I Will Pledge My Loyalty to You

Adams's words were quickly met with skepticism from the other onlookers. "Detective, are you sure you're not mistaken? Didn't you say this girl was impersonating Little Red Riding Hood? She admitted it herself. Why are you now saying that the traitor was also her in disguise?!"

"I don't understand what you're talking about?" Himiko Toga a puzzled expression, still using Little Red Riding Hood's face.

"Mr. Adams, I'm also a little confused," Alain said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Since we've arrested this girl, how come she's in two different places at the same time?"

"It's simple, because of Quirk," Adams stated decisively, "Quirk that's either cloned or Clones of itself."

"The Quirk to Clones is very rare, but I do know of a teacher at U.A. High School who can Clones. However, his physical characteristics are extremely distinctive; anyone who has seen him once will never forget him." Alain immediately realized, "You mean someone created two Clones of 'Himiko Toga,' allowing them to act independently, one playing Little Red Riding Hood, and the other impersonating a member of our organization?"

"I think this lady, whether it's the real body or Clones, should be able to explain this to us," Adams Himiko Toga with a serious look. "How did you manage to pull off this switcheroo?"

"Heh heh, do you think I'd tell you?" Toga maintained her non-violent, non-cooperative stance, and replied with a laugh, "Besides, what's the use of knowing all this? Go ahead and kill me now if you dare!"

Toga wriggled to her feet like a pickled cucumber, intending to attack Adams, but was immediately affected by a sudden rocking of the cruise ship. She bounced on the soft sofa and returned to her original position.

She is no longer the all-powerful Rick who can fly and dive into the earth; she is now powerless to mount any effective resistance.

"Hehe, assassination attempt failed!" Toga laughed without the slightest embarrassment.

A knock came at the door, and a man rushed in. "Captain, the Vibrate was caused by the battle between Captain Barus and that enormous whale. The captain tried to lure the whale away, but it seems to be having little effect!"

Another person stood up and said seriously, "Captain, according to the information from the undercover agent in the bridge, the ship's commander-in-chief, the second mate, has noticed the pursuit. We must make plans as soon as possible!"

"Alain frowned and said sharply to Adams, "Detective, this is not the time to show off your expertise!"

"Alright, while I wanted to reason with you, threats seem more effective right now." Adams steadied himself with his cane. "Your name is Himiko Toga. It's unclear whether it's your real name or a pseudonym, but your online transaction records show your approximate location. You also have a partner with the ability to Clones. This rare ability is likely recorded on the Japan government's internal network. If Dark Shadow is so inclined, they can easily uncover your identities. Since the person behind you wants to solve the problem through such dirty methods as 'theft,' they certainly don't want to wage war against Dark Shadow openly."

Adams placed his cane on the glass coffee table, stood up, and looked sternly at Himiko Toga: "Now you only have two choices: either remain silent to the death, in which case you will be killed here, your mission will be declared a failure, and the organization behind you will be Dark Shadow by the Shadows, prohibiting any transactions; or you can reveal your meeting point, your mission will be declared a failure, but you and your companions will be thrown into the sea to feed the fish. Alain, is that alright?"

Adams' last words were addressed to Alain: everything requires this man's approval for his words to be effective.

Alain nodded in tacit approval of Adams's unauthorized actions. Ultimately, the most important thing now was to find Little Red Riding Hood as soon as possible; these empty promises could be retracted and changed at any time.

Himiko Toga remained silent, seemingly having already made up her mind.

"So, you choose to give your life for the organization?" Adams sighed helplessly and walked towards Alain. "This girl is yours now. She's no longer of use. I'll use deduction to help you narrow down the scope."

"Ah--that's really old-fashioned thinking, giving up so easily. But then again, wasting time on trash is pointless, right?" Alain looked at Himiko Toga, who had Little Red Riding Hood's face, with the eyes of someone looking at a dead creature. "I'm confirming again, you won't say anything, will you?"

This face was created by Alain, but he was already sick of looking at it.

"Hahaha!" Himiko Toga suddenly burst into laughter. She had somehow broken free of her ropes and, in the blink of an eye, reached out and grabbed Adams' cane!

Adams sensed the movement behind him, but he did not retaliate and simply let Toga take the cane away.

He turned his head and said calmly, "So, you've chosen to fight to the death, right? I respect your choice, but your resistance is destined to be futile."

Adams wasn't worried about being ambushed. Regardless of his own skills and abilities, if Toga were to make any dangerous moves, the Dark Shadow members watching from the sidelines wouldn't stand idly by.

"Haha, there's only one answer now!" Toga laughed loudly, snapping his cane in two. "That is—I will pledge my allegiance to you!"

A last-minute betrayal? This was something Adams and Alain hadn't expected, but it only piqued their interest in the girl before them.

"I can tell you everything, but I have only one request that you help me fulfill!"

"You have no right to negotiate," Adams said calmly.

Toga raised her face, a morbid smile on her lips, "This request is very simple for you—kill me."

In front of the movie theater.

A burly, bald-headed man with a fierce appearance strode towards a man dressed as a waiter. Standing before him, he looked down at him and demanded, "Where is he? Where is he now?!"

"I just saw that traitor! He's running towards the stairs!" the waiter declared confidently. "I was afraid he'd see me, so I stayed here waiting for you."

"Hahaha, very good!" the big man laughed heartily. "We're the first people to track them all the way here, aren't we?"

"Yes, please help us!" The waiter bowed deeply.

"No big deal, this is the last chance I'll get!" The big man laughed and ran in the direction the waiter pointed out.

Seeing the burly man run away, the waiter glanced around and quietly retreated back into the empty movie theater.

He went to the back row of the movie theater, pulled up a girl sitting below the seat, hugged her in his arms, and sighed deeply.

"In just a few minutes, three or four groups of people have come to arrest me. Their actions are too swift. It was just one person they stole from; is it really worth such deep hatred?"

The "waiter" kicked the pale-faced, unconscious waiter at his feet, and muttered to himself with a grave expression, "Although I managed to blend in temporarily by disguising myself as one of their people, given their reaction speed, they'll probably realize something's wrong soon enough. This isn't a place we can stay for long; we must get Little Red Riding Hood out of here immediately."

Thinking of this, he suddenly grabbed his hair and yelled at himself in dissatisfaction, "Ugh, why did I even accept such a troublesome task!"

It was obvious that this disguised waiter was the girl named Himiko Toga.

Her Quirk, as Adams guessed, is a kind of shapeshifting ability, the specifics of which are unknown.