Teacher Xia Lai is also teaching in Kivotos today

After all, Lin En had experienced this feeling several times when he was following Atsuko and the others in the Trinity black market and some strange places.

Ever since Lin En was forced to "escape" with them, his body would naturally undergo this change when danger approached. To some extent, this could be called something like a sixth sense.

This was one of the reasons why he had been able to stay in their team for so long.

But this time, before this change occurred, Lin En had already discovered the source of the "danger".

Moreover, this time, he was no longer as helpless as before.

At this moment, Lin En realized something and retracted his gaze to look in front of him.

In his sight, a robot waiter was walking towards him from the direction of the building.

Then, it calmly stopped in front of him.

Just when Lin En frowned slightly because of the other party's appearance, the robot waiter first bowed respectfully to Lin En, and then slowly spoke to him.

"Excuse me, is this Teacher Lin En?"

“…I’m right.”

The other party actually knew his name, which made Lin En a little curious, but also a little wary.

Logically speaking, Xia Lai's name was not very well-known, and he was not well-known outside of Gehenna. If he had to say, it was probably only the Caesar Group that cared about his name.

Just as Lin En was thinking this, the waiter spoke again.

"In that case, please follow me. A guest is waiting for you."

"……guest?"

Hearing this somewhat strange name, Lin En couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

But after thinking for a moment, he decided to attend this "Hongmen Banquet".

Since the opponent has already made a move, I will just take it. At worst... I can just overturn the table.

He didn't think that the material strength of this ordinary-looking building could be higher than that of a tank. It wasn't built by a hippopotamus.

Although you can despise the enemy strategically, you must also take the enemy seriously tactically. Therefore, before answering the other party's words, Lin En stretched out his hand, made a throat-clearing gesture, coughed a few times, and gently tapped his chest.

Fortunately, although Alona usually looks a little reckless, she is still very reliable at this time. Almost at the same time when Lin En put his hand down, he felt several subtle vibrations coming from his chest.

After confirming that the vibration was not an illusion, Lynn raised his head and looked at the waiter.

"Lead the way."

Lynn got off the motorcycle and pushed it as he followed the waiter to the building.

After finding a good spot to park the motorcycle, Lynn walked into the building under the guidance of the waiter.

Somewhat surprisingly, the interior of the building looked very normal, with working robots constantly coming in and out, and judging from the slogans and descriptions on the wall, this seemed to be just an ordinary business company.

What surprised Lin En was that after he followed the waiter into the elevator, the other party did not take him to the top floor as described in those novels, but instead took him to the middle of the building.

"Please, another guest is waiting for you here."

Looking at the waiter who bowed slightly to him in the elevator, although Lin En was a little confused, he still stepped out of the elevator.

If the first few floors of the building were very serious staff offices and the like, then this middle floor was like the kind of luxuriously decorated place that usually only appeared on the top floor.

After walking slowly along the red-carpeted corridor for a while, a wooden door appeared in front of Lin En.

"...Let me see your true face."

Lynn muttered to himself as he raised his hand and violently pushed the door open.

After entering the office, Lynn found that the furnishings inside the office were unusually simple.

There are no green plants for embellishment, nor any ornaments or decorations to show status or identity. There is only a simple standard desk and two chairs inside and outside the desk.

"Welcome, Ms. Lin En from Xialai."

The person who said this was a strange-looking man who was sitting behind the desk.

This man had the same body shape as an urban white-collar worker, but his entire body was stained in pitch-black with some white cracks. He wore a neat suit and had only one eye socket that shone with a terrifying white light.

"I didn't expect you to find me... But this is only natural. After all, I'm facing a being who can be called a god to some extent, Xia Lai's teacher..."

The man in black leaned against the table with his hands crossed, his mysterious appearance mixed with a seemingly hypocritical smile.

"It doesn't matter whether I am a god or not, and I have no interest in it..."

Without waiting for the other party to greet him, Lin En took the lead and sat on the chair opposite him. At the same time, he raised his head slightly, crossed his legs, and put on a leisurely posture with a slightly disdainful smile on his face.

"I just want to know who you are and what do you want from me? I think... I don't owe you any debt, right?"

Faced with Lin En's seemingly completely unmoved answer, the man in black chuckled.

"I am Heifu, a member of the Numerology Department. Of course, this is the first time we have met, and Teacher Lin En naturally has no debt relationship with me, so you can rest assured about this."

However, the moment he heard the other party reveal his name, Lin En's brows frowned slightly.

"…It seems that some of what Hoshino-san said about me left a bad impression on you."

The man in black tilted his head slightly and said so with a chuckle.

"But you can rest assured. Although I have a certain cooperative relationship with Caesar, I am different from those guys. I never disdain to use the method of robbery to get what we want."

Chapter 75 Because I Love Them

Facing the words of the man in black, Lin En, who heard some hidden meaning in the words, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"So... as long as you don't use force, you can take whatever you want? Just like when you made Xingye an offer she couldn't refuse?"

Hearing this, Heifu couldn't help but chuckle.

"Although I know what you want to say, Mr. Lin, there are still a few things I think need to be corrected. First, the disaster that befell Abydos was not our fault, and it has nothing to do with us. In the final analysis, both I and the Caesar Group are just taking advantage of this opportunity. Second, regarding the contract I proposed to Mr. Hoshino..."

Having said that, Heifu opened his arms and smiled.

"That's just like providing water to a person dying of thirst in the desert, and that person needs to bear a debt that he can't repay even if he works like a cow or a horse for a lifetime. This is not a rare thing, and it can be seen everywhere in real life. Our consciences don't hurt, and we don't feel that we should take any responsibility. We are not the first to do such a thing, and such things will not disappear just because we don't do it, that's all. As an adult, I think you should understand this, Teacher Lin En."

Of course Lynn understood.

But even so, Lynn still spoke indifferently.

"So, from now on, you won't have to worry about my students. The help, things, and everything they need will be taken care of and undertaken by me alone. So... please stay away from them."

After hearing what Lin En said, Heifu did not show any dissatisfaction or indignation, but nodded calmly.

"Since you said so, I will do it. However, I can only make such a promise to you on my own behalf. As for the rest of my companions... I cannot make a promise for them. After all, I do not want to be your enemy at all at the moment."

Looking at Lin En who frowned slightly, Heifu continued.

"I am an observer, as well as an explorer and researcher. I would like to ask, do you have any idea of ​​cooperating with us?"

"...Kurofu, do you know that sleep talking is what we say while we are dreaming, that's why it's called sleep talking."

After a moment's silence, Lynn straightened up.

"I guess, in your expectation, no matter what you propose, I will reject it with full of justice, right? Yes, although I will indeed reject it, the reason is... because I don't need your cooperation."

Looking at the man in black who seemed to have a puzzled look in his eyes, Lin En chuckled and raised his hand.

And when he placed his hand on the table between them, a sheathed samurai sword appeared out of thin air on the desk.

"Even if you can offer attractive bargaining chips, do you think I will trust an extremely unstable and unknown organization like yours, or someone whose background I don't know? Since you use "rationality" to label yourself, it means you are also "selfish"."

Hearing this, the man in black, who was staring at the samurai sword, pondered for a moment, then replied with a sigh.

"Scientists are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of the interruption of scientific research caused by death... That's what you want to say, right? Then... what is the purpose of everything you are doing now? What do you want?"

“The reason is very simple.”

In response, Lynn picked up the katana again and placed it on his knees, answering without hesitation.

"Because I love them."

"Love? I see... After all, there are many kinds of love in this world. There is not only the love between lovers, but also the love between relatives and friends, as well as the love between teachers and students, and the great love that cares for the world... Fufufu... Interesting, so interesting! Indeed, you can get everything you want even if you don't cooperate with the Secret Art of Numbers. Rather, if you cooperate with us, it may be more difficult to get what you want... Hmm, this is really a headache. It's rare that I met someone who I thought could become a companion, but I didn't expect that I would be one step behind in such a matter..."

After saying this with a tone that was unclear whether it was regretful or excited, the man in black restrained his expression.

"And I think, even within the rules, the debts owed by Abydos are nothing to you, right? You just want to give them a chance to hone themselves... But compared to these things, I want to see how you, teacher, will break through the obstacles set by others and gain the love of these students... I can guarantee that there is absolutely no research project more worthy of observation than yours in Kivotos today."

After hearing what Heifu said, Lin En couldn't help but sneer as he discovered something.

"It seems that you and your companions are not of one mind... Although I did say that I would not cooperate with an organization like yours whose background is unknown, if it is just one individual, then that may not be the case..."

Faced with the hidden proposal that Lin En threw at him, Heifu still appeared unmoved.

"If one day I can discover from you a secret that is far superior to the truth I have studied, I will definitely consider it carefully at that time. After all, I don't want to lose three valuable research partners just yet."

Having said that, the man in black spread his hands slightly towards Lin En, and then patted him gently.

"No matter what, I will do my best to wish you success. Because that also means that something far beyond the significance of our research will be born."

Hearing Heifu's words, Lin En stood up from his chair and picked up Murasame, then lifted his collar with a chuckle.

"Wait and hope."

After leaving this sentence, Lin En pushed open the office door and left.

“…Hahahaha, hahahahahahaha!”

Looking at the office door slowly closing, the man in black seemed to remember something and suddenly couldn't stop laughing, even laughing so hard that he fell forward and backward.

"Sure enough, the decision I made at the last minute was not wrong at all... I helped the teacher cover up his whereabouts and information in secret, so that [that person] could not discover his existence and his influence on that student team... It seems that the seed that I accidentally dropped at the beginning will probably sprout completely in the near future, right?"

As he said this, the man in black clasped his hands together and placed them on his chin.

"Now, I am very much looking forward to your future... Teacher Lin En."

Chapter 76: The Predator of Abydos

"Can you find some information about this guy, Alona?"

After walking out of the building, Lynn took out the tablet hidden in his chest and asked the screen that lit up automatically.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Lynn."

Alona, ​​who appeared on the screen, replied with a somewhat lost expression.

"Based on the information we have collected so far, we can only confirm that the other party seems to be someone who has existed in Kivotos for a long time. However, we cannot investigate his identity."

At this point, Alona tilted her head as if she had discovered something.

"However, there is information indicating that many students seemed to have had contact with the other party in the past, and had even reached some kind of deal with them."

"deal……"

Lynn frowned for a moment, then relaxed.

"Is there any other information?"

"Hmm... no more. Because he never seemed to have caused any incidents or disturbances in Kivotos. Therefore, there is almost no information or records related to him. Of course, it is also possible that this information has been saved offline."

"That is to say... now we only know that this guy is still a guy who follows the rules..."

Thinking back to what Heifu said to him, Lin En couldn't help but curl his lips.

Although the other party's words at that time made him a little angry, he did not choose to quarrel with Heifu on the spot. Firstly, he had no obligation to correct the other party, and secondly, it didn't make much sense.

And judging from the attitude shown by the other party, it might come in handy someday.

However, this does not mean that Lin En will trust him and the "secret art of numbers" behind him.

But now, let’s go back to Abydos.

After putting the tablet back in place, Lynn got on the motorcycle parked nearby.

"Go back first, Alona. They're probably still waiting."

Although Alona did not answer out loud, the vibration coming from the tablet revealed the girl's attitude.

Noticing the girl's response, Lin En stepped on the accelerator and recalled the conversation with Kimono just now, with a slight smile on his face.