The more than ten hours of transoceanic flight did not consume the little guys' strong energy.
When the Gulfstream passenger plane landed smoothly on the Tokyo private apron, the sky outside the port window had been dyed orange-red by the setting sun.
Mount Fuji in the distance was only a blurry silhouette in the dusk, and there was a moist smell different from New York in the air.
"Are we there! Can we see the glowing Ultraman!"
Reggie was the first to unbuckle his seat belt and jumped up, his whole face pressed against the glass, wanting to rush out now.
Annie also curiously opened the window and looked at the architectural styles below that were completely different from United States.
Kevin, on the other hand, carefully held the kettle in his arms. Yesterday he watched a documentary about Japan's food on the plane. Now he is deeply wary of this land, fearing that Charlie will be made into sashimi if he is not careful.
Lynn stretched out, folded the blanket on his legs and put it aside.
"Bring your own backpacks and don't leave your things on the seats. Reggie, wipe the potato chip residue from the corners of your mouth, we are getting off the plane."
Lynn is like a parent with a spring outing group, orderly directing the children to line up.
Black Noir was still like a soulless ghost, silently standing up from the sofa in the corner and following the back of the team.
He said nothing, but the cold air that kept strangers away made the flight attendant who opened the door of the plane couldn't help but shudder.
The cabin door opened, and a cool evening breeze blew in.
There were already three black luxury cars parked on the tarmac.
A middle-aged man wearing a crisp suit and slicked-back hair was standing by the car with several assistants, waiting.
Seeing Lynn walking down the gangway, the middle-aged man immediately came up to him, bending at almost ninety degrees.
"Lynn Director, welcome to Tokyo, I am the head of the Vought International Asia branch, Sato."
The man spoke English fluently, but there was an obvious nervousness in his tone.
His peripheral vision couldn't help but glance at the children behind Lynn, especially when he saw the heavily armed ninja in black who came down at the end, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
As the head of the branch, Sato certainly knows who he is picking up today.
That is Vought International's core confidential asset, a living weapon that President Edgar personally ordered to be treated with the highest standards.
Not to mention that there are killing gods like Black Noir following him.
This is not picking up an airport. This is simply picking up a few nuclear bombs that will level Tokyo at any time.
"Thank you for your hard work, Minister Sato, have you arranged the car? The children have been on the plane all day and need to eat something good and rest."
Lynn smiled gently and did not put on any high airs.
"Of course, of course! Everything is arranged."
Sato quickly opened the door of the stretch car in the middle, "We did not book those commercial hotels, but followed your instructions and booked a top-notch traditional Japanese Manor in the suburbs. It is very quiet there and there will be absolutely no media disturbance."
Lynn nodded and asked the children to get on the bus.
The motorcade drove out of the airport smoothly and merged into the Tokyo evening traffic.
Neon lights began to flash in this bustling city.
The huge two-dimensional animation billboards and brightly colored signboards on both sides of the street made Reggie and Annie unable to take their eyes off them.
"Lynn, what is that?" Annie asked, pointing to a huge pink cherry blossom set on the roadside.
"That's where they sell desserts. If you behave well tomorrow, we can go eat cherry blossom-flavored ice cream and wagashi."
Lynn leaned on the soft leather seat and patiently answered the children's strange questions.
John sat quietly next to Lynn. Although he would also look out the window, more often than not, he was observing Lynn.
He found that when Lynn faced the minister Sato who kept wiping his sweat, although he kept smiling, his eyes did not have the warmth that Long Island Estate had towards them.
John is very smart. He can feel that in this huge machine named Vought International, except for Lynn, everyone else looks at them with something called fear.
This feeling made him feel a little bored, but it also made him lean closer to Lynn.
After about an hour, the motorcade finally left the noisy urban area and entered a quiet mountain forest.
A large antique Japanese Manor appeared in front of everyone.
Tall wooden walls, exquisite dry landscape gardens, and service staff wearing kimonos waiting respectfully at the door.
The air is filled with a faint scent of rosin and Tatami grass.
"Wow, this looks like a ninja village from the movies."
Reggie jumped out of the car with his schoolbag on his back and walked around the gravel road excitedly.
"Lynn Director, dinner is ready, it is the highest quality kaiseki cuisine."
Sato followed Lynn, lowered his voice, and his tone became a little solemn, "But... there is one thing I must report to you. Before your plane landed, the security personnel outside the Manor discovered something not quite right."
Lynn stopped and the smile on his face faded a bit, "Speak clearly."
"It's those people from the Onmyōji family."
Sato swallowed, "They don't know where they got the news. They knew that Vought International's people were coming. Although they didn't break in directly, we found many birds and paper figures made of Talisman Paper in the woods outside the Manor. Those are their Shikigami. They are monitoring us."
Sato is really at the top of one and two big ones now.
Vought International wants to open the Japan market, but those ancient families are extremely exclusive.
Caught in the middle, he was afraid that a war would start if the two sides disagreed, and he, the head of the branch, would definitely be the first to be used as cannon fodder.
Lynn didn't speak. He just raised his head slightly and looked over Manor's simple eaves to the dark woods not far away.
In his sight, there were indeed several palm-sized paper birds with strange red runes painted on their bodies, which were sitting quietly on the branches.
Although there is no life, the cold feeling of being spied on is real.
John, who was standing next to Lynn, also noticed something strange.
The boy Azure's eyes instantly locked onto a paper bird parked on the wall, and a dangerous red light began to glow in the depths of his pupils.
He has seen it more than once in Long Island Estate.
With just one word from Lynn, he didn't even need a second to turn the forest into ashes along with those paper birds.
But just when John was about to take action, Lynn's gentle palm gently pressed on his shoulder.
The red light gradually faded away.
John turned his head and looked at Lynn.
"It's just a few pieces of tattered paper, don't bother with it. If they only dare to hide in the woods and peek, then let them take a look."
Lynn patted John's shoulder in a calm tone, as if brushing off a little dust on his clothes.
He turned around and looked at Sato with a nervous face.
"Tell the security personnel not to worry about those origami toys. If they dare to cross this fence, let me know."
Lynn took Annie's hand and waved to the children who were still looking around in the courtyard.
"Okay, little guys, put your luggage in the room first. I heard that there will be a very rich grilled Wagyu and tempura tonight. Wash your hands and we are going to have a big meal."
Hearing that there was barbecue, Reggie cheered and was the first to rush into the corridor.
Lynn walked into the warm room with the children talking and laughing, leaving only Sato wiping the cold sweat on his forehead and those weird paper birds trembling slightly in the night wind in the woods not far away.