Delta: Who are you saying has suffered a loss of strength?

Chapter 254 Coffee Shop Exchange

Xiaobai walked into the coffee shop next to the club she frequented.

The glass display window was spotless, revealing the dim lighting and wooden tables and chairs inside.

The coffee shop wasn't crowded, with only a few tables scattered around. She looked around and spotted Li Hao sitting in a corner booth.

Li Hao also spotted Xiao Bai at a glance; her long silver-white hair paired with a khaki coat made her stand out in the coffee shop.

He raised his hand and waved to her.

"Isn't this President Bai? You've finally arrived. Now that you're so famous, it's a bit hard to get a call!" Li Hao greeted Bai with a smile, leaning out of the booth and extending his hand.

"Stop being so glib." Xiaobai slapped Li Hao's hand. "You were just busy this morning, but you came this afternoon, didn't you?" She casually tossed her shoulder bag onto the sofa in the booth and plopped down opposite him.

Li Hao greeted him with a smile, "What kind of coffee would you like? It's on me."

"I won't have the coffee, I'll have a cup of black tea instead. I've been drinking coffee every day lately, it's making me nauseous," Xiaobai waved her hand.

"Don't work so hard all the time, take care of yourself." Li Hao said with concern and called over the waiter, "Two cups of black tea and one tiramisu."

Xiao Bai's lips curled up. She rubbed her hands together under the table a couple of times before placing them on it. "Oh, not bad! You still remember what your older sister likes to eat? Hehe, it's been so long since I've had it!"

It's winter now, and the café is warm with the heater on, a thin layer of condensation forming on the glass. But when Xiaobai first came in, her fingers were still icy cold and red.

She rubbed her fingers together, breathed on them, and exhaled warm air.

"How are you? Busy lately?" Li Hao asked with a smile, resting his chin on his hand.

"Busy, huh!" Xiaobai gave a wry smile. "I haven't really done much, but the orders have increased a lot. I didn't expect Han Che's postcards inside the dam to be so effective."

"Is it possible that it's because Boss Han defeated Saeed?" Li Hao joked.

"Just kidding, do you think I don't know the reason!" Xiaobai laughed and sat down on the sofa. "Whatever the reason, it's all thanks to Han Che, which makes us old employees seem useless."

Li Hao's smile faded slightly. "However, with fame comes controversy. Recently, there have been a lot of voices online questioning you."

"I did a quick check, and it's strange that most of these voices come from the Watermelon Club, which you didn't have much contact with before."

"The ace club that had a falling out with you is now playing the positive role and defending you."

Xiao Bai showed no surprise, as if everything was as she had expected. "This is also related to Han Che's operation to kill the warden, but it doesn't matter. No matter how it turns out, people will still criticize us."

Seeing that Xiaobai was taking it easy, Li Hao felt relieved. "That's good, but you still need to be careful. You know the Watermelon Club system. Their people aren't really managed. They're easily swayed, and if they run into your people, they might use dirty tricks against you."

Xiao Bai nodded; these were indeed things that had to be guarded against.

While they were talking, two cups of black tea were brought out, and at the same time, a small piece of tiramisu cut into triangles was placed in front of Xiaobai.

After taking a sip of hot tea, a warm current flowed through my body, and my hands and feet gradually warmed up.

"How's that Boss Han from your club doing? Are they going to make any moves soon?" Li Hao asked casually, blowing on the steam rising from his black tea.

Xiao Bai scooped up a piece of cake with a small spoon, put it in his mouth and slowly savored it, gently shaking his head and swaying the spoon handle from side to side. "We haven't scheduled any orders for him recently. He said he's a bit tired and won't be coming to the club for the next few days."

Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly, his tone tinged with a hint of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex emotion encompassing regret, regret, and a sense of loss). "He seems to be living quite freely... By the way, I heard from Cai Chengfu that after my death, Operation Black Tide began, and later you encountered Raven?"

"I heard that Han Che charged in alone and engaged in close combat with Raven and his hammer-wielding soldiers, and almost got crushed to death?"

Little White stared intently at the cake in front of him, then curled his lip and said, "That's true. I ran into Raven and we had a fight. But it wasn't as bad as you described. He almost killed two of them, and came back unscathed."

Li Hao stared at Xiaobai for a while, then teased, "Tsk tsk tsk, I've never seen you defend someone like this before. Weren't you a bit wary of Han Che before? Why are you suddenly so protective of him?"

"Nonsense! I'm the club owner, of course I have to protect my players! Besides, he performed very well yesterday. Without his protection, would that young master Qi have been able to get out successfully?"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore!" Li Hao raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But I heard that you encountered something strange on your way back?"

Xiao Bai paused in his scooping of cake. "Yes, Cai Chengfu and Young Master Qi both told you, right?"

"I told you, but it sounded like a horror story, not very realistic," Li Hao said.

"The reality is just as terrifying as any horror story."

"Could there really be a killer monster in the prison's water storage area?" Li Hao frowned. "But according to Young Master Qi, you've already encountered that monster. So why didn't it attack you, but instead attacked the players behind you?"

Xiao Bai shook his head, recalling the scene from that day. "I don't know, but the scene was indeed bloody. Those last two players returned to the real world later than us, so they probably experienced all the pain and despair before their deaths while they were inside."

Li Hao remained silent for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth and then closed it again, lowering his head to take a sip of tea.

"What's wrong?" Xiaobai noticed his unusual behavior and asked. "Why are you hesitating to say something?"

Li Hao looked up at Xiao Bai and said, "One of the players in that solo player team you mentioned died in Tidal Prison a few minutes before you left. When he came out, his mental state was even worse than those two players from Phantom Pain."

"Last night, despite all efforts to save him, he died..."

Xiao Bai's eyes widened, and she covered her involuntarily gaping mouth with both hands. "Dead?"

Li Hao nodded.

"Died in the Tidal Prison, then resurrected and died again in the real world?"

Li Hao nodded, his expression somewhat grave. "This matter hasn't been made public yet, but it could become the second case, besides the Lost, of someone actually being killed by a dangerous area."

"What was the cause of death? How did he die in the real world?" Xiaobai pressed.

"Fever!" Li Hao uttered two words.

"Fever?" Xiaobai frowned. "What's the specific reason?"

Li Hao shook his head. "The specific cause of the illness has not been found. It was just a high fever of unknown cause that eventually led to organ failure. The specific situation is still under investigation."