Chapter 377

"You've all understood the situation, right?"

Glancing at the hands of Hearing Li Ang and Auntie Auntie Ai Ma clasped together, and waiting until he let go, the Red-Haired Bureau Chief curled her knuckles and knocked twice forcefully on the intelligence board beside her.

"According to the information from the Watchtower, the Black Sect of Nightmare will mobilize over seven hundred members, starting tomorrow, to set up a total of thirty-five strongholds one after another.

Five days from now, when the Abyss of Fallen Souls reaches the 'overlap point' with the Kingdom, these thirty-five strongholds will hold rituals simultaneously, providing coordinates for the King of Nightmares to squeeze into reality along with the Abyss of Fallen Souls.

Our mission is to clean up all thirty-five strongholds before then, or at least clean up thirty-three of them. As long as there are no more than two strongholds left, the King of Nightmares will not be able to squeeze into reality completely."

After explaining the mission objective, the Red-Haired Bureau Chief tapped the intelligence board again, then pointed to the dozen maps pinned on it, her expression serious:

"The places marked with red crosses on these maps are the stronghold locations marked in advance by the Bureau according to the information from the Watchtower. They include twelve counties of the Kingdom, two mountain ranges spanning counties, and the sea area on the east side.

I have just applied for support. Nine strongholds in Merino County, Wales County, and Barrow County will be handled by the Lion Branch;

The six strongholds located in the eastern sea area and the Hespito volcano group will be taken over by the Aquarius Branch. We only need to handle the remaining twenty strongholds. Next, I will assign the tasks."

Twenty strongholds...

Looking at the eight people in the conference room besides himself, Hearing Li Ang calculated slightly.

Three times seven is twenty-one, so if the Bureau Chief doesn't go out and continues to guard the Capital, then including himself, everyone has to run to about three strongholds.

And considering that among the investigators present, only he is a Level 3 investigator, while others are Level 2 or even Level 1, he estimated he would be assigned one less than the others, or perhaps just one stronghold.

"Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, the seven strongholds in Ryan County and Coast County are assigned to you. If time is tight, you can be ruthless."

"Understood."

Huh? That's seven missions gone just like that?

In Hearing Li Ang's surprised gaze, the map with the most red crosses was taken down directly by the Red-Haired Bureau Chief and placed on the table in front of Auntie Auntie Ai Ma. Auntie Auntie Ai Ma nodded without surprise, frowning as she looked at the time and locations marked on the map.

"Next is Tang Mu... the four strongholds in the Snow Mountain Range are assigned to you. Be careful with the noise when you take action. The snow there hasn't melted yet, so don't cause a big avalanche!"

"Mm-hmm, I'll try my best!"

"It's not trying your best, it's a must!"

After glaring warningly at the somewhat lazy Tang Mu, the Red-Haired Bureau Chief continued to distribute tasks:

"Next is Peony, you go to Pavu County and Belay County..."

"Amien, this map of Belay County is for you... you also pay attention to the noise, no indiscriminate drugging this time..."

"Harry, these are yours..."

"Spike, and you... if you can't handle it, you can mobilize the garrison, but remember to file a report afterward..."

Wait... aren't they all assigned?

When the last two maps were pinned together and sent to the strong colleague sitting opposite, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but stand up and ask with a look of surprise:

"Bureau Chief, what about me? What am I doing?"

"You stay behind to guard the house."

"..."

After looking at Hearing Li Ang's speechless expression, the Red-Haired Bureau Chief raised her hand and pointed toward the Iron Wang Gong, explaining calmly:

"The King of Nightmares has a grudge against the ancestors of the royal family. It cannot be ruled out that it will take this opportunity to take action against members of the royal family, so we must be on guard.

It just so happens that your identity is special, you have no problem entering and leaving the Iron Wang Gong, and you are quite familiar with both the Princess and the Prince, so you are perfect for this job. If I am held back by any unexpected situation, then you are responsible for protecting the royal family. If something goes wrong, remember to ask the Bureau for help."

Unexpected situation?

Although the Red-Haired Bureau Chief didn't say it explicitly, after making eye contact with her, Hearing Li Ang immediately understood what she meant, knowing she was worried about the female reporter from the Gemini Branch.

Ever since she stole the Bureau Chief's wallet, the female reporter named Nicole hadn't appeared again, and she was a bona fide Level 1 investigator with a sheep's tail that could hide her aura. One had to be on guard.

So protecting the royal family was probably nonsense. The Bureau Chief's real purpose in arranging for him to enter the Iron Wang Gong was probably to get him closer to the royal family's 【Text Stone Tablet】. Once something went wrong on her side, he could immediately contact the Bureau through the royal family's channels to seek assistance.

"I understand."

After nodding in tacit understanding, Hearing Li Ang, having received his mission, sat down with peace of mind. The Red-Haired Bureau Chief, having finished arranging all the tasks, clapped her hands forcefully and concluded decisively:

"If there's nothing else to add, let's all set off now!

In addition, considering that two other branches are participating this time, it's impossible to determine how far they can go and whether mistakes will occur, so it's best if we take down all twenty strongholds we are responsible for without a single one missing!"

Late the next night, Iron Wang Gong.

Having been busy for a whole day and patiently receiving six or seven groups of guests, Prince Watching Qiaoshuya had just fallen asleep when a knock on the door sounded from outside the bedroom.

"Knock, knock-knock."

"..."

The freckled Prince, who had been tossed about all day, was sleeping soundly. But after waiting for a while without a response, the sound of knuckles tapping on the wooden board suddenly increased, and the rhythm became increasingly intense, dragging him out of his sleep.

"Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!"???

Who? Who has the guts to knock on my door like this? Are you looking for death?!

Awakened forcefully by the knocking, the freckled Prince climbed up in annoyance, rushed off his soft bed, and yanked open the bedroom door.

"Damn it! I'm going to... is it you?"

After seeing the person's face clearly, Watching Qiaoshuya, who was about to curse, turned pale. He hurriedly shut his mouth and subconsciously took a big step back, but seemingly feeling that he was showing cowardice, he gritted his teeth and took half a step forward, then scolded sternly:

"Who let you in! You... get out! Get out!"

"Move aside, thanks."

Glancing sideways at the cowardly Watching Qiaoshuya, Hearing Li Ang, holding a pillow and a thin quilt, pushed past the freckled Prince, entered his room, and then leaned the pillow against the armrest on the side.

"Can't you understand human speech?"

Ignored, Watching Qiaoshuya's eyes turned fierce. He rushed over and raised his foot, wanting to kick the sofa and the man lying on it over together. But after being stared at by Hearing Li Ang with narrowed eyes for a while, he finally lowered his foot, his cheeks twitching as he said angrily:

"Get out! This is my room! Don't be too much! Watch out, I..."

"I'm here to protect you."

Interrupting his words, the weary Hearing Li Ang yawned, then lay on the sofa and informed him without much sincerity:

"Something happened recently, you might be in danger, so the Bureau gave me a mission to protect members of the royal family.

But there's only one of me, and I can't protect everyone. So I thought about it: when I'm awake during the day, I'll go protect your dad, your mom, and your sister. When I'm sleepy at night, I'll come here to protect you. That counts as me doing my duty...

Hmm... if you have no objections, then it's settled. I'm going to sleep first."