novelhk Page 163
Page 163
That obvious sense of closeness, that special treatment...
And what about them?
They were "swept along" by an invisible force, like packaged goods in a supermarket, and were "batched" in with other people!
The methods may be amazing and shocking, but the underlying emotions are completely different!
It felt more like getting a ride than being cherished and taken back.
Su Xiaoqiang felt increasingly aggrieved, her jealousy and dissatisfaction almost bursting from her eyes. She puffed out her cheeks and glared fiercely at Lu Mingfei, who was being flanked by Xia Mi and Erii.
Liu Miaomiao lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. Her heart felt heavy, and a sense of loss entwined around her like vines.
She may not care about titles or status, but this blatant discrimination made her heart ache.
Yuan Zhisheng and Chu Zihang exchanged a helpless glance, and tacitly walked to the corner bar, consciously staying away from the "center of the emotional storm" that was about to erupt.
Lu Mingfei keenly sensed the pervasive, almost solidified, sour smell and low air pressure in the air.
The next second, Su Xiaoqiang moved!
She wasn't the type to sit idly by and wait for her fate. She strode forward in her boots, and before Xia Mi and Erii could fully react, she pounced on him, wrapping her arms tightly around Lu Mingfei's waist!
Upon seeing this, Liu Miaomiao's initial reserve and hesitation were instantly dispelled by a sense of crisis. She immediately stepped forward and squeezed in front of Lu Mingfei, hugging him along with Su Xiaoqiang.
Zero, who had been quietly observing, saw that the other four had almost completely surrounded Lu Mingfei. She tilted her head slightly, and a flicker of emotion seemed to flash in her icy blue eyes. Then, she silently walked back from the window and hugged Lu Mingfei from behind.
Su Enxi and Jiu Demai stood there, dumbfounded.
The boss can still move his head, but his whole body is now completely "occupied" by several girls!
The two exchanged a glance, hesitating whether to join in the fun, when a warning look suddenly shot out by Lu Mingfei froze them in place.
Lu Mingfei tried his best to keep an expressionless face, as if nothing had just happened, but his ears were slightly red.
When Liu Miaomiao saw Su Xiaoqiang suddenly scream and back away, although she didn't understand why, she subconsciously thought that Su Xiaoqiang had given up her "territory". She was overjoyed and immediately took the position in front of Lu Mingfei, pressing her whole body even closer.
However, only a fraction of a second had passed.
"Ugh!" Liu Miaomiao also let out a soft gasp, her pretty face instantly turning bright red and burning hot, as if she had been scorched by fire. She took a step back, covered her face with her hands, and was so ashamed that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Erii tilted her head, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion. She was about to peek to see what was wrong with her older brothers and sisters when she suddenly realized that Lu Mingfei, who had been surrounded by them just moments before, was nowhere to be seen!
Erii stood there blankly, her little hands still clutching the hem of her clothes.
Only Xia Mi and Ling knew what had happened.
They exchanged a glance, and Xia Mi's lips even curved into a barely perceptible smile.
That's how it should be...
After a few seconds.
puff!
Outside the room’s huge window, a “snowman” whose entire body was covered in thick snow, with only his face showing, walked in.
The snow piled up so thickly on him that he almost looked like a human snow sculpture.
Yuan Zhisheng and Chu Zihang were stunned, almost dropping their teacups.
Su Enxi finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, and quickly covered her mouth.
“Boss,” Mai Shude’s eyes twitched as she suppressed a laugh, “Are you… cosplaying a snowman? Performance art?”
"It's cool," Lu Mingfei replied expressionlessly, his voice muffled through the snow.
Erii ran up to him curiously, stretched out her slender white index finger, and poked his exposed cheek repeatedly. The cool touch amused her.
At the same time, a smiling thought entered Lu Mingfei's mind:
"Lu Mingfei, you look so cute!"
Lu Mingfei's exposed face softened instantly: "I'm glad you like it."
Seeing that Su Xiaoqiang and Liu Miaomiao, though blushing, showed no signs of rushing forward again, Lu Mingfei's mind stirred slightly.
call!
The snow covering his entire body seemed to be stripped away by an invisible force, instantly gathering into a huge snowball, then lightly flying out of the window, bursting apart in the high sky, turning into a sky full of snowflakes, and re-merging into the Tokyo night.
"Ahem." Lu Mingfei cleared his throat, trying to make his expression serious. "Are you all hungry? Let's eat first."
Chapter 154 Negotiation
After a sumptuous dinner.
Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang, Yuan Zhisheng, Su Enxi, and Jiu Demai sat around the kotatsu.
Lu Mingfei deliberately chose to sit between Chu Zihang and Yuan Zhisheng, using the two of them to separate Su Enxi and Jiude Mai from the positions where they might get close.
On the other side, Xia Mi, Erii (who were actively communicating using mental telepathy), Ling, Liu Miaomiao, and Su Xiaoqiang were in another sofa area, the atmosphere subtle but seemingly trying to communicate and understand each other.
Lu Mingfei spared a sliver of his attention to monitor the situation on the girls' side, ensuring harmony.
Meanwhile, they needed to discuss some serious matters.
“Boss,” Su Enxi pushed up her glasses and spoke first, her tone relaxed, “the matter of that old classmate you asked me to handle has been taken care of.”
"So fast?" Lu Mingfei was somewhat surprised.
“Of course!” Mai Shude crossed her arms, a hint of pride on her face after completing the mission.
"What was the result?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"She's in the hospital," Su Enxi said casually.
Mai Shude interjected, her tone tinged with disdain:
"That kid, as you said, let him experience what you went through back then, see if he has any remorse, and then..."
She shrugged. "He didn't think he had done anything wrong at all, and he kept cursing, so I had no choice but to follow the plan, break his limbs, and send him to the hospital to reflect on his actions."
"Okay, I understand." Lu Mingfei nodded, his heart completely unmoved, as if he had heard something insignificant.
He then added, turning his gaze to Su Enxi:
"By the way, Enxi, help me look up someone, a student at Kassel College named Chen Motong. I heard she looks exactly like Erii."
"Understood!" Su Enxi replied immediately, a shrewd glint in her eyes.
"Also, I'd like to know which mixed-race families are currently active in the world," Lu Mingfei said.
Su Enxi immediately chimed in, saying that among those present, she was undoubtedly the one who knew the most about mixed-race families in the world.
The room fell silent immediately after Su Enxi said this.
Although Mai Shude pursed her lips, Genjiro seemed thoughtful, and Chu Zihang remained expressionless, no one spoke up to refute her.
While there are many skilled fighters present, this "Potato Chip Girl" certainly has the right to speak on the breadth and depth of intelligence networks and the intricate relationships between hidden forces around the world.
Su Enxi deftly put down the tablet in her hand, leaned forward slightly, and tapped her fingers a few times in the air, as if there were an invisible operating interface there.
Her eyes gleamed with a calm and focused light, like a stream of data; her voice was clear and organized.
Globally, active mixed-race families of a certain size and influence can be broadly divided into the following main clusters based on region, strength, and historical origins:
Europe's core circle:
The Gattuso family: a behemoth in Italy with a long history and intricate ties to the Vatican.
They are among the core members of the Kassel College Board of Trustees, possessing substantial financial resources and significant political influence.
They are assertive, have clear goals, and prefer control to cooperation.
The Laurent family: representing French influence, also holding positions on the school board.
Known for its expertise in finance, luxury goods, and art collecting, it operates with a low profile and elegance, possessing a strong intelligence network. Its stance is somewhat delicate, often playing the role of a balancer.
The Flammel family: an extremely mysterious family. The first patriarch, Nicolas Flammel, joined the Secret Service in the 15th century and was the last person in history to understand the Dragon Script.
The current heir of the Flamel family is the vice-principal of Kassel College and the world's leading alchemist.
The Vanderbilt family: not an ancient family in the traditional sense, but a modern consolidation of several medium-sized families from Northern and Eastern Europe. They started with shipping and trade and are very powerful. They also have a seat on the board of trustees.
Others: There are also families that are slightly less powerful but not to be ignored, such as the von Kassel family in Germany and the Pendleton family in Britain, which are mostly affiliated with or form alliances with the three families mentioned above.
North American axis:
The North American Mixed Race Alliance is not a single family, but rather a coalition of several relatively young but extremely wealthy families, such as the emerging Lockwood and Douglas families, as well as some powerful independent mixed races.
Their roots are in Wall Street and Silicon Valley, representing the capital power and technological orientation of the new world.
While its organizational structure is relatively loose, it possesses extremely strong mobilization capabilities, and its influence has begun to surpass that of some established European families.
It has close ties with Kassel College and is an important source of funding and technical support.
Kassel College itself: led by Hilbert Jean Angers, it is nominally an educational institution for slaying dragons, but behind it lies the will of the Camarilla and the various families of the board of directors.
The academy itself is a powerful and unique aggregation of mixed-race forces.
Far East region:
The Snake-Headed Eight Families: The absolute rulers of mainland Japan. With a long history and a tightly organized structure, they control the lifeline of Japan's underworld.
The Chen family: A mysterious family with deep Chinese background, they operate with extreme discretion and have very little intelligence, but their reach seems to extend throughout the global Chinese community.
They also have spokespeople in the Secret Service and the Board of Trustees, but they never stand directly in the public eye.
There have been signs of increased activity in recent years.
The Beowulf family: an oligarchic power in Russia and the Far East.
He has close ties with the military and energy industries, a tough and direct style, strong action capabilities, and an ambiguous relationship with the Gattuso family.
The Romanov family: a representative of Russia's old aristocratic power, possessing a profound historical background.
Controlling vast military, energy, and mineral resources, its style of doing things bears a strong resemblance to Tsarist Russia—tough, direct, and focused on tradition and bloodline power.
Other: There are also some regionally strong families in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, etc., such as the Ramani family in Siam and the Singh Group in India, but their influence is currently mostly limited to their local areas.
Special existence:
The Demon Clan: A rebellious force in Japan composed of "demons" of unstable or corrupted bloodlines. Currently led by Minamoto no Chizuru (Ruri Kazama), they have pledged to cease hostilities and seek cooperation.
Hunter Website Related Forces: Some powerful independent hybrid or small mercenary groups operate through the Hunter Website, their whereabouts are unpredictable, but their overall strength is difficult to rival that of large families.