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Page 141
Anything that appears on the street, except for police officers and patrolmen, is unusual, like the wheeled beast driving by in front of you—if it weren't for the military vehicle's appearance indicating its identity, it might really have been treated as a bad thing.
"Hey! Taylor! Stop fucking licking that hot chick in your dreams!" In the back seat of the car, Philip yanked his increasingly unsightly sleeping partner up from between his legs. "Damn it, with that drool of yours, I don't have Noah's Ark in my pants, fuck!"
"Ouch! Pfft!" Taylor grimaced and wiped his hand with saliva. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you a dog?"
"Damn it, are you even capable of taking down that female soldier? She's practically got to know me by now, and you still haven't won her over? Look at that gun under your belt, it's not even as thick as my cross, is it?"
"Damn it, can you two shut up?" Garcia yelled from the passenger seat. "Can you at least rip the roof off the car before you start yelling? You're going to ruin the whole neighborhood's mood, then take off your condoms, grab some milk, and throw them at our car? What the hell are we doing here tonight?"
“Calm down, Garcia.” Davis gripped the steering wheel. “It’s not a bad thing if this argument gets exciting, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the main mission. We still need to be vigilant as we quietly come off the night patrol.”
"Whatever, sir. Maybe it's just that I, a paratrooper from the entire US division, am used to keeping my voice down in the Nazi night." Garcia glanced outside, then turned back to glare at Taylor. "Dude, stop spouting nonsense all the time. Wait until you're using those two big breasts of hers as a pillow before you start bragging."
"Alright, now it's time for silence... Ashford Academy is just ahead."
……
Parking the car far from the gate, the four soldiers crept to a section of the wall outside the academy—where they found a red and white striped square painted on.
“OK, this should be the spot Clark marked as suitable for climbing the wall? Come on, throw this red box in here, Philip, you stay here and watch the car.”
The remaining three soldiers jogged towards the academy gate.
"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, excuse me, security guard." Davis calmly took out his ID to show his identity, "I need your cooperation on a small matter."
"Hmm? What is it, soldier?"
“We are responsible for patrolling the streets tonight. We were just chasing a robber when he used a strange method to climb over the wall and get into the college. We plan to come in and catch him.”
"Oh? Then I'll be right there..."
"Shh!... Keep your voice down. If nothing unexpected happens, the robber probably won't believe we'll come in, nor will he believe your patrols will be able to find him. So, could you please let us into the campus to search? Also, before we ask for your help, please don't tell anyone else about this, whether they're students or staff, so as not to alert him, okay?"
"Well..." The gatekeeper hesitated for a moment, but finally reluctantly agreed after watching Davis and the others put the night vision goggles on their heads.
"Taylor, you stay here with the gatekeeper and watch the gate together."
……
"OK...this is the office building..."
Davis and Garcia, each carrying a bag, walked into the bushes next to the building in front of them. In addition to night vision goggles, they also carried some cloth, rope, gloves, and other items.
"What does this look like? Huh? Touching around in a building at night, is it Batman?"
“Hehe, well, there’s nothing we can do. It would be a waste if we didn’t take advantage of the conditions Clark provided,” Garcia responded to his superior’s joke. “Okay, let me check the location he marked. Hmm… the student archives are on the fourth floor of this side.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Davis said, tying the rope around his waist and handing over the other end. “The patrol hasn’t come yet. Come on, kid, let me see how your paratrooper climbing test score went?”
The paratrooper took the other end, and with everything ready, he took a running start and pried open the sharp corner of the building's exterior wall.
"Okay, sir, are your night vision goggles working properly? Watch where I'm grabbing, and just follow me."
“Okay… Call Taylor and tell the security guards that we are still looking and to tell them to hold back.”
In the quiet, late night of the academy, no one knew that two sneaky geckos were plotting something big. Garcia took the lead, crawling up and down, grabbing one hand, then stopping, glancing left and right, then changing direction again.
“This is better than those dilapidated houses in Western Europe, isn’t it?” Garcia chuckled as he climbed. “So many protruding decorations, it’s better than those run-down houses. If we added some .50 machine gun bullet holes or something, we could probably pry up even more places.”
"Ugh, shit, I guess I'm just here to suffer..." Davis started to panic. "Dude, what have you been through before?"
"Ahem, sir, do you know what a husky is?"
"Husky?" His mind raced. "Operation Husky? Sicily?!"
“I don’t know about your place, but I just… cough…” Garcia coughed, “Sir, have you ever experienced the first time in American history that white flowers were thrown and all you got was a bunch of crap?”
"All you need to know for now is that I landed from Gerald."
"Oh?" The paratrooper glanced back at him and sighed. "Isn't it interesting to see the night sky as chaotic as a rat's nest from the landing craft? Do you know what I went through? Of course, this is what people told me later. First of all, that night some lunatic on the beach mistook it for a German air raid, and then the entire landing fleet's anti-aircraft fire came at our bunch of Airbuses."
"Damn, this was even more exhilarating than an aerial crematorium. My shuttle finally made it to the drop zone, but not long after I got off the plane, a gust of wind blew me away. Luckily, the parachute still opened. Do you know how unlucky I was? Even an old lady wearing a cotton-padded jacket, apron, and slippers looked better than us when she jumped into a latrine to retrieve her wallet."
“My God…” Davis gasped. “In all my experience, only Hitler’s chainsaw on Omaha Beach could rival this?”
“The worst part wasn’t falling near the Germans, boss, the worst part was that I was all alone, and I even lost my carbine,” Garcia continued. “I practically crawled through a bunch of trees and small cliffs on Sicily, occasionally killing a German soldier or two to steal their guns and food, and I finally made it to the day I was taken back to my own base… almost a week…”
"What if we happen to stop by 'Smiling Catherine's' doorstep on the way? Haha, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to give you two medals of honor."
"Stop making fun of me, bro. Tarzan's life wasn't easy. So later in Normandy, I was glad that all I had to do was climb houses, and I could even steal some bread from the cupboards while I was at it." With that, the two finally reached the rooftop.
……
After going downstairs, the two took turns covering each other as they advanced in the corridor, sneaking up to the door of the room next to the archives.
“It seems a bit…” Davis was stumped; the lock on the security door seemed difficult to turn.
"It looks like someone's coming?" Garcia stood guard to the side, watching a flashlight beam slowly approach.
But it wasn't a big deal. As soon as the unlucky security guard came around the corner, he grabbed the man's neck and was about to snap him when he suddenly remembered something. Instead, he shoved a stick into the man's temple, knocking him unconscious. After waiting a long time for the security door of the archives to creak open, he led the unconscious security guard inside and put a cap over his head.
“Okay, we don’t have much time to waste.” Davis took out a slip of paper from his pocket. “From what Clark knows, Lelouch is a senior at this school. Look at this file… okay, it’s arranged alphabetically by name?”
“Hmm…” Garcia casually turned the key on the metal cabinet and took out a file. “This cabinet is F. They are all students whose surnames start with F. Lelouch’s surname is Lamperouge… Hmm, look for the one that starts with L, LAM.”
"Damn, this is really interesting..." Davis muttered to himself as he flipped through the files, "Before I joined the army, I was a cop catching thieves, and now..."
"Isn't it fun to become someone you hate, sir?"
“That’s not the interesting part, hey, what do you think?” He flipped to a file. “Lolo Lamperouge? Wait a minute? Lelouch has a younger brother at school? It’s unlikely that two people would coincidentally share the same surname from some backwater place, right?”
"Let's open it and take a look? Oh wait, Lelouch's file has also been found."
Using the flashlight, the two spread out all of Lelouch and Lolo's files and photos on the floor.
"Come on, let's see what Clark wants us to find?"
……
"Well, it seems he's been hiding something from the school. Although he's the same age as the prince, their birthdays are different. As for his school experience, well, he's always been the vice president of the student council, and he's excellent in both character and academics. He seems like a perfect person, except... um? He keeps failing his physical education exams? And he leaves campus too often to participate in recreational activities? That's a lot of violations."
"Oh? What sports do they play?" Garcia leaned closer to look. "Basketball, volleyball, running, damn it, they failed all of them. Their makeup exams were all just barely passing grades?"
“Let’s make a note of this for him. I really don’t want the prince we’re looking for to be someone who can only come to the front lines in a wooden cart and spout some lofty theories.” Davis flipped to the next page while busy taking pictures. “This guy is probably well-read. We definitely can’t fool him with our words. We can only rely on Clark.”
"Does he really have that much ability?"
"Hey, you've probably forgotten what I told you again. His dad owns a factory in a place like Chicago. The plates he ate on since he was a kid had more patterns than ours. His knowledge and wit are probably something we can't catch up to no matter how much we study later. He might even pull up his belt and reveal some kind of profound wisdom."
"Sir, this one named Lolo?" Garcia scratched his face. "Doesn't Prince Lelouch have a sister? Why does he only have a brother? Could it be that the siblings haven't been together during their time in Area 11? And we can't find the file for that girl named Nunnally here either."
"Huh? That's strange." Davis came back and dug around. "Well, Lolo Lamperucci is two years younger than his brother, which means he's a freshman in high school... and Nunnally should be 15 years old this year. Logically speaking, she should be starting school this year, right?"
"What the hell? Could it be that it really isn't the same Lelouch?"
"Take a picture first, take a picture first, and bring back Lolo's file and everything else. Hmm... okay, we've got it now. We'll share and discuss it with Clark later."
"Alright. Now, sir, what about this? What should we do?"
"Ah, security guard... take off his hood, throw it on the stairs, and make him look like he's asleep. I think he must be pretty stupid."
"Row."
"Call Taylor! Can you hear me? Tell the doorman we've been spotted by the robber, he's climbed over the wall again, the operation is canceled, continue the chase outside!"
Chapter 158, Section 221: Such Verbal Barrage
"That's all we can get our hands on. As for the casting posture, we have absolutely no clue about it."
Two days later, Clark finally picked up Davis and his team in their belated file photo van and took them to the back of a bar—a place he had managed thanks to his efforts, which had finally been handed over to him by some of the higher-ups.
"Alright, the photography equipment should be almost ready." He picked out his phone and looked up the boy's number.
"The only thing missing is the actors who haven't signed contracts yet."
……
"Hello, Lelouch?"
"Um, Mr. Uncle Sam?"
"Let me get straight to the point this time: Have you thought about appearing on camera?"
"I have only one question, sir: what benefits can I receive? Note that I said benefits, not money."
“Hey kid, I’d like to confirm something.” Clark picked up Lelouch’s file photo. “I see, you’re just an ordinary student, right? So, would you like to leave some stain on your record at the end of your school career?”
"what do you mean?"
"For example, your consistently failing grades in physical education? And those violations in school? To be honest, as a businessman, I don't really like people who leave their jobs without saying a word."
"Haha, there are more creatures in the world than we have hair, sir, but they are good at different things. My methods are not all..."
"But you have to understand, fewer bad ideas mean fewer obstacles, more trump cards mean more paths. Even in war, it's the same, right?" He started making up stories from his military career. "I have a younger brother serving in the military. Do you know what his old superior always said? 'A battle plan can't be just one thing, and it can't be inflexible.' Many things need to be considered in advance because the enemy won't always do what you expect. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens in a battle, you won't even have time to fight back, right?"
"So my 'offer' to you is very simple: not only will there be a service fee, but I can also use my connections to get all these things waived for you during your school years. Believe it or not, it's up to you."
“Well then, I don’t quite understand your stubbornness, sir. Why are you so focused on me?”
“Because we are all unique in the world!” Clark laughed. “Finding an actor with the same build is hard; finding someone you can talk to is also hard! I heard you can play chess, right? Apparently, you're a famous chess mercenary in the Tokyo concession area. I'd like to ask you for some pointers, hey!”
"Alright, it seems I can only be friends with you reluctantly. But if you ever need someone to challenge you to a game of chess in the future, you can come to me."
"Hahahaha! A tit-for-tat! A tit-for-tat! Haha!" Clark finally broke into a hearty laugh. "Then that's settled! I'll text you later to confirm the filming time!"
"Ah, I have to go now."
……
Just as Clark was about to tidy up the things on the table, his phone rang again.
"Huh?" This is Lelouch's number. What does it mean that he suddenly called back?
"hello?"
"Excuse me, sir, is it convenient for us to talk for a moment?"
"Who are you?" Clark's mind raced, trying to guess which boy had this voice, which sounded younger than Lelouch's.
"Please don't call this number again. It's for our safety."
"Wait a minute!" Just as the call was about to hang up, he asked, "Excuse me, little brother, are you Lolo Lamperucci?"
All I heard was a moment of surprise on the other end, and thankfully, the dial tone of the disconnection didn't come through the receiver.
“I’m pretty sure it’s you: Lelouch doesn’t have many male friends, right? And your voice is obviously a few years younger than his, so you’re definitely not his classmate. And you can pick up his phone so easily, so apart from his younger brother, there shouldn’t be anyone else who can get so close to him, right?”
"Ahem..." The young boy was clearly surprised. "You, who exactly are you?"
"Whose words are you? Just look at your brother's phone contacts and you'll understand. Do I need to explain?" Clark chuckled dismissively. "Haha, so what do you want from me? To make some extra money by acting in a movie with your brother?"
Why are you so determined to find him? Do you know what you're doing?
"What are you going to do? I'd like to know what you two brothers can do after graduating and completing a whole bunch of studies, like a soldier who has fought in a world war returning to a devastated homeland, looking completely helpless."
"What are you talking about? I don't understand!"
"Tell me, little brother Lolo, do you believe your brother is a smart person?"
"Brother?... Smart?..."
"Having lost your student status, you're just ordinary people in society, so you have to find a way to make a living. Your brother just accepted an invitation from me to be an extra in a film, which is a breakthrough for him, right? So, little brother, what can you do as an ordinary citizen?"
Why should you be the one to plan things for us brothers?
"Because without me, your brother would have to plan everything on his own. As his younger brother, would you rather let him bear everything alone than accept any help from the outside world? That's not a good younger brother."
"I……"
"I'll say something you might not like to hear, but whatever your brother does, he's definitely doing it for your own good, after all, you two came from the same womb. I don't know how you two brothers usually treat each other, but since your campus life is going well now, and your multiple trips in and out of the campus haven't caused any major disasters."
As he spoke, Clark picked up Lolo's file photo, pondering a breakthrough point.
"During your time at school, it seems you haven't stood out much. Your academic performance is average, your sports performance is barely passable, and you don't have any important position in the student council. Have you been doing odd jobs all the time? You need to know, Lolo, your brother isn't an invincible superman. He also needs 'charity.' We can't let him live forever as a full-time chess bounty hunter in the rich circle, right? Even if he wins, he might still get shot by gangsters."
"So what's wrong with letting him try acting? At least I can guarantee his personal safety, and I can tell you all my secrets. Anyway, let me remind you: don't forget, your brother is taking the blame for everything for you—murder, dirty money, extortion, all those things that could be harmful to you. He might lie to you, but he will always love you. After all, he's your own brother, and I want him to live a good life, right?"
……
"Huh? Why is it silent?" Clark suddenly realized that the receiver was completely quiet.
"Hello? Hello! Hello...Are you still listening, little brother?"