Click... click... fwoosh!
His fingers flicked the lighter. A flame danced in the dim room as Shen Xinghai lit a cigarette.
He puffed out clouds of smoke.
Zhu Dalong crouched by the window, pulling aside the curtain and watching Li Wan's residence across the way through binoculars.
"Captain Shen, why hasn't a single person from the Heart of the Order Keeper gotten a Key? Isn't that pathetic? And this guy is practically a thug. Sure, he's easy to get along with, but he's full of schemes... The fact that someone like him got one is just... an insult to me."
"Aren't I more of a bastard than he is?" Zhu Dalong sounded rather resentful.
Shen Xinghai leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "Li Wan really isn't much use. With his strength, he'll probably be eliminated in the first round of this contest. He's just a little crafty. I don't believe his mission would involve Apocalypse Church."
"Then...?" Zhu Dalong scratched his head.
"We tried hypnotizing him, but discovered that some kind of signal-blocking effect had been placed on him, preventing us from making him tell the truth... That means someone is backing him."
Shen Xinghai puffed out smoke. "Someone wants to use him to achieve their own goals. That person is probably another Holy Grail participant."
"So we need to find out who's behind him?" Zhu Dalong asked.
"Why bother?" Shen Xinghai smiled. "Their intentions are pretty clear too. They want to cooperate with us. Judging by that, they don't have a major power behind them. Rather than laying everything out in the open, we might as well leave it as a tacit understanding. Given the mission involving Apocalypse Church, they probably have the Golden Key."
"At least they're a good person, aren't they?"
Zhu Dalong nodded.
"From now