Chapter 204 Puzzle
The man whose skull was nearly pierced by a bullet was not panicked at all. His smoky-gray eyes calmly reflected the chaotic meeting scene filled with screams.
"Calm down!" He used his voice, slightly hoarse from talking all day, to suppress the panic of all the representatives: "Everyone, stay away from the windows!"
Sure enough, after a while, several Shadow Chasers who rushed out brought back two participants who had just left the city hall. The other party's faces were pale, and they were still holding homemade bombs with extinguished fuses in their hands.
The man who had just tried to pull out a pistol to kill the ghost suddenly changed his expression - if he had not been stopped in time, he would have been blown into pieces along with the representatives from all walks of life in the city hall.
Azuka glanced at the assassin calmly, then leaned over and whispered softly, breathing deeply into the other man's ear: "Sir, are you hurt?"
The other person subconsciously shuddered, frowned slightly, and moved his lips, as if wanting him not to get so close - but in the end, he just said coldly, "It's okay."
Meanwhile, the Shadow Chasers have returned to their old ways. The gunmen aren't professionals, but civilians bribed by money. After being stabbed in the leg by his own gun, he can't handle the pain and collapses, revealing the mastermind behind the attack.
Chamber of Commerce.
Arranging the assassination was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision; it simply meant that the director's attendance at the meeting was a formality. Port Morris's major merchants were keenly aware that allowing this nascent political party to grow would inevitably impact the Chamber's core interests. Nipping it in its bud was the best way to maximize their profits.
It’s just that the “business war” in this world seems more primitive, brutal and bloody.
The expressions of the representatives from all walks of life in Port Morris changed dramatically. The vast majority of people here were civilians, workers employed by the factories controlled by the Chamber of Commerce. Many were worried about losing their jobs—but they had never imagined that the Chamber of Commerce would be so ruthless and resolute, completely disregarding the number of innocent people in the city hall.
"Everyone, Port Morris has officially entered a state of war." Ghost placed his hands on the podium and announced with remarkable calmness, "The military will blockade the Chamber of Commerce's warehouses before dawn. The People's Party will take over the shipyards, mobilize the militia, confiscate strategic assets, and implement a rationing system."
His shadow was stretched so long by the kerosene lamp that it almost reached the ceiling.
"I know that many of you here have received promises or real benefits."
Those smoky gray eyes, seemingly seeing through everything, slowly scanned everyone present, their icy gleam more chilling than the cold light reflected from a blade. Many felt uneasy under his gaze, some even lowered their heads. "I understand Port Morris doesn't trust a new political party, nor does it believe it can truly change anything—this is perfectly normal. One day, the facts will prove everything."
"But there's one thing I need to tell you." Ghost's fingers drummed heavily on the table. His voice was low, but the cold, bloody tone in it startled everyone present. "Anyone who attempts to undermine the existing achievements of the revolution is an enemy of the People's Party."
With three gunshots, all the assassins died instantly, their brains and blood spilling onto the ground. In the suffocating silence, only the black-haired young man's voice echoed clearly.
"——We will show no mercy to our enemies."
…
"Did you anticipate the Chamber of Commerce would send assassins?" Greven couldn't help but whisper to the man after the meeting. Before the meeting, the man had only instructed him to arrange for the slave army to quietly surround the Chamber of Commerce's major warehouses, and then casually told him that the stalemate would end after the meeting.
"It's obvious." The other man rubbed his brow with a hint of weariness, finally revealing a hint of fatigue. "Provoke me a few more times, and someone will inevitably be tempted to take action. Killing me and causing a stir within the party is much simpler and more tempting than allowing the factory to shut down and the gold coins to evaporate day by day."
Greven opened his mouth, but ultimately resisted the urge to ask—was the gunman deliberately let in by the young man in front of him who looked as pale as a ghost?
He was no fool. The slave army, the coordinated protection, the calm and swift reaction... This gentleman seemed different from what he had imagined. Greven couldn't help but give the black-haired young man a deep look.
The other party was not a pure scholar with a head full of idealistic and naive ideas. He was even more far-sighted, ruthless and decisive than he had imagined.
…But that’s exactly what a good leader needs, isn’t it?
After Greven left, Nova suddenly felt warm. The early spring night was still chilly, and someone draped a cloak, still warm from body heat, around him, carefully tying the straps around his neck. He subconsciously raised his head, letting the other person's knuckles occasionally touch his chin, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be angry with someone.
Recently everyone is so busy that they can't do anything, and they wish one person could do the work of ten people, so he has no time to argue with others.
The Savior's voice, tinged with laughter, softly flowed into his ears: "Were those who threw the bombs later really assassins from the Chamber of Commerce?"
"You already know everything, why are you still asking?" The professor snorted coldly. Judging by the other party's keenness, he probably already knew the answer in his mind: "The Chamber of Commerce is not so stupid as to directly put itself in opposition to the entire Hong Kong people. Do they still want to do business?"
He was just taking advantage of the situation to put all the blame on the Chamber of Commerce to reduce the resistance to subsequent policies.
The other party withdrew his hand and pondered for a moment: "Let me guess...Ruskin family?"
Nova glanced at him: "Why don't you guess that I arranged it?"
Azuka looked at his old enemy with a smile: "If it was you who arranged it, those two wouldn't have died."
After all, his professor is actually a very principled and reasonable person to some extent.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, a certain savior continued to make small talk: "That kid Daniga looks scared."
"The Shadow Chasers didn't do a good job this time, but this is just the right time to fill in the gaps and help them practice combat to keep their nerves sharp." The visitor from another world tutted his tongue and said with a rather arrogant and picky tone, "You locals all have a problem: you rely too much on magic. This time I only used a simple trick, and no one actually noticed. If this happens again, it won't be as easy to resolve as it is now."
The "locals" who were suddenly caught in the wide-area map cannon said: "...I think the 'little tricks' you mentioned are definitely not something that ordinary people can easily see through."
"Don't flatter me." The professor lowered his head to continue sorting through the documents, coldly rejecting the other party's calm sweet talk. However, his tone became almost gentle. "You should go and rest too. We have a tough battle to fight next."
“…”
Someone gently hooked his chin, forcing him to look deep into those extremely beautiful and brilliant blue pupils.
"What about me?" The man put his forehead against his and asked softly. A sense of danger suddenly made Nova's back tingle: "Have I done well enough, sir?"
He was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "You did a great job."
As good as ever, just like the evaluation he was initially given - the male protagonist of the comics, good.
The black-haired young man frowned and reached out his hand, trying to push away the other person's face that was too close: "Don't get so close, your breath is too itchy."
But this time his resistance didn't work like before. The other person grabbed his hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it: "Please praise me more."
The blond young man asked, or rather demanded, without any hesitation.
His old enemy looked a little stunned, as if he had never expected to receive such an answer.
But the other party was unexpectedly obedient. After hesitating for a moment, he actually spoke: "You are very strong and reliable. With you around, many problems have been solved. It is very reassuring..."
He probably seldom did this kind of thing. After praising him dryly for a long time, he fell silent again. Finally, I couldn't help but frown and look at him, as if asking if these compliments were enough.
Azuka couldn't help but lean over and gently kissed the other's eyes, gently and patiently whispering to his old enemy: "You should say you can't leave me."
"...I can't leave you."
"You can't live without me."
"I can't live without you."
The savior's voice gradually lowered, with a strong hint of temptation: "Say... you love me."
This time, the answer he got was silence. Those smoky-gray eyes looked at him calmly, peaceful and sober, like a moon overlooking the world.
“…”
Azuka slowly lowered his eyes and sighed silently.
He held the man's cheeks, kissed his forehead gently and solemnly, then stood up and took a step back.
"Sorry." The blond youth gave a helpless smile. "I was too impatient, wasn't I?"
"It's late, you should rest." He put the hood on the man and then stretched out his hand to his nemesis as if nothing had happened: "Come, I'll take you home."
"—Azuka, I will keep an eye on you."
The Savior was stunned.
His moon reached out her hand to him, but instead of grabbing his hand, she grabbed his collar, forcing him to bend down slightly and looking directly into those extremely calm smoky gray eyes.
"I don't understand what love is. I can only promise that I will always look at you. I will use all the rationality that I am proud of to truly and permanently look at you, no matter if you are a human, a god, or the so-called, ridiculous 'male protagonist' in a damn 'comic'."
As a scholar, the professor always maintained absolute reverence and composure for the truth. This also meant that he would never go against the final conclusion he had reached after careful consideration and rigorous reasoning, even if the subject of the identification was another person, or even himself.
"Because I can't live without you. I can't live without you."
——The habit has been deeply ingrained in his bones, and he can no longer determine who is the culprit, whether it is the other party's excessive demands or his own continuous concessions and indulgence.
"Because you are my only and most dangerous bet for the future."
——He couldn't accept a future without the other person, either rationally or emotionally.
"Because you are...my puzzle."
——A mystery that forced him to keep thinking and seeking evidence, until he was finally completely trapped in it.
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