Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 417

Chapter 417

Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 417 Celestial Snake’s Visit

When they reached the entrance of the prison, Qian Five saw Zhou Six blocking the man outside.

The man showed no displeasure, merely standing quietly with a book in his hands.

Hearing someone approaching, Zhou Six put down her iron rod and glanced back at Qian Five.

Qian Five gave her a slight nod and ordered, “Go to his room first.”

Zhou Six acknowledged, reaching out to pat Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin on the shoulders.

“Hm?” A trace of confusion crossed both their faces.

“Tsk, it might come in handy later,” Zhou Six said in a low voice, then turned and entered the prison.

She then turned at the corridor, stood discreetly by a window, whispered, “Testing, testing. Do not respond. If you hear this, look to the left rear.”

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin both glanced at Zhou Six’s position. She nodded at them and then walked toward Chen Junnan’s room.

“Well well? Zhou Mo, fancy meeting you here.” Chen Junnan chuckled. “What’s up?”

“Tsk, I’m Zhou Six, not Zhou Mo.”

“Same thing.”

(TLN: Zhou Six is Saturday and Zhou Mo means weekend, so yeah, Saturday and weekend are basically the same thing.)

“Tsk, enough with your jokes.” Zhou Six led Chen Junnan toward the window, her face solemn. “Take a good look at that man… recognize him?”

Officer Li and Zheng Hero slowly walked to the window as well.

By the entrance stood a man wearing black-framed spectacles; despite his somewhat disheveled appearance, he seemed rather amiable.

“How can I not f*cking recognize him?” Chen Junnan frowned. “It’s {Celestial Snake}.”

“Tsk! Celestial Snake?” Zhou Six’s eyes widened instantly.

Hearing this, Chen Junnan looked at her and said, “You know, Zhou Mo, this life of mine holds but three wishes.”

“Tsk, what?” Zhou Six snapped.

“My first wish is for world peace. My second, that no one should suffer a bitter fate. As for the third…” Chen Junnan sighed. “I hope that my friend Zhou Mo could speak without beginning every sentence with {tsk}.”

Zhou Six moved her lips, trying to speak, but quickly realized she really couldn’t start a sentence without {Tsk}.

“Tsk! What I say has nothing to do with you?!” She swung a hard punch at Chen Junnan. “Enough nonsense. You’re acquainted with {Celestial Snake}?”

“Mhm.” Chen Junnan nodded. “Zhou Mo, make sure no one looks into {Celestial Snake}’s eyes. If they fear arousing suspicion, just look at his nose instead.”

“Tsk, why?”

“Because that bastard can know what you’re thinking if you make eye contact,” Chen Junnan explained. “Luckily, this young master was smart enough to figure out a workaround.”

A disquiet stirred within Zhou Six. Qian Five most likely recognizes the {Celestial Snake}, but Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin harbored many secrets in their minds. If the {Celestials} were to uncover their plans now, the consequences would be catastrophic. She immediately lowered her head and transmitted a message via {Sound Conveyance}.

The two standing behind Qian Five subtly shifted their gaze upon receiving Zhou Six’s message.

Qian Five, after recognizing the man in front of him, quietly reached into the chest pocket of his leather jacket and put on a pair of worn sunglasses.

“Ah, you…” Celestial Snake gave a bitter smile, his face stiff with unease. “{Conjoined Identity Bloom}, why act as such…? We’ve known each other for so many years, and this is my first time on your turf…This shouldn’t be how you treat your guests—”

“Celestial Snake, though you are a {guest}, I cannot wholly trust you.” Qian Five gave a faint smile. “You can scarcely rein in your own ability for the secrets of others hold far too great a lure for you.”

“Alas…” Celestial Snake chuckled, then nodded. “Yes… indeed. Though it’s terribly rude of me… I truly cannot restrain myself…”

He then cast a glance at Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin behind Qian Five. “Perhaps it’s a bit presumptuous, but these two are…?”

“Is it necessary to pry in such detail?” Qian Five said. “They are my friends, lodging here for the time being. As for you—we share no ties. You hardly look as though you’ve come for trade. What business brings you?”

“I… I actually…” Celestial Snake rubbed his hands nervously. “I’ve come to find someone—”

“One hundred thousand,” Qian Five said. “For one hundred thousand yuan, we can find anyone within a single cycle—{indigenous inhabitants} excluded.”

“One hundred thousand…?” Celestial Snake paused, then forced a wry smile. “Alas… how long has it been since anyone spoke of {money}? I don’t have a coin to my name.”

“Then it will be difficult for us to help you…” Qian Five replied, feigning reluctance.

“Then would this work…?” Celestial Snake stepped forward and lowered his voice. “I’ve recently made a new discovery: I’m now able to have {indigenous inhabitants} trigger their {Reverberation}. If you’re willing, I’ll trade that method to you.”

Qian Five paused, weighing the feasibility, but soon shook his head. “{Indigenous inhabitants} have all but lost their sanity. Yes, they can trigger {Reverberation} with very high probability, but they don’t know what they’re doing, acting solely on instinct. That makes the matter sound perilously dangerous.”

“But {indigenous inhabitants} are easy to fool!” Celestial Snake laughed. “Don’t you agree? With a few words anyone can coax them like children, then use their {Reverberation} to accomplish any goal…”

“But they’re also {human}.” Qian Five said, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it. “The only difference between you and me is that I won’t treat people like tools.”

“How–How can people not be tools?” Celestial Snake looked puzzled. “People aren’t just tools… they can be weapons, shields, research material, and test subjects… People are the least valuable things here!!”

"Heh..." Qian Five sneered, spat on the ground, and remarked,“I’m not interested in your chatter, just tell me who you’re looking for.”

“Chen Junnan!” Celestial Snake shouted. “I intend to make that punk’s life a living hell!”

“Hah…” Qian Five’s expression turned icy. “Celestial Snake, I don’t care who you’re looking for here, and whether you experiment on {indigenous inhabitants} is your business—but you just crossed a line of mine.”

“Crossed your… line?” Celestial Snake looked bewildered.

“For you to actually declare you would make {Eldest Brother}’s life a living hell in front of me…” Qian Five stepped toward Celestial Snake. “Do you know why {Cats} exist?”

Before Celestial Snake could react, Qian Five seized his arm.

The next instant, Qian Five’s form rapidly contracted; his height dropped noticeably, until his form perfectly matched Celestial Snake.

“You—” Qian Five wanted to say more when a sudden shortness of breath seized him; this body seemed gravely compromised.

“What are you doing…?” Celestial Snake asked, puzzled. “Did you just copy my body?”