20demayo 077 retainer
077 retainer
Old Tang felt this job was totally worth it.
He was now standing in the lobby of Amber Tower, wearing a rented black suit and holding a glass of whiskey of unknown vintage. Around him were crystal chandeliers, long wooden tables, and young men and women in evening gowns.
"What an enviable high society," Old Tang thought, subconsciously puffing out his chest and pretending to be a regular.
The plan wasn't originally like this; when he took on this job in New York, he had already devised a complete operational plan in his mind.
To achieve that five million dollar goal, courage, experience, and luck are all indispensable; only a chosen one like him can successfully complete the mission.
First, he needs a full set of professional infiltration equipment: a black bodysuit, night vision goggles, and a radio jammer.
Then, under the cover of night, he scaled the outer wall, avoiding the sentries and surveillance cameras on the patrol route, knocked out the person who found him with a karate chop, stripped off his uniform, and hid the "body" in a nearby box.
After changing into the uniform, one must avoid the gaze of the crowd and use the access card hidden in the clothing to pass through several electronic locks and biometric access control systems.
Finally, in a heavily guarded underground laboratory, after navigating a labyrinth of traps and solving numerous puzzles, one can find the five-million-dollar brass container.
For this mission, he even got a rope gun from his military buddy, which can shoot long spikes with ropes attached into rocks dozens of meters away.
He imagined himself as a bat flying through the night, swinging from one building to another, gracefully crossing rooftop after roof, drawing beautiful arcs under the moonlight.
Then, the employer took him directly to his sister's engagement party.
Free food and drinks, unlimited lobster, and plenty of champagne, plus a side quest: scare your sister's fiancé.
Old Tang said it was no big deal, just watch me do it!
He walked up to his fiancé, wiped the smile off his face, and bowed deeply.
"Ye Jun." He raised his head, but his body remained at a stiff ninety-degree angle, his eyes fixed intently on Ye Sheng.
"I've served the second young lady for fifteen years. From when she was this tall—" He gestured with his hand to his chin, "I've watched her grow up."
Seeing this awkward posture, Ye Sheng was completely shocked.
What amazing muscle control!
Moreover, the person in front of me looks to be only in his early twenties. Could it be that he and Aki are childhood friends?
"The second young lady has been in poor health since she was little, and she always coughs in the winter. I've been brewing medicine for her all along." Old Tang's voice began to tremble. "When she was eight years old, she fell into the pond, and I jumped in and pulled her out. When she was twelve, she was punished by the master and made to kneel in the Buddhist hall all night. I secretly brought her food."
Seeing that the person was still in a folded-up position, Ye Sheng began to feel uneasy.
Old Tang spoke more and more fluently, replaying in his mind all the loyal servant scenes from the Japanese anime he had ever watched. In a daze, he really became that servant who watched the second young lady grow up.
"The second young lady has never been talkative since she was little." Old Tang's voice lowered. "She never speaks up even when she's wronged."
He paused, blinked hard, and tears actually welled up in his eyes.
The mercenaries beside him exchanged admiring glances.
Wow, that's really impressive. These tears just come out of nowhere; is there anything this guy can't do?
"You little rascal—" Old Tang suddenly straightened up, pointing at Ye Sheng, "You've really struck gold! You've found the best treasure in the world! Cherish the Second Miss, you know?"
Ye Sheng suddenly stood up, took Lao Tang's hands with both of them, and held them tightly. "I will, I will cherish her."
"It's good that you know!" Old Tang wiped away his tears with his sleeve. "I'm entrusting the Second Miss to you. If you dare to let her suffer even the slightest grievance—"
Ye Sheng nodded, "I will cherish Aki."
"Speak louder!"
"I will cherish Aki!"
"Okay." Old Tang nodded in satisfaction.
He was preparing to move on to the second stage of the performance, at which point he was supposed to draw his samurai sword and hold it to the groom's neck to force him to write a blood oath on the spot. Just as he was getting ready to find the props, the door to the room was pushed open.
Aki rushed in, pulling Mai along, her face flushed with anxiety.
"Sister! Who exactly did you hire?!" Aki turned to Ye Sheng and said, "Ye Sheng, don't be afraid, they're not really gangsters."
"Alright, alright, that's a wrap." Mai clapped her hands.
Old Tang was still enjoying himself, he was really into his performance, but his employer had to give the order, so he had to call it a day.
Before turning to leave, a surge of genuine emotion suddenly welled up in my heart, my nose tingled, and tears streamed down my cheeks.
I'm sorry, Miss, I got too into the role!
He turned around and gave Aki a standard Japanese bow.
"Second Miss," his tone was filled with reluctance, "please be happy."
Aki paused for a moment, then instinctively returned the same standard bow.
Hi, thank you for taking care of me all this time.
"Oh my god—"
There was thunderous applause.
Apart from Mai, whose eyes were twitching, everyone present was deeply moved by this scene.
-----------------
Old Tang walked out of the side door of the Amber Pavilion, wiping his face with his sleeve.
"Damn it," he sobbed softly, "I... I really put my heart and soul into portraying the character."
He took some time to calm himself down and finally came out of character.
Now it's time to get down to business: sneak into the library.
Old Tang looked around, trying to find the library. Suddenly, a young man in a black uniform walked towards him.
Were we exposed? Old Tang was shocked and prepared to knock him unconscious with a chop to the neck.
"Hello, are you from Miss Jiude's team?" the young man said politely. "Thank you for your help. We need more manpower for the security post at the library. Could you please go and help us out?"
"……library?"
"Yes, go straight along this road, turn right after the clock tower, and keep going until you reach the end." The young man pointed in a direction, "There are signs along the way."
"Okay," he said. "I'll go right away."
Old Tang swaggered around the campus of Kassel College.
He walked past the clock tower and then turned right. The entire academy was heavily guarded, with patrols passing by every so often on the stone-paved road, and surveillance cameras everywhere.
But everyone he met nodded to him and greeted him. Some even said, "Thank you for your hard work" or "Congratulations."
Some people even said "please accept my condolences"!
In short, he walked into the library so easily.
Neatly arranged cherry wood bookshelves were piled high with monographs bearing gilded titles, and a green lamp shone on the wide cherry wood desk, but it was empty. The titles of those monographs looked unsettling: *Dragon Genetics Research*, *Dragon Bones: The Superevolution of Reptiles*, *Dragon Ritual Rituals*…
At the far end of the bookshelf sat a campus map.
The map labels the name and purpose of each building, and the underground structure is marked with dashed lines below the above-ground buildings.
An underground passage starts from the location of the library, passes through the ground floor, and points to a red-marked area.
The red label reads: "Ice Cellar - Exhibition Hall of Refining Equipment and Specimens".
A line of red text follows: "High Risk! Entry prohibited for those without a special pass!"
pat.
A card fell out of the map.
He swiped his card in the access control slot, and after a "beep," he heard a slow, mechanical sound coming from inside the metal door. The twelve wrist-thick latches slowly retracted, and the door, which was twenty centimeters thick, swung open with a bang.
Access control approved.
"This is... way too easy!"