent him a friend recommendation for Raymond.

Finger was absorbed in the food across the table and paid Luo Qiusheng no mind. While he went to wash his hands, Luo Qiusheng slipped out of the restaurant and made his way to a subway entrance.

After saving the location, he promptly left again. He'd already added Raymond as a friend. His first message hadn't been a greeting; he'd sent the location straight away. That was the kind of professional instinct forged by years spent skirting danger.

He might not have the strength of the protagonist's team, but he was a capable agent.

Following the location, Luo Qiusheng soon found a man wearing a hat, sitting beneath a tree and looking around furtively. He was sipping coffee at a leisurely pace.

Luo Qiusheng walked over in a few strides.