The time was evening, on the first day Andrew became Astra Yao's bodyguard.
Luciana Auxesis Theodoro de Montefio.
The bona fide eldest young miss of the old money Montefio family in New Eridu.
Currently, she was in the midst of being splendidly kidnapped.
However, she showed not a trace of the panic expected of a kidnap victim. As if she had prepared for this long ago, she sat calmly and leisurely in the cargo hold of the kidnappers' truck.
Because the commission explicitly stated that she must not be injured, there was even a specialized cushion beneath her.
However.
Although this was the cage where the kidnappers were imprisoning her, she felt not a shred of sadness at being trapped. On the contrary, she felt a kind of heartfelt joy.
That was the joy of freedom that was about to arrive.
She finally didn't have to stay in that home anymore—a place that had nothing but opulence, like a birdcage imprisoning a canary.
And she finally didn't have to keep looking at that old fogey's cold face, self-righteously trying to 'correct' her with a mix of disappointment and expectation.
Although this tiny truck cargo box was the smallest space Luciana had entered since she was born and grew up, for her, it felt even vaster than the manor at home.
Thinking of this, Lucy couldn't help but softly hum a piano piece she liked.
This was, of course, not because she truly enjoyed being kidnapped.
After all, no matter how much she craved freedom, as the eldest young miss of the Montefio family, she wouldn't be stupid enough to remain leisurely when her life was actually in danger.
All of this was naturally because—the client of this kidnapping was none other than herself.
That's right.
This was the legendary 'I kidnap myself'!
For this escape, the attire on Lucy's body had been meticulously prepared; it was already the dress in her closet with the least lace and the most conducive to movement.
Unfortunately, if it weren't for the fact that she didn't have any, she would have actually preferred to wear a pair of trousers.
Preferably denim shorts.
Regrettably, as an old-school noble family, the Montefio family had considerable restrictions on clothing.
Improper garments like jeans were not allowed to appear in the wardrobe, which forced her to put on this dress.
Aside from that, countless other restrictive rules annoyed her to no end.
But soon, she would bid farewell to that cage-like home and arrive at the freest place in all of New Eridu.
The Outer Ring!
She heard that the folk customs there were very simple and honest, and that they were incomparably inclusive of everyone who came there, regardless of their background.
Even the air was different from the staleness of the New Eridu city center.
It smelled fresh, vivid... the scent of freedom!
Although the latter points were all highly questionable, for Lucy, she had no time to distinguish the details right now.
At least it was definitely far, far better than the New Eridu city center, where she would be found and taken back at any moment no matter where she went!
After all, in the Outer Ring, even the Montefio family's hands couldn't reach her at all.
Meanwhile, in the truck cab ahead where Lucy was being held.
Karon, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the little chick in the cargo hold behind him and scratched his head with a bit of confusion.
As the leader of this kidnapping commission, Karon felt that this particular job revealed weirdness everywhere.
This commission was the second largest currently on the Proxy Net in terms of monetary value.
The content of the commission was to kidnap the only daughter of the Montefio family—a noble family known to almost everyone in New Eridu.
Looking at it that way, it indeed lived up to the price.
And the price of the commission was so considerable that even the deposit was already a hefty sum of Dennies.
As the third-in-command of the Vanishing Wolves, even though the squad he brought along was mostly reserve elites, Karon had full confidence in his ability to complete this commission.
As for why a massive gang like the Vanishing Wolves only had him, a single elite member, leading the team...
That was mainly because the Boss was organizing the rest of the members today to complete the kidnapping commission with the largest amount currently on the Proxy Net.
To kidnap a small idol from DGA Entertainment.
So, under circumstances where both prices were suitable but impossible to give up, as the third-in-command, he had to decisively take on the heavy responsibility without hesitation!
At the same time, as long as they completed these two commissions, the Vanishing Wolves would surely be able to leapfrog over 'The Triumphant' led by Pompey and become the largest gang in the Outer Ring!
The kidnapping time was also in the evening. Dealing with an old-school noble family, one couldn't be too careful.
Karon chose to actively disconnect the communication line with Thorne, preparing to reconnect with Thorne only after the kidnapping was over, the target was delivered to the designated location, and the final payment was received.
After all, no matter what, this was a noble manor in the wealthy district of New Eridu.
Inherently, there should have been quite a few specialized bodyguards. If they messed up or moved a bit too slowly, all of them would be caught in one fell swoop by Public Security right there.
Coupled with the fact that the commission explicitly mentioned not harming the target and not causing her to resist.
So, the difficulty of this commission was actually quite high for Karon.
He had even prepared several versions of coaxing scripts for this kind of naive young miss.
But the things that happened afterward could be described as somewhat strange.
Following the commission's instructions to enter directly through the front gate, Karon was a bit incredulous at first.
But after testing the waters, he discovered something.
It was as if the manor's security had all gotten off work; the entire estate was empty.
And what followed was even weirder.
Upon arriving at the villa, the kidnapping target was cooperative to an absurd degree. There was no fear in her eyes; instead, when she saw them appear, her eyes revealed a hint of excitement.
This made him suspect slightly whether he was in a dream.
Even now that she had been missing for some time and the scenery outside the truck had turned into the yellow sands of the Outer Ring, no news regarding a Public Security investigation had appeared.
It was as if the person they kidnapped was a fake.
Sometimes, when things go too smoothly, it actually makes people start to worry involuntarily.
The anxiety in his heart made Karon carefully open the file sent by the client. After meticulously comparing it with the appearance of the person in the cargo hold and discovering that it was indeed exactly the same, Karon breathed a slight sigh of relief and put down his phone.
At least he could confirm he hadn't grabbed the wrong person.
But for some reason, he still felt restless, as if some powerful entity already had its eyes on him.
Although it sounded very superstitious, Karon trusted this feeling of his very much.
After all, he had salvaged several kidnapping commissions thanks to this feeling, making several people who accidentally stumbled upon the scene shut their mouths permanently.
Thus, he immediately picked up the walkie-talkie in his hand. Karon shouted an order:
"All members, wake up the 'Fleetfoot Patroller Type II' and 'Heavy Raider Type II' in the cargo hold and have them stand by! If any personnel not on our side appear, attack immediately!"
The next moment, the cargo boxes of the few trucks following behind the convoy opened immediately.
Two military Autonomous Support Units unfolded instantly upon awakening. Mechanical constructs resembling ostriches leaped up from the cargo holds and landed on the ground.
Zzzzt!
Jumping directly from the high-speed trucks caused an incredibly violent friction sound to erupt instantly between the feet of these two mechanical devices and the ground.
Accompanied by splashing sparks, two pitch-black scorch marks immediately appeared on the originally smooth asphalt road.
But in the next instant, the rollers hidden in their feet popped out, turning into tires that began to slide rapidly along the ground. Soon, like two escorting eagles, they accompanied the convoy on both sides.
Even so, the uneasy feeling in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Lucy, inside the cargo hold, frowned unconsciously upon hearing the sentence coming from the front.
It was true that she was escaping.
The reason she looked for these people was also because, judging from the intelligence circulating on the Proxy Net, this account had always been accepting similar kidnapping commissions.
By now, many people had already fallen victim to their poisonous hands.
So Lucy had actually pinpointed this and specifically chosen this group of people, rejecting several other gangs.
The purpose was to eliminate a scourge for New Eridu while running away.
After all, with her being kidnapped, leaving aside other members of the Montefio family, her old man would inevitably try his absolute best to investigate.
When he traced it back to this group of people, finding neither her nor the client, these people would inevitably face a reckoning.
That old geezer might even think this group were the client's death-sworn soldiers who wouldn't betray their employer no matter what.
And based on her understanding of that old geezer's mental process...
He would definitely think the other party was hiding deeply and would start to be constantly suspicious. By the time he reacted, she would have long since cleared her tracks and vanished without a trace.
After all, who would think that I commissioned someone to kidnap myself?
But if this implicated innocent people who might appear, that was not something Lucy was willing to see.
However, it was impossible for Lucy to take out the phone she was hiding right now.
Karon in front of her had been watching her movements at all times. Sending a message directly in front of someone else would simply be dancing in the enemy's minefield.
If her identity was exposed at this moment...
Given the character of these people, she would thoroughly become fish meat on the chopping block.
What to do?
In the current situation, it seemed she could only send instructions after she was thrown into the little black room at the destination.
But, actually, if she just hardened her heart a bit and was a bit more selfish, Lucy could completely ignore this matter directly.
But, at least for now, she couldn't do it.
Worst case scenario, she would arrange another plan later.
Just as Lucy looked solemn with worry and was preparing to take out her phone...
On a rock face fully three to four hundred meters high in the distance ahead of the convoy, a short figure, standing a full 1.32 meters tall, was standing at the peak, gazing at the gradually approaching convoy below.
Though called short, this height was actually considered very tall within its race.
White armor resembling that of a knight was worn on its body, looking very well-fitted. Pale purple patterns were faintly visible on the armor; one look and it was clear it came from the same material as Andrew's armor.
On its back, it carried a greatsword of the same material, glowing with pale purple patterns.
And the size of this greatsword reached the standard of a longsword even if a human were to wield it.
Under the lifted visor, a completely feline face was revealed. Compared to the Cat Thirens of New Eridu, even the Thirens with the most severe beast transformation did not reach its degree.
After all, it was essentially a magnified version of a cat.
And this was none other than Andrew's best partner—Meowscular!
From childhood to adulthood, he was the largest in size and possessed the greatest strength among his peers, leading the village granny to give him the name Meowscular (Miao Da Li).
As a result, for the sake of fluency, his Boss had always called him Meow-Da, causing others in 'The Star' to gradually only call him Meow-Da as well.
Even though as a Felyne, what he was most outstanding and proud of was his strength, meow!
The most important character in his name was clearly the 'Li' (Strength), meow!
Although no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't compare to the Boss, meow...
Thinking of this, Meow-Da couldn't help but lower his head in depression, but he soon cheered up again.
After all, isn't it normal for a little brother to not compare to the Boss, meow~
But even though it was his Boss of many years, Meow-Da couldn't help but feel a little resentment when thinking about his name.
Meow-Da, having prepared to complain properly to him again after finding the Boss, couldn't help but shake his head.
His pure white and dense fur made him look like a large fluffy ball, giving off a feeling that he would be very nice to pet. His large blue and yellow eyes stared straight at the row of cars passing below.
He watched the movement of the cars with curiosity.
"Running iron boxes, meow! Boss talked about these things, meow!"
Meow-Da instantly watched the convoy below with a bit of excitement. After all, where there were people, he could find human settlements, and then maybe he could find news of the Boss.
He was just preparing to wave his hand to say hello so he could ask for directions.
But just then, a sudden change occurred.
As the 'Heavy Raider Type II' and 'Fleetfoot Patroller Type II' possessed powerful reconnaissance capabilities...
The moment Meow-Da entered their search range, they instantly locked onto Meow-Da, who was on top of the rock face, via their powerful radar scanning abilities and tracking cameras.
The next moment, due to Karon's order, the Autonomous Support Units launched an attack immediately.
Because the distance was far enough, the missiles on the two Autonomous Support Units fired instantly, flying rapidly toward the unprepared Meow-Da.
"Meow?!!!"
Completely expecting not to be attacked by humans, Meow-Da was so scared that even his mother tongue came out. By the time he reacted, the missiles had already flown in front of him.
Caught off guard, he only had time to close the originally open visor.
The next moment, the missiles completely engulfed the place where he was standing.
BOOM-RUMBLE!!
A large barrage of missiles directly blanketed everything on the rock face. The flying dust also caused the two Autonomous Support Units to lose their target.
But Karon wasn't worried in the slightest.
After this round of missiles, no matter who it was, they were definitely dead.
Moreover, time waited for no one. He had neither the time nor the necessity to wait for the smoke to clear to specifically check the other party's death state.
At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed his previous premonition was indeed correct; someone really had been watching him.
But through this round of attacks, they must have disappeared by now.
_____
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