Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 354 Mountain Lion Gang: What have I done to deserve this?

This is the interior of the Balai Building, a transit point established here by the Mountain Lion gang.

Two days ago, due to the sheriff's raid, Jane and the others had to temporarily take refuge here, and of course, the hostages they had captured were also here.

To Jane's surprise, the place seemed quite lively. Just now, when she helped rent videotapes and went out, she had scouted the surroundings and discovered that there were more people from the Mountain Lions in the Balai Building than just those in the building.

Victoria Housekeeping.

These were the people Jane discovered. Jane knew this group of people; they were domestic workers who specialized in serving the wealthy and powerful. This included matters related to voids, and of course, they possessed legitimate void investigation qualifications.

Upon seeing them, Jane recalled something: not long ago, because the cavity where the Balai Building was located began to collapse, a certain big shot spent a huge sum of money to buy the entire Balai Building.

The important person was also a client of Victoria Housekeeping, so it's not hard to guess why they were there. After all, cleaning the house for the homeowner is part of their job, isn't it?

This way, we might be able to use them to help eliminate the Mountain Lions ahead of time. After all, in order to avoid trouble these days, the Mountain Lions' leader, Riza, has been appearing here from time to time to transfer the people staying here to their lair in batches. If we can seize the opportunity, we might be able to capture Riza ahead of time.

But then again, did it really take that long to get back?

Just now, one of his men took Seth out to the restroom, and this is the umpteenth time he's done this today.

This was to be expected, since Jane had specifically instructed her men to give Seth three times the amount of water as others. Drinking so much water in a short period would naturally lead to more frequent urination. Furthermore, with the muscle relaxant dosage gradually reduced, the effects of the medication should have worn off by now.

Wait a minute! He couldn't have run away with the hostages, could he?

Unfortunately, a subordinate rushed over with bad news. Not only had he escaped with the hostages, but he had also successfully persuaded the person in charge of guarding the hostages to surrender.

Upon hearing this news, Jane immediately rushed out of the room. She knew that her underlings had already reported the situation to Riza, who hated traitors the most. Jane didn't even want to think about what kind of torture they would suffer if they were caught.

"Ha—ha—ha—. Seth, were you really given a muscle relaxant?" the guard in charge of leading the way asked breathlessly. "How come you've been running faster than all of us the whole way!"

"Muscles are like that; if you reason with them and give them a little push, they'll always get moving!"

"These are... muscles from that world... I can't take it anymore, I can't run anymore..."

The guards were completely exhausted by this point, and Seth had to stop and comfort them, saying, "Hang in there a little longer. Didn't you just say we were almost at the exit?"

"No, we've already reached it! The exit is just ahead!"

"So that's how it is. You two citizens, quick! You can leave now!"

"R-really? Sheriff, you're not feeling well, wouldn't it be better if you left first?"

"Don't worry about me. Time is precious. You guys need to get out of here first! Hurry!"

"Waaah! Thank you so much, Sheriff Seth! If it weren't for you, we would have already...!"

“Every sheriff does this! Come on!”

After seeing the citizens off, Seth turned to look at the guards who were still resting nearby, but just then Jane arrived.

"Wait a moment--!"

"Damn it, they still caught up?" Seth lowered his stance, ready to launch an attack at any moment, as he was still basically bound.

"You, you, you stay away! I've decided to abandon darkness and embrace the light, Sister Jian, you'd better do the same!"

"Shut up, listen up! You have other options...!"

"Oh? What other roads are there?"

A powerful voice came from the side, and as the noisy footsteps and shouts grew closer, the main force of the Mountain Lion Gang's pursuers surrounded them. The leader was a burly man wearing a helmet, and he was none other than the leader of the Mountain Lion Gang—Riza.

"We're surrounded! Stay behind me!"

Seth shielded the guards behind him, watching Riza with a wary expression.

"The rules of the underworld, the rules of the gang, my rules... none of them will tolerate traitors. Jane... do you think they have any other way out?"

Jane's mood turned heavy as she was shocked that things had turned out this way. Fortunately, she still had a backup plan, provided that the Victoria Housekeeping staff here could find the clues she had left behind.

However, the most urgent task is to buy time.

"...Of course, it's surrender and submission."

“Oh? According to the rules, traitors should be punished to the point of wishing they were dead, but since Jane has said so… I can give her another chance.”

As he spoke, Riza looked at the guard and said, "You, kill that sheriff, and I can be lenient with you."

"Hey?"

"You have three seconds to think it over. Three..."

"...Two, one!" the guard continued Riza's countdown. "I refuse!"

Gunfire erupted, and shrapnel rained down on Seth and his companion. Under relentless fire, the traitor was exposed.

"Ugh!"

The guard was kicked to the ground, then lifted up by another strong henchman.

"You traitorous fool, behave yourself!"

"...He rejected your proposal, Jane. You know what to do."

On a rooftop of the Balai Building, members of the Mountain Lion Gang escorted Seth and the guard to the edge, while Jane, whose name was called, stepped forward, grabbed the guard by the neck, and dragged him outside the building.

Seth was struggling violently nearby, but Jane remained unmoved.

"What's wrong, Jane? Why won't you let go? Is it because you're afraid of killing someone?"

"No, of course not..."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Just as Jane was about to throw the guards down, a series of crisp footsteps came from the entrance to the rooftop.

"I thought it was just one mouse that came in, but it turns out there's a whole bunch. Looks like I'll have to ask you uninvited guests for help before I can help the owner with the house."

The leader was a wolf-like man dressed in a suit and wearing a restraint on his head, followed by several women dressed as maids.

"Who are you?"

While tidying his somewhat disheveled clothes, Wolfish introduced himself: "Excuse me, I am Lycaen, and we are from Victoria Housekeeping!"

These words immediately drew a burst of laughter from the crowd, and Riza ordered his men to arrest them and silence them without hesitation.

Seeing this, Lycaen sighed and then ordered the maids behind him to prepare for battle.

Not long ago, the cat led Ies into the interior of the Balai Building.

As they explored further, the cat felt as if an unknown gaze was watching them, which reminded her of a rumor she had once heard.

It is said that before the Balai Building was swallowed by the void, its owner held an unprecedentedly grand banquet here, and invited a pair of twins to perform on stage.

But then the Hollow Disaster struck. The twins, in order to allow others to escape safely, gave up their own hope of survival and died inside the Hollow. Since then, rumors have circulated that the twins' souls wander around the Balai Building.

Just then, they were attacked. First, a huge pair of garden shears flew towards them. After being blocked by the cat demon, a woman dressed as a maid appeared from behind the cat demon and picked up Ies.

Then a wolf-man emerged from the shadows, revealing their identities and demanding that the cat-men explain why they had come in, or else they would be driven away by violence.

Fortunately, Kelin came to their rescue. After learning that the cat and the others knew Kelin, the wolf and the others' attitude softened considerably.

After a brief self-introduction, Nekomata and Tetsuya learned their names and the organizations they belonged to.

They also learned why Lykan was so wary of the two of them; it turned out that Lykan had recently discovered some markings inside the Balai Building that he had never seen before.

Lycahn knew very well that these markings did not exist before they entered, because Lycahn had already identified most of the area when they officially entered the building to begin cleaning.

The remaining areas could not be identified immediately due to the impact of the void, but Lycahn was certain that he had never seen those markings before.

Therefore, Lycahn immediately decided to lead the others to begin a full investigation, and it was at this time that he met Neko and the others.

"So, the reason you're here is because the big shot who hired you bought the building, and you're here to clean up the clutter?" Zhe asked again to confirm.

"Yes, Mr. Rope Maker."

Lykan replied that he knew from the moment he saw Tetsuya and Nekoyo that they were definitely not investigators from the Hollow Society, but rather rope craftsmen and cave raiders. However, this didn't matter to them, since they would also post commissions on the rope net to find suitable rope craftsmen when necessary.

"Due to professional ethics, I regret that I cannot reveal my employer's identity. However, as compensation and to thank you for your help to Colleen, we can assist you in finding your missing friend, since in a sense, we share the same goal."

So the two groups hit it off and started working together. Under Lycaen's guidance, Zhe and Cat learned a lot more information about the Balai Building, which made Fairy's search even faster.

Soon, the group tracked down to the place where the Mountain Lion Gang had captured Seth and his men. Lycahn frowned as he looked at the messy bullet holes around him.

"The situation looks dire. Could you, Rope Craftsman, calculate the fastest route?"

"Understood, Fairy, Ai-chan."

"Boss, I've already marked the location of the biosignal on the map."

"Master, the best route has been planned."

Shortly after they left, Zhu Yuan arrived at the scene through the exit through which the citizens had previously escaped. After examining the traces at the scene, she immediately instructed the captain to calculate the rescue route.

Back to the present, only Riza of the Mountain Lion Gang is still struggling to hold on, while Jane has already surrendered with her hands raised.

Soon, Riza was also defeated, and at the same time, the rooftop door was kicked open again, and Zhu Yuan led a large group of police officers to control the scene.

"Captain! Please listen to me!" Seth, now untied, shielded Jane beside him. "This lady next to me is Jane, a bodyguard of the Mountain Lions... well, a quasi-bodyguard. Although she's the target of our operation, her behavior just now suggests she still has a conscience. Could we give her a chance to redeem herself and lead us to the Mountain Lions' lair?"

These words caused Zhu Yuan's face to turn ugly instantly. Seth then remembered that Zhu Yuan had always had zero tolerance for criminals. However, after these few days of communication, Seth vaguely felt that Jane was not a bad person at heart, and she had not committed any serious mistakes. Seth felt that she still had a chance to reform herself.

Seeing this, Seth again guaranteed with his own reputation that he would persuade the other party to repent and reform!

Finally, Zhu Yuan couldn't hold back any longer. She chuckled twice and then began to introduce Jane's true identity to Seth.

“Seth, let me introduce you. This is Jane Du, a criminal behavior expert who has been working with us. She was directly involved in the operation as an inside agent… I'm sorry, the situation is complicated this time, I'll tell you the details later.”

"Eh?"

Seth tilted his head blankly, then his gaze darted back and forth between Zhu Yuan and Jane several times before finally pointing a trembling finger at Jane.

"So, Jane has always been one of us?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Jane looked at Seth with a teasing expression. “Oh dear, I never thought I would be seen this way by my little brother. Zhu Yuan, do you think I still have a chance to change my ways?”

"Aaaaaah!" Seth screamed, clutching his head. "Stop talking!!!"

Actually, we heard everything you said these past few days, Zhu Yuan thought with a twitch at the corner of her mouth, then turned around and came to Zhe and the others.

“Mr. Lykahn, I never expected to see you here.”

"It's been a long time, Miss Zhu Yuan. I never expected to see you here."

Yes, Zhu Yuan knew about Victoria Housekeeping. As for how she found out, it was actually quite simple: one day, when she was invited by Hoshimi Miya to her house, Victoria Housekeeping happened to be there as well.

"But I didn't expect that the infamous Mountain Lion Gang would have a base inside the Ballai Building," Lykan said, stroking his chin. "Looks like my investigation wasn't thorough enough."

"No need to say that, but Mr. Lykan, what brings you here?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to explain. To put it simply, my master, or employer, recently spent a lot of money to buy the Balai Building, so we were asked to come and clean up the clutter."

“I see. But these two don’t seem to be your members, do they? And this Bomb…”

"It's me, Zhu Yuan." Zhe decided to speak after thinking it over.

"Is that really the case?"

"Do you two mean you know each other?"

"There's a history between us," Zhu Yuan sighed. "But please state your purpose, or don't blame me for arresting you, Faetong!"