Meanwhile, Nian, who was also bored, saw the cards in Kanna's hand and her eyes also lit up.
"Oh, you still have that..."
"Yeah, I almost forgot!" Kanna said proudly, holding up the cards.
???
Seeing the curious glances from the other two, Kanna brazenly pulled over a table from the side.
"Come on, come on. Hmm, with four people, let's play 'Run Fast'..." As Operators, they were all intelligent. Red and Misery were even Elite Operators among them, with strong comprehension skills. With Kanna's explanation, they quickly understood the rules of the game. While the kitchen was bustling with activity, the four had already torn up a pile of paper strips and started their battle.
When Kugen was temporarily finished and happily came out to ask when dinner would be served, he found four faceless paper-strip monsters gathered around a table not far away.
He looked closer and realized it was Kanna and her group.
"What are you all doing?!" He walked over, annoyed, and found them engrossed around the table, playing a strange game with a pile of cards.
After watching two rounds and roughly understanding the rules, he became like Zhuge Liang reborn, circling the group and pointing at the card game in front of them, looking very much like a gambling king.
"Ahem, ahem... What's that smell in here?" Quercus asked with a look of disgust as she entered from outside.
Hearing Quercus's words, Kugen slapped his thigh. "Oh no, my braised meat!"
He went to check and found the pot had already dried out, and a perfectly good braised dish had turned into a lump of charred black carbon.
Looking at the blackened pot, Kugen looked embarrassed... "How about we go to Greenish Spark for our team dinner tonight?" Finally, after discovering that the main dish was beyond saving, Kugen weakly asked.
Quercus sighed. "Alright, let's go to Greenish Spark. I'll go to the market to see if there are any leftover ingredients..."
It wasn't until Quercus spoke that the others sheepishly slipped out of the house.
After leaving, they saw Skyfire standing there with a strange smile on her face.
"You guys are something else. You said you'd treat us to dinner, and you burned the main dish directly..." She gave a thumbs-up as she said this.
"You can't blame us! We're guests, just playing a small game because we were bored sitting inside," Kanna immediately began to shift the blame.
Hearing Kanna's words, the others quickly distanced themselves from Kugen, then nodded and said, "That's right, that's right. Kugen made the food. Us playing games outside doesn't affect the cooking. He just forgot the time..."
At this moment, Kugen was filled with indignation. He hadn't expected these people to betray their teammates so decisively. What happened to "we're all one family once we're on Rhodes Island"? Why did he only feel an immense chill... Kugen looked up at the sky and suddenly a northwest wind blew across his face—well, it was indeed a bit cold in November... When everyone arrived at Greenish Spark, they found it very lively. It was rush hour, and many residents from nearby or passing through would come here for a drink, even though it wasn't exactly a bar.
Seeing Kugen and his group arrive, Sussie, a shop assistant, enthusiastically welcomed them and seated them at the same spot they had been at during lunch.
Soon after, Quercus and Skyfire also walked in from outside, both holding drinks.
"The restaurant next door is open, so I asked them to prepare some dishes, and they'll bring them over to you shortly," Quercus said after placing the drinks on the table.
"Then thank you very much, Miss Quercus..." Kugen said, feeling a bit guilty.
During dinner, Skyfire very enthusiastically served Kanna dishes, causing the others at the table to frequently glance over. However, those in the know could understand. After all, Kanna, who had participated in the entire Battle of Chernobog, had unparalleled achievements in dealing with Reunion Movement.
And how could Skyfire not like a child as small and cute as Kanna, who was also so fierce against Reunion Movement?
That evening, hosts and guests alike enjoyed themselves. The next morning, the three got into the car and bid farewell to Kugen and the others who had come to see them off, preparing to head to Hillock County. Before leaving, Kanna poked her head out of the car window, "Red, don't forget the brocade pouches!"
Hearing Kanna's words from afar, Red waved, indicating that he understood.
"What brocade pouches is Kanna talking about?" Quercus asked Red next to her, puzzled.
"Oh, Kanna gave me three brocade pouches earlier and told me to open them and follow the instructions inside when I encountered corresponding situations."
This was not a secret, and Kanna hadn't asked him to keep it confidential, so Red simply explained the previous events to the other two.
"Kanna has the ability to foresee the future?" After hearing Red's words, Quercus and Kugen exchanged glances.
After leaving Carleton City, the vehicle headed straight towards Hillock County.
"Speaking of which, I never asked before, why were you so worried about Outcast coming to Victoria? Can you really know what will happen in the future?" Misery asked while driving.
"Of course not, but my bond with Grandma Outcast is very, very deep, so I felt that she would encounter danger if she came to Victoria."
"In this situation, I definitely couldn't let Grandma face danger alone, which is why I came." Kanna looked at the scenery outside the window. Although it was also desolate, compared to the barren Kazdel, Victoria's wilderness had large stretches of forest as a backdrop.
"Is that so?" Misery recalled the mission he had inquired about after learning Outcast was coming to Victoria.
Outcast's mission was surprisingly simple: to go to Hillock County to retrieve a list and some documents regarding Victorian companies that had terminated their cooperation with Rhodes Island.
Such tasks were usually assigned to Operators with free time during other missions, to bring back on their way, or to a regular Operator and a messenger. However, Rhodes Island had unusually assigned the already rare and currently very busy Elite Operator Outcast to this task.
This made him feel a sense of unease. According to Kaltsit's usual style, this situation likely meant she had caught wind of something unusual from other intelligence but couldn't confirm it, which is why she would dispatch an experienced Elite Operator to investigate. If extreme circumstances arose, the Elite Operator would temporarily take over the local office, organizing the Operators there to break through, conceal themselves, or evacuate, to preserve Rhodes Island's active forces in the area.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but praise Kanna's keen senses. If it weren't for her reminder, he probably wouldn't have thought of this layer of complexity so quickly.
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