Four Season Hotel was one of the tallest structure in Chun Ning.
August was usually the hottest time of the year here, but this was shortly after day break, the temperature was vey comfortable.
Lin Shuo took the elevator to the top of the building, leaning up against the railing, he could enjoy the panoramic view of most of the city.
Looking at the rows and rows of modern architectures, Lin Shuo lamented.
Time has changed, number of individuals in his trade has certainly dwindled.
Fishing out the pack of cigarette from pocket of his shirt, he lit one up and blew the smoke into the air and heard fluttering sound.
The starling circled a bit in the air and found Lin Shuo at the top of the building. Fluttering his wings, he landed on the railing in front of Lin Shuo, “Shuo-ge. There were so much pesticides in the woods that I almost got poisoned!”
“Oh yeah? You mean I could almost have some peace and quiet for a change?” Lin Shuo glanced at the bird and teased, “Well, are they female birds around here pretty?”
“Their looks are acceptable, but the birds here are so simple. All you need to do is to talk to them to hook up, not as challenging as those in the mountains.”
Lin Shuo smiled and shook his head, “We"ve already signed the contract. No more goofing off for you after tonight.”
“I understand,” said the starling, “By the way, Shuo-ge, I heard the entire argument earlier in the restaurant from the outside. That Wei Xingshan is such a fool!”
“Oh?” The starling"s words piqued Lin Shuo"s interest, “Why do you say that?”
“Surely the two researchers will be a burden, that part was obvious,” said the starling bluntly, “But what about Wei Xingshan himself? And his dozen of team member, aren"t they burden too? That"s why Shuo-ge didn"t care. What"s the difference between two more?
“If you ask me, we don"t need any of them. We could handle this entire mission perfectly with just the two of us. At most, we will let that woman Anne tag along. That woman is very good with her words, she appeases Bye.”
“You!” said Lin Shuo as he reached out and flick the starling on his forehand with his fingers, “Where did you get this arrogance from?”
“Shuo-ge is so strong and powerful, I"ve got to be more arrogant as your sidekick. I don"t want to reflect poorly on you,” said the starling.
“It"s okay to joke around now,” reminded Lin Shuo, “When we run into that thing, you better be careful.”
“Of course, we"ve been brothers for how long now? Have I ever let you down?” replied the starling indifferently.
“Mr. Lin, Bye.”
The pretty Anne walked slowly toward the two.
In her hand she carried a ceramic plate full of pastries, they looked to be from the buffet restaurant. Somehow she was able to bring it out of the restaurant.
She placed the plate in front of the starling and said, “Were you able to find anything good outside, Be ye? This is not a great hotel and the food are mediocre, I hope you don"t mine.”1
“See what I mean, Shuo-ge, this woman is good.”
Anne turned to Lin Shuo and said, “Mr. Lin, I was able to convince to Captain Wei to let Profession He and Dr. Yang join our team, I am wondering about your thought….”
“I am okay with that,” waved Lin Shuo. “They are researched who are almost fanatics in their field. Which make sense, how else could they have accomplished what they had? If we don"t take them with us, they will put their own team together. Then they are really going to die.”
“Mr. Lin is such a compa.s.sionate person deep down inside,” said Anne with a sweet smile, “I feel much better after hearing that from you.”
“But don"t let your guard down,” Lin Shuo shook his head, “Our target this time is quite powerful.”
“Oh?” Anne"s eyes filled with interest, “You seem to know this creature quite well?”
___
Note:
1. This is the Chinese way to be polite. Not literally that the hotel is alright and the food mediocre.