About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice what was going on with Lappland, I—"

"It's not your fault, Orson. The 'past' between Lappland and I will come back to haunt us one day, and for Lappland, it just happened to be today.

Texas interrupted Orson's self-blame. The young man had no connection with Syracuse and the Sicilian Gang, but he still chose to help himself and Lapland without hesitation.

In fact, she shouldn't have told Orson about this... But for Texas, she just wanted someone to accompany her and face the past disasters that were approaching her and Lappland.

This lone wolf barely even hesitated, instinctively seeking help from Orson. If Texas had been in this situation a month ago, she would have chosen to shoulder it all on her own...

No, if it weren't for Orson, Texas might still not be aware of Lappland's twisted "care" for him, and it would be even more impossible for him to notice Lappland's abnormality like he did today.

"I see. Anyway, let's first check if there are any marks left around."

"Well, you're right, Orson. Lappland is definitely not someone who will sit still and wait for death. Even if she is really killed, she will definitely tear a piece of flesh off the other party."

Texas nodded. Because of the sense of security that Orson provided, Texas temporarily put aside his inner anxiety and began to search for possible traces of Lappland in the chaotic church ruins with Orson.

"...!"

Not long after, Texas really found the mark left by Lappland, but when she saw the [mark], she was stunned.

"Found anything, Texas?"

Orson noticed something strange about Texas and immediately rushed over to ask if there was any progress.

Texas was holding a piece of bench in his hand, with a slight scratch on it made by a fingernail.

"It's a message from Lappland! But... what does it mean?"

Orson frowned as he looked at the symbols on the wooden fragments, while Texas beside him slightly opened his lips.

"This is one of the communication symbols that Lappland and I used to use together, and the meaning of this symbol is—"

“[Take care of yourself]. This guy has no intention of providing any useful information!!”

Texas shouted, and at this moment she finally caught a glimpse of what Lappland had done for her countless times in Syracuse: silent, as if jokingly finishing up what she had caused, but never speaking to her.

"..."

After hearing from Texas about the meaning of this symbol, Orson also fell silent.

He recalled the faint despair of self-sacrifice and exile that had hidden in Lapland's melody since he first met her.

Perhaps from the moment Lapland arrived in Longmen, she had already prepared for the one-way journey.

She came to Longmen not to hunt down Texas or to earn commission, but to witness the new life Texas had chosen, and to use her own life as a bargaining chip to protect the future of this girl who had the same experience as herself but had the courage to try to climb out of hell.

She planned to sacrifice herself to slow down the Sicilian gang, because Laplande knew very well that Texas already had Penguin Logistics and herself.

—What a joke, you silly dog! How could I just leave you like this?! I haven't even had time to settle accounts with you for what you've done to me!

Orson clenched his fists. He would never allow Lappland to choose the stupidest path for himself and Texas.

For Orson, the guy he hates the most is the one who says he is thinking about others but acts recklessly for his own benefit and even intends to sacrifice himself.

Orson used to be such a person, but after experiencing various events and realizing his importance to the people around him, Orson would never again sacrifice himself under the pretext of protecting others.

"It's not over yet, Texas. Let's get this stupid dog back. Then you hold her limbs down while I pour mustard into her nose."

"Orson... do you know where Lapland is?"

Texas looked at Orson and asked quietly.

"I don't know either, but maybe someone can help us. Remember one thing, Texas, you are not alone now. I will stay with you until we get that stupid dog back."

Orson looked at Texas and said in an extremely firm tone.

"...Well, I believe you, Orson."

Texas nodded to Orson, and this was the first time Texas had seriously expressed his trust in someone.

She believed that this boy could save Lappland, and she believed that this boy could allow her to no longer live as a 'lone wolf'.

After gaining Texas' trust, Orson took out his cell phone and made a call.

There must be clues to find Lappland's whereabouts in this church, but I can't find it by myself. In this case... I can only try to ask for help from someone who is more professional.

----------

----------

More than ten minutes later, a gantry taxi stopped at the door of the church. Orson certainly sensed the message. He and Texas tried their best to maintain the scene while waiting for help to arrive.

However, a minute later, the 'helper' still did not show up, but Orson's phone received a text message:

[Jingzhe: I'm carrying Yan Country currency... and now I can't get out of the car. Please save me, Orsen!]

Is this expert really reliable?

"I'm really sorry to trouble you, Sister Jingzhe...but Texas and I are facing a very difficult problem now."

After Orson went out, paid the fare, and claimed the electric Qilin, everyone gathered in the church to explain the current situation.

"Miss Texas's friend is being hunted by the Sicilian Gang, and even her personal safety may be threatened? This is outrageous! Leave it to me, Orson!"

As Orsen's "adopted sister," Jingzhe had promised Orsen she would help him yesterday, and now that he's asked her to do something, she's naturally full of energy. Furthermore, because Jingzhe had met Texas before and had a good impression of him, and because he was also connected to the Sicilian Gang, the Dali Temple's Elite Inspectorate instantly activated 1000% focus, pulling out a pair of glasses from nowhere and putting them on, and without a word, began investigating the case.

"Most of the chopping marks have different angles and forces. Preliminary estimates suggest there were between five and eight people here."

"There are obvious kick marks on the lower half of the door, but there are also fresh marks on the handle. This may mean that a second suspect entered the scene during the latter part of the incident. This person is most likely a witness. However, the dirt leaving the doorway does not have the wide strides of someone fleeing, so they may also be the mastermind of the attack."

"..." "..."

Jingzhe used various tools to survey the scene and methodically analyzed and restored the situation at that time.

In less than 10 minutes, Jingzhe took off his glasses, walked out of the church and went to the convenience store across the street, and obviously took out his Dali Temple employee card to ask his boss for surveillance permission.

Fortunately, just before Jingzhe handed over his employee card, Orsen came and pushed it back (and got a shock by the way). Then Orsen used Shi Huaiya's name to trick the boss into handing over the surveillance video.

"We were looking for a group of about eight people... and we found it."

Jingzhe instructed Orsen to operate the computer, and sure enough, a group of men in black were found around 11 o'clock last night.

But that was all, and the crowd was unable to get any more information from these people.

"Do you want to continue looking for other surveillance equipment?"

Texas asked from the sidelines.

"That's too slow. There are many blind spots around this church. Perhaps we have other means...here."

Jingzhe signaled the Orson Exhibition Hall to suspend the surveillance system, and the person passing by the convenience store on the screen was a man wearing a black windbreaker and a fedora.

"This man should be the one who entered the church later. Judging from his gait and demeanor, he must be an extremely confident leader."

"Can you even see these things... Sister Jingzhe?"

Orson opened his eyes wide and looked at Jingzhe. He had never thought that someone could read so much information just from the way a person walked.

"In addition to examining files at the Dali Temple, I also help the Censorate adjudicate cases. This is just basic competence. Take Orsen, for example. The way you walk, it's obvious that you're trying to appear tall."

"Don't talk about this kind of thing!"

"Yeah, I can feel it too."

"Texas, you're also finishing off the enemy!?"

Orson was in tears, while Jingzhe suddenly noticed something on the monitor.

"Wait—here, zoom in."

Orson zoomed in on the area Jingzhe pointed to and found that the man put something in a glass bottle into the trash can in front of the convenience store.

"This is a bottle of beer... What's wrong, Sister Jingzhe?"

"The garbage is collected every morning, right? It would be great if we could find the real thing, but if I'm not mistaken, there's a regular hexagonal mark on the bottle, which means it's a certified Abbey beer."

"monastery……?"

"Ah, I saw this last night when I was staying up all night cramming information on Longmen. There's only one Lateran-certified monastery in Longmen."

[The leader of the Sicilian gang who took Lappland away had a bottle of beer unique to Lungmen Monastery] - this was the valuable clue that Jingzhe could deduce.

Texas and Orson were extremely excited, but Jingzhe immediately added another sentence.

"But places like monasteries are generally secluded, making it difficult to sneak in. Plus, due to Lateran's political power, Longmen and Yan Country are reluctant to interfere openly. In other words, we need to find a way to sneak in."

"..." "..."

Texas and Orson looked at each other, and then they seemed to think of something.

Then, Orson immediately shook his head desperately.

66. There are more Orsons in strange costumes

"So, is there something wrong with this development...?"

Through Jingzhe's terrifying reasoning and analysis, everyone got the most critical clue about Lappland's attack - the monastery built by Lateran in Longmen.

After confirming this invaluable clue, everyone returned to the church. Jingzhe was a little curious; she didn't know why Orson had been acting so panicked since hearing they needed to infiltrate the monastery.

After seeing Texas dragging Orson into a corner to discuss something, Jingzhe couldn't help but find Orson and told him something she had always been concerned about:

"Orson, although it may be a little harsh for me to say this... but are you and that friend in Texas being targeted because you're involved in prostitution, gambling, and drugs?"

"Well……?"

Faced with Jingzhe's serious question, Orsen rubbed his hair awkwardly.

What did Lappland say? I don't know if she was involved in gambling, but it's clear she was into pornography and drugs. (The "pornography" refers to something obvious, and the "drug" refers to the withdrawal effects of Chimaera Blood.)

"I'll ask Texas to be a little more careful with her friends... She might have, uh, gone astray."

Orsen could only use ambiguous words to evade the question, and Jingzhe nodded while saying, "Orsen, you can't touch those things." She looked more like an old woman than a 'sister-in-law'.

After explaining Jingzhe's doubts briefly, Texas found Orson again on the other side, and his tone was even stronger than before.

"Orson, we don't have time to hesitate. The situation in Lappland is completely unpredictable. All we can do is go to the monastery to investigate. And as I just said, if the monastery has really become a hideout for the Sicilian Gang, then my identity will be inadequate for infiltration. The only candidate is you - in summary, quickly put on your nun uniform!"

Texas showed his true colors at the end and stuffed the nun's uniform that Orson accidentally found when they were double-teamed in the church pool into Orson's arms.

"I know you're so impatient, Texas, because you're worried about Lappland, but I always feel like your motives are a little impure...!"

Orson fought back desperately. He had already caused enough trouble the last time he dressed up as a maid. The most important thing was that when he thought about it afterwards, he was so shy that he wanted to find a sewer to crawl into.

Wearing a nun's outfit now... I will never agree to it no matter what!

Seeing Orson's resolute attitude, Texas was slightly stunned, but she soon came up with a countermeasure:

"Orson, you're the only one I can rely on—"

Texas first closed his eyes slightly, then slowly opened them and looked at Orson, and at the same time, in a voice that sounded a little weak, he posed a low profile and "pleaded" to Orson.

"...Okay, I get it, but let me make it clear, this is the only time I'll do it!"

Orson, who had clenched his fists and vowed to defend his masculinity to the death the previous second, gave up in an instant after seeing the helpless look in Texas.

After all, in Orson's impression, Texas had always been an extremely independent and strong girl. The contrast caused by a girl with such a personality showing such a helpless expression was naturally devastating. He immediately sank Orson at the speed of light.

- I'm sorry, Orson, please forgive me for using such despicable means... But this sentence is true, you are really the only one Lappland and I can rely on.

Texas thought with some guilt in his heart, and guiltily turned on the camera function of his mobile phone in advance.

Jingzhe on the side was a little curious. From her perspective, Orson and Texas talked about something, and then Orson put on an expression of heroic sacrifice and walked into the inner room of the church carrying a small bag.

Jingzhe was about to ask Texas what was going on, but before she could ask, the figure who walked out of the half-open door dispelled Jingzhe's doubts.

"Hmm... Honestly, this seems strange to me...! This definitely won't work, right? We still have time, how about we discuss other options...?"

The creature that was originally "Orson" cautiously poked half of its body out from behind the door and spoke intermittently.

"Orson?"

Jingzhe took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, trying to confirm that the "figure" he saw in his field of vision was the younger brother he had adopted in Longmen.

Orson behind the door finally gritted his teeth and came out. He was wearing a long hat made of black silk-like material and a thin black dress. The hem of the dress would even rise slightly as Orson walked, sticking to his skin and revealing the outline of his legs.

"It's really weird, isn't it, Texas...! Also, Sister Jingzhe, um... don't get me wrong, I... I... I don't have any special fetishes!"

Orson complained loudly to Texas, and then immediately explained to Jingzhe that he was not a pervert with a strange fetish for cross-dressing.

"Well……"