The plane was flying in the clouds, vibrating occasionally, and the scenery on the ground was invisible, making it impossible to determine its current position. But it ended up flying to Palermo Airport in Sicily, which was its destination.
A middle-aged man looked at the sea of clouds outside the window and was lost in thought. His appearance looks very ordinary, even a bit ugly, but his figure is tall and well-proportioned, giving people an incongruous feeling of "good body with ugly face". In addition, he has a kind and comfortable temperament about him, so even if his face is not good-looking, he is still a character that makes people want to take a second look.
This middle-aged man is Xia Lei who flew to Sicily, Italy alone.
Looking at the sea of clouds, he was thinking of one person, Zhu Xuanyue.
Where is she now? Did she "prey"? Did she remember anything important
He wanted to know all this, but no matter how hard he tried to guess, he couldn't get the answer he wanted.
He now regrets driving Zhu Xuanyue away in the mountains and forests. If Zhu Xuanyue is still with him, there will be no danger in this trip to Malta Island. He didn't even need to land on Malta Island secretly. He could have taken Zhu Xuanyue to Malta Island in a swaggering manner, and then snatched the protective clothing from the hands of the Knights Hospitallers.
From the perspective of his personal interests, the shot he fired based on his instinctive reaction was actually wrong, and it was his own interests that were harmed, not others. But if he hadn't reacted like that and fired that shot, the two innocent young workers would have died in her hands. He couldn't accept that happening.
There is no doubt that it is in his best interest for Zhu Xuanyue to stay by his side, because she is an almost invincible helper. But if he wanted to protect his interests, he would have to sacrifice hundreds of innocent lives, and he would rather not have this interest.
It was hard for him to judge whether Zhu Xuanyue was a "predator" that was more advanced than humans or a demon, but one thing he knew very well was that he could not become a demon. And if he makes innocent people "food" to protect his own interests, then he is a devil. This is his bottom line as a human being and he dare not cross it.
"Sir, I see you've been looking at it for a long time. There aren't angels outside the window, are there?" A crisp voice interrupted Xia Lei's thoughts.
It was a blond woman with blue eyes and a few freckles on her beautiful face. She wore black-rimmed glasses, and her freckles and glasses gave her a bookish air. She looked very quiet and elegant.
She was Xia Lei's seatmate. For some reason, when he saw her for the first time, he thought of Tranquility. That poor woman. Did she leave? Or does it exist in another way? He couldn't figure it out.
"Sir?" The blond woman smiled and said, "You look very sad. Why don't you chat with me? You can forget some unpleasant things." After a pause, she seemed to think of something, and then shrugged, "You I probably don’t understand Italian, so just pretend I didn’t say anything.”
Xia Lei smiled and said in fluent Italian: "I can understand, miss, were you traveling in China before? Are you going back to Italy now?"
The blond looked surprised, "Wow, I didn't expect you to speak Italian so fluently. Well, I'm Italian and I live in Sicily. I was in China for academic exchanges before, and now I'm going to Sicily to meet a professor. , and then to the island of Malta.”
"Are you going to Malta too?" Xia Lei asked casually, "Are you going on a trip?"
"No, I'm doing archaeological research. About the history of religion and the Crusades, and..." She stopped talking and smiled awkwardly, "I'm really sorry, we don't know each other. You must be familiar with those things." I’m not interested in ancient things, so I didn’t cause you any displeasure, did I?”
"No." Xia Lei smiled and stretched out a hand to the blonde woman, "My name is Ma Lei. Nice to meet you."
The blond woman then stretched out her hand to shake Xia Lei's hand, and said with a smile: "My name is Linda, Linda Linda. There is a string of ancient wind chimes at home. When my mother gave birth to me, my father gave me this one." name."
"Hello, Miss Linda."
"Hello, Mr. Marley."
Xia Lei said with a smile: "No, we have known each other for a long time. I like a cheerful girl like you, and I happen to be going to the island of Malta. How about we get together?"
Linda was stunned for a moment, "Do you also want the island of Malta?"
"Well, yes, I will travel. I am actually very interested in the history and religious culture of the island of Malta." Xia Lei said.
"Really? That's great. I'm willing to go with you." Linda agreed readily.
"Well, Miss Linda, can you tell me about your archaeological research? I'm very interested."
"Of course, no problem. What do you want to know?"
The two started chatting hotly.
In fact, if he hadn't heard her say that she was going to the island of Malta, Xia Lei's conversation with her would have ended long ago, and he wouldn't have talked to her so much. The reason why he was willing to get to know her and proposed to go to the island of Malta together was because he had a purpose. He also went to the island of Malta with an archaeologist who was familiar with the environment and had a legitimate purpose, so he would have more opportunities to get in touch with the people on the island. Ancient buildings and artifacts. What's more, with her, his disguise becomes even more perfect.
With in-depth communication, Xia Lei got to know Linda better.
She is an employee of the Archaeological Relics Division of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage. She has the same profession as Ning Jing, and they are both archaeological experts. She herself is a devout Catholic.
When Linda asked Xia Lei about his occupation, Xia Lei said that he was a Chinese businessman and ran a small company that produced clothing in China. This is also the identity he forged early on.
Time passed quickly while chatting, and it was not until the voice of the flight attendant announced that they realized they had arrived at Palermo Airport.
The plane landed on the runway.
Xia Lei and Linda each dragged a suitcase toward the airport pick-up hall. By this time, it was almost dusk. The sky is blue, the clouds are as white as cotton, and the sunset is rendered in blood. Next to the airport are the surging Mediterranean Sea and seagulls flying among the blue sky and white clouds. The scenery of Sicily is like an oil painting spread out in the field of vision, and the feeling of a foreign country is particularly obvious.
Walking into the pick-up hall, Xia Lei glanced with his left eye and immediately saw Arecio and Elena who came to pick him up. Although Arecio and Elena also wore human skin masks on their faces, he only needed to move his left eye to see their true faces.
Arecio and Elena's eyes quickly focused on Xia Lei. Although the two of them do not have Xia Lei's ability, they are both very experienced people. They can make judgments based on Xia Lei's height, weight, and temperament.
It was Xia Lei's plan to leave the airport with Arecio and Elena, go to Arecio's stronghold in Sicily, and then take a boat to Malta. But on the plane he had changed his plans.
Xia Lei dragged his suitcase and walked towards Arecio and Elena. When he came to the two of them, he paused slightly. During that pause, he whispered: "Change of plan, wait... I inform."
Arecio and Elena were stunned for a moment.
At this time, Linda dragged her suitcase and chased after her, saying, "Mr. Marley, wait for me."
Xia Lei turned around with a smile on his face, "I'm looking for you. It's my first time here and I'm not familiar with the environment, so I almost lost you."
Linda walked to Xia Lei's side and said, "Let's go, don't book a hotel, just stay at my house tonight. I have an extra room, and it's vacant. If you stay at my house, I can take you there." Strolling around the streets will give you a taste of the authentic Sicilian culture.”
Xia Lei smiled and said: "That's great, thank you, Miss Linda. I'll treat you tonight, and you can have whatever you like."
"Wow, I'm a woman with a good appetite."
"Haha, I am also a man with a good appetite."
The two walked away while talking, but Arecio and Elena were left alone.
It wasn't until Xia Lei and Linda walked out of the door of the pick-up hall that Arecio said, "What is going on?"
Elena shrugged, "You ask me, who should I ask?"
"What's the saying in Chinese?"
"Are you saying you value sex over friends?"
"Yes, that's it. The boss is leaving with a woman now. Is this the case?"
"Shut your mouth. The boss is not the kind of person who only cares about playing with women. Which of the women around him is not a top-notch beauty? This woman is too ordinary compared to his women and cannot be attracted to him. He suddenly changed He must have had his thoughts and reasons for the plan.”
"Then what should we do? The boss won't tell us the reason."
"Didn't you see that woman following him? It's inconvenient for him. I've already taken a photo of that woman." Yelena shook the phone in her hand and said, "Go back and let Saimu check. Can’t we guess the reason for the boss by this woman’s identity?”
Arecio grinned, his smile ugly.
Outside the airport pick-up hall, Xia Lei flagged down a taxi and the two left in the car.
The taxi was driving on the road in the suburbs, and the Mediterranean Sea in the distance could not be seen at a glance. The nearby fields are full of grapes, but now that the grape-picking season has passed, the branches are empty.
"You are a very special person, Mr. Marley." Linda broke the silence in the car for a while.
Xia Lei smiled, "What's so special about me?"
"You look very sad, but very confident. Well, your eyes are very deep, which is a reflection of knowledge and experience. You have a very special temperament, but unfortunately I can't describe it. In short, you are very attractive. "Linda said.
Italian women are passionate and unrestrained, you can say this casually.
This was the first time Xia Lei heard a woman describe him like this. He was a little surprised, but also a little happy. He smiled, "Haha, almost all I heard were words of praise, thank you. But we just met, To a certain extent, you are still a stranger, but you want to bring me, a stranger, into your home, aren't you afraid that I am a bad person?"
"Well, do you think I'm such a stupid woman who would bring bad people into my home?" Linda asked.
Xia Lei couldn't help but laugh again.
A woman with knowledge and experience will sometimes have a sharper and more accurate vision of men than a detective.
If someone dared to take him home, would they not have done some observation and thinking