Yang Ming chuckled, calculating the perfect moment to free himself from Catherine’s clutches, all the while passing time by reading the detective novels Bryant had recommended.
The mystery was quite interesting.
"Who is it?" Yang Ming asked towards the door.
"It’s me," Catherine’s cool tone sounded, "Want to go out for a stroll? There’s a parade and a night market today."
"I can go out?" Yang Ming was overjoyed. He yanked open the container house door, only to frown slightly.
Catherine had deliberately dressed in casual clothes, wearing tight pants and a crop top that accentuated her slender figure’s allure. However, the gold, boomerang-shaped mask on her face was strikingly conspicuous.
"You’re going out with the mask on?" Yang Ming asked.
"Of course we’re going!"
Yang Ming quickly agreed, "Just give me a few minutes to change."
Catherine nodded calmly, idly swinging Yang Ming’s network terminal in her hand as she waited.
Soon, Yang Ming appeared before Catherine in a suit, and she scrutinized him for five or six seconds, then slightly wrinkled her nose.
"Did you spray perfume?" Catherine sounded as if she had discovered a new planet.
Yang Ming replied puzzledly, "It’s men’s cologne, what’s wrong? Don’t people clean up before going out for fun?"
"Alright then," Catherine muttered, "I didn’t know men wore cologne."
Yang Ming snatched his network terminal back.
"In the past two days, no one except your father has been looking for you," Catherine stated matter-of-factly.
Yang Ming smiled, "Yeah, my friends know I’m on holiday; none of them want to disturb me."
"It’s as if you have friends," Catherine laughed, "Frankness is a quality befitting a noble."
Indeed, he had few friends, but he definitely had an abundance of ex-girlfriends.
"Captain, where are we going?"
"To see the parade," exclaimed Catherine energetically, "I planned this holiday a long time ago. Last time I watched Yaha Star’s Fire Suppression Festival’s grand parade on a spaceship. Today, I finally get to experience it on the ground."
Yang Ming was somewhat perplexed.
A parade was just a bunch of people walking around, with a mix of odors, and there might even be a stampede. What was so exciting about that?
Thus, two hours later.
Yang Ming stood on the top of the parade bus with shining eyes, absorbing the roaring crowd around him, raising his hands and joining the cheers.
Catherine stood behind him with crossed arms, quietly enjoying the scenery, entranced by the floating giant balloons and occasionally yawning.
Among the balloons was one that resembled the White Ghost.
To Yang Ming’s amazement, the Fire Suppression Festival featured a lot of White Ghost elements.
Store windows displayed White Ghost cosplay outfits, and a quick glance at the parade revealed a dozen White Ghost helmets; slogans on the buses cited phrases like ’God of Ghosts’.
After one parade ended, preparations for the next one began.
After experiencing it once, Yang Ming wisely chose to duck out and strolled with Catherine in a market near the parade street.
People bustled everywhere, and police drones busily flew back and forth.
Catherine paused in front of an unmanned stall, squatting down to examine two White Ghost handcrafts closely, carefully prodding with her fingers.
"If you like them, then buy them," Yang Ming laughed from the side, "If you’re short on money, I’ll treat you."
Catherine rolled her eyes and swiped her card, pocketing the two White Ghost figurines.
"I’ll give you one," she said, handing the less favored one to Yang Ming.
Yang Ming paused, muttering under his breath about his disinterest in the figurine, but honestly accepted the lightly colored, ten-centimeter-tall White Ghost.
Catherine’s fingers fiddled with her mask for a moment, and the mask contracted into a half-helmet, revealing a pink little mouth.
"Let’s go grab some food."
Yang Ming’s eyes lit up with curiosity, "Can your thing transform?"
"Mm-hmm, otherwise how would I eat?"
"You don’t just take it off to eat?"
"This is a lifesaver; it must be worn at all times. Forget it, you wouldn’t understand. This way, I checked the guide earlier; there’s a specialty food store over here."
Yang Ming followed her with a cheery smile.
Though he hadn’t done much these past few days, the experience had been rather nice.
As they walked, Catherine suddenly stopped and reached back to grab Yang Ming’s wrist, pushing him behind her.
"What’s wrong?" Yang Ming asked.
Catherine didn’t answer but continued to look forward.
Yang Ming looked up to see Bryant, cloaked in gray, standing on the street corner.
’Master, all is well.’
Bryant’s greeting echoed in the depth of Yang Ming’s mind, a form of mental communication.
Yang Ming nodded subtly.
"You can leave now, detective," Catherine said without looking back.
"Okay, Captain, thanks for taking care of me. These past few days have been delightful," Yang Ming spoke softly, "I’ll treat you to a grand meal someday and... that White Ghost figurine we bought is a knockoff. I’ll get you some genuine ones later; I have a friend who specializes in this stuff."
Catherine’s lips twitched slightly.
Yang Ming glanced at Bryant, then turned and blended into the crowd, his left arm draped over his suit jacket, his right hand holding the knockoff figurine.
Bryant had already passed the scrutiny of the Supermodified Organization; this undercover line was temporarily stable. Next was to use Bryant’s resources to help Yang Ming gain a foothold in the Emperor Star Circle.
Down the street, a small group of people held banners demanding the opposition of White Ghost’s arrest, shouting slogans.
A faint smile etched on Yang Ming’s lips, his steps growing lighter.