Above the Blood Moon

The lobby of the Dawn Star Hotel is decorated in a magnificent style, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the dome, each crystal reflecting a dazzling light under the light.

Jockley walked to the front desk, gave a room number, and the staff checked the records before respectfully handing him a room key.

"Sir, your room is ready, a penthouse suite. We wish you a pleasant stay."

Jockley nodded, took the room key, and walked toward the elevator, with the priest and Big Yellow following closely behind.

The elevator doors closed, and the numbers slowly ticked down. Only after confirming that Floyd definitely wouldn't notice did Jockley breathe a sigh of relief.

"Margaret did a good job," he muttered.

This room was booked in advance by Margaret on the dark web using a forged Olympus ring identity document under the name "Krijo Novak," the very role he would be playing tonight.

From identification documents to booking records to payment information, the entire process was forged flawlessly.

Jockley had to admit that the members of their mercenary squad were truly a hidden force of talent.

As for himself? Jockley shamelessly placed himself in the position of a mascot in his mind.

After all, it seems that so far he hasn't done anything productive except act as bait and occasionally use his brain.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, and the three of them stepped out and walked down the thickly carpeted corridor to their room.

The torrential rain completely swallowed the outline of the ruined town, with only occasional streaks of lightning briefly illuminating the silhouettes of the low, dilapidated buildings.

Chokley and Dahuang immediately took off their glasses and pounced onto the big bed. Luckily, the bed was of good quality, otherwise Dahuang's weight would have definitely caused it to collapse.

"Father, aren't you going to take a rest?"

The priest did not turn around, but simply shook his head slightly.

"You guys should rest first."

Jockley didn't try to persuade him further. He knew the priest's habits; this mysterious man always liked to be alone in quiet times, looking out the window, lost in thought.

Jockley patted the mattress, put the external nervous system back on, and started talking to Big Yellow.

"Okay, tell me what you felt tonight."

An emoji popped up on Big Yellow's screen:

[Thinking]

"I can't describe the feeling precisely, but it appeared about halfway through the party, lasted for about ten seconds, and then disappeared. Something was vibrating at the same frequency as my core processor, which gave me an urge to get closer for a moment."

"But I can't pinpoint its source, nor can I identify what it is."

Jockley's mind raced, but he couldn't come up with a better solution, so he had to keep it to himself for the time being.

After all, the task at hand is obviously of greater importance.

"Let's write it down first, and then we can look it up later after the task is completed. Now let's talk about tomorrow's plan."

Jockley leaned against the headboard with his hands behind his head.

"First of all, we definitely have to complete this task. We can't afford to lose our 2000 Star Alliance Coins."

A thumbs-up emoji popped up on Big Yellow's screen.

"Then, after I get this money, I want to use it to strengthen our relationship."

Big Yellow tilted its head, and the optical sensor flashed, indicating its doubt.

"My ability is still too weak. Level 1 support is not enough in real combat. I want to improve it. I need to at least reach level 2, and preferably master some more practical abilities."

Suddenly, Da Huang pulled the bone gun out of his pocket.

"That doesn't count."

Jockley covered his face and waved.

"Damn it, I mean, for a proper boost to combat power, this stuff has too many side effects."

Big Yellow put the bone gun away, and a smug emoticon popped up on the screen.

"I know you're envious, but touching this thing won't have any effect on me."

"……I don't."

"You have it."

"Shut up."

Jockley rolled his eyes and continued.

"After the mission is over, I want to continue digging along the clues in the development zone. Yadea Technology Company must be hiding some secret in that area, as well as the trail of blue tissue fluid."

Chokley pulled out the bottle of blue tissue fluid that Huang Shuangyan had given him when they were on the run. He stared at the small bottle, his gaze becoming complicated.

"This is most likely the reason why I became a superhuman."

He was unsure whether there was a direct causal relationship between the two.

"Yadea Technology went to such great lengths to search for this thing, even sending red-clad men to turn the mining area upside down, it must be very important."

Jockley carefully put the bottle back into his pocket.

"After the mission was completed, we continued our investigation along this line."

An emoticon popped up on Big Yellow's screen.

[OK.jpg]

The priest remained standing motionless by the window, his gaze fixed across the rain towards the ruins of town, lost in thought. The rain continued to fall outside.

suddenly

"Father."

The priest heard Jockley's voice from behind. He slowly turned around and saw Jockley standing not far behind him, holding a bowl of lyra fruit-flavored ice cream.

Jockley smiled gently and handed over the bowl.

"I ordered delivery, lira fruit flavor, I don't know if you'll like it, Father."

To be honest, things in Mirror Lake District are much more expensive than in Remains Town, and there are also delivery fees. This is probably because most of the people living in Mirror Lake District are the higher-end residents of Forgotten City.

The priest looked down at the bowl of ice cream. The pale purple ice cream ball swayed slightly in the bowl, and the surface had begun to melt into a small puddle of thick liquid.

The unique fragrance of lira fruit, mixed with the aroma of milk and nuts, slowly diffuses in the air.

His fingers paused slightly when they touched the cold bowl.

"Thanks."

Jockley smiled, turned around and walked back to his bedside.

"Let's eat and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very important day. We need to get Floyd completely hooked, and it would be best if we could give him some alone time with us."

The priest did not answer; he simply lowered his gaze to the bowl of ice cream in his hand, then picked up the spoon from the bowl, scooped out a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.

The ice cream melts on the tongue, cool and smooth, with just the right amount of sweetness. The aroma of lira fruit fills the mouth, with a hint of tartness that perfectly balances the sweetness.

It had been such a long time since anyone had offered him an ice cream, so long that he had almost forgotten what it tasted like, even though he didn't actually like ice cream.

The rain outside the window grew heavier, and a few muffled claps of thunder occasionally echoed in the distance, rolling away into the night sky.

The priest gently placed the empty bowl on the desk. There was still a small puddle of pale purple liquid at the bottom of the bowl, which he had scraped clean with a spoon.

Then he turned around and went to Jockley's bedside.

Jockley was already asleep, the blanket only covering his chest, his breathing even and long, and his face showing a completely relaxed expression.

He was, after all, just a young man in his early twenties.

The priest bent down, reached out and gently pulled the edge of the blanket up to cover Jockley's shoulders as well.

Then he straightened up, turned around, and walked towards his bed. The large yellow monitor in the corner flashed in the darkness.

The protection of Jockley was etched into his underlying code, and only after realizing it was the priest did Big Yellow shut down again.

The room fell completely silent, though the downpour continued.