Quadruple split.

Chapter 2421 Mercy
"It seems that the schedule I arranged for you is too easy."

Xiao Ai looked up at No. 2 Bella Street, which was burning in flames, and unbuttoned her shawl. She said in a light and calm tone, "To be honest, I have tried very hard to overestimate our 'witch', but in the end..."

"As a result, this move was still so fast that we could hardly imagine it, so that your schedule, which was so tight that you could hardly fit a needle in it, had large gaps."

Cole took off Xiao Ai's shawl lightly, put it on his arm, and raised his eyebrows and said, "But since you have a rare break time, why don't you take a break before the meeting? Don't you think you can help?"

The Sun Priest, whose strength was far inferior to Cole's, shook his head slightly and explained, "I just wanted to go out for some fresh air and take a look at your work. Was this fire the work of little brother Gandalf?"

"I guess so, but even without me, you must have countless ways to burn this place down."

Young Gandalf, who was acting as Cole's intelligence specialist, sat cross-legged on the ground, holding his cheek and saying boredly, "To be honest, I think Maleficent and I are actually quite redundant. After all, facts have proven that as long as we follow Trey's... uh, Ace of Hearts' plan, there will be no possibility of complications. Her plan can even accurately predict the end time of the operation to within ten minutes."

Cole smiled slightly, raised his hand and said hello to the member of the Kevos family who happened to be passing by and was on guard at the corner of the street. He said, "Although today's operation is simple, its nature is an extreme node where success is the only option and failure is not allowed. Otherwise, how can a mere [Fire Demon Mercenary Group] be worthy of Ms. Ace of Hearts's help?"

"I can tell."

Young Gandalf nodded and said, "As we say, it's like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken."

“But it is necessary.”

Xiao Ai's eyes, as calm as water, reflected the raging fire that had completely devoured the [Fire Demon] and stirred up thick black smoke. She said calmly, "We don't have much time, and if we want to achieve as much as possible within a limited time, we must push our 'efficiency' to the limit."

At this point, Xiao Ai suddenly tilted her head slightly, and Cole next to her immediately took out a pocket watch from his pocket, opened it, and held it in front of the girl with one hand.

"Thank you."

After checking the time, Xiao Ai nodded slightly to signal Cole to put away the pocket watch. After thinking for about ten seconds, he confirmed with Cole: "How many fish that have escaped the net are left in the Nightless Zone now?"

Cole shrugged and answered simply and clearly with one word: "Zero."

"To be honest, if the gentleman was here, I would definitely ask him to keep Ms. Ace of Hearts here for a while longer."

Xiao Ai sighed and said helplessly: "It's really not a good feeling to just experience happiness and then let it go right away."

Cole chuckled and teased, "If you didn't know, you would think you were heartbroken."

"No love loss is as painful as losing Ms. Ace of Hearts."

Ms. Ai Vanye, who is currently in charge of all matters of Harlequin in the Free City, sighed in a rather exaggerated tone, then turned to look at the young Gandalf who had the word "doing nothing" written on his face, and asked, "Little brother Gandalf, do you know how long this fire can last?"

The boy, who was well-versed in the ways of the mage, did not even think twice and immediately replied, "If there is no external interference, it can probably burn for about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?"

Xiao Ai repeated in a low voice, and after thinking for a moment, she asked again: "Can you keep going for a while longer?"

"what?"

Young Gandalf was stunned for a moment, and it took him half a second to respond: "Of course I can. Even if there is no land to burn, I can add fire blasts or something, and burn it until night."

Xiao Ai nodded and continued, "Then...what if I want to ensure the architectural integrity of No. 2 Bella Street as much as possible?"

The boy thought about it and nodded, "That's fine, but it's a bit troublesome."

"Then I'll trouble you, brother Gandalf."

Xiao Ai smiled and said, "Please continue to fan the flames here and try not to cause further damage. When it's time to stop, someone will come and tell you."

Because of Maleficent's lolita transformation, young Gandalf, who thought he owed the Harlequin a favor, readily agreed, "No problem."

"Then please."

Xiao Ai bowed to the boy in the manner of the Sun Cult, then turned to Cole and said, "Let's go."

"learn."

Cole nodded slightly, and then put the shawl back on Xiao Ai who was about to leave the 'warm campfire', and then waved to the young Gandalf: "See you later, buddy."

The boy, who had already stood up with his staff in his arms and was about to add more firewood, nodded lazily and said, "See you later."

……

ten minutes later
No. 0 Bella Street, in front of the Street Committee House
"We arrived too early."

As Cole walked side by side with Xiao Ai into the empty courtyard, he frowned and said, "I still think you should take some time to rest."

Xiao Ai stood by the flower bed in front of the villa gate, turned around and smiled at the worried young man, "Think about it, even if everything is as planned, it can't change the fact that today is a big day. As the agent of the gentleman, I will definitely not be able to sleep at this critical moment."

“There are many ways to take a break.”

Cole sighed, held his forehead and said, "I didn't say you have to sleep."

"you're right."

Xiao Ai smiled and said happily: "So taking a walk and chatting here is the way I choose to rest."

"You, you, you."

Seeing that the other party had no intention of reflecting on himself, Cole was increasingly at a loss for what to do with this friend who was apparently gentle and well-behaved but stubborn in nature. He could only try to exert a positive influence on him. He shook his head helplessly, took out his dagger and skillfully trimmed the branches of the plant in the flower bed, while asking, "By the way, why do you need Brother Gandalf to help keep the fire going?"

"It's just a show."

Xiao Ai admired the increasingly neat flowerbed in front of her and said leisurely, "On the one hand, it lets 'outsiders' know that today's incident was not a 'farce' but a 'tacit understanding', and stops them from trying to fish in troubled waters. On the other hand, it lets 'insiders' know that the place has been burned to the point where there is nothing left, and they don't need to help 'clean up the battlefield'."

Cole paused for a moment and asked, "I understand the external aspect. It's nothing more than using this quiet murder and arson to hint that the forces on Bella Street, except for the [Fire Demon], are very united. But pretending to burn the place down... all on one street, do you think they will believe it?" "Of course not."

Xiao Ai bent down and picked up a golden-red leaf, then tiptoed to place it on top of Cole's head as if to play a prank. She explained calmly, "Whether it's Mr. Hermes and Ms. Irma who are completely on our side, or Father Lorenzo and President Imelda who are always watching the situation, they are all cunning people. Let alone such a small trick, even if they use several times more complicated means, it will probably be useless."

Cole was stunned for a moment: "Then you still..."

"I wanted to convey to them only one message, which was 'I want them to be misled into thinking that 2 Bella Street was burnt clean'."

Xiao Ai walked past Cole and stepped briskly onto the stone steps in front of the gate that were warmed by the sun. "This way, they will mistakenly think that No. 2 Bella Street has been burned down."

Cole, who had just finished trimming the flowerbed, smiled and slowly followed his friend, whose back was as frail as ever: "You are becoming more and more like Mr.

"No."

"There's none?"

"If it had been you, I'm afraid it wouldn't just be 2 Bella Street that would have been on fire, but the entire block."

"Uh……"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"If my strength is to take advantage of the situation, then what you are best at... is the simplest, yet most difficult, thing - flipping the table."

"really."

……

Game time AM08:47
Liberty City, 0 Bella Street, nd Floor
"Yo."

The leader of the Blue Scripture, Hermes, who looked slightly feminine but was actually a handsome man with a lot of positive energy in his heart, walked in cheerfully, raised his eyebrows and said, "It seems that I am the last one to arrive."

"Logically speaking, the Fire Demon, the fire-headed snake boss, should be the last to arrive."

The heavily made-up female orc, Alma Heiche, took a sip of her pipe and looked at Xiao Ai, who was sitting quietly at the corner of the long table with a harmless smile on her face. She was the agent of Countess Leisa Kevos and said meaningfully, "But if Boss Firehead Snake can't come back... Tsk tsk, that's another matter."

But Xiao Ai just smiled and said nothing, without any expression.

Hermes, on the other hand, pulled out the nearest chair, sat down on it, crossed his legs, and sneered, "It's already this late, why bother beating around the bush? I don't believe that the Kevos family has never approached the people present here, or is it true that only our [Blue Holy Scripture] is favored by the Countess?"

"Ahem, Boss Hermes really knows how to joke."

Imelda, the president of the Imelda Chamber of Commerce, showed a hypocritical, wrinkled smile and said, "Although the Countess did not personally come to greet me, an old lady, she did trouble Xiao Ai to go there alone."

The Patriarch of the Black Curtain Church, Father Lorenzo, who was a half-orc from the Vole Clan and looked a little wretched, and a tall, thin, triangular-faced old man who was known for being a man who could get along with everyone, also said, "As for me, Brother Cole has come over."

Hermes nodded with satisfaction and took over the rhythm of the conversation. He said slowly, "In that case, let's get straight to the point and let the Kevos family, who have greeted everyone present in advance, explain the incident a little bit."

"It's a solution."

Alma blew out a smoke ring and said casually, "Since no one can escape responsibility, why not just make things clear. What do you think, Ms. Vanye?"

"I have no opinion."

Xiao Ai nodded calmly, and then said in a soft voice with a slow rhythm and bright tone: "Well, let me explain again why the former owner of No. 2 Bella Street and also a former member of the Street Committee, the [Fire Demon Mercenary Group], encountered such an unfortunate accident today."

Everyone present nodded, seemingly having no objection to Xiao Ai's somewhat bizarre narration in the current situation. The reason was simple, that is, "unfortunate accident" has always been a common excuse used by various forces of all sizes in the Free City to resolve internal conflicts.

The "misfortunes" in it are naturally 100% genuine and of high quality. As for the "accidents"... if nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any accidents at all. This kind of black humor, which is quite in the style of the City of Freedom, with a clear distinction between true and false, and half of each, is really hilarious.

“We regret to say that, despite the fact that the Fire Demon Mercenaries were diligent, responsible, and honest during their tenure as committee members, they still exposed a large number of regrettable problems.”

Xiao Ai lowered her eyes and said softly, "That's because they are too conscientious, responsible, and honest."

"Pfft-"

Hermes, who has always been a prickly person, couldn't help laughing this time and clapped his hands, "Okay, that's very well said!"

Alma sneered and said nothing.

Old lady Imelda concentrated on twisting the priceless bracelet on her finger and did not say a word.

Only Father Lorenzo smiled awkwardly and reluctantly agreed: "Yes... yes..."

"You should all be aware that this is a city that is outrageously cruel. As a member of the neighborhood committee, if you act too simply and directly, it will undoubtedly have a very negative impact on our group."

Xiao Ai also smiled and continued to explain: "So after a simple assessment, we believe that the friends of [Fire Demon] don't actually know what this position means, so we plan to teach them in the most gentle way possible."

Alma turned her head to look at the curling smoke outside the window and emphasized with a clearly rising tone: "Teaching?"

"Yes, teaching."

Xiao Ai nodded and said seriously: "If they can prove that they have the capital to correct their mistakes, then they can realize the problem at the lowest cost, and then gradually catch up with the pace under everyone's guidance. On the contrary, if they fail to prove this..."

"Does he deserve to die?"

"Think about it carefully. We almost let the Fire Demons leave all their elite troops, leaving them enough power to gain a foothold anywhere outside the Free City. Isn't this merciful enough?"

"That makes sense, but... aren't you afraid that they will use this power to come back for revenge?"

"In that case, we will have no choice but to take back this mercy."

Chapter 2412: End