Chapter 147 Can I Buy You a Cup of Coffee?

Lu Ye paused to think, and quickly decided it was highly unlikely.

Leaving aside the fact that his mother was a direct disciple personally trained by his grandmaster, Chen Xiaoting was, after all, the person who understood her best in this world.

Back then, Cheng Qimeng’s sudden disappearance had been shrouded in bizarre anomalies from the very beginning.

Yet Chen Xiaoting had simply brushed it off with a casual, "Your mother is dead!", fooling Lu Ye for over a decade. Many mysteries still remained unsolved within that single sentence.

Lu Ye had always buried these questions deep within his heart.

But now, Chen Xiaoting had suddenly ordered him to play both sides, simultaneously working to bring down the Holy Envoy Syndicate and Y6.

Lu Ye could not help but harbor a wave of doubt in his mind.

Did Chen Xiaoting really not know that the Queen of Y6 was Cheng Qimeng?

And if he did know, why would he issue such an order?

Perhaps because Lu Ye had remained silent for too long, Chen Xiaoting urged from the other end of the line, "Did you hear me clearly?"

"Grandmaster, I heard you clearly."

"Good. Set off as soon as you are ready. There is no need to report back to me for further instructions."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone, both Chen Xi and Luo Ying gathered around him.

"Do we have a mission?"

Lu Ye nodded with a troubled expression. "Grandmaster wants us to go to Europe to keep an eye on the Holy Envoy Syndicate and Y6. He wants us to muddy the waters at the crucial moment so they suffer heavy mutual losses."

Chen Xi was just as shocked. "Doesn't that practically mean making us go after Mom?"

"Pretty much. I can't figure out what Grandmaster's real intentions are for now, so I just agreed on the surface. As for what we'll actually do, let's wait until we get to Europe and assess the situation on the ground."

Su Qianqian stood there in a daze for a long time, then asked with a pitiful expression, "Are you going to abandon me again?"

Lu Ye couldn't help laughing. "Who said I'm abandoning you? Would you like to come with me to Europe on a publicly funded trip?"

"Huh?"

Su Qianqian was even more baffled. "Why aren't you telling me that the mission is too dangerous and making me stay safely at home waiting for you to return?"

Lu Ye explained, "Because this mission of ours isn't dangerous at all!"

"It's nothing more than gathering intelligence under the guise of a vacation, without directly participating in the conflicts."

Su Qianqian suddenly understood. "Oh, oh! I get it now!"

True to her belief that this was merely a vacation, the older woman dashed home and hauled out two oversized suitcases, stuffing them to the brim with every conceivable essential for home and travel.

While she was busy packing at home, Lu Ye drove out by himself.

The scions of the Five Great Families, along with Wan Quan and the Mo brothers.

Lu Ye had gathered this band of young masters to meet up at Lin Bei's Cantonese Restaurant in Linbei.

After introducing them to one another, this pack of like-minded scoundrels quickly warmed up to each other.

"Young Master Wan and Young Masters Mo will also be joining our Young Masters Alliance from now on. They come from a martial arts family, and Young Master Wan is even the future successor of the United Group."

The five rich heirs immediately shrieked in unison, "Holy shit! These three brothers are absolute badasses!"

Sun Tongwei ingratiatingly fawned over Wan Quan, "Big Brother Wan, do you still need someone to hang onto your coattails?"

Wan Quan chuckled and said, "You flatter me too much. I'm just Brother Lu's lackey."

Hiss!

A young master from a martial arts family and the successor of the United Group was actually Brother Lu's lackey?

Zhang Yunjie shuddered all over and muttered, "We're doomed. I feel like my status as Brother Lu's number one lackey is in jeopardy."

Lu Ye smiled. "Tomorrow, my wife and I are heading to Europe. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone."

"While I'm away, look out for one another. As for business matters, your Five Great Families can consult more with Young Master Wan. Let's achieve win-win cooperation through mutual support."

"If you run into any trouble, Young Master Wan and the Mo brothers can basically handle it."

Lin Bei said with a cheeky grin, "Brother Lu is being awfully attentive today—treating us to dinner and pulling strings for us. What scheme are you plotting?"

"I don't like the sound of that... What scheme could I possibly have against you guys? What is there even to plot against a bunch of losers like you?"

The group of brothers immediately chimed in, "Exactly!"

"Number Two Lin, stop measuring a gentleman's heart with your own petty yardstick."

Lu Ye cleared his throat and added, "Ahem, speaking of which, I do have a small favor to beg of you all."

"My wife's Yiren Group's operations are basically on the right track and shouldn't run into any major snags, but I still hope you can keep an eye on things while we're away."

"If anyone with ill intentions goes to make trouble at Yiren Group or my Yiren Clubhouse, you guys need to sort them out for me."

The young masters patted their chests in assurance, "Small matter, no problem!"

...

The next day.

The entire roster of the Apostles gathered and boarded a plane bound for Europe.

After a long flight lasting dozens of hours, they successfully landed in France.

As the spouse of the world's most powerful secret agent, Su Qianqian made a grand gesture by renting a residential apartment right by the Seine. She only needed to step out the door and walk a few paces to enjoy an authentic Left Bank coffee.

All along the street, couples could be seen passionately embracing and kissing without a care in the world.

Wearing sunglasses, Lu Ye and Su Qianqian sat side by side at an outdoor cafe, leaning back in their chairs with their legs propped up on the riverbank railing to enjoy the scenery, relaxed and carefree.

They watched with their own eyes as a fair-skinned French girl at the neighboring table was hit on by a stranger, and within three minutes, the two were locked in a deep, dizzying embrace.

Lu Ye couldn't help sighing with emotion, "As expected of the famous capital of romance. The entire city is permeated with the decadent scent of love."

Su Qianqian retorted, "I don't find it romantic at all. All I see is debauchery."

"Hahaha."

Just then, a passing blonde, blue-eyed handsome young man stopped beside Su Qianqian, his eyes filled with undisguised awe.

He asked softly and with utmost gentleness, "Hello, beautiful lady. My name is Ethan. May I buy you a cup of coffee?"

Completely discarding her goddess persona, Su Qianqian burped out loud.

"Burp!"

Then she swirled the coffee cup in her hand and smiled, "Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm already full."

Ethan smiled slightly, a hint of awkwardness and embarrassment mixed into his expression. "Miss, in our city, refusing the kind invitation of a member of the opposite sex is considered very impolite."

With that, he lightly tapped his fingertips in a rhythmic pattern against the small tea table in front of Lu Ye.

Lu Ye instantly recognized this as Morse code.

And the message Ethan was transmitting to him was—Y6.

Therefore, Lu Ye grinned and said, "Mr. Ethan, how about I buy you a cup of coffee instead, and you stop hitting on my wife?"

Ethan smiled and nodded. "I'd be more than happy to."

Lu Ye took off his sunglasses, winked at Su Qianqian, and said, "Wife, you head back first."

Su Qianqian paused for a fraction of a second, then immediately caught on. "Okay, come back early."

Lu Ye chuckled mischievously. "That's not necessarily true. I'm so handsome that there's a high probability I'll be hit on by French beauties on my way back."

"Damn it, if you dare to mess around, watch out! I'll use Sister Chen Xi's little fists to pummel your chest!"

"I'm scared, I'm so scared!"

After Su Qianqian left, Lu Ye stood up and took a stroll along the riverside with Ethan.

Once there was no one else around, Ethan said respectfully, "Special Envoy, the Queen knows you have arrived in France, so she specifically sent me to greet you."

Lu Ye nodded. "What's the current situation?"

Ethan replied, "The Holy Envoy Syndicate has massed a large force in Corte, intending to invade Britain and stir up chaos."

"Fortunately, the Queen discovered it in time and led Y6 members to intercept them at the border between Corte and Britain. Both sides have been fighting for over half a month."

"Y6 has temporarily gained the upper hand, but the treacherous Holy Envoy Syndicate used a tactic of dividing their forces to break through everywhere in small groups. We lack sufficient personnel to carry out a comprehensive interception, and a large number of the Holy Envoy Syndicate's operatives have already disguised themselves and sneaked into British territory."

After a brief pause, Ethan continued, "Although France and Britain are separated only by a strait, France remains a relatively safe zone for now. The Queen hopes the Special Envoy will remain peacefully in France to observe developments and not act rashly."

Lu Ye nodded. "That was my intention as well. Does she have anything else to pass on to me?"

Ethan said, "Yes, the Queen asked me to relay a sentence to you."

"What sentence?"

"Eyes will deceive you, but your intuition will not."

Eyes will deceive you, but your intuition will not...

What did his mother mean by this?

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, suddenly realizing this might be related to Chen Xiaoting's abnormal behavior.

Since his mother knew so quickly that he had arrived in France, she probably couldn't be kept in the dark about the mission Grandmaster had assigned him either.

What was Lu Ye's intuition?

His intuition told him that there were certain unspeakable secrets between Chen Xiaoting and Cheng Qimeng.

Lu Ye could only think of two possibilities right now. One possibility was that his mother had betrayed the Aegis Bureau, and Chen Xiaoting was using this opportunity to deal with her.

Another possibility was that his grandmaster was the ultimate mastermind behind the scenes.

However, lacking any evidence on hand to prove either possibility, he could only rely on his intuition to make a preliminary judgment.

Was that why his mother had given him this piece of advice?