Chapter 3463: The Ninth Bullet

Although the voice that called out Major Lades' name was not very loud, everyone nearby could hear it, and Major Lades naturally heard it himself. He turned his head to look at the person who spoke, and his expression was indeed that of meeting an "acquaintance".

Xia De, who was behind the crowd, was a little worried that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions, but fortunately, after experiencing so many things, "Eight-Gun Captain" Lades was no longer in the state he was in two years ago when he first returned from Karsenrik.

He just nodded to the person who spoke and continued to deal with the conflict incident. Although the crowd whispered, no one discussed Major Lades' past loudly again.

The matter was soon handled. The conflict between the two sides was just a few words of bickering and was not a big deal. So everyone dispersed, and Major Lades, who had just seen Xia De, first let his own soldiers go back, and then walked toward Xia De with his hands in his pockets.

"This is..."

He also saw Miss Larsen following Xia De. However, in Major Lades' impression, the girls following Xia De were either mature and steady or graceful, and there were not many "little girls" who were not very tall and full of greenness like this.

Xia De explained:

"This is Miss Stella Larsen. Someone asked her to keep an eye on me today."

The white-haired girl patted him lightly, and Major Lades understood:

"Then let's walk along the beach."

"Looks like there have been a lot of troubles recently?"

"Yeah, where can there be no troubles?"

Besides the watch business, Time Wheel City was also an important resort city in the Principality of Lagson, so the beach here was very beautiful. Winter had not yet ended, and the scenery by the sea was not as good as in summer, but this emptiness and desolation set off Major Lades' mood very well.

Xia De walked side by side on the beach with his old friend, and Miss Larsen followed two steps behind, very curious about the story between them in her heart.

Xia De was very worried about his friend:

"You were recognized by the Karsenrik people. If the past things spread to the navy, you will probably be in trouble."

After all, the experience of being captured was not glorious. Since the Major was transferred from the army to the navy, he had never mentioned this matter to anyone. Although there was no regulation that prisoners could not be officers, once this matter spread, his sailors and soldiers would also look down on him.

The Major himself was open-minded:

"I didn't die after those eight shots, and being captured afterward could be considered a punishment for my attempt to commit suicide. If this matter really spreads, I will gather the sailors and soldiers on the White Pearl to explain this matter clearly. I consider myself to have some prestige on the ship, so I won't be isolated by everyone."

He stopped and looked at the sea:

"My trouble recently is not this. Actually, I still have nightmares, and they haven't stopped since the fleet arrived at Fatumont Island."

"Still the nightmare about that gun?"

Major Lades nodded slightly:

"I dreamed that I returned to Tobesk through a prisoner exchange under the name of Eight-Gun Captain. But what happened afterward was different from my real experience. I didn't meet you at the Lake View Manor, so that gun stayed in my hand."

His voice was low and hoarse:

"Because I didn't meet you, I didn't cheer up, and naturally there was no subsequent capture of that human trafficker, so I wasn't transferred to the Red Water Camp on the Windy Path in Midhillburg to continue as an officer because of meritorious service."

"So I received a discharge order under the name of 'Eight-Gun Captain', and then relied on the discharge fee and the help of friends to drink alcohol all day in the apartment, letting alcohol numb me. Until one day, the discharge fee was gone, and I became a member of the Tobesk city gang for a living."

"The me in the dream always carried that gun and was always called 'Eight-Gun Captain'. Later I did many things, until one day I was in a shootout with others in the lower city, the bullets in the pistol were used up, so I took out that revolver and pulled the trigger forward, and then I was hit in the forehead by that late bullet. Eight-Gun Captain died on the ninth bullet of that gun."

This indeed conformed to the characteristic of 【Gun of Kindness】 of "not hurting oneself, not hurting others".

"Is this a continuous dream?"

Xia De asked with a smile. Major Lades, who had his hands in his pockets, looked at the sea and shook his head:

"I experienced so much in one night, and then for several nights, fragments of this dream would appear intermittently. I think there are also reasons for my own overthinking. Although I forgot many details of the dream, the dream was too real."

"I still remember the headache when hungover, still remember the stench of the garbage alley in the lower city

"You're worried about this dream, aren't you? Worried that it's an omen?"

Xia De reached into his pocket, and then, under Major Lades's astonished gaze, took out the 【Gun of Kindness】.

Right in front of Major Lades, Xia De swung open the revolver's cylinder, spun it once to show it was already filled with bright yellow bullets, and then Xia De handed the gun to his good friend:

"If you're worried that the dream foretells the ninth bullet will take your life, then pull the trigger on yourself right now. I guarantee you'll be absolutely fine; yes, even if it really hits you, you'll be absolutely fine. After firing this shot, you can set your mind at ease, right?"

The unique nature of Fatumonte Island indeed made it possible for Major Lades to dream of unusual things. Since Xia De could hear the voice of long-haired Luweiya in the water twice, it wasn't strange for Major Lades to dream of his past-life experiences, or simply dream of the possibilities of fate.

But Xia De felt he didn't need to explain things like "I broke fate" or "that might have been the original possibility," so pulling out this gun was the most straightforward method.

Major Lades looked at the familiar revolver and hesitated for a moment—he had seen it many times in his dreams recently—then he really reached out and took it.

Facing the direction of the sea, Napoleon Lades used his right hand to raise the revolver and aim it at the side of his own head, the muzzle about two inches away from his skin.

The winter afternoon sun was just right; standing on the beach facing the sea and basking in the sun, Major Lades, besides feeling happy, actually had a strange sensation of "I am truly living in this world."

*Click~* went his thumb as he cocked the hammer, then he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger with his index finger.

*Bang~* The sound startled Miss Larsen, who was pondering the content of their conversation, but of course, no one fell after the gunshot. Major Lades was completely unharmed; he took deep breaths of the sea breeze to calm his nerves. Although he trusted Xia De, he was, of course, still very scared.

But gradually, as his rapid breathing calmed down, a smile appeared on his face again.

Xia De reached out and pinched the bullet that had flown out, opening his palm to let Major Lades see the bullet head in his hand:

"Major, you can rest easy now, right? A dream is just a dream; you've probably just been too anxious lately."

Lades put down the gun and said with a smile:

"Relieved, I'm relieved. It seems the Eight-Shot Captain won't necessarily die on the ninth shot; I was indeed overthinking it."

He returned the 【Gun of Kindness】 to Xia De and took the bullet head for himself:

"I plan to make this into a pendant and keep it on me as an amulet from now on."

Xia De had no objections to this; although the 【Gun of Kindness】 was a relic, the bullets fired by that gun were still ordinary bullets.

He carefully put away the 【Gun of Kindness】, but didn't forget to urge:

"However, if you continue to have such dreams, you can write another letter to Victoria Street. I know a psychologist who is very good at solving dream problems; I can have him prescribe some calming medicine for you."

Major Lades thanked him again, placed the bullet head in his chest pocket, buttoned it up, let out a long breath, and continued to watch the shimmering waves of the sea in the afternoon. With his hands back in his pockets, he looked at the scenery before him in a daze. To Miss Larsen, who was watching the two from the side, the snow-capped mountains seemed to be shining behind this strange northern officer.

As a candidate for the Chosen of Fate, her talent for divination was actually not very strong compared to the candidates from the 【Society of Ten Thousand】, the 【Doom Sect】, the 【Clown Troupe】, or the 【Prophet Association】, but at this moment, she felt as if she still saw the arc of fate—a story of fate that had been artificially interfered with and thus changed its appearance.

She felt increasingly curious about this story.

"The weather is truly nice."

A long time later, Major Lades said softly, and Xia De stood by his side with a smile:

"Actually, the weather on Fatumonte Island is good most of the time; you just didn't notice it."

Afterwards, the two didn't talk about the 【Gun of Kindness】 again. Major Lades seemed to be completely at ease. Instead, Xia De mentioned Miss Lavender, the fiancée of Viscount Alfield, the fake person they had captured yesterday:

"Has Miss Lavender's disappearance caused a stir in the delegation? Did that Viscount Alfield not demand a search of the entire island?"

Major Lades shook his head:

"I heard about this, but Viscount Alfield is just very sad and has taken to his bed with illness. Others are doing the searching for the missing lady, and the police of Time Wheel City are helping too, but the stir caused isn't very large... The events that happened in Tobesk on Monday have already spread here; Viscount Alfield is probably wishing his fiancée would disappear right now."

Although the 【House of Rebirth】 had already been destroyed, the church would certainly look for those "resurrected" fake people, and finding the fake people in the Tobesk delegation was only a matter of time.

And once the fake people were found, Viscount Alfield would certainly be questioned by the church. So, for the sake of his reputation and to avoid being taken away by the church, having Miss Lavender disappear now might be exactly what the Viscount wanted most.