Undoubtedly, Nutcracker also did not expect that the target she was aiming for this time was a CCG investigator. The drug she administered was enough to make a normal person sleep for several hours, but for investigators with strong physical qualities, the effect was reduced. Furthermore, Akira Mado had been continuously trying to wake herself up before 'losing consciousness', which also made her wake up a little faster.
Of course, the more important reason was that Lancer had already given her an antidote potion before.
As she gradually woke up, Akira Mado reflexively punched the person in front of her. Undoubtedly, she still remembered being captured by a ghoul before she lost consciousness, but unfortunately, her punch was still weak and powerless in her poor condition and was naturally easily caught in Lancer hand.
"My beautiful lady, this shouldn't be the attitude towards your savior."
The usual Lancer would certainly not say such a thing, but now he was playing the role of a foreigner, and in order to completely distance himself from the case, he decided to act a little frivolous, and then...
"Whoosh~!"
Akira Mado's other fist once again smashed towards him. The result was self-evident; it was again grabbed by Lancer.
"This lady..."
"What are you saying? I am merely a passing gentleman. If you wish, you can call me Lance..."
Undoubtedly, Lancer did not want Akira Mado to know more things. Of course, it was not due to a lack of trust in the other party, but simply because the more one knows, the more dangerous it is. Lancer did not want Akira Mado to be drawn into any potential accidents.
And perhaps Lancer reaction this time was somewhat unexpected for Akira Mado. She didn't say anything but raised her head and sniffed with her nose, and then the expression on her face instantly became very unhappy.
"Lancer! You're still trying to trick me?"
"Alas~ I just saw someone being attacked by a ghoul and stepped in. I don't know..."
"Since you are not Lancer, then there should be no problem if I tell my father that when I woke up after losing consciousness, my clothes were disheveled and my colleague Lancer was right beside me, right?"
"..."
After Akira Mado finished speaking, 'Lance', who was originally smiling, immediately froze, and then revealed a wry smile.
"Akira, how did you figure it out?"
"Hmph~ Not pretending anymore?"
Lancer words were tantamount to admitting the other party's guess, and Akira Mado snorted disdainfully.
"I don't want to be chased and killed by Mr. Mado wielding a Quinque... But, Akira, you still haven't answered me. How did you figure it out?"
"You change back this strange appearance first."
With a light swipe, the illusion magic was canceled, and Lancer naturally returned to his normal face. It wasn't until this moment that Akira Mado completely relaxed.
"Intuition, and habit. You always like to hold people by the shoulders and the backs of their legs when you hold them, and besides..."
"Just because of that? Akira, you are too... arbitrary, aren't you? What if it wasn't me?"
"Idiot!"
This time, Lancer did not block the punch Akira threw at him. Anyway, with her current weak body, she didn't have much strength, and looking at Lancer helpless face, Akira Mado only continued to hit his chest with a blush.
How could she say it? Should she say that because they rode a motorcycle together in the past few days, she had already memorized the scent on his body, so she smelled it the moment he embraced her?
After hitting him more than ten times, Akira Mado finally calmed down, or rather, stopped herself from having wild thoughts, and then stared directly at Lancer.
"Um... can you not stare at me like that?"
Although it was only Akira Mado's gaze, Lancer felt that it was more piercing than the eyes of those aliens looking at him when he set up the wooden stake on the border back then?
But Akira Mado only stared at him without speaking.
"You'd better explain properly when we get back! This must be related to your disappearance for more than two years, right?"
Should it be said that Akira Mado was smart? Although she was still a long way from the real answer, from a certain perspective, her guess was not completely wrong.
However... when they got back?
"We have a transmitter on us. I have already left the nightclub, which is clearly an abnormal situation. Unsurprisingly, the others should be chasing after us now."
Well, it seems the CCG is much more reliable than he thought.
––––––
Unsurprisingly, less than 5 minutes after 'Nutcracker' was killed, the CCG personnel chased after them. When they saw Lancer standing beside Akira Mado, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Undoubtedly, they hadn't expected Akira Mado to be drugged and directly abducted at first. The person responsible for this operation plan would definitely be held accountable afterward, but thankfully Akira Mado was still alive, so at least it wouldn't be too bad...
However, after confirming Akira Mado's safety, another troublesome issue arose –––––– 'Nutcracker' was killed, so what now? She was the only known clue.
But thankfully, Lancer managed to extract a lot of useful intelligence from the other party.
Such as the next transaction location, and the information about another ghoul, 'Big Madam', but there were still many problems. For example, they only knew the other party's name but not their disguised identity, and it was even possible that the other party did not appear in human society at all.
The original plan was for the Quinx Squad to infiltrate as 'auction items', but now it seems that they could only change the plan.
After a few more minutes, the members of the Quinx Squad also rushed over. Due to the 'Quinx surgery', they could no longer be considered pure humans, and their resistance to sedatives was naturally stronger. They also learned from them that the nightclub had already been prematurely surrounded, and some active ghouls were directly captured. Unsurprisingly, they should all be Nutcracker's subordinates.
Because the incident happened suddenly, in order to prevent further leakage of information, the CCG also decided to take the risk of implementing the next step of the plan.
"Although the CCG's raid on the nightclub is an established fact, the good news is that the information about 'Nutcracker' being subjugated has not leaked yet. So, we might as well turn the tables and directly tell 'Big Madam' that the reason the nightclub was attacked was because Nutcracker captured a CCG investigator. This way, the 'transaction' can continue. This way, we only need to capture the other side of the 'human trafficking', and we can still follow the clues... However, this will still require the Quinx Squad's help..."
Perhaps because of the failure of the previous operation, the headquarters was afraid that the Quinx Squad would develop rebellious psychology, so the person in charge of the next operation this time was Lancer and Akira Mado's acquaintance –––––– Kiyoko Aura.
The reason why the other party was an acquaintance of the two was because he was Kureo Mado's second partner.
Kureo Mado's first partner was Yukinori Shinohara, one of the seven Special Class Investigators, and the second was Kiyoko Aura, who is now an Associate Special Class Investigator.
And Akira Mado also received a lot of care from the other party during her work, and Lancer also worked with the other party before he disappeared. He had previously suspected that there were problems within the CCG, and Akira Mado's situation this time made him feel a certain lack of trust in the CCG. It can be said that Kiyoko Aura's appearance also dispelled some of Lancer bad thoughts.
"I request to join this operation."
Lancer belonged to the 20th Ward Branch's direct investigators, and his work was generally arranged by Kureo Mado, but because of his work efficiency, Kureo Mado usually allowed him to act freely. However, Akira Mado's mission this time belonged directly to the headquarters, so Lancer theoretically couldn't interfere casually, so he directly proposed to Kiyoko Aura to join.
And Kiyoko Aura, after hesitating for a while, also chose to agree.
He believed that Kureo Mado would not object to Lancer joining this mission, and he also knew some things about Lancer strength. He believed that with Lancer help, this operation should be easier.
––––––
"Ding~ Ding~ Ding~"
The sudden ringing of the mobile phone made 'Big Madam', who was watching a show in the 'Colosseum', frown, because not many people knew this number, but since it rang, it meant something was up, so although she felt unhappy, she still took the phone from her subordinate.
Seeing the number, her expression became even more confused, because she didn't expect that the person calling her was this person.
"Nutcracker? Is something the matter?"
"Big Madam, I'm sorry, Ms. 'Nutcracker' is not here."
"Who are you?"
Her expression immediately became even uglier. Did something happen to Nutcracker?
"Our nightclub was attacked by the CCG, and Ms. 'Nutcracker' is also temporarily hiding..."
The other party's words made her breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that the problem should not be serious.
"Just tell me what the matter is. Do you need me to arrange a safe house for her?"
"Um... no, actually, the reason why we were attacked was because a 'prey' we caught was a CCG investigator, so we hope to use this investigator as the transaction item for this 'transaction', but the price will naturally be much higher... I wonder what you think, Big Madam?"
'Big Madam' herself had known 'Nutcracker' for quite some time. She knew that the goods the other party delivered would definitely not be bad, and it was a CCG investigator at that...
"The price is negotiable, but I have to inspect the goods first."
"No problem. So, is it still the usual place?"
'Big Madam' was completely relieved after hearing the other party's words. It seemed that the other party should really be one of Nutcracker's subordinates, but she still wasn't completely at ease.
"That's right, the usual time, the usual place."
After speaking, she directly hung up the phone and ordered her subordinate to check the situation of the nightclub where Nutcracker was located.
Undoubtedly, she would only send people over after all the information was confirmed.
And her subordinate quickly reported back: the CCG did raid Nutcracker's nightclub, but according to eyewitness reports from ordinary people, Nutcracker seemed to have noticed something was wrong before the operation and left early with a woman.
Hearing this, she couldn't help but smile. It seemed that this transaction should be fine.