Chapter 267: Coincidence?
GOR Chapter 267: Coincidence?
Roddy’s words were firm and his mind unyielding. Chen Xiaolian was unable to say anything to change his mind. He could not help but feel moved somewhat by this. He then moved to pat Roddy on the shoulder.
The two of them were originally good friends to begin with. After having gone through these series of events, their bond of brotherhood had only grown stronger. To say anything else in this matter would be to sound hypocritical.
“All right! Then we’ll go together!” Chen Xiaolian exhaled.
“That’s how things should have been,” replied Roddy with a sincere smile.
When evening arrived, they went for a sumptuous meal.
The one footing the bill was none other than Roddy the plutocrat. They had seafood for dinner; they devoured four king crabs worth 500 RMB per pound. Australian lobsters, deep-sea abalones, top-grade sea cucumbers and various others were served up in succession.
Lun Tai and Bei Tai gobbled them up without any reservations. As for Xia Xiaolei, he too ate them up while grinning ear to ear.
The intense feelings of stress accumulated from their participation in the London instance dungeon were all swept away during the course of this meal.
Even so, Lun Tai and Bei Tai did feel puzzled as to why such a sumptuous meal was prepared.
Naturally, Chen Xiaolian did not tell them. He simply used the London instance dungeon as an excuse, stating that everyone had worked hard there and needed a refresher.
As usual, after having struggled to survive within the instance dungeon, Lun Tai and Bei Tai wanted to go vent it all out – last time, after completing the Tokyo instance dungeon, these two brothers went to the Gambling Capital of the World, Las Vegas to indulge themselves.
This time was no different for them. In fact, they had already booked their tickets.
Although Awakened ones possessed abilities that seemed superhuman, their lives were actually one with less freedom compared to ordinary people. They would be forcibly thrown into the struggle for life and death time and again.
Under such circumstances, stress and negative emotions would only accumulate. If they were unable to give vent to these emotions, they would likely collapse mentally in the near future.
Thus, after concluding an instance dungeon, they will find a good place to vent out the negative emotions within their heart.
On the surface, this dinner arrangement by Chen Xiaolian appeared to be done for the two brothers.
Thus, Lun Tai and Bei Tai did not suspect him. After three rounds of wine, Chen Xiaolian deliberately directed the topic of discussion, guiding it as he planned. In the end, after having gotten drunk on alcohol, Lun Tai and Bei Tai said that they wanted to bring Xia Xiaolei out with them this time to see the world.
Although Xia Xiaolei was a straight child, he could not help but feel tempted – this fellows had been cooped up at home for long enough. It was only natural that he was very eager to be able to go travel.
Thus, on the following day, they took Xia Xiaolei with them as they boarded a plane and left to their travel destination.
After sending them off, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy breathed a sigh of relief.
It would not be easy to explain the matters of the punishment instance dungeon to them after all.
The only ones left at home then were Chen Xiaolian and Roddy. Chen Xiaolian also contacted Da Gang.
After his call went through, Chen Xiaolian found out that Da Gang had returned to Hangzhou in order to settle some private affairs. Chen Xiaolian did not think too much into it; he simply reminded him to be careful and to return right after settling those affairs.
After that, both Chen Xiaolian and Roddy focused on their preparations for the arrival of the punishment instance dungeon.
To Chen Xiaolian’s surprise, after two days had gone by, there was no word from GM.
Chen Xiaolian even took to the streets to call out to GM but he failed to obtain any response.
“Could it be pulling my leg here?” This turn of event made Chen Xiaolian felt rather furious.
Didn’t you say there will be a punishment instance dungeon?
The situations lasted until the third day. On that day, Chen Xiaolian suddenly received an anonymous express delivery package.
The package was sent directly to Chen Xiaolian’s residence, arriving at night.
Chen Xiaolian opened up the package after signing the papers and was surprised to find two odd-looking invitation cards inside.
The cards were very well-made. Both his and Roddy’s names were written upon the gilded cards.
The following was inscribed below their names: X0568 Summit.
X0568 Summit?
What the Hell is this?
This was something he simply could not understand.
There were only two information there.
Time: Three days later at 14.30.
Address: New York City?
Chen Xiaolian was stunned.
He immediately called Roddy.
After Roddy saw the invitation cards, he scratched his head in befuddlement and said, “Don’t look at me, I don’t even know what this is.”
A thought struck Chen Xiaolian and he said, “This… could this be the punishment instance dungeon?”
This so-called summit invitation seemed like an invitation card for an ordinary business summit.
However… the meaning behind this invitation was rather vague.
Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment. He was unable to make contact with GM.
And now he had suddenly received these two peculiar invitation cards.
He could not think of this being anything other than the punishment instance dungeon.
“Well, let’s just go check it out,” said Chen Xiaolian after considering it.
Roddy agreed.
Chen Xiaolian turned the card and found a QR code behind it.
After just a moment’s hesitation, he picked up his mobile phone and scanned the code with it.
A few seconds later, his mobile phone received a text message.
[Mr Chen Xiaolian, thank you for accepting the invitation to the summit. Please arrive at the airport tomorrow at XXXX and board the XX flight by XX Airlines. We have already prepared the ticket and the related flight procedures for you. We look forward to meeting you at the summit.]
“Mm?”
Chen Xiaolian was shocked.
Roddy too, pulled out his mobile phone to scan the QR code on his invitation card.
A few seconds later, Roddy received the same message.
“The way this punishment instance dungeon is carried out seems quite different.”
The puzzled Roddy gave a wry smile as Chen Xiaolian fell into deep contemplation.
…
On the next day, the two of them went to the airport. Sure enough, their flight tickets and foreign flight procedures had been fully handled for them.
After finishing the foreign flight procedures and the checking in, they moved to sit inside the aircraft’s first-class cabin. However, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy were still feeling very dubious.
“Last night, I went online to check the address on the invitation card,” said Roddy in a hushed voice as he tilted his head over. “After checking the address, I found nothing! It seemed like an utterly non-existent place.”
Chen Xiaolian furrowed his brows and replied, “I keep getting this sense that something is not right. This time, we’ll have to be even more vigilant. I feel… this punishment instance dungeon is likely not as easy as GM had made it out to be!”
The first-class cabin’s flight attendant came over to inquire if they had any demands. Chen Xiaolian randomly asked for a beverage before turning his head to look outside the window. A dense feeling of irritability surged out from his heart.
He kept having this feeling that there was something wrong.
It was at that moment that he suddenly heard a voice. Hearing that caused him to shudder!
Chen Xiaolian rapidly twisted his head over. What he saw caused his face to tense up.
…
A young woman walked in through the cabin entrance. She possessed a slim body figure and wore a knee-length skirt that exposed her slender pair of calves. Light makeup had been applied to her beautiful face, charming and elegant. Her neck slender and tall. She walked over while pulling a trolley bag and the steps she took exuded an eye-catching atmosphere of elegance – this was clearly something that could only be acquired through training in a certain field.
When the young woman boarded the aircraft, she spoke to the flight attendant. Chen Xiaolian heard her spoke out and he quickly turned his head around!
“Shizuka, you are taking this flight too?”
“Yes, I finished my training here. So, this time I am going to the US headquarters.”
“I really envy you. Now that you are getting transferred to the US headquarters, you will surely be able to get an enviable position.”
The young woman clearly knew the flight attendant. Next, she followed the flight attendant’s lead and moved to the cabin at the back. As they were moving past Chen Xiaolian and Roddy’s position, she could not help but frown as she noticed Chen Xiaolian staring intently at her. However, thanks to her training in etiquette, she was able to nod her head and show a smile toward Chen Xiaolian before walking past him.
“Hey! Xiaolian! Xiaolian?”
Roddy extended his hand out before Chen Xiaolian’s face and waved it. He asked, “What are you looking at? You look dazed.”
There was an impish smile on Roddy’s face as he said, “That lady is indeed quite the beauty. Even so, is there any need for you to lose yourself like this? Qiao Qiao is way more beautiful compared to her and yet, I have never seen you show such a kind of face.”
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and his face revealed a complicated expression. He said, “No… that young woman, I know her!”
“Oh?”
Those words caught Roddy by surprise; his smile disappeared and was replaced with a serious expression. He said, “What did you mean when you say, you ‘know’ her? In an instance dungeon?”
Chen Xiaolian’s eyes flickered and he nodded his head. “Mm… in my first instance dungeon!”
He revealed a wry smile and said, “She is that flight attendant, Takashimoto Shizuka. 1”
…
This trip to New York was not a direct flight. It was to make a little stop in Japan.
Two hours later, the airplane reached the airport in Japan. By then, Chen Xiaolian had given this matter a considerable amount of thought.
Takashimoto Shizuka?
That flight attendant had gone through the dangers of his first instance dungeon together with him.
However… after the instance dungeon was over, she was refreshed and returned to her role as an NPC. Nothing special happened to her.
It had appeared that… they would not have anything to do with one another again in the future.
And yet, he ended up meeting her in this airplane today.
Was this a coincidence?
Or…
The airplane remained within the Japan airport for a moment. Chen Xiaolian and Roddy did not get off from the airplane. They simply waited aboard the airplane for the passengers within the Japan airport to board the airplane.
This process lasted for nearly half an hour.
Chen Xiaolian was unable to help himself but turn his gaze back toward the Economy class and look at it.
He threw several furtive glances at Takashimoto Shizuka as he attempted to gauge if there was anything different with her.
However, Chen Xiaolian found nothing.
In fact, due to him throwing too many glances at her, his peculiar actions ended up attracting Takashimoto Shizuka’s attention.
Chen Xiaolian had been staring intently at Takashimoto Shizuka for a full five minutes – in the beginning, this Japanese flight attendant was able to maintain a courteous smile on her face. However, after such a long time, she finally became uncomfortable at being looked at as such.
Hesitating for a moment, she directed her eyes to meet Chen Xiaolian’s. Then, she summoned up her courage, stood up and walked toward Chen Xiaolian.
“Excuse me,” said Takashimoto Shizuka who leaned over slightly. She spoke using English that was not too fluent. “Mr, you have been staring at me for quite some time now. May I ask if we’ve met before?”
Chen Xiaolian’s mouth was left hanging as Roddy who was sitting beside him giggled before deliberately turning away.
Chen Xiaolian was lost for words for a moment before saying, “I am sorry. I must have made a mistake. I just thought you looked like a friend of mine.”
As a flight attendant, Takashimoto Shizuka had heard such words meant to strike up a conversation with her plenty of times before. After hearing those words, it was only natural for her to lump Chen Xiaolian in with those fellows trying to strike up a conversation with her. However, she was able to maintain a courteous smile on her face. With a soft smile, she said, “I am very sorry, I have no such recollections. You must have indeed be mistaken. Therefore… if possible, please don’t keep staring at me like that. That action is rude… ah, I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me for my words.”
Chen Xiaolian returned the smile while Takashimoto Shizuka turned around and returned to her seat.
“See? Now people think you’re a pervert,” said Roddy who chuckled gleefully. He then looked at Chen Xiaolian with a curious expression. “You experienced your first instance dungeon with her? She has quite the looks. Did something happen between you and her?”
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Chen Xiaolian’s face – he was unable to stop himself from recalling the memorable kiss in the underground labyrinth.
That was his first kiss…
“Stop spouting nonsense,” Chen Xiaolian said to Roddy without answering.
Roddy cast a meaningful gaze at Chen Xiaolian.
However, Roddy’s face was quick to contort!
The new passengers moved toward where they were.
After a group of passengers walked forward, a thin and small figure carrying a bag slowly walked up the airplane.
The figure had a bald head with fairly good looking facial features. However, there was heavy makeup on the figure’s face. That was especially true of the smoky makeup on the person’s eyes. It was so heavy that the person’s face was nearly unidentifiable.
However, that bald head was very unique and conspicuous.
Additionally, the bald-headed girl’s neck revealed a flame shaped tattoo!
The moment he caught sight of the bald girl, Roddy’s face twisted and he uttered, “It can’t be this coincidental, can it?”
Chen Xiaolian turned his head to look at what had Roddy up in a bunch and was stunned as well.
Nagase Komi 2!
That bald girl!
Back in the Tokyo instance dungeon, she had temporarily joined his guild and was captured by Tian Lie in the end and was forced to leave the guild… she was that…
That bald girl!
1. Takashimoto Shizuka is the Japanese flight attendant who first appeared in Chapter 2.
2. Nagase Komi first appeared in Chapter 134.