Chapter 104: The Secret Meeting

Chapter 104: The Secret Meeting



The cuckoo clock on the wall continued ticking down.

'It's been an hour; where is he?' Silent thought to himself, but outside, it looked like he was just sitting still, waiting for something to happen.

No one else around the table spoke a word.

However, some of them seemed impatient and wanted to go either for a quick smoke break or a bathroom break.

Goldie, standing on the sides obediently, checked her timepiece and realized that they had already been waiting for over an hour.Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com

'Master, where are you?'

Szzz...

Suddenly, a static noise came from inside a wall-at least it seemed like it was coming from inside a wall.

"Goldie, come to my office."

The voice was rough-sounding, with a slight tremor in the tone. It was like the person had been shouting for over an hour to cause the voice to turn like that.

"Excuse me." Goldie bowed and then headed upstairs as fast as she could with her heels clicking on the marble steps.

She soon found her way to the office, just a few doors down from the stairs, and then opened the door before entering.

It was a dark room, with the only light coming from the several monitors mounted on the walls.

A man, with his face hidden behind a sunflower mask, sat on a chair that was seemingly a gaming chair based on its design.

He was staring at the leftmost monitor that showed a person with a black mask of stars and moons.

"Master Sunflower." Goldie courtly greeted him.

"Who is he?" Sunflower pointed at the person on the screen.

"He said that his name is Silent." Goldie said. "Is something wrong?"

"He hasn't been here before." Sunflower said with a suspicious tone. "I don't like that a stranger came here unknowingly."

"He knew the knocking pattern, knew about having a secret identity, and even knew the table rulers—no talking before the meeting."

"Someone told him all that." Sunflower said and looked at his beautiful assistant. "What do you think? You have always had a good eye for people's intentions."

"I-It's not that good," she stuttered shyly. "I didn't find any malice from him, but this eye of mine is not a superpower, and I can always be mistaken..."

"That's enough, I guess." Sunflower stood up and tightened the clasp on his mask. "Let's get the meeting started. Keep an eye on this Silent."

"Yes, master."

...

The lights on the ceiling of the Red Thread dimmed down as if it were turning into a night.

A darkness swept over the Red Thread, but the windows of various buildings were still brightly lit, casting light upon the streets.

The city became even more active after the lights turned off.

The bars were filled with laughter and music, spilling out onto the sidewalks, and the red light district began to come alive with bustling activity.

The hidden building, tucked away in the safety of the underground, turned very dark.

People around the meeting table stayed silent while the darkness swept over them. They couldn't see each other.

At that moment, a pair of footsteps came from the marble steps.

Click, click.

who was sitting very disrespectfully with his legs on the table said.

He had a mask of sorrowful-looking eyes that made him look like he was perpetually

mourning his own death.

"Penitence, silence." Sunflower sharply replied and turned to Birdman. "May you explain its

functions?"

Birdman cleared his throat and began explaining the painting.

"When the person dies, their consciousness returns to their real body while their virtual

avatar slowly vanishes and joins the matrix of the digital afterlife.

"However, this painting can trap the virtual avatar within itself, preventing it from disappearing. The painting becomes the avatar's eternal prison."

"How much?" A woman with a smiley mask asked.

"100,000," Birdman replied.

"I'll take it." Smiley replied and nodded to Sunflower.

"Alright, Smiley, Birdman, finish the transaction after the meeting. Thank you."

The meeting continued through the night until the early hours of midnight.

Most of the attendees had already either bought or sold some of their items. However, all of them noticed that one person had stayed quiet through it all.

Silent.

'He truly lives up to his name.' Goldie thought to herself while throwing glances in his direction. 'I can't really tell his intentions. What an unfathomable person.'

"That was the last transaction of today." Sunflower stood up and said, "You may now finish

the transactions. Once done, you're free to leave. The next meeting is next month, in the same

place."

Silent immediately stood up and headed straight to the door.

"Wait for a moment." Sunflower followed after him with a few quick steps. "You're in a hurry

to leave. Is something wrong?"

"I am tired." Silent replied shortly and put his hand on the doorknob, ready to twist it.

"You didn't buy anything." Sunflower said. "Not impressed with anything?"

"I couldn't afford anything." Sunflower blinked behind the mask in surprise. He didn't expect such an honest answer!

"Hah." Sunflower chuckled behind the mask and waved his hand. "I am sorry, but that came

out of nowhere."

"That's fine." Silent replied without much emotional fluctuation in his tone and slowly

opened the door to leave.

Sunflower watched Silent leave, and after the door closed behind him, he put his hidden knife

back into its sheath.

If he didn't like Silent's answer, he would've simply killed him.

'What a strange person.' Sunflower thought with a frown.