39: Chapter 39 The Official "Fanatical Fans"

The 'BlueDuke' bar was hidden behind the bustling commercial district, the air filled with lazy jazz music and the scent of low-proof alcohol.

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In a semi-open booth tucked in the corner, Lin Sa sat alone.

She had changed into an extremely simple black slip dress, revealing the smooth, taut lines of her arms. Under the ambiguous lighting, she looked like a sophisticated city woman who had just gotten off work and came to drown her sorrows.

But in the view only 'industry insiders' could perceive, a Soul-Hooking Chain, as black as ink and thick as a thumb, was coiled quietly around her forearm like a well-behaved black snake.

The material, neither gold nor jade, exuded a chill originating from the depths of the netherworld.

Lin Sa's long fingers tapped lightly on the wine glass, her fingertips occasionally brushing against the icy chain. In the past, this kind of Yin energy entering her body could have cost her life. Now?

After that ordeal in the Asura training ground, this chill was practically a built-in soul air conditioner; it made her feel completely comfortable.

"Jingling--"

The wind chime at the door rang crisply.

Xu Mo pushed the door open and walked in.

He had changed into a casual button-down shirt, still wearing his signature gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. Looking refined and scholarly, he resembled an IT elite who had just stepped out of an office building.

He swept his gaze around the venue without pausing, walking straight to the corner and pulling out a chair to sit down.

"Contact made?"

The moment Xu Mo settled into the chair, his first words went straight to the point.

He didn't use the honorific 'Your Highness,' which was mandatory in the Underworld, nor did he call her the distant 'Miss Pei.'

Before the Underworld Son of Heaven, who possessed absolute power, they were subjects; but in the real world, they were comrades-in-arms who could entrust their backs to each other.

"She returned as soon as she landed."

Lin Sa took a sip of whiskey and pushed her lit phone screen onto the table.

"It seems the grand spectacle of the Ten Thousand Deities Worship at Luofeng Mountain didn't leave her with any psychological trauma. Her mindset is more stable than we anticipated. Then again, her own brother is a major figure, what is there to panic about?"

Xu Mo nodded, his tense shoulders relaxing as he leaned back against the sofa: "Being able to eat and sleep is a good sign. s-rank instances will be the norm from now on. If her mentality collapses, even the gods can't save her."

As he spoke, he took out his phone. The screen displayed not some social media app, but the player backend of the Thriller Game, glowing with an eerie blood-red light.

"I disbanded the previous temporary team," Xu Mo said without looking up, his fingers flying across the screen. "I've sent out invitations for the new fixed three-person team. Click it. Since we're on the same boat, system binding is the most basic requirement, lest the brain-dead main brain randomly splits us up next time we queue for an instance."

Lin Sa pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped the notification bar.

【Player 'Xu Mo' invites you to join a team.】

【Current Members: Xu Mo (Captain), Pei Duo.】

Looking at the neat row of three names, a flicker of undetectable warmth crossed Lin Sa's eyes.

In that man-eating world, having two names one absolutely trusted listed side-by-side was a luxury more precious than any S-rank item.

"Okay."

Lin Sa tapped confirm, watching the special effects for team establishment explode on the screen, and chuckled lightly: "From now on, we are the 'Jiangcheng Iron Triangle.' But this useless system is only useful for queuing instances; we still need this for daily contact."

She shook the smartphone she used daily.

"So I just created a WeChat group."

Xu Mo pushed his phone to the center of the table. The screen displayed a newly created three-person chat. That classic green bubble interface looked exceptionally intimate under the dim light.

As he operated it, he said, "If anything comes up, just call out in the group directly to avoid missing messages. Also, the 'local specialties' the Earl gifted us this time, and future resource allocation, will all be coordinated in the group."

"Ding dong."

The notification sounded just seconds after the group was created.

An ID with a pink anime avatar, 'Flower Blooms Duo Duo,' popped up, first sending a 【Cat Peeking.jpg】, followed immediately by a long voice message.

Lin Sa tapped it open, and Pei Duo's voice, tinged with playfulness, instantly echoed in the booth.

"Isn't our group name too much like old cadres? 'First Squad'? It sounds like grouping up for an elementary school field trip. Can't we change it to something more domineering?"

Lin Sa couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, her cool, aloof demeanor instantly broken.

She quickly typed a reply: "Then what do you want to call it? 'Underworld Sightseeing Group'? Or 'Eldest Princess and Her Two Sword-Wielding Guards'?"

"Aiya, Sister Sa, you're making fun of me too!" Pei Duo instantly replied with a 【Super Fierce.jpg】.

Xu Mo watched the banter refreshing on the screen, pushed up his glasses, and the corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. He sent a reaction sticker of 【Received】 in the group. Although old-fashioned, it conveyed a sense of reassuring stability.

This was the meaning of returning to reality—having the warmth of human life.

After chatting for a while, the wine in their glasses ran dry.

Lin Sa put away her phone, her expression becoming slightly more serious as she looked at Xu Mo: "Are you free this weekend? We should go see her. After all, she just got back, and some things opened from the Earl's treasure chest are complicated. We need to go over them with her in person. How to use those items, whether they have side effects—we need to check everything."

She paused here, then her tone lightened: "And while we're at it, we can get acquainted with her residence, making it easier to freeload meals in the future."

She completely avoided the word 'protection' or 'setting up defenses,' but both of them understood tacitly—getting acquainted with her residence meant incorporating Pei Duo's living sphere into their absolute defensive perimeter.

"I'm free."

Xu Mo agreed readily.

The two chatted in flat tones, just like ordinary urban white-collar workers making plans for a weekend gathering.

Although Xu Mo's posture appeared casual, his back maintained a subtle tension. His feet were planted flat, a defensive stance ready for explosive movement at any moment.

Lin Sa leaned lazily back on the sofa, but her eyes, which were always half-lidded, continuously swept the area around the booth like radar.

Strength was no longer their capital to show off; it was the foundation integrated into their very breath.

Just then.

The fingers of Lin Sa, holding the wine glass, paused slightly.

A faint sense of being watched, like an extremely fine needle, lightly pricked the back of her neck.

That wasn't the gaze of an ordinary passerby admiring a beauty; that kind of look carried warmth and desire. This gaze, however, was calm, scrutinizing, and extremely purposeful.

She didn't turn her head, nor did her gaze fluctuate in the slightest. She merely used the motion of raising her glass to drink as cover, her vision quickly sweeping across the large decorative mirror behind the bar.

In the mirror's reflection, the man at the next table, wearing a black baseball cap and an unremarkable jacket, was looking down at his phone, but the orientation of his body was subtly aimed in their direction.

Moreover, the pack of cigarettes placed on his table was half-open, and the reflective spot on the lid was perfectly aligned with Xu Mo's position.

A pinhole camera.

Lin Sa's eyes shifted slightly, and she glanced at Xu Mo without making a sound.

Xu Mo's fingers were tracing a not-quite-round circle on the dark tabletop using the condensation from his glass.

He had noticed it too.

The two exchanged no eye contact, nor did they have any excessive reactions. Not even the pace or rhythm of their conversation paused for half a beat.

Xu Mo picked up his glass of soda water, pushed up his glasses, and the lenses refracted the light, creating a glare that obscured his eyes.

"It seems we need to be more careful about our image when we go out from now on," he said plainly, his words carrying a subtle implication. "After all, now that we're 'famous,' some official 'fans' might be a bit too enthusiastic."

Lin Sa understood immediately and smiled, a smile devoid of fear, only possessing a sense of calm superiority.

She downed the last sip of wine in her glass and casually placed the napkin imprinted with the 'BlueDuke' logo over the table, perfectly covering the unfinished water circle.

"Enthusiasm is good; it means we're popular."

...

The camera pulled back.

Inside a commercial van across the bar street, the entire vehicle wrapped in black privacy film.

Several precise display screens emitted a faint blue light. The red facial recognition box in the center of the screens was locked tightly onto the two figures in the corner of the bar...

"Targets confirmed: Xu Mo, Lin Sa."

The intelligence officer wearing an earpiece spoke with a slightly dry voice. Looking at the pair on the screen acting as if nothing was wrong, he inexplicably felt a layer of cold sweat break out on his back.

"Reporting to the team leader, they... seem to have noticed us."