Chapter 164: An Unstable Vortex |
In the beginning, the thugs were completely confident in their operation. Although a small mistake had occurred along the way, they had still managed to corner their targets in time.
Now, they just needed to finish their job. As for this pretty boy, he seemed entirely useless in their eyes—just a weak man of the Empire who would easily fold after a few threats.
But... that was not the case.
The thugs drew their weapons and raised their muzzles, and then, gunfire erupted.
"Bang!"
Ricocheting bullets tore through the crowd. Accompanied by wails of pain, the firearms in the thugs' hands dropped to the ground one after another.
They cried out in agony, clutching their right hands as they stared at the man before them in shock and disbelief. Levi still stood perfectly straight, leaning on his cane with his left hand while holding a gun in his right.
"Damn it, charge him together!"
With no time to figure out how Levi had done it, the leader of the thugs roared. The men lunged at Levi from all directions.
At first, he thought these people were just ordinary kidnappers. But looking at their readiness to die, he immediately realized he had been dragged into a rather troublesome situation. From the way these men threw themselves forward without a care for their own lives, it was clear they were not opponents who could be easily scared off.
Since that was the case, he had no choice.
With that thought, Levi made up his mind. He took a step forward, blocking Anna's view, and in that instant, time began to slow down.
Levi released his grip on his cane with his left hand, reached into his coat, and drew his other revolver, the Punisher. Then, he raised both barrels and aimed at the enemies.
Spreading his arms wide, Levi spun on the spot like a dancer. Flame erupted continuously from the muzzles of the Persuader and the Punisher.
Bullets flew out one after another, striking the lunging thugs without mercy. By the time his feet touched the ground again, both guns were back in their holsters. The cane he had released had not even had time to fall before it was caught firmly in his grip once more.
Then, time snapped back to normal.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The thugs had absolutely no idea what had just happened. They only felt that in that split second, they were not facing a single man, but an entire fully armed fireteam. Suspended in mid-air, they had no way to dodge. They could only watch helplessly as bullets tore into their bodies, sending them crashing to the floor.
"Ugh!"
The leader of the thugs crashed heavily onto the ground. He gritted his teeth, clutching his chest.
He did not know what material the bullet inside him was made of, but it made him feel as if more than half of his body had frozen over. His jaw clenched tightly, and even the breath exhaled from his mouth felt incredibly icy.
But none of that mattered, as long as someone successfully subdued that man and took the target... The leader raised his head and looked forward, desperate to see the man beaten to the ground and the target secured. Unfortunately, all he saw was the young Imperial detective standing there completely unmoved, casually leaning on his cane. Not a single one of his men had even managed to get within a meter of him.
"Weee-wooo—!"
At the same time, a piercing siren wailed. Levi turned his gaze away from the struggling thugs as the officers responsible for security finally rushed over... Well, it was hardly a surprise.
With such an attack happening at the Exposition, the Empire naturally would not let it slide easily. Soon, Levi and the little girl were taken to the Police Department for investigation and questioning, while the attackers were rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible. Since Levi had clearly stated his identity, the police did not make things difficult for him, merely asking the two of them to wait in a lounge.
Anna was obviously very anxious about the whole situation. She never left Levi's side. Even while sitting on the sofa, she reached out and tightly clutched the corner of Levi's coat. Clearly, to Anna, even inside a police department, Levi was the only one who could give her a sense of security.
Compared to Anna, Levi was much calmer. After all, this was not his fault to begin with, and he believed he would be let out before long.
However, things moved even faster than Levi had anticipated. While Levi and Anna were waiting in the lounge, before he could even finish a single cup of tea, the door was suddenly pushed open. Levi watched as a middle-aged man in noble attire with a well-groomed little mustache and a very elegantly dressed woman wearing a sunhat rushed in, their faces filled with anxiety.
"Anna? Anna! My baby!"
"Papa, Mama!"
Seeing these two, the little girl who had been leaning against Levi smiled with relief. She jumped up, ran over, and threw herself into the woman's arms. The woman held her tightly, weeping with joy.
"Oh, Holy Lord be praised, I was worried sick. My child... thank goodness you are alright!"
The man watched the two of them with a smile before turning his gaze toward Levi. He walked over and extended his hand.
"You must be the famous Imperial detective, Mr. Levi."
"You flatter me, I am merely an ordinary detective."
Levi stood up and shook the man's hand. Although this person looked like someone of high status, he was not a citizen of the Empire after all, so a polite acknowledgment was enough.
"Anna is our treasure. You probably cannot imagine how frantic we were when we realized she was missing..."
"Frankly speaking, I was quite surprised myself." Levi glanced at the little girl who was still embracing her mother. "After all, it is not every day that one encounters an adorable young lady left completely alone on the street."
"Encountered?"
"Yes, there was no one around her at the time. I thought it was strange, so I approached to speak with her. Though I am not entirely sure what exactly happened..."
Levi trailed off, but the man clearly understood his meaning and nodded with a serious expression.
"I understand, Mr. Levi. Thank you again for your help. You might not know what this means to my wife and me..." The man wanted to say more, but a person who looked like a secretary quickly approached and whispered a few words into his ear. A troubled look appeared on the man's face, and he ultimately had to nod to Levi in apology.
"I am sorry, we have urgent matters to attend to and must leave. In a few days, when we are free, we will certainly express our proper gratitude to you. Please do not refuse."
After saying this, the man shook Levi's hand once more and hurriedly turned to leave. Levi waved goodbye to Anna as she followed her mother out of the room.
Well, that wrapped things up. For Levi, it was just a minor favor. He did not particularly care whether they thanked him or not. Judging by their status, they probably were not lacking in wealth either. As for what kind of reward he might receive later... he would worry about that when the time came.
Afterward, Levi also left the Police Department. The moment he stepped out the door, he saw Anthony approaching him from the side.
"Boss is truly the boss, you really are something! Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Anthony spoke while giving Levi a big thumbs-up.
"What is it? What are you talking about?" Levi glanced at Anthony, who grinned back at him.
"I assume you still don't know the identity of that gentleman just now."
"I don't. Some foreign noble, I suppose?"
"He isn't just any ordinary noble." Anthony shook his head. "That was Archduke Franz Fernando, the Crown Prince of the Sasha Alliance United Kingdom!"
"Oh? So it was him..."
Hearing Anthony mention the name, Levi finally recalled the information about that man from his memory. This Archduke Fernando was the nephew of Franz I, the King of the Sasha Alliance United Kingdom. The original heir, the crown prince, had committed suicide due to mental illness, making him the new successor to the throne.
Of course, Levi had no interest in this kind of royal drama. The main reason Archduke Fernando was famous was because of his marriage. His marriage could be described as a real-life version of a fairy tale prince and Cinderella. The Archduke's wife was a commoner, which had drawn immense criticism when they first married. Later, when Archduke Fernando became the crown prince, rumors about forcing him to divorce his commoner wife to find a new queen never stopped. Yet, Archduke Fernando remained completely unmoved, showing nothing but deep affection and protection for his wife.
"So, that little girl is a princess?"
"Haha, a princess in name, but she has no right of succession." Anthony chuckled. This was also something mentioned in the news reports. Because Archduke Fernando's wife was a commoner, their children held no rights to inherit the throne. "Furthermore, I did some digging. The people who attacked you seem to be from the Seth Duchy."
"The Seth Duchy?"
"Exactly. Word is that the Sasha Alliance United Kingdom plans to make a move against the Seth Duchy recently. It's highly likely those guys wanted to kidnap the little princess to use her as leverage against Archduke Fernando... It's really a good thing you were there, Boss." As he spoke, Anthony patted Levi on the shoulder. "If the little princess of the Sasha Alliance United Kingdom got kidnapped by people from the Seth Duchy right on the Empire's territory, the Empire would completely lose face!"
"I see."
Hearing this, Levi nodded, finally understanding the cause and effect of the event. No wonder those attackers fought with such reckless disregard for their lives. It turned out they were actually death soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves for their country... They were definitely cut from a different cloth compared to ordinary thugs.
However, despite knowing the truth, Levi did not care much. He was a citizen of the Empire, and the Seth Duchy would never have the courage to provoke the Empire. At worst, he just wouldn't visit Seth in the future.
But speaking of which...
"You didn't come looking for me just to flatter me, did you?" Levi narrowed his eyes at Anthony. Knowing Anthony's character, he wasn't the type to be this enthusiastic for no reason.
"As expected of Boss, you really know me best!" Anthony stared at Levi, and then—he practically fell to his knees. "Boss, save me! Something terrible has happened!"