Chapter 162: The Action [2]

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Action [2]

Only two people were sitting there.

One was a stunning woman with long black hair, sitting with a completely blank, expressionless face as she stared out at the crowd with a distant look on her face.

Next to her was a massive, burly man who looked like he was about to burst out of his expensive suit at any second.

He looked completely bored, tapping away rapidly on his phone like a giant bear forced into formal wear.

What caught Derrick’s attention wasn’t just their looks, but the space around them.

Despite the crowded hall, everyone else was keeping a solid ten-foot distance from their table, glancing over with visible awe and nervousness.

’Now they look like an interesting bunch,’ Derrick thought, a small smirk playing on his face. ’Let’s see who they are.’

Glass in hand, Derrick casually strolled right over to the empty chair at their table.

Gasps instantly broke out from the surrounding crowd. Whispers flared up all around him.

"Is that guy crazy?"

"Does he not know who they are?!"

"He’s actually walking up to their table..."

Derrick ignored the dramatic reactions completely.

He pulled back the chair, looked at the black-haired woman, and asked with a smooth smile, "Is this seat taken, or do you mind if I join?"

The burly man didn’t even look up from his phone, his thumbs still flying across the screen.

The woman turned her head, her dark eyes locking onto Derrick’s masked face.

She stared at him for a long, quiet second, like she was trying to see through him.

Then,

Without a word, she gave him a simple, brief nod.

"Appreciate it," Derrick said, sliding smoothly into the seat.

He leaned back, resting his arm on the table, completely unbothered by the shocked stares from the rest of the hall.

"Nice to meet you, I am Harold Bush." After taking the seat, Derrick extended his hand before introducing himself.

"Cynthia Moon," the woman said, her voice cool and low as she reached out and gave his hand a brief, firm shake.

The moment the name left her lips, a flicker of genuine surprise flashed through Derrick’s mind. ’Cynthia Moon? The Lady of the Night from the Red Rock Group?’

"You seem surprised?" She asked. "Did you not know who we were before you approached us?"

"I am." Derrick admitted without shame. "To be honest, I thought you were interesting so I came over to talk. You look completely different from how you look in the battle outfit."

"Are you saying, I don’t look beautiful in the battle outfit?" Cynthia found it surprising how easily she was talking to someone she had just met.

Derrick chucked as he took a sip of his champagne. "Not at all. On the contrary, I found you more beautiful in the battle outfit. It looks like you are enjoying yourself more in that."

Cynthia was stunned for a second.

Her dark eyes softened just a fraction, a subtle hint of amusement replacing her usual cold aura.

It had been years since anyone talked to her like a normal person, let alone complimented her without sweating through their shirt or fawning over her S-Rank status.

’What an intresting man,’ she thought, taking a slow sip from her glass. ’He actually means what he says.’

Only the people of her squad were the ones she could actually talk to like this.

Derrick turned his attention to the giant man sitting beside her, who was still furiously clicking away on his phone like a bear playing a mobile game.

"And if you’re Cynthia Moon, then this big guy here must be Gideon," Derrick said, leaning his elbow on the table. "The Azure Emperor himself."

Gideon’s thumbs finally froze on his screen.

He slowly raised his massive head, his thick neck practically straining against the collar of his tailored suit.

His sharp blue eyes locked onto Derrick. Then suddenly he opened his mouth and said, "Huh? Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Derrick blinked.

If it weren’t for his sharp perception skills, he would have assumed the S-Rank hunter was just pulling his leg.

His words were nothing short of a mockery.

But when he saw the real clueless look in Gideon’s eyes. That confirmed his suspicion, the man had legitimately only just noticed his presence on the table.

Cynthia froze for a fraction of a second. ’Oh no. I have to clear the misunderstanding before boss says something worse.’

She opened her mouth to step in, worried Derrick might take offense at Gideon’s bluntness, but before she could utter a single word, Derrick let out a soft, amused chuckle.

"Just how focused were you on that screen?" Derrick asked casually, leaning back and swirling his champagne. "I’ve been sitting right here for ten minutes, having a lovely conversation with your beautiful partner here."

"You should be more vigilant. Just because you are not out in the open, does not mean you can be so guard less."

Silence instantly blanketed the surrounding area.

The nearby guests who had been straining their ears to listen in gasped in collective horror. Whispers exploded in hushed, panicked tones.

"Is he out of his mind?!"

"He just talked back to the Azure Emperor like he’s a kid!"

"Gideon is going to rip him in half right there..."

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the short-tempered S-Rank juggernaut to snap and crush the impudent stranger and show him his place.

Instead, Gideon blinked, looking over at Cynthia with a bewildered expression.

Cynthia gave him a quiet, confirming nod, her blank mask slipping just enough to show her mild disbelief at her captain’s utter lack of situational awareness.

Seeing her nod, the terrifying Azure Emperor suddenly shrank like a scolded puppy.

He reached up, awkwardly scratching the back of his thick neck, and let out a dry, sheepish laugh.

"Ah... my bad, Mr..." Gideon mumbled, looking genuinely apologetic as he tucked his phone away into his inner jacket pocket.

"Harold Bush." Derrick reached out to shake his hand.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Gideon’s eyes. "You have quite a grip there."

"Sorry about that, Mr. Bush. I was just... busy reviewing some super critical... tactical documents. You know how it is. High-level security stuff."

Critical tactical documents, my foot, Cynthia thought, burying her face in her hand to hide her twitching lips. He was binging thirty Chapters of a web novel.