Farida entered the cabin door and immediately threw a short-barreled Catrell Laser Gun to Horatio.
"Hmm, a flashlight! That's really good (sarcasm). Is this for me?" He joked while playing with the Laser Gun.
Even though this thing was jokingly called a flashlight, Horatio didn't underestimate such a weapon.
Although he often joked that the Laser Gun was the 'Imperial Flashlight, light but no damage,' it was indeed not enough when facing all sorts of Evil Cultists.
However, the power of this thing was more than enough to deal with Evil Cultists; just one shot could reduce an Evil Cultist to ashes!
More importantly, its weight and sustained firepower were much better than an autogun.
"I borrowed it from the Guards Soldiers. Remember to return it to me when you're done."
"They're not coming with us?"
"They have their own duties, and their deployment only answers to my father." The Female Hunter-Duke started the engine. At the sergeant's command, all the Guards turned and solemnly saluted the mistress on the shuttle.
Although they didn't know when a Adeptus Arbites person had appeared in the co-pilot's seat, it didn't arouse any suspicion, as it was well-known throughout the manor that the young lady was dedicated to the Imperial Department of Legal Affairs.
"I'm so sleepy. I should have had a cup of coffee before leaving."
"Coffee? You mean that Recca stuff? Trust me, you wouldn't want to swallow it."
"Why?"
Farida raised an eyebrow, seeing Horatio's uninitiated expression. "To me, it's simply beyond the body's physiological tolerance for sourness and bitterness."
Uh… Horatio blinked. In his impression, recca coffee, a synthetic beverage, seemed to be completely different from coffee from the 3K era, except for the name 'coffee' and the caffeine content.
Feeling tired, he drooped his head. After takeoff, he took off his helmet and pinched his high nose bridge.
As a member of the Coast Guard in the 3K era, he often patrolled the turbulent oceans on dark nights, riding the wind and waves, inspecting the sea, combating smuggling and illegal immigration. Staying up late was a familiar 'companion' to him.
Soon, he straightened his back and sat upright in his seat, imagining himself on duty on the bridge during a dark night voyage.
Farida frowned in confusion and glanced at him.
[Why is this guy sitting so stiffly now? He changes so much; what a strange person.]
"How long until we arrive?"
"If we use the Imperial Commissioner's flight path, we'll reach the coordinates in just one and a half Terra hours."
"What's the terrain like at the coordinates?"
"You'll have to ask yourself. It's in the Middle Hive section of the PW-P-15 Megaport Freight Zone. Are you familiar with it?"
In Maogang, the division between the Middle and Lower Hive was based on the maximum coverage of public transportation, because all public service facilities were planned and established based on public transportation lines.
Areas with public transportation routes were designated as Middle Hive, where the Hive City's Adeptus Arbites was responsible for security, and they were also covered by more or less public services, such as hospitals, churches, police stations, and fire departments.
Horatio searched his mind for a moment and said, "A scrapyard. I led a team to blow it up last year. A gang was hiding hallucinogenic drugs inside. I used a promethium flamethrower to burn everyone and everything, and it should still be abandoned now."
"You did that?" Farida turned to look at Horatio, quite shocked.
Last year, the Adeptus Arbites did receive a tip-off that a gang was smuggling and hiding a large quantity of hallucinogenic drugs, but before the Adeptus Arbites could complete the action approval process, a report came in that the incident site was on fire.
By the time she and the Adeptus Arbites's bailiffs arrived, everything had been burned clean, except for the leader who was tied up like a zongzi and left on the spot; the other henchmen were all roasted to charcoal by the fire.
[Who is the Adeptus Arbites person here, really?!]
Horatio, too, had an 'Ah? I did that?' expression. After exchanging glances with her, he quickly changed his expression, then cleared his throat and adopted the tone of a Middle and Lower Hive gang leader:
"Selling this stuff on my turf? Am I supposed to keep them alive for Saint Lestes' Day?"
"Alright, listen, Horatio. Since you're so bold and resourceful, and familiar with that place, start thinking of a countermeasure now."
Horatio looked at his raised bionic arm.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
He slowly closed his eyes, standing alone in the vast, boundless dark vision.
"Reveal the enemy's conspiracy to me."
Horatio raised his hand, lifting his slender silver fingers, pointing at the Precognition Shard in front of him.
'+ Activate: Precognition Shard +'
'+ Energy: 4 / 6 +'
'+ Psionic: 1 / 6 +'
'+ Corruption: 5 / 6 +'
'+ Soulfire: 0 / 40 +'
Countless floating fragments rapidly arranged and reorganized at Horatio's command.
He slowly opened his eyes, holding his breath and concentrating.
Two arrest vehicles were already parked at the scrapyard, waiting for them. Two rows of Adeptus Arbites auxiliary police were standing by, ready. A middle-aged man in the Adeptus Arbites's standard silver armor, an Arbitration Inquisitor, was sitting in the co-pilot's seat with the door open, smoking a cigarette and sending messages, completely unlike someone on a hostage rescue mission.
As a planetary official of the 19th rank in the Imperial Official Hierarchy, the Arbitration Inquisitor was responsible for overseeing public security in a designated administrative district.
As planetary officials, they had the right to select Adeptus Arbites auxiliary police themselves. Although these young people were also incorporated into the Adeptus Arbites's establishment and supported by planetary treasury allocations, they were generally only deployed in the administrative district's garrisons, not the Adeptus Arbites's fortresses.
From the current situation, it was hard to say whether these hand-picked auxiliary police were truly loyal to the Empire.
There were also sniper teams around, watching the scene from high ground.
Their barbaric punk-style black leather clothing didn't look like the Adeptus Arbites's 'Sudden Death' (the Adeptus Arbites's elite sniper squad, small in number, composed of the best Adeptus Arbites Arbitrators); it looked more like hired bounty hunter assassins.
Horatio could guess their purpose—to kill him and Farida if they failed to gain control, to silence them.
The Hongmen Banquet was a foregone conclusion; the problem now was how to bite this bait they had no choice but to take.
The last scene made Horatio feel strange; it was very blurry and didn't show the content it should have, as if it had been deliberately hidden.
[What does this mean…?] Horatio was confused.
He closed his eyes again, opened them, and returned to the real world.
"We need to be careful. There aren't many people in that place, so how could a hostage situation occur? It's more like a good place to kill and dump bodies. How long until your mentor arrives?"
If he couldn't expose the extraordinary abilities of his bionic arm, Horatio would have loved to tell Farida exactly what he saw.
"At least an hour, optimistically."
Horatio tapped the bulletproof armor on his body and asked with a wry smile, "Can this thing block Laser Guns and riot shotguns?"
"Of course, armor supervised by the Adeptus Arbites performs much better than the standard bulletproof armor of Astra Militarum grunts."
"What about medium-caliber sniper rifles?"
"That would be tough. Even if it blocks it, two of your ribs would be shattered. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"If I were an Inquisitor colluding with Evil Cultists, I would arrange snipers on high ground nearby. If the arrest failed, they would eliminate the target and keep the secret silent forever."
"Look at this." Farida said indifferently, tilting her head and resting her slender arm, encased in a tight battle suit, on her large gun.
"I know you're a good shot, but we can't be the first to pull the trigger. Otherwise, you won't be able to clear the charges of harboring a death row inmate and assaulting an Inquisitor, and I'll also be doomed."
Horatio patted his chest armor and forced a smile, saying, "Since we can't avoid a verbal confrontation with them, I want to know if this armor can help me survive the first shot."