About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

The first message was sent by Orson, which meant that Hei was safe for the time being, and that he also had the opportunity to "meet" the mastermind behind the scenes, so there was no need to worry about Miss Hei's safety.

"Haaaa... Because of you, you idiot, I wasn't worried in the first place, okay?"

Kal'tsit sighed and looked at the next text message.

The second message was sent by the profiteer Klushier.

"Yohoo~ How's your trip, our great and all-knowing Minister of Medical Affairs of Rhodes Island? Do you need any o-repellent? If not, then I recommend this stroller. It's only 8% off right now, while supplies last! Also, I've sent you the catnip solution you asked me to prepare. The reason I wrote on the shipping document was 'chemical reagent preparation,' but those who understand will understand. I can only advise you to think twice before you act. According to Froststar's testimony, Orson's physique is actually very fragile. Don't let anything get out of hand~"

"...It's decided. When we get back, I'll send you to study at Kanbridge University with Warfarin."

After reading it, Kal'tsit deleted the text message with veins all over her forehead. She wanted to kill Kal'sil and at the same time she felt disgusted with herself for having to look for catnip again.

But... isn't Orson really good at that? How did Lucille get this kind of testimony...

Kal'tsit pondered for a moment. It seemed that according to Froststar's words, Orson's physique was not very good. If... ahem, if it really came to "that", she should be a little more careful.

Then don't summon M3 to pin Orson down on the bed, just do it yourself.

Kal'tsit analyzed the bad things seriously. According to her, no matter what you do, you must first investigate and make a plan, and that kind of thing is no exception.

Of course, what Kal'tsit didn't know was that Froststar's testimony was a little bit "subjective", which caused Kal'tsit to make some small errors.

And these errors... caused Kal'tsit a lot of trouble later, but that's a story for later.

After deleting Klothir's text message, Eyjafjalla, the Scourge scholar and the client of this case, called.

"Dr. Kal'tsit? I just received the text message you sent me. I was attending a seminar. I'm so sorry...!"

A soft-sounding girl's voice came from the other end of the line.

"It doesn't matter. As a scholar, I often have to attend various meetings."

"Yeah, those purely academic seminars are fine, but I often come across strange meetings held solely for the purpose of obtaining research funding... A colleague, wanting to update their equipment, even held a seminar to discuss the possibility of raising funds for my idol's debut... Ahem, anyway, Dr. Kal'tsit, thank you so much for accepting the commission. Unfortunately... that volcano is exactly as I expected, in a critical state where it's not surprising to erupt at any time."

Even through the phone, Kal'tsit could "see" the shy, angry, panicked and serious expression of Eyjafjalla on the other end.

Although Eyjafjalla has considerable achievements in natural disaster environmental studies, she herself is a simple, student-like person with no scheming.

"Anyway, get out of there quickly, Dr. Kal'tsit! This is the first time I've encountered such a volcanic situation. I'll try to contact the local disaster messenger and issue an emergency disaster warning—"

"Don't count on that Messenger of Natural Disaster. He's the culprit behind this situation, in a sense. Besides, I can't leave here yet. I'm the only one who can try to solve the volcano problem."

Kal'tsit flatly rejected Eyjafjalla's proposal.

"Even so..."

"Compared to those, the values I'm monitoring here are actually a bit strange. Could it be that an erupting volcano fluctuates around the critical value in a very regular manner?"

Kal'tsit asked, looking at the surveillance screen in front of her.

"Probably... no, can you let me see the real-time data?"

Kal'tsit reported the data from real-time monitoring, while Eyjafjalla on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds.

"Although it sounds a bit strange, um... this value doesn't sound like the critical fluctuation of a standard volcano. Instead, it sounds more like... the heartbeat of some living creature."

"—"

After hearing Eyjafjalla's analysis, Kal'tsit was stunned.

--------

On the other side, there is an abandoned mine some distance away from the volcano.

Orson and Hei were standing at the entrance of the mine, waiting for the vehicle sent by Cronin to pick them up.

"Come to think of it, is that really okay? I've tied those guys up, but as long as you give the order, I can kill them in a way that causes them the most pain... Ugh!"

Orson frowned and asked Hei, he was a little dissatisfied with Hei's decision to let these bodyguards go.

However, when Orson was halfway through his words, Hei reached out and placed his hand on Orson's hair and rubbed it gently.

"Don't do that, Orson. I appreciate your anger, but... I don't want you to act like that."

"okay."

Hei spoke to Orson in a calm and even gentle tone, and Orson nodded.

"If Xiosta's volcano erupts, these people, bound hand and foot to the abandoned prospecting machine, will be swallowed by the magma. If this crisis is resolved, they will be held accountable for their crimes. Either outcome is acceptable to me."

"I understand, but... well, I'm sorry for making you dress like this..."

Orson said that he understood Hei's feelings, and then looked at Hei a little embarrassedly.

At this time, Hei was wearing a thin shirt, and his whole body looked like a hostage who had just been tortured, but not to the extent of exceeding the limits of book 404.

In short, he still looked a little embarrassed at first glance, but Hei's slightly stern face did not give the impression of a hostage at all.

"It's okay. This is just a necessary disguise. On the other hand, Orson, are you really okay?"

Hei instead looked at Orson with some concern. Although Orson was disguised at this time by wearing a suit and sunglasses, he did not look like a bodyguard at all.

"Don't worry! I have a 'Chimera' physique. Strangers will take me in as someone they know, and if I wear certain clothing, it can even be used as a lure. Cronin will definitely have someone unfamiliar with the person make the handover, otherwise there's no need to go out of his way to find someone to meet them, so it's no problem~"

Orson gave himself a thumbs up, while Hei looked at Orson thoughtfully and nodded.

"I see... No wonder I can't touch the feathers next to your ear, Orson. You're not Liberi, right?"

"Well, I was an Ursus before I became a Chimera. And Miss Hei, don't try to touch the sensitive parts of another race..."

Orson complained quietly. He knew that the feathers on both sides of the ears were particularly sensitive for the Liberian race.

While the two were chatting, an SUV drove over and the driver was also wearing a suit and sunglasses.

"Only you?"

The driver stopped the car beside the two of them and asked after glancing at Orson.

"Others have other work and have left for the time being."

Orson, who had already prepared for it, responded calmly and fluently, and at the same time used the voice of one of the people whose balls were shot.

"Oh, then get in the car—Mr. Director, hehe... You look really embarrassed."

The driver looked at Hei, whose hands were "cuffed", with a blatant look next to Orson.

"You're such a lucky guy! I bet you and the Director must have had a lot of fun with them before? You even took off your underwear. It's really—Ugh!?"

The driver stretched out one hand towards Hei's chest, but the moment he reached out, Orson grabbed his wrist tightly.

"She is a very important cargo. Nothing can go wrong before she is handed over to Lord Cronin—do you understand?"

“…Tsk, I get it!”

The driver originally wanted to retort, but even through his sunglasses, he still felt a chilling aura from the short guard.

"Then get in the car!"

The driver didn't say anything in the end and could only unlock the rear driver's door.

Orson got in first and took the driver's seat. Then he subconsciously reached out to hold Hei's hand, and he was stunned by this muscle memory.

"Very handsome, Orson."

As for the "hostage", he smiled briefly, then got into the car together and whispered in Orson's ear.

"Speaking of which, how are you going to leave here?"

After getting in the car, Orson casually chatted with the driver.

"Leaving where? Cronin said he'd give me a house and 50 Lungmen coins after this, so I'm not leaving."

"That's it..."

Orson pretended to nod, and understood one thing from this conversation.

These so-called 'Kronin faction bodyguards' were actually just pawns being used. They didn't even realize that Xiosta was on the brink of destruction.

"—"

Orson looked at Hei, and the latter nodded as if he understood.

From any perspective, that incompetent messenger of disaster needs to be brought to justice.

Vehicles were driving on the road at a speed close to the speeding limit, and looking out the window, tourists from all over the country were wholeheartedly enjoying the Obsidian Festival, which combines the seaside, music and food.

——If they knew their lives could end at any moment, would they still show such an expression? Definitely not.

——Then… ‘Doctor’ clearly knew that her life could end at any time, so why did she always have a smiling expression in my fragmented memory?

Before Orson could find the answer, everyone had arrived at their destination, a rarely visited port, and a medium-sized sailing ship was anchored on the sea not far from the port.

That's right. In a place like this, as long as you have enough fuel, you can at least easily run to the border of the city-state and escape from the spreading magma.

I have to say that this guy named Cronin has made very thorough plans.

But speaking of "plans", Kal'tsit should understand better than anyone that such a thing as a "foolproof plan" - it was impossible to exist from the beginning.

Orson "escorted" Hei to the sailboat by speedboat, and Cronin was already waiting on the deck.

"——Miss!"

Hei immediately noticed Ceylon sitting in a chair nearby. Fortunately, she didn't have any injuries on her body. Perhaps Cronin also knew that no matter what he did to Ceylon, it would be ineffective.

"What a truly touching reunion, Director. I admire your loyalty, but I admire even more that you, despite saying such shameful and undignified words, can still seriously want to find your master. Haha!"

"I didn't say that..."

Hei complained quietly, then checked the defense situation around Cronin.

"Well, at least demonstrate the master-servant bond behind you two at the end and make your young lady obediently hand over her shares/account passwords and the contract."

Cronin smiled as he walked towards Hei, when he noticed a problem.

——Wait, why does this guy's body look so... healthy?

Before Cronin could react, Hei suddenly undid the handcuffs, and the short bodyguard next to him suddenly rushed over, grabbed Cronin's face with one hand, and slammed his head hard on the deck.

"Orson!!"

Ceylon, who was standing by, recognized the guard's true identity through his sunglasses.

——Who is Orson?!

Cronin, who was pinned to the ground, was full of questions. In the script in which he had written the ending for everyone, there was no "passerby" with this name.

27. Brave hero, I will betroth the princess to you.

"what happened--!?"

"It's an attack!"

"Damn it, I knew it—attack, attack!!"

“This bastard!?”

The sudden change on the sailboat made the surrounding guards unable to react for a moment what was happening.

Originally, this was just a rare "performance" where one could witness the usually cold-blooded Security Bureau Chief and her beloved daughter being brutally tortured and eventually abandoned. However, with the sudden attack of the short guard, the nature of the event changed instantly.

Several bodyguards in the distance panicked and raised their crossbows to try to aim at Hei and Orson, but Hei immediately pulled out a dagger he had prepared in advance from behind his clothes, and with powerful and precise throwing techniques, he easily pierced through the backs of the hands of several bodyguards holding the triggers.

"Ugh!!"

“My hand, damn, my hand—!!”

The bodyguards immediately screamed and dropped the crossbow arrows to the ground, while screaming and holding their palms that had been pierced by the dagger.

The bodyguards who were closer to the two men drew their batons and daggers and rushed towards Orson.

"You bastard—Bang-Puh!!"

dong dong dong! !

Several bodyguards rushed towards Orson while yelling, but they didn't even have time to close the distance to swing their daggers before the rest symbol controlled by Orson entangled the fishing box beside them and swung it like a hammer, knocking several people flying and hitting the wall of the boat, knocking them unconscious on the spot.

In less than 5 seconds, the position on the sailboat was reversed. Hei, who was originally surrounded by the guards and had no ability to fight back and could only be used as a hostage until the last moment, became the only one who could move in the sight.

"Miss, please don't move. I'll help you untie the restraints. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I made you and the master suffer like this... I'm sorry. I should have protected you, but I—Puff."

Hei untied the tie on Ceylon's wrist and kept apologizing to Ceylon with a regretful expression.

However, Hei was interrupted by Ceylon's hug before he was halfway through his words.

No, it wasn't a hug, it was more like Ceylon just slammed into Hei's chest with all his strength with his arms open.