About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Wait, wait! We surrender, we surrender!!"

Pause violently blew open the door. There were three men in the last room. They were wearing sterile protective suits stained with sticky liquid and tissue. Surgical instruments were placed around them. They knelt on the ground in a gesture of surrender as soon as Orson broke the door.

But what caught people's attention was not the clothes these people were wearing, but the scattered and mutilated body parts that were thrown around the group of people like in a butcher's shop.

“…Ugh!!”

Lin Yuxia finally couldn't hold it back and she vomited completely this time.

"That's enough, Lin Yuxia. Look away, you're doing great."

Orson stood between Lin Yuxia and the room, and Mostima also walked over from behind Orson.

"Well, you should have seen this along the way—this is a den for trafficking human organs and tissues."

Mostima smiled and took a bag of packaged hearts from the table nearby. The label on it showed that the original owner of the heart was a 14-year-old female infected person.

"Every city-state loses countless people every year. No one pursues these people, and no one cares. But for those overzealous laboratories, these organs are like guinea pigs, and they always need to be purchased by truck."

"Ahem...why, why won't the Imperial Guards deal with these people?"

Lin Yuxia asked Mostima with difficulty.

"Because if you want to pursue a career outside of the law, you need local informants and connections on the other side. The structure of the Imperial Guards means they can't handle these people right away, and it can easily be turned into a diplomatic issue by politicians with ulterior motives."

Mostima walked up to one of the experimenters, tore open his protective suit, and took a picture of his face with his mobile phone.

"The Imperial Guards had encountered a similar situation before. At that time, the ruler had no choice but to release these people unconditionally for the sake of Longmen's development. After that, some people finally realized one thing: darkness is always there. If you dwell in the light, you can't take the initiative to deal with it. So what should you do, 'Daughter of the Rat King', Miss Lin—"

Mostima walked to Lin Yuxia with a smile. She took Lin Yuxia's hand and led her to several researchers. At the same time, she put her hand holding the Originium staff close to the researcher and pointed it at the head of one of the researchers.

"I……"

The light of the Originium skill once again gathered at the front of the staff, but Lin Yuxia didn't know whether to pull her hand away.

"This is the only way to become the Rat King, Miss Lin."

Mastema smiled, and an attack capable of shattering steel burst out from the tip of her staff—

【take a bow】

"…What are you doing, Orson?"

The original attack was not released. Mostima understood the situation almost instantly. She turned around and asked Orson behind her softly.

"I was a 'pirate teacher' for a while, after all. Forcing students to do something is not what a good teacher should have."

Orson pulled the staff out of Mostima's hand, took out his cell phone and called Chen, telling him where everyone was.

"Is this your choice? After hearing all that, you still choose to trust the Guards—you may be even more boring than I thought, Orson."

Mastema looked at Orson and put away her smile, but the latter just shook his head.

"Of course I believe in them. There are countless people who have tried to change this city. Perhaps the Dragon Gate of the past was just like what you said, but the Dragon Gate I have witnessed, the Guard Bureau—is worthy of my trust."

"..."

Mastema didn't respond. She put away her staff, shrugged, and left the room.

"Orson...I...um"

"Take a deep breath and calm down. I understand how you feel."

Orson gently stroked Lin Yuxia's hair in an attempt to calm the little mouse down. At the same time, Orson controlled Rest to hit each of the three researchers on the head with a hammer, knocking them down.

"It's still too early for you to make this decision, but I don't want you to be stained with blood before you've made up your mind. You have the right to choose, Lin Yuxia. But if you start taking the lives of others—no matter what kind of lives they are—your path will be completely blocked, and some of your choices will be blocked."

Orson spoke quietly to Lin Yuxia. The moment he went berserk and killed the villagers in the northern villages, Orson was destined to never become an "ordinary person" again. He had to shoulder the souls of the dead. No matter what kind of soul it was, the weight was enough to change a person's trajectory.

"I... I never knew... that the so-called 'choice' would be—"

"Leave here first and talk to your friends. I trust them, and I believe they will trust you too and make the right decision."

"……Um"

What she had witnessed and understood today was too shocking for Lin Yuxia, a top student. She still needed to digest it and reflect on her inner thoughts before she could truly get the answer.

The only thing Lin Yuxia could be thankful for was that the boy was by her side. But she also knew that the boy would not make decisions for her, he would just silently wait for her decision.

On the other side, outside the apartment——

"I'm sorry, old man. It seems your plan has failed. Because of that young man's interference, the young lady didn't fully realize the sins that the 'Dark Side of Dragon Gate' requires. She was unable to choose to withdraw today."

Mastema smiled and talked to the Rat King in the shadows.

"No, my daughter has found a very good 'teacher'. Besides—it turns out you also have unexpected existences. This makes me very curious, young messenger."

"Stop teasing me, Rat King."

"That boy—when did you start paying attention to him?"

"When... You'd better not try to find out the messenger's secrets. It will become very awkward."

"Haha, that's true."

The conversation ended, and the old man tapped the ground lightly with his cane. A stream of yellow sand instantly filled the alley.

As the sand and dust drifted away, the old man's figure gradually disappeared in the dust.

"Ahem! Why is the air quality in Longmen getting worse day by day...and the sand is full of hair."

As soon as Orsen walked out of the apartment with Lin Yuxia, he swallowed a mouthful of sand and immediately spat and complained.

"The mission is over, Orson, Miss Lin—although it's a little different from the original plan, it seems your father thinks this outcome is also good."

Mostima drove up to the two of them and said to them with a smile.

"my father……"

Lin Yuxia didn't say anything else. She vaguely understood what the Rat King wanted her to realize.

She has other "paths" to choose from, and she may not be suitable to continue on the path of "Daughter of the Rat King".

but……

Lin Yuxia glanced at Orson beside her and patted her cheek.

There are still many roads to go.

45. Exia Texas is so scary~ Unlike me, I only feel sorry for Giegie~

After the Guards arrived at the scene and completely took control of the apartment building, Orson and others sitting in the SUV quietly left the apartment building.

Lin Yuxia, who was sitting in the back seat, was exhausted from what she had witnessed before and the much more intense exercise than usual. The pink-haired mouse was now lying quietly on Orson's knees, her chest rising and falling evenly, maintaining a shallow and fragile sleep.

"You looked very handsome just now, Orson. The princess lying on your lap right now must be completely in love with you, right?"

Mostima, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced at the two people in the back seat, then said with a smile, as if jokingly.

"Dad Jidao, I already have a similar artificial missile launcher here... If possible, I still hope that Miss Lin can find someone more suitable."

Orson didn't dare to move his lower body while wiping the sweat off his face and responding in a low voice.

Orson heard that the Rat King was also a tough guy who had been in the underworld for many years. It was natural to feel at ease when such a person was the big brother, but if he was the "father-in-law"... then it could only be described as a tragedy.

It took Orson from the founding of the Integration Movement in the North, to the Checheng Incident, and finally to the brawl in Casimir, for the Patriots to truly and thoroughly identify with him.

Even so, sometimes when Xuetu tries to chat with him or fails to do XXX, he will still be fired at by the Patriots' human cannons...

Anyway, no more weird old guys, it’s really unbearable.

"It sounds like you have your own difficulties, Orson. But your performance has indeed exceeded my expectations."

"It's okay. The intensity of that conflict is completely different from the battles in the North."

Orson responded indifferently and poked Lin Yuxia's ears with his fingers. Although the latter had fallen asleep, it was obvious that her ears still had their own thoughts.

"Have you ever been in war?"

Mostima glanced at Orson and asked curiously.

"I have never experienced war in the broad sense, and I would not want to experience it if I could help it."

"Ha, because you're afraid of dying on the battlefield?"

"Because I'm afraid I might not be able to protect the people around me."

"..."

After hearing Orson's answer, the fallen angel fell into a brief silence. After a while, the blue-haired demon angel spoke again softly -

"You're right. No one can be sure they can protect anyone on the battlefield. I once thought I could easily protect her, but I failed. That's why I'm so angry about Exia—haha, I almost fell for your trick, Orson."

Mastema wanted to say something, but when she said the name of Archangel, she immediately interrupted herself with a smile.

"...?"

Orson blinked, knowing he had done nothing.

After Mastema forcibly cut off the previous topic of war, she talked to Orson about the recent operation.

"Your reasons back then weren't sufficient, Orson. Why did you choose to believe I wasn't slaughtering people wantonly? I'm curious. Are you the kind of person who can just laugh it off as long as someone has a cute face?"

"I'm not the kind of person who only cares about looks—well, okay, actually, something like what you're talking about has happened before."

Orson rubbed his hair a little embarrassedly. When he was in Qie City before, he faced W's attack, but he didn't eliminate the opponent directly simply because "the opponent was W".

Although W eventually joined Zaolu's camp, looking back now, his behavior at that time was extremely risky and naive.

"But this time I actually have a reason. You told me to listen to your melody before. Actually, I have already heard the melody playing in your heart, Miss Mostima."

"Really? Then please tell me, was that a hymn you heard, or was it the whisper of a demon?"

Mastema asked Orson with a smile, but there was a little more expectation in her eyes.

"Neither. Your melody... is incredibly peaceful, as if it doesn't cause any disturbances. Yet, beneath that calmness lies a subtle, piercing low hum, as if longing for punishment and judgment."

"...Ha, that's really too specific."

Mostima shrugged and did not continue the conversation. Orson, who was sitting in the back seat, did not notice that the smile on the fallen angel's face disappeared again.

"In short, your rationality has been very clear from beginning to end. You don't have the same intense obsession as a fanatic like the inner guards, and you're not someone who would resort to brutal means to kill. Therefore, I believe your actions have only one purpose: a performance specifically for Lin Yuxia, and that purpose... is probably related to her choice to inherit the Rat King's mantle."

"—You are completely different from what you appear, Orson."

"I obviously look like a cunning person!"

Orson raised his hand to protest, but Mostima laughed and said the protest was invalid.

——It seems that this young man had already seen through 7788 from the beginning. It is no coincidence that he was able to become "Silent".

"Lin Yuxia is indeed not ready for her own path, but that doesn't mean you should make choices for her, and you certainly shouldn't let her face death and blood in this way."

"Are you getting too deep into the teacher's play, Orson?"

"I really was a teacher for a while... Don't disbelieve me, Miss Mastema."

"Eh... is it early childhood education?"

Mostima showed a surprised expression, and happened to catch the red light at the intersection ahead. After stopping the car, she turned half of her body back to look at Orson, and her eyes clearly showed disbelief for the first time.

"Of course not! I-no, uh... wow... at least I'm an elementary school teacher!"

Orson retorted unhappily at first, then quickly became deflated.

If you think about it carefully, whether it was Inosasha or the other children, they were indeed very young at that time. Even the oldest Sasha (Faust) was only 17 this year.

"Then you must be very popular with the children, Mr. Orson?"

"Of course, everyone likes my crosstalk!"

"...?"

Orson responded with pride, but this answer was something Mostima couldn't do.

The two did not continue to talk after that, and the SUV returned to the door of Lin Yuxia's residence.

"Wake up, Miss Lin, we are back."

Orson gently pinched Lin Yuxia's ear and said.