The tail behind them had been following at a steady distance for three streets now. It had to be said, whoever it was had excellent surveillance skills.
Without a certain degree of counter-surveillance ability, they would have been hard to detect.
Take Jarvis, for example. He had not noticed anything unusual from beginning to end.
Unfortunately for them, no matter what, they would never have imagined that every move they made was actually under Rorschach's control.
Because Rorschach had long since locked onto the sound of their heartbeat.
And not just their heartbeat—their calls with their superiors were also crystal clear to Rorschach.
"Report your current position!"
"Sir, the target is currently heading north on 71st Street."
"I've dispatched a special operations team. They're expected to link up with you in twenty minutes. Keep your eyes on him!"
"Understood, sir!"
"A special operations team? That's really going overboard."
Rorschach could not help clicking his tongue inwardly. Whoever the mastermind behind this was, they certainly thought highly of him.
But with Rorschach's current abilities, he naturally had nothing to fear.
It was just a shame that he might not make his appointment on time.
"Jarvis, please wait. Could you pull over up ahead?"
After thinking for a moment, Rorschach sat up straight and spoke to Jarvis.
"Mr. Rorschach, has something happened?" Jarvis asked, looking at Rorschach with some confusion.
"Jarvis, I just remembered that there's something I need to handle immediately. But don't worry, I'll head over as soon as I'm done. I just... might be a little late."
"But I'll hurry and do my best to arrive on time."
Rorschach spoke to Jarvis with a serious expression.
Jarvis had actually wanted to ask what could possibly be so urgent that Rorschach had to deal with it at a time like this, but they were not close enough for that.
There were some things he could not ask too much about.
"Mr. Rorschach, is there anything I can help with? I've been with Mr. Stark for so long that I can still handle some minor matters."
After thinking it over, Jarvis sincerely offered to help Rorschach.
"No need. It's a private matter, and it's not anything too troublesome. I'll handle it." Rorschach waved Jarvis off.
Since Rorschach had put it that way, Jarvis could not continue pressing him.
After a brief hesitation, he made another suggestion. "Mr. Rorschach, at the very least, let me drive you there. Once you've taken care of it, I'll bring you to Mr. Stark."
"Thanks, Jarvis. I appreciate the thought, but there's no need to make this so troublesome."
"If that's the case, then all right, Mr. Rorschach. I'll explain the situation to Mr. Stark."
Seeing how firm Rorschach was, Jarvis said nothing further. Following Rorschach's instructions, he slowly pulled the car over by the roadside ahead.
Without another word, Rorschach pushed open the door, got out, and strode onto the street.
Sure enough.
The Ford that had been following them immediately pulled over as well.
The buzz-cut young man got out of the car right after that.
He continued following Rorschach from neither too near nor too far away.
Rorschach pretended not to notice anything and simply walked ahead as if nothing were wrong.
Only after following him for another two streets did the buzz-cut young man realize that the places the target was heading were becoming more and more secluded.
Could the target have already noticed him?
That should not have been possible!
The buzz-cut young man carefully reviewed the entire process in his mind, but he could not find anything wrong.
It seemed he had been overthinking it.
Beep, beep, beep!
A chorus of horns sounded from behind him. The buzz-cut young man turned around and saw five "agent cars" lined up one after another, driving toward him with an imposing air.
He gestured toward the agents inside those vehicles.
"The target is up ahead. Okay, let's get to work!"
After a quick survey of the scene, Wade, seated in the front passenger seat of the lead vehicle, immediately spotted Rorschach.
The cars drove straight ahead and pulled across the roadside, completely blocking Rorschach's path.
Tap, tap, tap!
Then the doors opened, and a total of twenty fully armed agents climbed out of the five vehicles, surrounding Rorschach on all sides.
Every agent held an assault rifle, their muzzles all aimed squarely at Rorschach.
"Stryker!"
Rorschach swept his gaze over the scene. Especially when he spotted a certain chatterbox among them, how could he not understand who was coming after him?
"I know, I know!"
Wade's voice rang out as he strode toward Rorschach from within the circle of agents.
"You must be wondering, 'Who exactly are these people?' 'What do they want?' 'Are they going to kill me?' Blah, blah, blah..."
Without Stryker keeping him in check, Wade's true nature began showing again, and he rambled on without pause.
"Let me lay it out for you. About a month ago, at an Amusement Park in Ohio, you killed a Beast. Remember?"
"Of course, not a Beast in the literal sense, but a person who looked like a Beast. I don't think I need to explain it for you to understand, right?"
"You really talk too much!" Even Rorschach could not help interrupting Wade.
At that moment, he finally understood why Sun Wukong in A Chinese Odyssey had wanted to kill Tang Sanzang. Apparently, being too talkative really could be fatal.
Just now, he had genuinely felt as though a swarm of mosquitoes was buzzing in his ears.
"Let's keep this simple and direct. Tell me what you want, then I'll decide whether to kill you. Don't waste each other's time, okay?"
Rorschach was far more straightforward.
"I was getting there, I was getting there... You interrupted me, okay? You didn't deny killing that Beast just now, which means you admit it, right?"
Wade had been in the middle of a good rant, and getting interrupted left him extremely annoyed.
"At this point, does it make any difference whether I admit it or deny it?" Rorschach could not help letting out a cold laugh.
"God! Wade, he's right. Stop talking nonsense and finish the mission cleanly, will you?"
Even Stryker, stationed in the command center, could not stand listening anymore and rebuked Wade over the comm channel.
Only then did Wade swallow the rest of his nonsense. "Okay, you need to come with us. Simple and direct enough now?"
"Come with you? Then if I do, will you step out with your left foot first or your right?" Rorschach looked at Wade with utter seriousness.
Wade was dumbfounded. "What difference does that make?"
No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not understand why such an insignificant matter was worth agonizing over.
But seeing Rorschach's serious expression, it did not seem like he was joking.
"Then... my right foot?" Wade answered tentatively.
"Sorry, but I don't like people who step out with their right foot first. So, I'd better kill you all!"
Rorschach's eyes turned crimson red.
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