"Received. The vehicle model and license plate number have been confirmed? Very good, I'm listening..."
The trio feeding pigeons on the bench received intelligence in Mothers Milk's earpiece. A moment later, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and immediately pulled it out to check.
A moment later, his dark face relaxed, and he said to the white youth beside him, "Frenchie, time to work. You know where the parking lot is, right?"
"Don't worry, I've already scouted it out."
The Frenchman with the crew cut nodded slightly, pulled out the route map he had drawn from his pocket, and patted the broad shoulder of the bearded strongman. "One person needs to keep watch. You, or me."
Butcher tilted his head, revealing a wicked and strange smile. "Why can't it be Mothers Milk?"
"Hurry up, there's no time for jokes now."
Mothers Milk threw away the feed in his hand. The pigeons in front flapped their wings and flew away. He looked impatient.
"Lamplighter's seminar is coming to an end. We must find that car before he comes out, otherwise we'll have to go head-to-head with him and see if we can catch him."
"I'll stay behind."
Butcher didn't say anything more. He shifted into a more comfortable position, sprawling on the bench. "I'm a professional at tailing. Picking locks and placing bugs—that kind of delicate work is up to you guys."
"Received. Watch us."
Mothers Milk and Frenchie immediately stood up, patted Butcher's shoulder, and went to find Lamplighter's car as if nothing was wrong.
People's courage varies. The two of them hadn't done this kind of thing before, but from finding the car to prying the door open, and then installing the micro-bug, their actions were unbelievably skilled.
They were only one step away from cleaning up the scene and retreating safely.
Many things come down to just that little bit of difference.
...
"Fuck!"
Butcher on the bench suddenly sat up straight. He focused intently, seeing a group of enthusiastic fans reluctantly leaving the classroom doorway.
For some unknown reason, the seminar had ended in a hurry.
Sure enough, a moment later, Lamplighter in his dark green robe and Mr. Marathon in his orange bodysuit walked out slowly from the back.
'Hurry up, they're out.'
Butcher immediately took out his phone to send a reminder to Mothers Milk and the other.
In the distance, Mr. Marathon and Lamplighter whispered to each other for a moment, then patted each other on the shoulder with lewd smiles.
'Whoosh!'
Mr. Marathon stretched his legs, as fast as a wind sweeping across a track, and vanished from the spot in an instant.
Lamplighter obviously didn't have such an ability. He took out his phone to send a text message to the female student who had secretly left her number earlier, then walked toward the parking lot, beaming with joy.
Seemingly remembering something, he stopped halfway and sent another text to his assistant: "Yes, I'll be back soon. Just wait patiently."
After working for so long, can't I even relax a little?!
He agreed on the surface, but in reality, he didn't care at all about the assistant's overtime notice.
The seminar was over, yes, but what followed was more private personal time.
"Fuck! They're not done yet, and this asshole is almost there..."
Butcher gritted his teeth, stood up, and walked straight toward Lamplighter.
Both parties moved at a steady, unhurried pace.
Before the shadow could envelop him, Lamplighter, with his keen senses, stopped early. He shifted his attention from his phone and looked at the tall, bearded man blocking his path.
Lamplighter's expression remained unchanged: "This... buddy, do you want my autograph?"
This fan didn't look like a student and seemed a bit strange, but it wasn't a big deal; he was in a good mood today.
"Autograph?"
Butcher frowned: "Do you think I look like a fan?"
Lamplighter was puzzled: "Isn't that what you are?"
"I like you so much~!!"
Butcher's silent, tough-guy face suddenly unlocked a smile never seen before, and he said in an unusually lewd posture: "Lamplighter, can we take a photo together first?!"
...
Shawn felt the scene was incredibly eyesore-inducing.
He had never seen the Tumor-Man in this posture before. Perhaps it was because he was still young and hadn't developed a tumor yet, so Butcher could still put down his tough-guy baggage.
But perhaps it was precisely this sleazy style that allowed their team to successfully hide for so long in the early stages without being exposed.
Shawn found it interesting; it felt like witnessing a famous scene outside of history.
He first waved to his wife and children looking over from the shade of a tree in the distance, then weighed the tight, long black metal object in his other hand.
He murmured to himself: "Giving a divine artifact to the Butcher shouldn't be too much, right?"
As he spoke, he also slowly walked toward the two people taking pictures.
'Click~~!!'
'Click~~!!'
Over there, Lamplighter had just finished taking a set of photos with Butcher, but to his surprise, he wasn't satisfied and grabbed his arm, demanding to retake them.
Lamplighter's expression grew impatient: "Buddy, that's enough. I have things to do later and need to leave quickly."
Butcher refused to let go, pulling on him: "One more time, just one last time!"
Suddenly, both of their expressions became inexplicably vigilant, and they looked in the same direction.
"Gentlemen, is there a problem?"
Shawn approached the two under these circumstances: "I am also a fan of Mr. Lamplighter. Since I'm lucky enough to run into you, please sign an autograph for me too."
Ignoring the object in his hand, his demeanor was excellent, and his smile could be considered warm and friendly.
"A fan holding a crowbar?"
Lamplighter shifted his gaze from the black crowbar to Shawn's face, his vigilance not lessening in the slightest: "You'd better be!"
What's going on today?
Encountering two weirdos in a row?!
"Hey, have you forgotten me?"
Shawn feigned regret: "I really am your fan. During last year's Christmas meet-and-greet, I even collected The Seven's co-branded merchandise, and you signed it on the doll's head. Remember?"
Those who could attend the Christmas meet-and-greet were true fans, and the cost of attending was not low.
Lamplighter showed a look of sudden realization and greeted him familiarly: "Oh~! So it's you, buddy. Long time no see."
Although he couldn't remember anything, seeing his meal ticket meant he still had to maintain the proper attitude.
In the few seconds they were talking, he secretly observed Shawn's attire. Everything he wore was low-key, high-end branded goods—a typical successful person; the probability of being a dangerous element was extremely low.
Beside them, Butcher was overjoyed. A real idiot fan of The Seven coming over to ask for an autograph was a huge help to him!
"You go first, buddy. I see you're in a hurry."
He stood to the side, raising his hand to defer, and was no longer in a rush to take more photos.
Lamplighter restrained his patience: "Come here. Where do you want me to sign?"
Shawn smiled and raised the crowbar in his hand: "Sign here. I picked this stick up on the road, and I really like the shape."
"..."
Sure enough, he had encountered all the weirdos today.
Lamplighter resisted the urge to roll his eyes, specifically took a gold marker out of his pocket, and signed his name on that damn crowbar.
"Help me write a sentence too."
Shawn was still not satisfied and continued to make requests.
"?!!"
The thermal device on Lamplighter's uniform chest emitted a very faint hum. He raised his volume: "Speak, what do you want!"
Shawn glanced at Lamplighter, recalling the topic this guy was acting cool and talking about during the seminar earlier.
Controlling flames?
If he remembered correctly, this hypocritical member of 'The Seven' would eventually commit a grave mistake because he never took things seriously, and would meet his end while suffering greatly.
"Just write your favorite one."
Shawn pondered for a moment and spoke a famous quote that only Lamplighter would say: "Fire can burn through cages, and can also burn the innocent to ashes."
Lamplighter looked up: "You got that quote backward."
Shawn: "In the end, chasing dreams in life always goes against one's wishes. Just write it that way, I like it."
The fan is king.
Especially a rich fan!
Lamplighter pursed his lips, waved his hand, made a decision contrary to his ancestors, and actually wrote it that way.
But for some reason, perhaps because it went against his own personality and will, Lamplighter felt uncomfortable all over after writing those words.
He tried hard to maintain his composure and hurriedly bid farewell to the two: "That's it then. Let's be thankful for the meeting, and I hope there's a chance to see you at future events."
Butcher just watched Lamplighter leave, not blocking him again.
Because it wasn't necessary anymore.
The figures of Mothers Milk and Frenchie had already walked slowly out of the corner of the parking lot, as if taking a stroll. The two gave a subtle "done" gesture, and even smiled sincerely when passing by Lamplighter.
"..."
This made Lamplighter subconsciously quicken his pace and disappear onto the sidewalk.
Butcher's tense heart finally relaxed. He nodded to his two partners walking over. Seeing that Shawn was still standing there, he couldn't help but size him up with an insolent gaze.
"Have we met before?" Butcher always felt that Shawn looked somewhat familiar.
Although Superman and Shawn shared the same face, with the seal of the black-rimmed glasses, people couldn't tell.
It was just that when in his ordinary identity, Shawn's temperament was more restrained, but compared to more than half a year ago, there wasn't much change.
Butcher had indeed met Shawn, but he obviously didn't have that good of a memory.
"Perhaps."
Shawn smiled: "Do you want a gift? I'll give this to you."
As he spoke, he handed over the straight crowbar with the gold signature in his hand. The angle of the bend at the end of the crowbar was perfect and very eye-catching.
The Butcher didn't need to treat Shawn as a fan.
Now that the mission was partially complete, there was no need to play the sycophant anymore.
"Oi~~!!"
He tilted his head, his gaze looking at an idiot completely undisguised, and directly started berating Shawn, who was quite a bit taller than himself: "You piece of shit-brained filth, are you making fun of me?"
Shawn smiled: "I helped you out, and this is how you treat me?"
Mothers Milk and Frenchie, who had just walked up, changed their expressions.
The Butcher narrowed his eyes slightly, looked straight at him, and questioned: "What do you mean?"
See? And here I thought they were really afraid of nothing.
Shawn shrugged: "Without me, you wouldn't have been able to take those other photos just now. You owe me a thank you!"
Butcher shook his neck as if preparing for a boxing match, but was held back by Mothers Milk, who had come to his senses.
"Thanks, buddy."
Mothers Milk gave Shawn a friendly smile: "Your stick is indeed very beautiful. It... um, it's as straight as my life."
He really didn't know how to compliment a weirdo, but it's better to avoid trouble.
After all, the matter had been handled, and Lamplighter didn't seem to have left the school yet.
"Yes."
Frenchie to the side pursed his lips slightly, looking at Shawn with a strange gaze, and said to Shawn in a tone several times gentler than usual: "Um, this stick is amazing. Can you give it to me?"
"..."
Lost.
Lost completely.
Shawn shivered, subconsciously stuffed the crowbar to Mothers Milk, who was still relatively normal, and then walked away without looking back.
Leaving behind the bewildered trio of the Black Robe, standing in the wind, disheveled.
'Keep it as a souvenir.'
Shawn said to them in his heart.
Because of his arrival, the Black Robe X universe might undergo earth-shaking changes.
That damn fate-crowbar might never have such magical power in Butcher's hands again!
PS: Support the new book, please!
plz support my patreon
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
patreon.com/AZofficial
it is 30 chapter ahead