Fall （Part 1）
Qiao Qiao noticed Nicole who was seated not far away from her.
Rather, it was impossible for her not to notice Nicole. This was more or less the off-season for Zero City so there would usually be very little people in this bar. As for today, there was a huge event in Zero City, the Board of Patriarchs’ meeting. Most of the core members of the resident guilds of Zero City would have gone to attend the meeting as side observers. Thus, there was barely anyone left on the streets.
In this huge bar, Nicole was the only one there drinking in the bar, other than Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo of course.
Nicole and Qiao Qiao’s eyes made contact. Nicole then raised her glass of wine, gestured to Qiao Qiao, and smiled in a friendly manner.
There was an indifferent look on Qiao Qiao’s face but she did raise her glass of wine in response.
Naturally, she was unable to see through Nicole’s disguise. After gulping down the contents of her glass, Nicole poured herself another glass before moving over.
“May I sit here?”
Qiao Qiao turned to look at this incoming woman. She felt that this young woman had a welcoming smile and thus, nodded her head. “Do as you please.”
“Are you two new here?” Nicole smiled as she sat down.
Qiao Qiao was silent.
“New members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild?” Nicole pointed at the men standing outside the bar.
Qiao Qiao did not answer her. Instead, she asked, “What about you?”
“I’m here for business.”
“A broker?”
“Something like that,” answered Nicole. After pondering for a moment, she continued, “There is a Board of Patriarchs’ meeting today. Why aren’t you going?”
“Aren’t you doing the same thing?”
Nicole smiled as she looked at Qiao Qiao. “Don’t you know the rules? Only the formal members of resident guilds have the qualifications to attend the Board of Patriarchs’ meeting. Brokers and outsiders like me have no right to go there.”
Qiao Qiao straightened her body and stared at Nicole. She asked, “Are you really an outsider? A broker? Not a member of any guild?”
“No.” Nicole shook her head. “If I was, how would I miss such a huge affair? I would be sitting at the auditorium side of the Board of Patriarchs’ meeting room. This type of thing is not something that happens every day.”
“That’s right…” Qiao Qiao’s eyes darted around and she whispered, “How long will you be staying in Zero City?”
“Not long.”
“Are you interested in making a transaction?” Qiao Qiao looked into Nicole’s eyes.
Nicole’s heart jumped with joy.
“Speak your mind. If it’s appropriate, I won’t refuse a business transaction.”
Qiao Qiao was about to say something when Soo Soo who was beside her tugged her sleeve. She silently shook her head and said, “Unni…”
Qiao Qiao was surprised.
Soo Soo whispered, “We do not know her.”
Hearing that, a look of hesitation appeared on Qiao Qiao’s face. Soon however, it was replaced by a look of frustration. She said, “I know where to draw the line.”
She turned her gaze back to Nicole and said, “This transaction is very simple. After you leave Zero City, I need you to help me pass a message to someone outside. He is a friend of mine. It’s that simple.”
“As you know, Zero City has rules. Some sensitive information regarding Zero City is not allowed to spread outside. If that is the task, I cannot accept it.” Nicole deliberately said that. “Once found out, I will be punished. I will be blacklisted and barred from entering Zero City forever.”
“This message has nothing to do with Zero City’s matters. It’s a private message,” said Qiao Qiao as she shook her head. She purposely put on a casual look and continued, “I am temporarily unable to leave so I can only entrust someone to send a message to my friend outside.”
“And the contents of the message?”
“Tell him, I am in Zero City. Also, I will not give up, absolutely never.” Qiao Qiao clenched her teeth and continued in a whisper. “Tell him, do what he wants to do, do what he feels is the right thing to do. And I will never give up.”
“… just that?” Nicole was slightly taken aback.
“That’s all.” Qiao Qiao nodded her head. “My name is Qiao Qiao.”
“And the recipient of this message?”
Qiao Qiao thought about it and pulled out a piece of paper. She jotted down a phone number on the paper and said, “Call this number. His name is Chen Xiaolian.”
As expected.
Nicole held back her desire to smile. She nodded her head with a calm expression. Then, she glanced at the phone number before setting the piece of paper on fire. “I’ve remembered the number. I will help you do this… then, what about my reward?”
Qiao Qiao was stunned for a moment. “What kind of reward do you want?”
“This request is not that difficult, so I will make it cheaper for you.” Nicole deliberately put on an act of thinking. “200 points.”
Qiao Qiao’s face turned dark.
200 points… generally speaking, it was possible to acquire only a few hundred points by completing one instance dungeon…
“Is making a single phone call that expensive?”
“This is Zero City.” Nicole shook her head and continued, “This place cannot connect to the outside world. Since you’re requesting this from me, we should speak openly. You are surely unable to leave this place or contact him on your own, am I right?”
Qiao Qiao remained silent.
Soo Soo who was beside her suddenly spoke up. This girl blinked her eyes and looked at Nicole. “We… how can we know of you’ve sent the message to him? How can we be certain that you’ve completed this request?”
“That’s right!” Qiao Qiao was suddenly reminded of this. “What if you take the reward without completing the request? How do we determine that?”
“It’s simple.” Nicole felt that she had had enough teasing Qiao Qiao. She smiled and said, “Let’s do this. I can choose to not accept the reward first. I will send the message to the recipient. After the recipient has given me a reply, I will bring this reply back to you. After you’ve confirmed that the recipient has received the message, you can give me my reward. How about it?”
Qiao Qiao nodded her head and said, “That’s for the best! After you’ve obtained his reply, come find me. I will definitely give you your reward.”
“So, where should I go to find you?”
“I will be at this bar every afternoon at this time.”
“It’s a deal then.”
Qiao Qiao’s mood improved and she put down her glass of wine. She stood up and said, “It’s a deal.”
She turned around to look at Soo Soo and said, “Let’s go.”
Soo Soo jumped down from her chair and accepted Qiao Qiao’s hand. Then, the two of them walked out of the bar.
Nicole watched the back of the two females as they walked away and a smile appeared on her face.
The fellows from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild quickly followed the two females as they left. However, two of them stayed behind.
These two men looked at the bar and moved toward Nicole.
Nicole lifted her glass and took a sip of wine.
“Miss,” said a member of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild who was standing before Nicole. “I would like to inquire what the two ladies had said to you just now.”
Nicole ignored him and continued drinking.
The other man frowned and took a deep breath before speaking out, “Just now, we saw her writing something on a piece of paper and give it to you. You then burnt that piece of paper. We want to know what was written on that piece of paper.”
Pausing, he then said in a somewhat frosty tone, “We are members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild.”
“Oh.” Nicole put down her glass of wine and moved to leave.
“Hold it!” The two men from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild moved to intercept her. There were grim looks on their faces. “You have yet to answer our questions.”
“Members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild?” Nicole raised her eyebrows.
“That’s right.”
Nicole smiled. “I understand now…”
“If so, our question…”
“I don’t feel like answering you.” Nicole shrugged her shoulders before continuing; “Now I am going to continue drinking. Please move aside.”
The fellow on the left side became somewhat furious and he said, “Miss! I don’t want to say anything harsh. However, it is best that you don’t cause any trouble in Zero City – like what you are doing now!”
Nicole was unable to stop herself from bursting into a laughter.
Her laugh made them confused. “So? Because you are members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, I must obediently answer your questions? Just because you think I cannot afford to provoke you?”
The two fellows regarded Nicole with stunned expressions.
“That makes sense, I guess.” Nicole smiled. “You probably recognize the members of the various resident guilds. Besides, the people who are not attending the Board of Patriarchs’ meeting are mostly brokers or outsiders, minor characters. So, you thought that I am one of them?”
The two fellows sneered. One of them said coldly, “You had better not cause any problems.”
Nicole inhaled deeply and replied, “Problems? Right now, you are the ones pissing me off.”
There were odd looks on both their faces – did this girl had too much to drink?
It was at that moment that Nicole’s hand abruptly shot out to grab hold of her wine glass. Then, she viciously slammed it upon one of the fellows’ head!
Pa!
The glass shattered and both the wine and glass fragments descended upon the man’s face!
The man entered a state of rage and he swore. “Bastard!” He brandished his fist!
However, when his fist was only less than 10 centimetres away from Nicole, his hand suddenly froze!
Both men’s expressions had turned strange as they stared at something!
Back when Nicole had smashed the glass of wine on the man’s head, she had pulled an item out and slammed it on the table.
It was a badge!
It was a very common looking badge. But, the surface of the badge depicted something with long wings… an angel!
The two men from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild stared intently at the badge. They appeared to have been hit by a paralysis spell. That was especially true of the one on the left. His fist remained hovering in the air and he dared not let it descend.
“If I recall correctly, no one is allowed to fight inside Zero City,” said Nicole who observed them coldly. “Unless under special circumstances, the only ones with the authority to use force is the Angel Corps. I am curious… since when did Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild get that authority?”
The faces of the two men turned red.
A few seconds later, the fellow who had his head smashed with the glass of wine said as he held back his fury. “You, you are the one who hit us first.”
“Oh? Then you are free to go to the Angel Corps and make a complaint about me.” Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “Now, may I leave?”
The two men were stunned.
A peculiar smile appeared on Nicole’s face and she said, “Are you not going to make way? Interesting… members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild dares to use force to provoke and trouble an active member of the Angel Corps?”
Those words were like a bucket of cold water splashing down their heads. The two men quickly recollected themselves.
The two men acted as though they had just been jolted. They quickly backed away and one of them even said, “So, sorry… we had offended you earlier.”