Lanqi Was Born for This

The *Brierda* mana rail train had been sitting at the Capital Station for a while now. Yet the passengers on board were not yet permitted to disembark. Compared to the Capital Garrison, who still made an effort to comfort the passengers, the Imperial Special Operations Department was distinctly more heavy-handed and resolute. During searches, they paid no heed to public sentiment and cared even less about public opinion, operating strictly on the principle that military opportunities must never be lost. Nikolai, codenamed Kestrel, took the investigation report handed over by Lieutenant Colonel Burke, commander of the Gendarmerie Brigade. He flipped through it quickly and returned it to the lieutenant colonel. "Question every single passenger. Take in anyone suspicious, and make sure not to overlook the crew or the train driver!" Kestrel Nikolai gave the order with a raised hand and a loud voice. Operatives from the First Domestic Secret Service Section briskly boarded the train. The carriage doors shut once more as they opened passenger manifests and spread out in both directions starting from Carriage Four, interrogating every person on board one by one. "Is this incident really that serious?" Lieutenant Colonel Burke knew he shouldn't be asking such a question. After all, an attack on a train was severe enough in its own right. Yet compared to a mere train attack, if the assailant's identity involved reactionary factions to which the Empire's high-ranking figures currently paid extraordinary attention, the nature of the matter became an entirely different beast. "..." Nikolai, the man called "Kestrel" by the gendarme leader Lieutenant Colonel Burke, lingered by the door of Carriage Four. He said nothing, answering Burke's question solely with his gaze. A second later. His eyes gradually shifted from Lieutenant Colonel Burke toward Lanqi. Nikolai was in no hurry to head to other carriages, for the key figure was already right before him. A single glance made it obvious: any man personally investigated and escorted by the commander of the Second Gendarmerie Brigade was bound to be the core figure in this train unrest. "Did you come to the capital alone, sir?" Kestrel Nikolai placed a hand over his chest, offering Lanqi a slight bow before asking as he looked back at him. "Naturally," Lanqi answered with composure, eyeing Nikolai with a touch of curiosity as if failing to comprehend why Nikolai would ask such a thing. Section Chief Nikolai's demeanor was far more polite than Lanqi had anticipated. Perhaps it was because he recognized that his current identity, Landry Washington, was an aristocrat. Or perhaps this domestic secret service section chief was simply a smiling tiger by nature. "In other words, you have no accomplices?" Kestrel Nikolai's smile vanished, his voice dropping into pure frost. The moment the question left his lips, the expression on Lieutenant Colonel Burke's face froze beside Lanqi, sensing that the atmosphere had turned foul. "Accomplices?" Lanqi looked at Nikolai, utterly baffled. Talia's heart pounded wildly. She had no idea how this secret agent named Nikolai had managed to spot a flaw from just a few moments of observation and minor details! Yet there was clearly something wrong with Lanqi that neither she nor Lanqi had noticed. She had warned Lanqi not to push things so close to the edge all the time. She wanted nothing more than to get off this train right now, but Lanqi was her host—she couldn't run away even if she wanted to! "Heh heh." Kestrel Nikolai let out a cold chuckle. "Then let me rephrase the question: Why did you help the assassin on the train escape? And why did you harm the passenger sharing your compartment?" Nikolai pressed forward another aggressive step. His gaze seemed to drop the ambient temperature by several degrees. Wherever he stood was instantly transformed into an interrogation room. "What on earth are you talking about?" Lanqi looked thoroughly bewildered and asked in return. Beside them, Lieutenant Colonel Burke maintained an impassive expression, while simultaneously analyzing where his own prior investigation might have slipped up. According to the gendarmerie's earlier findings aboard the train: This noble youth with black hair and blue eyes, named Landry Washington, had boarded at the border of Botswana Province alongside an elderly man named Lovia. En route, they had been attacked by an extremely dangerous operative on the train—identified through investigation as a female assassin—whom the valiant Landry had driven back. Correspondingly, however, according to Landry's own account, the old man Lovia who happened to share a compartment with Landry was the female assassin's target. In the end, Landry was deceived by the female assassin's Tier 6 smokescreen spell; he failed to capture her, and she made off with the old man. Thinking it over carefully, all of this matched the physical evidence of the investigation. Yet a large portion of it rested entirely on Landry's own words. So long as it held together logically, whatever he claimed became the narrative. The most crucial doubt was: Why would a female assassin abduct a thoroughly ordinary old man, who just so happened to be Landry's compartment mate? Burke gradually began to see what Kestrel Nikolai was suspecting— If Landry had been the culprit from the very beginning, every point of dissonance would evaporate. The entire story would be dismantled and reconstructed from scratch. "You don't need to keep pretending, you clumsy amateur." Nikolai seemed to have lost his patience. He reached a hand out toward Lanqi's face, aiming to seize him by the forehead. Or perhaps kill him outright! And yet. When his fingers were a hair's breadth from Lanqi's eyes. Lanqi remained motionless. Nikolai's hand came to an exact halt. "Why didn't you dodge?" Nikolai demanded. "Because I have no fear. I believe justice is on my side." Lanqi's expression remained utterly unperturbed, his eyes as clear as tranquil water. This calm exchange sent a thin bead of cold sweat down Lieutenant Colonel Burke's forehead. If the Imperial Special Operations Department mistakenly executed an innocent passenger here—let alone an aristocrat—such a catastrophic incident would undoubtedly drag down the Capital Garrison Command as well. Fortunately, Nikolai had merely been testing him. "Forgive my discourtesy, Mr. Landry. What I just did is merely my routine method of screening subjects under investigation. Duty compels me; I ask for your understanding." Kestrel Nikolai withdrew his gloved hand and offered Lanqi an apology. "Phew, that really gave me a fright. I was wondering what crime I could possibly have committed to be targeted like that by your lordship." Lanqi let out a breath and gave a wry, smiling shake of his head. *Damn it, he was just trying to bluff him?!* Talia understood now: Nikolai hadn't deduced a single thing. He had simply opened with a gambit to see if he'd strike lucky. If the subject buckled under psychological pressure and let slip a flaw in their expression, the case could be closed on the spot. Mercifully, if there was one thing about this guy Lanqi that wasn't human, it was his psychological fortitude. His heartbeat wouldn't accelerate in the slightest under such conditions. *Rest easy, Tata. My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; all that I do is justice. No words can shake me.* Sensing that Tata had been scared out of her wits, Lanqi reassured her in his mind. *...* *Wait, Lanqi.* *You weren't playing mind games—you genuinely felt no guilt whatsoever?!* Talia was utterly flabbergasted. "Still, Mr. Landry, could you please describe once more the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Mr. Lovia, who shared your compartment? I still cannot fathom why a female assassin would abduct such an innocent elderly gentleman. You are the sole eyewitness present, and I would like to hear your perspective." Though the atmosphere had relaxed considerably, it was clear that Kestrel Nikolai still harbored deep suspicions. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lanqi. These words brought a look of renewed interest back to Lieutenant Colonel Burke's face. *How are you going to spin this? I thought your lie sounded a bit forced from the start!* A haze of despair shrouded Talia's heart. It felt to her as though the more Lanqi tried to explain, the more mistakes he would make—yet refusing to explain wasn't an option either. And Kestrel Nikolai would never let him gloss over it easily. *Don't worry.* At the critical juncture, Lanqi remained unshakably calm, effortlessly multitasking a telepathic conversation with Talia in his mind. "Before answering, I have a question I'd like to ask Section Chief Nikolai first," Lanqi said, looking at Kestrel Nikolai. "Oh?" Kestrel Nikolai neither agreed nor objected. He seemed willing to hear Lanqi's question first, or perhaps the question itself would provide enough information to draw conclusions from. "In your view, what was that female assassin's identity? After all, it was the train's broadcast that first notified us passengers of an extremely dangerous operative on board, which means the Imperial Special Operations Department must have received intelligence beforehand." Lanqi furrowed his brows slightly, resting his chin on his hand as if in deep thought. For Nikolai, the chief of the First Domestic Secret Service Section, to personally rush over to investigate, it had to involve some major domestic security issue. "Of course, I have no intention of prying into classified military matters. It's just that since Section Chief Nikolai asked for my deduction, I require the relevant supplementary information to make it sufficiently accurate." Lanqi added another sentence. "..." Kestrel Nikolai lapsed into a brief silence. A few seconds ticked by. "It isn't a grand secret. There's no harm in telling you. According to our intelligence, the dangerous operative aboard the train today was a key member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society—a big fish." he said. At any rate, the big fish had already slipped away and the window of opportunity was lost; the intelligence value had degraded to the point where it could be disclosed. "The Silver Moon Restoration Society...?" This time, it was Lanqi whose brow twitched with a hint of genuine confusion. "Having just arrived in the capital, you might not know much about this organization. But all you need to know is that they pose an absolute threat to the Empire, and are a thorn in the side of the great figures above." Kestrel Nikolai offered a rare elaboration. *This imperial agent isn't lying. The Imperial Special Operations Department's intelligence really seems to have identified Miss Unity as an extremely dangerous member of the Silver Moon Restoration Society,* Talia warned Lanqi internally, sharing the result of her truth discernment. "Why? In Mr. Landry's view, should she not belong to the Silver Moon Restoration Society?" Kestrel Nikolai seized upon the minute reaction, gleaning this answer from Lanqi's face. Just now, this black-haired, blue-eyed youth had displayed genuine hesitation for the very first time. Such unpolished rawness proved that the other party certainly did not belong to the Silver Moon Restoration Society. Correspondingly, he might be withholding other vital information. "Naturally. Personally, I felt she didn't seem quite like a member of this Silver Moon Restoration Society you speak of," Lanqi replied candidly. "Then what sort of person did you think she was?" Kestrel Nikolai's brow furrowed, seemingly finding the response worthless and far from what he wanted to hear. If today's investigative trail dead-ended right here with this black-haired, blue-eyed young man, he would be sorely disappointed. "The female assassin seemed more like an Allied spy. And, how should I put it... Old Mr. Lovia and I had a very pleasant conversation throughout the journey. I shouldn't slander him, but the plain fact is that Mr. Lovia and that female assassin spoke for a moment. What's more, they were distinctly not speaking the imperial tongue, unless my ears deceived me." Lanqi continued his explanation with an earnest, solemn demeanor. "..." Hearing this, Kestrel Nikolai sank into deep thought. Beside him, Lieutenant Colonel Burke's expression warped in shock, staring at Lanqi's startling declaration. An Allied spy meant foreign intelligence. To a certain extent, its severity existed on an entirely different level from the Silver Moon Restoration Society. "Are you certain of what you're saying?" Kestrel Nikolai asked Lanqi, enunciating every word. If the trail pointed toward "Lovia being an Allied spy," everything fell into place, hinting at a massive underlying case. However, it hinged on a prerequisite: whether this sixty-two-year-old publisher named Lovia actually had problems. "Of course," Lanqi nodded with conviction. "Very well. Thank you for the intelligence, Mr. Landry. We will pursue this and direct our investigation toward this Lovia. If your information proves useful, I shall personally visit to express my gratitude on behalf of the Imperial Special Operations Department and submit an application for your commendation." Kestrel Nikolai smiled and extended his hand toward Lanqi. Having this answer was enough. His years of professional experience told him that this youth named Landry was cloaked in mystery; or rather, deep down, he simply refused to trust him. If the Imperial Special Operations Department investigated and uncovered suspicious traits in Lovia, it would naturally verify Landry Washington's innocence. Furthermore, it would count as a tremendous merit, rendering the escape of an operative of uncertain rank from the Silver Moon Restoration Society negligible by comparison. Conversely, if Lovia was completely clean, Landry would have effectively exposed himself, and Nikolai would arrest him immediately. "You are too kind. We are all imperial citizens. In times like these, contributing to the Empire is our duty and obligation, and all the more our mission and honor." Lanqi gripped Nikolai's hand, speaking with firm resolve. Inside Lanqi's mind, Talia grew uneasy once more. *Lanqi, that statement was also true! He still suspects you, and the investigation into you will be relentless! You shouldn't have spun such a colossal lie,* Talia warned him. She could read the thoughts of this imperial secret service section chief far better than Lanqi could. On the surface, the two were shaking hands with smiles, but in truth Nikolai's suspicion of Lanqi had only deepened. *It's fine. The incident is practically wrapped up here. Rest assured, I promise you'll eat well and sleep soundly in the Empire without having to live in constant fear,* Lanqi transmitted back to Talia. Next, all he needed to do was secretly report the intelligence that "Lovia, a native of Glen Waverley on the northern border of the Creti Empire, a sixty-two-year-old publisher and border commoner with modest savings who intended to do business in the imperial capital Brierda, is in fact a spy planted in the Creti Empire by the Kingdom of Posen years ago." Once the Empire successfully uncovered the flaws in Lovia's identity, Landry—as the overt whistleblower who provided the lead—would become a hero of tremendous merit. *You were born for this...* Having read Lanqi's thoughts, Talia was rendered speechless for a moment. This time, circumstance might have forced his hand, and Lanqi had played it impeccably. Often, the deeper the suspicion, the greater the trust born of relief and guilt once one discovered they had made a mistake. Even if that might not fully work on someone as profoundly suspicious as Kestrel Nikolai—who wouldn't necessarily feel guilt and might retain his doubts— If Lanqi kept playing him like this, Nikolai might genuinely put Lanqi on his whitelist. How could this kid take to the Empire like a fish to water the moment he arrived...? Was this mere acting, or did he genuinely mean it...?