Exusiai looked
at the magazine of her gun and said apologetically, "Sorry, Boss, I think I've
run out of rubber bullets. How about we use chairs?"
The Emperor pointed to the cabinet door behind her: "Didn't I
specifically buy a batch of cheap wine to put here as weapons!?"
"Eh, the one we just drank was the last bottle. The rest are all
valuable stuff."
The Emperor paused, then slowly said, "Never mind. Only stuffy
old fogies store fine wine in their palaces."
The Emperor pointed to the unbroken wine bottles on the counter:
"We should let these wonderful concoctions bloom, both in terms of value and
physically."
Croissant briefly
glanced at the wine on the counter: "Uh? But the price of those vintage wines
is very…"
Before Croissant could
finish, the Emperor had already had Reinette use
water to retrieve the wine bottles one by one and place them on the ground.
"Take one, everyone. Remember, only hit the head. I want to see
flowers made of shattered glass and splashing wine."
"Protecting my bar is protecting this land. Go!"
"I see. Everyone, make sure to protect the End of the Earth
well~" Reinette, watching
from the side, shook her head and stroked Miss Red,
as the child might not hold back, and hitting someone might cause some trouble.
To be honest, she also wanted to participate, but Reinette had already agreed with the Emperor not to
intervene until a critical moment. So, she could only hold Miss Red and watch the others pick up bottles.
Texas didn't
pay attention to Reinette, who was
watching from the side, just as they had agreed from the beginning; she was
just an observer and backup tonight.
Texas put away
her light saber and picked up two wine bottles from the ground: "Exusiai."
Exusiai casually
picked up two wine bottles: "Alright! Smashing people with bottles, huh? I'm
good at that."
If Reinette wasn't
mistaken, the bottle Exusiai picked up
was a Victoria Royal Reserve wine. Of
course, although it was royal reserve, it could still be bought for a hefty
price. The bottle in Exusiai's hand was
probably worth around 130,000, which was considered mid-range among the wines
on the ground.
Kong thought for a moment, then also picked up two wine bottles:
"Wait, wait for me!"
Kong was truly an idol. If Reinette also
wasn't mistaken, the two wine bottles Kong picked up were high-grade
collector's items, probably worth around 400,000 each.
The group swiftly vaulted over the bar and charged straight
towards the gangsters outside the door. As for the gangsters' weapons, Reinette indicated that the water flowing around them
wasn't just for show. She was watching, but that didn't mean she wouldn't
provide assistance.
"They're rushing out! Watch out! Ugh!"
"Watch out for the water flow on them! Don't use close combat,
that stuff will trap your weapons! Ah!!"
Croissant, carrying her
shield and hammer, charged through the crowd, muttering: "One hundred thousand,
one hundred fifty thousand, four hundred fifty thousand, seven hundred
thousand…"
"How much was that bottle? No! Wait, Exusiai! That bottle is—! Oh dear." Croissant, in front of her, counted the prices of the
wines smashed by Exusiai and Kong one
by one, and her heart pounded with every smash.
Bison, who was
beside her, heard Croissant's murmuring and
asked in confusion: "Th-this is…?"
Croissant had a
tearful expression: "Tonight's loss figures. No, at least the two of us can
still fight with shields. We can't let the losses increase any further."
"R-Right!"
"Okay~ Three, two, one, go!" Croissant nodded
and participated more actively in the battle.
Inside the bar, the Emperor looked at the excited Reinette and said calmly, "You can actually
participate too."
"Are you sure? I
might not be able to hold back." Reinette smiled,
intending to shake her head and refuse. Since she had agreed that today was
just a backup, then she was only in charge of logistics.
"Will you?"
"Of course not."
The Emperor picked up a wine bottle from the ground and handed
it to Reinette: "It's a
party, of course it should be lively. As for little Wei, did you flood Lungmen? No? Then that's that."
Reinette took the
wine bottle and put it back on the ground: "Alright, I won't add any more
losses for you, Mr. Emperor. Besides, I don't need to make a move now."
The Emperor shrugged: "Alright, alright, whatever you
want."
"Oh, right, Mr. Emperor, there's one thing I hope you can
help me investigate."
The Emperor glanced into the depths of the bar: "Something
about Iberia, huh? Ah, but I don't have
anyone in Iberia. Only that duck goes
to Iberia."
"But if something big really happens, it's just a matter of
asking around. I'll tell Yith to look
into it later."
Reinette nodded:
"I'll trouble you, Mr. Emperor."
"Small matter." The Emperor walked out from behind the
bar and looked at the fleeing gangsters outside: "Good evening, stray dogs
of Syracuse. Run out of crossbow bolts? But
how am I still alive?"
A Liberi, whose head was entirely that of a wolf, walked into
the bar, glaring fiercely at the Emperor.
Gambino clapped
his hands: "Truly the Emperor, holding a wine glass amidst a hail of
bullets. Lucky you."
"...Lungmen never
condones real killing." Sora held a wine bottle, looking at Gambino in front of him.
Exusiai said
with a smile, "If you don't play by the rules, you'll be kicked out."
Gambino's lips curled
into a somewhat terrifying smile: "Rules?"
Dozens of gangsters behind Gambino,
armed with weapons, blocked off the entire bar. Then, an explosion erupted
behind Gambino; the Penguin Logistics truck parked outside was
directly detonated, sending sparks flying.
"When the LGD arrives,
they'll only see your shattered corpses, Penguin
Logistics."
Bison glanced
at the situation outside, his expression tense: "The streets are full of
their people, and the car's gone too."
Croissant peeked
behind her, seeing several gangsters entering from the back door: "Even
the back door Yith blocked.
Sigh, it seems this gentleman has been holding a grudge for a long time. He's
very thorough."
"Capone, that coward, Yith too wary of Rat
King and Wei Yanwu. The latter
might be worth paying attention to..." Gambino threw
his cigar to the ground and stomped it out, "As for you and that
pretentious rat, besides being excellent at making people sick, you're
worthless."
The Emperor looked at Gambino with
a strange expression: "Hmm, do you really think so? Or are you just trying
to talk tough?"
"Sincerely, 'Mr. Emperor'." Gambino's tone in responding to the Emperor was utterly
mocking.
The Emperor was silent for a moment, then extended his hand
to Croissant: "Croissant,
pick me up a bottle of wine. I'll help him repair his cerebral cortex."
"But boss, to be honest, we've already smashed millions
of LMD worth of red wine." Croissant pointed to the broken wine bottles on
the ground, "And that doesn't even include the bottles shattered by their
recent volley of gunfire."
"...Then how much are their lives worth?" The Emperor
glanced at the broken wine bottles scattered around. It could be said that
almost all the wine on the counter in the entire bar was shattered and flowing
on the floor, and the whole air was filled with the smell of wine.
Croissant spread
her hands: "It doesn't look like that much."
The Emperor's hand, holding the last remaining wine glass,
trembled slightly.
Texas glanced
at her silent boss: "Are we going to get serious?"
The Emperor looked at the gangsters in front of him: "How
could we? We will definitely abide by our agreement with little Wei.
Within Lungmen, no real fighting, no taking
lives. All business disputes are business matters."
Then the Emperor's tone took a sharp turn: "But today we
fled for a total of five hours, which Yith twice my
normal working hours, twice!"
"Not only that, we also blew up a whole year's worth of
operational subsidies! Cars, red wine, and my treasured vinyl records!"
The Emperor took a deep breath, "Now, some anticipated accidental deaths
have occurred in my bar. That's perfectly fine, isn't it? Hmm?"
Texas nodded,
put down the half-empty wine bottle in her hand, and drew a sword hilt from her
waist pouch: "Understood."
Gambino looked
at Texas: "Texas,
your name alone displeases me."
Texas said
indifferently: "I don't recall knowing a Syracusan like you. But you'll
run away from Lungmen with your tail
between your legs again."
Gambino took a
deep breath: "You'll regret slandering my family, Texas."
"You know in your heart who the stray dog that fled
to Lungmen truly Yith. You are not worthy to be an enemy of the Sicilian."
Texas silently
swung the sword hilt in her hand, a red lightsaber emerging, which she then
swung out.
Gambino laughed
at Texas's appearance: "Now that's a
proper expression, Texas! That's a bit like
a Syracusan!"
Reinette walked
out from behind the bar, holding Red, and shook her head as she looked at the
standoff: "How pitiful. Of all things to say, they had to say that."
Reinette put Red
down and drew a bow from her clothes: "Alright, it seems the doctor also
has to participate in the battle. But then again, who told you to touch my
patients?!"
Several gangsters were suddenly washed out of a room behind the
bar by a stream of water, falling to the ground.
----------
"...Hmm?" Mostima looked
at the person in front of her with surprise, "This Yith unexpected. Were you called here too?"
Yith nodded:
"Sort of. But it feels good to get away from a business reception."
Mostima glanced
into the distance and asked: "Hmm, are these minor skirmishes by the mafia
worth such a big fuss?"
"Not worth it. And I just wanted to escape from troublesome
social events and find a chance to catch my breath." Yith shook his head, his voice full of weariness,
"Croissant ordered new parts for her
hammer. Exusiai asked me to help
maintain her Guardian Gun. In short, there's still a lot to do."
Mostima looked
at the doctor and smiled: "Hmm, perhaps I'll have to trouble you
too."
"It's fine. Besides my main job, handling these errands for
my colleagues Yith also my
duty."
Mostima drew a
white staff from behind her: "Could you keep this staff for me?"
Yith looked
at the staff Mostima handed him and
asked: "The white one. You understand the meaning behind it, right?"
Mostima nodded:
"At least for tonight, let me relax a bit. It's just a carnival."
"I can't really bring it into the dance floor; it would get
out of control. And he seems to be terribly afraid of something today."
"I understand. Leave it to me, it's also work." Yith took the staff and said casually,
"After all, someone got angry today."
"Heh heh, in the end, it's still work, isn't it? You're
really working hard." Mostima snapped
her fingers, "Want to go for a drink after this? My treat."
"I completely agree. A social drink with colleagues Yith much better than boring networking, and I
hope the doctor isn't too keen on drinking today, but..." Yith glanced regretfully into the distance,
"But unfortunately, looking at this commotion, the end of the world might
be hard to preserve."
Mostima nodded
regretfully: "So, you just returned to Lungmen?
How much do you know about tonight's events?"
"Everything. The ins and outs of this carnival are not
complicated; all information Yith readily
apparent."
Mostima nodded,
not questioning Yith's claim of
knowing everything, for she understood his capabilities: "Then you're not
going to help out?"
Yith immediately
said: "I refuse. Let the vigorous young ones handle the physical labor.
I'll just guard your belongings, drink a cup of tea, and wait for things to
end."
"Alright. Since Rat King Yith waiting for you, then have fun."
"You too, Yith." Mostima walked into the distance, her voice
echoing in the air, "It's a rare Annihilation
Night, so don't work so hard. Well, I'll be going first."
Yith was
silent for a moment, then said, "...Annihilation
Night?"
"Damn it, I should have had the day off for Annihilation Night." Yith sighed, "Why did I habitually work
overtime... Hmm, what a loss."
Then Yith's gaze fell
upon the white staff in his hand: "But at least, she left you with me. We
can catch up for once, old friend."
The staff trembled slightly, as if resisting something?
"Hmm, it's not bad holding you. Complaining won't
help."
The tip of the staff glowed faintly, as if about to unleash a
magical attack at any moment.
Yith quickly
said: "Alright, alright, don't be angry. Someone already got very angry
today, but it seems to be fine now."
The faint glow at the tip of the staff dissipated.
"Hmm, you're asking who?"
"Just a god from the sea, perhaps. And she'll be joining
this dance party today too, hehe, don't get excited. Unless there's a problem
today, she should just be a spectator."
Then Yith saw the
gangsters being flushed out of the bar in the distance: "Well, it seems
plans can't keep up with changes. Someone always wants to make people
angry."