400 As Bad as Can be

In the face of the inescapable interrogation, Thales and Quick Rope looked at each other dumbly with incredible sorrow.

'What should we do?'

That was the only thing they can read from the other's eyes.

But there was no answer.

"Hmm?"

Ricky urged them to answer by saying, "Don't tell me that you still need us to give you some motivation, just like how we did just now?"

Recalling the feeling that they experienced just now, Quick Rope immediately started to tremble.

'What should we do?'

In face of the deepening suspicion of the crowd on them, Thales saw Quick Rope's fearful gaze, and he could only summon his courage and say, "We..."

'What should we do?'

He nudged Quick Rope's waist, hoping the other person could have an idea.

Quick Rope trembled a little and continued the sentence in an awkward fashion. "That..."

He only uttered a word before he stomped Thales' foot, asking him for help urgently.

Ricky watched their performance with amusement.

Thales glared Quick Rope, infuriated, and took over the conversation by speaking slowly and hesitatingly, "Actually..."

He used his thigh to knock against Quick Rope, hinting for him to continue.

Quick Rope glanced at him incredulously, then braced himself and said, "So, it's like this..."

Ricky laughed heartily.

"Forget it..."

Ricky waved his hand, though Quick Rope and Thales did not know whether it was out of helplessness or humour that he shook his head. However, there was a glimmer of light in his eyes. "Why don't you two just tell us everything that had happened before you came here?

"Especially... about Dean's whereabouts?"

As soon as that question came out, Thales and Quick Rope both froze!

'This is bad.'

"You seemed to have come to Tampa for a business deal." Ricky rubbed his fingers and recalled something. "Something… about helping him kill someone?"

The two princes looked at Tampa.

The tavern owner Tampa quirked an eyebrow. In face of the two people asking him for help, he laughed dryly, "I… don't know what they're talking about as well..."

Thales and Quick Rope both went stiff again.

However, many people's eyes slowly turned to the sack by their feet.

'That is…

'A sack in the shape of a person?'

Thales felt himself breaking into cold sweat.

'What should I do?'

Soon, Ricky's doubtful gaze slowly turned towards the sack as well.

'This is bad.'

At this moment, Thales' thoughts seemed to have come to a screeching halt.

Ricky's eyes were fixed on the sack, and he slowly said, "So, who were you going to kill..."

Just at this moment—

"You're right!"

Thales suddenly increased his volume, stood up resolutely, puffed out his chest, and raised his head!

Ricky, Stake, Lasalle, Klein, and Masked Man all furrowed their brows and, in puzzlement and doubt, looked at this teenager acting strangely.

Only Quick Rope stared at Thales in a daze while he was beside him. 'Huh?'

But the next moment, Thales stomped Quick Rope's foot under the table!

*Plomp*

Quick Rope's expression tensed due to the pain.

The next second, Quick Rope jumped up!

He straightened his body, and while he trembled slightly, he said with a pale face, "You are right to say that we didn't come here by chance!"

The people were shocked by the sudden outburst from Quick Rope, and they became even more doubtful.

Thales sucked in a deep breath and kept on recalling all the people who once spoke to him with arrogant looks on their faces. Then, he spoke, but there was a quiver in his voice that only he was aware of.

"Tsk, we came with a mission..."

He looked directly into Ricky's eyes, and found that his eyes seemed as if they could see through all secrets. He repeated this particular phrase to himself nonstop. 'You mustn't show any weakness, you mustn't show any weakness, you mustn't show any weakness…'

'An opening.

'I need to find an opening from what I heard up to this moment.

'But also guarantee my own safety and flee from certain death!'

"A mission?"

Ricky digested these words and narrowed his eyes.

"Is it?"

This time, without waiting for Thales to remind him, Quick Rope wrapped his arms tightly around him on his own accord.

He sneered coldly, and with the arrogance unique to nobles, he looked askance at the people in the tavern.

"Of course," said the former Eckstedt prince, then gestured with his chin in an unconcerned manner. "So, that one over there, the one with the incredibly tragic past. Miss Marina, was it? You cannot have possibly believed that we are two thieves who just go about picking locks in the middle of the night, right?"

Marina widened her eyes. She seemed to be in disbelief that the terrified little thieves were acting like this, even though they were huddled together just now.

'An opening.'

Thales thought to himself.

'An opening!'

"Lasalle Weider."

Thales cleared his throat and looked at the doubtful envoy.

It was clear that Stake and Lasalle could not recognize the Prince of Constellation from the past after six years have passed, especially since he was under disguise as well.

This gave Thales feel much more at ease.

He imitated the tone of a certain dead face in his memories, then spoke arrogantly, "You work under King Chapman, but how can you be sure that Dean was the one who took the initiative to contact you in the desert to capture the prince back to Black Sand Region?"

Lasalle frowned slightly, his stare on them focused even further.

Quick Rope glanced at Thales from the corner of his eyes. The latter understood what he was trying to tell through his eyes, 'Please don't make mess up!'

Thales coughed softly.

"Dean's mission was initially not to search for Prince Thales.

"As far as I know, not long ago, Dean himself was unsure whether his target was Thales Jadestar."

Lasalle was slightly taken aback.

Both Stake and Ricky could not help but glance at the former baron.

"You are not working with Dean at all," Thales said smugly, "Tell me, did you intercept Dean's flow of information, or did you bribe his liaison?"

Lasalle scowled.

His reaction caused Ricky and Stake to regard Lasalle with a different gaze.

But only Thales himself knew that he was making a wild bet.

He was making an informed guess with the two pieces of news from Chapman Lampard and Dean himself. He did not know whether they would match up.

'If it's wrong…'

Thales gulped.

Lasalle stared at Thales with a scowl. His gaze was grave, and there was great uncertainty in his eyes.

Thales only felt his heartbeat speed up.

Finally, a few seconds later, Lasalle snorted.

"You two..." Lasalle's expression was dark as he asked coldly,

"Who is it?"

'Good.

'I Got it right!'

Thales did a fist pump in his heart!

"Answer his question." Ricky seemed to have decided not to suspect his companion anymore. He directed his attention back to Thales and Quick Rope, then asked coldly, "Why are you here, exactly?"

As he said those words, the mercenaries took one step forward together. They all wore hostile expressions on their faces.

The tavern was instantly filled with animosity.

Even Stake placed his hands against his chest and cast them an unpleasant gaze with an indifferent look on his face.

Quick Rope had a sudden thought, but Thales held him down.

"Haih..." Thales spread his arms, looking as if he was forced to do what he was about to do next. "Maybe it's time, Quick Rope."

Quick Rope did his best to cover up the surprise born due to the sudden turn of events.

He then put on his indifferent and unconcerned expression again before he responded to Thales' question.

"You sure?"

"Well," Thales' gaze swept the tavern, and he sighed. "There seems to be no other choice."

Quick Rope quirked an eyebrows. 'What?

'What choice?'

But he suppressed his doubts, shrugged, and, in a show of great teamwork, let Thales take over the conversation again. He even did so casually. "Let's do it, then."

Under everyone's wary and suspecting gazes, Thales whistled.

Under the illumination of the light, he flashed a cold and malicious smile. "Constellation sparkled, but the dark areas are still pitch black…

When he said these words, everyone in the tavern, including Quick Rope, were stunned!

But almost at the same time, the people who heard his words instantly had grave expressions appear on their faces. Ricky gritted his teeth, Stake took a half step back, and Lasalle could not hide his surprise, but all of them, without exception, wrapped their hands around their weapons!

*Clang!*

*Swoosh!*

Some even drew their weapons!

'Eh?

'That's not quite right…'

Thales had a plan. He quickly nudged Quick Rope!

The stunned Quick Rope was struck by an idea, and he finished Thales' sentence. "The Great… Great Dragon soared in the sky, but there were endless shadows beneath its wings!" (Don't change)

This made everyone surprised!

Many people forced themselves from attacking the duo.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief.

'Good grief, how fortunate. If I knew this earlier…'

"You twp..." Ricky stared at the two incredulously.

Thales had now at ease. He raised his fist and coughed softly. Then, he chuckled and said, "That's right, we are the Secret Intelligence Department's..."

Everyone's eyes twitched again!

This time, it was Quick Rope who jabbed Thales with his elbow!

*Thud*

Thales shuddered. He realized that he had just made a blunder, and quickly changed the topic of conversation quickly, out of sheer terror, "...Arch enemies!"

He almost bit his own tongue.

Quick Rope sighed in his relief in his heart, and he swore that he would no longer coordinate with this idiot who said the wrong things all the time.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Before their eyes, almost everyone glowered at them with deadly stares while they scrutinized them.

In their eyes were astonishment, amazement, and incredulousness.

The lights in the tavern flickered nonstop, casting an ever-moving shadow in the tavern that caused the atmosphere in the building to change non-stop.

It was suffocating.

"My name is Secc'." Thales took a deep breath and wrapped his arms over his chest beside Quick Rope. He said coldly, "As you can see, we are people from the Secret Room."

Quick Rope sensed what Thales wanted him to say. He snorted coldly, and with a detestable smile, extended his hands and bowed slightly to the people around him.

"I am Quick Rope.

"Madam Calshan sends her regards to all of you."

Time seemed to have stopped at that moment.

At that moment, be it Ricky, Stake or Lasalle, their expressions were as sullen as can be.

A few seconds passed.

"Impossible."

Ricky sucked in a deep breath, as if he was adjusting his emotions, which had experienced drastic changes just now. He said to Thales, "Isn't it too early for you to be a spy at your age?"

"Heh." Thales chuckled. He looked confident. "Too young?"

"You may not know about this, but Madam Calshan has been performing her duties since she was eight years old, and she has been engaged in constant battles to the death against the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department."

Ricky frowned, his eyes as he scrutinized Thales was as wary as ever.

"Secret Room? Why are you here?" Stake asked quietly with a deep voice.

Quick Rope sneered and looked like mocking the other person's ignorance.

"Hasn't anybody told you, my friends of Shadow Shield?"

Thales—oh, no, the new scout of the Secret Room, Secca waved his hand and smiled at Lasalle's livid face. He said, "Dean is not a scout and informant of King Chapman, he is a part of the Secret Room, and you obtained your intelligence by 'stealing' it from him.

"What Mister Lasalle said is not entirely true."

Lasalle took a deep breath. His cheeks twitched. He looked displeased.

This made Thales more reassured.

'We got through.'

Thales patted himself on the shoulder in his heart.

His guess was right.

"As for King Chapman's planting spies in the Secret Room…? Don't worry, this is a small internal misunderstanding in Eckstedt between King Chapman and Madam Calshan." Quick Rope wisely added, not forgetting to make a threatening hand gesture at Lasalle.

"Madam Calshan will find His Majesty to solve this issue soon."

Ricky frowned. When he looked at Lasalle, his gaze was no longer the same as before. Even Stake frowned.

"You didn't answer my question," Stake said darkly.

The atmosphere had become somewhat oppressive.

Thales let out a breath.

"We have lost contact with Dean for a while." He patted the table nonchalantly. "So we had to come here personally to look for him."

Quick Rope shrugged and lifted a corner of his lips.

"But since we have heard the news of your plot..."

At that moment, everyone in the tavern looked at them nervously.

Quick Rope raised his finger to his lips and smiled slyly, "I don't know if the Red Witch's Secret Room would have the privilege to join your movement?"

"Of course, you could also try to kill us to prevent us from spilling the beans."

Thales added with a smile. "After all, perhaps we are the only two people from the Secret Room left in this place!"

At this moment, Ricky and the others' faces became even more unpleasant than before.

"Secret Room..." Stake's breathing slowly accelerated. He turned to Lasalle and hissed at him, "You should have told me that since the beginning!"

Lasalle said nothing. He just clenched his teeth.

Thales and Quick Rope stood side by side, smiling in the same cocky manner as before.

No one knew that their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

But at this moment.

*Thump.*

*Plomp.*

A light sound travelled into their ears.

Thales slightly stunned.

All the others were also startled.

*Plomp!*

It was another sound, and this time, it was louder than before!

But when he heard it, Thales only felt as if thunder had struck in his heart!

There was no other reason.

Because this noise… came from beside his and QUick Rope's feet.

As that sound appeared, Thales and Quick Rope froze up like ice statues. They lowered their heads stiffly, then shivered together!

'No... It can't be?' This was from the shocked and stunned Thales.

*Thump.*

Another sound.

But the source of the sound was already very clear.

It was from that human-shaped sack.

No.

To be exact, there was a person in that sack.

A man.

A man who should have died was lying on the ground, clutching his throat in pain.

He climbed out of the sack inch by inch once he broke free from it.

The man looked exhausted, and his gaze was unfocused.

But after he lifted his head and saw Thales and Quick Rope, he punched the ground!

*Thud!*

The bald mercenary Big Dean was resurrected from the dead, bringing with him indignation and resentment. He cursed viciously, "F*ck!"

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Then, both Thales and Quick Rope were frozen stiff at their spots.

At this moment, the looks on their faces... were as bad as can be...