Chapter 62: Twin Swallows Return

[Character: Blue Mary.]
[Current Favorability: 20 (Acquaintance).]
[Warm Reminder: There is no such thing as learning too much, only talking too much. Your thirst for knowledge has opened the door to a new world for you. Young man, do you still remember your childhood dreams?]

Su Ye was utterly bewildered. Completely dumbfounded.

The Girlfriend Card could actually trigger a sub-card effect?

This… this… this… is that how it works? So, if it’s triggered, one card is as good as two?

But what’s this about childhood dreams?

Su Ye thought back. As a child, when he watched girl group dances, he did seem to have had a dream—well, heh heh heh…

The system is impressive, it even knows that!

Reflecting on the sub-card effect, Su Ye could almost reason out a plausible explanation from the system.

The "Coach Girlfriend" card—namely, Mai Shiranui’s card—could trigger the sub-card effect because Su Ye had already mastered Terry’s abilities in advance, even changed his outfit to use him as Terry without any issue.

Moreover, Terry was entangled with his first love, Angelina, while Su Ye had engaged with Mary first, thus activating the sub-card effect.

If that’s the case, then there’s plenty of room for maneuver. In the future, he could bypass the limit on the number of girlfriend cards, developing more practical… girlfriends.

Ahem, for the sake of his kidneys, it’s probably best not to trigger this sub-card effect too casually.

After all, Su Ye was a good boy, only wanting to use the system to grow stronger. He wasn’t particularly interested in girlfriends; besides, he was face-blind and couldn’t tell who was beautiful and who wasn’t…

The waiter quickly brought over the drinks. The troublemakers had already been dragged out by security, and they didn’t even charge for the two bottles.

Mary poured a glass, clinked it with Su Ye’s, and they exchanged smiles, downing their drinks in one go.

The law forbidding those under twenty-one from drinking? Forget it.

In the distance, Angelina pulled Terry down to sit with her.

They’d known each other since childhood, but separated later due to a misunderstanding. Angelina had always thought of Terry; now, finally seeing him, she wouldn’t let him go easily.

And after that passionate kiss, their relationship quickly turned ambiguous, almost as if it wouldn’t be inappropriate to rush off to the restroom together—but unfortunately, Terry was far too innocent.

Over at the billiard table, Dong Zhang glanced at Su Ye, then at Terry, then at the group of burly men gathered around, and suddenly felt utterly superfluous.

“Come on! Let’s compete. Loser drops his pants and barks like a dog!”

Dong Zhang was angry now, launching his trump card. Barking wasn’t his thing, but losing his pants was something he’d never lost at!

Meanwhile, Su Ye and Mary chatted and drank, their relationship soon rising to [40 (Familiar)]. Through their conversation, Su Ye gained some understanding of Mary’s background.

Mary had just turned eighteen, about a year younger than Su Ye, and had one more year of high school left.

Even though she hadn’t graduated yet, Mary already had plans for her future—she wanted to be a detective, a private investigator like Sherlock Holmes.

To that end, she’d learned various grappling and combat techniques from her father, who was rumored to be a bodyguard for the President.

“Actually, even if you hadn’t stepped in earlier, I could’ve handled them myself.”

Su Ye trusted her on this. Anyone who’d played King of Fighters had been thrown by her at least once—she was famed for her bone-setting skills, a hundred times more authentic than what Su Ye had learned.

“I know. I just can’t stand seeing people bully women with numbers. Whenever I see someone like that, I deal with them.”

Su Ye’s righteous demeanor pleased Mary, raising her favorability again.

“By the way, I’m working as an intern detective lately. Want to join me on a case?”

“Intern detective?” Su Ye smiled. “In North Town under Geese Howard’s rule, the locals should be pretty honest. What needs a detective?”

He was deliberately steering the conversation—he wanted to probe for information about Geese Howard, and Mary, bold and fearless as she was, might just have dirt on him.

Sure enough, Mary leaned in and whispered,

“Do you really believe Geese Howard is just a successful businessman, as he seems? Let me tell you, he has plenty of skeletons in his closet—just nobody’s dug them up yet.”

“Heh,” Su Ye chuckled, “I don’t believe it.”

Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, Mary became spirited. “You don’t believe me? Come on, I’ll show you.”

With that, she grabbed Su Ye’s hand and led him out of the bar.

In the distance, Terry was busy fending off Angelina’s advances, while Dong Zhang shot him a look—“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mai”—then lowered his head to focus on his game.

Seeing this, Su Ye had no choice but to abandon the idea of recruiting them as backup, and followed Mary out of the bar.

Outside, night was deep and the streets nearly deserted. Standing in the middle of the road, the wind cooled Mary’s drunkenness, restoring her reason and making her regret her impulsiveness. She was about to suggest, “Maybe we should do this another day…”

But just then, a giant truck—like Optimus Prime—pulled up before them, the driver cursing from above, and on the side of the trailer were the words “Geese Howard Hotel”.

This was like someone handing you a pillow just when you’re about to nap, and in the perfect position. How could you not take advantage?

A few minutes later, the truck was on its way again, now with Su Ye at the wheel and Mary checking the cargo in the trailer.

“Hey, Ye Su, do you know what I found? Contraband! Geese Howard really is shady! I knew it!”

Driving, Su Ye heard Mary through the wireless headset she’d given him—an essential for any intern detective.

“Looks like you were right,” Su Ye responded calmly. He already knew Geese Howard used hotel delivery trucks to transport the contraband “Black Crystal”—a substance that could cause hallucinations, make people turn on their families, and incite mutual slaughter.

Mary, however, was thrilled. “I have to take pictures as evidence! This alone is enough to press charges against Geese Howard. But I think it’s not enough—we need to get to the bottom of these substances, their composition and effects. If we do, Geese Howard is finished!”

“Ye! Ye! We’re about to become famous, do you realize? If we bring down Geese Howard, we’ll be the most renowned detectives in North Town—no, in all of America! We’ll be on television, we’ll be stars—we’re going to make it!”