Chapter 1 The Brillda Magitech Railcar

The Brillda magitech railcar had been stopped at the capital station for a while.

But the passengers were not yet allowed to disembark.

Compared to the capital garrison, who were still trying to reassure the passengers, the Imperial Special Operations Division was clearly more forceful and efficient. They didn't consider the public's feelings during their search, nor did they care about public opinion, focusing instead on the importance of military secrets.

Nicholas the Kestrel accepted the investigation report from Lieutenant Colonel Burke, the commander of the Gendarmerie Brigade, quickly flipped through it, and returned it to Burke.

"Check all passengers, take away anyone suspicious, and don't leave out the crew and drivers!"

Nicholas the Kestrel raised his hand and instructed loudly. Agents from the Domestic Special Affairs Section 1 strode onto the train, the carriage doors closed again, and they opened the passenger manifest, starting from carriage four, and moved towards both ends, checking the passengers one by one.

"Is this matter very serious?"

Lieutenant Colonel Burke knew he shouldn't ask.

Because the accident itself was serious enough.

But compared to the train attack, if the identity of the attacker also involved the reactionary forces that the big shots in the Empire were paying close attention to, then the nature of the matter would be different.

"..."

The man called "Kestrel" by Burke, the head of the Gendarmerie, Nicholas, remained by the door of carriage four. He didn't speak, but answered Burke's question with his eyes.

The next second.

His gaze gradually shifted from Lieutenant Colonel Burke to Lanqi.

Nicholas wasn't in a hurry to go to the other carriages, because the important person was right in front of him.

With just one glance, he could tell that the man being personally investigated and escorted by the commander of the Second Gendarmerie Brigade was definitely the central figure in this train disturbance.

"Sir, did you come to the capital alone?"

Nicholas the Kestrel placed his hand on his chest, bowed slightly to Lanqi, and asked as he looked at him again.

"Of course."

Lanqi answered calmly, and looked at Nicholas with some curiosity, seemingly not understanding why Nicholas asked that.

Special Agent Section Chief Nicholas's attitude was much more polite than Lanqi had expected.

Perhaps it was because he saw that his current identity, Landri Washington, was a noble, or perhaps this domestic special agent section chief was just a smiling tiger.

"So, you don't have any accomplices?"

Nicholas the Kestrel's smile disappeared, and his voice turned completely cold.

When this question was asked, Lieutenant Colonel Burke beside Lanqi's expression froze, as if he sensed something was wrong.

"Accomplices?"

Lanqi looked at Nicholas, pretending not to understand.

Talia only felt her heart pounding wildly.

She didn't know how this special agent named Nicholas had found a flaw from a short moment of observation and detail!

But there was obviously something wrong with Lanqi, something neither she nor Lanqi had realized.

She had said that Lanqi shouldn't always play things so close to the edge. She was starting to want to get off the train, but Lanqi was her host, and she couldn't run at all!

"Hmph."

Nicholas the Kestrel chuckled coldly.

"Then I'll rephrase the question: why did you help the assassin on the train escape? And why did you harm the passenger in the same compartment as you?"

Nicholas continued to press closer, aggressively.

His eyes seemed to make the air colder.

And where he was, had become an interrogation room.

"What are you talking about?"

Lanqi asked, looking completely bewildered.

Lieutenant Colonel Burke stood beside him, maintaining a calm expression, while also analyzing possible oversights in his previous investigation.

According to the Gendarmerie's previous investigation on the train.

This noble young man named Landri Washington, with black hair and blue eyes, boarded the train with an old man named Lovia at the border of Botzwana Province. On the way, they were attacked by extremely dangerous elements on the train, according to the investigation, a female assassin. She was repelled by the courageous Landri.

But accordingly, according to Landri's description, the old man Lovia, who happened to be in the same compartment as Landri, was the female assassin's target. In the end, Landri was fooled by the female assassin's sixth-order assassin smoke spell, and failed to catch her. She took the old man away.

On closer inspection, all of this could be matched with the investigation results.

But a large part of it was Landri's own monologue.

As long as he could make it plausible, then what he said was the truth. The most crucial point of doubt was why the female assassin would abduct an ordinary old man, who also happened to be a passenger in Lanqi's compartment?

Burke gradually understood Nicholas the Kestrel's suspicion.

If Landri was the culprit from the beginning, then all the inconsistencies could be dispelled, and the story would be overturned and start to be reshaped.

"You don't have to pretend anymore, you clumsy fellow."

Nicholas seemed to lose his patience, and reached out towards Lanqi's face, wanting to grab his forehead.

Or even kill him directly!

However.

When his hand was about to touch Lanqi's eyes.

Lanqi remained motionless.

Nicholas's hand stopped precisely.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

Nicholas asked.

"Because I'm not afraid. I believe justice is on my side."

Lanqi's expression remained unchanged, his eyes still clear as water.

This calm question and answer caused Lieutenant Colonel Burke beside him to break out in a cold sweat.

If the Imperial Special Operations Division mistakenly killed an innocent passenger here, or even a noble, then this serious accident would definitely involve their Capital Garrison Headquarters.

Fortunately, Nicholas was just testing him.

"I apologize, Mr. Landri. That was just a standard screening method for investigators. I am just doing my duty, please forgive me."

Nicholas the Kestrel retracted his gloved hand and apologized to Lanqi.

"Phew, you really gave me a scare. I was wondering what I did to deserve such treatment from you."

Lanqi breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head with a smile.

"Damn it, he's trying to bluff, isn't he?!"

Talia understood now. Nicholas hadn't actually seen anything.

He was just trying his luck. If the person being tested couldn't withstand the psychological pressure and revealed a flaw in their expression, then he could close the case directly.

Fortunately, Lanqi's psychological fortitude was unlike that of a human.

His heart rate wouldn't even accelerate in this situation.

"Don't worry, Tata. My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror, and everything I do is justice. No words can shake me."

Lanqi felt that Tata was frightened and reassured her in his heart.

"..."

Wait, Lanqi.

You weren't playing a psychological game, you're really not guilty?

Talia was a little confused.

"However, Mr. Landri, could you please describe again the circumstances of Mr. Lovia's disappearance from your compartment? I still don't understand why the female assassin would abduct such an innocent old man. You were the only eyewitness present, and I'd like to hear your opinion."

Although the atmosphere was much more relaxed, it could be seen that Nicholas the Kestrel still maintained a skeptical mind.

He narrowed his eyes and sized up Lanqi. These words seemed to make Lieutenant Colonel Burke beside him pay attention again.

"How are you going to explain this? I thought your lie was a bit far-fetched from the beginning."

A dark cloud of despair shrouded Talia's heart. She now felt that the more Lanqi explained, the more mistakes he would make, but not explaining was equally impossible.

And Nicholas the Kestrel would never let him off easily, allowing him to muddle through.

"Don't worry."

At the critical moment, Lanqi remained calm, and chatted with Talia in his heart, processing things in two threads.

"Before that, I have a question I'd like to ask Section Chief Nicholas."

Lanqi looked at Nicholas the Kestrel and said.

"Oh?"

Nicholas the Kestrel neither agreed nor disagreed, seemingly wanting to hear Lanqi's question first, or perhaps the question itself was enough to deduce a lot of information.

"In your opinion, what is the identity of that female assassin? Because the train broadcast initially informed us passengers that there were extremely dangerous elements on the train, which means that the Imperial Special Operations Division should have received intelligence first."

Lanqi frowned slightly, raised his hand and lightly touched his chin, thinking as he spoke.

For Nicholas, the section chief of the Domestic Special Affairs Section 1, to personally come to investigate, there must be a major internal problem.

"Of course, I have no intention of inquiring about military secrets, but since Section Chief Nicholas asked me to infer, I also need corresponding information as a supplement to be accurate enough."

Lanqi added.

"..."

Nicholas the Kestrel was slightly silent.

A few seconds passed like this.

"It's not a big deal, and I can certainly tell you. According to our intelligence, the dangerous element on the train today is an important member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society, and also a big fish."

He spoke.

Anyway, the big fish had already escaped, and the time had passed. The value of this intelligence had dropped to a point where it could be revealed.

"Silver Moon Restoration Society...?"

This time, Lanqi was a little puzzled, and even the corners of his eyes couldn't help but twitch.

"You may not be very familiar with this organization since you just came to the capital, but you only need to know that this organization is an absolute menace to the Empire, and also a thorn in the side of those big shots above."

Nicholas the Kestrel added a rare sentence.

"This Imperial special agent isn't lying. The Imperial Special Operations Division's intelligence seems to have really identified Miss Unity as an extremely dangerous member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society."

Talia reminded Lanqi in his heart, telling him the results of her lie detection.

"What's wrong? In Mr. Landri's opinion, she shouldn't be a member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society?"

Nicholas the Kestrel seemed to grasp a detail, and got such an answer from Lanqi's reaction.

This black-haired, blue-eyed young man had, just now, revealed a truly hesitant emotion for the first time.

This awkwardness showed that the other party was definitely not a member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society. Correspondingly, he might also be holding other key information.

"Of course, I personally feel that that person doesn't seem like the Silver Moon Restoration Society you mentioned."

Lanqi answered honestly.

"Then who do you think she is?"

Nicholas the Kestrel's eyebrows furrowed, seemingly feeling that this answer was worthless and not what he wanted.

If the investigation lead ended on this black-haired, blue-eyed young man, he would be quite disappointed.

"The female assassin is more like an Allied spy. And how should I say this, Mr. Lovia had a pleasant conversation with me along the way. I shouldn't slander him like this, but the fact is that Mr. Lovia and that female assassin talked for a while, and they were obviously not using the Empire's language, if I didn't hear wrongly."

Lanqi continued to explain with a serious expression.

"..."

Nicholas the Kestrel fell into thought after hearing this.

And Lieutenant Colonel Burke beside him had a shocked expression, staring at Lanqi, who had said something astonishing.

Allied spies, that was a foreign problem.

To some extent, its seriousness was on a different level than that of the Silver Moon Restoration Society.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong with what you're saying?"

Nicholas the Kestrel asked Lanqi, word by word.

Although if it pointed in the direction of "Lovia is an Allied spy," then everything would become clear, and there might be a major case behind it.

However, it had a prerequisite, which was whether Lovia, the 62-year-old publisher, really had a problem.

"Of course."

Lanqi nodded affirmatively.

"Okay, thank you Mr. Landri for providing the information. We will follow up, using the person you mentioned, Lovia, as the direction of the investigation. If your information is useful, I will represent the Imperial Special Operations Division to express our thanks in person, and apply for a commendation for you."

Nicholas the Kestrel smiled, looking at Lanqi and extending his hand.

This answer was enough.

His many years of work experience made him always feel that this young man named Landri carried a mystery, or rather, he didn't want to believe this young man from the bottom of his heart.

If their Imperial Special Operations Division investigated and found that Lovia had any suspicious points, then it could naturally prove the innocence of this Landri Washington. By the way, this would also be a great achievement. Compared to that, the escape of a dangerous element from the Silver Moon Restoration Society with an unclear identity level was not a big deal.

But if Lovia had no problems at all, Landri would be self-destructing, and he would immediately arrest him.

"You're too kind. We are all Imperial citizens. At this critical moment, being able to contribute to the Empire is our responsibility and obligation, and even more so our mission and honor."

Lanqi shook Nicholas's hand and said forcefully.

In Lanqi's heart, Talia became uneasy again.

"Lanqi, what he said is also the truth. He's always been suspicious of you, and the investigation against you will be endless! You shouldn't have told such a tall tale."

Talia reminded Lanqi.

She could read the mind of Nicholas the Kestrel, the Imperial special agent section chief, better than Lanqi.

On the surface, these two could still shake hands with a smile, but now Nicholas was even more suspicious of Lanqi.

"It's okay, this incident will be over soon. Don't worry, in the Empire I guarantee you'll eat well and sleep well every day, and you won't have to live a life of constant anxiety."

Lanqi conveyed to Talia.

Next, he only needed to secretly report the information that "Lovia, a Gran Welfarey from the northern border of the Cretea Empire, a 62-year-old publisher, a border commoner with a little savings, wanted to come to the Imperial capital of Brillda to do some business, but was actually a spy from the Borson Kingdom who had been lurking in the Cretea Empire for many years," so that the Empire could successfully find out the problem with Lovia's identity. He, Landri, as the informant, would be a great contributor.

"You were born to do this..."

Talia read Lanqi's thoughts and was speechless for a moment.

This time, it might be due to the situation that Lanqi had no choice but to do this. It could even be said to be impeccable. The deeper the suspicion, the more trust would be generated from guilt and relief after discovering that they were actually mistaken.

Although this might not work well for someone as suspicious as Nicholas the Kestrel. He might not feel guilty, or he might even remain suspicious.

But if Lanqi continued to play like this, Nicholas the Kestrel might really put Lanqi on the whitelist.

How is it that as soon as this kid gets to the Empire, it's like a fish returning to water...

Is this acting or is it for real...