The man in ordinary clothes didn’t notice he was being followed; instead, he walked leisurely, while Fang Zheng disguised as a couple with Princess Mira, trailing behind him.
"Why are we following this man?"
Looking at the man ahead, Mira curiously asked.
"It’s simple, because he might be connected to the organizer of the protests."
Fang Zheng leaned towards Mira’s ear and quietly explained.
"This person has been watching beside the crowd, but he neither shouts nor calls out. Clearly, he’s observing the response caused by the demonstration to report back to his master... Well, this is just my suspicion."
"So you don’t know either? What if we’re following the wrong person? Aren’t we wasting time?"
"Relax, we’ll soon find out if we’re right or wrong."
Just after Fang Zheng finished speaking, the man suddenly turned into an alley, and Fang Zheng wrapped his arm around Mira, following him in. But as soon as they stepped into the alley and hadn’t taken three steps, suddenly, two handguns were pressed against the back of their heads, one on each side.
"Don’t move!"
With a shout, two black-clad men, looking like bodyguards, emerged from the sidelines, and the man Fang Zheng and Mira had been following returned with a smile in front of them.
"Didn’t expect any old mice to follow me. Who are you? Judging by your look, you don’t seem like journalists... Could you be spies of the royal family?"
"You see."
However, Fang Zheng didn’t answer the man’s question, instead looked at Mira, shrugged.
"Didn’t I guess right? If he wasn’t guilty, why would he bring two bodyguards to deal with us, don’t you think?"
"You..."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the man’s expression slightly changed, but just then, Fang Zheng suddenly raised his hands, grabbed the wrists of the two bodyguards, and squeezed hard. With the sound of a scream, the guns fell from the bodyguards’ hands, and Fang Zheng simply lifted them like sandbags and tossed them at the man in front.
"Bang!!"
The two burly bodyguards collided directly with the man, then fell unconscious without a sound, while the man was pinned underneath, unable to speak. He struggled, trying to crawl out from beneath them, but the next moment, a cold handgun was pressed against his head.
"Alright, now it’s time for me to ask you the question, who are you working for? Why are you inciting demonstrations?"
"I... I..."
The man hesitated, wanting to say something, but Fang Zheng just stared at him, continuing to ask.
"Are you CIA? Or FBI?"
Facing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the man paused in silence, then responded.
"...I’m..."
"Oh, CIA."
But before the man could answer, Fang Zheng had already concluded on his own.
"So these demonstrations were also organized and planned by you. Must have spent quite a bit of money, right? Then can you tell me, why are you so intent on overthrowing the Visbania government?"
"....."
"Alright, you don’t know, then please, lead the way."
Fang Zheng shook the gun in his hand.
"Take us to see who knows the inside story, or you know the consequences."
".........."
The man hesitated for a moment, glanced at Fang Zheng’s gun, seemingly confirming he couldn’t escape from Fang Zheng, nodded, then turned and walked deeper into the alley, with Fang Zheng and Mira following him.
Under the man’s lead, Fang Zheng and Mira navigated through alley after alley, causing Mira to feel a bit dizzy, yet Fang Zheng remained calm. Just as the man turned into another alley, Fang Zheng suddenly raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
"Whoosh!!"
Accompanied by a light sound, a shadow suddenly fell in front of them, landing heavily on the ground. Witnessing this scene, Mira was shocked and covered her mouth, while Fang Zheng merely glanced at the fallen body, then shifted his gaze back to the leading man.
"My patience is limited and I don’t want a sightseeing tour with a man through the city."
"........"
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the man’s expression darkened, he gritted his teeth, then resumed walking forward. Mira cast a few more glances at the corpse, frowned, then quietly walked beside Fang Zheng, tugging on his sleeve.
"Answer your question after this is over."
Fang Zheng knew what Mira wanted to ask. CIA and FBI are famous, Mira naturally wouldn’t be unfamiliar with their names. But usually, they appear in movies, and now, they seem to be really appearing before her, possibly the prime culprit in overthrowing her country’s government, killing her mother and Elder Brother... It shocked Mira deeply.
"......Mm."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Mira nodded, saying nothing more, but her grip on Fang Zheng’s sleeve tightened even more.
After this, the man soon led Fang Zheng and Mira to a shabby underground parking lot located on a secluded street not far away. The parking lot seemed unused for a long time, without even guards, the barricades toppled over, and the man led them in directly.
The dim underground parking lot lacked lighting, the deeper they went, the more pitch black it became. Mira felt increasingly tense, hiding behind Fang Zheng, clinging tightly to his shirt, yet she had no intention of retreating.
"Close your eyes, stay behind me, and don’t move."
Suddenly, Fang Zheng whispered in her ear.
"Open them only when I tell you."
"Okay."
Mira replied softly, then closed her eyes, pressing tightly against Fang Zheng’s back. The next moment, she felt Fang Zheng stop walking, and simultaneously, a blinding white light suddenly appeared from the depths of the dark parking lot, shining towards them.
However, it lasted only a moment.
As the light appeared, Fang Zheng reached out, retrieving two handguns from his coat, aimed forward, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!!"
With the gunshot, the light immediately vanished, as brief as a lightning flash in the darkness. But what followed was entirely different.
Fang Zheng’s gunshot sounded like a starting signal; soon after, a barrage of gunfire erupted.
"Bang bang bang!!!"
"Rat-a-tat-tat!!!"
Listening to gunfire coming from all directions, Mira tightly clutched Fang Zheng’s clothes, closing her eyes and daring not to move. She felt as if she was on a battlefield under a rain of bullets, with gunshots everywhere and shouting, yet unable to hear anything clearly. She could even vaguely feel bullets whizzing past her.
Honestly, Mira felt her legs had lost their strength, unable to move, but this solid and reliable back in front of her gave Mira a sense of security, like the only tree sheltering her in a storm.
Not knowing how long it was, the storm ceased, and everything seemed to return to silence. It was only then that Fang Zheng’s voice rang out again.
"Alright, Miss Mira, you can open your eyes now; it seems we’ve been pretty lucky."
Trembling, Mira opened her eyes and looked ahead, and then she was stunned — parked in front of her was a truck, and on both sides of the truck lay several men in black suits, currently lying on the ground, unmoving, with weapons scattered all around.
A glow stick emitted a gentle white radiance, illuminating the pitch-black parking lot.
Not only that, among them, Mira saw a familiar, stout figure!
"Duke Gilad?"
"Seems our luck is extraordinary; we’ve caught someone red-handed."
Fang Zheng swapped a magazine, then walked slowly toward Duke Gilad, who was looking at him in terror. Whether it was because of the light or not, Duke Gilad’s face was pale, trembling all over. And seeing Princess Mira appear, he was even more startled.
"Why, why are you here?"
"That’s the question I should be asking you, Duke Gilad."
By now, Mira had regained her composure; she stepped out from behind Fang Zheng, glaring at Duke Gilad.
"Is it you? Did you plan all of this? Did you kill my mother and elder brother? I thought you just wanted the throne, but now, are you even cooperating with outsiders?"
"Hahaha... hahahaha!!"
Perhaps due to despair, Duke Gilad began laughing recklessly.
"Seems I was fooled by you, but it’s too late! Little girl, what do you think you can do? Yes, I killed your mother and brother, but it was for the nation! Do you understand? Ever since that stone was discovered, our fate was sealed!!"
As he spoke, veins bulged on Gilad’s forehead, glaring viciously at Mira.
"You don’t know anything; you don’t understand what Visbania is facing! Yes, I desire to be the ruler of this nation, but I don’t wish to be a king over ruins! But what choice do I have? I told your mother once, Visbania must grow strong to resist external threats. But your mother..."
While speaking, Gilad glared at Mira.
"Your mother, that foolish woman, refused my proposal just to protect the environment. Does she really understand what that means? Environment? What a joke! If we can’t protect ourselves, everything will be utterly destroyed: you, me, and this country!!"
Gilad shouted, pointing at the unconscious blonde man beside him.
"They are CIA, you know? I don’t want to work with them; do you know what conditions they offered me? But if I don’t agree, it would be the end of our nation! Do you understand? That protest was just the beginning!"
"Oh, so they want to fund the Rebel Army to stir internal chaos and seize power, is that it."
Compared to Mira, who was bewildered, Fang Zheng appeared much calmer.
After all, America wouldn’t play any game other than this.
"Exactly... "
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Duke Gilad smiled and reached out to Fang Zheng.
"I don’t know who you are, but I know you’re formidable. How about this? Join me in ruling this country; since you understand, you should know that if this ignorant little girl ascends the throne, it would be disastrous for the nation!!"
"........"
Hearing this, Mira couldn’t help but look worriedly at Fang Zheng, who merely shrugged.
"Sorry, while I understand what you mean, Her Royal Highness has already contracted with me, so what I must do now is honor the contract. Furthermore, with me here, I believe things won’t develop as you fear."
After saying that, Fang Zheng turned to Mira.
"Alright, Her Royal Highness, I think there’s no need for evidence or reasoning; it’s evident that Duke Gilad killed your mother and brother, he confessed just now, so......"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng handed her a pistol.
"How it ends is your decision."
"........"
Looking at the pistol before her, Princess Mira remained silent for a moment, then took the gun, walking step by step toward Duke Gilad.
"Wait, wait, Mira, you wouldn’t really kill me, would you."
Watching Mira approach, Duke Gilad’s expression changed dramatically. He struggled desperately, trying to retreat, but lying on the ground, he was unable to move.
Mira, wordless, raised the gun, aiming at Duke Gilad, then pulled the trigger.
"Bang!!"
The bullet grazed Duke Gilad’s ear, hitting the ground and sparking a fire, while he stared at the smoking muzzle in front of him, seemingly petrified with fear.
"I won’t kill you here."
Mira lowered the gun, glaring at Duke Gilad.
"I want you to stand trial; I want the whole nation to know it was you who killed Mother and Brother! Regardless of your reasons, whether for the nation or your ambitions, none of that matters now. What matters is that you killed my mother and brother, and you must pay for it!!"
After hearing this, Duke Gilad’s eyes rolled, and he fainted.
Fang Zheng paid no mind to this scene, but the words Duke Gilad spoke earlier didn’t escape his attention.
Although Gilad’s tone was poor, Fang Zheng could deduce that America is intent on having Visbania, and their actions are due to some stone discovered in Visbania?
What kind of stone is more valuable than oil?
Could it be, like in Lelouch’s District 11, a stone for building Gundams?
It seems there’s another secret hidden here.

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