All of us are one

Chapter 20 Giving the Professor a Big Gift

"The request is reasonable, but it still requires team discussion," Kotak replied.

"I hope you can do it as soon as possible." Jiang Yanming gestured for them to proceed.

"We'll give you an answer before today," Kotak said to Lydia beside him. "Let's go."

Lia reluctantly turned back for one last look at the new generation of military electronic shielding devices before leaving with Kotak.

Jiang Yanming saw the two out of the warehouse, then used his storage ring to put away all the weapons and equipment. He had already stored the items that originally belonged to the Demon Hunters in his storage ring.

He locked the warehouse door, got into the driver's seat of his car, and began to think about his next steps.

"We could invite Arthur and Lucy out for a get-together, maybe..." Jiang Yanming's eyes narrowed slightly.

In the past, he would never have asked Lucy to come out, because that would have meant big trouble.

But things are different now. He already has several serious problems, and it's foreseeable that he'll face even more trouble in the future, so one more won't make a difference.

Jiang Yanming dialed Arthur's number: "Arthur, how about we get together?"

"I'm afraid that won't work. I have two more hours to finish my work," Arthur's voice came through the phone.

"Two hours is nothing, I have plenty of time," Jiang Yanming said with a smile. "Let's meet at our usual spot in three hours, and I'll treat you and Lucy to afternoon tea then."

"Oh! You're inviting Lucy along?" Arthur exclaimed in surprise. "Didn't you say you didn't want the hassle and didn't want to get involved in those things?"

"That was before," Jiang Yanming said softly. "Things are different now. You might find that I've changed a lot."

"Really?" Arthur asked, puzzled, unable to understand the meaning behind Jiang Yanming's words.

"We'll know once we meet..." Jiang Yanming thought for a moment, then added, "If all else fails, you'll find out in a few days anyway. Some things are beyond our control."

"Tsk...why all the secrecy?" Arthur's voice held a hint of helplessness. "See you at the usual place in three hours."

"Okay, I'll call Lucy now." Jiang Yanming hung up the phone and dialed the number he had saved for a long time but had never contacted.

"Jiang." A clear, pleasant female voice came through the phone, "What's up?"

"Lucy, I'd like to invite you out for afternoon tea. Hmm... Arthur's here too," Jiang Yanming replied.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a cold female voice asked, "Where are you?"

"It's in the bay area..." Jiang Yanming gave the address, "This is a place Arthur and I used to frequent. It'll be in three hours."

"Mm," a cool female voice replied, "I will go."

"See you then." Jiang Yanming nodded, hung up the phone, put it away, and then drove towards the bay area.

……

Two and a half hours later.

Outside a restaurant in the Bay Area.

Jiang Yanming parked his car and arrived at the restaurant, where he saw several burly men in black wearing headsets standing outside the restaurant entrance, giving off a "keep away" vibe.

"Mr. Jiang." The burly men in black nodded slightly when they saw Jiang Yanming.

"Lucy's here?" Jiang Yanming asked curiously.

"Miss is on her way here. We're here to conduct preventative checks," explained the burly man in black who was in the lead.

"Oh." Jiang Yanming nodded upon hearing this, not surprised at all.

He had heard Arthur say that Lucy's family was among the top in the Four Nations Alliance, and that Lucy was the family's only heir, so their security level was comparable to that of the president of the Democratic Republic of St. Petersburg!

Jiang Yanming entered the restaurant and saw restaurant staff standing in the lobby being inspected. Among them were several unfamiliar chefs standing to the side, whose treatment was clearly different from that of the other staff.

"Who are they? I've never seen them before," Jiang Yanming asked the restaurant manager.

"Mr. Jiang, they are not our restaurant's chefs," the manager said, gesturing with his head held high. "They were brought here by them."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanming looked over and saw a burly man in black also looking at him, his eyes flashing with an eerie red light.

"Mr. Jiang," the burly man in black said, bowing slightly, "I suggest inviting Miss to afternoon tea in the future at a restaurant in the Long Island area, for her safety."

"Okay." Jiang Yanming nodded calmly, though he was indeed pondering in his mind, "Is this a cyborg?"

He could sense that the burly man in black had a different aura than ordinary people, somewhat like a puppet in the world of immortal cultivators—a living person, yet not quite like one.

"Is it because of the high degree of modification?"

Jiang Yanming glanced at the burly man in black, then walked towards the reserved private room, seeing several more burly men in black wearing headsets along the way.

"You brought your own chef, so it's on me?"

As Jiang Yanming entered the private room, he smelled a faint fragrance, similar to the one he had smelled when he was with Lucy.

He noticed that the room had been thoroughly cleaned and tidied; the tabletop was spotless, the chairs were covered with a soft blanket, and several sets of sealed silver cutlery were placed on the table next to it.

"No wonder she's a top-tier heiress from the Four Nations Alliance..." Jiang Yanming thought to himself. "Keeping my distance from her before was a wise choice."

Previously, he only had a general understanding of Lucy's identity, but during this dining out, he truly realized that this pomp and circumstance was far beyond what Arthur could match, even though the latter was also an heir to a large family.

"Just wait patiently."

Jiang Yanming closed his eyes and slowly circulated his cultivation technique to absorb the sparse spiritual energy in order to replenish the spiritual power consumed by using the storage ring.

Ten minutes later.

"Young Master Arthur." A voice came from outside, and Jiang Yanming opened his eyes.

"Jiang, how are you feeling?" Arthur pushed open the door and came in with a strange smile on his face.

"You knew Lucy had a big entourage, but you didn't tell me." Jiang Yanming shook his head helplessly.

"This isn't just for you to experience it in advance." Arthur sat down in the chair opposite Jiang Yanming. "Maybe you'll do the same thing in the future."

"Perhaps." Jiang Yanming smiled and shook his head.

"Miss!"

Suddenly, a unified sound came from outside.

"Were you with her?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"No," Arthur shrugged in denial.

Footsteps were heard outside, followed by two burly women dressed in black pushing open the door and standing on either side of it.

Then, Lucy, with her beautiful silver hair and stunning looks, walked in slowly, dressed in a white casual outfit that accentuated her graceful figure.

Jiang Yanming watched quietly. No matter how many times he had met Lucy, he could not deny her beauty, a beauty that captivated him.

"Alright, everyone's here," Arthur said with a smile. "Tea and refreshments can be served now."

"Go ahead." Lucy nodded to the two women in black after sitting down.

"Yes." The two women in black left the private room one after the other and closed the door.

"The reason I called you out today is to ask about your relationship with Professor Tarot," Jiang Yanming said. "I think I've recently offended the professor; he doesn't reply to my emails even though I've read them. So I'm preparing to give him a big gift."