Chapter 495: Chapter 302: En Route to Osaka, Name of the Bee Prince, and the Teaching Ruler
After arriving at the private airport near the Empire State Building, the twelve members of Rainbow Wings boarded the same plane.
The plane was divided into two cabins: Gu Qiye, You Ruirui, Jiushijiu, Kalina, Garfield, and Urushibara Ryuri were in one cabin; Esther, Fan Dongqing, Ke Qingzheng, Oda Ehgo, Alexandra, and Father of Puppets were arranged in the other.
The two cabins were identical in configuration and could be considered luxurious. A corridor ran between them. The corridor was equipped with a sink and a toilet.
Gu Qiye washed his face in the sink.
He wiped his face dry with a towel, turned off the faucet, and the sound of rushing water stopped. He placed the towel back on the rack, lifted his head, and stared blankly at the mirror for a moment, then turned his head and saw a black coffin.
As usual, the coffin lid wasn’t tightly closed, seemingly left open for ventilation.
Peering through the gap, he saw a black-haired girl in a Gothic dress lying motionless inside, her eyes closed.
At this moment, You Ruirui happened to open the toilet door and walked out.
"Why is it that sometimes when I see her, her hair is blonde, and other times it’s black?" Gu Qiye asked, leaning against the sink with his arms crossed.
While washing her hands, You Ruirui replied, "Esther sometimes wears a wig because she believes blonde hair suits her granddaughter ’Alice,’ her second personality. But she herself prefers black hair, so she hasn’t dyed it."
Gu Qiye nodded, "Did her granddaughter really exist, or is it just her imagination?"
"I don’t know." You Ruirui turned to look at him, "Are you curious about her?"
"Just asking casually."
Gu Qiye shrugged, diverted his gaze from the coffin lid. Through the door of the adjacent cabin, he took a final look at the Father of Puppets, who was sitting and reading a newspaper, then left the corridor and returned to his seat.
His seat was next to You Ruirui’s, with Jiushijiu and Garfield behind him, and Urushibara Ryuri and Kalina further back.
The plane was still on its way to Osaka, and outside the window was a rolling sea of clouds. The weather was clear today, with sunlight streaming through the window and falling onto You Ruirui’s face.
She sat quietly for a while, then handed a tablet to Gu Qiye:
"This is the latest intelligence from the Japanese authorities regarding the ’Four Great Bee Lords.’
"The Japanese authorities? Is the source of the intelligence reliable?" Gu Qiye asked as he took the tablet and looked at the document on it.
He had been set up by some Japanese underworld people at the Tokyo Auction, and now it’s hard for him to trust their organization.
"The intelligence was extracted by staff from the Japan Mutant Association from the mouths of the Light-Eating Bees," You Ruirui explained, "Our people captured a few Light-Eating Bees while they were feeding and handed them over to the Japanese authorities. To save their lives, they chose to divulge information about the Bee Race to the Japanese authorities. That’s also how we got the island’s location."
"They would betray their own kind?" Gu Qiye pondered, "Aren’t the worker bees supposed to be utterly loyal to the Bee King?"
"It’s quite normal," You Ruirui said softly, "The Light-Eating Bees are intelligent, that’s their advantage, but also their disadvantage—any creature with the ability to think will fear death."
There, she paused, "And in the face of death, nothing is important."
Gu Qiye silently looked at the computer.
The document stated that after the Queen Bee devoured a large number of humans, she gained knowledge from their minds and became proficient in human languages.
Thus, the Queen Bee named her four Bee Princes: the first Bee Prince was named ’Qiao’; the second, ’Guli’; the third, ’Cameron’; and the fourth, ’Malvite.’
But there were no photos in the document because the Four Great Bee Lords were still hidden on the island, yet to step into the human world.
"If nothing goes wrong, the Bee Princes are about to start feeding." You Ruirui said in a low voice.
"Feeding?" Gu Qiye looked up at her.
"Yes, the Light-Eating Bees have captured a large number of Superpower Users and brought them to the Nameless Island," You Ruirui said, "After feeding, the Four Great Bee Lords will awaken their special abilities."
Gu Qiye was silent for a moment, "Then we need to hurry up."
.....
.....
"Father-in-law, has Black Cocoon replied yet?"
"Not yet."
"By the way, I’ve actually been wanting to ask you, do you know the details about Black Cocoon?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Chinese time, August 10th, 2:00 AM. Li Jing, Old Jingmai District.
The street was shrouded in darkness, with every house’s door firmly closed, and even the supermarket across the street had already shut down. Yet, Broly Bookstore remained unusually open late into the night.
In the brightly lit bookstore, Su Wei was sitting behind the counter, sipping coffee and reading.
Gu Zhuo Case was leaning against a bookshelf nearby, head lowered, silently flipping through a photo album. Since waking up from the basement that day, he had cut his hair and shaved, making him look much younger.
At this moment, the two were chatting idly, as if trying to make up for the years of family conversation they had missed.
But as the topic turned to Black Cocoon’s identity, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Gu Zhuo Case looked up at Su Wei, "Are you saying you know who Black Cocoon really is?"
Su Wei opened his mouth to answer but suddenly recalled Gu Wenyu’s insistence that he keep it secret from Gu Zhuo Case.
That day, Gu Wenyu had texted him saying if Gu Zhuo Case found out Black Cocoon was him, he would immediately jump off a building, and with his grandson’s life at stake, Su Wei had no choice but to keep the promise.
So, he had to swallow back the words he wanted to say, sigh lightly, and hint cryptically:
"Actually, I don’t know who the Black Cocoon is, but... that kid’s personality is quirky, I actually feel it’s a bit like Su Ying."
"You say his personality is like Su Ying’s?" Gu Zhuo frowned, shook his head, and gasped, "How is that possible? He’s just a madman, has nothing to do with Su Ying at all."
Su Wei was silent for a moment and said meaningfully, "Ah, just pretend I never said anything."
He thought to himself, this silly son-in-law could actually be played around by his own child like this.
"Fine, let’s drop it then." Since Su Wei said so, Gu Zhuo wisely didn’t ask any further.
He lowered his head and continued to look through the photo album.
The album in his hand was given to him by Su Wei. It contained many photos taken during Su Ying’s childhood.
In each photo that appeared in front of his eyes, there was a girl as clever and cute as a rabbit. She would always raise her hands above her head, make a peace sign, and show a bright smile with her big teeth.
As he looked, a hint of a smile couldn’t help but appear on Gu Zhuo’s somber face. But every so often, he couldn’t help but look away from the girl’s smiling face in the album, as if Su Ying’s smile was as dazzling as the sun, making it difficult for him to gaze at it for too long.
After finishing the last photo, he closed the album and took a deep breath with his head up. Oxygen pierced into his lungs, and those troubling emotions gushed out at this moment.
Yes, this father had seen every side of his daughter, watched her grow up, took so many photos. He must cherish this girl’s smiling face? But in the end, he had to entrust his daughter to someone else, and that person did not protect her well.
"It’s so late already, you should go to sleep instead of waiting for news from Black Cocoon." Su Wei suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that pervaded the bookstore.
"But... Black Cocoon said Qiye is still at the Rainbow Wings meeting, I’m a bit worried," Gu Zhuo said in a low voice.
"Then you go to sleep first, I’ll tell you once I receive it," Su Wei said.
Just as he finished speaking, his phone suddenly chimed with a message notification, a soothing sound of flowing water.
Su Wei picked up the phone and looked at it.
[Black Cocoon: Grandpa, my elder brother’s meeting is over, the direction of Rainbow Wings is clear now, they will next head to Osaka, Japan, to confront the Light-Eating Bees.]
[Black Cocoon: Um... I also know the location of the Light-Eating Bee’s island, next we just need to prepare, pick a time to board the plane with my dad.]
[Su Wei: Wait a minute.]
[Black Cocoon: What’s up?]
[Su Wei: Didn’t you say there was another collaborator? Where is he?]
[Black Cocoon: Oh, Mr. Mu Long will arrange it himself. I’ve already informed him, you don’t need to worry about it.]
[Black Cocoon: After all, he is a wanted criminal, and not the kind that hides his identity like my dad. The whole world now knows he’s called Lin Yilong, so how could he possibly fly directly to Japan like you two?]
[Black Cocoon: Next, he should board a Human-Snake Ship to smuggle over.]
[Su Wei: Makes sense.]
[Su Wei: This child has a tough life too.]
[Black Cocoon: Right? I’m actually not sure if Mr. Mu Long will suddenly attack my elder brother during our battle with the Salvation Society.]
[Su Wei: I don’t think so, Zhuo told me that Lin Yilong is someone with a clear sense of right and wrong, he should understand what’s most important.]
[Black Cocoon: Okay, if you’re willing to trust him, I’m assured.]
"Was it Black Cocoon informing you?" Gu Zhuo, holding the album, turned to ask Su Wei.
Su Wei nodded, "Yes, he said for us to head to Osaka first and wait for his next instruction."
"Osaka?" Gu Zhuo pondered.
He had received a piece of information from the Japanese yakuza boss "Amamiya Chihiro".
Recently, there had indeed been frequent attacks and disappearances in Osaka, but since the United Nations had intervened, all information was blocked, so the yakuza had no leads.
And now it seems it should be the group known as "Light-Eating Bees" that Black Cocoon mentioned invading Osaka.
"Right, I’ll book the tickets, we’ll fly to Japan first thing tomorrow morning, to avoid any changes in plans," Su Wei said.
He paused and advised earnestly, "Even if we run into people from Rainbow Wings in that city, you must remain composed. Our goal is to avenge my daughter and wipe out that so-called ’Salvation Society’ completely."
Gu Zhuo nodded.
"I know," he said, "I’ve been impulsive once, it won’t happen again."
"Osaka..." Su Wei thought for a moment, "In my younger days, I visited Osaka a few times when I had time off work, my wife was still around then, and not long after we had Su Ying."
Gu Zhuo also said, "I went there once or twice."
He thought for a while, "By the way, I only know you’re from Lake Hunting, but I don’t know what your Celestial Driver specifically is?"
Su Wei took a sip of coffee, "Teaching ruler."
"Teaching ruler?"
Su Wei smiled slightly, "I’ll show you some tricks when we get to Japan."
With that, he put down his coffee cup and got up from the table, "Though I’ve gotten old and haven’t trained much these years, it shouldn’t be hard to stop some people from Rainbow Wings for you."