Chapter 223

"..."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Shirou's lips twitched slightly.

The other party did indeed know about the contract he had signed with the Knights of the Round Table. Luckily, he hadn't said anything inappropriate, or he would be in an awkward situation now.

As for what the other person said next, Shirou didn't pay much attention to it.

Isv had explained to Wei Yanwu all the hidden exchanges of interests between him and his boss.

After all, the exchange of benefits only occurred because he was accidentally sold out, so he certainly has the right to know.

Penguin Logistics is relatively open in this respect. In other places, Shirou might have been squeezed dry of all his profits, yet he still wouldn't know what he was doing!

Soon, the Slums group led by Lin Yuxia met with the Rhodes Island group.

Besides Amiya and the others that Shirou just saw, Rhine Lab International and FrostNova, who had cooperated with him last time, were also waiting on the side fully armed.

You can even see the somewhat Feline woman standing to the side. Shirou remembers her, since she also seemed quite nervous when he last met her.

Meanwhile, the Vayf woman holding the large axe appeared quite calm, like a seasoned veteran.

But as far as Shirou remembers it... the always nervous Feline woman seems to be the veteran, while the other Vayf woman seems to be the newcomer.

"Are you from Rhodes Island?"

Looking at the group of nine people in front of her, Lin Yuxia stepped forward and asked.

She remembered that when Chen mentioned these people, his tone was somewhat resentful.

"Ah, yes, we are Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, I am Amiya, the squad leader for this operation."

Upon hearing Lin Yuxia's question, Amiya first looked in Shirou's direction and received an OK sign before giving a brief self-introduction.

"...?"

After hearing Amiya's self-introduction, Lin Yuxia's gaze first swept over Ace, Scout, Huang, and others standing to the side.

Even Shirou could see that there seemed to be many question marks on the other person's seemingly calm face.

208 Before Operation

Imagine you're surrounded by a group of adults, and there are two children among them. One of them tells you she's the team leader. Wouldn't you be confused?

Lin Yuxia is now in a state of confusion.

"Ahem, this is Amiya, the leader of Rhodes Island and also the squad leader for this operation. This is Lin Yuxia... a regular customer of my shop?"

Seeing Lin Yuxia looking confused and Amiya not knowing how to address each other, Shirou stepped in to ease the tension.

"?????"

After hearing Shirou's explanation, Lin Yuxia had even more questions.

Had she heard correctly? Was this little rabbit the leader of the pharmaceutical company on Rhodes Island?

"Ms. Lin Yuxia, is it alright if I address you like this? May I ask what your intentions are...?"

Compared to Lin Yuxia, who was full of questions, Amiya didn't have this problem. As an excellent squad leader, she was good at reading the room. Looking at the people behind Lin Yuxia, she still needed to find out their purpose for coming here.

"Phew... I just came to check on things here, it doesn't look good."

Lin Yuxia, brought back to reality by Amiya's question, took a breath to calm herself down and accepted this seemingly absurd reality.

At the same time, his gaze swept around the surroundings.

She remembered this place as a relatively secluded dwelling, the kind where hardly anyone would come.

This is a good thing; fewer people coming and staying means fewer people will be affected.

The already dilapidated buildings have become completely uninhabitable, and can only await reconstruction.

From the sound of the explosion and the scene, Lin Yuxia could imagine what it was like right after the explosion.

It's fortunate that only Shirou showed signs of being bombed; everyone else seemed relatively clean.

"Fortunately, Mr. Shirou was there, so we didn't encounter too much trouble. Moreover, the other party's location has been determined, and now we are just waiting for the Knights of the Round Table to go and deal with it."

After learning Lin Yuxia's purpose, Amiya briefly explained what had just happened.

Shirou did the vast majority of the work; Rhodes Island didn't actually help much, only contributing a little during the final interrogation.

"I understand what happened. Are they the same people? Can I see them?"

After listening to Amiya's explanation, Lin Yuxia nodded to indicate that she understood, and pointed in the direction of the crossbowmen, wanting to go over there.

"Of course, no problem."

Seeing that Lin Yuxia was so easy to talk to, Amiya nodded in agreement to her request and personally led her there.

"Good morning, it's nice to see you again. You weren't awake when we left last time, so I'm really sorry we didn't say goodbye!"

Seeing that there was no conflict between Lin Yuxia and Amiya, and that things were even quite peaceful, Shirou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was a little worried that the two sides would start arguing, since even Chen hadn't gotten the better of them. Fortunately, the other side seemed quite easy to talk to now.

Having just seen off two people, Shirou welcomed four more familiar faces.

It's Rhine Lab International company we collaborated with before the concert incident.

FrostNova's tone was full of teasing.

"No, there's a reason for everything."

Ignoring the other person's chuckling, Shirou rubbed his brow, pondering a very serious problem.

Nine people from Rhodes Island, plus three from the Knights of the Round Table, and a dozen or so from Lin Yuxia's group in the Slums...

This time, the prisoner should be able to be buried immediately, right?

This team size is really a waste of talent, and that doesn't even include the Knights of the Round Table squad led by Swire!

But who told the other party to be so good at causing trouble? Shirou had no pity for them whatsoever.

Not to mention that what the other party did was extremely malicious, he had just been blown in the face.

"These two people here weren't introduced last time. They are our juniors, Jessica and Voucher. You should have met them before."

After being poked in the waist by Rhine Lab International, FrostNova calmed down a bit and briefly introduced the other two.

"Um... hello, my name is Jessica."

The woman Feline, who left a somewhat deep impression on Shirou, introduced herself.

Or perhaps we should call her Jessica; she practically wore her nervousness on her sleeve, both last time and this time.

That's why Shirou was somewhat impressed by him.

"Voucher from Rhine Lab International, nice to meet you."

The other one looked quite ordinary, although he also seemed a little nervous, but he was much better now.

Jessica was so nervous that even Shirou was almost nervous along with her.

"Shirou Emiya, just call me Shirou. This should be our second meeting. Don't be so nervous. It's very safe here; there are so many people around!"

Taking advantage of a lull in the action, Shirou introduced himself and calmed Jessica down.

However, when the other person mentioned many people, the cat ears on their head visibly trembled.

Okay, so it seems the problem isn't nervousness about the situation, but rather a lack of skill in dealing with people?

"Don't let his always nervous demeanor fool you, he's actually quite reliable when it comes to action!"

FrostNova jumped in and spoke up for her family.

"Indeed, but it's not good to always be like this."

Rhine Lab International, standing nearby, echoed the other's words.

With their encouragement, Jessica's nervousness visibly diminished.

"I remember you have a pretty good relationship with Rhodes Island... is it a cooperative relationship?"

Shirou knew about Rhine Lab International; like Rhodes Island, it was an organization that employed... oh, sorry, Rhodes Island is a pharmaceutical company.

It seems that Rhine Lab International has some kind of collaboration with Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals?

"Congratulations on getting it right! You're really knowledgeable! You truly deserve to be called the bridge between Penguin Logistics and the Knights of the Round Table."

FrostNova even chuckled as she mentioned the word "bridge".

He only calmed down after Rhine Lab International delivered an elbow strike.

"..."

Watching the two of them banter back and forth, Shirou felt like he was watching a comedy sketch comedy show...

It must be my imagination, right?

Rhine Lab International must be a well-known employment company in Columbia, right?

At that moment, Shirou suddenly felt that the more he knew, the more disillusioned he became.

Whether it's Rhodes Island or Rhine Lab International, it's made him want to go back to his dorm and get a good night's sleep, but unfortunately, he can't.

He wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until these people were arrested.

While chatting with the people from Rhine Lab International, the group gradually gathered together.

Rhodes Island, the infected organization Lungmen, and Rhine Lab International, which collaborates with it.

Lin Yuxia from the Slums, along with several other people who looked like they weren't to be trifled with.

There's also the Knights of the Round Table led by Chen, Sir Swire, and Sir Hoshiguma, as well as Emiya, who can barely be considered half a member of the Knights of the Round Table Shirou.

If these three groups were to carry out a large-scale offensive operation, Shirou would have no doubts.

But just as Shirou had initially thought, having too many people in the underground sewers would be pointless, so they had to find a way to reduce the number of people involved.

The others weren't idle either; they were responsible for blocking people up there.

After a heated discussion among Inspector Chen, Lin Yuxia, and Amiya, it was decided that the Knights of the Round Table would take the lead, while the rest would wait on the upper floors.

Shirou was also included in the list of those waiting to be dispatched.

With this question in mind, Shirou stepped forward and asked him.

After all, he could make use of the sewers.

"I wouldn't let someone who's just been hit in the face with a bunch of bombs continue operating. It's already good enough that no one else carried you to the hospital on the spot."

These are Chen's original words.

She initially thought Shirou was just watching the bomb detonate from a distance, but after learning the details face-to-face...

Isn't this like walking right into someone's face and getting hit by a bomb?

She didn't know whether to say Shirou was incredibly strong or just too slow-witted; after taking such a powerful attack, he was still acting like nothing had happened.

Just as she said, it was already a miracle that Shirou wasn't taken to the hospital on the spot.

If Shirou hadn't seemed quite normal, she wouldn't have wanted to gamble.

Seeing the kind looks in the eyes of Chen, Hoshiguma, and Swire, Shirou silently retreated to the side of Rosemary.

Actually, staying up there is quite nice; at least you don't have to worry about smelling bad when you go back.

Would you like some water?

Seeing Shirou stepping aside, Rosemary instinctively handed over the water bottle she had taken from Rhine Lab International.

Although she didn't have much of an impression of him, she thought Shirou was a nice person.

Rosemary will treat any good person she recognizes well.

Thanks.

Having endured the intense gazes of the three Knights of the Round Table, and then seeing the water bottle offered by Rosemary, the difference between the two was quite striking.

Having not replenished his water supply for some time, Shirou did not gulp it down in one go. Instead, he held a mouthful in his mouth and then slowly drank it down in batches.

After making some adjustments, Swire, who was also in charge of the Knights of the Round Table, summoned Shirou over.

Are you really alright?

Looking at Shirou, who had changed into a new tactical jacket, Swire asked cautiously.