Click, click.
A dozen flashbulbs flickered incessantly as dozens of reporters in vests and flat caps swarmed the area, documenting the wreckage of the shipyard.
The thick wooden walls of the shipyard had been blasted with a dozen gaping holes by cannon fire, and even half of the roof had collapsed, leaving the entire facility in shambles. Corpses with covered faces lay scattered about, and the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood, heavy with the atmosphere of a battlefield.
The port guard, the governor’s mansion guard, the Watchers, and the Hall of Order had launched a joint operation, thwarting a conspiracy by pirates attempting to infiltrate White Bird Port and raid its facilities, once again safeguarding the citizens of Rhine City.
Whether it was true or not, it was best to just listen to the official story.
The results were indeed significant; out of forty deep ones pirates, twenty two bodies were left behind, and the rest fled in a panic. The leader of the group, Old Blind Eye, had also been severely wounded before being rescued by his cohorts.
Although there was little in the way of loot, this was considered a glorious achievement in times of peace. The soldiers were excited, enjoying their moment in the spotlight under the pursuit of the reporters.
The Watchers, however, were in a more pitiable state. As a secret organization that preferred to avoid excessive exposure, they were left to sort through the corpses in the shipyard. After all, these bodies were mysterious heteromorphs, and one could hardly leave the task of cleaning them up to ordinary people.
Yet, not everyone was busy. Through a jagged hole that no reporter had noticed, two figures pulled their hat brims low and hurried away from the shipyard. Taking a breath of fresh air that was finally free of the scent of blood, the two looked at each other and smiled.
It was none other than Officer Natalie Angel of the Watchers and her prize, Detective Lynch Levive.
Though they had only been separated for ten days, Lynch felt as if it had been an eternity. For some reason, seeing her filled his heart with a sudden sense of joy.
It is good to see you are safe.
It is good that you appeared suddenly when I needed help the most.
It is just that my ribs ache a bit, and I feel the need to seek out a pharmacist from the Church of Suffering for treatment.
The officer had lost quite a bit of weight; not only was her complexion pale, but her movements were slower, and she occasionally gasped for air. It seemed the damage from the corruption had not yet fully healed.
However, the spirit in her beautiful face was just as it had been before. Lynch’s ribs were proof that her physical strength had returned, but her eyes...
Lynch always felt that when those eyes looked at him, the expression was strange—different from how it was before she had been corrupted. Could it be that she was resentful because she hadn’t managed to break his ribs earlier and was now calculating how to crush them again? No, I know—her brain must have been affected when she was corrupted.
【It is likely her eyes that were affected.】
'I see you have learned how to be sarcastic; that is not right.'
“When did you wake up, and why are you running around as soon as you’re up? And why did you launch a surprise attack here?” Lynch sighed, feeling a lingering fear. “It is fortunate you arrived in time, otherwise today would have been truly troublesome.”
“I woke up last night. We came, of course, because someone reported it.”
“You Watchers are not short on people; even if there was a report, there was no need for a heavily wounded person like you to come along.” Lynch glanced at the officer’s somewhat peculiar expression and spoke subconsciously. “Wait, to have you come along while ill and mobilize such a large force—it wouldn’t be that the person who reported it wasn’t reporting a mystery event, but rather me... Ouch~~”
Young lady, how did you manage to kick me in the shin while tilting your head and looking the other way? Do you have an automatic hit attribute? And I was just asking, why kick me? Ouch, you are still stepping on it.
Looking at the officer’s flushed face and wandering gaze, Lynch felt a warmth in his heart. It was just that after a few days apart, this girl had turned into a steam boiler, with smoke billowing from her head. Forget it, you are the more bizarre one; I concede defeat and will not provoke you further.
Lynch stopped his attempt at self-destruction and briefly recounted his own experience before asking with a serious expression, “So what exactly happened? Who was the person who reported it for me?”
“Come with me, Lynch.” The officer bit her lip, thought for a moment, and pulled him toward the pier office. “I will take you to meet the person who reported it.”
Lynch was a bit puzzled but followed along. The two circled around to a two-story building in the pier office area and found several people standing guard.
They were not the blue uniforms of the Hall of Order, nor were they port soldiers, but rather the ordinary, freelance hunters of the Watchers.
With the core force stationed here, it seemed this was the temporary base of operations for this mission.
The problem is, why are you all looking at me and smiling? And you, the one puckering your lips at me—are you a lizard? Are you eating mosquitoes?
Lynch thoughtfully offered a middle finger representing friendliness before being pulled by the officer into a small room on the first floor.
It was a small meeting room, and the moment he entered, Lynch froze.
Inside was a petite figure with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Little Martha.
The little one was pacing the room in a state of extreme agitation, looking as if she were about to climb up the gas pipes to the roof. Hearing the door open, she turned back, and upon seeing Natalie and Lynch walk in together, her eyes immediately lit up.
“Uncle Lynch, thank goodness, you are okay!”
It was this child who reported it?
Lynch was dazed for a moment before seeing the little one trot over, hug his leg, and look up at him. Her tiny eyes held deep worry and seemed to contain a trace of attachment.
This child is not as annoying as she used to be.
“No need for a cast this time? That is a pity, I wanted to draw on it.”
I take back my evaluation; the brat is still as annoying as ever.
Lynch picked up the little thing, gave her bottom a few casual pats, and tossed her onto the sofa nearby. He and Officer Natalie sat down as well and began to ask what had happened, only to hear the two of them feel secretly shocked.
Little Martha hadn’t gone to school this morning. As soon as she stepped out, she used a secret code to summon her little followers.
There had been no income for many days. Uncle Lynch and her mother didn’t know how dire the situation was, but the little one knew. Therefore, as soon as she received the huge sum of two pounds, she immediately called her team and distributed all the money, not keeping a single penny for herself.
Seeing the group of little brats cheering, little Martha finally set her mind at ease and then assigned Lynch’s mission.
As a result, they received intelligence on the spot: since yesterday, there had been ‘black skins’ lurking in the vicinity, and they were still there now.
Moreover, others reported that people with black skins had followed that uncle from your home, seemingly harboring some plot.
The little one immediately grew nervous. I haven’t avenged the beating I took yet; I cannot let others hurt that bad uncle before I get my revenge. Thus, she immediately mobilized all her strength and rallied a large group of homeless children.
These children ran all over Rhine City and were incredibly well-informed. Through them, the little one gradually learned a few things.
Those black skins seemed to be setting an ambush for Lynch, which made little Martha very worried. She intended to notify Lynch, but he had already entered the Church of Suffering, so she had her companions wait secretly outside the church to inform him. She herself took her team to do something else very dangerous.
While investigating the movements of the black skins, she inadvertently learned that the freak who had almost scared her to death downstairs at her home had also been in contact with the leader of these black skins. Today, he had entered the same building, and along with him was a guy reeking of fishy odors, just like the freak mentioned in the newspapers a while ago.
Furthermore, just now near the shipyard at the pier, companions had also seen similar fish-headed freaks lurking about.
The little thing grew more worried the more she thought about it. She was also afraid of monsters, but she didn’t want to lose this uncle who would beat her while lecturing her. That day on the second floor, when encountering the terrifying monster, you instinctively protected me behind you—I have not forgotten that. Now it is my turn to protect you.
Thus, the little thing gritted her teeth, took her people, and ran to the pier. Using the fact that children were less likely to be guarded against, she quietly infiltrated the vicinity of the shipyard to spy. Finally, she saw from the window a large group of freaks wrapping themselves up, preparing an ambush inside the shipyard.
During this, she was almost caught by the thugs in the shipyard, but in the end, she successfully escaped. The other children only found it interesting, but little Martha grew increasingly worried.
The black skins want to deal with Uncle, and these guys are in league with the black skins—are these guys also going to deal with Uncle?
She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to regret it for the rest of her life. So, she ran to the Scarecrow Club as fast as she could and, after a great deal of effort, managed to get inside to see the bedridden Auntie Natalie.
Natalie knew what those things were, and upon hearing it, she realized Lynch had fallen into a crisis. Forty deep ones pirates were enough to capture a small port, and with the power of the Watchers, it was not certain they could take them down.
Thus, she dragged her extremely weak body and hauled Mr. V out of the most luxurious and expensive bed in his home.
Either you help me find a way to save Lynch, or you find a way to save your beloved bed that is about to be smashed to pieces by me.
One second later, the deal was struck. The Watchers received intelligence that pirates intended to invade the city to raid supplies, the city’s violent apparatus launched a joint operation, striking the pirates immediately and manifesting the power of our Kingdom of Lande.
The majesty of Lande must not be offended.
“Nonsense, saving you? I was just countering the deep ones' invasion. Who knew you were there? If I had known you were there, I wouldn’t have gone.”
Officer Natalie’s gaze drifted to the side, she muttered a few times, glared fiercely at Lynch, and huffed:
“You are like this every time; every time I see you, you are being chased by mysteries. This time it is fortunate there was little Martha, otherwise it would have been truly dangerous.”
“It is also fortunate that someone helped me beat up their superior while ill; I will not forget it.” Watching the officer look away with a half-smile, Lynch beckoned to little Martha. “Little one, thank you so much. To reward you...”
Seeing the little one lean in, Lynch suddenly lifted her up, pressed her onto his knees, and gave her a few pats:
“Making you go to a dangerous place, aren’t you afraid your mother will be sad? You are not allowed to do such things again in the future. It is too dangerous, do you hear me? If you go on another adventure, I will beat you.”
“I don’t want that, you are already beating me!” The little thing kicked her legs and shouted: “Except for Mommy and Auntie, you are the only bad guy who cares about me. I don’t want you to have an accident. Even if you beat me this time, I won’t listen, and you can’t tell on me to Mommy either.”
“You two, show some restraint. There are others outside.”
Under Officer Natalie’s threat, the two noisy people finally stopped. Lynch sighed, helped the little one sit beside him, and said earnestly:
“You are worried about me and are willing to take risks to protect me; I am indeed very happy. It is true that I was only able to return safely this time because of you. But I don’t want to thank or praise you, because it was really too dangerous. Helping others is a good thing, but the premise is to protect your own safety. Even for the sake of your mother’s peace of mind, you cannot easily take risks.”
Seeing the little thing nodding with a half-understanding look, Lynch said patiently:
“If you encounter such a thing next time, other actions are fine, but do not go and investigate it yourself. You are still a child; leave professional matters to the professionals.”
“Mm.” The little thing nodded thoughtfully. “Will you be happy if I do that?”
“I am very happy right now—happy to be beating you.” Before the little thing could start a fuss, Lynch quickly patted her head. “Thank you, little one. To repay you, how about we completely flip the page on what happened before?”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“Mm... I don’t want that.” The little thing kicked Lynch’s shin lightly. “I haven’t had my revenge for you beating me yet. Don’t think I’ll just let it go like this, pfft.”
Saying this, she fled behind Natalie, stuck her head out, and made a face.
This brat is indeed annoying.
“Enough, stop bullying her. Let’s talk about the important things first. Walker and that seventh rank cultist escaped; there will definitely be trouble later. How do you plan to handle it? Do you need the Watchers to intervene?”
“Intervene to help whom? Help the crown prince retrieve the gem, or help the thief fight the crown prince?” Lynch sighed. His experience with palace dramas allowed him to see things clearly. He shook his head and said, “Others being willing to take care of us is because they are good at handling people, but if we take that for granted and cause trouble for others, then we are the ones who don’t know how to act. Having the whole team help fight pirates is, of course, no problem, but dragging them into palace struggles—heh, Mr. V is no fool; he couldn’t possibly participate in this kind of trouble.”
Officer Natalie immediately revealed a strange smile, stared at her toes, and asked, “Is this saying that I am a fool?”
“Pfft, cough cough cough, no, really, no.” His ribs were still aching faintly; how could Lynch dare to talk nonsense? He hurriedly explained, “I haven’t thought it through yet; I just have some ideas. But the information I have is still too little to formulate a plan. I am wondering if I can infiltrate their internal ranks.”
“You still haven’t learned your lesson?” Officer Natalie frowned and said uneasily, “If you are discovered again this time, you won’t have such good luck.”
“It shouldn’t be that dangerous this time. After everyone’s joint efforts, my identity should be firmly established.” Lynch pondered and said, “Unless they are idle and have nothing to do, and go to question the evil god themselves, they shouldn’t be able to discover my identity. Hmm... maybe even the evil god doesn’t know; she has so many followers.”
“Is that so? Hehehe.”
???
A cold, eerie voice emerged in Lynch’s consciousness, which made his hair stand on end.
Damn it, I didn’t forget to cancel the contact technique from earlier, did I?
“The contact was initiated by you; you thought it would be interrupted? I saw it all, hehehe.”
Rate on N.U.
