"Watching Shirou scold people like this reminds me of my mo—"
Cardigan, who was standing nearby gulping down water, turned toward her teammates and shared her thoughts after watching Shirou lecture Penguin Logistics.
Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, a suction-cup arrow struck her directly on the head, causing her to collapse sideways onto the nearby Melantha.
"I can hear you!"
Shirou's gaze had remained fixed on the members of Penguin Logistics the entire time, while only his right hand stretched out toward Kroos' direction. It was therefore obvious who had thrown the suction-cup arrow.
After Shirou made his move, the four people standing in front of him immediately turned to look at the victim, cold sweat appearing on their faces.
They had all witnessed this technique before. What they had not expected was that Shirou had already adapted it for daily life.
Compared to a chop to the neck or other attacks, it was not especially painful, but the humiliation factor was extremely high. None of them wanted to get hit by that move outside in public.
After Cardigan went down, the four of them...
Or rather, Exusiai and Croissant in particular, instantly quieted down and stopped causing trouble.
The reason Shirou had acted was because Cardigan had mentioned words she absolutely should not have brought up. Otherwise, he generally preferred verbal lectures like this.
In any case, Officer Chen was still interrogating people together with the office staff, so during this period Shirou was effectively free to move around.
Under normal circumstances, he probably should have rested properly. Unfortunately, Penguin Logistics' behavior was giving him a headache.
This operation had gone relatively smoothly, but if something similar happened under different circumstances, things could have turned disastrous. Some criminals, when confronted by the Guard Department, would resist desperately in order to avoid arrest.
He knew the group was strong enough to protect themselves, but fundamentally speaking, none of them would even encounter situations like this if they simply controlled their curiosity a little better.
Thinking about it that way, Shirou felt it was necessary to properly suppress their reckless curiosity, especially in the case of Exusiai and Croissant.
In the end, it was only after Chen finished most of the interrogation work that the members of Penguin Logistics were finally freed from Shirou's lecture.
This was the first time they had ever felt that Officer Chen's arrival was such a wonderful thing.
"I really did not expect you to be this good at lecturing people."
After glancing at the four people whose legs had gone numb from standing so long that they could barely get up anymore, Chen finally realized just how high Shirou's authority within Penguin Logistics actually was.
Though apparently, it only applied during situations like this. Under normal circumstances, Shirou's personality was nowhere near this forceful.
"I did not expect it either."
Only after finishing the lecture did Shirou finally feel that something had been strange.
For some reason, his lecturing instincts had suddenly ignited, and once he started scolding them, he simply could not stop.
Maybe the group genuinely deserved the lecture?
"It is definitely Chen corrupting Shirou!"
Nearby, Exusiai quietly whispered to her teammates.
In her opinion, Shirou had spent too much time around Officer Chen and had gradually been assimilated in this regard.
That absolutely would not do.
Would that not mean they would have to live under the constant threat of getting lectured in the future?
She refused to accept such a future!
The other three also felt Exusiai's reasoning made perfect sense and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Unfortunately, Chen did not hear them. After teasing Shirou, she had already gone back to handling her own matters.
Shirou, however, heard every word clearly.
After listening to them, even he felt the possibility sounded surprisingly high.
Still, he had no intention of saying it out loud. The group had only just escaped the hell of his lecture, so he was not about to throw them right back into it.
That was, of course, assuming they behaved themselves and stopped causing trouble.
"Did you manage to get anything out of them?"
Shirou still remembered that he was technically working, so he stepped forward to ask about the current situation.
"We got the appearance and codename of the person in charge. Beyond that, we can only wait for the office staff to crack the devices inside the vehicles."
The reason Chen cared so much about this case was because the individual directing this operation had apparently been among the group involved this time, so she had wanted to extract that person's appearance or name first.
Unfortunately, the person in question was not among those they had captured.
"What about the Guard Department?"
After hearing Chen's explanation, Shirou felt like something was off.
Was the Guard Department really not getting involved? The evidence here was already overwhelming. Were they truly going to ignore it because it happened in the slums?
"We already contacted them, but you cannot expect too much. Setting aside the manpower shortage itself, most people are not familiar with the slums at all. Even if they came, they would only slow things down."
Chen understood exactly what Shirou meant.
She herself knew better than anyone how poor the relationship between the Guard Department and the slums truly was.
Aside from a small number of people willing to put aside their prejudice and understand this place, the rest either only learned about it because she forced them to, or simply refused to understand the slums altogether.
Thinking about that still gave Chen a headache.
After all, getting ordinary people to genuinely accept the slums was still going to be a very long process. Right now, she was still working hard toward that goal.
"I understand. But if it is only the office handling this, there probably will not be enough manpower... Should we contact Miss Lin Yuhsia?"
After hearing Officer Chen's explanation, Shirou nodded to show understanding before offering his own suggestion.
After all, whenever he thought about operating in the slums, the first person who came to mind was Lin Yuhsia. They had cooperated several times before, and her understanding of the slums was extremely thorough.
"Lin Yuhsia? That really could work... Wait! Shirou, are you close with her?"
After hearing Shirou's suggestion, Chen immediately felt the idea was feasible. Under extraordinary circumstances, she was willing to overlook certain details.
However, she quickly realized something strange.
As far as she knew, Lin Yuhsia usually presented herself publicly with extremely respectable identities. So how did Shirou know she could help with matters inside the slums?
They had indeed met during the previous operation, but he should not know this much...
Unless Shirou was already in contact with her.
"We have worked together a few times. Miss Lin Yuhsia also comes to Fuyuki Store every morning these days to teach the children."
Shirou answered honestly.
"Heh, you really do know a lot of people. In that case, you can handle contacting Lin Yuhsia."
After learning about the cooperative relationship between the two, Chen directly tossed the task over to Shirou.
"Huh? Aren't you acquainted with her too?"
Shirou did not particularly mind contacting her himself, but seeing Chen's expression still left him somewhat confused.
Compared to him, a mere collaborator, would it not make more sense for someone personally acquainted with Lin Yuhsia, like Chen, to handle it instead?
"My relationship with her is probably about the same as my relationship with the char siu cat."
"...Understood. I will contact her right away."
After hearing Chen put it that way, Shirou immediately recalled the last time the two had spoken over the communicator. The atmosphere between them had been filled with gunpowder.
Besides, since this had been his suggestion in the first place, it was only natural for him to be the one making contact.
After pulling out his phone and sending over the relevant details, the members of Penguin Logistics also stepped forward to volunteer their services to Chen and the office staff, wanting to participate in the operation.
"The price is negotiable! We are pretty familiar with the slums too, you know?"
Croissant immediately switched into the sales techniques she had developed from running her street stall, skillfully advertising Penguin Logistics' services.
"..."
After glancing at them briefly, Shirou returned his attention to his phone.
If this was work-related, then he genuinely had no grounds to interfere. All he could say was that the group had become extremely skilled at exploiting loopholes.
Not long after he sent the message, a reply arrived.
Lin Yuhsia: "The information you need has already been sent to Chen Hui-chieh. If there is anything else, contact me directly through my phone. I happen to be handling these matters as well."
Shirou: "Chen Hui-chieh?"
Looking at those words on the screen, Shirou fell into confusion.
Who was Chen Hui-chieh? Was that the name of officer Chen?
Up until now, Shirou had always addressed her simply as "Chen" or "Officer Chen." This seemed to be the first time he had ever seen her full name. Still, it only caused him slight confusion and nothing more.
Lin Yuhsia: "Officer Chen. Did you not come to the slums together with her? The people I stationed near the office already saw you."
Seeing that Shirou apparently did not recognize the name, Lin Yuhsia instantly understood the issue. She switched her wording immediately and casually explained how she knew Chen was present.
After all, since they were collaborators, it was better to communicate clearly.
"Alright. I will inform her. If there are any problems, I will contact you again."
After sending that message, Shirou put his phone away.
It seemed Penguin Logistics had also successfully reached an agreement. They accepted employment from the office at an almost symbolic price.
According to them, Penguin Logistics already had a cooperative relationship with Rhodes Island anyway, so lowering the fee was not a problem.
Though if they could receive some Originium-etched ammunition as compensation, that would naturally be even better.
For the office, that small request was not particularly difficult.
Although Lungmen imposed restrictions on firearms, the office still maintained a small stockpile of etched ammunition.
As a pharmaceutical company branch, keeping some ammunition around was perfectly reasonable, right?
Naturally, this was all done while avoiding Officer Chen's notice.
At the moment, she was focused entirely on the information Lin Yuhsia had sent her and was not paying much attention to what was happening nearby.
All that could be said was that Chen truly became incredibly serious once she started working. She had already missed quite a few things.
"With this, manpower should finally be enough...?"
Shirou mentally counted their available personnel.
The office already had several operators along with the members of the A4 Reserve Operations Team. Then there was the support Lin Yuhsia could provide, plus the four members of Penguin Logistics, along with himself and Officer Chen.
Their manpower had suddenly become far more abundant.
Taking advantage of the time, Shirou replenished his equipment at the office.
Medicine and similar supplies were essential, and he also made sure everyone participating in the operation carried gas masks and suppressants.
The incident from that morning still left a strong impression on him. If something had happened once, then there was every possibility it could happen a second, third, or countless more times.
Unless he managed to drag out the mastermind behind everything.
After spending so much time working at the Guard Department, Shirou had already gained some experience with these kinds of operations, so he handled the preparations in a surprisingly professional manner.
"Hehe, limited edition Working Shirou acquired."
While Shirou was organizing supplies, Exusiai secretly snapped photos of him.
There was no helping it. Life needed a little entertainment now and then.
As far as she was concerned, this mission had been an enormous profit.
The money was not much, but she had managed to replenish her supply of etched ammunition.
Compared to what was available outside, the office's ammunition quality was significantly better. The craftsmanship was excellent, and firing it would definitely feel amazing!
On top of that, she had secretly taken several photos of Shirou while he was working.
Although they were not related to his embarrassing black history, they were still pretty good pictures.
The moment she got them, Exusiai immediately forwarded them into Penguin Logistics' private group chat.
The group mainly consisted of the four female members, though most of the time they still used the larger group created by the boss.
This smaller chat was more like their personal space for casually tossing around messages and discussing their own matters.
"Stop playing around and come help."
Under Shirou's instructions, everyone began organizing the equipment they needed.
Because Penguin Logistics' vehicle had been specially modified for deliveries, it could hold a huge amount of cargo, so part of the equipment was being loaded into their vehicle.
Texas, Sora, and Croissant were all diligently helping with the preparations.
Only Exusiai, after putting away her etched ammunition, continued holding her phone and taking pictures.
Just after Exusiai finished uploading the photos, the other three immediately dragged her off to help carry equipment.
"Good awareness. You prepared everything that should be prepared."
Meanwhile, after receiving and processing the information sent by Lin Yuhsia, Chen already had a rough operational framework in mind.
At the moment, she was inspecting the equipment Shirou had prepared. So far, she did not see any major issues.
Shirou had not recklessly relied on Projection Magecraft to ignore ordinary equipment. In fact, he had even prepared several extras just in case.
If there was one thing worth questioning, it was probably why this Rhodes Island office branch possessed such a massive stockpile of weapons and gear.
Were these people here to treat illnesses or to "deliver warmth" to Lungmen?
Even while harboring those suspicions, Chen was still extremely grateful that they had lent so many medicines and supplies to both her and Shirou.
With these resources, the safety of the upcoming operation had increased considerably.
From the intelligence Lin Yuhsia provided, Chen had already narrowed down several locations that were likely enemy hideouts. However, to avoid alerting the enemy prematurely, she had not launched an immediate assault.
But after learning that these people were potentially the masterminds behind the recent infected riots, Lin Yuhsia no longer cared whether the enemy would be alerted or not.
She intended to drag the snake out directly and turn it into a glass art piece, if only to stop people from continuing to misunderstand Lungmen's slums.
Her thoughts aligned perfectly with Chen's, and the two quickly reached an agreement.
Their manpower was now extremely abundant.
After contacting the Guard Department, the higher-ups also approved the operation request. Hoshiguma would later arrive leading a team, while Swire would have to work a little harder by remaining behind alone at the Guard Department headquarters.
Since they still could not determine which hideout the enemy was actually using, Chen decided on a strategy of attacking all the suspected locations simultaneously.
Although they had many people, the various groups had never trained together before, making unified command difficult. In that case, dispersing their forces was actually more practical.
Rhodes Island, Penguin Logistics, the Guard Department, the slums...
This operation truly involved an enormous number of people from incredibly complicated backgrounds.
The operation itself was critically important.
Whether Lungmen's current chaos could be stopped ahead of time depended entirely on whether they could catch the culprits this time.
Those people who did not even treat the infected as human beings.