After finishing dessert, I led Illumi through a systematic exploration of the city. We had a quick dinner with sandwiches bought from a convenience store, and then continued our exploration until past eight in the evening before reluctantly returning to the hotel.
The airship our target was supposed to board arrived at this city tomorrow morning at six o'clock, which was when we had to start tailing them. We needed to get to bed early and conserve our energy.
After a day of running around, a hot bath, and lying in a petal-filled bathtub with its built-in massage function, every pore felt relaxed and incredibly refreshed.
I'd seen too many exposé news reports about hotel hygiene issues in the "real world," like "using bath towels to wipe down the entire room, including the toilet" or "if the bathtub and bedsheets don't look dirty, they don't wash them." This had made me resistant to using bathtubs outside, and I dared not use bath towels either, only showering, and bringing my own towels and bedsheets.
However, this was another world, a game, and I couldn't apply common sense from the "real world" here.
Since the Zoldycks had a membership at this chain hotel, with their intelligence capabilities, surely they wouldn't be unaware of the hotel's hygiene standards?
If… if this hotel did something unscrupulous, I, Millius Zoldyck, would definitely kill the hotel owner within three days and scatter his ashes, to vent public anger and uphold justice!
After my "temporary guardian" finished drying my hair, I, now in my pajamas, eagerly rushed into the bedroom and burrowed into the covers.
Ah, as expected of a deluxe suite, the pillows were so soft, and the bed was so soft too!
I rolled around on the bed like a flatbread for a while, and when I stopped, I felt sleepy.
No, I couldn't. I still needed to sort through the spoils of war in my game backpack today.
The bedroom of this suite had two beds. Illumi would sleep on the bed next to mine. My actions in the bedroom were all under the watchful eyes of Illumi, Kikyo's little subordinate. I had to wait for him to fall asleep first before I could sneakily check my spoils under the covers.
Fortunately, Illumi was an efficient person and didn't make me wait too long. He finished bathing quickly and came into the bedroom.
I maintained my side-lying position, my back to his bed, pretending to be asleep.
Look, Illumi, your sister is already asleep. As a well-brought-up child, shouldn't you also turn off the lights and go to sleep early, so as not to disturb your sister?
"Sister, I know you're awake." Illumi's voice was soft and became clearer as he approached.
No, Illumi, you're wrong. You don't know. You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.
"Sister?" Illumi's breath was almost upon me.
"..." I remained still, as steady as Mount Tai.
"Hmm? Strange, that's impossible," Illumi muttered to himself. "Is the training at home not enough? I must note this down and tell..."
Oh, right. The Zoldycks were not ordinary people. As assassins, they engaged in dangerous work, killing people, and needed to be constantly vigilant. They couldn't sleep like logs, or they would be severely unqualified.
Ordinary people indeed had the right to feign sleep, but I, at this moment, did not.
"..." Mount Tai had fallen, and I immediately opened my eyes.
"Ah, did I wake you, Sister?" Illumi showed a close-up of his innocent face, with big black cat-like eyes and a small, innocent expression.
Bah, innocent my foot! This brat was full of mischief!
To salvage my professional basic quality evaluation, I was forced to admit I was pretending to sleep, explaining with lip-reading: "I woke up the moment you entered the bedroom, I was just a bit tired and didn't want to bother with you."
"I see," Illumi nodded, indicating he had learned something new.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight." I deliberately tried to end the conversation quickly, closed my eyes, and entered "Do Not Disturb" mode.
"Don't rush to sleep, Sister. Won't you pat my head before you sleep?"
What? Why pat his head? On what grounds? The head-patting quota for today was already fulfilled, alright!
"If Sister pats my head, maybe I'll forget that Sister casually picked things up off the ground today," Illumi said. "I remember Sister picked up a total of 152 jenny today."
"..." I opened my eyes.
Didn't I treat him to dessert? Treating him to dessert only erased my "calorie overload" record. Was the record of "casually picking things up" a separate matter?!
"Casually picking things up" was a minor offense. Exchanging it for a "head pat" was about equivalent, which was acceptable.
I extended my hand from under the covers, ruffled Illumi's hair a couple of times, and before withdrawing my hand, I unexpectedly flicked his forehead, startling him.
"Sleepy," I said to him, his forehead red, using lip-reading. I pulled the covers up and covered my head.
I covered my head not because I didn't want to see Illumi. I always liked sleeping with my head covered, from top to toe, completely enveloped by the blanket, like a shield, which gave me a sense of security. It was just that it was not good when the weather was hot, often leaving me with a sweaty face and even waking me up from the heat.
Through the blanket, I heard Illumi say "Goodnight," followed by the sound of the light switch being pressed, and the sound of the blanket being lifted and then covered again.
After waiting for about five more minutes, I started to inventory the game items I had collected today under the covers.
[Shiny Cabbage x12], [Inedible Nectar x3], [Primary Ore x4], [Delicious Carrot x5], [Shiny Radish x9], [Delicious Potato x2], [Unripe Tomato x6], [Beetle Shell x1]
Except for the [Primary Ore], which caught my attention, the rest were commonplace items, not worth mentioning.
Using my mind, I took the [Primary Ore] out of my game backpack. With the light from my phone screen, I carefully examined the grayish stone-like object in my hand. No prompt text appeared in my vision. I squeezed the stone, bit it, and it seemed to be no different from ordinary stones. Was that it?
Perhaps the related game functions had not yet been unlocked. I was sleepy. Anyway, the game backpack didn't seem to have a limit at the moment, so I'd put away the game items first.
The tracking work on the second day went generally smoothly. The target, along with the objective of the mission, his wife and child, checked into his private villa as scheduled.
There were six bodyguards accompanying him, and the villa was equipped with an additional ten bodyguards. Coupled with the near-flawless surveillance, the security measures were quite strict.
Avoiding everyone except the target and killing only the target made the mission quite difficult.
The key to assassination was not to alert anyone. The mission had just begun, and there was no need to rush. Illumi and I decided to observe from the shadows first and wait for a suitable opportunity.
Hiding in a concealed spot chosen yesterday, which offered a good vantage point of the villa, I was responsible for the first half of the night, and Illumi for the second half.
Taking turns to watch the target was the biggest advantage of a two-person operation, as it reduced energy consumption.
The night passed without incident.
The target, completely unaware that he was being watched, took his wife and child out like a normal family of three, going shopping with his son and then to the zoo. The family was laughing and chatting happily.
The bodyguards were in plain clothes. Some stayed close by, even following them into the restroom, while others waited nearby, remaining vigilant of the surroundings.
"It seems we can't get close in public places either," Illumi said. "But there are many people here. After we achieve our objective, we can immediately blend into the crowd and successfully escape, right?"
I shook my head, shifting my gaze to the surveillance cameras not far away.
"We can change our appearance a bit," Illumi added. "There are many children of similar ages around, so it won't be easy to notice our difference."
"Not hidden enough," I said with lip-reading. "Think about why we were punished in the game last time. The most important thing isn't the result, but the key points being assessed."
"Oh, that's right. What we need to achieve is a true 'perfect crime'," Illumi nodded. "After completing the mission, we'll stand right in front of them, and they still won't know it was us."
That makes sense, but hearing it from you, why does it sound so wicked?
The hair and eye colors of people in this world were richer than in the "real world," and so were the animals. Many animals in the zoo were like creatures that a creator had scattered and combined from different species, coloring them arbitrarily. To my eyes, it was less like a normal zoo and more like a monster exhibition.
Once the initial novelty wore off, the animals that were similar to those in the "real world" became more familiar to me.
Alas, as one gets older, one becomes less interested in new things and prefers familiar old ones.
This must be why most elderly people are set in their ways.
I'm tired, I just want to lie down and do nothing.
The target's family of three was resting and eating at the zoo's restaurant. Illumi, my "temporary guardian," and I took seats at a table further away.
Meow—
A calico cat weaved between table legs, meowing and trying to attract the attention of the people eating around it, hoping they would spare some food.
Logically, people who come to the zoo should like animals. Unfortunately, this cat's coloring wasn't particularly attractive, and its meow wasn't melodious either, making it hard to elicit sympathy. So, while it wasn't emaciated, it didn't have any excess fat either.
I picked up a fried shrimp from my plate and placed it beside my feet. The cat, which had been wandering and looking around, immediately ran over. It wasn't afraid of people and started eating the fried shrimp without hesitation.
After eating one fried shrimp, it raised its head, no longer meowing, but just looking at me expectantly.
Based on my experience feeding stray cats and dogs in the "real world," I knew it was hoping I would adopt it and give it a warm home. In the "real world," I didn't have the family conditions to raise cats or dogs. But now?
"..." I reached out my hand to it, wanting to pet it.
"You'd better not touch it," Illumi suddenly stood up.
The cat had likely suffered a lot of indifference and shooing. Although Illumi's voice wasn't loud and his tone was quite normal, it still keenly sensed that the atmosphere was wrong and didn't dare to linger, immediately turning and running away.
Watching the cat disappear into the bushes, I heard Illumi continue, "Sister, stray cats are very dirty. They not only have fleas but also all sorts of parasites."
"..." I knew he was right, but you really are a dog's mouth that can't spew ivory. You have no sympathy for animals at all.
I remembered my hawk again, the one Illumi deliberately killed.
Afterward, he said he didn't quite understand my anger. In his eyes, the life of any animal was equivalent to weeds by the roadside, wasn't it?
Damn Illumi! The mission has yielded nothing for three consecutive days. It must be his bad karma bringing this misfortune.
It's all Illumi's fault.
On the morning of the fourth day of the mission, with the deadline already halfway passed, other than learning how happy, how loving, and how harmonious this family of three was, the mission progress had been slow. I couldn't help but feel a little anxious and tried to make a move in the middle of the night. In contrast, Illumi, who had been quite aggressive on the first day of the mission, had calmed down.
"Zoo, aquarium, cinema, museum," Illumi listed the places the target had taken his wife and child in the past few days. "Sister, there aren't many places in this city suitable for taking a wife and child, are there?"
Oh? You know quite a bit, don't you? You're only a little over six years old.
"According to online parent-child travel guides, they still have theme parks, botanical gardens, amusement parks, and planetariums left to visit," Illumi said. "These places also have suitable spots for us to act. We still have plenty of opportunities. We've waited this long, there's no need to rush. It's still not too late to make a move on the last day before the perfect opportunity arises."
On the morning of the fourth day of the mission, the target chose the amusement park as their destination.
As expected of Disney, not only was it booming in the "real world," but it was also bustling with people and incredibly popular in this world. Oh, Disney, forever God!
I had never been to Disney in the "real world." Firstly, the travel and accommodation costs to the city where Disney was located were high, and I was reluctant to spend the money. Secondly, Disney was notoriously crowded, with people jostling and queues of hours to play popular attractions, which was quite daunting and directly put me off.
Who would have thought that by changing worlds, I would have the chance to experience Disney, something I couldn't experience in the "real world"? Moreover, the "temporary guardian" used a VVIP ticket, meaning no queues for any attraction… Damn it, being rich is really great! No queues? I couldn't even imagine it before!
Ah, I really want to start playing right here!
I was becoming a bit absent-minded. It was Illumi who was pulling me forward now.
Seeing so many amusement facilities, aren't you a bit moved, Illumi?! You're not a real child!! You're a fake child!
"We'll follow them in when they go to an attraction suitable for us to act," Illumi analyzed single-mindedly. "Three of the top five most popular attractions are quite good. What do you think, Sister?"
"..." I think it's quite a mood killer for you, as a child, to be researching which attraction is suitable for killing someone in Disney, a place full of children's dreams and joy.
Finally, we chose to act at Disney's Caribbean Pirates attraction. The turbulent waves, the dark tunnels, the jolting and darkness meant nothing to professionally trained individuals.
Just like the classic case in the first episode of "Detective Conan," when the tour train exited the attraction area, people discovered that a row of two passengers had lost their heads.
The splashing water along the way washed away the faint scent of blood on our hands. We were like two innocent children who didn't know what had happened, rushing into the "temporary guardian's" arms as soon as we got off the train.
The police cordoned off the area, questioned everyone individually, and reviewed surveillance footage. The police officer responsibly took my rabbit shoulder bag for inspection. Inside were a pen, my phone, wallet, mirror, comb, a bottle of hairspray, a handkerchief, and a notebook with a few lines of dialogue with a shop owner. There was nothing suspicious.
Oh, too bad. They couldn't find any evidence. Not even Conan could, because the key to solving the case was us ourselves, our claws that could secretly become incredibly sharp.
We were the first to be ruled out as suspects, just as Illumi had described at the beginning: after completing the mission, we would stand right in front of them, and they still wouldn't know it was us.
Oh, perfect crime. I didn't expect I could do it too.
I'm feeling a bit elated.