54: Chapter 54 Some came to the banquet, some came to take lives.

The G-Wagon turned the final corner, and the main entrance of the Abu Dhabi Palace Hotel burst into view.

One hundred and fourteen domes covered in real gold leaf caught the evening light, shining with a blinding brilliance. Two rows of date palms were neatly trimmed at the entrance, and a red carpet stretched from the steps to the parking lot.

On both sides of the red carpet stood ceremonial soldiers of the Ala Country Royal Guard. Wearing white robes and gold epaulets, their ceremonial rifles were polished until they could serve as mirrors.

Jiang Rumu leaned out from the passenger seat to take a look.

"This setup..."

"State banquet level." Li Li scanned the security deployment. "Four hidden sentries at the main entrance, two sniper positions on the roof, and two armored vehicles at the parking lot entrance. Fahd has spared no expense."

"How did you spot that—never mind, occupational hazard, I won't ask."

The G-Wagon came to a smooth stop.

Li Li got out first and walked around to open the passenger door.

Jiang Rumu stepped out, her wine-red skirt trailing a slight arc on the red carpet.

The "Makeup Mastery" gifted by the system hadn't gone to waste—before getting in the car, Li Li had spent four minutes touching up her base makeup and refining her lip color. During the process, Jiang Rumu hadn't moved a muscle, her earlobes burning hot enough to fry an egg.

"When did you learn to do makeup?"

"Talent."

Talent my foot.

The two walked side by side onto the red carpet.

Inside the lobby of the Palace Hotel, the Production Team had already assembled.

Director Pei Zhao stood at the very front, wearing a dark blue fishtail dress, twirling prayer beads in her right hand and holding a walkie-talkie in her left. Seeing Li Li, she waved at him.

"You're here? Your seats are in the core area; Fahd's people are waiting."

Li Li nodded and scanned the area behind her.

The Production Team's guests were scattered throughout the lobby.

Cen Ye wore a modified military-green Zhongshan suit; his buzz cut, shaved short on the sides, had been trimmed, and he had reduced his earrings from three to one. He was squatting in a corner, using his phone to photograph the gold-leaf dome on the ceiling.

Shen Jue stood next to Cen Ye in a slim-fit grey suit. Seeing Li Li enter, he jumped up.

"Brother Li! Over here, over here!"

His hand was stuck in mid-air.

Han Xubai leaned against a pillar, his gold-rimmed glasses polished to a shine. His white shirt was tucked into black dress trousers, and he was asking a waiter in English whether the banquet offered vegetarian options.

The three of them came over.

"Back alive?" Cen Ye grinned.

"I wouldn't be wearing a suit if I were dead." Li Li patted his shoulder.

Shen Jue leaned in, lowering his voice.

"Brother Li, the outfits you and Sister Mu are wearing... are they a couple's set?"

Li Li looked down at his own black suit, then at Jiang Rumu's wine-red dress three steps away.

"No."

"Oh." Shen Jue nodded and pulled out his phone, typing furiously.

Li Li glanced at his screen—a post from an alt account with the title "[Confirmed] Li and Mu together at the palace, outfits appear to be a subtle match."

He couldn't be bothered to care.

Han Xubai pushed up his glasses.

"I heard the main course tonight is Hotpot?"

"Chongqing-style beef tallow."

"You're serving the Arab royal family a nine-grid pot?"

"No, a large copper pot, no grids. Uniform spice level, no special treatment."

Han Xubai's mouth twitched.

"I suggest the royal family sign a liability waiver. The kind that says we aren't responsible if they end up in the hospital from the spice."

Before he could finish, Fahd's assistant walked through the crowd. He wore a white robe with a royal emblem pinned to his chest.

"Mr. Li, Ms. Jiang, His Highness the Prince is waiting in the core banquet hall. Please follow me."

Li Li turned to Shen Jue and Cen Ye.

"See you later."

Shen Jue waved. Cen Ye crossed his arms, leaning against a pillar, and gave him an OK sign.

The two followed the assistant toward the inner hall.

In the lobby behind them, the crowd's gazes followed the pair's backs.

It was quiet for two seconds.

Gu Zeyan turned out from behind a pillar. He wore a grey-blue three-piece suit, his hair styled with his bangs swept up to reveal his forehead.

"Not bad, the amateur guest is now the biggest star. Prince Fahd sent someone specifically to escort them, while we've been standing here for half an hour without anyone even offering us a glass of water."

Yin Ruoying crossed her arms.

"Indeed. He's a streamer with eighty million viewers online; all of us combined... hmm, might just be a fraction of his."

Fang Ruowei laughed in agreement.

"You can't say that, after all, Brother Li discovered the submarine; it's normal for the royal family to be grateful—"

The words were polite, but that word "also" was drawn out quite long.

Wen Zhuotang chimed in softly.

"Actually... I think Brother Li has also had it quite tough; he saved so many people yesterday—"

What a "actually," what a "quite tough."

A light, airy show of empathy, precisely avoiding taking any side.

Qi Wanyin hadn't said a word from the beginning. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of sparkling water in her left hand, her gaze fixed on the fountain outside.

The smile on Shen Jue's face slowly faded.

"Brother Gu, isn't that a bit inappropriate? When Water World exploded yesterday, Brother Li was underwater carrying hundreds of pounds of metal debris to pull people out. Today, discovering the submarine is his achievement. What's the problem with the Prince inviting him to sit in the core area?"

Gu Zeyan tilted his head.

"Shen Jue, I was just making a casual comment, why are you getting so worked up? Does he pay your salary?"

He paused for a beat.

"Or is it—are you now working full-time as his... fan club leader?"

Shen Jue's face flushed red.

"You—"

Cen Ye grabbed Shen Jue's arm and pulled him back a step.

"That's enough."

His Sichuan-Chongqing accent was very low. He didn't look at Gu Zeyan, instead turning his head to gesture at Shen Jue with his chin.

"Let's go, I found a balcony where we can smoke."

Shen Jue was dragged away by him.

Gu Zeyan stood where he was, his hand moving inside his suit pocket.

Qi Wanyin held her sparkling water and turned from the floor-to-ceiling window. As she passed Gu Zeyan, she paused for half a second.

She didn't stop.

She walked away.

— —

The core banquet hall was three times larger than Li Li had imagined.

The twelve-meter-high dome was painted with Islamic geometric patterns, and twenty-four Swarovski crystal chandeliers were arranged in two rows. The long tables were covered with ivory-white tablecloths, and the dinner plates were custom-made porcelain with the Ala Country royal emblem.

But in the very center of the table—

A row of shiny purple-copper Hotpots, with blue flames dancing beneath the stoves. The scent of beef tallow and chili was interwoven with the light of the crystal chandeliers.

Fahd stood by the main table, his white robe replaced with a gold-trimmed formal suit. Seeing Li Li and Jiang Rumu, he clapped his hands together.

"My friends! The Hotpot is ready! My royal uncle passed by just now, smelled it, and said this scent can ward off evil—that counts as a compliment, right?"

"It does." Li Li nodded. "In Chongqing, the scent of Hotpot is a barrier."

Fahd laughed heartily, pulling the two toward the core seats.

"Your seats are the third and fourth to the right of the King. The last person to sit in this position was the President of France."

Jiang Rumu sat down, casually spreading the napkin over her knees.

Li Li sat to her left, scanning the place cards around him. The names of the royal family members were written in gold-stamped Arabic script. He read them over one by one.

His peripheral vision swept to the side of the banquet hall near the wall, where three florists were adjusting the flower arrangements on the tables. One of the women, wearing a beige dress, had swift movements, and with every adjustment, she was shifting her standing position—she wasn't looking at the flowers; she was looking at the people.

Li Li withdrew his gaze.

Fahd gave a few instructions about the banquet proceedings before being called away by his assistant.

Li Li stood up.

"Going to the restroom."

Jiang Rumu raised her eyes.

"Do you know the way?"

"I've seen the floor plan."

"When did you—never mind."

Li Li walked along the corridor toward the east side.

The auxiliary passage of the banquet hall was covered in a deep red carpet, with portraits of past Ala Country kings hanging on the walls. There was a security guard every twenty meters, who nodded in acknowledgment.

He turned the second corner.

There were fewer people.

The lighting dimmed by half a shade.

The restroom was at the end of the corridor, turning left.

He was walking to a position five meters before the corner.

Two voices came from behind the corner. Very soft, muffled.

Li Li's pace didn't change at all. Neither fast nor slow, his heels striking the carpet in a steady rhythm.

Two people were standing at the fire exit door behind the corner. They wore grey hotel logistics uniforms with ID badges pinned to their chests. One was short and stout, the other lean and thin.

Seeing Li Li approach, the short, stout one turned sideways and glanced at him.

Then he turned his head back and continued talking to his companion.

The language shifted in tone.

Not Arabic.

Not Persian.

Not English.

Hebrew.

The short, stout one lowered his voice:

"Someone's coming."

The lean one replied, speaking quickly:

"That internet celebrity from the East, he doesn't understand, he can't tell the various Middle Eastern languages apart."

"Who's in charge of him?"

"The Gardener."

He paused for a beat.

"When do we start?"

Li Li's footsteps walked steadily past them.

He didn't look at them, didn't slow down, didn't speed up, not a single extra step.

Around the corner.

The restroom door pushed open and closed.

Li Li twisted his left wrist.

The Gardener.

The person in charge of him, code name "The Gardener."

He turned on the faucet, cold water splashing on the back of his hand.

The ID badges on the left chests of those two grey uniforms were numbered S-0117 and S-0223 respectively, and the security camera above the fire exit door was a Hikvision DS-2CD series model, its red indicator light on, recording.

And he, Li Li, was fluent in Hebrew.

Not a single word missed.

He turned off the faucet and shook his hands.

He pushed the door open and went out.

In the corridor, those two in grey uniforms were already gone, and the fire exit door was closed tight.

Li Li walked back, his pace exactly the same as when he came.

He put his left hand into his suit pocket, his fingers touching his phone; the text message from the number consisting entirely of zeros—"Banquet, someone wants you"—was still sitting in his inbox.

Want what?

The answer had already been heard just now.

He turned the final corner.

The lights of the banquet hall brightened again.

Jiang Rumu was sitting in the core seat, her wine-red skirt hanging over the edge of the chair, head bowed as she flipped through the menu.

Seeing him return, she lifted her head.

"Why were you gone so long?"

Li Li pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Got lost."

"You've seen the floor plan."

"But I have no sense of direction."

Jiang Rumu looked at him for two seconds. She didn't press further.

Voices rose in the banquet hall. Royal members took their seats one after another, and Fahd was greeting a white-haired old man beside the main seat—likely the royal uncle who thought there was a fire.

"Your lips are trembling."

After all, facing this kind of situation for the first time, Li Li was also nervous.

"It's the spice."

"The pot hasn't started yet, you haven't eaten."

"It smells spicy, spicy in advance."

Jiang Rumu stared at him, his mouth trembling ridiculously.

She didn't speak again, pushing the water glass in front of her two inches toward him.

Li Li didn't touch the water, instead looking at the banquet hall entrance.

At the main entrance of the banquet hall, another batch of guests filed in.

Among them was a woman wearing a beige dress—the one who had been adjusting her standing position in the floral area just now.

Her black hair hung loose, her steps were light, and her smile was composed.

On the work badge on her chest, one word was written.

Floral Consultant.

Her ID badge number—

G-0001.

G.

Garden.

"The Gardener" had walked into the banquet hall.