As Leon was holding the family portrait of his younger sister, pondering how to dig into the secrets of the Aquarius Director to expedite the investigation within the Bureau regarding this guy, there were also a group of people scrutinizing his dossier, contemplating how they could remove him as an obstacle.
“Must we take action? Can’t we solve this with normal means?”
After swiftly flipping through several documents in hand, the short man sitting at the far end of the long table couldn’t help but speak up first:
“His schedule is basically fixed; he always departs from Ship Bridge Street to go to work at the Municipal District where the Public Security Bureau is located. If we station our people beforehand, perhaps it will only take a few bombs…”
“It won’t work.”
The young man sitting across shook his head and said with clenched teeth, full of hatred: “He’s from the Clearing Bureau, and he has more than one anomalous item protecting him. Ordinary alchemical bombs likely won’t kill him.”
“Then blow up his house!”
The short man suggested again:
“Even if he has anomalous items guarding him, they may not be effective 24 hours a day. We can sneak in at night and directly blow up the apartment building on Ship Bridge Street!”
“We can’t get close.”
A young woman wearing a hat shook her head and said rapidly: “That apartment building has an excellent view; the northwest corner tower can observe the entire street. When I attempted to assassinate the princess before, I wanted to use that spot as my primary sniping point.
However, back then, as soon as I climbed over the fence, I saw an incredibly intimidating old man carrying a large pair of scissors staring at me. I shot at him, but nothing happened to him, and in return, his single swing nearly took my life.
Later, I brought twenty men to approach stealthily, but in the blink of an eye, they were all tied up tightly by a white-haired old lady and thrown into the garbage station at the street corner.
Although the old man didn’t kill me, he held a pair of scissors over a meter long and cut at my head for half an hour. Not only did he shave off all my hair and eyebrows, but he also cleaned out my nose hairs, which haven’t grown back yet.”
She slightly raised her head, showing everyone her empty nasal cavity, then sighed:
“Later, I learned that the apartment itself is an anomalous item. The muscular old man and the white-haired old lady inside have been dead for over ninety years. With these two ghosts guarding the apartment, if we want to sneak in to plant bombs, we might need a heavily armed unit to attack.
Oh, by the way, have you seen heavy weapons? Last month, I secretly went to Lane Arms Company. The military department ordered heavy weapons, but they’ve only made half of them, yet they dare to claim they’re completed on the report. Currently, except for the most important few units, many don’t have actual equipment. We can actually take advantage of this…”
“That’s enough, Charlotte. Your intelligence is very useful, but it’s irrelevant to this meeting. What we’re discussing now is how to deal with this Leon Lane.”
Interrupting the young woman, the middle-aged man sitting at the main position spoke:
“Everyone, according to the information Barton sent back, this employee of the Clearing Bureau is not weak. For someone like this with anomalous items, the probability of solving him with ordinary methods is slim, so it still requires your intervention.”
“Our intervention isn’t a problem, but what do we do afterward?”
After forcefully sucking on his teeth, a rather unkempt old man opened his mouth to remind:
“He’s an employee of the Clearing Bureau. The person who gave us our abilities once told us that the director of the Virgo Branch of the Clearing Bureau is incredibly strong. Even if we all go together, it would be suicide.
If Barton were still alive, we could kill him in the replication space created by Barton, but now that Barton is gone, killing him might provoke that woman herself to personally intervene…”
“It won’t happen. That woman from the Virgo Bureau has her own responsibilities and usually doesn’t act personally. Moreover, we don’t necessarily have to kill him; erasing his abilities and memories will suffice.”
The middle-aged man at the main position, while speaking, turned his head toward the drowsy little girl on his right-hand side and lightly tapped the table:
“Phoebe, you’ll join this mission, responsible for making the target forget everything in his brain about us, as well as that ability to peek into others’ souls. Can you do it?”
“Huh?”
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s question, the drowsy little girl suddenly snapped to attention, then looked utterly confused and asked: “What mission?”
“…”
“Ambush Leon Lane.”
Upon hearing this, the little girl sniffed and continued asking with confusion on her face:
“Who is Leon Lane?”
“An employee of the Clearing Bureau, the one who exposed Barton’s identity and stole Samantha’s abilities.”
“Who is Barton? And who is Samantha?”
Facing the little girl’s repeated questions, the middle-aged man didn’t lose his temper but explained seriously:
“They are our comrades. Barton was a spy embedded in the Secret Investigation Bureau, a muscular uncle with a scar on his face. Samantha was the aunt with bandages wrapped around her hands, who could heal others but also make people rot instantly…”
“Oh…”
Nodding as if she understood somewhat, the little girl rubbed her eyes and asked again:
“Then who are you?”
“I… never mind.”
Rubbing his temple in frustration, the middle-aged man waved toward the seat beside the little girl, somewhat helplessly saying: “Lucy, your sister’s bout of amnesia has struck again. In her current state, she cannot participate in the discussion. You should directly implant the necessary information into Phoebe’s brain!”
“Alright.”
A hoarse and aged voice sounded, and an old woman with a wrinkled face sat up straight, extending her trembling hand to place it on the little girl’s forehead.
Seeing this strange pair of “sisters” ready, the middle-aged man nodded satisfactorily and then instructed the wrinkled-faced old woman:
“Lucy, since this target has the ability to peer into others’ soul states, after the meeting concludes and we select those executing the ambush, please kindly lend a hand.
To avoid those selected from harboring hostility towards the target prematurely and alerting him unnecessarily, please implant false memories to cover their original ones. Any issues?”
“No issues.”
“Thank you.”
After nodding in gratitude to the old woman, the middle-aged man leaned forward slightly, placed both hands on the table, and directly stated:
“So next, let’s determine the location for the ambush. Do you have any suggestions on this aspect?”
“I suggest we move during his work hours!”
A man covered in burn scars on the right side raised his hand and coldly proposed:
“We should all mobilize together, invade that Clearing Bureau, kill that red-haired woman first, then burn the rest to death, and then…”
“Enough, enough, just stop talking!”
Hearing the burn-scarred man’s suggestion, which could be considered either deliberately suicidal or simply indicative of a desire to die, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but sigh and wave toward the burn-scarred man’s direction.
With a peculiar explosion sound, the burn-scarred man instantly disappeared from the room, leaving behind only a chair covered in dust.
Using some unknown method, the middle-aged man directly expelled the burn-scarred man outside, then said with a headache:
“Such stupid talk is unnecessary. Is there any slightly more reliable suggestion?”
“There is.”
The investiture ceremony of the Lionheart Duke?
After listening to the disheveled old man’s suggestion, the group of rebels in the room fell silent for a moment, then began nodding one after another.
“Very good!”
“Extremely suitable!”
“I feel the same way!”
The middle-aged man at the main position thought for a while and finally nodded as well, smiling and saying: “It’s indeed a good choice. The investiture ceremony of the Lionheart Duke will surely attract many high-ranking officials, and even representatives from the royal family might attend.
If luck is on our side, we might not only resolve the issue with Leon Lane but also eliminate a large number of nobles and officials all at once. Let’s set the ambush location for tomorrow’s investiture ceremony! As for the specific personnel for the ambush, do any of you wish to volunteer?”
“I want to go! I want to go!”
Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, the young woman whose hair was shaved off by the muscular old man enthusiastically raised her hand and said: “I can do it from five kilometers away…”
“You’re out.”
Once again interrupting her, the middle-aged man at the main position shook his head:
“Your ability is sufficiently covert, and the distance is far enough, making you outstanding for assassination, but your destructive power is too weak, and you might not be able to break through the anomalous item used by the target for protection.
Moreover, we don’t need to kill him this time. We just need to subdue him and let Phoebe erase part of his memory and abilities, so you’re not suitable for this task.”
“Then count me in!”
When the chatterbox bald woman pouted in dissatisfaction and prepared to argue, a lean young man stood up, his face filled with excitement: “Back then, it was Barton who voluntarily stayed behind to cover our retreat, allowing me and Samantha to escape. This time I…”
“Sorry, you’re not suitable either.”
The middle-aged man shook his head: “Now is not the time to provoke that red-haired woman from the Clearing Bureau. Since you were closest to Barton, I’m worried you might seek revenge for Barton and forcibly kill the target, making things impossible to resolve. You’d better stay behind.”
“…”
After the young man sat down disappointedly, the middle-aged man stopped asking and directly named individuals:
“Alright, besides Phoebe and Lucy sisters, David, Luke, you two go along! Your abilities clearly suit this mission the best.”
“No problem!”
The man who initially suggested planting bombs responded.
“Can.”
The disheveled old man nodded.
“Then let’s go!”
After confirming the specific personnel, the middle-aged man watched contentedly as those getting up to walk towards Lucy willingly accepted memory overlays.
After they finished accepting the memory overlay, he waved to everyone in the room, and with another peculiar explosion sound, everyone in the room vanished without a trace, leaving behind only dusty chairs.
And the middle-aged man at the main position seemed to have instantly aged by decades, with streaks of gray already appearing in his originally black hair.
…
Still, no one can live to see the future?
Looking at the empty meeting room and the dusty chairs, the visibly much older middle-aged man sighed wistfully. Then, struggling to stand up, he controlled his aging body and walked towards the door.
After last time when I made changes, I still couldn’t change the fate of the kingdom’s demise. The war faction led by the princess completely failed, dragging the entire kingdom into eleven years of brutal warfare. The once prosperous capital was reduced to ruins under bombardment, causing countless people to become displaced and suffer unbearable lives.
In those futures where I successfully assassinated the princess, the royal family and nobility surrendered voluntarily, first ceding land and paying reparations, then handing over all ports, mines, and other resources, and even having the legal currency forcibly abolished. The once wealthy country was almost entirely drained, though the common people could barely maintain their livelihoods.
As for me and the “rebels” I gathered… No matter which future, none of us exist. Only I remained, enduring the pain of national destruction, living a hard life because only I can continue sending messages back to the past, trying to save our doomed homeland! Walking unsteadily to the door, the much older middle-aged man took a deep breath and grabbed the rust-covered door handle with bony hands.
Come on! The Lane family, which caused enormous deficits in the military department and weakened the military’s strength, is completely extinct. A new Lionheart Duke has taken over. Let’s see what this future looks like!”Creak!”
As the old door hinge made a squeaky sound, it felt like pushing open a door separating two worlds. Warm sunlight poured in, accompanied by boisterous noise, shining on the middle-aged man.
“This… this is?!”
Seeing the exquisite and orderly buildings, bustling streets, huge airships trailing ribbons flying by, and people gathered around giant strange screens at the street corner, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but freeze in place.
Success! I finally succeeded! The kingdom is saved!! An overwhelming joy instantly gripped his heart. Tears streaming down his face, the middle-aged man collapsed to his knees with a hysterical roar.
“Eh! Scared me!”
“What’s wrong? Why are you shouting randomly!”
“Prince Leon’s infidelity got caught, why is he so happy?”
“Guard! Guard! There’s a madman here!”
“…”
Amidst the curious stares of passersby and chaotic pointing and whispering, the middle-aged man who finally witnessed a bright future suddenly raised his arms and shouted ecstatically to the sky.
“Long live the kingdom! Long live the kingdom!!”
Startled by his shout, the crowd watching stepped back in unison, then began whispering among themselves with puzzled faces.
“This guy is crazy?”
“Is he sick? Suddenly shouting ‘long live the kingdom’?”
“Yeah, isn’t the kingdom gone already?”
What did you say? The kingdom is gone?!!! After hearing the conversation between two women carrying baskets nearby, the middle-aged man abruptly jumped up from the ground, rushed over, and tackled one of the women to the ground, roaring crazily:
“How could the kingdom be gone? Who did it? Who did it??!”
“No, no, no… It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me who did it!”
Terrified by the “madman’s” actions, fearing he might bite her in anger, the basket-carrying woman trembled and hastily pointed toward the big screen at the street corner.
“Prince Leon did it, you should find him! It’s nothing to do with me!”
Leon… Prince? Kill him! I’ll go back and kill him!
(The chapter ends)
