Gate of Revelation - Chapter 564

Chapter 564

GOR Chapter 564 Tricked

“Arriving in Bucharest airspace in around two minutes, now finding a suitable landing spot . ”

Roddy sat on the pilot’s seat within the Tidal Fighter . After saying that, he flipped a switch . “Entering stealth mode . ”

Chen Xiaolian and Soo Soo sat side by side within the aircraft’s cabin .

Chen Xiaolian, Roddy and Soo Soo . They were the only ones involved in this trip to Bucharest .

Lun Tai and Bei Tai were in charge of looking after home-related matters . At the same time, there was also a need to set aside an extra person to keep an eye on their captive, Nightmare . Xia Xiaolei and Qimu Xi were in charge of looking after the base .

As mentioned earlier, their destination this time was Bucharest, the capital of Romania .

According to the note provided by Nightmare, Phoenix from Coffeehouse Guild would be appearing at a certain location within the city sometime tomorrow afternoon .

Chen Xiaolian’s reasoning for this trip was very simple .  It would appear that Mr San wants to bring us all together . If so, I will take action to gather us up and see what happens .

Bringing Soo Soo out was Chen Xiaolian’s decision . The objective of this trip was to look for Phoenix – considering the relationship between their two parties, a fight was unlikely to erupt . Additionally, Soo Soo’s recent state left Chen Xiaolian worried . He could not rest easy leaving her alone back at home . Thus, he decided to bring her along to take matters off her mind .

It was presently 10 o’clock in the evening, local time . Roddy however, decided on a most heinous landing spot, the country’s parliamentary building, the infamous Palace of the Parliament .

The building exuded an Eastern European Soviet atmosphere and was known as the world’s second largest building, losing out only to the Pentagon in America . The building’s rooftop was very spacious .

During the night, the invisible Tidal Fighter descended and hovered above the rooftop of the building . Next, Chen Xiaolian, Roddy and Soo Soo jumped down the aircraft before keeping the Tidal Fighter back into the storage equipment .

Given their abilities, the security of the parliamentary building was naturally not an issue for them . The three of them casually made their way out of the parliamentary building and arrived upon the famed Unification Avenue outside .

Karsters Brothers Hotel .

According to the note, that was the place where Phoenix would appear .

Chen Xiaolian waited beside the street with Soo Soo while Roddy went looking for a car . A few minutes later, Roddy ran back .

“We have a bit of an issue,” said Roddy with a wry smile .

“What happened?”

“I had asked the cab drivers here . The Karsters Brothers Hotel that you mentioned, there are a total of six of them . ”

Chen Xiaolian was stunned .

“The bosses of the place are two brothers . Originally, they had only opened up one hotel . However, business has been booming for the past few years, so they opened up several more chains . ” Roddy shrugged and continued, “Do you have the exact address in the note?”

Chen Xiaolian shook his head . “This will be problematic . We will have to look through them one by one . ”

Roddy pulled out his mobile phone and accessed its GPS function for a moment . It did not take long for him to obtain the addresses for the six hotels .

“Let’s split up,” said Chen Xiaolian . “You go one way while I take Soo Soo on the other . ”

Roddy considered the proposal and said, “I did not participate in the London instance dungeon . If I end up meeting Phoenix, I fear she would not trust me . ”

After thinking about it, Chen Xiaolian pulled out a bullet and handed it to Roddy .

That was a special spirit-force bullet . Phoenix had given him the bullet during the London instance dungeon, along with the spirit-force revolver .

“After seeing this bullet, she will probably believe you . While spirit-force bullets are not rare, the two of us are the only ones who know about her giving me her spirit-force revolver . ”

There was a strange smile on Roddy’s face . After accepting the bullet, he gave a whistle before leaving .

Having done that, Chen Xiaolian turned around to look at Soo Soo, who remained beside him . She maintained the same frosty demeanour as she stood beside him, a rabbit shaped headset on her head . She had her eyes closed as she listened to the music .

Chen Xiaolian furrowed his brows and reached out with his hand to lift up the headset . He listened to the music coming from the headset and was unable to refrain from frowning .

“You are listening to this?” Chen Xiaolian looked at Soo Soo and said, “Death metal?”

Soo Soo cast a calm look at Chen Xiaolian and said, “I feel very calm when I listen to it . ”

Oh well, this gloomy loli cannot be measured using common sense .

Chen Xiaolian decided to confiscate the headset . “Don’t listen to this kind of music so much . It is not good for you . ”

“So, oppa prefers the other me, is that it?”

Chen Xiaolian felt his scalp tingle and he was at a loss on how to answer her . He looked at the emotionless expression on her face and finally made up his mind . He exercised his authority as an adult . Pinching Soo Soo by the ear, he pulled her with him until they were beside the street . There, they flagged down a cab .

The search efforts proved harder than expected .

Although they had a target objective in mind, finding one person within a city with over two million people was nowhere near as easy as he had imagined .

In one of the Karsters Brothers’ chain of hotels, Chen Xiaolian used one hundred US dollars to bribe one of the staff members in charge of reception .

The results of his inquiry disappointed him .

The hotel was not playing host to a ‘young and beautiful woman with an Asian face’ . There was also no ‘thickset man with a face of someone who should not be provoked’ .

He received the same result in the second hotel he visited .

The same was true on Roddy’s end . He had visited two hotels, but failed to find anything . According to Roddy, he was heading toward the third hotel . “It is a bit far . Looks like it is at a tourist spot somewhere in the outskirts of the city . ”

All Chen Xiaolian could do was to remind him to be careful and to keep in touch . As for him, he brought Soo Soo with him to the third hotel on his list .

There were only a few minutes left until midnight when Chen Xiaolian and Soo Soo arrived .

However, what they saw left Chen Xiaolian speechless .

A considerable portion of the ‘Karsters Brothers Hotel’ signboard was blocked from view .

Reinforced concrete and scaffolding rose up, completely blocking the four-storey building standing before them from view .

As it was night, he could see no workers around .

Chen Xiaolian stood beside the street for a minute before making his way into the building, which appeared mostly demolished .

The structure of the building remained . However, the interior had been stripped bare . Even so, it was still possible to make out the original shape of the hotel lobby, restaurant and a few of the rooms upstairs .

Demolished?

Chen Xiaolian was somewhat disappointed with this discovery . He then contacted Roddy, who informed Chen Xiaolian that he was still on his way to his third hotel . He estimated that it would take him another half an hour to reach his destination .

Hearing about Chen Xiaolian’s discovery, Roddy pondered for a moment before replying, “Since none of the hotels on your end checks out, this one I am heading to might be the one where Phoenix is at . How about you come over and meet up with me?”

Chen Xiaolian considered his suggestion and said, “No hurry . I keep getting the feeling that the place you are headed to may not be the right one . It is too far away from the city . After all, the location specified by Mr San is Bucharest . ”

“Very well . I will first head to my destination and make an inquiry . Let us contact each other again once that is done . ”

After finishing his conversation with Roddy, Chen Xiaolian turned to look at Soo Soo .

“Let us find a place to rest for a bit . ” Chen Xiaolian brought Soo Soo along as he made his way along the street .

The street was, relatively speaking, one of the more prosperous areas there .   It was wider and cleaner; and there were numerous stores on either side of the street . Although it was already midnight where businesses would call it a day, they could still see one or two 24-hour convenience shops, which remained open .

It did not take Chen Xiaolian much effort to inquire about an all-night bar located at a nearby junction .

The two of them walked forward and found the said bar . What greeted them when they opened the door to the bar was a thick scent of tobacco and alcohol .

However, it was not too noisy inside .

The bar was not very big and it only had four to five tables . Beside the bar counter was a small performing stage, where a middle-aged man was singing softly . Hearing the Romanian song, Chen Xiaolian felt nothing .

Only two of the bar’s tables were occupied . There was also one guest at the bar counter; he appeared to be drunk and was sleeping .

Chen Xiaolian found a place by the window and sat down . When the waitress in apron approached, he turned toward her and said, “Beer . ”

“Same as him . ” Soo Soo said coolly .

Chen Xiaolian smacked Soo Soo on the head, causing her to raise her head at Chen Xiaolian, a frown on her face .

“A little child drinking beer? Nonsense! Give her fruit juice . ”

The waitress on the other hand, did not seem to mind . “Little children also should not be visiting a bar, but… … who cares . ”

After that, Chen Xiaolian accepted a bottle of the locally produced Romanian beer . After drinking two mouthfuls of the beer, he began surveying his surroundings . The waitress appeared intrigued by Chen Xiaolian and Soo Soo . After glancing at them a few times, she walked over .

“Tourists?”

Chen Xiaolian did not reply .

“Bringing her to a bar is not a good thing . If the police see her, they will cause problems for you . ”

Chen Xiaolian smiled . “Are you afraid they will cause problems for you?”

“No . ” The waitress smiled and said, “Since we can open up a bar here, the police would not trouble us . ”

Chen Xiaolian regarded the waitress . She was neither too old nor too young . Although she had yet to lose her body shape, there were already wrinkles on her face . She did however, put on a thick layer of makeup .

Chen Xiaolian placed a hundred US dollars on the table and said, “I would like to ask some questions . ”

The waitress smiled and gave Soo Soo a glance . “If you need a woman, I can give you a number . ”

“No, not that kind of question . ” Chen Xiaolian shook his head and continued, “Just some simple questions . ”

The waitress’ face flickered . “Are you a cop?”

“A yellow-skinned, black-haired cop?” Chen Xiaolian smiled .

The waitress thought about it and relaxed . “You are part of the mafia?”

“At my age, really? Would the mafia conduct its business while bringing a little girl along with them?”

“All right, what do you want to ask?” The waitress smiled . She deftly extended one hand out to the table and the hundred-dollar bill disappeared .

“That Karsters Brothers Hotel by the street . Why is it closed?”

The waitress smiled and said, “Renovation . I hear the bosses are preparing to renovate this hotel and turn it into their flagship hotel . The renovation works have been going on for a good half year now . ”

Chen Xiaolian nodded . “So, did you recently see any strange guests? For example, someone like me, someone with an Asian face . ”

“We have had quite a number of guests from Asia here . While the number of people with Asian faces is limited, there had been quite a few . I don’t get what you are asking . ”

“A young woman, around my age, she is very… … very beautiful,” said Chen Xiaolian slowly . “She has companions . One of them should be a thickset fellow with a rather terrifying face . Ah right, he may also have a monkey on his shoulder . ”

“No . ” The waitress shook her head frankly . “If I did meet those people before, I would have remembered . ”

Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat disappointed . At that very moment though, his eyes subconsciously swept around and his gaze fell upon a wall within the bar . There was a painting there .

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes lit up .

It was on oil painting . Judging by its appearance, it was probably not some antique oil painting .

The painting depicted the back of a young girl who sat before a canvas . There before the young girl was a field of sunflowers .

The back of the young girl revealed a very slim figure and her hair was black in colour .

Chen Xiaolian’s eye power was exceptionally good and he was able to quickly notice the charcoal pen signature at the bottom left side of the painting .

It was in English: {Phoenix} .

In other words…

Phoenix! [1]

He abruptly revealed a smile . Next, he turned to face the waitress and said with a serious expression, “You sure know how to talk . ”

“I don’t get your meaning . ” The waitress shook her head .

“That painting . ” Chen Xiaolian pointed at the oil painting and said, “Where did that painting come from?”

The waitress maintained a calm demeanour, showing no trace of panic at all . “Our boss here is someone who likes art . He knows many of the artists here, be they famous or not, rich or poor . Of course, considering our boss’ level of wealth, he is simply incapable of buying up some infamous artwork . So, he bought some of the artworks by some unknown artists and hung them up here . If you ask me, he simply does not understand art . ”

“Why do you say that?”

“This is Bucharest . ” The waitress smiled and said, “There are so many buildings with various types of architectures here . So, many artists would come here to paint the scenery here . There are at least 20 art galleries in this neighbourhood . During daytime, any one of the guests in one of the cafes by the street could be a poor artist . ”

Chen Xiaolian pondered and said, “I am interested in that painting . Is it possible for you to find the one who painted it?”

“I am sorry, only the boss would know that . I am just a worker here . ” The waitress shook her head . She seemingly knew what Chen Xiaolian would ask next and said, “The boss is not here today . He went to Budapest last week, so it may take a few more days before he returns . ”

After saying that, the waitress smiled and said, “All right, your 100 dollars’ worth of service time is over . I still have other matters to deal with . If you have anything else, just call for me . ”

After that, she turned to leave . Before leaving, she also sent a flirtatious wink at Chen Xiaolian .

“She is lying . ” Soo Soo, who had been sipping her fruit juice with a straw, suddenly spoke up .

“How do you know that?”

“A woman’s intuition . ”

Chen Xiaolian smiled and patted her on the head . “How old are you? A woman? You are just a little kiddo . ”

Next, Chen Xiaolian turned around to look at the waitress . He furrowed his brows and said, “I also think she is lying . However, why did she lie… …”

A few minutes later, the waitress took off the apron on her person, pulled an overcoat from the wall and wore it . Then, she sent a flying kiss at Chen Xiaolian and said, “I am getting off work . If there is anything else, you can ask the waiters here . Goodbye, dear . ”

Chen Xiaolian watched as the waitress walked out the door and his mind raced . He kept getting the feeling that there was something wrong . He made his way to the bar counter and asked the bartender there . “Is your boss here?”

The bartender appeared stunned . “The boss? Didn’t she just left? I saw her send a flying kiss your way . Aren’t you her friend?”

Chen Xiaolian swiftly turned around to charge out of the pub .

…

1 Phoenix in Chinese is ‘凤凰’, pinyin: ‘Fèng huáng’ .