North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 145 When you lose your personality, you lose everything! (Seeking monthly votes)

Mia's mood is very chaotic right now, no, perhaps "chaotic" isn't quite the right word.

Last night, I was kidnapped and chased by a group of bad guys who appeared out of nowhere, but I was rescued by a fake policeman disguised as a male dancer.

Then they took him to an abandoned library, where he slept tremblingly for the night under the watchful eye of a large white dog.

I had just woken up and hadn't even had breakfast or lunch when that short, seemingly kind-looking man called me into his car, and I didn't know where he was taking me.

"Uh, Harold, where are we going?" Mia asked tentatively, looking at the man in the driver's seat.

Through their brief time together last night, she had a general idea of ​​the man in the front row's personality.

Although she was somewhat socially awkward, she was elegant and well-mannered, and just like me, shy and taciturn, the complete opposite of Rorschach.

Harold looked through the rearview mirror at the girl huddled in the back seat like a frightened bird, and, thinking of what she had gone through that night, asked with a pang of sympathy, "Mia, have you lived with your mother since you were little?"

"Hmm." Although she didn't understand why the other person suddenly asked this, Mia nodded honestly.

“And what about your father?” Harold continued, “How much do you remember about him?”

"Father."

Mia blinked in confusion, falling into a brief silence. "I...I don't know. I've never seen him. Mom used to say Dad died in a car accident. But Grandma, whom I recently reunited with, said Dad is out there pursuing his mission."

The girl puffed out her cheeks, revealing a complicated and resistant expression: "I have no impression of him, and I don't want to have any impression of him."

Harold raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and blurted out, "Your thinking is quite similar to Rorschach's. You know, when I asked him what he would do if he met his biological father, guess what he answered?"

"Is Rorschach also from a single-parent family?" Mia immediately opened her eyes wide with curiosity.

Harold's expression changed as he suddenly realized he had let something slip. He immediately shut his mouth and focused on driving.

Meanwhile, Mia behind her was already lost in thought—it turned out that Rorschach, like herself, had been raised by his mother alone.

Not long after, the car stopped outside a somewhat abandoned residential building in Brooklyn.

Mia got out of the car and looked up at the graffiti-covered walls, the garbage scattered at the bottom of the building, and the few homeless people huddled in the corner – a typical slum scene.

She couldn't help but turn back to look at Harold, who was still sitting in the car.

"here it is?"

"Go to room 308 on the third floor, child."

Harold nodded encouragingly at her and added, "Don't worry about bad guys. All the unstable elements in this building have been cleaned out by Rorschach."

Mia twirled her long hair in confusion with her fingers, but as she met Harold's encouraging gaze, she had a vague premonition.

She pursed her lips tightly, nodded solemnly, and turned to walk towards the building.

Harold watched the girl's retreating figure, his heart filled with helplessness and inner conflict.

Before inviting Rorschach to join, he only assigned the team the task of protecting targets who were threatened with death.

But now.
Let's see what they've been doing over the past week.

Kill gang thugs, execute corrupt prosecutors, help the wronged get revenge, and blow up high-ranking judicial officials.
Now they've even started helping princesses from small countries find their fathers.

This has completely deviated from Harold's original intention.

"Ding~"

The crisp sound of a lighter rang out.

A man wearing a trench coat appeared at the front of the car at some point, leaning against the car and lighting a cigarette, his gaze gazing indifferently at the third floor.

"How are things going with our princess, Harold?" Rorschach teased without turning his head.

“Very good,” Harold answered truthfully. “She’s a good girl, but more like a small-town girl than a princess—insecure, shy, sensitive, and fragile.”

"I don't think it's a derogatory term. Besides, if I were you, I wouldn't think she's that shy."

Rorschach suddenly tilted his head to look at Harold and laughed, "Didn't you notice a soapy smell in your water glass when you got back to base this morning?"

"."

Harold frowned in confusion, but didn't delve into the matter. Instead, he said seriously, "Rorschach, we've gotten too involved. Since this morning, you've not only killed the entire secret operations team, thoroughly enraging the CIA, but you've also kidnapped a weapons expert who was being watched by multiple countries. Have you forgotten our agreement?"

He solemnly emphasized: "We are guardians, not judges. We can risk our lives to save the innocent, but there's no need for us to actively get caught up in the storm!"

"It's too late to say all this now, buddy."

Rorschach said casually, "From the moment we decided to save Mia, we were already caught in the vortex. There's only one way to get out safely."

Harold didn't speak, but then he suddenly realized something and pointed sharply at Rorschach: "You...you don't tell me you're going to Europe to steal that nanotech bomb!"

"Relax~"

Luo Xia leaned closer to the car window and reassured his sugar daddy, "I can go by myself. Just think of it as giving me a few days off. And don't worry about your safety."

He lowered his voice: "That KGB traitor may not be very strong, but he's a decent marksman and a good-natured person. He's more than capable of being your bodyguard while I'm away."

"I don't trust her!"

Harold immediately shook his head in refusal, while looking at Rorschach suspiciously: "Do you lose your guard when you see a pretty woman, Rorschach? That's a woman who betrayed both the KGB and the CIA. You really trust a woman like that?"

Rorschach smiled meaningfully and said, "I don't trust her at all, but these days, trust is the most ineffective way to control someone. Don't worry, Harold, your safety is more important to me than mine. Before I leave, I will definitely train her well."

Harold remained silent.

He didn't really care about the female agent; he just wanted to advise Luo Xia to stop worrying about the "nano bomb," but he knew the man in front of him too well.

Unless you threaten them with their lives, there's absolutely no way to persuade them.

“If you die in Europe, I will not hesitate to find a new partner, a partner who can abide by the rules!” Harold said defiantly.

"Ha ha."

Luo Xia smirked and pointed at the arrogant guy: "Then you'd better make him wear a bulletproof vest 24 hours a day, otherwise when I get back, I'll definitely shoot this bastard who dared to steal my job to death."

Harold was amused by this and a smile crept onto his face.

After a few dozen seconds of silence, he suddenly said, "If you really bring that thing back, then we'll be facing more than just the United States as our enemies."

"Yes."

Rorschach nodded and looked at Harold: "But at least we have another trump card to balance things out with besides the [machine], don't we?" Harold sighed and did not refute.

The atmosphere fell silent again.

Until a few minutes later—

Accompanied by the rapid thumping of shoes on the ground, Mia rushed out from upstairs with bloodshot eyes.

She glanced at Rorschach and Harold, then, without stopping, quickly fled while wiping away her tears.

Behind her, Keller hurriedly chased after her, his face filled with guilt and regret, but he just stood there helplessly, not chasing after his daughter.

Rorschach and Harold exchanged a glance, then Rorschach followed alone.

In the dark and damp alley.

Mia wandered aimlessly through the crowd, her hands covering her face, her eyes moist and filled with tears.

Although the area was filled with loitering gangsters and homeless people, strangely, no one dared to make a move on this girl who seemed so out of place in the slums.

Whenever someone tries to approach, it's as if they've seen something terrifying, and they immediately tremble and turn away.

Mia didn't know how long she had been walking before she suddenly came to her senses.

Smelling the stench in the air and looking at the dangerous surroundings, she took a few steps back in fear, only to bump into a chest as solid as a wall behind her.

She turned her head in alarm, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"Rorschach."

"What's wrong? Did you not have a good time meeting your father for the first time?"

Rorschach tucked the silenced pistol back into his waistband and asked with a smile.

Mia nodded silently, then said with a self-deprecating smile, "You know, Rorschach, when I was little, my classmates often teased me for not having a father. Back then, I always fantasized about how my father would stand up for me if he were here: teaching those who bullied me a lesson at parent-teacher conferences, holding my hand and dancing with me at dances, and protecting me when I was bullied. But…"

"Now he's really appeared, and he's even given me the status of a princess. But do you know what he said when I just asked him why he abandoned me and my mother?"

Mia recounted in a trembling voice, "He said he was scared, that he felt he would be punished by his grandmother if he admitted to the relationship. Moreover, he believed that he had more important things to do than family—developing weapons that could enhance his country's international standing. He never cared about family."

This was the first time Rorschach had heard Mia speak so much in one breath.

He didn't rush to respond. He looked back, found a relatively clean spot on the wall to sit down, and patted the spot next to him.

Mia didn't hesitate for long and sat down on the ground as well.

"To be honest, your father is really a scoundrel."

Rorschach offered no comfort, instead delivering a blunt critique: "If you're afraid of being punished, you should control your manhood. Don't act like a dog in heat every time you see a woman, and then act like a black man afterwards, completely disregarding everything."

Mia was so shocked by this bizarre analogy that she forgot to cry and stared blankly at Rorschach.

"However, there is one thing I do admire about your father."

Rorschach spoke frankly, "He's a member of the royal family who inherited billions of dollars at birth. Instead of enjoying his privileged life, he devoted himself to becoming a weapons expert, secretly researching weapons projects in other countries, and living in anonymity for so many years just to enhance his country's status. That's certainly respectable. But as I just said..."

Rorschach pursed his lips: "He may be a good prince, but he's definitely not a good father."

Mia blinked, then asked hesitantly, "Then...should I give up this princess title and return this status to their family?"

"Don't you like being a princess?" Rorschach countered.

Mia nodded at first, then shook her head, candidly revealing her inner conflict: "I like the feeling of no longer being invisible, I also like being dressed up beautifully and looking radiant, I like being pursued by boys, and I want to kiss someone like in the movies, where I gently stand on one foot."

"However, I know I definitely can't accept the constraints of etiquette, court rules, or red tape. I want to be myself, but I don't know how."

Luo Xia smiled, looked at the girl, and asked, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

"what?"

"When you lose money, you lose nothing; when you lose health, you lose something; but when you lose your character..."

Rorschach tapped the girl's forehead and said seriously, "Then you've lost everything."

He spread his hands and asked in confusion, "Is there a rule that a princess must follow the rules? If so, I hope you can break the rules and be a rebellious princess with a soul."

“But I’m scared,” Mia whispered in a lack of confidence. “I can’t do it.”

"Shut up!" Luo Xia pointed at her sternly, "If I ever hear you say such weak things again, I'll post the video of you peeing on a cup online!"

“Ah? Ah!!!”

Mia, who had been bewildered, suddenly jumped up excitedly, her cheeks as red as ripe apples, and stammered, "How...how did you know? I had no choice! I didn't mean to! And where did you get the video?!"

“Believe me, Mia, I don’t want to see that scene more than anyone else, because it has completely destroyed the image of you that I once had of the perfect princess,” Rorschach said nonchalantly.

Mia's expression darkened, and she lowered her head, feeling both ashamed and disappointed.

But just then, the man in front of her continued, "But none of that matters, because the real you is even more adorable."

“Remember this.” Rorschach stared into the girl’s eyes, his words, spoken slowly and deliberately, seemed to reach her very heart. “Courage may not be invincible, but cowardice is utterly useless.”

Treat life as an experience, so be bold! No one but yourself can make you feel inferior!

After hearing his words, Mia stood still and stared at Luo Xia with a complicated expression.

Although she was deeply moved, remembering the other party's lewd threat earlier, she mustered her courage and scoffed, "You...you must have seen a lot of movies. This sounds like a movie line."

"You still have the nerve to tell me?"

Luo Xia exaggeratedly imitated the girl's tone from earlier, "'I want to be pursued by boys, like in the movies, kissing on tiptoe~' Tsk tsk, so you want to be a princess just to kiss, is that it?"

"I...I'm not like that!"

Mia playfully punched Rorschach twice with her fist, but then asked with difficulty, "Tomorrow night is the princess succession banquet that Grandma is hosting for me. Will I still be able to make it?"

"Tomorrow night?"

Luo Xia shrugged. "That depends on whether your father will give you face."

"."

(End of this chapter)