Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 357 - 69: The Actors_1

Chapter 357: Chapter 69: The Actors_1

"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend our card game celebration," said Joseph, who is nearly seventy this year. Born into the Shadow Hand and bearing years of tremendous mental pressure, his hair had turned snow-white prematurely and his health was not particularly good. However, today, the old thief seemed spirited, and his voice was strong and clear: "This celebration is to commemorate the upcoming tenth anniversary of peace in our gambling district. Over the past decade, there has not been a single shootout between organizations in the gambling district, and the death rate in the area has been decreasing year by year. Perhaps the methods we’ve chosen are also suitable for other blocks, so I hope to have a good exchange with the leaders of various organizations. Furthermore..."

"Darling, do you think they could get back here before everything is over?" Joseph was giving his spirited speech on the stage, but in a corner off the stage within the shadows, Indulgence was quietly whispering to Passion.

"They have entered a certain area within ten kilometers of the straight line." Passion’s icy expression didn’t change, "Based on this, they picked the perfect time."

"It seems that you had arranged for a messenger in advance, darling." Indulgence looked at a small tool in Passion’s hand, crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. She said with a smile, "Is there any other information?"

"No, the messenger has betrayed us." Passion sighed, her face showing no sign of emotion, "She did not relay any information back. Catherine and the others are really good, they managed to convince her to defy my orders in just a few days. But it’s okay, I made some preparations in advance, so we can still tell if they are within ten kilometers."

"It seems we need to reinforce their memories." Indulgence made a sinister and savage face, grinning wickedly, "I’ve never personally helped someone reinforce their memories before, hehe."

"Stop messing around." Passion, taking advantage of nobody noticing, gave Indulgence a look, "They must be protecting her, do you want to offend them even more? Forget it, let’s just act like it never happened, consider it as owing them a favor."

"Haven’t we already prepared that one?" Indulgence subtly jabbed Passion’s chest with her finger. "That favour is big enough, right?"

"After all, they were once truly our friends. The more favors, the better." Passion’s ordinarily indifferent voice suddenly became hesitant, "Maybe..."

Indulgence also abruptly stopped joking, taking Passion’s arm: "Looks like you’re still a bit reluctant to let go of this absurd friendship."

"You dare say you’re not?" Passion looked deeply into Indulgence’s eyes, "Don’t forget how much we know about each other."

"Friendship, hahaha." The two women suddenly giggled at each other, and instead of sounding happy, their laughter was filled with sadness.

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"Have they gone in yet?" Inside a soundproofed room on the second floor of the casino, Cruelty, as innocent as a boy, was still panting in satisfaction, meticulously cleaning the blood from his fingers. With clean hands, he pressed the button to summon his attendant outside. The door quickly opened, and a figure cloaked in the uniform of the Shadow Hand entered as silently as a wisp of smoke. Without looking at the newcomer, Cruelty asked in a low voice, "Where did you put them?"

"Room number seven, sir," the cloaked figure answered in a wooden voice, "Ready to act at any time."

"What a masterpiece, a masterpiece of life." Cruelty crossed his arms, looking at the heap of mangled flesh and crushed bones on the bed with an appreciative eye. The blood had soaked the bed sheets and bedding, and even drenched the thick fluffy carpet on the floor, giving off a pungent smell. Yet Cruelty seemed to be in a trance, inhaling deeply, his cheeks flushing an unnatural red and his breathing getting heavier. With an attendant long accustomed to all this by his side, he stood silently, waiting, only continuing his instructions when Cruelty again let out a satisfied sigh, "Go to the door and carve two concentric circles on it. In addition, has there been any news from Curiosity and Madness?"

"Madness has arrived downstairs in his carriage," replied the cloaked figure, "Curiosity has entered the venue, but it is unclear where exactly they are."

"What about Suspicion?" Cruelty asked, "Any news?"

"We can confirm that Suspicion has not entered here," the cloaked figure answered, "But where he is now, is unknown."

"That’s good, that’s good." Cruelty couldn’t resist running his newly cleaned hands over the crushed bones on the bed, licking his lips and muttering to himself, "Everyone thinks they’re so smart, everyone wants to be the hunter. Sadly, there are only so many spots for hunters, someone has to play the prey, hehe."

Seeing his superior acting like this, the cloaked figure knew that Cruelty’s orders were over. He bowed and quietly exited the room.

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Outside the Crown Casino, a black carriage of similar make remained stationary at the disembarking area, with no one emerging from it. No one dared to rush them, regardless of whether they were casino employees or the Shadow Hand members in charge of the carriage. They all respectfully guarded the carriage door, patiently waiting for the important figure inside to exit at their own volition.

"Who’s the prey?" Inside the carriage, Madness pulled her hand away from her thigh. In her eyes flickered a mad flame; she was filled with anticipation. In a self-murmuring tone, she said, "Is it Indulgence and Passion? Is it Cruelty? Curiosity? Or is it me? I can’t bear it anymore. The mere thought that I could be the prey, I can’t hold back my impulses, hahaha, hahaha, it is so exciting."

The insulation of Madness’ carriage was very good; unless someone knocked on the carriage directly, there was no way any sound from inside could escape.

"Who then, could be the predator?" Madness half-reclined in the carriage chair and said aloud, "Is it Cruelty? Is it curiosity? Or is it Indulgence and Passion? I hope it’s the latter two. Hopefully, they can take me alive to the execution room. I am eager to try their cute little tools! If the two of them carry out the operation, they will surely know how to bring me the most joy. They are indeed the best."

Madness was called Madness, not just because of her relentless killing spree, but because she was genuinely insane. Normally, she appeared calm and wise, but no one could predict when she might slip into madness, or fathom what she would think or do next. When she’s cool and composed, she could plot and vie for power like her captain; but once she fell into madness, these things could no longer affect her thinking. At these times, she would act solely on her most basic impulses, just like a beast.

"No, no, I can’t be executed just yet." Madness bit her sleeve with her teeth, "How can I enjoy this pleasure only once? No, absolutely not, I must survive, I must have a possibility of being executed by them every day. That’s it, I’ve decided."

Madness slammed her palm and sat straight up, the fervor and madness in her eyes instantaneously faded, once again becoming calm, kind, and wise. She quickly straightened her disorderly clothes a bit and casually pushed open the carriage’s door.

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"You can actually tolerate the betrayal of your subordinate forces?" Pannis asked strangely, "You don’t seem like such a merciful person."

"You don’t understand, this is the rule in the struggle between captains." Suspicion asserted with a touch of helplessness, "Without a reasonable reason, it is forbidden to act against the leader of another person’s subordinate force. Betrayal, as it happens, does not count as a reasonable reason. But this rule is essential; otherwise, if we can act at will against each other’s subordinate forces, I guess all the subordinates of the captains would soon be wiped out."

"Hmm, that makes sense." Pannis nodded, stroking his chin, "So, Joseph has already secretly betrayed you, who then has he sided with?"

"Cruelty." Suspicion snorted and said, "At least, on the surface, he has sided with Cruelty. But as for whether someone is setting a trap for Cruelty, nobody can tell."

"Setting a trap?" Catherine asked, somewhat puzzled, "Would Cruelty knowingly step into this trap even though Joseph is the main task of colluding with the cult?"

"Do you think everyone knows that it’s Joseph providing supplies to those people?" Suspicion sneered, "I knew because he was originally my man, it would be too hard to hide it from me. As for others, it is not very likely that they would know."

"Would Indulgence and Passion know?" Catherine asked, "About Joseph providing humans."

"Indulgence is in charge of the Intelligence Department, so maybe they could find out." Suspicion speculated, "But I can’t be absolutely sure, either possibility exists."

"So, if Indulgence and Passion know, they’ll attack Cruelty as an inside job?" Catherine asked, "But if Cruelty isn’t the insider, then they will fall into the real traitor’s trap, is that the case?"

"You still haven’t grasped the style of the City of Innocence; this makes me worried about our collaboration." Suspicion shook his head, "I’ve said it many times, it doesn’t matter who the traitor is, no one will care. Oh, if Pannis is right, there might be a certain person who cares, but no one else will. So, it doesn’t surprise me, whoever allies with whoever to attack whoever. These two have an advantage. It’s possible other people may join forces to deal with these two, or they could join with others to deal with Cruelty, or even join with Cruelty to eclipse others. I’m prepared to bet on them and take their target as my enemy. As for you, because of your bond, once you show up, you will be regarded as attached to them, and eventually, you will have to confront the enemy for your own safety. However, if we consider Pannis’s speculation about a certain caring person, the possibility that the two might eventually target Cruelty is high. The question is, whether anyone else will be involved."

"Don’t think too much." Pannis patted Catherine’s shoulder, by this time, everyone had returned to the surface, revelling in the starlight overhead and the fresh air, "We only need to complete our tasks, the other matters have nothing to do with us. Hmmm, wait, haven’t we yet settled the account of your attempted murder incident? Let’s settle it together." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote and support us on qidian.com, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com)