Chapter 205.1: All Here [Part 1]
Chapter 205: All Here [Part 1]
The gray cat hadn't come into contact with Ghost Butterfly Seventeen directly, but Lung had told it about Blue Butterfly before and even drawn an image of Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's appearance using an instrument under the gray cat's strong request.
After following Cillin for such a long time, the gray cat had formed a habit of getting excited the moment money was put on the table. It had an especially deep impression of people who owed him money, so the gray cat grew excited when it saw a person in their list of debtors.
The gray cat's voice was a little too loud because it was overly excited. Therefore, everyone in the surroundings turned over to look at the source of the cry, and then at the person whom the gray cat was pointing at with its claws.
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen was just talking with his two companions about some busty girls they encountered earlier when his attention was attracted by the gray cat's loud voice. Then, Ghost Butterfly Seventeen saw with an aching stomach someone that he was 100%, no, 10,000% sure that he never wanted to see again in his life.
Why is that bastard here!!
Not to mention that everyone was looking at him due to the gray cat's words. Ghost Butterfly Seventeen just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.
Barthus looked at Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's constipated look and smiled with delight.
So even the Blue Butterflies have their shameful moments.
Cillin raised his hand and greeted him, "Long time no see."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's mouth twitched, "Long... long time no see..."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's companions looked at Cillin and wondered exactly which level in Vanguard did he belong to. If he wasn't a second fiddle in the B Squadron, then he was a second fiddle in the A Squadron. But the two people beside him, Barthus and Songba Leruo were both veterans in Vanguard who were recognised wherever they went. The fact that Cillin didn't try to keep a low profile despite being around these two people meant that his status deserved a mull over.
The gray cat stood on top of Cillin's shoulders and stared at Ghost Butterfly Seventeen with its round eyes. It looked like it would scratch Ghost Butterfly Seventeen the second he denied his involvement.
"He... hehe, so you're from Vanguard. I tried looking for you for a long time but couldn't find the two of you anywhere. You didn't leave behind any contact details," Ghost Butterfly Seventeen walked over on his own accord while speaking.
He didn't have a choice. If he waited for Cillin to speak then he might as well throw all his dignity to the wind! He had personally attested to this brat's character, and he could say with certainty that he was a total bastard!
Of course Cillin and the gray cat wouldn't be so stupid as to believe the nonsense he just told them. They simply smiled and looked at Ghost Butterfly Seventeen until he felt chills in his heart.
Barthus patted Cillin's shoulder and said, "Hehe, you juniors can continue your conversation. Songba Leruo and I will be going somewhere else to meet some old friends."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen relaxed obviously after Barthus and Songba Leruo had left the scene. Those two people were a generation older than him after all, so he couldn't help but feel awkward talking in front of them. Moreover, Ghost Butterfly Seventeen had gotten used to act as he wished in Blue Butterfly. He just felt uncomfortable all over when he saw another Hunter regiment's senior.
"Kid, that's one normal booster meds and one nutrient pill totalling up to 1.1 million credits! And this is excluding interest rates!" The gray cat said.
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen cast a glance at the gray cat. How did this pet know about his debt? He didn't think too much into it and put both hands into his pant pockets. He lifted his chin and said, "Of course we Blue Butterfly wouldn't commit a misdeed like reneging on our debts. Go find a place where I can swipe my card and I'll transfer the money over right away."
Cillin was just about to say something when his communicator rang. The corner of his eyes twitched when he saw the contact number displayed on his communicator.
A888888...
Even if he were to ignore who the 'A' in the number had represented, the 6 numbers at the back was a clear sign that this contact number belonged to a certain fool.
Cillin looked around him and found a quiet place to speak.
As expected, Lung's barely awake face appeared on the communicator the moment he accepted the call.
"I was going to find you. But how did you know my contact number?" Cillin asked.
Lung smiled proudly and scratched his tousled hair, "I got it from Ci Jincheng. Hi Wheeze! I have some fish biscuits with new flavors around here. There are a dozen or so flavors including both freshwater and saltwater fish flavors."
"Really?!" The gray cat's expanded pupils was a clear sign of its current excitement.
"Nuo, look," Lung lifted a tray and showed many biscuits that were purposefully shaped like fishes. Every different fish flavor had a different shape too.
"Let's go look for Lung, Cillin. We had nothing to do here anyway unless a fight suddenly break out." The gray cat said while patting Cillin's face with its paws.
"You guys should come over right now. There's a newly built meeting place at my place, so this is just the right time to hold a small gathering while we're still free. I've already told Ci Jincheng and Knight to come over. There are a few more familiar faces who would be showing up as well. Let's have a gathering, eh?"
"Alright. Oh, Qi Geyou was asking for you. Should I bring him along?"
"Little Flying Snake? He's here too? Of course we should bring him along! Just bring whoever's with you to the gathering... who's that guy behind your back? Do I know him?" Lung saw a half covered figure behind Cillin and asked.
Cillin adjusted the focus of the communicator so that Lung could see Ghost Butterfly Seventeen better.
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's feelings soured once more when he saw the face displayed on the communicator. This guy was a bastard too.
But just as Ghost Butterfly Seventeen prepared himself to receive another insult that was surely going to be as painful as the one spouted by the cat on Cillin's shoulder just now, Lung said affirmatively after staring closely at his face, "I don't know him."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen: "..."
Alright, now even my balls are hurting. Ghost Butterfly Seventeen never knew that he was this unmemorable until now.
The gray cat's whiskers shook, "How could you possibly not remember him? He's the debtor who was beaten half dead before you and Cillin saved his life! You even told me his looks back then!"
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen felt like killing someone when he heard the gray cat's words. Thank goodness there weren't many people around him right now, and the volume of their conversation was fairly soft. Otherwise, he would probably be the butt end of a joke for a very long time.
Lung looked at Ghost Butterfly Seventeen again and finally remembered him. He normally forgot anyone who hadn't made a monetary transaction with him.
"Oh, you're that Butterfly guy with the abnormal constitution! Well since we ran into each other you might as well come over too. Alright, I'm hanging up, I'm hungry and I'm going to forage some food. See you beep——"
The dude hung up before Cillin could even finish what he wanted to say.
He put away the communicator and looked at Ghost Butterfly Seventeen, "Let's go and meet up with the rich guy. His place has everything, and we could enjoy a free meal too."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen was extremely reluctant to follow Cillin being less than impressed with both Lung and his character. However, a rich man, he said?
"Who is he again?" Ghost Butterfly Seventeen asked.
Cillin looked at him in surprise, "Do you not know him? That guy does appear quite frequently on the media, you know."
Ghost Butterfly Seventeen was at a loss. He had been busy for the past time and didn't have any time to pay attention to those things. He didn't search deeper after finding nothing on Cillin after a brief inquiry. He was pretty busy at the time.
Seeing Ghost Butterfly Seventeen's confused look, Cillin said, "He's called Andrea Lung."
"... Fuck!"
He's one of that family who's so poor all they have left is money! There was absolutely no way he was missing this meal!
"Let's go!" Ghost Butterfly Seventeen said indignantly.
"Wait, let me call one more person."
Cillin contacted Qi Geyou. Pian Huo had been watching Qi Geyou all this time, and the moment Qi Geyou took off she followed him too.
They agreed to meet up at a place where Vanguard and Blue Butterfly's borders intersected. After all, Qi Geyou wasn't a part of either of their Hunter regiments. Therefore, he couldn't enter either one of their territories easily. They could only meet up at the borders.
When Cillin led the group of four to the place Lung had told him, they all experienced the same feeling.
How absolutely wasteful!
The place the Andrea Family and Lung was at was surrounded by fairly reputable families and business entities in GAL. Therefore, this whole area was about as blindingly gorgeous as one could imagine, with the Andrea Family's area being the most dazzling of them all. The 'temporary playground' Lung mentioned was practically a luxury hotel.
There were a couple of servants waiting at the front door, but a familiar, slightly built figure was also walking towards them from inside the building. He was obviously there to welcome Cillin.
The man walking towards them was Berzett. Originally, he was serving the young men chatting at the private rooms upstairs, but since young master Lung complained that Berzett's presence made it difficult to have a free conversation, he booted Berzett out of the room and told him to wait for Cillin at the entrance.
Berzett led Cillin's group to the floor Lung and the others were at. The old man's had acted very gentlemanly and worn a very kind smile on his face, but Qi Geyou and Ghost Butterfly Seventeen were still full of tension. They could sense that this old man was very strong and not someone they could win against. They weren't able to calm down even though Berzett hadn't shown any malice towards them. It was a habit that they had formed over a long period of time. After all, who could relax and put down their guard after arriving at a new environment and meeting a new stranger suddenly?
Berzett paid no mind to their behavior. He continued to treat them as kindly as he would treat his own blood related descendants.
Berzett led Cillin's group to a door and raised his hand in a polite, inviting gesture, "The young master is right inside."
Sigh. Berzett had already made up not to go inside since he would only be ignored again. Seriously, every successor of the Andrea Family possessed a lousy temper. He was already looking forward to the next direct descendant to the Andrea Family a.k.a Lung's offspring. Children were just more interesting to raise.
"Thank you." Cillin returned the polite gesture. Berzett was an old man that he held in higher respect compared to others.
He pushed the door open. There were a lot of people sitting on well arranged chairs inside the room already. Most of them were familiar faces except two people.
There were Lung, Knight, Ci Jincheng, Pride, Theresa, and Yu Linglung sitting on a custom wheelchair.
Lung beckoned him over when he saw Cillin's entry, "Come on, Cillin, we've been waiting for you for a long time. Hi, Little Flying Snake, I didn't know that Sector S' people had also come over to this place. Do take a seat, all of you."
One could say that everyone sitting in this room were all reputable people who possessed real authority within their families and forces. However arrogant they used to conduct themselves in the norm, it was better to put it away for now.
Pride had matured a lot over many years. Although his eyes were still carrying his habitual air of arrogance, it was a lot milder than it was in the past. Originally, Pride wasn't going to come over to Sector Z because he had other missions to perform. However, after hearing about Cillin from Ji Feihang and confirming the news from Knight, he decided to delay that mission temporarily and come over.
"Hmph!"
Pride greeted Cillin with his iconic snort, but there were no disdain behind it whatsoever. Cillin paid it no mind because he was used to it, and he knew that Pride had always been such an awkward kid. Pride's automatic response when he was embarrassed and wasn't sure what to say at an occasion was a simple and direct 'hmph'. Everyone knew about this, and no one deemed it necessary to point it out.
Yu Linglung gave Cillin a sweet smile. She was almost still the same little girl he remembered in Seven Lights.
The sea next to Yu Linglung was empty, and no one dared to occupy it. A blind person would know whose chair it was.
Qi Geyou and Ghost Butterfly Seventeen revealed their keen insight and snatched up the chairs two spaces away from Yu Linglung. Pian Huo swept a glance across everyone present in the room before sitting next to Qi Geyou, choosing not to occupy the seat beside Yu Linglung as well. She kept staring curiously towards Yu Linglung's side, though.
Cillin sat next to Yu Linglung and stared at her legs for a bit. It was obvious that her legs were wrapped with an instrument identical to the one Dias used to perform in directional induction treatment.
"What happened?" Cillin asked.
"It was an accident. I lost both my legs." Yu Linglung answered softly. There was obvious grievance in her tone.
Lung, Knight and the rest of them who were here earlier shivered instantly. Little Princess Yu, weren't you acting all imperious and mighty just two minutes ago?
Cillin sighed on the inside. Ever since he learned of Yu Linglung's identity, he knew that everything that happened around her was not as simple as it seemed. It was obvious that her maimed legs were caused by some very complicated matters. If Yu Linglung wasn't willing to say it, then he wasn't going to ask.
"How are you recovering?"
"It's okay. I can walk barely, but I can't run with them. It always hurts." Her tone was still aggrieved.
Lung, Knight and the gang were either turning their head sideways or looking at the floor. They all pretended that they knew nothing.
Little Princess Yu that is complete nonsense! Just two days ago we saw you kicking up to the air and smashing a falling apple to bits! If they really hurt then why haven't you complained about the pain back then?!
Theresa had been watching the duo's brief conversation all this time, and she chose this moment to raise her wine glass in a toast, "Long time no see, Cillin."
Theresa looked almost the same as she was back at Seven Lights. Time hadn't affected the Seven Lights famous Beauty Sa. But Cillin knew that she was no longer the Theresa Kiara he knew from Seven Lights.
Douance Theresa, the elder daughter of Douance Aiflon. That was who she truly was. Cillin had known about the genetic connection shared between Theresa and Aiflon since he was at Seven Lights.
"Long time no see. I see you're just as pretty as ever, Beauty Sa."
"You've changed though. You're not as handsome as you were back then." Theresa joked.
"Ahem!" Lung snapped a finger under Yu Linglung's pressuring gaze and pushed forward a large plate of fish biscuits.
"Wah~~~"
The gray cat immediately jumped on the plate and did a roll, rubbing his scent all over the fish biscuits.
"What do you think about this gift?" Lung tossed a fish biscuit to the gray cat.
The gray cat opened its mouth, snatched it from the air, chewed it twice and swallowed it into his stomach.
"It's pretty good. I want to take them back with me later!"
"Sure, I'll have someone send them over to you later."
The gray cat pulled the plate to its side and happily enjoyed its meal. It focused on eating its fish biscuits and ignored whatever was going on at Cillin's side.
Once everyone had gathered together, the host of this meeting, Lung gave everyone a formal introduction. He only introduced their names and some simple details. Today's meeting involved no secrets, and it was only a dinner between peers.
The two people Cillin didn't recognise were more or less the same as Chev Allen from back then. However, from Lung's introduction it would seem that the electronic publications behind these two people were at a much higher level than the Allen Family's. Both electronic publications had more than 80 contribution points.
The electronic publication behind Peneus was a famous GAL media giant with over 80 contribution points and was relevant in the internet industry. Back when Cillin was still at Seven Lights, the electronic publication 'Infinite' had once reported about the Sector Championship. He was a distant relative of Lung's.
The electronic publication behind Fen Yuzuo was also a famous GAL media giant with over 80 contribution points and was relevant in the business industry. This electronic publication was titled 'Lavish'. Lavish mainly reported about the business industry, which was why he had a lot of contact with Lung.
Naturally, the descendents raised by the people who managed to build the two media giants, 'Infinite' and 'Lavish' to their current state were no pushover. At the very least, socialisation didn't look like one of their weaknesses, which was why they hadn't shown Cillin any disdainful looks even though he wasn't a really famous person in the circle of elites. Plus, why would they look down on a person that even people like Lung, Knight, Ci Jincheng and Yu Linglung etc respect? If they didn't have even this bit of insight they couldn't have climbed to their current status, could they?
At the same time, these young masters of media giants were also very interested in the trio that had accompanied Cillin to this meeting. Pian Huo revealed her identity to everyone present, and after some consideration she also added that she was Fire Phoenix's disciple. Little Flying Snake didn't try to hide his identity either.
Peneus and Fen Yuzuo were obviously quite curious about Sector S. After all, Sector S was the second least reported Sector by the GAL media barring Sector Z. Now that Sector Z was half open to the public, all that remained was Sector S. The quartet had chatted quite agreeably with each other.
Lung had said that this was just a small gathering, and they talked only about entertainment and nothing about business. There were no seniors to disrupt them, so everyone chatted quite openly with each other.