Chase and Escape

A man in a black formal suit was walking out of the doors of the Church of the Black Night.

The suit was a very common style. The brim of his top hat was pulled low to obscure his face, and he held a pitch-black cane in his hand. He looked completely unremarkable, blending into the passing crowd like a drop of water in the ocean.

However, his build was hard to disguise. He was tall, solid, yet slightly lean. Occasionally, when he turned his head, a young, handsome face would be inadvertently revealed beneath the brim of his hat.

The face of Lynch Levive.

Lynch walked out of the church with his head lowered, warily scanning his surroundings. Then, he hurried toward the Rhine Bridge leading to the King District. As he walked, his eyes darted around from time to time, cautiously observing the passersby.

Everything was peaceful, with no noticeable anomalies.

Two blue uniforms on police horses trotted along the street, heading in the same direction as Lynch. A ragged beggar carrying tattered bedding wandered along the roadside, also moving in Lynch's direction.

Ring-a-ling. Amid the crisp chime of carriage bells, a hired carriage turned from a cross street onto the cobbled road Lynch was walking on. The beggar, as if spotting a target, muttered with glowing eyes and ducked into another alley.

The street was crowded, and the hired carriage moved slowly with frequent stops, never straying far from Lynch. Meanwhile, two young men in coarse work clothes chased each other and laughed as they brushed past Lynch, shoving and playing not far ahead, causing the passing gentlemen to frown.

At the same time, loud arguments and the sound of shattering vessels echoed from a nearby alley. The two blue uniforms on horseback immediately blew their whistles and ducked into the alley, leaving Lynch's side.

Everything was as normal as any other day, yet Lynch, his head lowered, still felt a faint sense of unease. He abruptly stopped to scan his surroundings, but all he saw was the hired carriage stopping and starting in the traffic, the laughing youths in the crowd, the bustling street, and the distant square teeming with vendors.

But Lynch did not ease his guard. Turning around without warning, he began to retrace his steps. After several dozen meters, he turned into a cross street. The hired carriage and the playing youths behind him did not react, continuing quietly in their original direction.

“Sir, Madam, please spare me a couple of pennies. God will bless you.”

As soon as he turned into the cross street, he saw the beggar from earlier pestering a middle-aged gentleman and his wife, holding out his plate. The beggar let Lynch walk right past him without even glancing at him, focusing entirely on the few coins the gentleman's wife was dropping into his plate.

“Sir, sir, buy a flower for the lady.”

At the same time, a flower girl resting by the roadside stood up with her basket. She jogged after a passing couple, calling out about her roses. She was so persistent that when Lynch passed her, she almost bumped into his arm, but she didn't care at all, still pushing her wares with all her might.

Only when Lynch's figure disappeared at the end of the alley did the flower girl stop selling and lean back against the roadside. The begging vagrant happened to pass right in front of her.

“Notify Post Nine. The target is moving in their direction. Watch for the handoff.”

“Understood.”

The beggar didn't slow down, and without even locking eyes, the two brushed past each other. The flower girl remained where she was, while the beggar, as if spotting another begging target, suddenly took large strides and dashed in one direction.

The street was crowded, but the beggar still slipped through like a fish, though he almost bumped into a beautiful noble girl holding a round fan midway, eliciting a few delicate, annoyed scolds.

The flower girl left behind twirled a rose in her hand for a moment. Suddenly, she took a few steps back and slipped into a dark alley. In the shadows, she grabbed her skirt and pulled hard. With a sharp rip, the simple long dress tore open, revealing a shirt and trousers underneath. Putting on a flat cap, she instantly transformed into a man's attire. After tossing the flower basket into a trash pile in the dark alley, she quickly walked out.

The street was still busy with people coming and going; no one realized the dark alley had swallowed a flower girl and spat out a person in men's clothing. The person in men's clothing pulled down the brim of their cap, made a practiced scan of the surroundings, and strode off in the opposite direction, completely unaware as they passed a young lady with a round fan who was picking out hair accessories at a roadside stall.

As they brushed past, the person in men's clothing quickly receded into the distance. Behind the round fan, a subtle smile curled on the girl's lips, and her pupils contracted slightly. She then placed the hair accessory back on the stall, turned, and left the cross street, heading in the exact direction the person in men's clothing had gone. Her pace was slow and unhurried, but as she passed through a patch of shadow, amid the shifting light and dark, her figure suddenly vanished into thin air, as if merging into the darkness.

Unaware of any of this, the person in men's clothing walked faster and faster without looking left or right, soon reaching the main road by the square. By now, the tracked Lynch was already far away, and the two patrol officers from earlier were riding their horses, wandering and patrolling the road.

The person in men's clothing slowed down, stopping by the roadside to cross the street. The patrol officers happened to turn around, riding right past them, their figures crossing by the roadside.

“Number Five reporting. Target is moving toward Nine. Recommend Eleven, Six, and Two get ready. The target is highly alert; active interference is not advised to prevent the target from escaping.”

Before the words could fully fade, the two parties crossed paths. The two patrol officers crossed the intersection, and the person in men's clothing also crossed the road, blending into the crowd opposite.

The two patrol officers rode slowly along the road for a bit longer, passing the young lady with the round fan who was gently fanning herself by the roadside. Then, one of them suddenly accelerated, weaving past the carriages and pedestrians on the street to disappear at the end of the long road, while the other maintained a patrolling speed and turned onto the square.

Clack-clack. The crisp sound of hooves rang out as the riding officer left the square. He couldn't go too fast on the crowded streets, but he gradually approached several four-story buildings.

Compared to the ornate Victorian architecture, these buildings were more massive and primitive. They served as the engineering construction center of Rhine City, administrative buildings that had been requisitioned for a long time due to the Norin-Rhine Railway project.

The surroundings were quite desolate. The patrol officer rode faster and faster, soon reaching the entrance of the center. He leaped lightly off his horse, letting the guards skillfully lead it away, while he ran into the building without stopping.

Rushing all the way to the top-floor conference room, the moment he entered, the rider snapped his legs together and tapped his chest with his fist. This was the standard etiquette of the Hall of Order.

“Reporting, Commander. The target has entered the encirclement. We can launch the containment at any time.”

“Good. You've done well. Go and prepare to begin.” In the conference room, Walker, the leader of the Rangers, saw his gloomy expression soften slightly. He turned to the other two. “You two gentlemen can rest easy now. We've been tailing him since early this morning. There is no way he could detect such professional methods. As I said, he cannot escape.”

“This Mr. Lynch Levive is extremely cunning. Ever since our fellow believer Randall, he has caused us quite a bit of trouble. My coming to Rhine City this time is precisely to seek revenge for them.”

A middle-aged man wearing a white formal suit under a gray cloak stroked his mustache, speaking with a half-smile:

“My understanding of him is already very deep. I advise you not to let your guard down. His baffling entry into the Church of the Black Night just now is a highly dangerous signal. If we aren't careful, it won't be as simple as letting him escape once.”

“Oh?”

“Based on what we know of him, he is not someone who is satisfied with merely escaping danger. Our Mr. Randall is a prime example. Faced with those who want him dead, he will fight to the death to bite back. When I went to greet him a few days ago, I was almost schemed against by him. You had better watch out that he doesn't trace his way back through those monitoring him.”

“Hahaha! You can rest completely assured on this point, Mr. Kelvin. Those tailing him and setting the ambush are professional talents we specifically trained. It is incredibly difficult just to shake them off, let alone trace them back to us. Hahaha! If he actually manages to find his way here, I will kneel right before him, kowtow, and admit defeat on the spot. You need not worry so much.”

“I hope you are right.”

Kelvin smiled noncommittally, while another person standing by the window, looking out through a monocular, said in a raspy voice, “I see him. There's no mistake. This fellow is indeed cunning, but this time should be fine.”

That was a man wrapped tightly from head to toe, with even his face covered, leaving only one murky yellow eye exposed, while the other was covered with an eyepatch. Even though he was bundled in several layers, a strong, fishy stench still wafted from his body.

“But, Walker, Walker, are you sure the item was really swindled away by him?”

“There's no mistake. He will take the opportunity of the banquet on the seventeenth to return the item to Princess Chloe, which proves it is definitely in his hands. This is news sent back by our informant in the Count of Lorand's residence. There's no mistake. And he is definitely carrying it on him—we have a way to predict it.”

“Then why not wait until he returns it to that princess of the New Continent, and then take it directly from her hands?” Kelvin asked unhurriedly. “Wouldn't that be more secure?”

“That esteemed individual no longer trusts Princess Chloe. Snatching it before they make the exchange ensures the item's safety. Otherwise, who knows what kind of farce they will put on? We cannot give them another opportunity.”

Walker sneered, speaking with deep resentment:

“It's time to settle the score between us. Humph, Mr. Kelvin, I will have to trouble you, a rank seven authority high-ranking Soul Severer, to make your move shortly. Once the operation begins, please activate the setup and teleport him to the destination.”

“I would be glad to.”

“After that, it's up to you, Old Blind Eye. Your men are already in position over there, right?”

“Hehehe, of course. The surroundings are completely sealed off. Once he goes over, he won't escape. I've arranged forty sailors, all skilled hands from the ship, more than enough to tear him to pieces.” Staring at the distant figure through the monocular, Old Blind Eye said coldly, “He actually dared to offend me that night. He must pay the price. Hehehe, get ready, it's about to begin.”

Kelvin took a deep breath and stood up with a smile. “I can make my move at any time.”

“Hahaha.” The deep one by the window laughed viciously, but suddenly froze. “Walker, Walker, what's wrong with your men? What hand signs are they making?”

“What?”

Walker also rushed to the window, raising his monocular to look, and cold sweat instantly began to pour down his face.

“Oh no, they followed the wrong target. That's not Lynch Levive at all.”

In an instant, the three men in the room, who had been brimming with confidence just moments ago, stared at one another in dumbfounded silence.

If the one they were following wasn't the target, then where was the target?

“He must be here.” Mr. Kelvin was the most familiar with Lynch and realized the issue immediately. “He must have followed us. That is exactly his style. He is right here with us. Humph, Mr. Detective, you shouldn't have come. This time, you're dead.”

As he spoke, he slammed a fist onto the ground. Regardless of whether there were only three people in the room, he activated his ability.

【Authority, Transmission, Ability, Spatial Teleportation】

In the next instant, everyone in the conference room vanished into thin air, only to reappear in an empty shipyard at the White Bird Port docks.