Mystery: A Spark

Chapter 248 A Series of Pitfalls

Gunfire rang out.

However, the three people present remained standing in place, completely unharmed.

The one that suffered was a framed painting on the wall.

"Snapped!"

The picture frame fell off the wall and crashed to the ground.

Arthur picked at his ear with his finger, glanced at the painting on the ground, and smiled.

"Not bad marksmanship. Looks like the Red Gloves' training wasn't for nothing."

Leonard's anger had subsided somewhat after that shot was fired, and he slowly lowered his hand that was holding the gun.

But upon seeing the hateful smile on Arthur's face, he felt his anger surge up again.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?!" Leonard demanded angrily, raising his gun once more.

However, this time, his gun was easily snatched away by Arthur, who was already prepared.

Arthur handed the gun to Hugh, who was standing beside him, and said with a crooked smile:

"Didn't I already tell you the truth?"

“I’m talking about before!” Leonard ignored the stolen pistol and just glared at Arthur fiercely.

After all, he only pulled out the gun to scare Arthur, not to actually kill him.

"Before?" Arthur scoffed. "Great genius, what do you think would have happened if I had told you the truth before?"

Leonard was speechless.

This person is at his most dangerous moment while Ince Zangwell is still alive and still possesses the sealed artifact 0-08.

Even Pales was extremely wary of 0-08, and only dared to make a move after the quill pen was dealt with in a surprise attack.

As a witness to the Tingen incident, Leonard is likely under constant scrutiny from Ince Zangwell.

Even though 0-08 has the characteristic of being detrimental to the user, it only conceals some key information when the user is unaware of the problem.

Once the person holding the pen pays attention, the quill pen can only play its intended role.

So, if Leonard had known all along that Klein was still alive, he might have slipped up at some point.

"Okay, even if what you say makes sense, I still have one more question."

Leonard watched Arthur's expression change slightly, reached into his pocket, pulled out a diary, waved it in front of him, and said:

"How would you explain this?"

“Uh…” Arthur suddenly stammered.

He gave a dry laugh and said:

"Ahem, well, there are many reasons for this, let me explain it to you slowly."

"Heh, explain?" Leonard sneered, took off his coat, and rushed forward to punch Arthur in the face. "Explain yourself with my fist!"

Arthur leaned back to dodge Leonard's punch, then dodged and blocked with ease, dealing with Leonard's wild punches.

Yes, Leonard's punches at this point were completely out of control, a pure expression of his anger.

Arthur knew this, so he just dealt with it passively, since Leonard's two moves wouldn't hurt him anyway.

Not far away, Hugh had already put away his pistol, placed Leonard's pistol aside, picked up an apple and ate it while watching the two fight haphazardly.

When Leonard pointed his gun at Arthur, she raised her gun without hesitation because she wasn't sure of his purpose or what his relationship with Arthur was.

She only relaxed after listening to their conversation.

The fight lasted for nearly ten minutes before Leonard finally collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Have you had enough?" Arthur sat down on the floor on the other side and smiled.

"I haven't had enough. Save it for next time," Leonard said irritably.

“Sure, I’m ready anytime,” Arthur said, leaning back on the sofa next to him. “But I’m leaving Backlund next week, so this fight will probably have to wait until I get back.”

"You're leaving?" Leonard paused for a moment, then realized, "You're going to digest the potion?"

“That’s right.” Arthur nodded. “Don’t you Red Gloves have any missions?”

“Of course, I stayed here a little longer because I happened to run into the Black Emperor’s case. Normally, we Red Gloves are supposed to be traveling around solving problems.” Leonard sighed.

"Tsk tsk, that must be quite tiring. But if you're traveling all over the place, what do you plan to do, Miss Hazel?" Arthur teased.

Leonard scratched his head, thought for a moment, analyzed the situation calmly, and then decided to tank:

"do not know."

"Oh, what an irresponsible man," Arthur sighed, shaking his head in anguish.

"You have a plan? No, what kind of scheme are you up to now?" Leonard glanced at Arthur.

After being tricked so many times, he became much more wary of Arthur's tricks.

"Look at what you're saying! I was the one who brought you two together, and now you're doubting me, your matchmaker?" Arthur clutched his chest, looking heartbroken.

Leonard looked at him suspiciously; the more the guy said that, the more suspicious he became.

"Tell me your solution first, and then I'll consider whether I need your help," Leonard said after thinking for a moment.

After all, he didn't know how to solve the problem. Although Hazel had been taught by him for a period of time, in his eyes, the girl was still a complete novice.

So when Hazel expressed her desire to join the Night Watchers, he directly persuaded her to turn back.

"The solution is actually quite simple. I'll find some time to talk to her. With just a few words from me, I can definitely resolve this matter easily," Arthur said sincerely.

"Really? I don't believe it." Leonard had a feeling that this guy was going to pull some kind of trick again.

"Fine, don't believe me then. Figure it out yourself," Arthur said, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Well... why don't you give it a try?" Leonard finally gave in.

"Alright, just you wait and see," Arthur said with a smile.

“Hey, I have a feeling I’ve fallen for your trick again,” Leonard said, getting up from the ground.

"Tsk, the way you're talking makes it sound like I'm going to steal from your house. Don't worry, I know the saying 'one shouldn't covet a friend's wife,'" Arthur said, waving his hand.

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Leonard muttered.

He picked up the clothes he had just thrown away and put them on, then went to Hugh's side to get his gun, walked to the door and asked:

"When are you leaving? Do you want me to see you off?"

"No need, I will leave quietly."

"Is that so? That works too." Leonard nodded, then opened the door and left.

Hugh glanced at the door, then at Arthur, and sighed:

"Your relationship with this friend is... quite peculiar."

"Well, it was just a little accident," Arthur said somewhat awkwardly.

"I don't understand you guys," Hugh muttered, then seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, what about those people we went into hiding during the big smog incident? What are we going to do with them?"

“We need an intelligence organization, and they are the foundation of that organization,” Arthur replied.

"An intelligence organization? Like MI9?" Hugh asked doubtfully.

"That's right, of course. Right now, they can only be called strong and healthy civilians, and they are far from being professional spies."

“But it’s alright. Nobody is born knowing everything. With proper training, I believe they can become qualified spies,” Arthur said softly.

"But who will train them?" Hugh asked curiously.

Arthur was silent for a moment, then said:

"I will make arrangements before I leave, and their priority now is to learn to recognize some simple words."

"Once the Umbrella Corporation is established, they will spread throughout the world along with the company's power."

“Umbrella…Miss Audrey will become the president of this company, right?” Hugh asked Arthur.

“That’s right.” Arthur nodded.

“But she’s a spectator, is this really okay?” Hugh said with some concern.

"Hehe, some things just require tacit understanding." Arthur gave a mysterious smile. "Miss Audrey once asked me what position I would be in when the Umbrella Corporation grows into a behemoth?"

"So what did you say to her?" Hugh asked curiously.

“I told her I would seek common ground with her while respecting our differences, and together we would move forward on that ideal path,” Arthur said meaningfully, looking out the window.

His real thought was that he would be omnipresent by then.

……

On the street outside the "Flying Fish and Wine" bar.

Wearing sunglasses, with a cool expression, and sporting a face like Albert Wesker, Klein, who looked like an old criminal, or rather, Gehrman Sparrow, was walking briskly.

Just now, he beat up a guy in the tavern who dared to extort him, and also taught a lesson to one of the bartenders who was working with that guy.

Then he slipped out during the commotion at the bar. Of course, before teaching the bartender a lesson, he didn't forget to find out some recent news and learned a lot of useful information.

For example, the kingdom's ironclad warships caused panic among small and medium-sized pirate groups, leading many to commit crimes frantically in an attempt to make a quick buck and escape ashore.

For example, not long ago, the "Blood Admiral" and the "Twilight Admiral" fought a battle in the waters south of Sunia Island, each losing two ships.

The seas will probably not be calm for the next year... Klein thought to himself with a touch of melancholy.

Suddenly, he slowed his pace, and a gold coin appeared in his hand.

The gold coin kept bouncing between his fingers, as if it were scouting something.

Ding!

The gold coin leaped up softly, tumbled down, and landed steadily in Klein's palm.

Klein glanced down at the result of the gold coins, then spun around and smoothly turned into a quiet, dark alley.

Then, he abruptly stopped, turned around, and said in a low voice: