InterGalaxia (On Hold)

2.7

In the Phoenix Pavilion 

Noel and Noah were seated opposite Chi YunQi, said child sipping a fragrant cup of tea with a pained face and occasionally nibbling on some sweet biscuits. Noah was silently observing the customers on the Pavilion floor while Noel was smirking at Chi YunQi, elbow bent on the table with her hand cupping her cheek and her other hand stirring a steaming cup of pomegranate coloured tea. "If you don't like it, don't drink or eat it. Simple" Noel mused. Chi YunQi placed the cup on the tea saucer on the table and pushed it out of arms reach. "I don't like it but when it's just sitting there, I can't help but drink it or eat the biscuits. Especially when I'm caught up in conversation, I can't help but nibble" she confessed, utterly ashamed of her behaviour. It was something she did in her past lives as well, so she only kept snacks out during tea time with guests over. 

Chi YunQi released a large amount of spirit force and surrounded the table. There were many reasons she did so but the main reasons were so that she can detect any threats around and at the table but also as a way of soundproofing their conversation. She learnt the hard way in the other World what happened to the World inhabitants if they were to find out about the Company. She was sitting down in her apartment and talking to Xiao Gou aloud, as she often did when she received a package from Edris. He was abroad and decided to send her some confectionery from the country he was visiting. The postman heard her talking about missions with the System and had this god-awful look on his face. He started to have a full on seizure, shaking violently and foaming at the mouth like he was possessed. In the end, his brain imploded and his blood vessels clotted, stopping his heart and exploding his blood vessels. In the end, he had brain matter spilling out of all his facial orifices, blood seeping out of his pores and blood dyed foam falling out his agape mouth and onto his chest and neck. It was gruesome and made her vomit vehemently. 

During the whole episode, she was freaking out and trying to contact the ambulance but a status window appeared. [Mercenary Tian Anjing has notification from Adjurer Company Headquarters. Please stand by for transmission]. She was busy freaking out, she so didn't need this message to come through at this time. [Mercenary Tian Anjing, according to live video transmission from System 'Little Dog', Adjurer Company Headquarters as deemed the reveal of classified information to a World inhabitant as a breach of contract. Mercenary Tian Anjing has been given a caution for a first-time offence and because the information reveal can be viewed as accidental. Adjurer Company Headquarters as taken emergency protocol and disposed of the World inhabitant. Please take more care in the future]. The status screen shattered like glass and disappeared. 

As this was her first time being the cause of the death of a person, even indirectly, she had crawled into a ball and sobbed violently. After a while, she got up and tried to figure out how to deal with the body. She called the Police and explained the situation. She felt disgusted for days after, crying until half her face swelled up and vomiting, sometimes even refusing to eat. After she ended up being hospitalised with dehydration and starvation, Edris came to visit her in the hospital. He held her in his arms for a long, long time and stayed with her during the ordeal. She eventually got back on her feet but was severely frightened by the experience. Not wanting to make the same mistake, she approached Drea in his office and consulted him. He suggested this method to not involve the World inhabitants in anything that could potentially have them killed off. He did warn her though that this works in Worlds, not magic or cultivation based, in those Worlds not skewed by common science or mortality, there are techniques that counter spirit force techniques. 

Noah and Noel didn't seem to mind the spirit force domain surrounding them. Noel whistled, "you've got quite the handle on spirit force manipulation for a newbie. Anyway, I am Noel and this is my brother Noah" she re-introduced themselves. "I'm Mercenary Tian Anjing, though you already knew that. Are you also Mercenaries?" she asked in a serious tone. Noel fixed a business smile on her face. "Yes and no. We are Mercenaries in the convention of obtaining powers from the Company after death and signing a contract with them. Except, we're an intermediary between the Company and the Mercenaries, a third-party similar to the Systems except less personal. We pass along messages of high importance, secret communications and packages for Mercenaries that can't be delivered via the System Store. Any guesses why?" Noel questioned. Chi YunQi cupped her chin and faced the ceiling, thinking deeply. "Well, my System has mentioned that they are kind of like computers. They hold data. So, like a computer, they can be hacked? I mean, there are so many skills and techniques out there that involve something so magical as spirit force that I wouldn't be surprised if Mercenaries can buy or devise their own techniques that have unique 'codes' that can 'hack' a System". This was the answer she came up with after a while of quiet thought. 

Noel and Noah both nodded their heads. "Right on the money! I assume I don't need to explain what the risk of hacking a System poses. That's why sub-companies like our Mercury Guild exists for!" Noel spoke in clear excitement and pride. Mercury, Hermes; the Messenger God. Fitting. Chi YunQi grinned. "So, what information have you got for me?" she asked, finally invested in this conversation. Noel took out a pendant, much unlike the one for this Phoenix Pavilion restaurant. This one was perfectly circular, made of some type of dense metal and held a carving of winged boots inlaid with gold. It was thick and appeared hefty but felt like it was the weight of a feather when Chi YunQi held it in her hands. 

"This is the token that you can use to call upon us and we can use to notify you that we are coming to meet you. In that case, just go to an isolated place, set this down and a direct teleportation circle will be created in a ten-metre diameter circle, with the pendant being the centre. Just put your spirit force into this pendant to recognise ownership. Any time you want to activate it, use your spirit force to create three pulsing waves of spirit force. It helps to imagine waves of the seas to create the effects. When we want to notify you of our visit, three pulsing waves will be released from the pendant. Even if you have put it away in a storage space or device, you'll still know because it's connected to your spirit force after you bond with it. The reason for our visit is to give you this pendant and also to let you know that when you head back Drea wants to talk to you about your death. They've uncovered some of the secrets, apparently, you'll know what I mean when I say that?" Noel cocked a brow as Chi YunQi nodded in assurance.

"Obviously we can't tell you through your System as it's a highly sensitive matter that could involve higher-ups. Anyway, we've said our piece. That's all for now, we'll be on our way" Noel downed the rest of her tea and Noah elegantly placed his empty cup on the tea saucer. They broke through Chi YunQi's spirit force domain as easily as breaking through cotton candy. The minute they left the domain, they disappeared. Chi YunQi scratched the back of her head in wonder. 

"Ah, ah, that Noel does talk a lot. Contrarily, Noah didn't speak a word and seemed as if he couldn't hear a word spoken. Maybe my guess was right, that he is deaf. I mean, my sign language got across as they turned up on time" Chi YunQi spoke to herself, sighing deeply. "So much to think about. They came and left like a hurricane. Anyway, time to meet my new Master".