—Darkness will obscure your eyes, and light will scorch them.
Cui Wei raced to the library as if carried by the wind. In such a critical period, scarcely any law-abiding citizen would be out on the streets without reason. The few pedestrians he had just glimpsed were, at first glance, clearly plainclothes agents from Xuanji Star. Their covert skills were, frankly, laughable; who but a suspicious character would constantly dart their eyes around while walking?
As the library had been utterly destroyed and remained unrepaired, Cui Wei, upon parking, immediately scanned his surroundings for a place to rest. Though the library was gone, the surrounding residential areas were largely intact, even showing signs of reconstruction, which surely meant there were still supporting services available.
His gaze settled on a restaurant situated at the diagonal corner from the library. A grin spread across his face. He unlatched his seatbelt, flung open the passenger door, and, with a swift motion, hoisted a gas tank onto his shoulder, beckoning the man beside him to follow.
As they drew closer to the restaurant’s entrance, the small elderly man beside Cui Wei couldn’t help but frown.
“Old Cui, I believe there’s something amiss with that establishment.”
He appeared to be in his early seventies, slender but by no means stooped. His sharp, sword-like brows and piercing eyes conveyed an unyielding sense of righteousness. Dressed in a short-sleeved, close-fitting outfit, he resembled an old master practicing tai chi in a park.
“What makes you say that?”
“We haven’t seen many people on the road, yet several tables inside that restaurant are occupied. I fear they mean us ill.”
Cui Wei cast a sidelong glance, a chuckle escaping him.
“What’s wrong? Can’t a place have good business?”
“That may be so,” the elder conceded, “but in these desolate, war-torn times, it’s always better to be cautious.”
Despite his words, the elder’s steps, as he followed Cui Wei toward the restaurant, betrayed no hesitation. His gaze remained fixed on the figures within the establishment the entire time.
Cui Wei let out a hearty laugh, pushing the door open without a care in the world.
“If anyone from Xuanji Star heard you say that, they’d be grumbling about you a hundred times over in their minds,” Cui Wei boomed. “This is their territory now, and their spokesperson even declared, ‘This is the best of times, an unprecedented golden age!’ How does it become a desolate, war-torn era in your mouth?”
His voice, loud and laced with laughter, sounded like grating noise, yet the diners inside continued to eat, utterly indifferent to his presence.
Cui Wei found an empty table, sat down, glanced at the menu, and promptly tossed it aside.
Seeing new customers, the proprietor rushed over, a smile plastered on his face.
“What would the two of you like to ord—”
Before he could finish, Cui Wei cut him off with a rapid-fire torrent of words.
“We’ll have the Spicy Chicken Mixed with Fish Skin, Gasoline-Grilled Clams, Pickled Green Beans with Stinky Tofu, Garlic Turtle Pot, a pot of Eggplant and Bad Dog Soup, two bottles of Iron on Fire, and two Mushroom Fresh Burgers!”
Upon hearing Cui Wei rattle off what sounded like a fantastical menu, the proprietor’s brow furrowed, his face a mask of utter bewilderment. ‘What in the world is he talking about?’ he thought. ‘I’ve never heard of any of these dishes!’
“These… gentlemen, I’ve never heard of any of these items!”
“Of course not! I knew you wouldn’t have them! Good thing we brought our own provisions, otherwise, we’d starve in your establishment.”
Cui Wei set the gas tank down beside him, causing the proprietor to visibly flinch.
“Sir, dangerous items are not permitted insi—”
“This isn’t a dangerous item, it’s my personal weapon,” Cui Wei interrupted. “Look, your storefront isn’t new; you’ve been in business for quite a while, haven’t you? Haven’t you ever seen a player carrying their weapon with them?”
Cui Wei laughed heartily, pulling a paper bag from his backpack and extracting a lump (for such was its shape) of roasted meat, then called out to the proprietor.
“Get me a plate, I can’t just hold it like this!”
The proprietor shook his head helplessly, fearing trouble, and turned to fetch a plate.
Though the elder faced Cui Wei, his back to the proprietor, his peripheral vision still caught the man walking past the two occupied tables. He took note of this, then turned his attention back to Cui Wei.
“Is it truly appropriate for us to bring our own food and drink?”
Cui Wei took a swig from his military-issue canteen, then burst into laughter.
“What’s inappropriate about it? It’s not like we’re not paying, and more importantly, he doesn’t have what we want anyway! He should be thanking us for broadening his horizons! Thanks, by the way!”
Cui Wei accepted the plate and inverted the paper bag, allowing five pieces of roasted meat to tumble out and clump together.
“See? This meat I self-taught myself to roast isn’t bad, is it?” Cui Wei boasted. “Fluffy and tender, shrunk into a lump, perfect for eating like meatballs! Dig in! Don’t just stare! And help me think of a name for it! Hey! I’ve got it! These five leftover pieces of roasted meat from yesterday, which we brought ourselves as provisions today, let’s just call them ‘Self-Made Five’ Roasted Meat! How’s that?!”
The elder let out a soft chuckle, neither confirming nor denying.
Though their acquaintance was brief and his understanding limited, the elder, having met countless people in his lifetime, recognized Cui Wei as a classic example of someone outwardly boorish but inwardly shrewd. Despite his incessant chatter and casual familiarity with everyone, Cui Wei’s mind was as clear as a mirror; he grasped any situation with a single glance or a subtle hint.
Since Cui Wei appeared oblivious to the potential dangers surrounding them, the elder knew he must have a plan, rendering further warnings unnecessary…
With this thought, the elder slightly lowered his guard towards the patrons at the other two tables—only slightly, for years of living by the sword and shedding blood made it impossible for him to truly relax. He was accustomed to a state of heightened vigilance, daring not to slacken for a moment, not even around the old residents.
At times, he envied Cui Wei, wishing he could one day be as calm and composed, as seemingly crude yet subtly meticulous.
With the roasted meat consumed, his spirits were fully invigorated.
Cui Wei sat smiling in his chair, his eyes surveying the restaurant’s decor.
Though it was a small establishment, the decoration was quite tasteful, with several paintings depicting mountains, water, and rivers adorning the walls.
“Hey, proprietor! Got any toothpicks? Never mind, I see them, I’ll get them myself.”
He rose, swaying his head playfully, and headed towards the counter.
He watched the old residents eating at the other two tables with keen interest, then abruptly altered his course, veering towards their tables.
The elder immediately turned his head, his gaze fixed, fearing Cui Wei might make a misstep.
“Proprietor! This is a shady establishment!”
At Cui Wei’s declaration, the proprietor’s face instantly drained of color, and he rushed over, eager to explain.
“Eh? No, sir, what makes you say that?”
“I see your two tables of guests aren’t eating like tigers! Did you perhaps poison the food?”
“How could that be? Sir, my establishment is a century-old brand! Back in the day, when Worldly Affairs City—no, when Linguan City was first established, before it even changed its name, my ancestors were already running this shop here! Otherwise, with so many renovations around, how could my small shop still survive here? All the old residents in this area know! We’ve never done anything like poisoning food; I can vouch for that with my hand on my heart!”
“Then why are your two tables of guests eating so slowly and deliberately?”
“Sir, you must not be from around here! We locals always eat like this; it’s been this way since the days of Vega.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Cui Wei feigned enlightenment, then leaned over and snatched a large handful of peanuts from a diner’s plate, causing all the patrons to glare at him. He, however, sauntered towards the counter with a leisurely, swaggering gait.
“It seems ‘Zhongtong’ didn’t train you well!” Cui Wei declared with a smirk. “’Undercover agents’ aren’t planted like this.”
The proprietor looked utterly bewildered, staring blankly at Cui Wei.
“Sir, what are you talking about? What ‘undercover agent’?”
“Playing dumb, are we?”
Cui Wei pointed at a man eating in the corner of a table. “That’s your leader, isn’t it? Go ask him what an ‘undercover agent’ is! You’re pretending to be Vega remnants ‘joyfully welcoming the royal army’ and acting as ‘undercover agents,’ but you haven’t done your homework! Look at your hands—they may be hands that have cooked for over a decade, but are they in the right place? What chef idly shoves their hands into their pockets? You’re ready to draw a gun at any moment! This liaison station’s location is decent, but it’s a pity Jie Shu himself comes from a military background and assumes everyone else is like him, needing to carry a gun for everything they do! Heh, you all should learn a thing or two!”
The diners at both tables stared coldly at Cui Wei, yet remained silent.
Cui Wei picked up a toothpick, casually picked at his teeth, and chuckled softly at the diners before hoisting his gas tank and exiting the restaurant with the elder.
The proprietor’s expression soured. He glanced sideways at the diner Cui Wei had pointed out, noting that the man’s face was equally grim, like a blackened eggplant.
Slowly, he set down his chopsticks, watching Cui Wei’s retreating figure, and clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.
“Those Northern Star dog barbarians…”
Though he didn’t fully grasp the situation, the elder had understood most of it: Cui Wei had seen through these people, recognizing them as Xuanji Star spies masquerading as former Vega residents. Yet, one thing puzzled him: he had indeed sensed something unusual from the start, but only that the restaurant had patrons at all was strange. How had Cui Wei discerned they were Xuanji Star spies?
“Old Cui, there’s something I’d like to…”
“You want to ask how I figured it out? Is that it?”
The elder nodded, and Cui Wei, still shouldering the gas tank, burst into hearty laughter.
“It’s actually quite simple,” Cui Wei explained. “Did Jie Shu truly believe that by ensuring these people didn’t have ‘gun calluses’ on their hands, he could fool everyone? The reactions and behaviors of ‘trained individuals’ and ‘untrained individuals’ are fundamentally different when faced with various situations. Did he think that by simply having ‘trained individuals’ act like ‘untrained ones,’ he could conceal the inherent nature of their training? A grave mistake! The essence of ‘training’ is to impart ‘dead logic,’ not to cultivate ‘living thought.’ No matter how sophisticated one’s ‘training’ may be, it can never obscure the objective fact of having been ‘trained.’ Falsity is falsity; it’s something you can’t hide, no matter how well you keep secrets or how cunningly you disguise yourself.”
Cui Wei’s words left the elder feeling as though he were lost in a fog, yet he still desperately wanted to understand why.
“I don’t quite understand.”
“Stripped down, it’s actually nothing special,” Cui Wei said with a shrug. “If they were truly ordinary diners, would they eat without bragging a little?”
The elder paused, then a realization dawned on him.
“Hehehe, Old Cui,” the elder chuckled, “you truly see things differently; your approach is entirely distinct from Director Ji’s!”
“Director Ji?” Cui Wei mused. “We’re much the same, in a way! It’s just a difference in job functions, and also personality. You see, after working with him for so long, you find it hard to adapt to me. If you worked with me for a long time, you’d gradually adapt to him… Ah! Director Ji is a talent, what a pity…”
Cui Wei’s expression turned somber. He let out a bitter laugh, tapped his communicator, and patiently listened to its contents.
“Let’s go!” Cui Wei announced, his voice regaining some of its usual vigor. “We’re heading to the Imperial Guard Bureau. Those two little Vega girls, barely old enough to grow hair, seem to have stirred up trouble! Youngsters, indeed! So full of bluster!”