In the downtown district of Lungmen, Exusiai—who was happily speeding through the streets—suddenly began to sneeze uncontrollably, to the point where it was affecting her driving.
"What's wrong, Exusiai? You didn't catch a cold, did you? Want to try some special cold medicine I bought from an old traditional doctor? It only costs 500 Lungmen dollars!"
Sitting in the back seat, Croissant realized business had come knocking the moment she saw Exusiai sneezing. She knew Exusiai well; this was a girl who almost never got sick, so she naturally knew nothing about medicine. Perhaps she could palm off some of this slow-acting stock. These cold meds had been in her hands for a while now; even though the doctor said they had no expiration date, the feeling of having unsold inventory stuck in her hands was truly unpleasant.
"No thanks... Achoo! Someone is definitely badmouthing me somewhere... Achoo! I just don't know who's doing it yet... Achoo! I can't do this, Texas, come swap with me!"
As she spoke, Exusiai pulled the car over to the side of the road and hurriedly let Texas, who had been observing silently from the passenger seat, take the wheel. Another important reason was that her current state was ruining her performance—and they were about to enter the central district. It wouldn't be fun if they got caught by the Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.) due to her own sneezing fits.
"Fine, I really can't do anything with you. You really should see a doctor."
Texas sighed but took over the heavy responsibility of the driver. Technically, she should have been the one driving all along, as she was the only one of the three who actually held a driver's license. You could say Croissant was just too stingy to pay the registration fee for the exam, but for Exusiai... it was more that no driving school dared to issue her a license. Even if they did, she couldn't keep it. If a driver's license survived more than an hour in her hands, it only proved that there was something wrong with the car Exusiai drove that day. Instead, the driving school would probably be fined by the L.G.D. for "issuing a license to a dangerous individual."
Just as Texas was about to start the engine, she saw Hoshiguma on her electric scooter in the rearview mirror, with Ch'en riding behind her. The two of them were staring at them with a look that clearly said: Why is it always you guys?
If Ch'en hadn't been leaning out to observe them, Texas wouldn't even have seen her sitting behind Hoshiguma. Framed by Hoshiguma's towering physique, both the electric scooter and Ch'en appeared somewhat petite.
"I think, before we go back to the bar, we might need to take a trip to the Guard Department first. Croissant, call the Boss. Tell him we've been pinched and he needs to prepare the bail money."
The other two in the car looked back. When they saw the two famous figures of the L.G.D. watching them, they understood everything.
"Why is it that every time I go out, I catch you lot street racing in Lungmen? I was just going out for some rice rolls, and I still managed to catch you. I really don't know what to say."
Ch'en and Hoshiguma kept an eye on the trio until they entered the L.G.D. headquarters. As Ch'en watched these three Penguin Logistics employees walk into the station as comfortably as if they were returning home, she felt her blood pressure rising again.
However, the other officers in the Guard Department were quite used to the sight; these three came in several times a month. If the Penguin Logistics crew suddenly wasn't caught for a whole month, the officers would start wondering if something had happened to them.
"Hehe, doesn't this just show we're destined to cross paths? Officer Ch'en, do you need some scale-type tail care solution? I just got a batch of high-quality stuff, I can give you a 20% discount..."
"If you dare try to sell your trinkets inside the Guard Department again, watch me charge you with illegal business operations! I still haven't settled the score with you over those bottles of hair-growth cream you sold my subordinates. After they applied it, their tail hair grew five or six meters long..."
Ch'en stared sternly at Croissant, who was trying to pitch her wares. She immediately recalled the day the entire office was filled with the tail hair of her subordinates. According to them, the culprit was this "tail care solution" claimed to grow and beautify hair. Unfortunately, that "Char Siu" (Swire) hadn't used the stuff, otherwise, Ch'en could have used the incident to mock her for ten years.
"What I sold you was definitely the genuine article! It's impossible for it to have no effect! Officer Ch'en, you can doubt my driving skills, but you absolutely cannot deny my conscience as a merchant!" Croissant retorted immediately. While she liked to skim a bit of profit, she could guarantee that her stock was effective!
"If it had no effect, you'd be selling counterfeit inferior goods. The problem isn't that your medicine doesn't work; the problem is that its effects are far too unstable."
Along the way, as the Guard Department operators saw the Penguin Logistics trio, everyone greeted them familiarly. For a moment, Ch'en had the illusion that these three were actually part of the L.G.D. In the officers' eyes, these three were practically "Gods of Wealth"—the fines from their street racing provided a massive amount of funding for the department every month. They were great philanthropists helping everyone meet their performance quotas.
"Just go in and stay put. Someone will come to take you back in a while..."
Halfway through her sentence, Ch'en saw the three of them sit down inside and immediately start playing "Fight the Landlord"! Ch'en felt her blood pressure spike again. For a second, she wanted to unsheath "Chi Xiao" and slash all three of them.
Calm down, calm down! Can't get angry again, anger ruins the body... if this keeps up, I'll pop a blood vessel... Ch'en stood there, constantly persuading herself. It wasn't worth ruining her health over this lot. If this continued, she'd have hypertension before long.
Ignoring the trio, Ch'en turned and left. It really wasn't worth it. Maybe she should go find that "Char Siu" and have a shouting match to vent some steam.
"Exusiai, aren't you worried about the situation in Chernobog? After all, it's a diplomatic exchange between Laterano and Ursus!"
Croissant heard the broadcast talking about the negotiations and asked the lighthearted Sankta beside her.
"I'm not worried at all. When it comes to a war of words, I believe even if you tied all the Ursus officials together, they still couldn't out-talk a single Bishop!"
Exusiai shivered as she recalled her tragic childhood dominated by the Bishops. It brought back the painful memories of her three years as a student. Every time she blew up a school, she would face the education of several Bishops. They weren't violent; they just stood beside you and droned on and on, making your very soul suffer.
"I had plenty of experience with the Bishops' 'abilities' back then! Ursus officials aren't even on the same level!"