The big Panda Bartender brought in their drinks, and Mr Know-It-All put a few silver Panda Medals on the table. Then he took out a bottle from his leather suitcase and uncapped it. The smell of oolong tea was evidently strong, and he poured that mild lukewarm oolong tea into the whiskey.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind?” Mr Know-It-All recalled that this was not the same bar he had frequented.
“You paid for the drink even though I was ready to treat you, so why would I complain about it? I just wonder if it actually tastes any good. Won’t the warm oolong tea dilute the whiskey even further or possibly spoil the taste?” Jin asked as the combination seemed a little bit weird.
“Hmm, I can’t claim that it is something everyone might enjoy, but it tastes nice to me no matter what.” Mr Know-It-All replied before he took a little sip and judging by his expression, he greatly enjoyed the taste. The mild bittersweet taste along with the slight dryness after sipping the whiskey was fantastic.
“Ah… Boss Jin, your whiskey is definitely top-notch. Very few bottles of quality whiskey are able to bring out the hidden taste of my wife’s oolong tea, and yours was considerably good! Have you brought me here to make me a regular at this Bamboozled Bar?” Mr Know-It-All jested as he thought about how his friend would feel if he stopped coming to his bar. (Probably elated given his status and the company he usually brings in.)
“Now let’s get down to business. First of all, I want to sign a blood pact with you. What I’m about to reveal to you might turn you into a potential threat to national security.” Mr Know-It-All started their real conversation as he took another sip while he smelled the wonderful odour of the fried chicken wings at the back of the bar.
“I feel honoured to have the full trust of a State Agent such as yourself, but if it’s really that important, perhaps I shouldn’t hear it. I might not look like it, but I have enough on my platter as is. My actions should have proven that I am not any sort of threat to national security, right?” Jin really did not want to get dragged into another sort of problem if it was avoidable, yet somehow they always found a way to haunt him, even in his own world. It felt like the problems had a scent detector that would allow them to always go for Jin to solve them.
“That is true, and I was prepared to say something like that. However, I’m aware that you were trying to find out more about Ryuli so if you accept the blood pact, I’m willing to answer any questions you might have about her. Likewise, it will guarantee that any secrets you accidentally may reveal to me won’t be leaked out, too.” Mr Know-It-All said, and suddenly both of them heard a clinking sound of the ice hitting a glass cup from the far end of the bar.
“Geez, Boss. I am extremely disheartened that you did not tell me about this meeting. Did you know that you are seeing one of the strongest and arguably the second most influential State Agent in this nation and you left me in that boring meeting room.” Kraft complained as his footsteps echoed through the bar with his drink in hand. “Well, granted I love to see those ‘associates’ of yours bickered and take notes of their quirks so I can use them against them, but this is more interesting!”
“If I brought you here on my own, do you think he would tell me anything? You don’t exactly exude a trustworthy aura with your trenchcoat!” Jin retorted as he was talking about being upfront honest. Kraft merely smirked at that comment, and with a snap of his fingers, his outfit changed to a neat black business suit.
Tailor made to the centimetre detail, the suit’s quality was exquisitely brilliant. The use of silk, leather and even some animal fabric hinted that it was one damn expensive set of clothes. His buttons and cuffs were also custom made to the point, he was emanating the embodiment of stylishly formal. And the watch Kraft wore was a piece of beauty too which made Agent K slightly jealous since he knew a solid watch piece from afar. However, for once, the crafty fox did not even bother to hide his gunbelt even though he still kept No Mercy and Just Business holstered.
“He is trained to speak half lies and has been doing it so naturally that it might trick even spiritual judges overlooking the blood pact. Face it, he’s way out of your league, and you need me to back you up.” Kraft insisted as he shamelessly yoinked a chicken wing from the Panda Bartender before he could even serve it.
To the three men’s collective surprise, the Panda didn’t even hesitate as he bashed Kraft’s head when he tried to take a bite and forcefully placed the wings on his side of Kraft’s table. “Customer, please wait for a little while for a new batch of wings.” The Panda Bartender said nonchalantly, and even he apologised for the rude behaviour of Kraft before he returned to the kitchen.
“Wow, Boss. So much for the customer being king. That’s a harsh bartender.” Kraft looked a little stunned from the paw swipe, but without a care, he bit on the wing.
“So shall I assume you’ve gathered information privy about me that might render me useless in this particular trade of secrets?” Mr Know-It-All’s calm expression slowly turned slightly serious.
“In a way, yes. Don’t underestimate the power of information gathering from little ol’ me. In fact, why don’t I share the secrets here and now? That way Jin gets to hear it, and you get to verify it? Any objections, Long Kong Rong.” Kraft pronounced his name word by word, as slowly as possible as if to irritate him to the maximum.
“Well, I would LOVE to learn more about you too, Mr Fox.” Kong Rong said as his eyes were quietly burning with a challenge to the point that his chi aura was leaking out to show his superiority. Kraft merely grinned as if he was about to do the same thing until…
“Kraft!” Jin banged the bartender table, and suddenly the concentration between the two broke.
“I planted a sort of information gathering bug on him. It transferred quite a lot of information about him and Ryuli. You honestly do not have to do this with him.” Kraft told him via the System Channel.
The Foxy Version 2 that Kraft secretly passed to them had been able to infiltrate their headquarters when the State Agent was trying to find out more about Jin. However, in doing so, he allowed Kraft to retrieve a bountiful load of classified information. Compared to the first Foxy Virus, the 2nd iteration was a nano bug courtesy of Rei’s expertise that allowed them to hack into the database with Kong Rong’s credentials intact. (Of course, it took some time for Kraft to execute it but the Foxy Virus was able to work.)
Once connected to their computers, the nano bug physical form dissipated and the V2 virus took way less time for Kraft to find what he needed compared to V1 where it was constantly trying to run away from the firewall.
“It’s your call, so you should know that he isn’t a threat as you might expect.”
“That’s great and all, but the most important thing I need to know is whether he knows about the System!” Jin asked via the System channel while Kraft continued to put on a performance.
Kraft merely shook his head, while looking straight at Kong Rong who had noticed that they were using some sort of high-level telepathy communication. He had tried to listen in on it, but he quickly realised that there was no way to break into it. It was rare for him to be unable to do so, but he had briefly forgotten who he was dealing with.
“Fine, I do not need a blood pact, but I will at least need your word, that nothing can get out of this room no matter what.” Kong Rong sighed in defeat as he received the chicken wings from the Panda Bartender. As for the Panda, he went out of the island bar with a bottle of apple wine and walked his way to a corner of the bar with headphones on.
His NPC’s actions somehow further strengthened his faith in Jin while Kong Rong took another sip of his whiskey once more as if he wanted the drink to be responsible for him leaking out the information. Especially since to learn more, one had to give something in return.
“I’ve come here today to learn what the last heir of the supposed Royal Panda Clan plans for the future.”
