Chapter 1200: line with translation of chapter title

NO. 104: He also counts as experienced.

Leaving aside the original definition of Halloween, the later Halloween has always been mainly celebratory, with children dressing up as various cute monsters and going door-to-door to ask for candy, or else they would play tricks.

And something like an attack warning obviously does not fall within the scope of customs.

——The above is Halloween understood from the perspective of ordinary humans.

In fact, just as the inhabitants of the Holy Terra Federation are far more than just humans, Halloween is not only a human holiday but also a special day when actual monsters let down their guard and join the revelry.

In the true sense, it is a mingling of dragons and snakes, with demons and monsters appearing together.

Real crimes and false alarms often mix together, making it hard to tell truth from fiction, turning Halloween's security management into an annual challenge that law enforcers cannot ignore.

Its difficulty is second only to the year-end.

On that day, they scrutinize every clue related to crime, but if there is a genuine crime warning, and the implementation time is at the doujin exhibition two days later……

Such a clear warning that needs no investigation actually does not attract the highest alert level, simply because there are too many of them.

All kinds of startling scary messages, various rumors and urban legends spread opportunistically—each Halloween brings such a surge of information, and among them, phantom-thief-style crime warnings appear most frequently.

Especially when the execution date is not today but later, it is often just a no-cost boast, not worth worrying about.

But perhaps……

Is it a crime that has been planned by taking advantage of this mindset inertia?

The former refers to people like Teacher Tuopo, who don't pay much attention to it, merely treating the news as a topic of conversation.

The latter, however, are obviously the plainclothes agents of Teqiju who, after inspecting the steel beams and stage design, still have not relaxed their vigilance and continue their patrols.

Yes, Teqiju.

In the Gate Area, all large events must be reported and approved before they can be held, and the doujin exhibition is naturally no exception.

For most comic conventions, besides the venue's own security, there is also a small number of actual police directly responsible, and the deployment of these officers is handled by the General Police Bureau.

Although the specific deployment mechanism is unclear, it is not hard to guess that 'exhibition scale' is one of the criteria.

Moreover, the Umamusume Only Exhibition, as the longest-running and largest-scale online-offline hybrid exhibition in the Federation's Only Exhibitions, often sees high-profile celebrities mingling, making it naturally deserving of attention.

"But even if you say that, this missy arrangement still gives people the illusion that everyone is usually idle."

During the shift rotation, away from the crowds, leaning on the edge and looking at communication devices, the plainclothes Teqigan yuan couldn't help but complain, after all Teqiju's usual duties are protecting federal dignitaries, preventing and investigating Two Worlds and interstellar disputes and the like.

Although they often clash due to overlapping jurisdiction with the Two Worlds Safety Bureau and the Federal Safety Bureau, secretly badmouthing each other, to outsiders they all appear to be departments of the same rank.

How come their work is so high-end while we have to guard a bunch of stall vendors and those flashily dressed minors?

This Teqigan yuan felt especially uneasy, especially since she drew the Coser identity card, dressed herself in flashy clothes, and still had to wear the mechanical horse ears and tail.

Ah……so annoying……

Compared to some colleagues eager to fight, this plainclothes officer is clearly one of the few women who aren't into Umamusume.

But that doesn't mean her taste is mainstream.

After all, in the Gate Area, not liking Umamusume is usually your own problem.

And if you not only dislike Umamusume but also constantly hope to deal with aliens or time travelers, then your interests are definitely rather esoteric.

But this is obviously normal! Don't those Ultramen do the same!

This Teqigan yuan who craves novelty in combat had long wanted to transfer to work at Heaven's Gate City, but her performance was insufficient and her strength evaluation was slightly lacking, so she could only stay here and play the horse girl.

Seeing not far off that Granny's little sister who seems to be an old acquaintance of the Juanzhang naturally blends in without cosplay, patrolling with extra vigor, really made her feel the difference between people.

She is not the only one who thinks this way; she also has close friends, but those friends are more laid-back.

"Isn't that right? Recently there haven't been any big jobs for days, just trivial matters."

The colleague who didn't draw the Coser card but got the Otaku badge wrapped her muscular frame in an exceptionally rustic sports outfit, let her bangs hang down, and couldn't help but marvel at how easily her demeanor could be transformed.

The Dongyan sports outfit is truly a magical set of clothing.

"Isn't the Anmei District lively over there?"

The horse race-fixing case involved seven families, three transmigrator organizations; even though current work prevents open discussion, such a case can be spoken of in riddles among colleagues, after all those who understand, understand.

"Besides, this isn't something we can interfere with here, and frankly it's just a bunch of Category: Term about horse racing."

The Anmei District case is naturally handled by the Anmei District Teqiju; no need for clear expression, and it's fine—everyone already lacks interest in this matter anyway.

"Ah, horse racing… truly hopeless, always hanging on those little girls."

"Who made horse racing so profitable? Gambling is forever that lucrative, and guaranteed‑win gambling is even more refreshing than any business."

"Although that's what we say, but have we been chatting about this too disrespectful of the venue?"

Strictly speaking, it's a bit out of character.

Clearly we are an Umamusume Coser and an otaku girl, yet we keep chatting about Anmei District horse racing news like two odd gambling addicts—although it's not strange for Umamusume cosplayers and otaku to gamble on horse races.

"Oh, indeed," the 'horse girl' Teqigan yuan who just came to her senses gave a perfunctory glance around, then slightly narrowed her eyes, reached out and poked a colleague nearby, "Hey, that horse‑girl with black hair, isn't she a bit odd?"

"Who? You mean the one with long hair?"

"Yes, the one with a patch of white hair on her head that sways, oh, she even pressed it down—why make it look like a shooting star? Is she trying to hide a conspicuous feature?"

"I think her behavior is suspicious, like she's constantly paying attention to the surrounding space, always having room to move…… what do you think she's doing for work?"

"Hard to say, but that kind of aura and gaze feels like either an assassin or a mercenary…… how come her eyes look like a devil's?"

"Bit of a hassle, should we check? She's probably not some nobody; the chance she's a suspect isn't—she just looked over!"

While issuing the warning, that Teqigan yuan naturally let her gaze sweep over while staying alert.

Professional law enforcers naturally have professional quality; these Teqigan yuan selected for plainclothes patrol observation are capable of instantly disguising themselves as if nothing happened, but that still doesn't stop them from feeling that woman's steps as she approaches step by step, seeming suspicious.

At this point, the choice before the two of them is nothing more than either pretending the break is over and actively moving away, or pretending nothing is wrong and continuing to chat idly.

They chose the latter, and as the other drew nearer step by step, they gradually tensed their nerves.

It's not just a bit of a hassle…… the two companions who never looked at each other felt a similar sensation in their hearts.

This instinctive tremor stems from the two's keen perception, directly revealing the hidden gap between them, and also making those two consider the possibility of fleeing first.

What?

Strike first to be strong?

Striking first is impossible; fleeing always offers a better chance than fighting. Rather than launching a sudden attack only to be instantly killed, it's wiser to flee while sounding an alarm.

Of course, if necessary, perhaps one side should suddenly act to create an opportunity for the other…… While the two were still hesitating over what choice to make, they instead caught a glimpse from the corner of their eye that the other party had stopped when they were two meters away from this side.

Immediately, in the next second, a sudden sound rang out in each of their hearts.

"Excuse me, are you two members of Team Three?"