(From here on out, I will release 1 extra chapter if I receive 10 new reviews and 100 Power Stones.)
The oil tanker hijacking incident ended smoothly.
Afterward, upon Reki's notification, the Butei Bureau and the Metropolitan Police dispatched rescue helicopters to the location of the oil tanker out at sea.
By that time, the oil tanker had already turned back towards Academy Island.
The fast boats surrounding it, armed with submachine guns, obediently followed behind without anyone at the helm. Under remote control, they returned to Academy Island.
In other words, for those on the oil tanker, this event could only be considered a mildly thrilling experience.
However, Fang Li and Aria, who had infiltrated the oil tanker beforehand, did not receive commendation; rather, they faced criticism.
Learning the entire sequence of events, the upper-class individuals on the oil tanker berated Fang Li and Aria one after another. They hadn't notified the organizers in advance, leading to the dangerous situation they encountered.
However, facing this situation, Aria made a direct declaration.
"The warning letter had already been sent to the organizer's address, but unfortunately, they did not acknowledge it. If you intend to blame someone, blame it on your head, it's your own fault!"
In reality, as early as three days ago, when they learned that the oil tanker had been targeted by Butei Assassin, Fang Li had Aria send a warning letter.
But, just as Aria said, the organizers simply ignored it.
And that was only natural.
Without any evidence, trying to convince them to cancel a high-society Dance Party that had been planned long ago lacked credibility.
Regrettably, Aria did send the warning letter, but the organizers chose not to acknowledge it.
Consequently, if responsibility was to be assigned, it could only fall upon these upper-class individuals themselves.
In light of this, the upper-class individuals had nothing left to say.
If it were only regular Butei, these privileged upper-class individuals could find ways to deal with them and vent their frustrations on the Butei who couldn't prevent them from encountering danger.
However, Aria was a United Kingdom noble, and naturally, Foreign Affairs would not let her become the target of retaliation within the country's upper echelons.
Thus, the upper-class individuals could only swallow their grievances and, because of the fact that Fang Li and Aria had saved them, provide a substantial reward.
Bear in mind, these individuals were all influential figures in various fields, and they were wealthy beyond measure. With so many of them contributing, the sum of the rewards was enough to make any well-off family salivate.
Furthermore, due to her connection with Vlad's capture, the United Kingdom noble Ojou-Sama was in an exceptionally good mood. She casually waved her hand, directing all the money into Fang Li's account, instantly increasing it by several digits.
In other words, this incident yielded a significant amount of money for Fang Li, and Aria caught a big fish. Finally, she managed to lessen the punishment for her mother, and even the Judgement verdict was revised.
As for Riko, under Fang Li's arrangements, she was admitted to the hospital.
"Let me talk to Riko for a while about the Butei assassin incident. Can we deal with it later?" When Fang Li informed Aria like this, she pondered for a moment and then agreed directly.
"While the Butei Assassin incident also caused trouble for my mother, since Vlad has already been captured, I'll put Riko's matter on hold for now."
"Moreover, that child seems quite pitiable. Please have a good chat with her."
Leaving these words behind, Aria left the hospital, contacted a lawyer, and dealt with her mother's affairs.
In this situation, Fang Li headed to Riko's hospital room.
"Kacha…"
With the sound of the door opening, Fang Li entered the private hospital room.
It was quite spacious.
On the bed, Riko, in a patient's gown, sat there, seemingly unaware of Fang Li's arrival. She gazed out of the window at the scenery.
Seeing Riko in this state, Fang Li fell silent.
In truth, Riko's injuries weren't severe. She had taken a few bullets through her bulletproof vest, which was equivalent to being hit by a metal rod a few times.
Who among the Butei hadn't faced gunfire?
Even Fang Li, during Assault Training, sometimes ended up catching a few stray bullets, not to mention Riko.
So, Riko's injuries weren't severe enough to require hospitalization.
However, after Vlad was defeated by Fang Li, Riko had been in a daze. Even Aria had begun to worry about her. In the end, Fang Li had no choice but to send her to the hospital.
Thinking of Vlad, Fang Li took a deep breath and was about to say something to Riko when Riko suddenly spoke.
"Do you remember me telling you that no one has celebrated my birthday since I turned eight?"
Fang Li was taken aback.
"When I was eight, my parents passed away," Riko spoke almost as if talking to herself. "After that, Vlad came to my home, falsely claiming to be a friend of my parents, saying he wanted to adopt me as his daughter. So, I left with him."
Fang Li's brow furrowed when he heard this. He could guess that Vlad had targeted Riko to obtain the Lupin family's exceptional genes.
As expected, Riko's next words confirmed Fang Li's thoughts.
"Vlad was only interested in my genes. Just as Sayonaki said before, I didn't inherit my ancestors' exceptional abilities. In terms of genetics, I'm just a waste." Riko turned away from Fang Li, her voice devoid of emotion as she continued, "To get my exceptional genes, Vlad locked me in a cage. He planned to raise me like a valuable pet, purely to produce outstanding descendants."
"For the next few years, I stayed in that cage." Riko picked up her uniform from the bedside and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Vlad said livestock didn't need clothes, so he didn't give me any. Back then, all I had was a rag to cover myself with, and I stayed like that… stayed like that…"
Hearing this, Fang Li sighed inwardly.
It was because of this experience that Riko was so obsessed with cute and stylish clothes, even modifying her uniform to look fluffy and attractive, right?
"Later, I escaped from Vlad's cage. In order to escape the label of being useless, I joined I-U. However, Vlad immediately pursued me there. Just like an Evil Spirit, he had no intention of letting me go." Riko bit her lip and added with a resigned tone,
"Vlad promised me that if I could prove that I surpassed my great-grandfather and transcended the limits of genetics, he would set me free."
...
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