"How should I put this…?"
To someone like Yith, these people were no different from the ordinary passersby seen everywhere on the streets. There was nothing about them worth investigating. Only when someone suddenly did something that caught his attention would he start paying special attention to them.
If every little matter required Yith to personally worry about it, then the tiny amount of rest time he had would probably disappear completely.
However, once someone entered Yith's field of vision, he would dig out every piece of information about them no matter how deeply it was buried.
"…So this is the person?"
After flipping through all the documents, Shirou turned back to the very first page.
On it was a Forte with one broken horn. Since it was a publicity photograph meant for the public, the faint smile on the man's face softened the unsettling feeling brought by the broken horn, making him seem especially gentle and approachable.
But even setting aside the fact that he seemed to be the mastermind behind this operation, just the things he secretly did in private were enough to make Shirou feel a chill when looking at the person in the promotional photo.
This was the kind of person who said one thing in public while doing another behind the scenes.
The photo also had his name on it, though it seemed more like a codename. Just like Iron Bull Logistics, his name was simply Iron Bull.
Hm… the boss of Penguin Logistics was Penguin, and the boss of Iron Bull Logistics was Iron Bull. It did not seem that strange when he thought about it that way.
While waiting for Officer Chen's side to finish their mission and come pick him up, Shirou continued flipping through the information in his hands. Although most of it was old, it still allowed him to understand the man a little better.
What Shirou was thinking about was how this man could so casually treat another person's life as a disposable item.
Moreover, those Infected all believed that this man's commands would lead them toward a future, which was why they followed his instructions.
If they learned that they were actually the abandoned portion, what kind of reaction would they have?
Shirou had no way of knowing.
That group from the morning had all been blown apart after he suppressed and knocked them unconscious. Before dying, they probably had not suffered too much pain.
As for the aftermath, it was handled by Swire's side… Now that he finally had some free time, Shirou could roughly imagine how the Lungman Guard Department would deal with the situation.
Shirou did not have many thoughts about it. If he were the one personally handling it, he would definitely try to deal with everything as perfectly as possible. But the other members of the Lungman Guard Department had no obligation to risk infection in order to do such things.
In that regard, he really was quite a cold person.
At the same time, this was also the law of survival on this land. It seemed that he was gradually beginning to adapt to and accept it.
"Big brother, do you want some candy?"
While Shirou was immersed in those thoughts, a little girl carefully held out a fully wrapped piece of candy toward him and asked.
"You should keep it for yourself. I already ate."
Shirou restrained the expression on his face and tried his best to appear gentler, afraid that he might scare her.
"Is that so?"
Looking at the opened candy wrappers nearby, the little girl hesitated for a moment.
But in the end, she still stuffed the candy into Shirou's hand and said:
"Then you should still have it! Big brothers and big sisters all said that eating candy makes people feel better! I still have things to do, so I am leaving now!"
Shirou reflexively caught the candy in his hand. Before he could react, the little girl had already run far away.
"Honestly…"
Watching her disappearing figure, Shirou had no intention of chasing after her. After all, she had directly stuffed the candy into his hand. Rejecting it again would probably hurt the feelings of a child.
Lowering his gaze, Shirou carefully examined the candy in his hand.
He remembered this candy. He had bought it from the candy store. If he remembered correctly, he had given it to the children at the Fuyuki Shop. Since the office side distributed candy to operators, he had not given them anything this overly sweet.
Which meant this candy had probably been handed out by the children from the Fuyuki Shop.
"So it made a full circle and returned to my hands?"
Shirou smiled helplessly. He had no intention of unwrapping it. Instead, he smoothed out the wrinkles caused by it being tightly clenched for a long time and tucked it into the pocket on his chest.
The gloomy mood from earlier vanished completely. Shirou clenched his fists, causing a series of cracking sounds to ring out.
At that moment, Shirou felt that he was in excellent condition. Even working nonstop for another three days and nights would not be a problem.
"Oh? Looks like you are in pretty good shape! Officer Chen's side seems to have finished up already. Your communicator and other equipment have all been adjusted. If there are no problems, put them on first!"
After quite a while, Minmin pushed open the door while carrying a small backpack. She noticed the change in Shirou.
Although she did not know why his condition had improved, it was ultimately a good thing. The Lungman Guard Department was already on the way here by car, so Minmin had no intention of chatting.
After tossing the organized equipment to Shirou all at once, she turned around and prepared to leave.
It was not just Shirou and the Lungman Guard Department members who were busy. She was extremely busy too.
"Thanks."
After taking the communicator, Shirou briefly inspected it. The exterior had been cleaned up a little, and the battery inside had also been fully charged.
The rest of the equipment was the same. The medicine packs that had already been stocked were refilled with even more supplies, and several inhibitors had even been replenished.
"No need to thank me! We have known each other for so long already, and you are helping us too, are you not? Help between people goes both ways, you know?"
Hearing Shirou's thanks, Minmin stopped at the doorway and said so.
The office and Shirou had always been in a cooperative relationship, but the returns and assistance Shirou provided were substantial.
Whether it was arranging manpower, protecting the supplying medicine, or immediately coming to support them whenever danger appeared, the office… or rather Rhodes Island, remembered all of it.
It was just that, from Shirou's perspective, he always seemed to think that he had not done enough and had not done well enough. She had noticed that about him since a very long time ago.
It was not that this was bad, but if he continued like this all the time, it actually put quite a bit of pressure on them as well.
"That really does not sound like something you would say."
Slipping the backpack onto his shoulders, Shirou spoke.
"Tch, you really do not know how to read the mood. Hurry up and get out there! Do not keep Officer Chen waiting too long!"
After hearing Shirou's words, Minmin felt that the atmosphere she had worked so hard to build had completely disappeared. She turned around and pointed toward the door.
In response, Shirou merely smiled before walking out in the direction she pointed.
Mainly because he was not very good at handling topics like that, so escaping in this way was the only thing he could do.
Running away might have been shameful, but sometimes it was still quite useful.
"Do your best! Whether we can continue staying in Lungmen depends entirely on you now!"
As Shirou walked past her, Minmin jumped up and slapped him on the back as she spoke.
"Yeah, I will."
Making a gesture to show there was no problem, Shirou walked out of the office.
From the distance, he could hear the sound of vehicle engines and the warning sirens used when the Lungman Guard Department mobilized.
Looks like his timing was just right.
Shirou did not wait very long. About a minute later, a vehicle steadily stopped in front of him. The driver's side window rolled down, revealing Hoshiguma behind the wheel.
"Get in the back seat. Old Chen is sitting in the front."
Making a small gesture, Hoshiguma signaled for Shirou to sit in the back.
For Shirou, sitting in the front or the back did not matter. He directly opened the door and got in.
The back seat was a little cramped, mainly because the Hannya shield beside him took up quite a lot of space.
Chen, seated in the passenger seat, was holding a tablet and continuously reviewing the information on it. Shirou glanced at it briefly. It was the same file he had forwarded to her earlier.
"Hold tight!"
After confirming through the mirror that Shirou was seated in the back, Hoshiguma slammed on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to surge forward.
Seeing this, Shirou calmly reached out and grabbed the handle above the window, regaining that tiny sense of security.
Safe driving? Forget it. He had already stopped expecting that.
"Shirou, you really accomplished something huge this time! I did not expect you to directly uncover the mastermind."
After noticing Shirou's actions through the rearview mirror, Hoshiguma started chatting with him, trying to ease his tension.
Her driving was usually very stable! It was only because the situation was special that she was driving a little faster than usual!
If she were on a motorcycle, she could go even faster.
"It was an accidental discovery."
Shirou did not explain the full details. He was worried he might bite his tongue off halfway through speaking.
"I already confirmed your information source with Lin Yuhsia. She said the information from last time was very complete and did not have many issues, but she still told me to use my own judgment."
Chen's eyes remained fixed on the tablet, but she still explained to Shirou what had happened afterward.
It was not that she did not trust Shirou. It was simply her duty to consider things more carefully.
The information in Shirou's possession was not enough to prove anything on its own. At most, it only showed that the logistics company had some dirty dealings under the table.
But she was still repeatedly reviewing the documents in order to obtain key evidence so that she could storm their headquarters as quickly as possible.
Even if she did not act today, she would still go after them once she had time later on. After all, they already had some evidence in hand, so there was no reason to let them off.
"That is only natural. The information your source provided might still contain some bias. Whether this person is truly the mastermind or not, it is better to stay cautious. When they make a move… they are pretty ruthless."
Shirou did not mind this matter very much. To him, being careful and cautious was simply the better option.
Judging from the other party's methods, one careless mistake could lead to a lot of people getting caught up in it.
"I know that very well. Do not worry."
Hearing Shirou's words, Chen understood what he was referring to and nodded in response.
Hoshiguma, who was driving: "?"
Seriously, how had the level of understanding between Old Chen and Shirou improved so much after she had not partnered with Chen for only half a day?
Did something happen this morning?
Filled with confusion, Hoshiguma continued driving toward the Lungman Guard Department headquarters.
It had to be said that Hoshiguma's driving skills were far better than Chen's. At the same speed, Shirou still felt that the interior of the vehicle was very stable.
After realizing this, Shirou felt much more at ease.
Still, he could not let go of the handle. It was his main source of security.
But at least he no longer needed to put on a Mystic Code while riding in the car. That alone was a good thing.
"Ahhh! You damn Lung dragon, you finally came back! Stop dumping all the work on me! I cannot handle all of this by myself!"
After returning to the Lungman Guard Department, they immediately saw Swire rushing over and grabbing Chen by the shoulders while shouting.
Just from her tone alone, Shirou could tell exactly what she had gone through during this period of time.
Of course, Shirou also noticed the nearby Lungman Guard Department officers who were so exhausted that they had collapsed and fallen asleep on the spot.
"At a time like this, stop yelling already. Just hold on a little longer. Also, let everyone else go organize their equipment and adjust their condition a bit."
Being shaken nonstop by Swire grabbing his shoulders, Chen only felt a headache coming on.
When Swire spoke, she was genuinely loud. Combined with how fast she was talking, her voice became especially sharp and piercing.
After casually brushing her off, Chen directly pried away the claws gripping her shoulders and prepared to leave first.
She had left her standard-issued sword behind with those Infected earlier that morning. Everything she used afterward had been borrowed temporarily, and it still did not feel as comfortable as using her own weapon.
So now she needed to go find one of her spare standard swords first.
"Ahh… she really knows how to order people around."
Watching Chen hurriedly leave, Swire sighed.
What else could she do? She could only follow orders. That rice noodle dragon had been busy all day without any rest, and carrying out missions in the field was far more dangerous than sitting inside an office like her.
Just now, while complaining, she had also been checking on everyone's condition. At the moment, it seemed that nobody was seriously injured.
And Chen's side appeared to have already found some clues as well. Just as she said, if they held on a little longer, they would get through this.
"Uh… good luck?"
Shirou had no idea what Swire was thinking, so he could only offer verbal support.
Oh, wait. He still had some energy food and drinks that he had brought from the office. He could hand those to Swire so she could keep going.
If it was combat or housekeeping, he could help. But paperwork? Better forget about it.
"Hmph hmph! Hurry up and go rest! This amount of work is nothing but child's play for me!"
Taking the things Shirou handed over, Swire snorted proudly.
"Alright, alright. This work is effortless for you. Once Lungmen settles down in a few days, I will make a good meal to reward you, okay?"
Looking at her expression, Shirou simply played along with her words.
He understood her personality. At times like this, it was best to just go along with what she said.
And if he could provide something tangible, her mood would improve even more.
For example, a feast.
"Deal! You said it!"
There was no reason for Swire to reject the reward Shirou offered.
After all, she would be the one providing the ingredients anyway. Besides cooking, Shirou could even bring some food back for the Penguin Logistics crew afterward. It was a win-win situation!
And as for her, she got to eat Shirou's cooking and also grew closer to him. That meant she won twice!