In the office of the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations in the Dragon Nation's capital, stood Kong Zhiwang, the Bureau's third Director. A middle-aged man with a square face and impeccably tailored attire, he had just returned to his office after completing a mission, only to be greeted with an urgent report.
He stared at the computer screen displaying the Sakura Nation's retaliatory strike, lost in thought. Then, he turned to Xuehua, his Deputy Director and personal maid, who stood beside him. "Xuehua, what's your take on this?"
"You're asking for my opinion?" Xuehua replied with a helpless expression. "All the possibilities are clearly outlined in the report. Either this is White Eagle's retaliation, or Sakura Nation is trying to sow discord. If it's the former, and White Eagle wants a fight, we'll gladly meet them head-on. If it's the latter, Sakura Nation will pay the price!"
"Regardless of the truth, we need to discuss this thoroughly before reaching any conclusions. Our immediate priority is to contact White Eagle and have a proper conversation."
"Hmm, I agree," the Director nodded. "My previous case is finished anyway, so I'll handle this personally."
"Wait, if you already had a plan, why even ask me?" Miss Maid's lips twitched involuntarily.
"Isn't it nice to make you feel involved?"
"Bullshit! I handle most of the Bureau's affairs anyway. Do I really need this kind of 'involvement'?"
The Director chuckled, abandoning his teasing. He immediately began contacting White Eagle.
In this digital age, meetings naturally come in two flavors: virtual and in-person. On the surface, online conferences seem far more convenient.
Yet humanity remains tethered to formalities.
Imagine a head of state paying a "friendly visit" to another country, only to conduct a video call at dawn. How utterly lacking in sincerity! A face-to-face meeting would undoubtedly convey far greater commitment.
While this wasn't exactly a friendly visit, such a critical matter demanded the weight of an in-person discussion. Online channels simply couldn't offer the same assurance.
But this led to another problem: where should they hold the meeting?
White Eagle's territory was out of the question. After all, they were suspected of betraying their agreement and secretly plotting revenge. It was too risky to gamble on their good behavior. If White Eagle truly lost control and decided to attack during the meeting on their own soil, it would be suicide.
By the same logic, the meeting couldn't be held in the Dragon Nation either. White Eagle suspected the Dragon Nation of orchestrating the Martyr's death—who knew if they might try to double-cross them again?
After careful consideration, the Director picked up his phone and addressed the Wizard, one of the eight representatives from White Eagle. "How about holding the meeting in the Sakura Nation?" he proposed. "We'll decide the exact location and inform you the day before. Is that acceptable?"
After a brief pause, the Wizard replied, "Very well. We have no objections."
And just like that, the matter was settled.
At first glance, the meeting location seemed slightly disadvantageous to the Dragon Nation. After all, the Sakura Nation was White Eagle's puppet state. If this entire incident truly stemmed from White Eagle's revenge, wouldn't that put the Dragon Nation in a two-on-one situation?
Conversely, if this was a provocation orchestrated by the Sakura Nation, White Eagle's goodwill toward them would plummet the moment the truth came to light. After all, no one wants to be used as a pawn. With the Dragon Nation fanning the flames, they could thoroughly embarrass the Sakura Nation, and in the best-case scenario, even fracture the master-servant relationship between them.
This choice was therefore a mixed bag of advantages and disadvantages.
Furthermore, the meeting location, hastily chosen by the Dragon Nation, offered a high degree of security. But that wasn't enough. After hanging up the phone, the Director said, "Assemble the Second Special Mobile Squad, Yazi. They'll accompany me on this mission."
Yazi was the most mobile squad among the nine, each member possessing abilities like teleportation, blinking, and instant transmission. In the event of an emergency, they could instantly evacuate everyone, including the Director, back to Dragon Nation territory, ensuring absolute safety.
Finally, it's worth noting that the Sakura Nation remained completely unaware of the joint Dragon Nation-White Eagle meeting taking place on their soil. Neither nation had any intention of informing them, because... the Sakura Nation's opinion simply didn't matter. They had no power to object.
-
Meanwhile, in the Bureau of Anomalous Research next door, another group was discussing the same incident.
In a pristine laboratory, two researchers in white coats and masks were bent over their experiments, yet their conversation had nothing to do with their work.
"Dr. Jiang (Xiao), have you heard about the Sakura Nation's attack on Longcheng?"
"Of course," Xiao replied.
"What's your take on it?"
"An eye for an eye, blood for blood!" Xiao said expressionlessly. "They acted as they did, and we must retaliate in kind."
This situation was different from the earlier Martyr incident. The Martyr's true objective hadn't been an attack, and he'd shown no genuine murderous intent throughout. But this time, the Sakura Nation operative had come with clear intent to kill.
Even though he ultimately failed, would you forgive someone who tried to murder you just because their shot missed?
"Exactly! You always understand me perfectly!" the other researcher chuckled. "In my opinion, this isn't some White Eagle retaliation or a scheme to sow discord. It's just a Martyr loyalist in the Sakura Nation who somehow learned of the Martyr's death and went berserk for revenge."
"Perhaps," Xiao said. "The Bureau of Anomalous Investigations will likely drag White Eagle into a meeting about this incident, and the venue will almost certainly be in the Sakura Nation—it's the most suitable location. I'll let you know the exact time and place as soon as I find out."
"Meetings, meetings, meetings! All those Bureau guys ever do is hold meetings, right?" the other man scoffed, pursing his lips. "Thank goodness no one died this time. But if people had been killed, would they still just be holding meetings? What if the Sakura Nation planted a bomb here that killed hundreds or thousands—would they still be holding meetings? Can't they make a decisive move for once? If you ask me, we should use this as an excuse to declare war on the Sakura Nation. Wouldn't that be better?"
Xiao ignored the question and said instead, "In any case, I'm leaving this to you, Xing."
"Got it. Leave it to me!" Xing replied.
-
TL Note: Man they believed things fast huh?