[Character: Blue Mary]
[Current Affection Level: 20 (Acquaintance)]
[Friendly Reminder: There's no such thing as too much talk, only too little skill. Your eagerness to learn has opened the door to a new world. Young one, do you remember your dream of 'Twin Swallows Returning'?]
Su Ye was utterly baffled.
The Girlfriend Card could trigger sub-card effects?
This... this... this... is amazing! Doesn't that mean one card is effectively worth two if triggered?
But what does 'Twin Swallows Returning' mean? The system's quoting literature now?
Su Ye looked it up on his phone and realized it was from a poem by Li Bai. The next line was, 'Their twin flight inspires envy.' Tch, so cultured!
System, you're ridiculously knowledgeable!
As for this sub-card effect, Su Ye thought it over and came up with a reasonable explanation for the system's logic.
The 'Coach Girlfriend' card—specifically Mai Shiranui's—triggered its sub-effect because Su Ye had already mastered Terry's abilities. He even changed outfits to perfectly play the role of Terry.
On top of that, with Terry distracted by his first love, Angelina, Su Ye made the first move with Mary, triggering the sub-card effect.
If that's the case, there's a lot of room for maneuvering. He could bypass the girlfriend card limits and develop more functional girlfriends...
Ahem, but for the sake of his kidneys, it might be best not to trigger sub-card effects willy-nilly.
After all, Su Ye was a good boy who only wanted to use the system to grow stronger. He wasn't particularly interested in girlfriends, especially since he was face-blind and couldn't tell who was attractive or not...
The waiter quickly brought their drinks. As for the thugs, they'd long been dragged out by security. They didn't even have to pay for the two bottles of liquor.
Mary poured a glass, clinked it against Su Ye's, and the two shared a smile before downing it in one go.
The law against drinking under 21? Forget it.
In the distance, Angelina had also pulled Terry into a seat.
They had known each other since childhood, but a misunderstanding had driven them apart. Angelina had always kept Terry in her heart, and now that she had him in front of her, she wouldn't let him go so easily.
After that stolen kiss, their relationship quickly grew ambiguous, to the point where it wouldn't have been surprising if they'd snuck off together. Unfortunately, Terry was too innocent.
At the pool table, Joe Higashi glanced at Su Ye, then at Terry, and finally at the group of burly men around the table. Suddenly, he felt completely out of place.
"Come on! Let's have a match. Loser drops their pants and barks like a dog!"
Joe, now fired up, went straight to his ultimate move. Barking like a dog might be too much, but as for pants-dropping—he'd never lost in that department!
Meanwhile, Su Ye and Mary's casual chat over drinks quickly raised their relationship level to [40 (Familiar)]. Through their conversation, Su Ye learned more about Mary's background.
Mary had just turned 18, roughly a year younger than Su Ye, with one more year of high school left.
Even though she hadn't graduated, Mary already had plans for her future. She wanted to be a detective—a private investigator like Sherlock Holmes.
To that end, she'd learned grappling and combat techniques from her father, who was rumored to be a bodyguard for the president.
"Honestly, if you hadn't stepped in earlier, I could've handled them myself."
Su Ye naturally believed her. Anyone who had played King of Fighters knew the pain of being slammed by her. She was practically a chiropractor with a century of experience—her techniques were leagues ahead of Su Ye's.
"I know. I just can't stand people who gang up to bully women. I'll beat them down every time I see them."
Su Ye's righteous indignation clearly resonated with Mary, raising her affection further.
"By the way, I'm interning as a detective right now. Want to join me on a case?"
"Interning as a detective?" Su Ye chuckled. "Under Geese Howard's rule, North Town should be pretty peaceful. What kind of cases could you possibly have?"
This was a deliberate nudge. Su Ye wanted intel on Geese Howard, so he steered the conversation in that direction. As a fearless rookie detective, Mary might just have some dirt on him.
Sure enough, Mary leaned in and whispered.
"Do you really think Geese Howard is just a successful businessman? Let me tell you, he has tons of skeletons in his closet—no one's dug them up yet."
"Heh," Su Ye chuckled. "I don't believe you."
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Mary's enthusiasm flared. "You don't believe me? Fine, I'll prove it to you."
With that, she grabbed Su Ye's hand and headed for the bar's exit.
In the distance, Terry was still fending off Angelina's flirting, while Joe Higashi shot Su Ye a knowing look as if to say, "Don't worry, I won't tell Mai," Before returning to his game.
Seeing this, Su Ye sighed and abandoned the idea of dragging them along as backup, instead following Mary out of the bar.
Outside, the night had deepened, and the streets were nearly deserted. A cool breeze cleared Mary's head somewhat, and with her regained clarity, she began to regret her impulsiveness. She was about to suggest postponing their venture.
But just then, a massive truck, reminiscent of Optimus Prime, screeched to a stop in front of them. The driver cursed loudly, and the side of the truck bore the words 'Geese Howard Hotel.'
This was the epitome of "falling asleep and having a pillow handed to you"—and in the perfect position. It would be rude not to take advantage.
A few minutes later, the truck set off again, but this time, Su Ye was behind the wheel while Mary rummaged through the cargo in the back.
"Hey, Su Ye! Guess what I found? Contraband! Geese Howard really is shady! I knew it!"
As the truck rumbled on, Mary relayed her findings to Su Ye through a wireless earpiece—an essential tool for an intern private investigator like her.
"Looks like you were right," Su Ye replied calmly. He already knew Geese Howard used hotel delivery trucks to transport 'Black Crystal,' a hallucinogenic substance that made people lose all sense of loyalty, turning them against each other in violent fits.
But Mary was ecstatic. "I'm taking pictures for evidence. This alone is enough to get Geese Howard prosecuted! But I think we need more. What's in this stuff? What does it do? We need to dig deeper. If we expose it, Geese is done for!"
"Su! Su! We're going to be famous, you know that? If we bring down Geese Howard, we'll be the most famous detectives in all of North Town—no, all of America! We'll be on TV, become stars—we're gonna make it big!"