It took him a moment to realize that he was being followed, and before he had time to think about it, a bald man wearing black business attire, a red tie, and black glasses appeared at the exit of the deserted alley. He was about to turn around and leave, but
I found two people dressed in the same clothes standing at the retreat behind me.
Garbage and excrement are dumped everywhere. The corpses of cats and dogs attract swarms of flies to feast. The dense "buzzing" sound of flapping wings triggers human instinctive physiological revulsion. The sour stench even stings the eye masks.
A normal person would never want to walk in a place like this, not to mention that the three people were dressed suspiciously. No matter how ignorant they were, Minerva would not believe that this was a chance encounter.
Are they people from Walsingham? Or Richelieu's men? Or...it's not wrong. The mechanical atmosphere and signature style have already told others who they are. Minerva observed the other party
actions while thinking about escape tactics.
"Please go back, princess."
A calm voice sounded, and a woman wearing black women's business attire, carrying a small black box, and with a long ponytail flashed out from behind the bald man blocking the alley. There was no trace of her appearance, figure, or clothing.
The woman with obvious features said:
"Not only His Majesty the King and the Prime Minister, the President is also worried about your rash travel."
"I won't go back."
Minerva flatly refused. She was annoyed at the other party's rudeness and secretly smacked her lips. She had estimated that V.E Company was setting up a spy in Albion, but she never expected that the company would be able to search for her so quickly. As always, Gao
To a deplorable efficiency.
——A complete miscalculation.
Swallowing the frustration of failure, Minerva clenched her fists.
"Please think about your position, as well as the current delicate international situation. If Albion discovers that a princess from a potential enemy country enters his royal capital, what will be the consequences..."
The woman took a step forward. Although she was facing Minerva, her eyes and consciousness did not intersect with her. Minerva did not exist in her eyes. She was just reciting lines into the air.
Such people cannot communicate - he murmured in his mind. Several attack techniques were almost ready. At this moment, the woman suddenly disappeared from sight.
"Don't waste your efforts."
The empty sigh dissipated in the air, and the question "how is it possible" just appeared in my mind, and the warm breath brushed my ears.
"While talking, prepare for a sneak attack. Create chaos and wait for an opportunity to escape - these are reasonable tactics. But in front of stick insects, your disguise is meaningless."
In nature, there are many insects that are good at surprise attacks and camouflage. For example, the "flower mantis" is one of the best. Lepidopteran insects and stick insects are also masters of camouflage. In some natural observation records, there are even praying mantises stepping on them.
The example of stalk insects preying on katydids demonstrates the success of their mimic camouflage.
The killer named "Stick Insect" in front of him also has similar abilities. Since his birth, he has had a weak sense of existence and a physique that is easily ignored by others. After intensive reorganization surgery, this trait has been further improved. Once activated, "
With the ability to "kill with breath", you can break away from the senses and the magic techniques used for observation, and become an existence like an "invisible person". Even if you walk around in front of the crowd, you will not be noticed by anyone.
The stick insect reappeared and pressed a piece of cold metal against Minerva's back. It was the small box she had been carrying before. Now it was fully unfolded, revealing the ferocious appearance of a folded submachine gun. As long as
When the trigger is pulled, 30 rounds of 9mm pistol bullets will penetrate Minerva's body within 1 second.
"Stop, how can you be so rude to the princess?"
A smooth, clear, and slightly mocking voice sounded. The stick insect quickly put away the gun and bowed respectfully.
The neck was turned in the direction of the stick insect's salute, and the back of a man reflected Minerva's pupils. The man was wearing a black suit similar to the stick insect and others, but the stitching was much more advanced, with the addition of bamboo joints.
The attitude of Zhong and others suggests that he must be someone with a considerable status in the company. Judging from his voice, this man should be quite young, probably about the same age as himself.
There are young people with considerable status in the v.e company - except for Roland, as far as Minerva knows, there is no such person, but this man dressed in black is obviously not Roland.
The air surrounding that man was chilly, completely different from the warmth Roland gave people, and different from anyone Minerva knew. That silent figure even made people feel a little empty and scary, but the girl
I vaguely felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
"I'm really sorry for frightening Her Royal Highness. However, the stick insect is telling the truth."
As if aware of the sight behind him, the motionless back said:
"As long as the treaty is not signed, the confrontation between Charlemagne and Albion cannot be lifted. In order to make the treaty more beneficial to themselves, both sides will seize all available chess pieces and use all despised means.
.This also includes the option of 'kidnapping a valuable princess and forcing the opponent to submit'."
There is no room for discussing ethics in the world of politics. Minerva, who has been educated in imperial studies since she was a child, has already understood this. She does not need others to repeat it. She also knows the risks of this trip, but what the figure said next is...
Leaving her speechless.
"Of course, His Highness can refute by saying, 'I have to do this in order to prevent the war.' Then, here is a question. What if the Prime Minister's plan was blocked, but because you were forced to stay by the Albion people?
stay for a few days, thus leading Charlemagne to negotiate
You will be at a disadvantage, eventually sign an unfavorable treaty, and even lead to a war. By then, facing a country that has been plunged into turmoil due to your impulse, there will still be thousands of corpses, and many times the number of survivors. You
Can you still say 'I am for peace'?"
All the rebuttals were choked in the throat at once, and nothing could be said from the slightly opened mouth.
An unexpected weight weighed on her heart. Although she lived a life isolated from the people and received the education that "the royal family is the country, just like faith, it is higher than everything in the world", she was still just a young girl after all. Since her relationship with Roland
Since they met, a series of experiences have allowed her to witness the death of others and come into close contact with death. After understanding the weight of life, the old ideological framework has begun to loosen, and it is now difficult for her to be as light as she used to be.
Talk about the value of other people’s lives.
The knees supporting her body were a little weak, and Minerva gritted her teeth to prevent herself from losing her composure.
"It seems that His Highness has not found an answer to this, and there is no enlightenment... Anyway, this kind of thing is not good or bad in the first place, it is just part of the common sense of the world, and young people have plenty of time to think about it."
The voice that understood the girl's self-esteem made Minerva's body tremble. She raised her right hand wearing a black glove, holding a few pages between her fingers and shaking them.
"Here are some VIP float tickets to Charlemagne. You can take any of our company's float boats back to Charlemagne. You can use them as needed. If you don't plan to go back to Charlemagne now, just put them away first.
Then give this report to your fiancé."
He casually asked the bald man to hand over the piece of paper. The man in the back pressed his forehead and let out a burst of joyful laughter:
"What a good boy. I would like to chat with you more if possible, but it's a pity——"
He touched his ribs with his free right hand, and after a thousandth of a second, a silver tube appeared between his left elbow and his side.
"It's time to exit."
An almost sinister voice declared, and the silver-plated imitation Walter P38 automatic pistol fired one after another. Amidst the dull sound of skulls exploding, five columns of blood mixed with brain contents sprayed out from the heads of the Albion spies. The next moment,
Red and white liquid rained down, leaving disgusting graffiti on the floor and walls.
Before the body lay on the ground, the man in the back, the bald man and the stick insect had disappeared like a puff of smoke. Minerva was left alone, unable to move, until she saw the boy running towards her clearly.
Face, she started to tremble as if waking up from a dream.
###########
After listening to Minerva's retelling, Roland was roughly sure of the matter.
Most of the people who came into contact with Minerva were Li Lin. When he encountered the shipwreck caused by the "sea monster", he had already vaguely felt what actions Li Lin might be taking. But now it seems that there is no such thing as
It was Li Lin who went into battle himself.
Now that things have happened, I can't even say such sarcastic words as "That guy is really brave." The top priority is to find the stolen jewelry as soon as possible and get everything back on track, otherwise...
Banishing the horrifying images of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, falling meteorites, landing monsters, etc. from his mind, Roland looked at the piece of paper left by Li Lin, and Gloria hurriedly went over to it.
"Let me see what is written on it. What... Two houses collapsed, one burned down, 34 people were injured, 13 were seriously injured, 5 suffered comminuted fractures, 6 suffered burns, and 2 suffered spinal injuries...
Who wrote this? What was it written about? It’s really dark.”
Just after reading the beginning, Gloria ran away in a hurry. As she said, the paper was full of unfortunate contents, which made people wonder if the guy who wrote these things had some kind of mental disorder.
"The other party asked Roland to read it by name. He couldn't leave this piece of paper just to show off his dark heart."
Favna stepped in. Although she didn't know the relationship, her keen sixth sense told her that the piece of paper would never be simple.
Roland nodded and was about to say something when there was a roar from the alley in the distance, and instantly billowing smoke and fire shot into the air. After two or three seconds, screams and ripples of chaos were heard in Londinium.
spread rapidly on the streets.
In an instant, Roland understood what he was holding in his hand, and his right hand that clenched the piece of paper trembled slightly.
That was written in advance - the casualty report of the explosion. (To be continued...)