"Investigate!! Mobilize all police forces and investigate it for me!!"
The recent phone call hit the already busy Superintendent Ch'en like a thunderbolt. A bomb planted in the city of Lungmen... this was no small matter. If it detonated, it would cause at least some civilian casualties, and if that happened, the Lungmen Guard Department's credibility in the eyes of the public would plummet.
Just then, a sharp pain shot through Ch'en's back.
"Damn it!! Not at a time like this!"
Ch'en slammed her fist hard against the nearby wall.
Today's Lungmen seemed peaceful.
In reality, as the young Superintendent and the public face of the Lungmen Guard Department, she was well aware of the predicament Lungmen was facing. It was just a mobile city-state. Although it technically belonged to Yan, Yan would not interfere in Lungmen's administration as long as it could manage itself.
Furthermore, Lungmen's economy was so prosperous that in recent years, it had become another financial center on Terra. The Lungmen Dollar being a currency circulated throughout Terra naturally made many major powers envious. There would certainly be covert acts of sabotage. Just during Ch'en's tenure, she had caught dozens of international criminals and foreign spies, not to mention other small fry. The number of assassination attempts she herself had faced was countless.
This seemingly stable great ship was being battered again and again by the world's tsunamis.
---------------
"(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞHi~ Good afternoon, everyone!! I'm from MSR, your idol, Sora~"
Dressed in a gorgeous performance outfit, Sora bounced onto the center of the stage from the side like a little elf, full of energy. Her words alone were motivating.
A simple opening line.
It sent the fans, who filled every seat in the stadium, into a frenzy.
"Oooohhh~~"
"Sora-chan! Sora-chan! Sora-chan!!"
Franka watched this scene unfold from the side of the stage, taking a sharp breath. She had so many complaints she didn't know where to start. It was like a sheep among a pack of wolves.
"What's the situation?"
Franka pressed the earpiece in her ear, symbolically asking Liskarm, who was patrolling near the stage.
Even though she knew there wouldn't be any problems,
the client had paid a hefty fee, so she had to at least look serious.
"No problems. Only familiar staff in the venue. Vents and any other potential hiding spots have all been checked. Secure."
Franka muttered under her breath, "Sigh... I knew it... I'm so jealous of these little idols. One call and a hundred respond. I bet she earns a lot, and she even has rich girls like our cute little Jessica tipping her. I don't want to work hard anymore either."
"You could talk to that Agent Zhang. Maybe she'll take a liking to your cow-like figure and make an exception for you to debut as some supporting actress who markets her body."
"Get lost!"
Jessica had been following Franka the whole time, learning the basic skills a proper mercenary must master during a protection mission.
*Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
A very faint sound came from somewhere.
Lucas Reeve was suddenly stunned.
"Jessica, let me use your body for a moment."
"Huh? Did something happen?"
Jessica asked as she exchanged souls with Lucas Reeve. Her light green pupils turned black, and her entire demeanor changed in an instant.
A fox's senses are extremely sharp. Franka soon noticed the change in Jessica behind her. However, when she turned her head, Jessica had already returned to her previous self.
"Ask Franka if she heard any strange sounds."
Jessica nodded quickly and repeated Lucas Reeve's words.
Franka was a bit confused, not knowing why Jessica was asking this, but as a mercenary, she didn't dare to be complacent. She heightened her senses, but the concert music was far too loud, drowning out all other sounds. Naturally, she found nothing.
"Jessica, did you notice something?"
Franka asked patiently.
"Um..."
Jessica quickly acted as a messenger, relaying Lucas Reeve's words.
"I thought I heard a strange sound just now, something like beep... beep... that kind of electronic noise..."
Lucas Reeve was sure he hadn't misheard. His soul was far stronger than an ordinary person's, and with the Transparent World, he could even hear subtle, special sounds that ordinary people and even animals couldn't.
"Hah..."
Franka let out a breath.
She didn't dare to be complacent for a moment and quickly notified Liskarm through her earpiece.
Just then,
the first half of the concert came to an end.
According to concert tradition, during the half-hour intermission, a few fans from the S-tier seats would be randomly selected to come on stage for a short interaction with the idol. This was also a kind of bonus, as the S-tier seats were the closest to the stage and naturally the most expensive, costing ten times more than the cheapest seats.
As the lottery wheel on the big screen spun, ten lucky people were chosen.
These ten lucky fans ran excitedly towards the stage. They had spent a lot of money on these front-row seats precisely to try their luck at this.
However,
it wasn't until the group got on stage that the staff on the side noticed that eleven people had come up... not ten...
The staff originally wanted to send the extra person down, but Sora, as the idol, naturally didn't mind. One more person was fine, and this gesture moved many fans in the audience, who thought their idol's character was wonderful.
The eleventh person who came up was dressed strangely.
It was already May, and the weather was getting warmer. Many people were already wearing short sleeves, but this man was still wrapped tightly in a heavy coat, which was a bit odd.
When Sora looked closely at the young man's face, she suddenly remembered. He seemed to be one of her first fans back when she debuted and didn't have much popularity. However, she hadn't heard from him after she started to get popular. She had even written him a letter by hand, but he never replied. At the time, Sora thought he had stopped being a fan and was a little sad.
"Sora-chan... do you still remember me?"
The strange man said, his voice trembling a little.
"Yes, of course I remember. you're one of my first fans. I even wrote you a letter, but you never wrote back, which made me sad for a long time."
Sora said with a smile, but it was the truth. She was quite sad at the time. After all, her first fans were very meaningful.
"That's great~ Sora-chan still remembers me~
Seeing that his idol still remembered him, the man couldn't help but cry. Then, suddenly like a wild beast, he grabbed Sora's hand tightly. Sora tried to pull away but found his grip was too strong.
"Then... Sora-chan, are you willing to go with me?"
The coat opened.
The man's neck was densely covered with disgusting Originium crystals, and on his chest, a device with a constantly flashing red light was strapped firmly to his body.