Sky-cracking Rider

"That list?"

Tanya, the female liaison officer from the Tunguska Police, widened her eyes. She remembered something, seemingly having an impression of it.

"Exactly! That list, verified covertly and found to be mostly true, contains several big fish," Adrian nodded, confirming her guess.

It was Xiao Jiu's personal information list that he had thrown in front of Liaison Officer Rossi. During the time when Squad 04 sought the antidote for the "Convict's" poison, the "Bear Hunting Special Operations Division" had not been idle either.

Without this information, relying solely on Squad 04 being targeted by the "Convict," even if they obtained the antidote in the end, they would have had a hard time avoiding criticism for incompetence. Now, they had managed to barely recover some ground.

Tanya looked at the box in Adrian's hand with a complex expression and said, "It looks like there's hope of catching the real mastermind behind it all!"

The appearance of this list might have caught both friends and foes by surprise and could become an uncertain element that breaks the balance.

"Our current task is to wait for the rabbit by a tree stump, to avoid startling the snake by hitting the grass, so we can follow the vine to find the melon, expanding our victory."

Adrian, filled with confidence at this moment, was not a headless fly, but rather had a well-prepared plan with confident anticipation.

Whether it was him or the Bear Hunting Special Operations Division, the things they wanted were not limited to the items on the list.

The number of "Water Bear" organization members was definitely much more than those on the list. Once the targets were locked, all it would take was patience to eventually reel in a big catch.

Therefore, the box in Adrian's hand was Squad 04's bait, ideally capable of catching the entire "Water Bear" organization in one sweep.

"I hope these despicable guys can be dealt with sooner rather than later."

Tanya seemed full of drive and determination.

The Mobile Base Vehicle, braving the wind and snow, entered Yarsk City after leaving the public airport.

This time, Squad 04 did not choose to stay in a hotel, but instead rented a villa in the suburbs, which also came with a large, heated greenhouse garage, spacious enough to accommodate the entire Mobile Base Vehicle.

Hotels were convenient, but too public; in case the "Water Bear" organization took notice, not only was there a potential for poisoning incidents to happen again, but in any emergency, it would be easy to be hamstrung by the need to avoid harm to innocent bystanders.

"What a big villa!"

The large villa, rivaling a small manor, made Tanya, the accompanying police liaison officer, exclaim involuntarily in amazement.

"Public funds, no need to skimp, Tanya, there's a room for you too!"

Mouri Misono gestured a V-sign to the female liaison officer.

The three-story building was not only magnificent but also had ample rooms. Even if each member of Squad 04 and Tanya had their own room, there would still be plenty to spare.

The villa had already turned on the heating, warm and spring-like inside, just like in the Mobile Base Vehicle.

"Pick your own room, take a shower, get over the jet lag, and then we'll meet up."

Adrian patted each member of Squad 04 on the shoulder. Having traveled from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, the long journey resulted in inevitable fatigue. They urgently needed a good rest to recover and be ready for new battles.

This time, Squad 04 had learned from past experiences. The kitchen had no provisions prepared in advance; the refrigerator and cold storage were empty. Adrian used the Space System Alchemy Storage Device he carried with him to extract and replenish the supplies: flour, rice, vegetables, meat, and a variety of seasonings, all stocked up along with other items not yet taken out, enough to sustain eleven people for a full year.

As dusk fell, the members of Squad 04 hastily ate something and returned to their rooms, soon drifting off to sleep one after another.

The Neanderthal Chief Bassan, in charge of the night watch and having downed a bellyful of strong coffee, couldn't resist the onslaught of tiredness. Sitting on the living room sofa, clutching his Single-toothed Long Halberd, he unknowingly started to snore softly.

A stealthy figure approached the doorway to Adrian's guest room, a hand clad in nitrile gloves holding a key, while pressing a plasticine mold onto the fingerprint scanner.

With a soft click, the door was quietly opened.

The shadowy figure approached the bed, took a cautious look around the room, then produced a small glass vial, bringing it close to Adrian who was deeply asleep.

A faint white smoke rose from the mouth of the bottle, and was swiftly inhaled by Adrian's nose.

After a moment, the vial was sealed again with its lid.

The hooded figure's movements became slightly more pronounced, they hummed a strange and eerie tune close to Adrian's ear.

Finally, they took out a triangle iron and, following a certain rhythm, ding-dinged and dong-donged around.

"Adrian, wake up..."

The voice seemed to come from a far-away place.

Adrian, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, suddenly sat up mechanically with a wooden expression, his eyes still tightly shut.

"Please take out the box containing the list... Is the list real?... Is it really for fishing?... The detailed plan..."

In the dimly lit room, flashes of a flashlight went off a few times, and at last, Adrian, sitting on the bed, lay down again.

The figure, wearing the nitrile gloves and hood, even tucked him in before stealthily retracing their steps. The door was locked again; all within fifteen minutes, as if nothing had ever happened.

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"Good morning!"

Adrian, who had rarely enjoyed a sound sleep, was stretching his limbs as he made his way to the dining room.

Passing by the kitchen, he greeted Chen Fei and Mouri Misono who were busy at work.

"Morning, Adrian, what would you like to eat? We have both bread and porridge!"

Chen Fei skillfully fried a sunny-side-up egg; with a light flick of the frying pan, the egg flipped over effortlessly.

Whether it's Chinese or Western style, sunny-side-up eggs are essential.

Mouri Misono was making sushi, bite-sized ones, very delicate.

From time to time, surplus rice grains would be fed to Xiao Jiu, who was hopping about on the countertop, sneaking a taste.

"Of course, bread dipped in porridge, plus a salted duck egg. Oh, there's everything, that's great!"

Adrian saw the stew pot and the basket of bread in the corner of the dining room.

The breadbasket mainly contained white toast, without the sight of the tougher baguettes or the tactical weapon-like borodinsky bread.

There was also a bowl of green-shelled salted duck eggs and fermented tofu.

Red yeast fermented tofu was the perfect substitute for cheese, and it gave the bread a unique flavor when spread on it.

"Morning!"

Members of Team 04 got up one after another and came to the dining room.

This time, the ingredients were brought from Habulav, and the meals were prepared by their own hands, so they no longer had to worry about poisoning; everyone felt at ease.

Almost immediately after, Nicole von Sasha, the female liaison officer of the Tunguska Police, easily found the dining room following the scent and excitedly said, "Wow, it smells so good, it's simply lavish."

Her usual breakfast was basically just tactical borodinsky bread with butter, a few slices of red sausage with one or two pickles, and at most, a large white bear—only when she wasn't hurried would she remember to fry herself an egg, and that was the extent of her extra meal.

"Here, have a cup of milk first to whet your appetite, and it also helps with sleep."

Chen Fei brought over a steaming cup of milk to Tanya.

"Oh, thank you!"

Tanya was so touched by this warm, gentlemanly care that she almost threw herself at him for a hug.

"Tanya, this is specially prepared for you."

Mouri Misono pinched a few small KUMA sushi and presented them on a plate specially for her.

"So delicate, I almost don't want to eat it."

Tanya was both surprised and pleased, she found a fork, skewered a small KUMA from one side to the other, and lifted it up, looking a little wicked.

She bit off the head of a small KUMA and nodded, "Mmm, it tastes really good, I can taste the meat, seaweed, plum, and fish, what fish is it? Salmon, or tuna?"

Then a sip of milk and a bite of KUMA sushi, which actually paired quite well.

"Rainbow trout, it's economical and tastes pretty good too."

Mouri Misono came out wiping her hands with a rag, having pinched hundreds of small sushis since early morning, adding up to roughly a dozen different kinds.

"It tastes a bit like salmon, really good."

Tanya happily squinted her eyes.

"Eat up quickly; there are some questions we want to ask you after."

Adrian took a plate of food and sat opposite Tanya.

"Oh, what about?"

Tanya animatedly started skewering little KUMAs, biting off their heads and gulping down two at a time.

A bite of sushi, a sip of milk—she was thoroughly enjoying the meal.

Holding a piece of toast, Adrian dipped it into the porridge, added a small piece of salted duck egg, and asked leisurely, "Of course, it's about your superiors in the 'Water Bear' organization, and your accomplices!"

"My superior is of course Chief Alexey, wait, superiors and accomplices in the 'Water Bear' organization, what are you talking about? I don't understand?"

Tanya's fork paused mid-air, still skewering a poor sushi KUMA; in just a moment, she had devoured most of the special sushi and the thick milk in the cup was almost gone. Discover exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

"You're a member of 'Water Bear'!"

Adrian was still calmly eating his bread with porridge.

"How, how could that be? You're quite the joker, but this joke isn't funny at all!"

Tanya had difficulty swallowing, losing all appetite.

Adrian calmly swallowed his piece of bread, observing the Tunguska Police female liaison officer and her subtle facial expressions, and said, "Did you come to my room last night as a joke?"

"No, not..."

Tanya was about to react vehemently, aiming to thrust her fork with force, but suddenly an irresistible urge to sleep came over her—her eyelids became as heavy as lead, her limbs became somewhat unresponsive, and her whole body felt as though it had been drained of all energy, slumping under the table.

She suddenly remembered what Chen Fei had said earlier, "Here, have a cup of milk first to whet your appetite, and it also helps with sleep."

Helps with sleep, aids sleep, sleep, sleep...

Her thoughts came to a halt.

"..."

When she regained consciousness, she found herself seated in a chair, not only were her legs shackled, but both arms were twisted behind her and cuffed to something, leaving her completely immobile.

The scene was the living room, and the whole of Team 04 was sitting opposite, collectively waiting for Tanya to wake up.

Tanya was startled and quickly called out, "Captain Adrian, everyone, this is a misunderstanding!"

Adrian did not speak, but Chen Fei brought over a small stool and sat in front of Tanya.

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and face severe consequences!"

The Little Bird on his shoulder threatened fiercely, "Chirp!"

"The fiercest Clan Leader in the history of the Neanderthal tribe!"

Bassan narrated with a serious and earnest face, this guy had no sense of humor whatsoever, so he could play along without any risk of laughing out of place.

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