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[b]Mischief Reef/Đá Vành Khăn/Panganiban Reef - 11/01/2022 08:15 UTC+8[/b]
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Crossing her arms, Qingshe watched and listened placidly, as Jin Li responded with Mandarin in kind and drew a rough sketch of Southeast Asia. As he spoke, her brow slowly furrowed, the Snake following the direction of his words in relation to the issues she had raised. As he spoke of Lao and Cambodia, she tilted her head, cocking a single brow at his return question. [color=39b54a]"You think Lao and Cambodia have reason to side with China then."[/color] It wasn't phrased as a question. [color=39b54a]"Yet, as concerning as that is,"[/color] she added, [color=39b54a]"in regard to our traitor issue, the relevant question we must ask is if either of those countries have access to Task Force Obsidian's strategic information."[/color]

Shaking her head, Qingshe chuffed humorlessly at the nickname for Ren Huo. It might have been funny if it weren't for how very true it was. Rather than exhibiting any particular appreciation for the insult to the Zodiac's Dragon, she inclined her chin at the information regarding the Philippines. She clucked her tongue in disdain. [color=39b54a]"Then the Philippines is our prime suspect, it seems."[/color] She cupped her chin with one hand, rubbing it with her thumb. [color=39b54a]"Between a government built like a house of cards, openly treasonous militias being formed within their own borders, and the fact that Task Force Obsidian was both originally formed underneath their jurisdiction and seems to largely remain under their command?"[/color] The Snake frowned heavily. [color=39b54a]"Yes... it lines up. They would most likely have the easiest access to compromising data about our deployments."[/color]

But yet again, it left her with questions, the "who", "why" and "how" most prevalently. Even knowing of all the war crimes China was committing, it boggled the mind why people would continue to support them in spite of that. Despite all she had seen and done herself, Qingshe was -in some ways- an optimist about humanity. She liked to believe in the strength of good sense and decency in the majority... Well, perhaps she wasn't [i]that[/i] optimistic, but she at least believed in humanity's sense of self-preservation. To side with China right now, even knowing what they had done to those they captured or conquered in this war already? How could you justify it? Did anyone really think the devil would play favorites once everything was wrapped up with a nice little bow? No. That was a fantasy, especially with the Downward Descent presently mucking about...

At the pivot to speaking about Ren Huo, Qingshe's expression gained a twinge of consternation. Sighing, she shook her head. [color=39b54a]"I don't necessarily disagree, My Emperor; Ren Huo is undoubtably a threat. However, that fool would not be as much of a threat without a traitor telling him exactly how and when to attack us. Regardless of his [i]interest[/i], it matters little if he cannot locate us to begin with."[/color] She crossed her arms, frowning. [color=39b54a]"And even if we got the chance to target him, there is demonstrably a major complication: the presence of [i]Cao Bao[/i]."[/color] A highly troublesome sort if she'd ever known one; Cao Bao was only made more troublesome by the apparent metric that he was far saner and more tactical than the majority of his comrades. Not a high bar to clear, granted, but as an enemy... the Snake would admit he was genuinely dangerous. [color=39b54a]"Unless we can distract or otherwise deal with Cao Bao long enough to isolate the Dragon, Ren Huo will never die, not while he has that man as his bodyguard."[/color]

Pausing, the greenette's golden eyes briefly flicked to Marta, who'd remained quiet all this time and looked a tad bit lost. Well, to be honest, the nun mostly looked like she was paying attention, and an untrained eye might have mistaken her silence for someone merely musing on what was being said tactfully. However, the somewhat glazed look in her eyes betrayed her incomprehension.

Smiling apologetically again at Marta, Qingshe switched from speaking Chinese to Filipino, saying, [color=39b54a]"Sorry about this. I merely had a bit of a sensitive matter to raise, and such things are best conveyed in our mother tongue."[/color] She chuckled. [color=39b54a]"It would be [i]quite[/i] silly to potentially have translation errors in these matters."[/color] The half-truth crossed her lips easily; her only true concern had been concealing the topic of her conversation from listeners. Shaking her head, she eyed Marta's bandaged arm. [color=39b54a]"I thank you for your patience, but I don't believe I got an answer before. If you'd like, I can fix up that arm of yours... along with any less obvious injuries you might still be harboring."[/color] She chuckled. [color=39b54a]"I promise it's not a bother. In fact, you might even say it's one of my main jobs in Obsidian."[/color]

[@Letter Bee][@Amidatelion]
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[b]Mischief Reef/Đá Vành Khăn/Panganiban Reef - 11/01/2022 08:20 UTC+8[/b]
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Were Cristina to actively seek out Qingshe at this time, she would have little trouble finding a trail. The Snake of the Zodiac was not exactly a subtle figure to behold. Between the way she dressed, her own personal fame and recognition amongst the Qing Restoration Society and the fact that she had recently spent some time actively engaging with people in a search of her own for Jin Li, if Cristina were to ask around, she'd find no shortage of people willing to point her -one of their special guests- in the right direction.

Indeed, here in the heart of the QRS, amongst allies, Lei Qingshe had no particular reason to conceal her destination or target, despite being perfectly capable of it. If Cristina were to search for her, the trail would eventually lead to one of the many beaches that lined the island, and in the distance, she'd likely have little trouble spotting the tall Chinese woman, still clad in her usual eccentric salacious getup and speaking to a similarly eccentrically dressed boy in blue and frills. And sitting next to them on a towel underneath a parasol, there also appeared to be another member of Task Force Obsidian, Marta the "nun", presently clad in a modest swimsuit and with one arm swaddled in bandages.

[@Digmata]