Shirou Emiya stands on the Terra continent

And the boss of this pharmaceutical company in Rhodes Island is still a little concerned.

From the current perspective, perhaps they will become good partners.

So there is nothing wrong in showing some goodwill first, which will be beneficial to future cooperation!

There were no other cars on Longmen Street late at night, and even fewer people.

So the car drove to the destination quickly, freeing the people hiding in the back.

"See you in two days, please rest well, Emiya."

After catching up on some sleep, Amiya was visibly in better spirits, and she said goodbye to Emiya who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, you guys too, Amiya."

In response to Amiya's farewell greeting, Emiya simply waved from the passenger seat.

He was also a little tired, so he didn't say anything more.

Mainly because I can’t think of it.

"Then let's go back. I'll have to trouble you, Emiya, to carry the remaining four to the dormitory later."

After watching Emiya say goodbye and close the car window, Is said to Emiya.

"Hmm... Iss, you didn't hack into the Guards to learn about today's operation, did you?"

On the way back, in order to avoid falling asleep, Emiya found a special topic to talk to Is.

"That's definitely not the case."

In response to Emiya's question, Is replied directly.

He didn't hack in today. After all, the Guards were still interrogating him, so it would take some time for him to hack in and get the information.

He didn't need to explain this to Emiya specifically. Anyway, he hadn't hacked in yet during this operation, so there was no problem.

"Really? Is, do you think that my intelligence gathering method was too crude and was discovered, so the other party set up so many drones and explosives?"

After hearing Is's answer, Shirou didn't care too much.

Anyway, Is's entry and exit of the Guard Bureau's system was just like entering his own home, so he didn't really care.

This is mainly just to open up a topic.

He always wondered if those people discovered him because his intelligence gathering method was too crude.

If that's the case... then he has to take the blame for the operation becoming so much more difficult.

"It's rough, yes, but don't be too one-sided. When it comes to the infected, the Guards are not all in one piece."

Is did not directly say that it was Emiya's problem, but pointed out the problems of the Guard Bureau itself.

There is no need to think about this. What has happened has already happened, and no matter how much you think about it, it will not change anything.

The most you can do is do better next time.

But it is obvious that Emiya's problem now is that he feels there is something wrong with him, so Is naturally not going to put all the blame on him.

As a layman, Emiya has actually done a pretty good job.

The channels he used to collect intelligence were all reliable ones that he knew.

If you ask for more, you'll be taking the Riddler route, using roundabout ways of speaking to get information, and then converting it into intelligence you can understand.

But given Emiya's straightforward demeanor... Is felt that it was more likely that the other party would follow the example of Penguin Logistics and start a fight and car race on the streets of Longmen.

"Inside the Imperial Guard Bureau... Is this possible?"

Hearing what Is said, Shirou felt a little unbelievable.

That's the Guard Bureau, Longmen's law enforcement department.

How could there be a ghost?

"Nothing is impossible. As long as the benefits are in place, it is possible for them to directly smear white as black. So don't think that the Guard Bureau is too fair, especially when it comes to the infected."

"You are only familiar with Chen, Xingxiong, Shi Huaiya and their subordinates in the Guard Bureau, so you think the Guard Bureau is quite positive, right?"

"Although Mr. Wei Yanwu has carefully screened them, there will always be some people who are corrupted, so to speak!

Emiya, please don't trust people other than yourself too much, otherwise one day you will be pushed into the abyss by those people with corrupt values, okay?"

Seeing that Emiya seemed to think that the Imperial Guard Bureau was a place where there was absolutely no possibility of a traitor, Is said a lot of things.

The purpose is to remind Emiya to observe and think more, and not to blindly believe in the surface of every person, thing, or object.

Something that appears good on the surface may not be good on the inside.

Something that appears evil on the surface may not be evil on the inside.

Although it may seem like nonsense, it is the reality.

“… Being pushed into the abyss?”

Listening to Is's words, the first thing that came to Emiya's mind was someone's end.

The person who ended the war and prevented more people from getting hurt, but was ultimately hanged as the culprit of the war.

Until the end, he still felt that there was nothing wrong with this result.

"Yes, whether it's the Imperial Guard, Rhodes Island, or even Penguin Logistics, you can't let your guard down easily, Emiya. Who knows, we might sell you out one day, okay?"

In order to let Emiya know the importance of being wary of others, Is even listed Penguin Logistics.

Although the possibility is very small, so small that it is almost impossible.

But they did exchange the other party for benefits without Emiya objecting.

Of course, this premise was only established because Emiya had no objection. If Emiya said no in this regard, the boss would tear up the agreement directly.

Who asked the boss to protect his shortcomings? Did he really think he was always at a disadvantage because he was really afraid of Mr. Wei Yanwu?

That's because Mr. Wei Yanwu provided subsequent compensation, and Emiya himself was quite happy with it, so the boss went with the flow and reached this somewhat strange cooperation.

Otherwise, considering the past relationship between the Royal Guards and Penguin Logistics...let alone cooperation, it would be good enough if they were not arrested directly.

"Isn't this too tiring to live like this?"

Although what the other person said made sense, Emiya thought that if he continued to live like that, it would be quite difficult.

"I'm not asking you to be on guard at all times, but at least don't always trust others unconditionally like you do now."

Is said after hearing Emiya's complaints.

“…I’ll pay more attention.”

After thinking about what Is said, Emiya roughly understood what the other party wanted to convey.

Just remember it for now, as for whether you listened to it or not... we'll talk about it later.

"hope so."

Looking at Emiya through the rearview mirror, Is wasn't sure whether his words had reached the other party.

If it doesn't get through, then there's nothing he can do.

After all, he is not Emiya's nanny, worrying about this and that for him all day long.

We are all adults now and have to pay the corresponding price for our choices.

After that, there was only silence in the car. Except for the snoring of Croissant in the back seat, the car was very quiet.

Leaning back on the passenger seat, Emiya thought about what happened tonight and what Is had just said.

What the other party said was not without reason. He actually knew about these things a long time ago, but after a series of interactions, he didn't think too much about it.

And as for what happened tonight...Emiya felt that Is's guess was very likely correct.

After all, he gave most of the intelligence to Chen Sir, and Chen Sir passed the information to his superiors.

That's why those people set traps, changed the transaction location, and even deployed a large number of drones and people to target them.

And the trading party did not show up...

Thinking of this, Emiya opened the window slightly, letting the cool breeze blow in through the gap between the windows.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. It would be more practical to wait for Chen Sir to get the result.

Compared to this, he was more concerned about what Amiya meant by chatting.

Does his blood have any effect on the mineral disease?

After seeing each other off, Emiya realized a problem.

There seemed to be something about Amiya that attracted him.

The feeling is vague, but that's how I feel vaguely.

Just now, because he was in the middle of a battle, Emiya didn't have the time to think about it, and he didn't care too much about it after that.

This vague feeling disappeared only after we separated.

The last time I had this kind of reaction...I think it was on the snowy plains of Ursus, when I faced Alina?

Alina...Amiya...both of them seem to be wearing gloves?

Is there something in their hands?

Until the car arrived at the dormitory, Emiya still hadn't figured out the problem.

213 Nightmare

Buildings, crowds, adults, children, men, women.

People fell to the ground, blood was flowing everywhere.

Looking out the glass window, in addition to seeing the setting sun, you can also vaguely see an adult male with red hair standing in the reflection on the glass.

It's just that the face part is a little blurry and I can't see it clearly.

You can clearly see in the reflection that he is wearing a black coat, a red scarf, and holding a blood-stained sword in his hand.

I could even feel my panic from his trembling hands.

But the only thing I couldn't see clearly was the man's face.

Closed my eyes, then opened them again.

The reinforced concrete buildings and glass windows disappeared.

Instead, there was yellow sand and an empty desert. In the sky there was no sunset but a thin crescent moon and the darkness.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the people lying on the ground and the blood.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands. Even though they were covered in blood, they were no longer shaking.

I don’t want to see it, and I don’t dare to think about it.

Close your eyes again.

I opened my eyes again, this time on a high platform. It was dark, but I couldn't see any moon or stars. There was just a pitch-black night sky.

There were no more people lying on the ground, but instead there was a woman with long black hair lying in a pool of blood.

And in his hand was a...pistol?

Before he could think, he was thrown to the ground. Without much struggle, he just kept looking at the woman lying on the ground below.

Even though it was certain that the other person's heart had stopped beating, the corners of his mouth were still slightly raised, as if he was smiling.

There seemed to be something rolling in his throat, as if he was roaring something.

But he couldn't hear or see clearly.

I opened my eyes again, and this time there were no fallen people and no blood.

There were many people surrounding him.

Judging from their indignant expressions, these people seem to be very emotional now.

However, he did not pay too much attention to these things. Instead, he looked at the gallows in front of him and then at the silver handcuffs on his hands.

Finally, he looked at the crowd watching.