The harsh, chaotic wail of sirens filled the air as Li Qianqiao stood silently under the glaring beams of multiple searchlights.
He had sensed something was wrong the exact moment Public Security forces began their encirclement.
He had quickly warned Nicole, urging her to fall back to the evacuated residents and wait.
Looking around, there were no less than a hundred Public Security Officers, all armed to the teeth.
These weren’t the half-baked, amateur grunts from Vision Corporation.
“Did you do this…?” Having listened to the reporter’s broadcast from a distance, Li Qianqiao suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Sarah by the collar, pure fury burning in his eyes.
In Li Qianqiao’s memory of the lore, Officer Bringer was never a good person.
If this had followed the original storyline, Bringer should have just been here to arrest the Vision Corporation personnel.
But now, it seemed Bringer had specifically targeted him as well.
There was absolutely no way Bringer could have pinpointed his location this quickly.
The only person here who had a direct connection to Bringer was Sarah.
She was the one who tipped him off!
“Oh my~ Looks like you figured it out. I thought it would take quite a bit of effort to track you down, but I never expected you to deliver yourself right to my doorstep.”
Sarah’s face blossomed into a cunning, victorious smile.
There wasn’t a trace of fear in her eyes.
Completely ignoring the sharp edge of the blade near her neck, she leaned in, pressing her body seductively against Li Qianqiao’s armor.
“Little brother, it seems you know about my relationship with Bringer, though I’m honestly not interested in asking how you found out. But my offer still stands. As long as you join us, you can name any condition you want—I can even have your bounty completely wiped. What do you say?”
“YOU!”
Li Qianqiao was practically suffocating with anger.
Right now, he had zero means of breaking through the encirclement.
He had already used Axel Mode; forcing a second activation this soon was impossible.
He wasn’t exactly looking to recreate ‘Art is an Explosion’ by blowing himself up!
Clatter!
The sharp sound of an object hitting the ground echoed out.
Li Qianqiao snapped his head down—a thick cloud of dense smoke instantly erupted from the pavement!
A smoke grenade!
Li Qianqiao immediately went on high alert, scanning his surroundings.
Suddenly, a calm, heavy voice accompanied by steady footsteps rang out nearby, “Sarah, haven’t you finished taking care of this yet?”
Through the thick smoke, the silhouette of Officer Bringer slowly emerged, his tone laced with heavy impatience, “If this kid refuses to cooperate, execute him right here. Belobog Heavy Industries has arrived too, so hurry it up!”
As he spoke, he raised his handgun and aimed it dead center at Li Qianqiao.
If Li Qianqiao so much as breathed the word ‘no’, Bringer wouldn’t hesitate for a microsecond to pull the trigger!
With Li Qianqiao’s focus locked onto Bringer, a sudden gust of wind whistled past his ear.
Li Qianqiao reacted half a beat too late, barely managing to block the incoming strike with his forearm!
Seeing her surprise kick blocked, Sarah immediately retracted her leg and smoothly retreated to Bringer’s side.
With a slight shake of her body, the loose ropes binding her easily fell to the ground.
Sarah stretched lazily, then pulled a handgun of her own, looking at Li Qianqiao with eyes full of mock pity, “Have you made up your mind yet, little brother? Time is running out. Based on my observations, that interesting trick you used earlier can’t be used twice in such a short window, can it? Hehe~ To be honest, big sister here really doesn’t want to resort to violence.”
This is bad…
Sarah had been tracking his movements the entire time; the moment he slightly shifted his arm, a bullet grazed right past it as a warning shot.
If he tried to launch an offensive now, Bringer would undoubtedly order the heavily armed tactical units waiting just outside the smoke screen to open fire!
To make matters worse, there wasn’t a single piece of cover nearby!
If it were just a few handguns, Li Qianqiao might have risked it—it would just sting for a bit, right?
But the problem was that there were way more than just a few guns out there…
Li Qianqiao had even spotted a few officers hauling rocket launchers!
The standoff dragged on, the air thick with tension.
As the smoke screen began to thin, exposing the three figures within, Li Qianqiao mentally prepared himself for a desperate, life-or-death struggle.
But right at that exact moment, a flash of inspiration hit him—a tactic he had never once used before!
He took a deep breath…
…
A few minutes earlier.
Prompted by Li Qianqiao’s warning, Nicole noticed the rapidly shifting atmosphere and hurriedly rushed back to where the evacuated residents were gathered.
Most of the Public Security forces had gone to surround Li Qianqiao.
Right now, only a few clerical officers were conducting basic statements with the residents, while medical personnel were treating the Vision Corporation grunts that Li Qianqiao had knocked unconscious.
Nicole frantically scanned the crowd before finally spotting Anby talking with Nekomata in a slightly less crowded area.
“Nekomata! Anby! This is bad!”
Nicole sprinted over, leaning heavily on her knees as she gasped for air in front of them.
“B-Bad news…”
“Something terrible has happened!”
Just as Anby was about to ask what was wrong, Billy ran over in an absolute panic, clutching Eous tightly to his chest.
Nekomata and Anby were completely bewildered.
What was going on?
Did the Cunning Hares’ debt collectors organize a company retreat here, or did they finally end up on Public Security’s blacklist?
Billy didn’t waste any time with words.
He whipped out his phone, opened the official Public Security website, and shoved it in front of Anby and Nekomata.
Displayed prominently on the screen was a massive wanted poster of Li Qianqiao in the Faiz armor!
Confused, Nekomata took the phone.
She didn’t think much of it at first, but the moment her eyes registered the image, she almost dropped the device in shock.
“What the heck is this?! Little Li has a bounty?! And it’s 8 million Dennies?!”
Hearing Nekomata’s shriek, Anby hurriedly snatched the phone.
After a careful inspection, her already fair complexion drained of all color, turning completely pale!
“Proxy, what is going on here?”
Belle jumped down from Billy’s arms, waving Eous’ little, stubby hands frantically, “Let me explain!”
Upon hearing the reporter’s vicious insults toward Li Qianqiao, every single hair on Nekomata’s body stood on end with absolute rage!
“That despicable reporter! Does he brush his teeth with garbage?! His mouth is so filthy! No, I absolutely cannot let this slide!” As she spoke, Nekomata drew the twin blades strapped to her thighs, fully intent on charging back to rescue Li Qianqiao.
Billy reached out and grabbed Nekomata’s arm.
She whipped around, glaring at him furiously, but Billy merely shook his head and pointed at Eous.
“Nekomata, don’t be impulsive right now. The Manager is probably a hundred times angrier than you are.”
Nekomata looked over at Eous.
Ever since Belle had finished explaining the situation, it hadn’t said a single word.
It just stood there, head lowered, radiating a deeply oppressive and terrifying aura.
“Proxy…” Nicole looked at Eous with deep concern.
Then, gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes, she declared with absolute conviction, “Let us help you!”
“That’s right, Manager! Brother Li and I are comrades who’ve bonded through life and death! Not to mention, I am the sworn ally of a Kamen Rider!” Billy was the first to voice his agreement.
Anby gave a firm nod of approval, and Nekomata’s face was practically glowing with an uncontrollable eagerness for a fight.
“Nicole…” Wise’s voice finally transmitted through Eous.
In Nicole’s impression, the big brother of the Phaethon duo was usually a very gentle, ‘yasashii’ kind of guy.
But right now, Nicole could distinctly feel that all his usual gentleness had been completely erased, replaced only by a cold, ruthless edge.
“This is our family’s problem. To put it harshly… you guys are outsiders.” Wise said.
“I don’t want you dragged into this, and for our sake, I don’t want to see you make an enemy out of the entire Public Security bureau over us.”
“So, Nicole, take Anby and the others and leave. This has nothing to do with you. Belle and I have already discussed it, we will handle this oursel—”
Smack!
A hand suddenly slammed down hard onto the top of Eous’s head.
Belle, who had just been standing there quietly, let out a sharp yelp of pain, clearly showing just how much force was behind the slap.
“Why did you hit me?! My brother was the one talking!”
Nicole completely ignored Belle’s grievance, crossing her arms as she spoke in her usual haughty tone, “Why are you talking like that? Doesn’t our Cunning Hares owe you guys a ton of money? If you guys go and die, who am I supposed to pay back?! I, Nicole Demara, am a woman who values integrity above all else!”
Nicole extended a hand toward Eous, her face brimming with an unwavering, cocky confidence.
“Besides, it’s just the Public Security bureau. I, Nicole, don’t even consider them a threat!”
Billy drew his twin revolvers and struck a dramatic Starlight Knight pose.
Anby unsheathed her sword, slipping seamlessly into a combat-ready stance, and Nekomata couldn’t hide the excited grin spreading across her face.
“Everyone…”
Wise and Belle were incredibly moved, touched beyond words.
Meanwhile, Fairy, who had been silently watching the drama in the background this whole time, would have aggressively rolled her eyes (if she actually had any).
Maybe you should take a closer look at Nicole’s slightly trembling calves?
Of course, given the dramatically heroic atmosphere, Fairy wasn’t going to say something that would completely ruin Nicole’s cool moment.
“Alright! Then we will immediately—”
Just as Belle was about to discuss a tactical plan, a massive, echoing roar tore across the entire sector!
“AUTO VAJIN! PROTECT THE KING!!”